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/126283
m oct 1t '9 Suzuki The new Trans·AMA Suzuki M Xers, at first glance, don't look especially diffe rent than the old ones. That's because they don't emphasize their newness w ith special paint jobs, yellow motors or fuel tank styling changes. They are nonetheless all new and very secret machines. The Suzuki people wouldn't tell us how much travel the bikes offe r nor would they disclose the actual displacement of the all-new motor. Riders reported " gobs of low end pow er" and it's safe to assume that they aren' t giving up any suspension travel to the opposition - except perhaps, Honda. The new motor cases actually fit around the swingarm pivot mount, a different method of accompl ishing the same thing Maico did: put the sprocket close to the pivot point. Everything has been changed a little bit. The who le bike has been " brought tog ether" (compressed) to keep the overall height as low as possible and st ill retain long travel suspension. Forks and shocks are by Kayaba (KYBI. Shown is Danny laPorte's bike. Danny, Tony 0, Roger DeCoster and Gerrit Wo lsink all use the latest model Suzukis. (j') I-c V ..0 o ..... u o ... Husqvarna Kent Howerton received th is factory prototype Husky wh ich features the new frame, airbox and extra long version of .the Husqverna front forks that has been tested during the '77 GP season in Europe. He did not. however , get the new motor that the factory 'S work ing on - a neat package with small cases and primary kick. Instead, Howerton's using a basically stock 390CR motor upon wh ich mechanic Eric Crippa admits to having done " a little grinding on the cylinder." Minding shock/spring duti es on the back end are th e Ohlins (standard equipment on the '78 CR390sI; the works version has triple springs instead of the doub le spring production units. Husky's leading axle forks have been length ened on the wor ks machine by replacing the tu bes and damp ing rods with longer parts. Eric claims there's 11" of travel both front and rear. Especially trick , at least from the mechanic's point of view , is the air filt er wh ich requires no .... tools to service. The new frame appears to be particular ly strong in the top tube/steering head area, and of course it's designed to hold the new airbox. Harley-Davidson Team Heavy·Duty brought a pair of new orange 351cc factory motocross machines to the Mid· Ohio Trans-AMA opener. Not much has been changed from the 500cc National machines although some die cast parts are now being used in the motors. Mikuni carburetors are used. No frame changes were made, and quite Iikelv none were needed since the riders report that the bikes are just about right as they stand. Harley-Davidson has come a long way in the last year in MX bike development; both Staten and Tripes are conf ident that they can improve their placings now that th e machines have most of the bugs worked out. Fox Airshox are used in conjunction with a Cross Up, Inc. alloy swingarm to give the H·Ds 10 % " of rear wheel travel. Up front, experimen· tal air/spring Kayaba forks are being used, and they also put out 10 % " of travel. No promises were made of an upcoming production model, but the wor ks bikes are lookin g less " one-off" all the time. Mor e finished parts are replacing special built pieces a sign that they may be tooling up to mass produce a few for us. 25