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/126243
IAbovel XS1000 road-wrinkler previewed. (BelowllT175 pocket rocket. / 'Roberts said he'd be too busy to ride XS1000 'in Superbike Production. 1977 models - Yamaha announces lOOOcc four cy Iinder LAS VEGAS. NV . ,JAN . 10 Zeroing in on the performance-with-comfort market Yamaha announces the XSI000 DOHC four-cylinder shaft-drive -as its flagship road model. That, combined with the unveiling of a full line of IT-series enduros a nd a se cond-generation M onocros s su spension pack age for the dirt competition line is th e big news to emerge from the com pany's Las Vegas dealer preview. Street: Road-burners and dollar stretchers . . .. Estimated ava~labll .Ity of the new XSIOOO starshIP . IS . Aug~st . to November~ 1977, wh~ch ~ves ~s months to .po nd er questl?ns..ltke: Is It really ~ g~owth verslO.n of the XS750 ? Is Its .a ct1~al displacement un.der 1000cc so It will be AM.A-lega~? Will ~e re.ally see Kenny h~ngIng off It at Riversid es A~tually , . It ~nd the X~7~0 are both aimed pnmarily at t?e fa lnn&, -and -bags. set . who WI!J appreciate the maintenance-free sh aft dri.ve. cast-wheel sol id ity , . mu l~ i cylIn?er smoo.thness. and triple-disc braJm~g capacuy which these models ' share I!, common. . . Dunng t~e commg m~rketmg yea r. Ya~aha WIll be ~ushlDg complete tounng dress -out kits for the large street mo.d~ls. . . In addition , a bore Job and stylll~g package have c~eated an XS400D t~m t? t.op out the 11I~e of fo~r-stroke midSIZe co~mu.ter -blkes . WIth front /re,,:r ~ydrauhc discs an~ cast alloy whe els It ~ styled to f,?llo~ m the performance Image estab~shed by.the RD400. twostroke twin , whl.ch contm~es unchanged. There :"'lll be two .wlrewheeled XS360 versions, front ~ or fr'?nt drum. brake , competltlv~ly pnced to fill In the Yamaha street bike . ra.nge. . Dirt: HOning the edge on some seri_ous competitors As predicted last year, Yamaha ha s expanded its " ~ T ' categ~ry of serious . endu ro/ ISDT machinery into a full line in sizes of 175. 250 and 400cc. These bik es share with the 125cc -andup YZ motocrossers a suspension system that com bi n es a second gener at ion Monocross unit with lea~ing-axle forks. The w~rks M~den~ed Mo?ocross suspension Units are ligh ter, simpler, more compact (no bulky nitrogen reservoir) than their predecessors. and are said ~o be easier to suspensi on -tune. The ITI75D weighs just 216 pounds d ry and uses the basic 175cc six-speed r a d i a l- fi n n ed reed-valve engine without 'oil injection. It uses a 34mm Mikuni carb o and hits a 14.5 ft -lb torque peak at a pipey 8000 rpm. On paper . at least. it looks Iike a challenge to the KT'Mz'Penton domination of its . class . " ~~o new is the IT250 , at 247 pounds dry. with a: five-speed motor. The 245 pound IT400, like the IT250. takes the YZ power unit and re -tunes it for m idrange grunt. Plastic tanks. super-wide plastic fe nders, qu ick change r ear whee ls and leather toolbags are common to all the ITs. . On the YZ400 a nd 250 , a cleaned up air/ spring lead ing-axl e fork unit replaces the 'c a b le -sn a gg i ng hammerhead a i r fonk s of old . Increased engine performance is part of the ad vertised package. Plastic tanks are standard . with works-style bumblebee stripi ng. ' . The restyled DT-series licensable dual -purpose enduros were being shown in Europe two months ago. Underneath the trick-looking Eurotrials-style bodywork on the 250 and 400 versions is the new compact Monocross su spension unit. Full instrumentation and lighting round out the package. • DT 400 gets monoshock suspension this year. Kenny Roberts' w orks TT bike has KR-developed monoshock frame. is down to 300 pounds (from 3481. Not shown: KR monoshock shorttracker.