When Honda came out with that Pro-Link monoshock that was the shit, the friggin' Cadillac of dirt bikes. I had previously had a Yamaha IT 175 6 days bike and was not too impressed with it. I had great luck with Honda dirt bikes. seems like they would just take more abuse. Even back then I weighed 225. Then I dabbled in exotic dirt bikes for awhile. Had a Husqvarna wr 250 (2 shock mid 1970's) that I really liked the handling on. Had a early 1970's Bultaco Pursang 250, great motor but everything else sucked. I even had a Cotton, ever hear of them? It's an observed trials bike made in England. Trials riding looks like fun until you realize that between novice and so-so, there's a lot of falling down involved. Also had two Hodaka Ace 100's we used as yard bikes( I have a motocross track in my yard at my house in Texas). They were tough little buggers too. I never was a great MX'er but I enjoyed it in my youth.

Yes I remember reading about Cotton brand bikes from the 60s.

Never owned one but if I remember correctly Bultacos were a tinkerers nightmare.

Both of the Huskys I had were 80s models after they got away from the mirror finish on the sides of the tank. The 430 WR was pretty good unless you got stuck climbing a long uphill. The kick starter was on the wrong side and you had to dismount and stand beside it to get it going again. Better have your boots on to light that one off unless you wanted a broken foot.

Ive had numerous people over the years ask me if I was a welder etc because of my knuckles. In the days before bark busters we would take a bike the first day we got it and cut the bars to a minimum width. In the SouthEastern US one would have to fan the clutch to thread the bike between trees and not kill the engine. (like agility trials in a dog show competition). Many years later my left hand still looks rough compared to my right that was protected by the front brake lever.

I think the only bad part on a Yamaha Road Star is the light bar Yamaha put on it. I hated it. It shorted out my harness three times. The lights spin and bazinga! Go aftermarket with something better and not the light bar Yamaha bought from an aftermarket supplier

The new Roadstar lightbar from Yamaha is a big improvement - and priced like it.
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