The 1976 Hodaka Thunderdog 250ED was the last dirt bike this cult two-stroke brand ever built—a rare vintage motocross machine that collectors still walk right past. Born in a tiny Oregon wheat town, Hodaka spent the 1960’s out-smarting the Japanese giants and beating them on the track. Then, when times got bad, Hodaka bet everything on a single 250cc machine that was originally planned to be  a motocross model, but came down the assembly line as an enduro bike. This is the story of a popular motocross brand that died reaching too high—and the two men Marvin Foster (Hodaka’s marketing genius) and Jody Weisel, (who was loyal enough to step up when  when Hodaka needed help with the ill-fated Thunderdog). Marvin shipped him a brand-new 250 Thunderdog to SoCal and Jody fixed all the flaws and built them the Thunderdog they should have built, but when he shipped the prototype back to Athena, Oregon, it disappeared—never to be seen again.

MXA test rider Lance Moorewood at Indian Dunes on the 1976 Hodaka Thunderdog prototype.