[Moto] The motorcycles that the young people of the 80s dreamed of

[#Wittels-]

 

The 80s saw how mythical Spanish brands disappeared and, at the same time, others such as the Japanese ones arrived. A time when those who are now around 50 were hooked on the motorcycle and these were their dark objects of desire.
Bultaco and Ossa close; Sanglas becomes Yamaha, along with the remains of Mototrans (Ducati, in Spain) and Montesa in Honda. Puch will hold out a little longer and Derbi, Rieju and MotorHispania survive. But the then desired Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, KTM and other brands arrive

 

They are "my years"; These are the years when I started riding a motorcycle and dreamed of changing my '81 Cobra TT for something faster and more powerful. And we began to see motorcycles like the RD 350, KTM cross and enduro, or even in magazines, because here it still didn't come, prodigies on two wheels such as the Honda CX 500 Turbo or Suzuki RG 500 Gamma. But there were also national motorcycles; with a bad reputation, yes, and not deserved by themselves. Bikes like the Bultaco Streaker, Ossa Copa or Rieju MR80 could have done a little better if they had worked on the market. But of course; After years of sighing for the motorcycles that did not arrive here, everyone wanted to try these novelties, and not one more of the usual brands.

 

We would have to wait for the closure of these factories and the disappearance of these motorcycles for time to do justice to them and now they are more valued and sought after motorcycles, in many cases, than their Japanese contemporaries. Acknowledge it; in 1983 you yearned for a "Hurry" (nickname that, at least in my area, was given to the MBX 75 Hurricane) and you looked down on the Streaker, but today you would yearn to have one of those very expensive and highly sought after Bultaco, while You'd pay the same for the Honda.

These are our years, those of us who are between 40 and 50. And between dreams in which you saw yourself fighting corner by corner with Spencer, Lawson or Mamola at Jarama, Paul Ricard or Laguna Seca, you also dreamed of getting to the concerts of Meccano, AC/DC or Sinister Fully assembled on a Le Mans III. And on the most “realistic” days, let's see if you could at least get a more modest Puch Cóndor or a not so modest Gilera KZ125.

 

1. Bultaco Streaker

Bultaco, it must be recognized, was not always right with his motorcycles. Especially aesthetically speaking. A Mercurio 175GT was no beauty, for example, but they were always good bikes. And fast. The last one that came out of its chains, speaking of road bikes, was not like that. She was fast, sporty and beautiful. In fact, it was the one that put such important names in our motorcycling history on the circuits, such as Jorge Martínez “Aspar”, Sito Pons or Joan Garriga: all of them went through the “Streaker Cup”.

An original and lightweight multitubular chassis, the latest evolution of Bultaco's small block, in 75 and 125 displacements, with disc brakes and suspension, if not the latest, then effective. Fast and light motorcycles that must have been one of the legs of the relaunch of Bultaco, in the final years of the brand. In fact, there were two versions; the famous "black and white", each with their "fans" to this day.

 

The "black" is presented in 77. The project was late; It had to replace the old previous Junior, but it was intended that it already mount the first engine of the MK15 series. It could not be and it was presented with the "usual" engine, suitably adjusted. The white, two years later, was modified in some aspects such as the tail and, more importantly, it presented new features in the engine; It was still not the MK15, of which there was only a prototype in the Streaker version, but the crankcase cover on the clutch side has already changed, since under it the primary chain transmission gave way to a more modern gear transmission.

He didn't give much time to dream about it: the Honda Hurricane, Yamaha TZR and others were knocking at the door. But if you can still dream of how this bike would have evolved, if Bultaco had survived: Mk15 wet engine, suspension with linkages€

 

2. Rieju MR80

 

Late 1970s and early 1980s. The market for 75cc off-road motorcycles is truly important, in numerical terms, in Spain. These are the years in which the “Baby Boom” generation is around 16 years old; With the A1 in the pocket and the dirt bike being the main “business” of national brands, it is logical that many brands deal with this segment. Puch, with the Cobra, presents the M82 chassis; They use the same engine developed in the mid-1970s, starting with an Austrian 50cc engine. Cantilever and advanced aesthetics and more "motorcyclist" than the previous Cobra MC 75 and TT dazzle many. But if you really want "horses", you have to opt for the Cobra Replica Monjonell, M82 TT or Santiago Blanco, X3 and X4 preparations. Montesa and Bultaco do not seem to “know”: their engines are outdated and far from the performance of the Puch. Derby does it better; C6 works well and is a good base for preparations. And Rieju "embroiders it".

 

The Marathon, presented at the end of the 70s, mounts the Minarelli Motor. It is the same mechanical base that mounts many Italian motorcycles with which many of us really dreamed, authentic «forbidden fruit» still- They are the Ancillotti, Acossato€ motorcycles that exceeded 16/18 CV of power (when a «normal» Cobra gave 11 and a 75H6 was close to 10), monoshock suspension, nightclubs, water, etc. But of course, in Spain the 80cc cylinders of those cannot be assembled, because the current legislation limits the cylinder capacity to 75cc.

The Marathon evolves and becomes the MR80. This, in competition, does use those Italian engines that are already around 20 hp. In 1984 the white MR80 is almost the Girona reincarnation of the Accossato 80 enduro and has little to envy these leading Italians. It is still 75cc in its commercial version, but access to special, truly cutting-edge versions has already arrived. They were very special motorcycles, which competed on the national scene with the latest versions of Cobra, whose engine was already close to 19 CV, in the water version, tightened like "the nuts of a submarine". But the Rieju, with its Minarelli MR engine, is technically two steps ahead of those latest Cobras. A dream come true for many and the bike that culminated the history of the 75cc national enduro.

 

3. Honda MBX

The 1980s were the years of the demise of many of the national brands. But for those of us who lived through them then glued to the pages of motorcycle magazines, they are years of hope: the previous protectionism forbade us to enjoy the eu made outside and, despite the fact that today we look at those brands with longing, It is true that many were “up to their noses” with these brands and with not being able to ride a “modern” motorcycle.

Honda takes control of Montesa in 1983. They continue to manufacture the Cotas, now under the name MH (and by the way, I don't know if you agree, but for me, with the ugliest decoration in the history of the Cotas) , the 360H7 of the latest series, as a cheap option for a dirt bike and they start making "real" Honda bikes. One of the first is this MBX 80, baptized as "Hurricane". Nothing to do with the above.

A motorcycle with the appearance of a large motorcycle, original "Comstar" double-spoke rims, front fairing, water cooling, Pro-Link rear suspension, front disc brakes and 12Cv for 94 kilos€ when a Streaker or a Crono 75 were below €9 is an "almost" current motorcycle, compared to motorcycles whose technology had remained in the 60s. And of course, like those, the MBX also serves as a "launching ramp" for some riders who will go far: there was a kid who did not It was not bad with one of these at the Criterium€a certain Álex Crivillé€for example.

The MBX will be the first of a saga, which will continue with the NSR 75, which years later will also "shrink" to 50cc. It is also the first of a good list of rivals such as the TZR 80 or, within the national production, a few years later, the Derbi GPR.

 

Link: https://www.formulamoto.es/zona-clasicas/motos-de-los-80/33340.html