Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

...... ~ 0.. < shifts, sending th e tachometer to th e far side o f the Twilight Zone. The R never missed a bea t and settled back into its steady idle a s if to ch astise the rider. And th en th ere is th e so u n d. In a tim e wh en constr ic ted , nasal whines are common-place, th e free-breathing growl emanati ng fro m th e R 's Kerker is refr eshing . It 's not loud to th e point of a n noying th e occu pa n ts of th e Oldsmobil e in the next lane a t a s top ligh t, but it is au thor ita tive. Kawasa ki officials told us that th e Rep lica had no trouble passing th e governmental no ise standards. If tha t's so , we on ly ha ve o ne q ues tion. Wh y can' t we have more mot orcycles that sound like th e R? T h e tr ip le, drilled disc brakes, are defi ni tely up to th e task of brin ging th e bike to a stop. T he fro nt uni ts are especia lly strong, aided no doubt by th e sticky Dunlop tire. The rear brak e needs a del icat e touch a t th e foo t lever to deli ver its best performa nce. Used indelica tely, it locks u p the rea r wh eel easi ly a nd, in extre m e cases, ca uses th e rea r end to h op ala rm ingly. After a lillie practice, though , short, stra ig h t sto ps are the order o f the day. Whil e th e shoc ks may have you cu rsi ng th em o n the way to the twisties, o nce yo u ge t the re an d a s lo n g as th e asp ha lt is smooth, th e only th ing yo u 'll th ink abo u t is how far to lean over in the nex t co rner. If th e R 's h andling isn't qui te up to the level o f its real-racer cousin, th en a t least it ranks n ear th e top of th e big-bore str ee t bik e heap . All th e chassis p arts are so we ll tuc ked in tha t if you sta n to grind meta l o ff the undercarriage, stop im media tely, th en proceed to th e nearest roa d race track. There's a good cha nce you could be win n ing trophies o n your Su nday a fternoons instea d o f merel y im p ressi ng yo ur ridi ng buddies. O ne of o u r test riders, who road races, came back a fter a short sti nt o n th e 1000 wi th a big grin o n h is face. " You know," he said, "even with th e stock tire s, on a ra ce tra ck, I think I could d rag my kn ee prett y easi ly with th is thing." Other th an the shocks, we do h ave a few co m p la ints a bo u t th e big Kawa saki. At 1500 miles the p a int on the exha us t p ipes started to fade and, soon after, ru st began to appear. Kawasa ki is aware of th e pro blem . and says th a t th e fau lt doe sn't lie in the pipe's Kal-Gard coati ng , bu t in th e base m at erial sprayed on before th e final painting. In any case , th e problem, should it occur on a cu stom er 's bike, wo u ld be taken care of u n der th e sta ndard 12-month wa rran ty. T he Dun lop rear tir e, wh ile offering exce lle nt tracti on for th e R 's corner-stra fing duties, did seem a little shon on wea r. And whi le we ma y treat ou r test bik es with a littl e m or e vigor th an th e average owner , 2000 miles betw een tir e changes isn ' t very long. Alth ough th e quaner fai ring adds to th e repli-racer th em e, o ur shorter riders commented that it deli vered an a n noying blast of wi nd righ t a t helmet level. The shorte r g uys a lso co m p la ined about seeing a reflection o f th em selves in th e glass cove ring th e ins trument pod. It was especia lly bo the rso me if th e ri der had o n a wh ite h elmet as it tended to blen d in wi th the white nu meral s on th e tach a nd speedo, (T he reflect ion was useful for checking o ut you r Ed d ie La wson Rep lica Racing Cro uch , however. ) There was so me vibra tio n noticeable in the Iootpegs a nd handlebar s, bu t th in gs smoothed ou t a t cru ising speeds. On a mainten an ce n ot e, the four-into-one ex haust made it necessary for Kawasaki to rem ove th e bik e's cen tersta nd , so chain lubing and tire changes are a little more inv olved a nd tim e consuming th an usu al. Also, th e exha ust has to be dropped to ch ange engine oi l. To the rider interested in th e R , though , these things will ma tter not one bit. To h im , th e co m p la ints are o n ly trivial ities. Yes, for less m on ey he co u ld buy a no the r big street bike, cu t down the sea t, add a quarter fairin g, rea rsets a nd lo w bars . Kerker will be on ly too g la d to sell h im a n ex ha us t th at will bring th e so und to p leasi n g levels . He co u ld even sp ring for a tr ick pain t job and fancy graph ics. But it wo n 't be qu it e the sa m e th in g , because th e Repl ica h as a certa in in trinsic feel 10 it th at would be hard to duplicat e. Stre tched o u t o ver its 5.7-ga llo n ga s tank an d tucked in beh ind th e tinted windscreen, every freeway off-ramp is so me how magi ca lly tra nsfo rm ed in to th e Co rkscrew a t Lagu na Seca or th e Caro usel at Sea rs Po int. T h ro ugh some process, tha t VW Micro bu s you j us t passed beco mes Baldwin or Rainey or Cooley, a nd yo ur snap-downs h ift into th e nex t co rner is almost like a figh ter pla ne 's victory ro ll. T ha t's what th e Superbike Rep lica is for. And wh il e it ma y pa le wh en com pa red to th e ge n u ine art icle, th e R ma kes a grea t race -wi n n ing pl atform in th e ri der 's m ind. Kawasak i shou ld ha ve named it the Walter Mitty Specia l because, for stra igh tening o u t th at fa vori te stretch of backroa d asp halt - with visions o f th e Daytona in field dancin g in your h ead - the b ig , g ree n b i ke h a s n o pee rs. • Specifications Engine Type Transverse. four-cylinder, four-stroke. Displacement ,:, , . , . . , ., ., ·. 9 9 8 cc . Bore x stroke , 69.4 x 66mm. Compression ratio 9 .2:1. Starting system , Electric. Ignition , Solid-state electronic. Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Five-speed. Carburetor Four 34mm Mikuni. Frame Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Double cradle. Front t ire , , 100/90-19 t u beless. Rear tire , , , 120/90-18 tUbe less. Dimensions Wheelbase ,, ,, Seat height Dry weight (claim ed) Fuel capacity . . , Oi l capacity Suggested ret ail price , , , 60.04 in. , . . 30.5 in. 489 Ibs . _ 5.7 gal. 3 .7 Iitres. N/ A. 29

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