Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

! Testing The National Championship Kawasaki MX .... Ol ~ Ol' e: ..., '" ~ w Z w -' u > u "l. Lackey: "How 'bad' is the 2501" KarST> For whether that's good or bad, read th ' Brad powers the 450 out of a high·bermed corner, demonstrating the precise cornering technique demanded by the prototype. Pierre Karsmakers was providing Kawasaki with his impressions of the 250 ridden by Peter Lamppu in the SuppOrt class. He rode for Team Husqvarna until a few weeks ago. by Jonn Huetter orne time in the spring of 1973 two hundred lucky (or, more likely, successful) Kawasaki dealers are going to nave a replica of the motorcycle thal Brad Lackey and Pe ler Lamppu rode in the fall TransAl'vlA series. They are going to become ins tan l focal pain ts for all the dirt bike freaks within a hundred mile radius of their snap because they will have a copy of the machine that has won the 500 class Motocross Championsnip of the United States. I'ernaps, they will also have a 250cc bike like Peter Lamppu senl charging around motocross circuits allover the U.S. this fall. Every one of those selected Kawasaki dealers will nave both a joy and a problem on his hands because he will have one of the firsl, and only, 200 replicas thal will be in the U.S. in 1973, Imagine the competition to be the snap-sponsored racer that rides it. Imagine how the dealer will long lo take orders for dozer ~f definitely wanls to wash OUl on lurns. Imagine the parts problem o. Pierre Karsmakers also nOled this tendency, so il all be his racer going. Imagine tne • sales of this bike.. journalist·rider inepti u hold Actually thal nexl lO las1."1hem may the fronl end in igh end to not be too much of a pro\i1em at all. plow tnrough the lurn unle" }lJU get in The reliability of the Kawasaki 450 and out of the lurn very, very qui k1y; motocrosser became almosl legendary the technique we remember Brad using. during the TransAMA series, thanks lO a The "Hammerhead" shocks on the large extent to careful preparation by prototype did not seem to be the hot ace mechanic, teve Johnson and some set·up and you should look for some olher Kawasaki Racing Dept. lypes. But oilier version on the production bikes. lhe basics of the machine also bespeak Both Kayaba and Korn snocks have reliability in ilie production version. been used so far and a ride on the Koni It has a low compression ratio, a 0 eries shocks (which have litUe lmned fluid coolers on the fronl) low.revving engine with a very flat torque curve, a frame that seems to have proved very satisfactory: not too much no inherent structural weaknesses and, squat in accelerating and minimum in the prototype verison, exlensive uS!; wheel hop over cabby stuff. Tbe rear of alloy and plastic. The wneel rims are wheel stayed in the righl places lo get of the s~me type. that appeared .on the power to the ground. Honda XL 250: ligh ts, self.c1eanmg and . The ~l'tt-1;iia"is-SO'met.h:inl\'....oLa. . super strong. .....diUerent: story. Tbe frame and front Tbe frame and .ge{)m~try-9l-tll~ (:ark rake do not make for a protory~e Ka_wasakis are defined. The motocrosser that is self-correcting when. ~?Jlli-mlted producllon verSIOns of each corning OUl of a tum. Whatever angle SIze WIll also ~ave the t~lck.wall smgle you happen to be at and whatever way dow~tube wUIch spbts n~ht under lne the fronl end is pain led is how you Ieadmg edge of the engme and lhen corne oul. It didn'l feel tnal good in lhe sweeps back up at a sharp angle to the comers to anybody who tried it except lap frame'member at the shock mounts. Bradley and "anybody" again included Th~re is a sin~le backbone which looks some big name MXers. [L's fairly easy to hd ty. The engme, as· the specs reflect, JS gel crossed up, not on purpose. Once fauly stnughlforward l'arLJcularly when pointed down the straight, it haws and you consJder that It comes from the hght front end makes il even nicer Kawasaki who lend t~ be very. trendy over jumps and whoop-de·doos. Despile WIth Il~novatlons In their street bikes.. its less than perfect cornering manners, It lS an oversquare torquer whIch the Kaw 450 tracked very straight over should not be revved above 6000 RPM the whoops. The torquey motor was and pulls from aboul 1500. Tne power great for straighlening out the bike comes on al 3000 RPM (or thereabou lS) wnen the rear wheel touched down and and is good up until five thousand. you got inspired to gel it on very Cycle News was fortunale enough to smartly, get the first ride on the lWO Kawasaki Peg, seat, handlebar relationship was protolypes and get some idea of what comforlable (Il's probably lucky that helps Brad and Peler to run so fast Lackey and 1 are aboul the same against . t~e international and national beighl.) for a naturally good mid-bike competltJOn. . body position in most riding situalions. . As mentioned, the engme.on the 450 The seat is too nigh for maximum IS plenty ~trong. It nas about all the comfort and it also places the rider mud·stompmg torque you could ask for body weight, hence cenler of gravity, oUl, of the hole or out of the comer. way up there. One of the altendant The bike itself is quite lig~t, under 200 wags referred to the 450 prolo as "The Ibs., but the strengthenmg of some Camel". The seat is comfortably padded lightweight compone:'ts in production for those long molos and the pegs sho~ld get the w,elght up to FIM attached were a good.gripping accessory mmunums as listed 10 the spec hst. The type. Most of the resl of the details front forks are, Kayab~ manu~aetured, were accessory items or contingency labeled as tne KawasakI stock Item and money items iliat will probably not prOVIde good dampemng and rebound. appear on the production models. However, the front end of the 450 Ground clearance is about eighl inches, ," The motorcycle that carried LacKey to top American placing in nearly every TransAMA. Note the.ha!)'lme!head .sho~ks. that wer~ were on most of the prototYpes. I;>eing test~ .. T'l.nk ls.sJandard.alloy typ~, AIl\~ pJastjc fepg~r~ '''; T~e 250 re;~i~E!(.I ,a ,"!evv. sL'l9Je. do~~n.tub~ frC!":le and ha~ a much lower CG than the 450. Engine is "'asligfltlywar",~ F'1 type. HI ..... J..: .. ltV

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