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/125591
o "'" ~ .. e.. ~ ~ "",' ... ~ S § ... ~ t.J :c: t.J -J §:: U (except, of cour se, the 74). The Rapldo comes in either. s treet or trall model at about $400. The trail model has a sharplooking ups wept pipe which could be a few inches longer. Stock trail model Is suitable for either street or dirt and has and additi onal sprocket for lower gear ing. With a weight of about 180 Ibs., the Rapldo Is easy to cart around, yet looks and feels li ke a bigger bike than Its weight and displacement indica te. It shares the dependabili ty of the line. ThIs Is r eally hal! the fun, knowing you' ll make the trip without hassles. The HarIeys go and go and go. Like most twocycle mac hines It Is always advisable to take a spare plug (and wrench) along for the r ide. It also uses the gas olin e and 011 mixture in the gas tank (p lan ahead for 011, or expect to buy a can and waste hal! of It, many sm all town gas stations no longer se ll bulk 011.) 1 have found that reduc ing the 011 to two thirds of the r ecom mended amount Increases plug life and perfor mance . There is no tool kit and there should be one. While the Harleys (Italian and American) are unus ually reliable, some tools are always handy to have along. A pur se gets awfully heavy with tools added. The lights are magneto- oper ated and at slower speeds prov de a little less llluminaUon than might be wanted for highway travel . Ther e are both high and low beams and an Ignition lock. The Rapido comes In metallic blue, orange or black. It looks like and Is a groo vy li ttle fun motor cycle. Time was when most women who loved motor cycles had to be content with riding on the back of a big one. Not any more. While few women will deny that packin g Is a superior for m of recr eation, It Is also nice to ride your own bike som etimes. With the marvelous variety of motorc ycles now available (and more being added all the time) there Is one for al mos t every taste. In this and futu r e tests we will take a look at some of the machines currently available ••Jrom a woman' s viewpoint. We won't mention the hottest s crambler , or the fas test TT bike, or even the wayout choppers. We'll just look at the ones that might re place the sec ond car, that might tur n a chore into fun, that might make the kids anxious to leave for s chool, via motorcycle. We' ll rid e the ones that a woman might want for her own personal machine. The Harley-Davidson Rapido The Rapldo Is one of the newadditi ons to the famous old Harley line and a sm art looking li ttle bike It is . Its 125 over - s quar e engine deli vers plenty of power for a quick take-off or to pack two adults up the kind of grades that Southern Californi a r oads have. The Rapido s tarts easily with a right s ide kick starter , which unfortunately is placed a llttle close behind the front peg. However, practice elim inates the bruised shin. Four forward speeds and a left foot brake give It the operational features of the lImeys or the bllt Barleys ABOVE: Tester Dahms sels out for a weekend with one of her children on the Rapldo. RIGHT: Chaufferlng the kids Is more fun than any station wagon except you can only take one at a time. BELOW: The 1969 H·D Rapldo 125 I s li ghtwei ght, powerfUl, versat ile. .. ever we stopped and they asked the same questions: "How fast wUl It go?" Its 3-speed gearbox will take It up to about 30 or 35 mph depending on the weight of the r ider. " Does It climb hills good?" Yes, if you get a run at them. The power (about 3 horses) comes on at midrange in the rpm seale, and since It has no hand clutch you have to buzz It pretty high before It will pull anything much steeper than a driveway. With a careful toe, however, you can operate the shift lever as a ps eudo clutch, thus overriding the automatic engagement. This Is a good way to pop wheelles, but It Isn't as good as a real clutch. Maybe some accessory maker should market a hand cl utchoverrlde conversion kit. In fact, for $250, Honda should provide It. "What does It weigh?" Exactly 107 lbs, dry . Light enough to lift Into your car trunk without undue risk of ru pture. Other detai ls : It's 49cc, Overhead cam , s ingle cyllnder, wet sump. The tank holds a li We over a gallo n, and you ... Honda Mini-Trail Test Once upon a time, not very long ago " dir t" was a four-letter word around Honda headquarters. Now It has ten letters and two hyphens, which gives it some respectablllty as far as the Honda brass Is concern ed. "Off- the- r oad" is what Honda now calls dirt r iding. To herald the new era of Honda's realization of what the rest of tis knew was happening all along, they've p ~ oduc ed their first new model for strictly dirt (oops! «blush)) pardon us) oU-the-road use. True, It's only a minibike, but what a minibike It Is! Wi th a price tag of $250 you might expect the new Honda Minl- Tr al1,as It Is called, to be something better than a toy. Some of their lightweight motorc ycles cost less money. And It is a cut above mos t of Its market competition in quality and des ign. But It Is a trifle overpriced, a fact which did not pr event the first shipment from being s old out Immedi ately. We got possession of one of the next batch and used it a great deal dur ing the two weeks It was ours. It attracted envious crowds of children and adults when- should get 6 or 7 hours running per tankful. It starts easy with a foot crank, the pegs and handlebars fold up for compactness. Both wheels have hand operated brakes, and the rotary shlft pattern Is up , up, up for neutral, down, down, down for the rest. The Ignltlon s witch located under the tank Is an oU- on toggle , plainly marked. The tank cap seals completely and you simply turn a tap to draln the carburetor for storage or transportation. It doesn't leak gas. The seat Is adj ustable for long or short-legged r iders and there are provisions for pas s enger footpegs . Fr ont suspension Is telescopic, but a little too soft, and too bouncy. It should have 011 dampin g ($250, remember?). Although the rear wheel Is rigid, the 3.50 x 8" tires give a very soft ride. Handling Is superb, good as any lightweight motor cycle, except the aforementioned bounciness of the forks. "'ben the fr ont wheel showed a tendenc y to hury Its elf III rabbit-holes, we discovered that a slight upward tug of the bars would keep It alrborne over any obstacle and the machine can be thus ridden over extremely r ugged surfaces with ease. It' s a quiet little machine, purring softly thr ough Its Krlzman spark arrester. The alr cleaner Is a bit clumsy, but what does Honda know about dirt? Altogether, the Honda Mlni- Trall 15 the Cadillac of minibikes, with a price tag to match. We predict It will launch a new revolution In two-wheel popularIty, br inging with It the same riches and headaches that the recent Honda lightweight boom br ought. For the M1n1-Tra1l can be sol d without registration and ridden without any demonstrated competence, just lIkealawnmower. Wehope that everyone will buy one and pray that they will ride It with care. It Is not just a toy, after all. It Is a dirt bike, and a pretty darn good one at that.