Vintage Moto cross ?

[Randy Lamp]

Good morning. Can any one tell me what the cut off date is for vintage moto cross bikes? I have heard 1974 is the year?

Thank You

Randy Lamp
Massillon ,Ohio

[John Ehrhart]

Randy, you might want to check out the AHRMA site. They break it all down for you there.
Generally, you are correct, but you will see they have classes beyond that time frame, and provisions for later but similar bikes.

je

[tlanders]

Randy,

AHRMA has two major bike year classifications, Vintage and Post Vintage. The main thing that makes a bike vintage is that it has no greater than 4" rear wheel vertical travel and 7" fork travel. In general, this limits bikes to 1974, but there were some 1975 bikes of "like design" that are classified as vintage. The vintage bikes are broken up into 3 other major groups 1. Premier - pre 1968. 2. Classic -1969 to 1971 except Sach engined bikes which are good in Classic up to about 1975. and 3. Sportsman - 1972 to 1974. Most of the vintage bikes raced in AHRMA are in the sportsman class.

The Post Vintage bikes are also broken up into 3 major groups 1. Historic - 1975 to 1977. 2. GP - 1978 to around 1981 and 3. Ultima which stops when either the bikes got a power valve or disk brakes which occured for KTM in 1985 (disk brakes). So the 1984 KTM water cooled with mono shock bike is legal for post vintage because it doesn't have a power valve and no disk brakes. My definition of Historic and GP is insufficient, it really is not by year but has other qualifications like fork travel etc. Reading the AHRMA rules will define it absolutely.

I hope this helps a little.

Teddy

[Keithuu]

My (limited) understanding is that, under the "like design" criteria, my '75 would qualify for Vintage Sportsman if the rear shocks were mounted vertically so as to meet the 4" travel limit.

Keithuu

[Randy Lamp]

Thank you to everyone that resonded. It was very helpful. Based on the production information on the P.O.G. web site the 1974 and 1975 bikes were almost identical . I don't see why anyone would make a fuss about a 1975 model. It's not like I'm going to be lapping the field or anything anyway. I'm just looking to fill the need to get some dirt in my face and smell the premix in the air. It has been thirty years or more and I think it would be fun.

Randy

[Big Mac]

The '75 Pen/KTM frame should meet the like-design for AHRMA Vintage classes as long as correct travel length shocks are used in the back, but the '75s came (most anyway) with the long-travel Ceriani front forks, notable by the rib down the front of the legs. Those aren't legal in AHRMA Vintage, but I hear that travel limiters can be added? Or pre-'75 non-ribbed Ceriani forks can be substituted to meet the tech requirements. Or just plan to run non-AHRMA events, and no one will complain.

Ted Landers knows AHRMA tech well, so can advise on specifics...follow his advice.

[tomale]

My experience has been that at local and to some degree at regional races the most important thing is that they meet the requirements generally... Ie.... if the travel is pretty close to being the correct length... Some bikes that were built in 74 in stock trim actually does not meet the requirements that Ahrma established but is close. If you came to Tech with a bike that was set up with 8 inches in the front and 6 inches in the back, to be sure the tech guys are going to say something. but if you have tried to follow the rules and come with 7 1/4 inches in the front and 4 1/4 inches in the back, more than likely no one will say a thing. your are right. A little variance is not going to make the difference in whether you win or loose... Nationals are another thing and the tech guys do tend to tow the line.... I am not saying that it is ok to cheat but I am only point out that the hard line of the rule and actual practice may not always be the same.  If your bike does not meet the requirements... spacers are available...

Thom Green,Still crazy after all these years!
76' 250 MC5 (orginal owner)
75' GS400 (project bike)
72'sixday (project bike)

[John Ehrhart]

Big Mac guy,
I'm sure you know this, but as my Jackpiner will attest, in '75 your 200mm Cerianis might not have a rib, but they do have a 200 stamped at the bottom of the slider.
As ever, KTM probably threw whatever was laying on the bench in the crate and didn't worry too much about smooth transitions in product upgrades.
And of course, they didn't make the forks!

John

[Lew Mayer]

If your 75 has only 7" front travel you're OK. If they are the ribbed sliders and have 8", you can change the damper rods to get to 7" if you'd want to. I found out mine had 8" by an observant Pogger and subsequently changed the rods to the 7" travel ones.

Lew Mayer

[wildman]

I went through this exact dilemma and emailed the AHRMA tech inspectors about two years ago. I posted their reply here, look for it under search under my old posts.I don't remember the exact header, maybe "AHRMA legal"? You may substitute shorter damper rods or do what I did, installed longer top-out springs on the damper rods, I cut down some old fork springs. I also ended up with a 1/4" spacer on my rear shock shaft of my Konis. I also made 1" extenders for the top shock eye to make turning better.The rib on the forks is a non-issue apparently as long as they only travel 7". Hope this helps, Wildman

1975 250 Cross Country, 1974 175 Jackpiner, 1975 125