Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

~' ---- The--ltiilian MXer flips its-lid-&' -acquires a stroker front end Moto Villa update/impression Riding and grinn ing a lot TIE-DOWN STRAP • No fumbling with buck les. • No teeth to fray strap. • PULL THISSTRAP TOTIGHTEN • PUU THIS STRAP TO LOOSEN Lead ing-axle Marzocch is, soon to come as production items. By Lane Campbell Iii.95 :~;:I~R GREEN ADD S 50 FOR HANDLING AND FREIGHT Send Check or mon ey ord er to : JELLISON ENGINEERING P.O. BOX 326 GARDEN GROVE, CAL!FORNIA 92642 Dealerinquiries invited. r _ Expansion Chamber Cone Sets 20 G~. steel rolled and se a m spatwelded ready t o desi gn you r own ch~mber. 3 Pc . sets, $12 .0 0. 4 Pc . sets, $ 14.00. 5 Pc. set s. 51 6 .00. Po stpa id. Plus Sa les Ta x. Qu an tity d i sco u n ts a vailable . send y o ur d imension s t o A i reD Sh eet Me tal. 1 S209 Grevllfea A ve. D ept. W . uWnd a'e. CA 90260. 2 13 -675-5290. G MOTORCYCLES ~® a PARTS ~ COMPLETE PISTONS MACHINE SHOP,REPAIR a SERVICE ON ALL MAKES _.,,~ 16 CE..:#.J (714 ) 630-5720 oaE Cvele [Raine .flno a Supblw 1140 - 4 N. Kraeme r • Anaheim Co _92 806 Test rider Mike Klinger Earlier this year, Harry Ever ts' Puch showed up in Europe with a new Marzocchi leading-axl e fo rk which boasted, among other things, a super-long stroke. If all goes as p lanned, Moto Villa will be the first to spring this fork unit on th e U.S . scene fitted to a production bike. During a brief riding /shooting session before the bikes were whisked away, we got to sample a 360 Villa fitted with the new forks, as well , as a new 25 0 with updated frame and up pipe. The return to an up pipe m ay sho ck some of you, until you realize that with eight-and-a-half inches front travel , co m bine d with about seven of rear, a low pipe is going to get trashed sooner o r later. The new pipe reminds one of a Husky setup , and after inspecting it visually, it co mes as something of a shock that it doesn't in trude on the rider's leg , standing or sitting. It seems that Marzocchi is becoming as much a magic name in the '70s as the name Ceriani was in the '60s. We've already raved over Marzocehi's gas shocks, which still suspend the Villa's rear. The ne w forks are every bit as good. The alloy sliders are super-light, yet give good, accurate support. The legs are thin-walled chrome-moly, finished to a degree of surface smoothness that doesn 't tear up seals . TI,e whole fork unit weighs 17 p o unds , yet is solid and flexure-free. The springs are progressive, going to a very high rate as the fo rks are compressed. Not even a 260-pounder could get them to b ottom, jus t jumping on the front en d at rest. The wh ole m o to rcy cle, 2 50 or 360, weighs 20 7 pou nds. Now grab your socks. How' d you li ke to race two classes for the price o f one m oto rcy cle ? We're no t putting you on, as a few District 3 6 mar ath o n-watch ers already know, The 250 and 360 to p en ds interchange in 20 mi nutes. No mach ining, no screwing aro und: Bolt-up, Once you get into the desi gn of the beast, it comes as less of a shock. Th e engine was designed as a 4 50 (whi ch we tested earlier ). So the studs are spaced to fit aro und a 4 50 cylinder. So designing 250 and 360 jugs to drop in interch ange ably is like falling into a mine sh aft. Taking both bikes to Saddle back isn ' t exactly a test, but it sure was fun, and it left basically goo d impressions. Using th e 250 as a ba seline (rem embe r it's the 360 that has the trick forks), here's how they felt: Horsepower a 'p lenty, The best power is up top where it belongs, but power delivery is "soft," aided by genero us flywheels. Th e feel is deceptive, because the 250 Villa is fas t en ou gh to kick dirt on either a 250 Elsinore or a 250CR Hus ky . And the 360 ran ks along with a 360 CR Husky in terms of sheer speed. , Both bikes felt light and controllable. The 250 exhibited no fro nt wash-o ut, ju mped straigh t, slid bitchin ', and gene rally m ade itself lo vable to a guy who 'd just gotten himself dialed into a ne w 250 Husky . Th e 360 with the Marzocchis is a 'b it different to co me to term s with, as it's far less of a slider, m or e of a p recision instrument that forces you to ride straight lines between deliberate comer-pivots. As th e long travel front and rear work together, there can be tremendous change in effective rake / trail, a variability that the rider must com e to terms with and make work for him inst ead of against. But the action of those fo rks is so progressive , their stroke so ground-consuming the y 11 sw allow most anything y o u're crazy enough to ride over. Gearing on the 250 felt eq uivale n t to an Elsinore (th a t on th e 360 should be identical , but th e power curve feels different w ith the big jug). Shifting was spot-on. On ce off the line , the clutch was unneeded, an d. no t a single m issed shift. Not a one. Th e engagement dogs are careful ly undercut and the shifter throw is sh or t and positive. The five-speed gear bo x is almost worth the p rice of th e res t of the b ike. And the clutch , when you do use it, has su~h a soft pull you think it's broken. This comes from u sing lo ts of pl at e area instead of huge springs to get the nec ess ary torque capacity. Gripes ? Th e bars could have been wider , the rear could h ave used a 4.60 Trelleborg (especi ally th e 360), and the fr o nt brake co uld be more powerful for a given lever-pull. The engine reall y wanted to be kept on th e pipe, but that's not exactly a gripe. Out of the box , th e ma chine is really easy to rid e , c o n s i d e r i ng how much horsepower there is. (Man ufac t ure r' s claim is 3 6 fo r th e 250 , 43 for the 36 0, measured at the countershaft.) Class C bike Here 's shock Number Two, for all yo ur ro undy-round troops. The Mo to Vill a h as been sub mitted and app ro ved for Class C AMA co mpe tition. The distri butor (Bob Swanson o f Mo to Villa Lt d ., P.O . Box 3396, San Jose, CA 951 16) is setting up now to assemble 30 short tr ackers from It alian -built co mp o nen ts, as the Villa factory itself is swa mped w ith orders on the motocrossers . The frames are developed from a Dallas Baker/Swanson design , the spool quick-change hubs and rear discs are made up to American specs in Italy . It all will come together in this country. (Inci de n tally , the plastic fende rs on all the MXers are made by A & A in Redwood City after Swanson gave up o n the European plastic the machines came with.) Funny thing, all this tri c k motocross and track machinery coming fro m a family that 's big in road racing (Walter Villa is defending 250c c World Champion ). You road-rashers keep your ey e on this little Italian factory, because there 's m ore good stuff to come. • Mike and Villa 'd ist ribu to r Swanson playing.

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