Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

JAWA 9lI Price 5315. Weight: 193 lbs. (76 front, 117 rear). Single cylinder rotary valve 2stroke. 5-speed gearboL Bums gas/oil mixture. Red finish. Awesome power, flawless finish and solid construction are the chief endearing features of the C~"choslovakian entry in the U.S. trailbike field. Easily the fastest, as well as the smallest of the trailbikes tested, the little mill drives the 70 mph speedometel cl"ar off the dial in 4th gear, and threatens to break the needle in 5th. This with a overlay rear sprocket! . Lest you think .the Jawa is all top end rpm's, we hasten to acknowledge that the power is strong all through the range. With some few alterations, or in a different frame, we have no doubt that this 90 would be the terror of the competition trailbike class. Unfortunately, as delivered, the Jawa is handicapped by low ground clearance and too-far-forward footpegs that place most of the rider's weight right on top of the front wheel. Because of this forward bias, the bike of ten buries itself against dirt mounds that other trailbikes can leap with ease. None of us liked the unusual forks, perhaps blaming them unjustly for the bike'S cross-country shortcomings. We are sure that the forks will never break, but one might wish that they would, to justify replacing them with Cerianis or some other conventional design. Aside from the peg position and the ground clearance problem, we only found fault with the pipe location. It definitely must be rerouted to avoid leg burns. The bike we tested had no battery, although there was provision for one in the left frame panel. It started and ran impeccably once we learned to flood it mercilessly while starting. The air cleaner seems very effective and the tool tray under the hinged seat is handy for carrying fishing gear, extra cartridges, etc. We'd love to own the Jawa 90, but we'd have to maKe a few changes on it to be really satisfied. SACHS 125 ENDURO . Price $588. Weight: 229 lbs. (113 front, 116 rear). Single cylinder, pismn ported 2-stroke, 5-speed gearbox. Burns oil/gas mixture. MiLroon finish. The German-made Sachs motorcycle would be an ideal machine for a beginner or a very proficient rider. For the Sachs is a very good handling machine which forgives mistakes better than most, yet it can be pushed to intensive speeds over terrain that would destroy many other machines. It is easy to start, runs quietly with the stock muffler, yet powers over anything it can get a bite on with its 18" Continental rear knobby. The front hoop wears a2l" knobby tire and helps account for the Sachs' ability to leap tall boulders with a single bound. Plenty of ground clearance, a good air filter and nearly unbreakable bit parts place it at home off the road. The sachs 125 is also very well behaved road machine, although pavement use is guaranteed to wear out the tires rapidly. It comes with good lights and even carries a passenger quite adequately on the cowtrails. At one point in the try-out we were leading the pack flat out in third gear over some sand hills when an unseen road culvert suddenly appeared in the trail. Thinking all was lost, we shut off in midair and prepared to craSh, wondering what Evel Knievel would do in a situation like this. Fortunately, we were riding the Sachs, because it cleared the la-foot wide, 5-foot deep canyon. The shocks absorbed the blow with travel to spare and we landed under control. On the minus side, upward gearchanges were not always positive unless the shift lever were held in place until the clutch was released. The starter crank hangs out too far on the left and the muffler on the right, forcing the rider into a bowlegged posture, especially when standing on the pegs over rough terrain. On our test machine the front wheel was out of true, which caused a slight oscillation of the handlebars at all speeds. BULTACO SHERPA S125 PRICE: $680. Weight: 209 lbs. (100 Front... 109 Rear). Single cylinder, piston ported 2-stroke. Bums oil/gas mixture. Spain makes motorcycles better suited to U.S. riding than any other country (except America, see H-D Baja 100 report in this issue). Spain's leader, always, is Sr. Bulto, who parted company with the Montesa factory early this decade to make motorcycles ·the way he knew best. Latest brainchild of Sr. Bulto (with midwifery performed by American Bultaco distributors) is the l25cc Sherpa S. Impressive, to say the least, it is just a step out of the trallbike category into the realm of the lightweights. It shares Its frame, lower end and cycle parts with the famous Sherpa 175 and 200. Only the barrel and piston have been changed to protect the Innocent. As a 125 It is plenty strong, with a claimed 21.1 horsepower. For all Its urge, the Sherpa S Is remarkably tractable. It starts first kick every time, runs clean at any rpm and never calls for more than routine maintenance. We've had ours for three months now, a dozen races and gallons of traIling later, the only expense we incurred ts a bashed front fender. And that was certainly not Sr. Bulto's fault! Stock handling Is superb in TT's and flattrack, but we have added a 21" front wheel for motocross. ZUNDAPP KSI00 SCRAMBLER Weight 196 lbs. (Approx.) Price': $390 (Approx.) Lots of torque and many nice "little" touches abound on the lOOcc red Zunclapp one of our staffers recently bought for his wife. Two inches of stroke and a two inch bore let the novice rider point this tiny Teuton almost anywhere. It can be Idled up grades that would require a good running start for other machines in the same class. Easy could be a word to describe almost everything about the ZundapP. An exception is gear shifting. The clutch is smooth and the transmission works well, but shift lever travel is twice what it should be. Very important to a female owner is appearance and the Zundapp is one of the cutest, reddest motorcycles around. It starts easily and will putt along at learner speeds without fouling plugs. It handles well and instills confidence in the rider. The brakes are perfect; not too touchy in the dirt and strong on the street. Some of the extra touches that abound on the McCormack Internatlonal...dlstrlbuted bike would do credit to a much more expensive machine. It has a fine tool kit, an air pump, a sediment col- lector built into the gas tap, It's waterproofed to start easily after it has been washed, and overall quality seems high. It sports a twin sprocket and the tool kit contained an extra length of chain and several master links to make the change to trail gearing easy. Chain adjustment is a snap, a two minute job at most. The chrome and red gas tank holds three and a half gallons of fuel mix. This gives a theoretical range of 300 miles using the 87 m.p.g. figure in theowner's handbook. This quiet runner had one other feature we found annoying. The seat Is narrow and makes you feel like you are perching on a padded log, a nice long one, but much too narrow. The Zundapp is a quiet, strong, attractive machine, ideal for a beginning rider. It Is more at home on the pavement than the dirt, but that doesn't detract from Its desirability. : .

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