Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

T hen, in other ways. it re minds you th at it's so mething tota lly d iffer en t. Like the cro uch . You have to get used to it. At first, it gets you in the neck , the back, the upper arms, th e wrists. Especially the wrists. It's like d oing a new exercise - it hurts at first. th en w it h repe titio n, th e b od y se tt les -in t o it na tu rally . You n o tice di scomfort th e wor st wh en riding st ra ight up and slow in t raffic. When t he motorcy cle is in it s elem ent, yo u no tice no d iscom fo rt until y ou sto p . The b igges t overall impressio n the bik e gives is o ne o f firmness and tautness. The suspens io n is quite firm, th e sol o seat is firm er st ill. If you've spen t much time with a British sports ca r, the feeling will be familiar. Cobb y , wavy pavement won 't disturb the chassis m uch , bu t it will beat t he ride r's be hi nd good and pro p er. T hings like street car trac ks run ning at a crazy angle do lillie to d isturb the ma chi ne' s equilibri um . So far, so good . T he Read Honda is c i vilized , ta ut, legal, and slightly uncomfortable , a usabl e street m ach in e tha t feels sligh tly out of its eleme nt when operated in a n ormal a bout-tow n mod e. It s h om e is in th e open co un try , and th e wil d th ing w ithin it is co ns tan tly st ra ining a t it s leash. T he kind of roads that bring th is b ike to fu ll song are hard t o find and ge tting h ard er. T he reward is well worth the effort. Finally . You find it . Th e ro ad - one th at cli m bs and div es a nd swoo ps an d clings to rocky bluffs, th en spits you ou t in to sw eeping, rolling c urves. Here is wh ere a ca fe racer - any cafe racer begins to earn its purch ase pri ce. The Read Ho nda seems to hunker d own and dig its claws in. In second, third o r fo urth gea r, the engine is always a p ow erful surge, n ever pip ey or cam my , j us t an ever-p resen t thrust th at m akes the next corn er rush at you at a fr ightenin g rate. The brak es, h yd raulic d iscs fro n t and . rear . ar e w ondrously progressive a t any spee d , an y desired d ecel eration rate . T he pow er is th ere t o lock either wheel , bu t th e power is under perfect, velve t y co n tro l. Front brake lever travel is long (Surp risin gly so , if you're used to th e stock Honda fr ont di sc.) and hand pressure is m odera te . You can use two fingers or a whole hand, h owever th e mood str ikes you. You ca n modulate the braking from silk y to savage, with out lo cking either wheel. You ca n sq ua ll th e front tir e stra igh t up, th en progressively ease off and begin to lay into a co rne r, still b raking. T he degree o f co n trol y ou hav e mu st be ex pe rie nc ed first hand to b e tru ly believ ed . Th is f eelin g of sta b il!ty and co n tro llab ilit y carries ove r m to the co rn ering b eh avior. T he Mo rris ca st "arti llery wh ee ls" are so rigid th at a t lo w sp eeds under heavy co rne ring and braki ng load s, the tires act ua lly j u dder a bit . becau se th e n orm al w ire w heel flex ure under load simply isn ' t there . T he feelin g is n o t particula rly alarming , and it' s presen t o nly a t lo w speeds . Ge nerally speaking, if you've got the hair, th e mach ine ge ts better the fast er yo u ride it. It simply h as n o sud de n o r bad habits. On bumpy pavement, it feels a bit over-sp ru ng and under-d amped; but the gen era l effec t is t o kn ock th e rider about and give him fair wa rn ing th at he 's mortal a nd th e m ach in e has its limits. While it', sha king yo u and beating y o ur back side, it sti ll wants t o go wh ere it ' s pointed, w ith very little te nde ncy t o wo bble - at lea st in the 4 5 - 8 0 MPH range in wh ich it w as ridden on this kind of road. It loves t o run in the 8 0 - 90 ~ I P H ran ge o n th e straights. It w ill t op 100 on an upgrade, an d would undoubtedly go fast er if you had th e room. You can fee l it working hard and sec th e fairing sh ud d er, b ut th e windbla st is largely missing. Getting down to it and riding hard, the m achine d raw s yo u d own in t o un io n with it, and yo u find y o u're loo king through th e windscreen instead of over it. All to o .~ o O rJ you co me to th e end , and it 's tim e to t urn and /(0 ba ck . O n t he return, there are fewe r un k no w ns, and th is f rees you r mind to ra ng e f urt h er ahead . You rid e f ast er co ming back , L e and entry to eac h co rn er are in mo re in stinctive; L of a g uessing game. ess Th e road lead s th e ma ch in e's nose lik e a leas h , th e ru sh f ro m co rner to co rn er is less f rightening , m ore matter-of-fa ct and ' - Braking Dept: Note gadgetry needed to make Hurst master linkage; double front disc insta llati on is on stock fork legs glass-beaded and treated for fatigue life. r !:1

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