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/126258
The pre-p rod uction bik es ridd en by the Harle y motocross te am of R ex Staten a nd Tripes a re sim ilar to what will be released sho rty , but with a few changes in d etails that always m ake works bikes d iffer ent from th e prod uc tion units. Suspension is Ka yaba a t bo th ends . Up front , leading axle forks give 10 inches of travel with a com bination of air and soft springs. Product ion forks. will bounce with just springs , a nd will retain the leading axle configurat ion . The factory bikes use production Kaya ba reservoir shocks simila r in construction to those on the Suzu ki RMs. The prod uction Harleys will use American alloy rims which are by Sun. They a re laced to Fr en ch Lelieu hubs with stai nless steel spok es. The team uses Met zeler an d Dunlop tires, dependin g on rider prefer ence, but nobody knows for su re what rubber will be on the production models. Most of the running gea r on th e team bikes is Am erican made , such as the plastic fenders , handlebars, seat and a few other goodies , but the production scoots will carry Italian stuff. Handlebars vary , depending on how Marty and Rex like them set, and Magura Power Levers and throttle are use ; but Italian controls (T om m aselli perha ps) will be used in production. Ge nu in e chro me moly is used in the m ake-up of both th e team an d production bikes, and in th is respect , thi s is where th ey di ffer . The b ike pictured h as a single do wn tube , semispli t cradle frame while th e production bi ke will have last yea r's factory fra me, wh ich is a d ouble-down tu be , full -cradle frame. H arley wants to make su re th at what they use works, and last year's fra me di dn't give t hem any problems . If everything goes well , th is yea r's fac tory fra me will be used on next year's production ru n . T he engi ne used by T eam H arley is based on th e plant cu rrently used in their less-than-popular XR250 Enduro and SS250 street bikes. It displaces 249cc with a 72X68mm bore and stroke. Mikuni ca rburetors (38m m) brea the on some of .the fa ctory cylin de rs, but one Ha rley had a Lectron 36m m ca rb on it. On the production b ike, ex pect to see a Dell'Orto ca rb inste ad . The trans has closer ratios for MX , and isn 't particu larly trick, save for the folding shift lever - th e clutch mechanism . Unlike th e traditional lever an d push rod set up. th e Harley engine uses a pair of wash ers and some ball bearings to do th e plat e pushing . The system is compact and completely enclosed , safe from th e elem ents and disaster. It is th e same set up th ey use on th e b ig hogs, too . A Dansi CD I is used to provide all the hot spa rks that th e MX needs. T ha t , alon g with most of th e ot her de tai ls mentioned . will be coming on the production bikes. No figures wer e given us to what kind of power th e Harley puts out , but test riders a t Saddleback had no problem in putting th e 225 -pound scooter throu gh its paces. W ell , it looks competitive. T here you are: if you've been sitting on you r hands wai ting for an alternative to the yellow peril without selling your sister for one of the high priced Eurocrossers , this cou ld be it. ' But considering th e win /loss/place recor of the Harley-Davidson MX d 250 in national competition , its marketing future a mong th e popular masses is more speculative than certain when you stack its reputation up agai nst tha t of Suzuki, Yamaha , Honda , Husqvarna , Maico , etc . T im e will tell , however , if H arley's gamble is going to pay off. We can only hop e. • -nk Thl . - he I-n f-rs ' ' ,MIC -t for a I t he t Ire ey ~our m . can b ~ One of the reasons we have such a !;Ireat name is because we offer great value. And motorcycle tires are no exception . You see, Michelin has only one standard for tires. The highest. So when you buy Michelins for your bike, you're getti.ng more than top quality and super performance . You're getting all the tire your money can buy. Take our popular M-3B line, the S-series universal tire capable of speeds up to 113 mph. With a specially designed . heavy-s iped tread surface designed to shed water fast for stop and start, and most important, corne ring traction in wet weather. The center groo ve tread pattern is des igned to help give directional stability and easy hand ling. Of co urse, the universal M-45, in H&V series", has its own special tread designed for firm, sure road grip and traction , in allangles, especially required by modern sup e r bikes. And the sc ulptured rib tread of the Michelin L-27 is des igned for front end stab ility in S&H se ries . For the winning tire on an d off the road, ask your local dea ler for Michelin. If he hasn 't got the s ize for your bike , ask him to get them. Don't settle for less than all the tire you r money can ~~l~ries tires for machines capable of speeds up to 130 mph, • V-series tires for machines capable of speeds up to 150 mph, MICHBIN FIRST Holeshot? HI PERFORMANCE EXHAUST SYSTEMS Custom Cone Sets "Built 10 Your Spe cificat ions " Airco Sheet Metal 15209 Grevillea Ave. Lawndale. CA 90260 , (213) 675 -5290 Dept . W Snake Pipe 125c $79.50 125x 100 YZ BOc $49.95 Honda Down Pipe CR 125 XR 75 $32.95 Pipeand SilenceMegaphone KTM $69.95 175-250-400 YZ YZ YZ Co mp lete line Mototec-CDI Kits S teel Shoe $45.00 S t lJ P S LOO T ·S h lr t $ 4 .00 . $54.95 All Pipes Teste d , Proven, and Used By th e AIR CONE RACING TEAM . 800".50.00 S rz es 6 t o 1 3 LJ w .ctn All p I Ice s p lu s C. O . D . & Po s ta qe * * Ban k e P ipes Sea ls . P ill io n s . E t, drink , and be m , for tomorrow you diet. a erry M OI OI c Y Cl e c o ve r s . o tSC orak es , W hc(:IS . HlIOS. 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