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/126013
which the TN'T see ms to demand for negotiating woods trails at speed. (The MX-2 has the Jones-developed V-brace b lack bars.) It was th e opinion of the more accomplished rid er s that th e machines were jetted rich which brought us to an other dysfunctional de sign : the Bing carb is difficul t to access, compared to other enduro bikes an d most motocro ssers, for je tting changes, re placi ng a throttle cable or other suc h work. The carb on the TN'T has a pu ll-and-twist choke knob in addi tio n to th e tic kler; th e car b on the MX-2 doesn't. The cho ke is in ten de d for 00 col d weather starting. The motocross version has clearly C'l receive d the high ro ller package in much ~ of the final detailing. It is th e MX· 2 th at ~ .c h as the Magura do gleg levers and throttle. (Unfortunately, it also has the ..... stan dard issue Magura skinny hard o grips.) Th e alloy rims and knobbies from J apan are .m ore costly than steel rims and trials tir es fr o m Taiwan foun d on the enduro. Ironically, it is the enduro-intended Can-Am that seems better capable of performing its function in a reasonable, positive feedback manner. Some of the cheaper accessories (like the Bombardier throttle) suit the needed power applications better than the high-priced items. Th e gearboxes of Doth machines felt either overused, abused or out of adjustm ent. Arriving in some neutral en route to second or third gear on the MX·2 was a fairl y common experience. We recorded only one missed shift pe r tester on the TN 'T which mayor may not mean anything. The internal ratios from second on up to the top of the five-spe ed seemed about righ t . First is very low, especially on the TN'T, with a goodly gap to second. On e re ason the gearboxes were used intensely and, at times, with unplanned suddenness was that the brakes, seemingl y identical except for external paint job on the hubs; fad ed badly on both machines. On a long, winding downhill trail or after several laps aroun d a motocro ss course , both front and rear would get very spongy . Nei ther cable-operated slowin g device is th at sh arp and positive to begin with. Braking points would have to be mov ed back several yards from e ach corner by th e end of a run, whether it was 19 miles of fire road or eight laps up and down hills of Indian Dunes or Valley Park motocross tracks. Cycle Admittedly, our tol erance for less than first class brakes is very low but, on the other hand, you've got to admit that stopping your motorcycle where an d when you want to is p retty damn important. Combining the top speed capabilities of the MX·2 Can-Am with its tendency to brake fade produces a very thought-provoking h an dfu l. . To their significant cre d it, both machines are quiet enough. The TN'T has a massive howitzer of a p ipe that . looks like it had twin stinger exh austs design ed into it before somebody changed their mind and plugged up one hole. It is also a tribute to assembly quality control th at nothing broke or fell off either bike during the riding we gave them. - OneblJ< e:building exp ert rider who had, in fact, bee n Canadian National Motocross Champ in th e not too distant days of his youth (abou t five years ago) kind of summed it up for the MX-2 : " If you'd leave this with me for a few days, I think it can be made to work. Rebuild those forks and shocks and try to get some use ful low end power out of the engine. I'd want to change th e throttle and jetting for sure. Maybe the tires, too." Then he thought for a second and with a serious expression said, "But what 's the point of all that? That's not the way a guy can buy it. " Brian was righ t. - The TN'T enduro is more capable of doing a job as an enduro bike than the MX·2 on a motocross course, at least in the form both were presented to Cycle News. Taller riders will find the TN'T awkward. It does not have the vaunted power some have claimed but it is more honest and a hell of lot easier to ride. It still doesn't ste er all that great. Bombardier, Ltd. , must know th ey have some problems with the bikes or they wouldn't be going through serial REX STATEN (Continued f rom page 15) o o • • c 44 . Can-Am configurations Frame/suspension Wheelbase 54 in. Seat he ight 34 in . Ground clearance: TN'T : : 6.5 in. MX·2 7 in. Front suspension: Betor w/travel 6 in. Rear suspension: TN'T-S&W w/travel .4 .75 in. MX·2-S&W w/travel 6 .25 in. Swingarm length, overall : 20 in. w/lower shock mount d istance . from rear axle: TN'T .' .4.5 in. MX·2 6.75 in. Engine/transmission (Type: Rotax rotary valve with oil injection) Displacement 247cc Bore x Stroke . . . . ... .. . • .. . .. . . .. . .. ..... . .. . ... . .. 74 x 57 .5mm Carburetion 32mm Bing Air filtration Twin Air oiled foam in underseat airbox Gearbox S-speed constant mesh 1-N-2·3-4·5 Claimed countershaft HP 35 @ 8600 RPM (MX·2) Running gear Wheels/tires: TN'T Steel rims w ith 3 .00x21 and 4.00x18 Cheng Sh in trials tires MX·2 010 alloy rims with 3 .0Ox21 and 4 .60x18 Yokohama knobby t ires Magura throttle and power levers on MX-2; a nice kill button on left handlebar Bombardier throttle, levers on TN'T; an on-off rocker switch on r ight handlebar Plastic fuel tank w/capacity: TN 'T 2.8 gallons MX-2 2.1 gallons Weight: TN'T 250 lb. (wet) MX·2 230 lb. (wet) West Coast retail pr ice : TN'T . .. . . .. . .. . . . .. ..... . ... .. •......$1595 MX·2 $1595 suspension transformations on Jimmy Ellis' bike and Gary Jones' Can-Am (Last year) wouldn' t have needed a significantly changed frame . Everybody who rode the MX-2 came back exclaim in g about how fast it was, the fastest 250 they'd ever ridden, etc. Then, to a man, they were stuck for something else nice to say and started wondering why , if it was so fast, they hadn't heard about the Can-Am winning more races. • (Ed Note: The Can-Ams have, in fa ct, been most suc cessful in D·36 IT, D·36 short track and production road racing. Q.E.D.) . , .. do. I wan t the Ame ricans to beat the Euro peans. Outside of what little support that you do get from the shop and Ame rican Jawa, how do you make a living? I just have to win. If I don't win, I don' t mak e nothing. Do you ride a stock CZ? Yeah, j ust a stock 400. But I move the shocks up th e way I wan t them, and I got air fo rks. I o nly get eigh t inc hes fron t and rear on both my b ikes. I had a Maico fro n t end on my CZ, an d it handled real ly goo d, but J awa to ld me to take it o ff or give th e bikes bac k. Th en it was complete sto ck, and it was pre tty ba d. What about your fantastic ride at Carlsbad th is year? I wa s sitting th ere, and I was just pump ing . I was ' th in king it was a CMC race, and I was psyched. I got the holesh ot, and I saw Roger there in the first turn on th e in side, and I just closed the door. I took over the Jead and pulled away fro m him . Th en he star te d catching me. Then, ab ou t 25 minutes, my engine started jumping in the frame . The rear motor mounts were broken. The bike started vibrating real bad , an d I was scare d I wasn't going to finish , and I j ust kept going fast. Th e last couple lap s, the bar came through the [shift J tran smis sion an d go t stuck be tween gears, and I killed my bik e. Th en Brad and Gerrit p assed me. Th at was the first time I fin ish ed th e race. I always used to brea k. I rode my Maico the last two year s, broke th e fra me in half, and n ever finishe d. With busted motor mounts and all, did you feel that you could hold everybody off? I though t I co uld , but I was hoping the flag would hurry up and come out. I was getting tire d becaus e the bars were ge tting bigger and b igger. I got blisters on my hands because it was vibrati ng so bad. Were you able to make the second mota? Yeah. We didn't have tim e to pull on e out and put a new one in. We just welded it. I cam e off fourth , and about the fourth lap it broke again and started boun cing. I d ro pped back and finished lOth. Did you think that you have anything to settle with DeCoster at Carlsbad? . No . I know he 's the World 's Champion, bu t I just wanted to beat him. I think if I had the b ike I made (I had a bike with a copy of a Maico fram e and a CZ engine. It handled really good. It was made b y John Bassett. It was the best bike I ever ro de , but CZ told me not to run it , or give the bikes back) , I think I could have be at h im . What does DeCoster think about you? I talked to h im a couple of times, and he says he 's never seen any Amqican go downhill that fast , like I did at Carlsbad. I jus t fourth gear ed it, turned it wide open, and got it going, flying 25 feet further than he was. A lot , highe r than he was. I was pulling away on the downhill from him. He just says I was nuts - crazy! At the Super Bowl this year, you were leading the 250 class all the way and looked like you were going to run away like you did last year, until you crashed on the whoopdies. Any comments? I came off the start, an d I saw Marty Smith flying through the air, and I thought, "Why is he going straight for?" Becau se you're supposed to tum. But he forgot the turn , and he hit the bumps and just. went end over end. And I thought, " A ll right ! I got th e lead now." 1 was so pumped, I was gassing it, and I looked back, and I was pulling away. Then I didn't look back. And about th e fifth lap, I just came wide open over th ese two jumps, and I was going to clear both of them. But my shocks on the factory CZ are on a cantilever, and it kicked me. And when it kicked me, it dove me into the other side ; and when it did that, it went end over end. The bike hit me an d re ally shook me up . I knocked my kidne~s loose and I was