P140
50
Years Ago
OCTOBER 17, 1968
LOOKING BACK
Local motocross racer Bob Hager and his Montesa took second
place in the 500cc Jr. class at Carlsbad Raceway. We were so
impressed by his form that he got his photo put on the cover of Cycle
News 50 years ago… Evel Knievel was hard at work planning his
big jump across the Grand Canyon even though the U.S. Department
of Interior had yet to give him the green light to make the attempt.
We showed you some of the hottest new bikes from Honda, Yamaha,
Kawasaki and Suzuki 40 years ago. Some of those bikes included
Honda's new CR125R motocrosser with a 23-inch front wheel, and
Suzuki's new shaft-drive GS850 street bike and RM250 and RM400
MXers with nearly 12 inches of rear-wheel travel… Garth Brown won the
San Jose Mile… At Mid-Ohio, Bob Hannah won the opening round of
the Trans-AMA MX Series by winning both motos… Team Honda won
the 24 Hours of Bol d'Or.
40
Years Ago
OCTOBER 4, 1978
Forty years ago, Honda
introduced its trick new CR125R
motocrosser with a 23-inch front
wheel. That idea didn't last long.
Evel Knievel's rocket-
powered Skycycle X-1
"motorcycle" waits for
testing to begin at
the Grand Canyon
50 years ago.