In your opinion who was the best?

yellowperil · 02:10 PM

In the 70's and 80's these five road racers pretty well reigned supreme over the world
of motorcycle racing. (IMO) Who would you want on your team?

Wayne Rainey, Eddie Lawson, Kenny Roberts Sr., Freddie Spencer, Kevin Schwantz.

Just asking.

Eric Hahl · Eric Hahl's Garage

Tough choice!

red 928 · 04-27-2021, 10:42 AM

Roberts

Bill Douglas · 04-27-2021, 10:43 AM

My vote is Kenny Roberts.

herr_oberst · 10:52 AM

Tough choice is right! Aliens, every one of them.
I'll go with Kevin.
Every corner was an adventure. The Cardiac Kid.
Lucky Strike bikes always looked cool, too.

yellowperil · 10:56 AM

I left out Randy Mamola, he's from that era, but not quite as successful. Right?

Also The Kentucky Kid was from the modern era. Wish he was still racing.

And Scott Russel in a different league, a Daytona specialist.

I remember back then I couldn't wait for Cycle World to get the news. Times are diff now.

yellowperil · 04-27-2021, 11:04 AM

It's kinda like picking a winner from the lightweight boxing world of the '80s

Sugar Ray Leonard, or Marvin Hagler, Roberto Duran or Tommy Hearns, anyone of them would hurt you!

Best boxing ever.

Eric Hahl · Eric Hahl's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by yellowperil

Also The Kentucky Kid was from the modern era. Wish he was still racing.

Sad, sad day for me.

vash · vash's Garage

which one of those guys decided the fastest way around a corner was to put some of the weight of the bike on their knee, and get the rear wheel spinning around the corners? kevin Shwantz? I remember reading the interview.

sammyg2 · 04-27-2021, 01:35 PM

1985. Nuff said.

Quote:

1985 proved to be a historic year for Spencer (with a C).
He began the season by winning the prestigious season opening Daytona 200.
Spencer also won the Formula 1 and 250cc classes, making him the only rider to win all three divisions in a single year.[1][6]
Spencer also competed in both the 250cc and 500cc Grand Prix World Championships, winning both titles in the same year.
That made him the fifth (and last) rider ever to win in the 500cc and the next class down and, due to class changes, the only rider to win in both 500cc and 250cc in one year.

yellowperil · 04-27-2021, 02:13 PM

Thanks for the correction with a "C" BTW just noticed that Dick Mann died yesterday.

He was a great guy, sorry to see him go.

944 S2 · 04-27-2021, 04:36 PM

Maybe not the best, but having my teens in England I was a fan of Barry Sheene, particularly when batting the awesome Kenny Roberts.

herr_oberst · 04-27-2021, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yellowperil

It's kinda like picking a winner from the lightweight boxing world of the '80s

Sugar Ray Leonard, or Marvin Hagler, Roberto Duran or Tommy Hearns, anyone of them would hurt you!

Best boxing ever.

MX was the same. LaRocco, Hannah, Magoo, Marty Smith, Chuck Sun, Broc Glover, Brad Lackey.

Whatever happened to the good old days?

speeder · speeder's Garage

What about Jay Springsteen? Wasn't he an AMA champ for a while?

I'll admit that I never followed the sport very closely.

EDIT: Looked him up, he is a HOF racer but dirt tracker.

mattdavis11 · 04-27-2021, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

MX was the same. LaRocco, Hannah, Magoo, Marty Smith, Chuck Sun, Broc Glover, Brad Lackey.

Whatever happened to the good old days?

Jeff Ward.

Steve Carlton · 04-27-2021, 08:58 PM

I think all those guys had their moments at the top- all great champions. I'm no expert, but I think Kenny Roberts may have been the best. I met Wayne Rainey for a moment at Alice's Restaurant 15 years ago. He didn't get a full career due to his crash.

Ate a Ducati for breakfast and met Wayne Rainey

yellowperil · 04-28-2021, 03:11 AM

Did you guys know that Wayne Rainey did laps at Suzuka recently (2019) at 250 K?
He was on the track with 3 or 4 others (Roberts) and looked in fine form.

Look it up, very interesting

arcsine · 04-28-2021, 08:01 AM

Just to toss some other names into this discussion

Mick Doohan - how many championships would he have won without the after effects of the broken leg?

Steve Baker - First American world championship in 1977 (Formula 750) and second in the 1977 500cc world Championships to Sheene. Lost his ride, received some horrific injuries and retired.

If we are keeping it to the first five then either Roberts (most ruthless) or Schwantz (fastest of all for a lap). Spencer had an amazing period through his double World Championships but something let go in his head and he was never able to recover the mojo. Rainey is the outlier as he was on the gas right up to his injury. Again, how many Championships would he have won? Lawson was steady, fast and unremarkable.

sammyg2 · 04-28-2021, 08:07 AM

yellowperil · 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arcsine

Just to toss some other names into this discussion

Mick Doohan - how many championships would he have won without the after effects of the broken leg?

Steve Baker - First American world championship in 1977 (Formula 750) and second in the 1977 500cc world Championships to Sheene. Lost his ride, received some horrific injuries and retired.

If we are keeping it to the first five then either Roberts (most ruthless) or Schwantz (fastest of all for a lap). Spencer had an amazing period through his double World Championships but something let go in his head and he was never able to recover the mojo. Rainey is the outlier as he was on the gas right up to his injury. Again, how many Championships would he have won? Lawson was steady, fast and unremarkable.

Well said. Roberts was ruthless for sure, and built for speed. No very big, but strong.