Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

tion . And. since dirt can't get in, the chain won't stretch a nd wear out sp rocke ts either. Just be su re to avoid spraying the chain with h ig h-pressure water hoses because water can get by th e O-rings. Also, bu y yo ur emergency spare masterlinks when yo u buy yo u r bike; co n vent io na l ma sterlinks won 't [it O -ring chai n s. Back in the sadd le, aga in We picked up o ur '83 on a Friday. took it tra il ri di ng Sa tur day an d gave it to o ne of o ur test rider s to rid e in a bi g [our-s tro ke MX o n Sunday bo ne stock. With headl ight and ta il ligh t burn ing , th e XR was ridden to a class wi n ove r th e grue li ng Carlsbad USG P course. Short shi rti ng [rom fir st gear proved to be th e tic ke t to good sta rts a nd, while th e sus pe n sio n took a beating , th e motor did a n excelle nt job of pulling o u r 165 pound rider up a n d do wn hill s at co m p eti tion speed . Mo tocro ss was n' t the intended use [or th e XR, however , a n d a fte r th e sm all -bore valveslapper passed the test a t th e track, we returned it to th e trails. Motivation Impression: 1983 Honda XR200R When will time catchup? By J im Bow man Photos by Karel Kra mer and Bowman Wi th its new blue sea t and tool bag, and yellow number plate backings, the 1983 Honda XR200R looks sharp enough to make any enduro or trail rider's throttle hand 10 twitch - even th ough there have been only minor refinements since 1982. This li ttle four-stroke tra ilblazer is basi- cally the same machine that inherited Honda's Pro-Lin k suspension three years a go. Could H onda's engineers have des igned a bike [or 1983 three years a h ead o[ ' its ti me? We had -to find out. Besides the graphics, the '83 XR has received new a n d lighter alloy rims and a front hub. Th e biggest gain, though, is th e O-ring chain. The XR already has a reputation [or being reliable, but the addition of the O -ring chain should leave little more than tires to wear ou t, The O -ri ng chain uses rubber 0rings between the outer chain plates and the inner links to loc k in lubricating oil and lock out dirt and water. With the ex ception of rust protection and sprocket lubrication, the O- ring chain basically doesn 't' needlubrtca-' Getting the XR underway us ually tak es two well pl aced kicks. Our 5'2" femal e tester had a [air amount of trouble starting th e 200 at first, but had [ewer problems la ter when she concentrated more on the task. Brin ging [ire to th is [our-stroke beast requ ires a full kick and just a little throttle; half-hearted kick s won 't do. O u r taller lady tester didn 't have any trouble at all. Once the m oto r is going, you might as well never turn it orr. Not onl y does it require minimum maintenance, but it is a time proven engine with reliability inherited from th e [our-stroke engines that Honda has been producing [or decades. When you consid er the marvelous gas mileage and th e 2.1 ga llon tank, it becomes evide nt th at th e engine kill swi tch will probabl y be used long before th e en gi ne sto ps . The kill sw itch works great an d wa s ap p reci a ted [or its relia bility. With a claimed horsepower rating of 19 a t 9,000 rpm , th e six-speed transmission provides far more torque to th e rear wheel than arm-jerking speed. We round th e torque transfer a l mos t to o efficien t in first gear and considered buying a sma lle r rear tire in the hopes of ga ining some wheel spin. The p ro blem was climbing hills in fir st . The bike never lo st traction an d would wh eeli e right o n over backwards. Our problem was soon so l ved when we round th at th e XR co u ld handle th e hills better' in th e taller gears. T ake a run in second o r third and, if sh irt ing down to secon d won ' t ge t yo u over th e top , yo u' ll probably ha ve to fi n d a nothe r wa y. The bike won ' t wh eeli e as readil y in seco n d and th e motor doe sn 't so und nearly as ferociou s, but th ere is a surprising a mou nt of grunt a n d th e on ly hills th a t tu rned us a way were far steeper and rougher th an we've ever encountered while ridi n g end uro s. Save fir st gea r [or sta rts, downhill s and tight enduro sections. Suspenders From first gear to a good heal th y clip in sixth, 9.7" front and 9.8" rear wheel travel soak up little to medium sized bumps to give th e rider a soft and smooth ri de. As we me ntioned before, the suspension was n't up to pa r [o r motocross, bu t that is not what it wa s intended [or. T ra il bikes an d end uro bikes are set up so ft to soak u p w hat the ri der is m ost li kely to encou nter on the trail a nd that is j ust what th e XR legs do. As de li vered, the suspe n sion on the XR was set just right for our Powder. P uff tes(~. O Dr mort a«gmsiyt t id:

• Cover