classic decoster

Mike LaRocco earned the 1993 500 National Championship, but never got to defend it. The AMA no longer recognized the class from 1994 forward. How could the 500s go from being the most prestigious class in motocross to being dropped? In the…
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Back in July 1994, when Roger DeCoster was in charge of Dirt Bike Magazine’s testing department, he got a rare opportunity. He got to test the very bike that Bob Hannah raced in 1979. It was the OW40, which was reputed to be one of the…
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In 1997 Supercross was a very different sport. Or was it? Jeremy McGrath was at the height of his powers, and the demands that he faced were much the same as they are today for Eli Tomac or Cooper Webb. In the May, 1997 issue of Dirt Bike,…
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In 1998, Sebastien Tortelli won the 250 World Motocross Championship by 8 points over Stefan Everts. Many motocross fans will remember that fact. A less well-known fact was that at the 11th round, Everts had been disqualified for having a…
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Back in early 2001,  the YZ250F had not yet won in National Competition, but Roger DeCoster, among others, knew it would, and he knew it would change motocross forever. In the March, 2001 issue of Dirt Bike he made it clear that he was no…
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In the October, 1996 issue of Dirt Bike, Roger DeCoster talked about the future in a story called “Motocross Bike: 2000 A.D. It’s kinda fun to look back at what he saw coming. What will motocross bikes look like in the year 2000?…
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Back in 1994, Roger DeCoster asked "What makes a World Championship?" It was unclear back then just as it is today. Here's what he wrote in the May 1994 issue of Dirt Bike. Last summer I won my sixth world championship title. It was…
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Long before the controversy surrounding Haiden Deegan and his Star Yamaha at the 2022 AMA Amateur Nationals, the YZ250F was the center of another debate.  There was a time when a number of riders and team managers wanted the bike banned…
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In the April, 1994 issue of Dirt Bike, Roger DeCoster was wondering how motorcycle manufacturers were allowing their logos to vanish from the bikes their top riders were racing. At the time, apparel makers were becoming a bigger and bigger…
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In 1998, Roger DeCoster was still on staff at Dirt Bike, a position he held since 1994.  He was also Suzuki's Race Team Manager by then. That gave him a vested interest in the rules that allowed four-strokes a displacement advantage in Pro…
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In 1994, motocross in the U.S. was changing rapidly. Motocross in Europe, less so. Roger DeCoster watched it all, which prompted this column in the August, 1994 issue of Dirt Bike. Has motocross changed since the '70s? Of course it…
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In the October, 1996 issue of Dirt Bike, Roger DeCoster talked about the future in a story called "Motocross Bike: 2000 A.D. It's kinda fun to look back at what he saw coming. What will motocross bikes look like in the year 2000?…
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In 1994, Jeff Emig was rapidly becoming a hot commodity on the pro motocross scene. He pulled holeshot after holeshot, which prompted Roger DeCoster to call Team Yamaha to ask if Dirt Bike Magazine could do a test of Jeffro’s YZ250. When…
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By Roger Decoster
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In the early '90s, professional motocross, Supercross and most other forms of motorized racing were supported enthusiastically by Big Tobacco. The irony of this was not lost on Roger DeCoster, even through he wore Camel logos through most…
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Back in the ’90s, Roger DeCoster produced a monthly column in Dirt Bike. This one was from June, 1993, when Roger dealt with the topic of Belgium’s success in GP competition. Today, Belgium is still an international powerhouse in FIM world…
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Roger DeCoster has mentored more motocross champions than any man in history. His own racing record is incredible. Beyond his five  500cc World Motocross Championships, he was a member of more winning Motocross des Nations teams than any…
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This  story was alternately written by Roger DeCoster and Bob Hannah for the July, 1995 issue of Dirt Bike. The subject was the 1978 Trans-AMA Series. In the beginning, the series didn’t really have a name. It was just a collection of…
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We often point to Doug Henry’s 1998 Yamaha YZM as the beginning of the modern four-stroke era. Actually, it started much earlier. In 1993, Jacky Martens won the 500cc World GP Championship on a works Husqvarna 630. Before that season was…
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In 1994, America was unseated after a 13-year winning streak at the Motocross des nations. No one knows more about that event than Roger DeCoster. Here’s what he wrote about it in the December 1994 issue of Dirt Bike. It was…
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