Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

The Superbike Series, Round Two, Part One: ~ w Z W ..J U >- U by Art Friedman In I9724:11e word "superb ike " must be closely tied to the name Kawasaki. That company opened the year with the king of the original superbikes, the 750 Mach IV, and now the first units of the subject of this test; the 903cc Z-l, are reaching dealer' showrooms. The key word for the fIrst round of superbikes was performance, and the machines that fit in that category, besides the low-bucks Mach IV' are the orton Commando, the Triumph Trident, the now-extinct BSA Rocket 3, the lIarley Sponster, the Ducati 750, and the early Honda 750. The accent of the machines was on speed: seemed acceptable only when it didn't hinder performance. Comfort, economy, ease of maintenance: even safety and reliability seemed to take a back seat to power and performance. The American buying public, however, was (aTter a brief infatuation) quickly disenchanted with muscle machines. They felt that there was more to be _ had. It wa:;, not surprisingly, Japan that was the first to recognize the need. The Honda 750 is a classic case of the sh ift from a superbike to a machine that could be lived with comfortably. Since the first model 750, the machine has become more reliable, smoother, more refined, and slower. The slowness is a price that must be paid for what, in all other ways, is a better motorcycle. However, it is no longer a superbike. Other companies have followed suit. Kawasaki's 500, their original superbike. has gOllen considerably beller mannered and somewhat slower. Suzuki never even became in voIved in th e I'm-stronger.than.you:are hassle and launched their 750 as a full-blown comfortable louring machine. This interest in comfort, didn't mean that the American motorcycling public wasn't interested in perfonnance. They just weren't willing to sacrifice very much to get it. So the second round of superbikes was born. Kawasaki has gotten there first with the 903cc Z-l, bul Honda is preparing to pump out its own answer Kawasaki has thrown their 903 in the ring. Photo by John D. Ulo:K:h HANDLEBAR EXTENSIONS ADD 3 INCHES To the width of your present handlebars for increased leverage. better contrOl, stability and safety. I"stall easily with just a screwdriver. $3.95 per pair complete. Check or money order to: LAMPRO PO Box 96, Garden Grove. California 92.642. DKW - Rickman - Steen's Super "T" Super Price '73 Bultaco Sherpa "T" 350cc Renthal Bars - 2 ply Trials Tire - Spark Arrestor - Skid Plates - Gas Tank Sealed - Bike sent out of state 4701 EI Cajon Blvd. San Diego, Ca. 92115 (714)283-2078 r---------------j FREEl I Escape Country bumper sticker I I I I I L Offer good Dec. 10 with this coupon at the EI Trial De Espana. , I J •I@ /.~~~~~J1=~e (714) 830-5326 distribU1Drs of Diff Brake to the' new market, probably a six-<:ylinder machine of about 950cc. Wailing in the wings are other machines to be evaluated: the 830 Norton, the Laverda three cylinder 1000, a bigger Ducali twin, perhaps, and others that haven't hown· their faces yet. Among the unseen faces are Yamaha and Suzuki who may call on their Wankel-engined bikes to carry them in to this market. Whatever form these machines tum up in, they will have to be pretty incredible to be successful among the ew Superbikes crowd. They will have to he ungodly fast and still be safe. They will have to be extremely civil without being boring. They will have to handle extremely weU without being uncomfortable. They wiU have to be effortlessly strong and still be reliable. They're going to have to be awfully damn good motorcycles. How does the Kawasaki Z-l measure up? It is certainly in the ballpark.. Kawasaki claims 82 horsepower from its 903cc engine. While that much BHP out of that much displacement may sound like the death of reliability in Detroit, it doesn't in Tokyo. There are quite a few engines coming out of Japan that are putting out around 100 BHP per liter thal can be expected to approach or exceed 50,000 miles on their basic engine. The Honda 750 seems to he a prime example. This explains the size. To be strong and reliable, it had to be big. But bigness begets bigness. The bigger the engine is, the bigger the frame has to be, and the bigger the supporting components have to be, the bigger the engine has to be to move them. From there, the spiral starls over. So it is big. The Kawasaki has the biggest engine and the higbest weight figure to come out of the Japanese motorcYcle industry since Honda went into the car business. Theoretically, though, the machine HONDA OF HOLIDAY SHORE 4-1 9 7 2 2~rown)_ MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM ANDY de la TORRE AND THE MID-VALLEY CREWr New While Honda they tlst 500·5 (2..go1d. $1236. OTD. l-gold CB 750 OTO $1500. 6-5L 175 OTO $65"0. l-eB 350 OTO $735. 2-5L 350 OTO $750. Closiid Sundays 1535 Ramar Rd., Holiday Shore, Arizona 602/754-3004 BILL'S CYCLE {/to NORTON BULTACO heliarc - cylinder boring Dyno lun.ing - cylinder porting 824 N. Waterman San Bernardino. Ca. (714) 884-1511 OFFICIAL RACING TEAM HOT HATS for CZ. MAICO, HUSKY, SUZUKI, YAMAHA, BULTACO, HONDA, KAWASAKI, TRIUMPH, HARLEY, PENTON. FACTORY EMBLEMS AND COLORS "A CYCLE NEWS PRODUCT" SEND $1.00 to HOT HATS to P.O. BOX 663 £L TORO, CALIFORNIA r: .. -

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