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/126325
(Above) The speedometer/odometer is tucked in nicely. as is most aU the components on the IT (below). The little blue bullet is fun to ride. • com e In little packages complaints about the ITI 75, ground clearance. Within the first few miles, handling was put to the test through huge whoopdees. About two miles ou t, a horrendous endo was experienced, much to the dislike of the unfamilia r test-rider. The top of the spee dometer popped awa y from the back and the big yellow front number plate was fou nd not to be unbreakable. A few miles on, we noticed the speedometer was actually still intact and working quite weill If that was working, wha t about the odometer? After a 35 mph getoff, it worked perfectly. The bars were tweaked, but when the bike was launched off of a large boulder (u ni n t enti o n a ll y) they snapped back . int o a comfortable position. At the 40-mile point the bike ran out of gas, reall y strange for a 175. A broken-down ride r at the same point syphoned some petrol into the hollow plastic and we headed for the pits some 13 miles away. The empty tank was due to the getoff and losing a lot of ga s. The tank will easily pass th e 50m ile mark. As we left the poor gu y who rendered th e gas, the front en d began swapping ma dly. A quick peek down the fork tubes revealed a com pletely exh austed front tir e. The next 13 miles were pure torture. When we finally reached our dest ination, we gathered our thoughts about the IT175. Power was fine. On a wide open road , 60 mph was reached with ease. The monoshoc1r. rear end swapped slightly in th e whoops, but when th e gas was cranked a little more, it was much easier to nego tiate th e terrain at hand . Bottoming out the forks wasn't hard to accomplish. The feeling is plush, however, and will save 'fatigu e _ in the arms. The handling charaeteru;tics were good , both on extremely slow surfaces or wide open in the middle of the Mojave. If any non -trials b ike observed trials events were scheduled, the IT would have to be considered due to the usable low end torque and fine handling at reduced speeds. On fast fireroads , high-speed turning ma y become a problelP if you are not used to the long wheel based motorcycle. The IT is at home on rocks and in deep sand as it is in the woods and streams. The last thing we criticized was the ground clearance . When a rider competes in an enduro, he can expect some pretty rough stuff. The ground comes up to the skid pla te so qu ickly that if you leave your feet where they are, you better start counti ng the number of toes left before the next loop . T he bike is low to the ground, the overall height being 9.5 inches. This makes it a popular bike for young riders , ladies, and riders just entering the off-road world. . We put a lady beginner on one of . the machines. In even the mo st inexperienced hands, the mount's 216 lb . weight made it easy to hold up when combined with the short overall height. And as for building confidence in a beginner, there is not a bike built that tops the IT175. So there you ha ve it. For the money. IT's the best buy on the market today. an inexpensive , good -handling motorc ycle that will take yo u anywhere you want to go . IT is a blast to ride. Except for on ly one fou led plug due to over-excessive bogging. we could not harm the engine. W ith the proper maintenance. which isn't much, the little ITI75E will run forever and a day . • IT1 75E Specifications Sug gested Retail •. • • • •.•. •• • •• • • • •. • • •• •.•.•• ••.••••. ••... • $1158 Engine •••••••••••• ••••....•. •.•.. ...... Two-stroke. single cylinder Displacement • • • .•. . . . . .. . • . .•. . . . . . . . • . . .• . . .• • .••• .•. •••• 171cc Bor e x stroke .....••.•• •...••.•...... •• • •• . • • • • ••• •. • .• 66 x 50m m Compression ratio • ••.•• . • .• . . . .. . . . .• . . . . . . . • . • • • • . • • . • .• •• • 7.4:1 Lubrication . • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • . . • • . . . • • • . . . • . . . . • • . . . • • •. Premix Carbu retion : VM34SS Mlkuni Ignition ••••.•••• ••• • • : • •• . • • • • • • . . . . . . . . • .• . • . . . .• • • .•• • . . • •• COl Starting . ....•• •. ... . . .•. . Primary ki ck. synchronous dec ompression Chargi ng .. •. • . • • ... • . • • . • . . • • . . • • • •. • • • • • • • • • • • Flywheel ma gn et o Tra!'smission . . ..•• •.•.. • ..••.. •... : . . • . . Six~peed. constant mesh Weight ••••.••• • .•••••••••••••.•.•••.••. • . •. . •.• .. .. . .. .. . 2161bs. Wheelbase • •• •• •.•• . ••• ••• • •. ••• •. ...• ••...• .... .... •.•.... 56 in. Seet heig ht ••..•.•.•• •.• • • ••• •. • •• •..•.•. •.. .... •. • • •.... •. • 34 in. Ground clearanca •••. . • • • • _. • • • • • • . •.. . • . .... ............... 9.5 in. Trail . ... . •. • • • . . • . __.• •• . • . , •.• , , . .. . . . . . .• . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,7 In. Suspension (front)••• • • • •.. • • •..... ... Tele scopic forkltravel: 7.75 in. (rear). : : •. .... . . . . . . •... .. M onocross/travel: 7.3 in. Tires (Front/rear). 3.00x21/4.10x18 Fuel capacity. .. . .. . . ..• •• • , . • • . .. . . .. . .. . . . .. . . . ... . • . . . _. 2.5 gal. 15