HAKAN ANDERSSON’S FIRST MONOSHOCK

Here’s a look at the bike that Hakan Andersson took to the 1973 250cc World Championship, as it sits today. It belongs to motocross historian Terry Good, and it’s a perfectly preserved piece of motocross history. Click on the photo and it will take you to the full story behind the bike, the rider and an unforgetable era in dirt bike racing. It was the first Monoshock. The concept was the brainchild of Lucian Tilkins, who originally tried to sell the Monoshock concept to Suzuki. Roger DeCoster wanted it, but the Suzuki engineers were skeptical. Tilkins then went to Yamaha. Andersson debuted the bike on the third round of the 1973 250cc GP at Wuustwezel, Belgium. Hakan dominated that race, as well as the whole 1973 season. It was soon apparent that the bike’s true advantage was its suspension travel. And by the end of 1973, virtually all the factory motocross bikes had jumped on the long-travel bandwagon, and motocross would never be the same. You can check out the story and other nuggets of MX history at www.mxworksbike.com.