NETRA ANNOUNCES NEW VINTAGE RACING SERIES

Joe, I will keep this in mind. I want to try the 82 WR cylinder as is first. Then I'll understand the difference between the two for myself. Won't be till Spring though. I decided to freshen up my CR cylinder with a bore, hone and new matching piston. The CR liner was a bit oval and there was a ton of blow by on the piston when I took it apart.

Who knows, I may decide I like torque more and just keep the 82 cylinder on the CR for cross country and ride my KXs for motocross. I will PM you in a few months to see if I / you might still be interested in trading. Thanks for the offer!

I did not see a response to justintendo's question on the exhaust ports. I am not sure, but I thought the extra two smaller square exhaust ports on either side of the big one were not stock on any of the cylinders. Is that right? Were they on the 84 WR cylinder? Not on my 82 or 83.

they are definitely stock on mine. my other 84 250 ac had them as well. i cant compare to other jap bikes but my former 84 250 had great torque thru the mid and pulled hard on top. it was a bit soft on bottom but i wouldnt say it ever really bogged. the low end was great for slippery conditions.

Thank you for clarification.

NETRA Vintage Series Rules are posted.

http://www.netra.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/VintageSeriesRules2015.pdf

Why would they make Vintage up to '76? True Vintage class bikes, which are universally recognized as up to '74, will be rare if forced to race with '76s. A '76 Maico or Penton/KTM have almost 10" of suspension travel while Vintage have 4 or 5 on the back at most. Some people might call this nit picking, but there is a MASSIVE difference in '74 and '76 bike technology. Heck, even the difference between a '74 Husky 250CR and a '75 250CR is massive because of the rear suspension. Oh well, I'm 1000 miles from the nearest NETRA race so it doesnt effect me.

They apparently only want 3 vintage classes. If it gets more riders than they anticipate, they would break it down further

Three classes is a very good idea, you dont need 100 classes like AHRMA, but why not make the Vintage up to '74? Evolution would be '75-up no disc, and Retro like they have them now. A good way to make sure you get very few true 4/7" travel vintage bikes is to lump them with 10" travel bikes.

If they only get 5 riders in the vintage class, why break it down? If setting up Evolution to 75 and up no disc, where doe Retro officially start? There is so much disparity between 1975 and 1984 machines they should not be in the same class. It also depends on the rider intent about the series. If it is competitive, there should be more distinction within the EVO class. If it is recreational, the 3 classes suffice. I would like to think that someone on a 1975 Yamaha MX250 is out for fun and if a trophy happens, then that is a bonus. He may be competitive against a 1977 Husqvarna 390CR as the rider still plays a heavy factor in vintage , much as it still does today. If I was given an exact replica of Ryan Dungey's bike and raced against him, I would be lucky not to get lapped within 15 minutes or less(likely)

The way I read it, Retro is any bike at least 25 years old with disc brakes.

Something was wrong with his bike. My 84 being a 250wr is kind of surprising. It's no 390 but has the cr hit. Husky was spot on mixing up the left over a.c. parts.

Sorry there is no way a '75 Yamaha don't stand a chance against a 77 390cr. The 390's would compete against the newer 90's kx250's power wise in the hill climbs in the neighborhood. The 390cr isn't for the novice rider. Your right it's up to the rider to push it. No doubt the 390cr should woop anything that gets near it.

No doubt Penton never rode a 390 he was too busy building mopeds to race with. I find it odd today that the ktm line up today with the cr, wr, cross x models mirror images the whiskies of the late 70/80's? I find the '77/'79 little framed 390cr small enough to fly with.

Bill, John Penton won his only National Enduro Championship, on a Husqvarna 360 Sportsman. That said, he always preferred small displacement bikes. I wouldn't speak too derisively, about John, as he probably could still show us something on a 125....

This pic, is at the '13 ISDTRR in Dalton MA. Late 80's and still riding some, pretty awesome in my book!

I'm very sure Malcom Smith and John Penton and all of you guys , gals and kids could kick my butt for sure. I'm sure there's more behind the scenes of the Penton and husky story that's untold.

The husqvarna of the time was race ready with no tweeking right out of the box it had all the top notch quality stuff. It's untold husqvarna history. I still like the late 70's husqvarna frame size to this day. The Kawasaki kdx reminds me of those husqvarna size wise. I just think the Swedes deserve more credit with the twin shockers than they get.
It's the evolution of the husqvarna's of that time too. Malcom is kind of quiet when husqvarnas are mentioned. He's a humble rider when it comes to the husqvarna's.

My kindle fire spell check is messing things up sorry.

My co-worker who raced during that era he said you needed to be on a husqvarna to be in the front with the rest of the riders who also rode husqvarnas.

In one of the older dirt bike magazines there's a pic of a desert race start where the whole front row is all '98 husqvarnas.

I'm sorry for being a little husqvarna proud.

No need to be sorry for being Husky Proud. I still ride and race my twin shock Husky, as well as my others. I'm as Husky Proud, as anyone. I guess you're mainly an MX guy and I'm an enduro guy. Husky dominated US off road racing for nearly 20 years. They had some great years in US MX too, but did not dominate it. I always find it interesting, that Husky never won a New England or NETRA Enduro Championship, in the Swedish era. Kemp Stewart's '93 NETRA Enduro Championship, is the only one for Husky ever.... Strange how that is possible.

On a Malcolm Smith note.... At the 2003 ISDTRR, which was the 30th Anniversary Team USA Silver Vase Husky Team victory. Malcolm and Dick Burleson, were riding brand new KTM's. I got a chance to speak to them. Both voiced the same opinion.... Why would you ride those old bikes? Malcolm was more vocal, saying he hadn't ridden a bike more than a year old, since he got his first Husky. On the other hand... Terry Cunningham, still loves to race his Husky Twin shocker!

yeah! go TC!

i can see their both smiths and burlesons viewpoints tho..some riders like having the newest and best gear and thats a good reason why they rode husky for so long.

Definitely! Another interesting note.... Burleson throughout his Pro career, was Mr. Big Bore...360. 390, 430. Now in his age class racing..... He's Mr. Small Bore.... 200, 150 and now a TE125. He can still pull off a class win too!

I pray and hope that husqvarna continues to make more of a comeback in 2015. But with all the interbreeding is it a firebird or a camero? Underneath the plastic they appear a ktm, husky,berg. Take the small block Chevy engine away from the last firebird and they only had Purdy bodies. Funny how different manufacturers often do similar things.
Not exactly just similar.