Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

!TWO TESTS IN ONE Q) T. Hit 5 :2: lo:I d G 15ati~s Te Gel CYCLE NElS ROAD & TRACK TEST "You, too, can take up fast riding for under $1000, seems to be AIIerican Kawasaki!s message in bringing their 250cc super-rooter to 08[ U.S. shores. At a list price of 1875 (appronmately) for the motorllicycle and this includes a season-full of engine parts, you still have $125 to spend on such other rast-dirt-riding necessities &8 leathers, gloves, boots, body-belt and a good helmet. Thus for only one grand you can look for all the world like Steve McQueen, even if you are a little short on talent. Easy Starter KAWASAKI &5055 ROAD & TRACK TEST - A SUPER STORMER FOR THE STREET By Bob Ebeling When I fired up the power demon 650SS atbolle for some local touring, the neighbors to the left, right and rear cast unpleasant glances in mY direction and one If dirt talent isn't your strongest asset, relax ••• the 250 .F21M Kawasaki will just about do it all for you. starting with starting, the engine is purely a one-or two-kick runner, thanks to a handlebar choke lever that is clearly labeled "START". You push this lever in the direction indicated by a red arrow, step on the appropriate pedal on the right-hand side of the machine and••• Glory Be for a hot two-stroke... he starts! The 238cc short-stroke single engine emits a satisfying rapp through the racing pipe. Every motorcycle design has some feature that sets it apart from its competition. In the F21M's case it happens to be a rotary valve induction tract. Two-stroke wizards generally agree that rotary valves are superior to conventional pistonported engines because the waferlike valve disc can be trimmed away and the more explosive mixture you can compress in the combustion chamber, the bigger bang you get al)d the faster you go. Fastest Yet Slender, Too One of the big bugaboos of iargedisplacement rotary valve engines that Kawasaki engineers have licked is the tendency' for the carburetor, intake, air filter, etc. to jut out of the crankcase making for a wide, wide unit. The F'21M solves this by using a short induction tract and moving the carburetor's breathing nostril at the top rear of the crankcase, out of the way of air pollution and easy to get at for cleaning. In just a minute we'll let you take it for a ride, but let's not neglect the civilized fitments that Kawasaki's,Amerfcan management have insisted on -baving•.Folding foot pegs and a simple, sturdy shift-pedal are nice. The engine comes out of the frame with a simple twist of a few wrenches and what a lovely frame it is! We have a saying around Cycle News, "If it looks right. and acts right, it probably is right.· The F21 M looks bitchin and the handling is no doubt aided by the 7~· travel in the Ceriani-pattern forks, the geometrically perfect swi nging 'arm and the neat little steering dampener that takes the fright out of long, fast, downhill descent. We liked the brakes (not too strong, not too weak, just right) and the control positions. Better trade in that seat on something a little deeper, however, unless you like to stand up all the way. The rear brake is cable operated, not a very great objection, since it does the job well enough. And the peanut-size tank holds just enough gas-oil mixture to carry you through only a couple of hare scrambles laps, the way this fire-breaker drinks fuel. Ready To Go? Lets take a fairly hot lap on the F21M scrambler. The starting drill is as easy as they said it would be. Take away the little wire stand conveniently provided and lift the gearshift up one notch. The four speeds are stacked right on top of each other, with no neutrals between gears. When you reach top gear the pedal stays put instead of starting over again in 1st gear as early rotary shifts used to do. This is a help if you are forgetful. Takeoff is powerful, with none of that buzzing that two-strokes often need to get up on the pipe. You can keep shifting up until you run out of hair, but we found 2nd and 3 rd gear plenty for the tight course we are using. Handling .is remi niscent of tbe Husqvarna- that same precise, forgiving control that doesn't let you down when the going gets tough. We tion is superb! Red-line 8500, pool This machine was still coming on strong at nine grand. I never made fourth gear until I reached a freeway and third would take us to be tter than 80 mi"les per. The cams give a pretty wide power band so I actually spent more time in third than any other gear. At rpm ranges of 4 to 5 thousand and above 7, there is a lot of vibration. Due to this I nearly lost the taillight bracket and clutch lever bolt, and the choke lever would occasionally vibrate closed. This is not uncommon to other machines of forty and even less cubic inches. I can put up with it for the power available in this machine. Theugh the drags was my assignment and faithful to command, the 650 and I entered the gate at Irwindale Raceway. Here I was in for a real surprise. Seven runs were made down the quarter-mile, five with tire burning rushes off the line and two second gear starts. Yes, the 650SS pulled second like a first gear and that furthered my faith in the 41 ft. lb. torque rating Kawasaki advertises. It. never ran slower than 14.30 seconds and the quickest was 14.16 seconds. Miles per hour is just great! Ninety, 91 and 92 with the low gear and starting in second gave trap speeds of 95 and 96. Th.250cc F21111. all Icramblw_ Not adapt.d lrom a It...t .cooar. That makes the K650SS the strongest 650 I have taken down the quarter-mile in stock trim, quite beautiful trim at that. One thing which provided ease in the acceleration test was the neat shifting pattern. All the way up is neutral and the rest are down. Not 0 ne shift missed and a full clutch was not demanded at the moment of decision. I did find, as in most gearboxes, a false neutral between low and second. All in all, the 650SS is a big improvement over the early model single carburetor W-l. Maybe it's the extra port and carburetion addi- had trouble with the front wheel washing out until we learned to sit farther forward in the turns. The seat and tank let you crawl all over the back of the beast until you find just the right place for your bulk. .Fast turns are best taken with the quick throttle far enough open to keep power on the pipe, which sounds like about 6,000 rpm. Off the pipe the engine still pulls strongly, but when the exhaust note kicks up an octave sudd~nly, that's when the fun really begins! Leaned into a left-hander, the rear wheel slidesout a little and you twitch the bars left which pitches you up vertical and spirits you away at the front of a tall rooster-tail of dust. The longer you ride the Kawasaki scrambler the less tired you get. We start off wary of a new, bristling dirt bomb, so we stay extra ale rt in case its bad points turn up unexpectedly. On this bike we found none and so as the hours went by awheel, we relaxed more and we nt faster. Wheelies, Too Getting the front wheel uP is a simple matter of twisting the right horn and lifting a little. The faster you go. the more the front wants to get airborne. Stopping was as easy as starting and here we appreciated the mild rear brake. Descending a steep, hairy, powder slope it was easy to slow down without locking the rear (and thereby possibly killing the engine). The bike could use a compression release, but it isn't essential. Summing up, we think that Kawasaki bas at iast come up with a Japanese motorcycle that is made for western Ame rican off-road competition. We suspect that it will do its best job in the desert with a few modifications (bigger tank and better seat). But on a TT-scrambles course it could be a serions threat to the supremacy of Spanish and English two-strokes. The Kawasaki 250 ,F21M leave's little to be desired, even by this hard-to-please market. And at the retail price everyone who desirElwhat it has to offer can buY it. 650cc SS 11IO.1 Impre"ed th. a.t•• with lasast stock \4 mil. on record. woman went into tears since her baby had been sleeping. 'The big Kawasaki's muroers sound like the best megaphones ever. 'I like them but the world is against me. Lots of Ponies There is probably every bit of the advertised 53 horsepower availa ble at the throttle. The 450 lb. weight seems totally non-existent when you're on the move. Accelera- tion or the different cam grind,larger and improved valves or - who cares what caused the difference; the important thing is that its got a great big bundle of power and will do a great job on the highway or drag striP. NOTE - Our road &< uad test bikes are guaranteed to be standard, showroom models. It yoon doe8ll't perform like ours does, please take it . . witb your dealer, Also see your dealer prices, etc. lor speclDcat".s,

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