History of Dirt Bikes

BY: KYLE H.

The history of dirt bikes is very unclear because of the fact that they were not really created until the 1950s. There were motorcycles that were used off-road but they weren't very good and were kept on the road. So, this article is going to be from the 1950s to the present.

Motorcycles have been around since the late 1800s but they weren't like how they are today. Back then motorcycles were bicycles with small engines on them, but this article isn’t about motorcycles. It’s about dirt bikes. Dirt bikes didn’t come around until the late 1950s and early 1960s. Later on, Yamaha released their first motocross bike called the DT-1 in 1968. The bike had a whopping 250 cubic centimeters with a whole 15 horsepower. With the dirt bike’s light frame, you could get up to 60 mph. That's really fast. Suzuki's first dirt bike came out in 1965, called the K15 Hill Billy. The bike had huge success in the USA. Kawasaki came out with its first dirt bike in 1963 called the B8-M, also known as the “Red Tank Furore”. Kawasaki was the first of the so-called “big four” to propose off-road racing machines. In 1972, Honda created the CR250 Elsinore. The bike was like no other and Honda was leading the way for motocross. The “Big Four” brands were Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Suzuki. Other brands like KTM and Husqvarna have been around for a while as well, but were not included in the “Big Four” because they didn't start making good bikes until 2010 and up. In 1973, KTM came out with the KTM GS 125. These bikes were such a big hit that they started to get manufactured in the USA. Husqvarna has bikes dating back to the 1940s, but in 1960, Bill Nelson won the 500cc world motocross title for Husqvarna on the Husqvarna Albin 500.

Dirt bikes have come a long way and will be around forever. The sport is growing every day and will continue to grow forever. Suzuki, Kawasaki, Honda, and Yamaha will always be known as the original four manufactures that created the pathway of the dirt bike industry. These four companies will always be the top dogs in the motocross, supercross, enduro, and all the other races that involve dirt bikes.