To hip.. gotta go .. rick “too hip” johnson ..one of a kind rider .. im an early 70’s though the early 80’s. I drifted from the sport as too hip was making his mark. I did see him as a 3# rookie at the LA superbowl of mx , coliseum and it was obvious he was an up and comer destined for greatness. Always love his insights. He’s an enjoyable speaker ..
For me my first memory of starting riding was seeing Ricky Johnson..87. Had amazing style and demanding race intensity. Right away was hooked! Love seeing him sharp n still sharing history
Great interview! I used to really look up to RJ back in the day. Cool dude forsure! My brother Keith was his team mate in 84. As Ricky said Keith was the first guy to ever blitz the whoops.
Been a fan of Rick since 83. I'm glad he made up with Ron. I set up my play bike in Ricks "attack" position. Sidnt know aboot the half waffle, its on my play bike. Great interview, Rick is a mellow dude, but on the track, he will smoke you.👍Great seeing his monster 84 yz in person.🙂 I wonder if we could see Ricks 86-90 cr's, that would be excellent. 🙂
Very cool interview, Rick Johnson was such a inspiration I remember his signature helmet graphics and how much I wanted to be like him ! Getting my motocross action , dirt bike rider and action magazines monthly and memorizing them better than any homework from school!
84 YZ250F was my favorite race bike. Won a lot of races that year. AMA Armature racing with a stock bike the Yamaha with the YPVS power valve system was way ahead of its time.
Interesting to hear Ricky say that he was good coming up through traffic. I was at the 1987 L.A. Coliseum supercross when he went down in the first turn. Got up near the back of the pack and proceeded to make his way through the field and pass for the lead on the second to last lap. Was such an exciting race to witness. I was cheering for him and hugely disappointed when he went down and to watch him come through the field and win the race was so great. Larry (motormouth) Huffman was calling the race. That was a great era of racing.
For me, at 45, RJ is the real OG. He was like a super hero character when I was a kid just learning to ride. I gotta thank my dad for introducing me to the sport when RJ was in his prime. And also PING for these videos, he gets it!
Man, how time flies. I followed RJ on his 1984 factory YZ250L in all of the popular magazines back then. Interesting hearing him talk about these details you would not hear about back in 1984.
Thanks Whiskey Throttle and Ping for doing an awesome job! Ricky was was amazing at a young age and throughout his career. To be surrounded by all that talent at Yamaha. Taking a production bike and make it that competitive! And this gentleman's collection is unbelievable. Thanks again. 👍
No bro, RC is the goat! Statustucs don't lie. Although watch Jet Lawrence, he might break some records. RJ is a beast for sure and had me as a fan just not the GOAT,greatest of all time.
Ricky is a funny guy, an icon in this sport. I remember seeing Ricky racing at Saddleback on a Sunday. Brian Myerscough won both motos. Ricky was really young riding a YZ125, he had crashed and was bleeding, thought he was crying. Wardy was there on a Kawasaki. That was 1978. Good times.
My biggest hero RJ. My dad brought his new wife from Sweden to watch you race in LA in 1989 and that still makes me mad until this day. How could my dad not bring me? Unforgivable. It still hurts.
These were the golden years of MX to me. Have never enjoyed the sport like I did then. I think the imperfections in the technology made the sport great in the way a Rider or tech could come up with something back then and take the field by storm next race. You just never could be sure what was going to come up next.
I love this. I think it must be a law that if you're American, between the ages of 45 and 50, and were any sort of moto fan in the 80's, you have to be an RJ fan. It's kind of funny looking back, I had his pictures from the magazines hanging on the wall and dreamed about racing a CR250, and I barely even got to watch any of his races at the time he was racing. We didn't have any cable TV, and network sports barely ever showed motocross, so it was a matter of following the magazines. I've watched far more video of RJ in the last 5 years than when he was actually racing.
Cool to learn Yamaha didn't have the budget for works bikes, they told us they were trying to get a head start on the production rule. Ricky was and is a hero. The night at the rodil cup in the colloseum just sealed it.
Back in the day I owned a 1983 Yamaha YZ 490, 1984 YZ 490 and a 1985 YZ 250 all purchased new, out of all of them the 85 YZ 250 was the quickest, easiest and most enjoyable bike to race 💪👍🔥 !
Hey ping Ricky racing career was ended short by Danny storbeck landed on his right wrist Rick even tried moving the throttle on the left side you should talk to hi. About that for another video
Why was Yamaha yellow to begin with should’ve stayed yellow who cares about Suzuki? It’s yellow too so why did that change right? I don’t know yeah yourself yellow dirtbike yeah I don’t know. It’s a good question. By the way you’re a nice looking man, but glad you kept the bike. Is that yours? I miss yellow for for real. I miss it.
Not every bike can be red or yellow it’s got to be one or the other yes Suzuki was almost like the color of Yamaha that has really changed over the years there used to be one red dirtbike no there’s two put back in the day. There’s lots of red and whites Maico was red Cagiva was red Beta red Honda was red to and I can’t forget that. there were also whites ktm. Cagiva before it was no longer made.cam am husky this was when you were racing. dirt will change now husky might be still white gas gas ⛽️ is red just like Honda Yamaha now is blue Suzuki yellow Kawasaki green KTM orange husky white there might be other bikes. I don’t know if I don’t know of. offhand. Are the top of my head Yamaha Kawasaki, Suzuki, Honda, KTM and Husky or the ones I grew up with I used to collect dirtbike magazines like a gazillion
Championship battles First turn falls 🤔 no F-ing way that look on purpose fist to face racing Funny story Broadford Victoria Channel 0 or 10 track 1980 1981 watching my brother ride practice standing on top of a two story uphill rise left U turn at the top just after you hit the bottom 3 4 foot 3rd gear ski jump one rider lost the back out of the corner tank slapped all the way down the hill and had a soft fall on the jump face come to a stop on top of the jump for two lap stayed parked smack bang in the middle of the track and smack bang on top of the jump uninjured 3rd lap brother almost hits him 4th lap square est T bone you had ever seen brother straight over the bars easy flew 35 feet this is no lie his legs where running mid air hit the ground bounce straight to he's feet ran 45 feet in less then 3 seconds fist already being thrown before he reach the rider Motor bike racers wear helmets F-ing funny then ways mad at the flag marshall for not waving the yellow flag or asking the rider to walk the bike from the track typing lol remembering that fall
RJ and Wardy are the reason why i love moto. VHS tapes on repeat as a 4 year old love listening to rick talk about bikes.
I could sit and listen to the bad boy for hours. Such an inspiration to me and lots of others !
Still have my 1983 YZ 250. Love the late 70's early 80's bikes.
Me too brother they were so brutal, kids now don’t know what that hit feels like.
Bad Boy Forever !! 💪🏻 Inspired me and the entire 90s generation.
He was 80's
To hip.. gotta go .. rick “too hip” johnson ..one of a kind rider .. im an early 70’s though the early 80’s. I drifted from the sport as too hip was making his mark. I did see him as a 3# rookie at the LA superbowl of mx , coliseum and it was obvious he was an up and comer destined for greatness. Always love his insights. He’s an enjoyable speaker ..
It never gets tired. Cool to look at it from the perspective of an adult.
Modest man. He is top 5 ever. He was unbeatable inside and outdoors. A legend worldwide
For me my first memory of starting riding was seeing Ricky Johnson..87. Had amazing style and demanding race intensity. Right away was hooked! Love seeing him sharp n still sharing history
Always was a fan of RJ's 1984 YZ250. Thanks for doing this. I think this was one of the coolest looking Yamahas. Last of the yellow models.
Yep. Yams aren’t my fav but theres been some nice ones. The ow’s the teams rode in the 70’s were TRICK…
Sure do appreciate growing up in that era. RJ, Bailey, Hannah, Ward, all great.
Thanks for posting Ping.
Great interview! I used to really look up to RJ back in the day. Cool dude forsure! My brother Keith was his team mate in 84. As Ricky said Keith was the first guy to ever blitz the whoops.
What is Keith doing now?
Nice post . Your brother made the leap to mx eliteness. I enjoy watching him ride.
Best Rider of all time, intoduced so much to the sport, these guys were thrown deep into the fire at 16 years of age
Been a fan of Rick since 83. I'm glad he made up with Ron. I set up my play bike in Ricks "attack" position. Sidnt know aboot the half waffle, its on my play bike. Great interview, Rick is a mellow dude, but on the track, he will smoke you.👍Great seeing his monster 84 yz in person.🙂 I wonder if we could see Ricks 86-90 cr's, that would be excellent. 🙂
Very cool interview, Rick Johnson was such a inspiration I remember his signature helmet graphics and how much I wanted to be like him ! Getting my motocross action , dirt bike rider and action magazines monthly and memorizing them better than any homework from school!
Great Interview! RJ one of my favorites!-Good Guy! It is great when he is a commentator!
That was fantastic!!
84 YZ250F was my favorite race bike. Won a lot of races that year. AMA Armature racing with a stock bike the Yamaha with the YPVS power valve system was way ahead of its time.
F? 1984 YZ250L......... 1985 N........ 1986 S
Rad stories! You guys kick ass!!🤘
Interesting to hear Ricky say that he was good coming up through traffic. I was at the 1987 L.A. Coliseum supercross when he went down in the first turn. Got up near the back of the pack and proceeded to make his way through the field and pass for the lead on the second to last lap. Was such an exciting race to witness. I was cheering for him and hugely disappointed when he went down and to watch him come through the field and win the race was so great. Larry (motormouth) Huffman was calling the race. That was a great era of racing.
I was there as a 15 yo and it was EPIC to see him come back through that field and win.
Love this show!!
For me, at 45, RJ is the real OG. He was like a super hero character when I was a kid just learning to ride. I gotta thank my dad for introducing me to the sport when RJ was in his prime. And also PING for these videos, he gets it!
I thought RJ was 58 born in 64
Love the stories and insights. The '84 YZ250 was a great production bike.
Aww man love the reminiscing awesome and BadBoy👊👊😎
Man, how time flies.
I followed RJ on his 1984 factory YZ250L in all of the popular magazines back then.
Interesting hearing him talk about these details you would not hear about back in 1984.
These segments are awesome , just awesome .
Very good Interview!
Thanks Whiskey Throttle and Ping for doing an awesome job! Ricky was was amazing at a young age and throughout his career. To be surrounded by all that talent at Yamaha. Taking a production bike and make it that competitive! And this gentleman's collection is unbelievable. Thanks again. 👍
Now there's a legend.
To be honest, Johnson and McGrath were my two favorite guest outdoor motocross race announcers last year...I wish Johnson would do MORE announcing.
RJ is The GOAT 👌 Thank you so much for this. It’s made my week
No bro, RC is the goat! Statustucs don't lie. Although watch Jet Lawrence, he might break some records. RJ is a beast for sure and had me as a fan just not the GOAT,greatest of all time.
RJ was my hero growing up. My first bike was a '86 cr80 just because Ricky rode one. I can't imagine how many Hondas he sold back then.
Heroes all for sure..
Ricky is a funny guy, an icon in this sport. I remember seeing Ricky racing at Saddleback on a Sunday. Brian Myerscough won both motos. Ricky was really young riding a YZ125, he had crashed and was bleeding, thought he was crying. Wardy was there on a Kawasaki. That was 1978. Good times.
This video is Awesome 🤘Bad Boy for life 👍 killer!
When I worked for Yamaha Motors Corporation,these boys would come in to meet with Kenny Clark. I was always blown away on how cool these MX Gods were!
Wow great interview! I grew up watching RJ, Wardy, Hannah and all of the 80's riders! You always put on a great show Ping!!! Thank you!!!
RJ was my favorite racer back then and still my favorite today.
The '84 ZY 250 is the most sought-after bike of all time, such a gem.
I did not know that. I like the ‘80 LOP yam 465 moates won the usgp on. Id love to ride one of those .
This is a great series. Keep'em coming!
Awesome Man! So much history and back stories.
I'll say it again RJ bad boy for life!!.
Bad Boy Club Forever! Ricky #13 lapped me in Carlsbad in '91 on his comeback training after the wrist break. What an honor!
My biggest hero RJ. My dad brought his new wife from Sweden to watch you race in LA in 1989 and that still makes me mad until this day. How could my dad not bring me? Unforgivable. It still hurts.
RJ was simply the best in my book. BB club forever 😊
Very good stuff. Love it.
These were the golden years of MX to me. Have never enjoyed the sport like I did then. I think the imperfections in the technology made the sport great in the way a Rider or tech could come up with something back then and take the field by storm next race. You just never could be sure what was going to come up next.
I love this. I think it must be a law that if you're American, between the ages of 45 and 50, and were any sort of moto fan in the 80's, you have to be an RJ fan. It's kind of funny looking back, I had his pictures from the magazines hanging on the wall and dreamed about racing a CR250, and I barely even got to watch any of his races at the time he was racing. We didn't have any cable TV, and network sports barely ever showed motocross, so it was a matter of following the magazines. I've watched far more video of RJ in the last 5 years than when he was actually racing.
Legend of the BAD BOY 👍✌️✊😉
Kudos, Ping!! So fun!
David I like the person you are, ,you have always given respect to all these guys , God Bless you man , RJ has to be your Idle ?
Like a lot of you, these 1980s legends were larger than life when I was a kid. So fun being able to talk about that era with them!
Cool to learn Yamaha didn't have the budget for works bikes, they told us they were trying to get a head start on the production rule. Ricky was and is a hero. The night at the rodil cup in the colloseum just sealed it.
Cannot imagine RJ with nowadays bike , when he was a the top of his career,
Back in the day I owned a 1983 Yamaha YZ 490, 1984 YZ 490 and a 1985 YZ 250 all purchased new, out of all of them the 85 YZ 250 was the quickest, easiest and most enjoyable bike to race 💪👍🔥 !
Hi Ping & Rick!
i still have my 1984 yz 250
great bike
will service it this winter and ride it in the spring
Legend.
Ricky was my neighbor in the mid 80's
🤘 😶🌫️
LOL on the residuals....RJ is just a super guy
Watched Rick race in the Seattle kingdome and Washougal Washington
I had a L model.All I added was a pipe and a rear shock.Rick, Broc and Bowen struggled on that bike.
The Privateers really suffered.
Savage 💪
RJ.....the real GOAT.
Ricky ( cool*****)
I didn't realize Lechien raced 250s in 1984, seeing as how he won the 1985 125 championship. And he was on Honda for the '84 season.
Vintage is dual rear shocks and almost factory forks, drum brakes, nopower valves. Think Joel Robert CZ
RJ wrist still hasn’t healed from 1989 Injury. Like 33 years ago (1/3 century)… Get well soon RJ 🍺🍺🍺🏁
Put that bike back on display somewhere
My favorite dirt bike I owned 84' yz250. Trade a nice street bike for it.
I think Renthal sold an RJ bend bar though
🌏 #1
Hey ping Ricky racing career was ended short by Danny storbeck landed on his right wrist Rick even tried moving the throttle on the left side you should talk to hi. About that for another video
Ping you need a winter coat next
34 years later THE GOAT Rick Johnson is still having surgeries on his wrist. I wonder it Danny Storbeck ever thinks about him? 😕
❤ I wish Yamaha was yellow again. It will never happen.
Long rod motor!
My old hero ! But grandpa whats up with the tats ?
Thoughs motors riped with some work .pull to the moon.
Why was Yamaha yellow to begin with should’ve stayed yellow who cares about Suzuki? It’s yellow too so why did that change right? I don’t know yeah yourself yellow dirtbike yeah I don’t know. It’s a good question. By the way you’re a nice looking man, but glad you kept the bike. Is that yours? I miss yellow for for real. I miss it.
What’s done is done they can never bring it back. No in my lifetime.
Not every bike can be red or yellow it’s got to be one or the other yes Suzuki was almost like the color of Yamaha that has really changed over the years there used to be one red dirtbike no there’s two put back in the day. There’s lots of red and whites Maico was red Cagiva was red Beta red Honda was red to and I can’t forget that. there were also whites ktm. Cagiva before it was no longer made.cam am husky this was when you were racing. dirt will change now husky might be still white gas gas ⛽️ is red just like Honda Yamaha now is blue Suzuki yellow Kawasaki green KTM orange husky white there might be other bikes. I don’t know if I don’t know of. offhand. Are the top of my head Yamaha Kawasaki, Suzuki, Honda, KTM and Husky or the ones I grew up with I used to collect dirtbike magazines like a gazillion
Championship battles First turn falls 🤔 no F-ing way that look on purpose fist to face racing Funny story Broadford Victoria Channel 0 or 10 track 1980 1981 watching my brother ride practice standing on top of a two story uphill rise left U turn at the top just after you hit the bottom 3 4 foot 3rd gear ski jump one rider lost the back out of the corner tank slapped all the way down the hill and had a soft fall on the jump face come to a stop on top of the jump for two lap stayed parked smack bang in the middle of the track and smack bang on top of the jump uninjured 3rd lap brother almost hits him 4th lap square est T bone you had ever seen brother straight over the bars easy flew 35 feet this is no lie his legs where running mid air hit the ground bounce straight to he's feet ran 45 feet in less then 3 seconds fist already being thrown before he reach the rider Motor bike racers wear helmets F-ing funny then ways mad at the flag marshall for not waving the yellow flag or asking the rider to walk the bike from the track typing lol remembering that fall
Speaking of jackass, it took less than a decade for Jeff to ruin a name and destroy 2 companies.
Rick Johnson is awesome. Great interview except for calling him a jack ass.
He’s a friend… obviously not meant disrespectfully
Last year they were Yellow.. My 85 yz 250 is Red n White with the Gold rims....