Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

bone tube. The engi ne is a stressed member of th e frame. Chain adjustmentis a cco m p lish ed via threaded bolts in th e swinga rm ends rather tha n the snail a dj us ters of th e past. A safety-type sea t, Magura levers and grips co mplete th e top half of th e packa ge. Grim eca co n ical hubs laced to Akront go ld an od ized rims handle th e su p port ing rol es. Our test unit ro lled on Dunlops, but ea rly production models ca me with Pirelli 's 3:001 3.20X2 1MT25E on th e front and a 4.50 MT 25 in th e rear. A st iffer a n d a lighter sp ri ng for the Ohl in s rear shock are availa ble as options. The Ohl in s is stro ked through its .travel via a ri sing rate " Q ua d Link" system . While we didn 't have th e machine long en o ug h to graph the action, it feels as if th e rat e rises fa irl y radically. The Marzocchi fork is the lat est aluminum slider mod el. Alum inum sliders have proved to ha ve less sti ction than th e magnesium sliders of past years. Out of the parts department and into the dirt they sit. Grudgingly, even the Ba rd a h l -blo oded two- stroke lover will give a thumper credit for a nice sound and hill-level- Impression: 1983 ~an·Am Sonie MX Can-Am's new thumper: Super Sonie! By Karel Kramer Four-strokes. The very mention or sound of one brings delirious smiles or h aughty sneers to the faces of off-road m otorcyclists, depend6 ing o n which side of the.valves/p orts fence in g torque. Four-strok es have enjoyed a ha lfhearted renaissance through th e efforts of the big four , but, with th e exce p ti on of th e delightful XR200 Honda, the saki-sippin g thumpers hav e deli vered power, handling or sus pens io n - never a com bination of more than two of th ese trai ts. Several co ttage industry ' sh ops turned out one-off style big buck thumpers that had all th e traits above, but the engines were a little (or a lot) on the ca nt a n kero us side. CCM (C lews competition mach in es) 'was o ne of th e best of th ese lim ited editio n racers, but th e old BSAIClews resurrection was not alwa ys reliable. Can-Am ', new Sonic MX gets a big check in the "all of th e above" box in th e desirabl e traits co lu m n . Don't be surp rised . Can-Am's new est models are manufactured by the Armstrong/ CCM con cern in England. Allen Clews is the father of this n ew thumper. Am eri can Class C 'racing h as shown that great amounts of dependable horsepower ca n pump ou t of th e new Rotax engine. Picture th e Can-Am £lying through th e air with all the other m ega-horsepower thumpers that suspen d, tu rn on a dime, ju m p easi ly, start eas ily a nd feel light. Yo u're p icturing the CanAm alone. On t he showroom Compared to last year's Sonic, th e new Sonic MX shares only the name and engine casti ngs. The co u nt erba lance r shaft is m issing, a savin gs of seven p ounds, th e co m p ression is higher an d the ca m, ca rbure tion and . exha ust are more radical. but the eng ine is much th e sa me . An all-new , Ohlins/M a rzo cch i sus pen ded 531 Reynolds tube frame en co m passes th e Ro tax en gi ne. The welds and swi n ga rm are ni cel y done, a n d flex is not aproblem with the frame. Orange p aint protects th e Reyn o lds tubing and sets off white plasti c/fiberglass bodywork. Early models will have Kevlar reinforced fiberg lass fuel tanks, but they will event ua lly be delivered in plastic. Ital ian plast ic keeps th e mud off, and a difficult to thread gas cap sim ilar to a Maico ca ps the tank. Engin e o il ci rcu la tes from th e dry sump engine into the frame back- Wh en riding time comes, sim p ly turn on th e gas, and then go get a sta n d and a £Iashlight to m ak e a safari for th e ch o ke. The lever is hidden under th e fuel tank.. .reall y hidden. We didn 't know the bik e h ad one till th e last da y of riding. Slowly kick the starter through its stroke. When you see yell ow in th e cam cover window , give it a healthy boot. Surprise; it starts just lik e any racer. Just crack the throttle a little while gi ving it a ki ck. Strong or ta ll riders j ust kicked it without the drill and were rewarded with a booming exhaust note. The exhaust note is very healthy and nice, but entirely too loud. Please keep this one on the tra ck o n ly; at leas t until the aftermarkei guys come up with som eth in g a little quieter. However, because of th e fit between th e exhaust and th e rear fra me , it may be difficult. Throw a leg over . Sea t height is a claimed 39", but that can't be m easu red at the lowest point, which is where the rider sits . Riders from 5'2" to 6'5" helped with riding chores. No one complained a bo u t the seat height. Given their druthers, a few of the taller testers would have preferred a taller perch. Once the oil has warmed and the en gin e is perking, a pull of the firm , but not difficult, dutch and a tap of the gear lever gets you ready. An y th ro tt le setting will ge t yo u underway . First is very low, almost not ne eded, yet fifth is ca pa ble of roughly th e same top speed as a six -speed wide-ratio Husky - that's fast. Roll up to the starting gate, sli p it into second, take off an d grab two m ore gears before tum one. You get a stran ge sensation of being vacuumed into the turn. This is not just a fast thumper, it's a fairly fast Open bike. Under maximum traction situations a two-stroke Open bike would leave it, but lesser co n ditions give it a fightin g ch ance. A four-stroke ha s a lot of reciprocating weight loading the gears; therefore, th e Sonic wa s reluctant to shift under power. We would, however, call that a trait, not a problem . After th e start there is alwa ys a fir st turn . Hit a co up le of downshifts, grab the brakes and crash. Because of the engine braking, the rear brake is a toggle switch. A very de licate boot is . required. We had best resul ts just down-shifting and using the front brake. After a good deal of time on th e bike, we could again use the brake. Try aga in with a new respect for the brakes an d ' the Sonic rails around the turn. The front wheel adheres well in a lmost all situations. Sand is the one-exception. In deep sand the rider must keep.the throttle

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