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/126610
' fh~" ~~~ia'lr' d;si~~ I ~[' ih~ I&~ie pans for both the 125 and 250cc is similar, the latter being just a largerscale version. Mon osh ock rear suspen sion took lon ger to infiltra te th e I25cc class than th e bigger capa cities, as th e weight penalty of the system co mpared to conve nt io na l twin rear units wa sn 't deem ed wor thwhil e. Now , however, MBA has circu mvente d this p robl em by having the ca ntilever swingarm made by a local craftsman in Pesaro fro m a secret ul tra-lightweight aircraft a lloy, whi ch com bined with th e DeCarbon un it, weighs th e sa me as th e old setup . This modification appeared first in 1980 on th e wo rks bik e, representing thefirstreaJ change to theoriginal Moller cycle parts of 1975, a nd has now been in corporat ed in th e 1981 replicas. Adjustable 32mm Marzocchi forks (35m m on th e 250), Campagnolo wheels , Brembo cali pers a nd Zanzani di scs complete th e frame specification. It should be noted that it's o nly due to pressure from their customers that MBA fit the twin front discs : they don 't believe this extra weight is . really necessary, and can offer an expensive but weight-reducing mod in the form of a single large-diameter alloy-plasma spra yed plastic disc which weighs only a pound - full yfloating, too , like th e twin Zanzanis. Mind yo u , with th e .little ma chine capable of 130 mph and wei gh ing .185 Ibs. with a litre of 25:1 mixture, I think I'd lik e th e reassuran ce of those twin di scsI The 250 does aro und 145 mph and weighs 240 Ibs. all up . . MBA's ent h usiastic approach to commercial raci ng bike manufacturer is co ntagious - a nd from th e look of the San Angelo factory with its twin engi ne brak es, race engine p rod uction lin e (each engi ne is built by the same man throughout, however, just like at Aston Manin ), substa n tial spares stock an d sound financial footing, there'll be MBAs a p lenty on the grids of th e world's tra cks for some years to com e. Any plans for . further expansion, I asked Sergio Boiani? " Well, we're aware that unless the 125cc class takes off in a market like the USA which can a bsorb a lot more bikes then we can only go into another class," answered Sergio. "We were very disappointed that the FIM abandoned the 350cc class because it gave smaller manufacturers like 'us and Armstrong another area for competition. But the Japanese manufacturers didn 't want it to continue, and it seems that whatever they want they get, even though they really only reign supreme in the 500cc class . We'd like to have built a 500cc, but it could bankrupt us very easily trying to match Yamaha and Suzuki. Perhaps if the 500 Morbidelli had been more successful.. ." An expressive Italian shrug of the shoulders ended that particular train of thought! For 1982 MBA will have two new riders, Bianchi having split from them after his unsuccessful '81 campaign. " Moller would like to bring Roland Freymond with him from Ad Maiora," said Sergio. " beca use he feels he's an excellent development rider as well as capable of win ning th e title - he was after all second to Mang in '81." H e al so has good sponsorship from Elf Switzerlandl "If he comes he 'll ride the 250cc, and on the 125 it could be Hugo Vignetti from Argentina, who was our most successful privat e owne r in 1981 , ' or perhaps Jacques Bolle from France, who used to have th e Motobecane: he' s probably our first cho ice. except he insists that we al so provide hi s brother Pierre with a bike, and that we aren' t prepared to do. Either way, we'll just be running one rider in each class for 1982. and try to give our customers as much su pport as possible, as we have done in th e past." • c-r 00 0") ...... TICKETS AVAILABLE AT HOWE AVE. BOX OFFICE - (916) 920-1121 925 Howe Ave., Sacramento, California 95825 - OR ORDER TICKET Total Quantity Turf Club Seats Box Seats at $25.00 each at $17.50 each $ $ _ _ Reserved Grandstand at $15.00 each $ _......,._ _ (General Admission $10.00 on sale at Box Office on nightof race only) ENCLOSED IS MY CHECK FOR $ _ Please enclose a self addressed stamped envelope along with check or money order payable to: HOWE AVE. BOX OFFICE - 925 Howe Ave., Sacramento, California 95825 Name' .....;. Phone _ Address,_ _-.;. _ Clty State Zlp _ _ 2nd T.rry Cunninghem Huoqv.m. on DUNLOP 3rd Drew Smith K.weseki on DUNLOP . 125cc 11t Mik. Melton Huoqv.m. on DUNLOP 175cc 1ltJohn M.rtin C.n-Am on DUNLOP Open 11t M.rk Hyde Huoqvem. on DUNLOP 4-Strok. CI... 11t Bob PMrc. C.n-Am on DUNLOP M. . ~.s tire Dullllop...........' ~DUN~OP 1"0. Box 1109-,Buffakl..N;Y ,~ - 29