Roger DeCoster World Champion Motocross 500cc, the legend.

By Classic Motocross NL
The Belgian Roger DeCoster became five times World Champion Motocross 500cc in 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975 and 1976 on the Factory RM Suzuki.
See his personal Shirt Sponsor, the Dutch Willem II Cigars.
Look further on #!/classic.motocrossnl

[@surreallife777]

In 1974 when I was a kid this guy was my hero when I first started riding motocross. Brilliant rider and a gentleman. Hope he’s doing well.

[@halseyknox]

Thanks for posting....love the 70-78 era

[@pdunc1976]

i still have a well worn and torn long sleeve nylon mesh,''world champion moto cross' shirt.my brother got it for me on my 16th birthday.it is suzuki yellow,w/black cuffs,neck line and printing.on the back it says suzuki usa. it is vintage '74.thanks roger,you were ''the man'' and i always followed you as a kid!

[@vintagemxer9165]

Will always be The Man.

[@bongodave13]

He was one of my heroes growing up. He could fly on that super light factory bike.

[@dennisschell5543]

And Heikki Mikola! 😎

[@surreallife777]

I just posted the same thing basically that you said. Those were the days. “In 1974 when I was a kid this guy was my hero when I first started riding motocross. Brilliant rider and a gentleman. 50s 60s and 70s were more progressive positive times. Good memories.Hope he’s doing well.”

[@buddywilson104]

One of the nicest MX men I ever met....great ambassador for the sport......also one of the greatest riders ever!...

[@racer774]

In his day, few men could compete with Roger DeCoster. On some tracks, we may have seen Gerrit Wolsink, Heikki Mikkola, Willie Bauer and Adolf Weil (early on) be able to keep up or beat Roger but as a whole, he was THE BEST for several years. Thank you for the upload.

[@dartbulosdartbulos5683]

when De coaster came to south America Peru ...Ivan Bulos beat him bad hehe Ivan was a monster of motocross

[@randyroberts4239]

@@dartbulosdartbulos5683 Yeah, I'd buy that for a dollar...

[@dartbulosdartbulos5683]

@@randyroberts4239 believe it or not...we don't care ,you should ask someone who knows about old times motocross

[@dh-flies]

He was my hero when I started racing at age 15 back in 1972. I finally got to meet and talk with him in Vegas in 2017. He's still my MX Hero.

[@surreallife777]

I just posted the same thing basically that you said. Those were the days. “In 1974 when I was a kid this guy was my hero when I first started riding motocross. Brilliant rider and a gentleman. Hope he’s doing

[@halseyknox]

Saw Wolsink #4.....Mr.Carlsbad...5 times!....these guys were still the kings and the G.P. wars were still king....I was 15 then

[@mobydick3895]

DeCoster almost made it look like he was sitting *in* the bike when he went around turns. The seating position on that Suzuki was perfect and he took advantage of it. He could turn better than anybody, and often got on an inside line of his competitors. That is the key to MX, to know the fastest line and then be able to hit it effortlessly.

[@volksdeutschewaffenss9670]

in corner he sat and just flicked the bike at high speed, the best the man

[@libertatusinperpetuum2046]

I spent the evening talking with this guy and Garret Wolsink in 1975 at the Honda Dealership in Niles Michigan the evening before the race at Red Bud in Buchanan Michigan. The next day was the race there. I met Marty Smith, Tommy Croft, Jim Pomeroy, Brad Lackey and many more. I felt very fortunate at the time that I could be in their company as I was an amateur on a 125 and they rode 500cc. The good old days.....and man they were special.

[@jimwac]

The Man!!

[@OnTheFritz602]

Legend!

[@stevefowler2112]

I grew up on mini bikes in the late 60's and then dirt bikes and then did some trials and then started 100cc motocross as a 15 year old in '71. Our big track was the Orlando Sports Stadium track where the AMA held their winter nationals. I saw Roger there in either the first year I started racing motocross or maybe the year before. He was like a god. So smooth but so damn fast. He was definitely the target that everyone was trying to emulate. I ended up earning an AMA Expert license in 125cc Motocross while in H.S. and was ranked as high a #5 in the state in 125cc Expert class and got a sniff from the Yoshimura "factory" team but they did not offer me a contract. At that point I had been accepted to Georgia Tech College of Engineering so my Dad and I decided it was time to hang the racing boots up. My biggest claim to fame is the one time I faced Jeff Ward (at the Orlando Sports Stadium track too), I beat him.

[@markdweyr1914]

I got his autograph at Unadilla!

[@lastcall170]

A bad ass way ahead of his time.

[@rideon1956]

Roger brought MX to America (So Ca) period and the rest is history.

[@paolopolo2207]

Un altra leggenda del motocross un mito

[@Ggordonhorseballs]

Cool footage of Decoster and Rahier racing at what appears to be MXDN.

[@aloisverlinden2798]

Mooiste stijl ooit bij een motocrosser

[@johncartelli]

my hero i bought a suzuki tm 125 in 74 to race...best i got was an 11th out of 30 at southwick track

[@kepler240]

Bikes and suspension may be different, but one thing remains the same.....speed.

[@AwesomeBeatles]

I said Hi to Roger today at Red Bud. We love you Roger.

[@CheekyMonkeyTees]

I saw him ride the TransAMA several times at Whitney and once in Plano.

[@chrisbatstone9742]

Reason I. Fell in love with motocross el hombre scrambling forever 4 strokes current ones are crap hahahahaha

[@gosolobox]

Back when men were men and handlebars were 4ft wide..

[@bidlymovies987]

Motocross races were held outdoors where they should be.

[@gosolobox]

@@bidlymovies987 yes, indoor is Supercross..

[@mikeyerke3920]

Two thumbs down? Because you were a racing legend...?

[@MrCwaigo]

I remember picking up one of his old "76 Rm 250 with aluminum tank, and magneusim everything on it, but the gear shift got jammed in poppin a hole out of the clutch cover, it was missing a spark plug wire and this and that, I jumped the kick start one kick and it fired right up, without the pipe, it sure was LOUD

[@superfly3990]

You know, and I don't want to make a whole big thing about it or anything, but I'm a retired Pro and current Industry Insider. I like to believe that I know everything that there is about Motocross and am somewhat of a Motocross Encyclopedia. Some people call it MX for short. Of course, Supercross, popular in America, is often called SX by the serious fan. Rogers DeCoster is from Europe somewhere and they sometimes call him "The Man." It's a little hard to figure if they called him that because he was very fast on the track or very fast with the Ladies. Rogers raced mostly in the European races which were called Grand Prix. Insiders like me call this GP racing. He mostly raced what was called the Open Class which was for the more powerful racing motorcycles. Insiders like myself typically call this type of MX Motorcycle a Dirt Bike. Just in case you are thinking, they don't really have a GP bike. It's still called a MX or Dirt Bike if raced in American MX or European GP's. I hope that this helps the Casual Fan understand about this Sport

[@rideon1956]

Good description

[@superfly3990]

@@rideon1956 Thanks. I have been encouraged recently to write a book about Motocross to help the Neophyte, or casual fan.

[@lawrencesmokingangele8785]

Viva montesa. !!! Roger

[@rickwaldren3633]

What a fast belgum

[@rossmonwithaneaux8085]

Rio Bravo...... Brad Lackey......

[@grahamchilds821]

Very fast suzuki,s that decoster rode were exiting to watch race the sound of two strokers were electrifying speed

[@stevenleslie8557]

Not to take too much away from Roger, but his bike was not the same one sold at the local Suzuki dealership.

[@frogsgottalent1106]

1:49 Gaston Raiher ?

[@theboofin]

Yeah, maybe. He was another perfect rider.

[@cycologist7069]

So is he speaking French or Flemish?

[@daved4215]

Chris Thomas As MXA said back in the day...he speaks Belch.

[@zsirrr]

Mr. 😎... who I remember as having a smoking hot blonde wife

[@davedisinger1245]

Yes she was! Graced the pages of MXA and Dirt Bike...

[@bongofury5924]

Roger DeCoster is David Bowie’s cousin……..