Marty Smith Motocross Clinic Vol. 1

Ape hangers ?

great man

i cant believe hes gone why its so sad im so sorry to and for anybody who was close to him i wish i could fix the pain

Sad day when he died...He was my idol back in the mid 70's..heck he still is and I am 59.

RIP brother

Good stuff

He was the fastest and smoothest rider in his day

Great video. So sad we lost Marty.

I remember so well as a kid in the 1970s, buying the Motocross Action Magazine with DeCoster on the cover leaning so hard on a turn his handlebar was scraping the dirt. It was an end of the year issue with articles on the top three finishers of each category. I recall on the 125 class Gaston Rahier in first with a Suzuki and Marty Smith in third with a Honda. I wish Honda would have allowed Marty to concentrate fully in just one series that year, maybe the world championship, and I am certain he would have fought neck and neck with Rahier for the title. Honda shot itself in the foot having MS race the world championship and AMA as well. Regardless, Marty did unbelievably well in both, something that was never attempted again.

Thanks for sharing this wonderful story.

Thank You! Very much for posting this. Marty Smith has always been my hero!🇺🇸👍🏼

Marty's starts were awesome. That's how he often got in front and never looked back. RIP Marty and Nancy. Super nice guy gone too soon.

Thanks for the upload! I think Marty had a mind for business because I learned of him from a video he did at Barona Oaks when it was focused on kids in the 80's in San Diego(he was a great teacher). It was a hand-me down VHS tape from a friend that I watched on repeat and then watched again. I was lucky enough to be one of his students and ride with him at Palm Ave. My heart and prayers goes out to his family and friends!

Honda's most effective marketing personality in the 1970's had to be Marty Smith.

R.I.P Mr and Mrs Marty Smith. A legend in the MX world and my first mx hero.
You will never be forgotten.

You always will be missed Marthy

Good video except absolutely riddled with ads. It was hard to follow with constant ad interruptions. Marty Smith was awesome, definitely one of the greats.

😩😩😩😭😭❤️❤️❤️💔

SUEDAVIESLAIRD ~

To bad there's no good video footage of him racing back in the 70s ,lots of hanna though

He’s my friends grandpa

Watched him Smoke everyone at Carlsbad on numerous occasions Back in the Day He made it look easy. RIP Marty

I used to read MX Action growing up.
Plenty of Marty photos.
His riding style captured in those photos was like art.
Must give credit to the photographer, who had great taste.

What a good man he was

Don't you think the little cartoon guy at the beginning should be wearing some pants?
What is with this "freak progress"? Don't stain Marty Smith, freak.

Right at the beginning, narration is wrong. Marty's pro career did not span 3 decades. Is the whole thing trash?

You wanna corner better? Lower your bike about 2", (as much seat and as little suspension as you can.). They are too tall today, ignoring physics.

Sitting on your tail bone, (curving your back), while gassing it out of a corner also helps protect your back from disk damage, as the curved spine can take the bumps better, and not squish a disk that you can do more easily if your back is straight.

Background music is too load.

One of things i learn in 75 an 76 seeing martys pics in MXA was in corner was his upper body position an that little arc of his back was so distinct..i became one of the best to turn a motorcycle an jeff ward has that same upper bidy posture an hes said marty was his model of how he wanted to ride...id say jeff did ok..RIP to marty..i just got the news blessing to the family...thanks for being a good example we could all learn from...

If ur bike wouldnt pull second gear scrap it give it too me an ill scrap it for free...i use second gear on all three bikes...now u tell me..jk

One of the most critical things i learned from just photos of marty in75 mxa...was how i need to me up on the ftont ofcthe bike leg out i would beat people thru turns because i was able to steer in so much better then they did because the didnt get the weight on the ftont end an i used his leg position to really keep weight on the outside peg which made the bike stick even if there was no berm using my outside knee an putting all my weight on the outside foot peg the bike would just stick....

I also figured out not using the clutch when downshifting into a corner back in the 2-stroke days. I have not ridden the 4-stroeks, but it is probably more important on the 2-stroke, with the more narrow power curve. If you combine that with Kent Howerton's "Clutching it", where you want to come out of the corner a gear higher than not using much clutch, (I don't think 4-stoke riders use/abuse the clutch this much), you can get used to gauging the engine rpm you are at when entering the corner as you down shift, so you try to be in the best gear when pinning it and controlling the slip/power with the clutch as you exit.
I would have loved to see Marty do a vid of the different techniques for the 2 motors. I think 2-strokes took more skill to go fast on, and that is what I enjoy the most about riding, gaining skill.

Thank you for sharing this and the story of how Marty Inspired your life!n

One of the nicest guys in the sport.. RIP..

Marty Smith. Forever LEGEND!

no way this dude is 60 something in this video

Godspeed Marty and Nancy.

Watch Jett Lawrence today for cornering. In many rutted/bermed corners, he is standing up past the apex/pivot, and sitting down for the exit.

I still have the 1976 red , white and blue Hondaline jersey Marty Smith is wearing . I wanted a Honda Elsinore 125 so bad . But at at the time I hadn't saved enough money to buy one . I had a raggedy old Yamaha MX 250 that I kept in one piece until I bought a brand new 78 RM 250 . It was a great bike . I bought ALL my bikes and gear and Dad came to one race . Who cares...I had some great friends and we taught each other to hunt , race , water ski , fix our cars and bikes and so on . Life was good . PK

Man, I'm studying this, and I don't even ride. Marty was a legend. Is a legend.

thank you for posting. we miss you Marty!

I dont think i ever heard him bad talk someone or say how good he was, nice humble person, and then you have Hannah polar opposites

I don't agree with the high handlebar set up today, or the "level levers" the pros and others use today. They advocate low elbows, do not fit you had angle ergonomically, and just don't have as good of a feel when going into corners, like some "trail" behind the steer stem is easier to feel. I guess rider position has moved forward a bit for modern standards, (which is why they use more rear end sag IMO), but I set my modern bike up old school, (after trying the ape hangers for 2 summers. not much riding though), and since the bike geometry is the same pretty much, (sans the stupid tall seat on the YZ 2-strokes, which I also had to fix.), you can set your bike up either way.
So give old school a try (grip ends pointing down a bit, and levers pointing down like 10 degrees, or what ever gives you a straight line from levers, through straight wrists, to your elevated elbows. To avoid the throttle elbow from dropping to your side when you get on the gas, after braking and just before you get on the gas, we used to "re-grip" the throttle, like getting a better grip on a door knob.
Most of that was taught through Gary Bailey, when USA produced the best riders in the world for 13 and more years.

If only I could take this info back to my 12-year-old XR-75 riding self when Marty was my idol!