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/126012
!Baseball, ~ hot-dogs, ~ applepie 2& motocross By Jody Weisel "Buy American" could become "Win American" if and when the new Harley reaches the mass production stage. It has Bultaeo-like power and handles OK. The orange and black of Mi lwau k e e have trekked this country from end to end with a big budget racing program that has s W e p t G ran dNa t ion a I Championships innumerable . y ith h tl~es. et, WI t e hearts and minds of the young sold on the 'Rollerball' like aspects of motocross the American motorcycle magnates sat on their thumbs and watched a potential giant market go to foreign ยท interests. Then two years ago there were rumbl ings in the press of Harley-Davidson's prototype 250 motocrosser. In the year of suspension, 1974, all we ever saw were photos of the H-D MXer's unique forked rear components. The bike would surface , ?isappear, and then re -appear, but ~ever In the han~s of a talente~ National Motocross rider nor at a National event. Then at the KOIL /Omaha 250 National a big orange and black factory truck with the immortal names of Lawwill, Scott, Beauchamp, and Sassaman painted on the side pulled into the pits and unloaded two experimental , 242cc motocrossers, Sonny De Fe o , a veteran of the motocross wars since the days of Edison Dye, said, "It seems pretty fast , handles good, but I really don't know because I have been testing by myself and it is impossible to tell how fast you're going Wheelies al8 no sweat with the bike's 5000rpm torque and light front end. 22 when you are the only one going." The American entry didn't fare well in Omaha due to electrical problems and again it disappeared. What is this machine? Ho N is it made ? What is it like to ride ? Doe ; the unusual front and rear fork system york? What is this machine? The MX-250 Harley-D ividson is in such limited production .h at there are currently only 90 machines in the United States , 30 of these reside in the factory and the remainder are sprinkled throughout the States at selected dealers. The machine is a totally new design , utilizing parts not pilfered from th e SX-series. The engine is a marvel because it is the product of years of testing and liberal doses of borrowing. In the arena of highly stressed GP engine designs the H-D people, through their Italian Aeromacchi firm, have borrowed the power and porting characteri stics of the successful Bultaco Pursangs . George Banke, tuner and pipe builder, says that the Harley 250 engine is one of the best constructed and designed engines he has ever seen. Tommy Conner of TC Racing, the sponsor of such riders as J.R. Rawls, Terry and Teddy Poovey, is of the Those l8ar fork/shocks are weird looking, but handle the task remarkably well.