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/126267
, i ~ E (Continued from page 12) " ... . some times 1 th ou ght th e rea r end was go ing to sta n to swap , but it never did. The rear suspension was a lill ie stiff for me but it was pred ictable. Everyt hing is in th e right pla ce. T he foorpegs are ju st th e right heigh t, th e rear suspe nsio n worked ." . Bell ci rc u la te d the tra ck a t im pressive speed s. Du rin g th e in itia l Dunlap test ing the plan was for Mike to rid e a 30· minute mota a nd see how t he bike felt at ra ce speeds. Nine minutes int o the moto , the H arl ey at e a piston ring. A qu ick teardown by the a tten d ing Harley-Davidson team me ch anic revea led that th e timing was d r astic all y a d va n ce d , leading to detonation and consequently a st rai n on th e ring. AMF representatives offered the MX2 50 to us again for a not her eva lua tio n ride lat er. The second day of rid ing was a n l'yl'-ope nl' r. T he bike th at handl ed well o n th e delux e Dunl ap tra ck su d de n ly became different o n t h e co bby Sa dd leb ac k terrain . The lea ding -axl e, n ine -inch travel KYB fork was wa y too soft for the ha rd adobe , bottom ing out many rimes per la p . Tbe right fork leg sea l lea ked like a nt' from a n old I·lusky. Dam p ing see med on th e mon ey, but th e spring ra te wasn 't eve n close to being righ t. On th e other end , th e KYB rem ot e reserv oir shoc ks were grea t. T hese are th e sa me sh ocks Fl yin g Ma ch in e Factory (FMF) puts on t he bikes t hey spo nsor on th e 125 Nat ional circ uit. W ith a p rice o f arou nd S1.700 , th ere a re many things that sho u ld not be on t he bike. The ca ble guides look like recycled coat hangers a nd o ne broke in the first 10 minutes of rid ing . The exh aust pipe toa sted eve ryo nl"s leat hers. The brakes ha ve tw o positions: on and off. with nothing in bet ween . Side panels stick out a full in ch farther than seems ne cessary. (On the plus sid e. the right side panel is easy to remove for air cl eaner access 14 - JUSt by rotating three scr ews onc half turn each .) One final note about th e price. W e've all ' be com e very used to in credible buys in J apan ese machinery. Very lillie yen will pick up a ver fine racer from several Ja an ese manufacturers . Harley-Da vidson ha s not overlooked this fact , a nd, o n June 7 , fil ed a petiti on with th e U .S . Treasu ry Department to halt a llege d "d u m p ing" pra ct ice b y J a p an ese manufa cture rs. The H -D peti tion th a t the J apanese a lleged manu fa ctu rers are selling th eir bik es fo r less th an full va lue , t he reb y unfairl y underm in in g Harl eyDa vidson 's market positi on a nd sa les. If th e p etit ion is a ct ed upon , dra sti cally inc reased pri ces for Japanese b ikes may soo n be real it y, ju st as inc reased p rot ection ism and _ de regul ati on is a lrea dy ra isin g th e tra pri ce o f Japan ese-m ad e co lo r tele visions and stereo com po ne nts . In essence , whil e the MX 250 pri ce seems high toda y, it m a y be norma l. or even "low" in th e near future . Harley-Davidson 's Grand National horsepow er is ca rr ie d ove r to th e MX250 . T he bik e is very fast. Riding the MX on a hard.track is like riding a p ipey 125 as far as th e powerband goes, on ly with a lot mor e za p . Exiting turns on th e b ike is easy unt il t he po wer p la nt ca me on th e power band , than it's whi te -kn uc kle tim e as you hold on for you r life . T he powe r doesn't come on smoot hl y, and t he bik e vibra tes worse than an o pe n c1 asser. At -the sta n ga tt' , th e powt' r is co nt ro lla b le th rou g h wheel sp in . If you bu y a H -D a nd pl an to ra cc wher e th er e is tract ion on th e sta rring line , better t a ke u p ast ro no my - you'll definitel y be look ing a t a lot of sky. Other bikes pu lled t he H -D in sta rring line d rag ra ces in first gea r, b ut afte r th e ora nge beast got on i he power band it would ou t-pu ll a nything . W e ofte n foun d a large neutral between second a nd t hi rd gt'a r. In cluded with th e bike is a sna p py stand that ca n be used on the side or under th e fram e . A liu lc packet of pans is also included - t hr ee gaskets . a n ext ra foam filter elerne nt , spa rt' plug, jets , and a bout five co u ruers ha ft sprockets to dial in t hc gca ring. For the first yea r of product ion th e Harl ey-Davidson MX2 50 is remarkable. AMF has int roduced a bik e fast eno ugh to win a ny 250cc rid cr cla ss. The ca tc h is. you have to hold on .. . •