WHEN GIANTS ROAMED THE EARTH & IRON MEN RODE THEM

MXA On Aug 6, 2022

By Terry Good and Tom White

When Edison Dye and Torsten Hallman first introduced motocross to the U.S. in 1966, one of the most interesting and important eras in motocross history had already come and gone. Since the sport was so young in the United States, very few teenage Americans ever heard of the Monark/Lito/Husqvarna four-stroke era. Considered the golden era of motocross, it only lasted from 1957 to 1965.

After having suffered through two World Wars, economic depression and tyranny, Europe was rebuilding at an exponential rate through the 1950s and 1960s. Motocross was growing in popularity all across Western Europe and was quickly becoming one of the premier sports of the working class. To capitalize on this growth, a World Motocross Championship was established in 1957, and crowds as big as 100,000 spectators came to watch the Iron Men of Motocross muscle their giant 500cc four-strokes. Motocross was a big deal.

To win the World Championship was a major accomplishment, and motorcycle manufacturers like Belgium’s FN and Sarolea; Britain’s Norton, BSA, Rickman, AJS and Matchless; and Sweden’s Monark, Lito and Husqvarna designed and built very expensive handmade works machines in their quest for the championship.

The riders of this era were household names among the fans. To ride these giant Grand Prix bikes (often exceeding 300 pounds) at competitive speeds, you had to be almost superhuman. Les Archer, Jeff Smith, Brian Stonebridge, Auguste Mingels, John Draper, Rolf Tibblin, Gunnar Johansson, Rene Baeton, John Avery, Victor Leloup, Bill Nilsson and Sten Lundin were just such human beings.

THE BIKES THEY RACED WERE NEVER INTENDED TO BE SOLD TO THE PUBLIC. THEY WERE THE FIRST
TRUE WORKS BIKES, AND ONLYA HANDFUL WERE EVER BUILT

The bikes these men raced were never intended to be sold to the public. They were the first true “works bikes,” and only a handful were ever built. The surviving bikes from this 1957 to 1965 era are among the rarest and most expensive motocross bikes on the planet. Highly coveted by collectors and in extremely short supply, these machines can easily fetch $100,000 on the open market. Amazingly, there is even a cottage-industry that builds copies of the originals (and the replicas can sell for astronomical amounts — upwards of $50,000 — for a fake).

MXA wants to introduce modern American motocross racers to the three most important motocross bikes ever made. These handmade, one-off works bikes ushered in the modern motocross era. They were the harbinger of factory teams, professional riders, corporate competition and works machinery. These booming, 500cc, single-cylinder, four-stroke giants roamed the earth for less than 10 years, and they never numbered more than 50, but they left an enduring legacy. Travel back 50 years to meet the Monark 500, the Lito 500 and the Husqvarna 500.

1960 MONARK 500 (1957-1960)

The Albin-powered Monark has the most varied history of any motocross bike ever made. It was an incredible machine and spawned its own competition. Monark was the first Swedish manufacturer to get involved in Grand Prix motocross, starting in the late 1950s. They built a total of five GP Monark works bikes from 1957 to 1960. As each of these bikes was used and abused, the parts from the original bikes were taken and used on the newer bikes. Each bike was individually designed by Monark; no two bikes were the same. Years after the factory shut down in 1960, a couple bikes were built from leftover parts. No bikes were ever sold to the public, and all that survived are accounted for today. There will never be a barn find of a Monark 500.

This is a very interesting history of early Moto. There is much more info and some great pictures at the MXA website, go there for more;

https://motocrossactionmag.com/when-giants-roamed-the-earth-iron-men-rode-them/