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/126631
U ERCR055WOR (5 Kawasaki KX250 T h is new mean Team G reen ma ch in e hasn 't been given an y spe cia l works label, but th e bike has been com p letely updated for '83. T eam Kawasak i reps didn't give ou t much info o n th e new mach in e, but th ey did mention tha t th e suspe nsio n is radi call y different from th e '83 production bike. Wa ter-cooling ha s replaced last year 's air -coo led version. New styli ng is bol d , with red works seats wh ich carr y the " SR" factory designation. Like the other factory bik es, the KX weighs in a t 216 pounds and uses few ti ta n ium parts. It has a five-speed transmission " p lus over dr ive," according to team coordinator Roy Turner. Yam ah a OW68 After fielding aircoo led works bikes in '82, Yamaha returned to water-cooling in '83. The coo lin g system is basically the same as on Yamaha 's production models, but o n the works bikes the coo la nt ru ns through the frame. Rear suspensio n u tilizes a n O hl in s shock, and the biggest difference between p roduction bikes a nd the wor ks co u nterpart is shock geometry- the wor ks bikes put mor e power to the grou nd. . T he works bikes have a larger brake dia me ter front a nd rear than the p roduction models. Weigh t is down in '83, with the O W's right at the 2 16 pound limit. With less ti tanium use d in '83, Team Yamaha fin ds it much easier to stock works parts than in '82. Hon da RC250 Basic changes with few radica l twists were ma de when H o n da crafted th e '83 RC250. T he rear tail section can sti ll be removed quickly with the release of th ree bolts for easy access to the rear shock. T hi s year, the rear tail section is con structed of steel tubing instead of aluminum, so that, according to Honda reps, costs cou ld be kept down. A fib erglass a irbo x sits in th e rear section, and . rear suspension is handled through a Showa shock. Pro-Link linkage is similar to last year. Longer radiators hav e provided extra cooling for the works engine which is up on horsepower in '83. With the AMA weight limit at 2 16 pounds, little titanium is used because trimm in g weight is no t a p ro blem . Note the hydra ulic disc rear brake. Suzuki RH83 At the 216 pound weight limit, o n ly four pieces of titanium are used on the Suzuki R H - at th e triple clamps. The bike uses some of the same linkage as last year, but the sh ock has been set lower for a better center of gravity. The new R H has alte re d cy linder pl a ce men t , t he exhaus t port s are loca ted off the left sid e of the cyli nder instead of centered off the front. T here are two versions o f the . RH . Ma rk Barn ett and Sco tt Bu rn wort h are usi ng the mo del with th e air filter located where the gas tank used to be (fuel is actually contained below the " tan k") . Alan King is ri di ng a hand-crafted version .wh ich is 10 percent la rger than the ot her model, due to his heigh t. •