Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/103464
ยท Suzuki chose Milan to unveil it s new VX800 V-twin roadster, and stole the Italian companies' own show. Moto Guzz i's 1000 Daytona is the long-awaited productio n ve rsio n of D r. John W ittner's Pro Twins race r. Milan Motorcycle Show Forza talia! By Alan Cathcart Photos by John Brake MILAN, ITALY, NOV. 21-27 The 51st Annual Milan Motorcycle Show h ad a few surp rises in store - but n ot the ones wh ich observers of the Italian mo torcycle scene had been expecting, However if that sounds like there was ~o th ing new to be it d b t M "'I '89 h exci ~ a ou a~ 1 an ,t at certain ly wasn t the case - 14 only that th e novelties principally came from some extremely un expeered corne rs. It's been a long time since a Japanese manufacturer chose Milan for the lau nch of a major new mod~I, t~us succeeding in hogging the limelight usually fought over by the Italian companies, but tha t's ju st what Suzuki did this year with the the bike that was arguab ly th e star of the show, th e new VXSOO roadst er twin. It's been even longer since Moto Gu zzi succeeded in upstaging anyone, let alone their far higherprofile Ducati/Cagiva rivals, but with four new models on show o ne o f them the mu ch-awaited Da ytona 1000, a.k.a , Dr . John 's Replica - the Guzzi eagle's wings had stopped drooping and begun to flap again. And in a way most amazing of all, the company that even a year ago seemed to be dead , buried and fed to the vultures, Laverda, was back in business with solid commercial backing and a range of heavi ly, if hastily, revamped models, and promising more to co me. Miracles can happen - especially in Ital y. The Suzuki VX800 made its worldwide debut at the Mi lan Show (it 's not scheduled to appear in the U.S. unti l Suzuki 's mid-December dea ler show in Palm Springs, Ca lifornia), . and cou ld well be the sane, sensible, usable return to traditional motorcycle values that the market has been urging on the Japanese for some time - not a yuppybike like the Honda Hawk 647 GT, but a trad-style bike for the 1990s with a little flair. The Italians like to pigeonhole models more than most, so rather than refer to the XV as a "rnoto totale" like th e nominally dualpurpose street enduros th at have dominated their market for so long, th e VX800 is being referred to as a " rno to moto,' which isn 't so me kind of Japanese expletive, but an indicatio n that it in corporates the basic essence of motorcycling. Suzuki even headed their pr ess release on the bik e " A Modern Clas sic," though only tim e will tell if that claim is justified. Powered by a three-millimeter overbore version of the 750cc Intruder's 80 x 74.4mm, 45-degree, fourvalve per- cylinder, SOHC, watercoo led engine, and measuring S05cc in total, the VX800 has the crankpins set 75 degrees apart for reduced vibration. But rather than a custom/ cruiser-style chassis like that of the In tru der, the VX has a more sporting set of cycle parts, with shaft drive and a five-speed gearbox. Suzuki isn't making any horsepower claims yet for the bik e, but wit h a 10:I 'compression ratio and 36mm Mikuni carburetors, it should have passably sporting ra ther than merely adeq uate performance. T he price has yet to be established. Suzuki also launched revamped models of its DR trail bike range in Mi lan, including an air/oil-cooled DR650RS with SOHC four-valve cylinder head, Slingshot Mikuni 40mm carb, frame-mounted fairing, low front fender and luggage rack. Clearly aimed at the Honda Tran-. salp, Kawasaki KLR650 Tengai and Yamaha XT600, the bigger OR was joined by smaller, more dirt-oriented DR350 /250 models, all with neoParis-Dakar bodywork and electric start. . For Birnota's new chief designer, Pierluigi Marconi, Milan 'S9 was a crucial opportunity to stamp his imprimatur on the Rimini firm 's range, which he did in no uncertain fashion with two completely new models and a fu ll set of revamped color schemes for the returning models. Surprisingly, the Yamaha FZ750powered Tesi prototype wasn't on show - Bimota says it's do ne its job, proved that .Marconi's new mechan- , ical cen ter-hub steering design works, and from now on they 're co ncentra ti ng on the eig h t-valve Ducati and 500cc two-stroke V-twin versions, which ar e a lready taking shape. Instead , the limelight was grabb ed by the first proper two-seater Bimota ever made, the FZR600-powered Bellaria. A true " biposto" rather than a single-seater with a bum pad like the SB5/YB5 hyperbikes, the . Bellaria - named after a suburb of Rimini, Italy - has the trademark Bimota twin-spar alloy frame but more upright body styling and a more spacious riding position, with lower foot pegs, flatt er handlebars and a 55-inch wheelbase. Available either in metallic lavender or pearl white, it also breaks new ground for the little Ita lian firm in terms of color choice - but one thing hasn't changed: like all Bimotas, it goes like stink. Top speed in homologation tests: 153 mph. However, this pales into nothing in comparison wit h the other new Bimota model at the show, the odd lynamed Tuatara, Actually, the name is a bit of an in- joke. Bimota boss G uiseppe Morri discovered that the slowest anima l on earth is an Ant ipodean tortoise called the tuatara, so he decided to call what is likely the fastest production motorcycle in the world by that name! (Our Webste r's dictionary says the tuatara is a large, spiny quadopedal reptile of islands off the coast of New Zealand. An