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/125819
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Up to 12% more horsepower when uoad with full kil I"cludlnl portln8 and totat·loss 18nltlon. 534.95 MOOIFIED MIKUNI CARBURETOR Gives quick acceleration and outstandln. performance throullh' out power ra"p. Tocether with our Soeclal Manifotd you set up to 21 % more power when used with IUt. partin. and total-loss system. '137.50 than insignificantly.. ~hether this was bane or blessing depended on how much oil the engine was leaking. Sometimes the cadis would help clean things off. RIDING THEM If cold, the Yamaha has to have the electric starter leaned on for a while before it will consent to fire up. Then it requires warm·up for several minutes before it will drive away smoothly. On the Norton you tum the gas on using the left hand tap (the fight is reserve), and depress the tick lers on the cadis. A little gas overflows. You can do what you wish with the choke; it seems to make no difference. 0 more than three kicks (one if wann) and it is ready to drive away instantly. Thanks to a trick ignition device, this is true even if the "Yazoo" banery (Nonon has gone to a Japanese item) is dead. Don't ask why it got dead. Clu tch pull on th e Yamaha is something of an effon. Not bad, but heavy. Clank it into gear, give it some gas, and gingerly release the c1u tch. Bang! It grabs. A little more warm up and it's ready to behave nonnally. Once it fires, the Norton feels like it has been running all day. - PuD in the c1u tch. You'll find the puD is light. It always is on a properly prepared Norton. It's just a matter of cable lubrication. The transmission accepts first gear smoothly and quietly. First gear is up and on the right side, remember. Second gear is down. Exactly the opposite of what most folks are used to. After a little warm·up, find a friend with a 750 multi and a significant ego. At a stop light you can always leave him behind in a casual drag race on either bike. The low end torque and broad power band of both bikes allow them to rush away from a stop wi th considerable ease; no 19,000 RPM-dump·the clutch starts required for a quick g.taway. If you get into a serious drag race, the high RPM c1u tch-dropping start will get you away more quickly but not as neatly. However, you will still have an easier time than your multi·cylindred, high revving friend who will only beat you away if he is good.and brave. Around town you can tick down the streets at 2,500 RPM on either. You can leave them in third (in either bike) and rush away from slow spots and comers with no shifting and considerable gusto. The sarne is true on the highway or freeway. And it is here that you really grow fond of the big torquey twins. You just leave them in top gear, and when it comes time to pass, just wick it up. Either bike just goes rushing around what ever impedes your progress. High gear acceleration is considerable on both bikes. If your friend with the multi is stiD with you, he will have dug for third gear (in a five speed) to keep up. The ,,:ffect of the broad power spread is effortless power. A trip through the windies will really separate the two bikes. Here is where the Norton, although only slightly faster in acceleration, really pulls away. The Norton turns easily, although you don't expect it. The machine feels like it will want to run straight rather than turn, bu t when a comer comes up, it just lays over and goes where you point it. The suspension absorbs the irregularities and bumps easily and the Dunlop K·8 I 's are HONDA n·250 .....,..n .nd 850 isn't as fast as tha sportie. 750 Norton. Soma staffers preferred the 750 Combat over the 850 . TERMS: 50% deposit with order. All arM,.. shipped F.O.B. Lana Beach. freipt and balanc:eo collect. grip the tannac admirably; it feels as though the tire were made for the bike. Rolling on the throttle brings an even flow of power, but you have to correct very sligh tly as the isolastic moun ts that support the swing ann tighten up. If you've tried the bike on the center stand you know that there is some give in the rear wheel mount. Something like that might make you cringe if you haven't heard that N ortons don't screw up while cornering. Once you spend a long time thrashing the bike and finding nothing that will make it wobble or do anything evil in a comer, you are left to puzzle. One thing is for sure: for anything to rate a superlative in handling, it will have at least to approach the level of the Norton. The Yamaha, unfortunately doesn't approach the Commando. The geometry isn't right and the rear suspension doesn't offer enough damping to do the job. Something in the geometry has created one 0 f the strangest steering habits we've ever encountered. On every other bike in oUT experience, to turn ri/(ht you pull on the left bar. Below 40 MPH it's riot so on the TX·750; to tum righ t you pull 6n the righ t bar. But you have to do more than that, you have to exert all kinds of force to get the bike to layover. One staffer said that if he pu t his foot on the passenger peg and his knee on the forward peg and then dropped himself down to the inside of the bike and pulled that it worked just fine. That was an extreme, bu t hanging off helped a lot. Once you had . persuaded it to lean over and tum, you have to keep pressuring it to make it stay there. Getting on the throttle hard made it try to pull itself back up, and if you wanted to stay heeled over you had to work at it. None of this was as horrid as it sounds, perhaps, but the bike clearly required more force and unusual technique when cornering. It also wobbled on high.speed sweepers. This was due, we are certain, entirely to the shocks which were lacking considerably in rebound damping. It didn't really wiggle, rather it bounced. The lack of rebound could also be fel t on the street when crossing ditches or bumps when the rear end would bounce back 'Up and kick you in the tail. A pair of real shocks wouldn't hurt anything. The Norton didn't do any of those nasty thing, but the forks would top out or occasionally bottom around bumps or ditches, hut not too much shock was transferred to the rider. The machines have different strong and weak points in comlort. The Norton vibrated less - not at all once moving. The Yamaba buzzed you. Thick gloves would absorb most of it, but thin gloves leave you with numb fingers. Vibration level is sligh tly worse than a Honda 750. Throttle spring return pressure is fairly severe on the TX·750 and your hand gets right tired after a bit. There's no damper, either. The Norton is sufficiently light and there's a damper. The Norton's sea t is an improvement over previous ones, but some staffers found it hard. If you sat back on the seat there was a softer spot. Passenger seating was pretty good. The Yamaba was better in seat comfort. Inciden tly, both bikes offer tourinj(