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/125874
...... Impression : Clockw ise: T he use of Betor forks necessita ted t hese rep laceab le bott-on fork stops; not a bad feat ure fo r those of us w ho have be e n know n to eat d irt freq uen tly . Th e motor is 175 basically the 125cc job with an enlarged to p end and Burleson port ing. Likea ny Husk y . yo u kick it fr o m t he side, not fro m t he saddle. : ven our staff woods tu rke y cou ki make it bongev through the Ohio greenery . By Charles Morey/Cycle News East Photos by Jim Gianatsis and Morey A neat th ing happ en ed o n the way t o t he Mid -Oh io Inter-Am. A coupl e days be fore o ur sch eduled dep arture, the phone jingled and a vo ice- wit h a Grt'ck /sli 2h 11y Swedish accent said 'II i d '(' TC: ' from th e o t he r e nd . The voice con t inue d on to offe r us an afte rnoo n of w o ods rid in2 nea r be aut if ul o u ta to wn Lorain , Oh io o n a bra nd new "Dick Burleson -des igned" 17:lC.'C l l usq va m u. " lI ey , aw righ t !" ' .... a s the immediate r (" a c t i on ;t s 1 h c q 1I i t · k . It S a -r u n a way -mo ped r rp o rter 's mind in stantly re cog nixed the na me o f t h e winn e r o f fin' of th e:' last six Xa t ional e n d u r o s , K i n ~ Richard hi mse lf. If Burleso n d e signe d it. the.' th oug h t t rain m udd led on , ca n a mere murt ;11 and litte r (r ail t u rke v like me ridt' i t .' " O h s u rc ." ~t:"p li t" d t he Creel.. c- um S w c de Jim Gian .tt si~, I lu'\ky'~ ne-w l I j r e c tcrr of Advert isin g a nd Pub lic Re- la t io ns , " Dick m ad e:' it torq ue y . Even you can rid e it :' It w as w it h t hi s last re ass u ri n g th o ugh t in mi nd t h.n \\' C' strode in to the II u s q va r nu ~I oto (." o rp E a st s ho p Sa turd ay fo r a lo ok a t th e new m id -size mach in e , The b as ic bik e . we fi rst d isco vered . is i d e n t i c a I to t heir 125, T he: o n ly diff'er en rv a t a Jj!; Ian n ' is t h e 1 i5 \\'R ins c ri p t io n on t he le- I t silk (.'O \ T r. Bo t h machines usc t he sma lle-r l l usk v f'rarne that's tw o imhcs short er in th e cen ter secti o n th a n t he st a nd.I rd frame , L'p fron t ve n te d Be-tc r forks . s h o r te r th an the I l uskv units , st rnd dl e the A k roru rim ! Lt'l n~ fu ll-w id t h fron t hub c o m b o . Th e I.d t" u !.\ k ro nt th eme is ca r ried on to t h e re ar whe el as is th e use o f T re llebo rg knobbie s, Il u sk v ' s sta nd ard rubber. The swingarrn is th e regular shor t ite m with G irt ing shocks mounted in t he pre -su sp ensi on -re vo lu t io n norm al p o sit ion . Reg in a 4 2 8 c hain links t he rea r wh eel to an u nc hanged 12 5 six-spee d gea rbo x , T he e nt ire lo wer e n d of th e m otor is stra igh t fro m the 12 5 SC . includ ing the ~I ol opl a l COl ignition . It's up in th e cy linder sect io n th at King Rich ard has added h is ro yal touch . Whil e p ort ing specs were n ot availab le , w e w e-re ass u re d th at th e y were exactly T he bik e feels right sitting on it. The handlebars seemed cl o se, due to the two in c h shorter than standard fr ame. but a re simp ly adjusted t o su it. An overall i mpre ss i on of li gh t nes s a n d go od b al an ce w as app arent sitt ing still. wiggling the bars and b ouncing the s uspen si on in typi cal showroom -fl oor-tes t fash ion. The actual we ight according to the spec shee t, is ap p ro xi m a te ly 200 lb . Honking down a st ra igh t woods road, the 175's midrange to top end power is muscu lar enough to scare th e bejeezus a mo u nt of p ower in just th e right place out of a n y o ne except p erhaps Burles on. Ag a in , b o o g e y i n g th rough n arr o w enduro trails. t he midra nge strength gives t h e left ankle a rest from wo r ki n g o n the Rnl sca le. The p ort s. plus a b ore jo b fro m 55 m m out to 64 .5mm the shi ft er. The b ike doesn't rea lly need six speeds. When working up gul ley co nsti tuted th e total d eparture in sp ecs side s, it isn't d ifficult o nce the p rope r gear is sel ected , t o bur-rup up using -the th e same as Bu rleson's 19 73 ISDT bike. and th at th ey did d eliver just the right fro m th e presently ava ilab le 125 . ,.\ Husky pipe wi th a Sk yway inse rt k e ep s things q uiet w hile effi cien tly di re r i in g sp ent p re -mix fumes to the rear. On th e input en d n f the fu el tra ct. a "h i breather" air fi lte r b o x tak es a bre at h fro m und e r th e sea t a n d pipes it into a 32 m m. :\ m a l c o n c e n t r ic carb u reto r . The f'ue l mi x ture aw a its its fie rv fait" above' in a "L io n -v ell ow " I .BS ga ll ~n steel tank . . Oth er ni ce roccbvs inc lud e c rash p ro o f .\ H5 plastic fenders. nyl on lined co n t ro l cah les, Sure -grip folding Ioo tp cgs, and ~1 ;I ~ u r ;1 c. uv-to-rc ac h cl u tc h a nd fro nt brak e le ve rs . torquey mid range. Save t he RPM 's fo r long straights. E n gi n c n o ise is h igher tha n th e Japa nese bikes. due to t he use of st ra ig h t-c u t gea rs a nd ample co o lin g fins whi ch ampli fy th e o ff-key ge ar tunes . Don't crit icize it. Bev el c u t ge ars are quie ter . b u t th e s t ra ight -cu ts deliver the p ower. Finding fault wi th th e b ike falls in t o the d om ain of n it-p icking. If yo u' ve fou nd a n y t h ing t ha t is p ersonally a n noying about th e S w ed ish machines, it's no do ub t prese nt in th is o ne . It's pu re l l usky. \\'1 liked it. ' • Specifications : Engine: Single cy lind er, two-str oke Displ acement 170cc Bore (std. ) 64 .5mm Stroke 52.0mm Compression ratio 12.0: 1 Powe r transi mssi on: Five-Disc motocross type clutch Primary transmission by gear Secondary transmission by cha in Number of speeds 6 Lubrication . . 1 Quart SA E 20 Electrical system : Motopl at COl 6v. 35 W Light ing effect . . Champi on N 2 Spark plug Ignition timing 17 degree (1.5m m BTDC) Fuel system : 1: 25 (4%) Oil/gas mixture 1:85 gal. Gas tank capaci ty Carburetor : Type 32mm Amal Concentric A ir fil te r: End uro type with paper element Suspen sion : Fro nk fork .. Betor two-way hy dr au lic telesco pic: six inch travel ; 180cc o il per leg. Fo rk crowns forged light a llo y. Upper legs heat·treated c h ro me mol y steel. Rea r Sw inga r m with G irling shock absorbers Wheels: Le leu fu ll-w idth hu bs with Akro nt alloy ri ms. Front : 3.00·21 Trelle bo rg T ires Rea r : 3.50·18 Trelleborg Dimensions : 5 3" Wheel base Sea t Heigh t 31 1/2" Han d leba r w idt h 34 1/2" 83/4 " Ground clearance Appro x. wei !tot 200 lb. List price $ 1195