Cycle News

Yamaha int roduced it s radical Morpho at the recent Tok yo Mot or Show. Note pi vot po int on u pper frame spar - t he ent ire upper f ron t sec t io n of t he bike adjust s u p and down. Dan Smith wins over 1200 in Vegas. orphomania! Yamaha unveiled a design exercise at the recen t Tokyo Motor Show which could co nceivably change the co urse of motorcycle design. Na m ed Morp ho after a large butterfl y found i n Ce ntra l America whose blu ish co lor ch a nges subtly wi th variations in ligh t, th e new ma chi ne is n ot on ly co lo red b lu e. but a lso fully adj us tab le 10 custo m -fir various-sized o perators , or to better su it d ifferin g fu nc tions. Manu fact urers hav e o ffered adjusta bil ity in the past (La verda 's eccentric foo rpegs come to mi nd), but th e pas t few yea rs hav e seen a swing towards fix ed sea t in g positions. Sport bi kes a re th e b i ~~es t cu lp rits. with ergonom ics th at make riding the m in a ny b u t their singular p urpose ( ~o i n g fast ) a lit eral pa in in the b utt. Recen tl y, b ike b u ilders have begu n 10 real ize th e errors of their wavs . In 1990 Suzu ki. for example, will rever t to easi ly replaceab le tubu lar steel hand lebar s on the GSSOOE after its '89 bout with non-adj usta ble cast ba rs. The Morp ho tak es adjustabi li ty 10 a new p la tea u, Its han d leba rs ar e a dj usta b le for h eigh t, wid th and a ng le; sea t for he igh t as well a s from front to rea r; a nd lootpegs fro m fro nt to re ar. And n o t just i n sma l l in crem en ts. ei th er. Bu t the Morpho's ra n ge of adju stment . isn ' t th e o n ly thi n g rad ical a bo u t it. In its sh ow for m , t he Mo rpho fea tu red a n unexception al liq u id -coo led . tran sverse. in- lin e, DO H C fo u r- cy Ii u d e r e n g i n e o f u nd isclosed di splacement, but th e mann er in wh ich burn t gases ar e d isp ens ed is un ique. Ex ha ust exi ts the cylinders th ro ug h fo ur separa te header p ip es, which then con nec t wit h a cast aluminum m uffl er tha t a lso serves as the lower spar of th e a luminum backbo ne frame, and 10 whi ch th e fron t sin gle-sided swin garrn bolts. Ya ma ha clai ms this fro n t suspe nsio n system provides redu ced frict io n, in creased rigidity a nd a n a n t i-d ive e ffect duri ng brak ing. Yam ah a 's mo to cross-st yl e Mono cro ss rea r suspen sion with risin g rat e li n kage handles th e rea r. Center-hub steering is a key fea ture on th e Morp h o . since it requires no sree ri n g h ead . thus fr eein g th e hand lebars from their us ual close proximity 10 th e tri pl e clamps. Bo th wheels ca n be easily rem o ved tha nks to the si ngle- sided fron t swi nga rrn , a nd rea r q u ick- change mecha nism wh ich a llows the bra ke a nd sprockett both in cide nta lly fitted to the left side ) to rem ain a ttach ed to the bike. Other in novations incl ud e d ua l projector head lig ht s mo un ted in the ra d ia tor shrouds rat her tha n in the b ikini fai ring: easy-to-read electro n ic a na log m eters a nd easily-o pera ble switch gea r: a nd a slid ing g ra b bar to facili tat e lu gga ge carryi ng. Yamaha says th at " personalism " is th e wo rd wh ich best describes th e Morp ho . and s tre sses i rs u serfrien dliness. • T welve hundred of the best desert riders left Barstow on their way to Vegas. After a 148 mile journey through the toughest terrain, only one rider reached Las Vegas first. There is now no doubt. The undisputed King of the Desert? Dan Smith. His Power of Choice? KTM. Barstow to Vegas, perhaps the ultimate desert challenge, was in the bag early. Four-time Hare & Hound National Champion Dan Smith grabbed the lead 40 miles into the grueling race and held on until the checkered flag. . What made it seem so easy? Dan's unmatched riding skill, for one. But Dan gives the credit to'his KTM 540 d/xc. We don't call it "the Beastmaster" for nothing. This-same 1990 540 d/xc is available to you now, at your nearest KTM dealer. It's waiting impatiently for you there, along with the complete line of 1990 desert, enduro, and motocross sport motorcycles. KTM America. Inc. East 1906 Broadway, lorain. OhIO440511 6) 24&-1~ 21 West 435-a" W Bra'ley EI , Cajon. California 92020 (619 1440-3995 ·Modifiedto meetapp.cable Federal off-road "'lntcl noise and sparIt arrestQ( requirements e . Prot~ ~ nght to ride: AIw3Vs Mar protective riding gear operate a propertymut1led m~chi ne. andavoid . 5enSltJve wildemess areas with thfI frledom afford by on·road riding comes a responslbility to proted the . ed er'Nironment Keep off-mad motort:ycting a POsitive and sate rec:reatiooal pursuit.

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