Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

just wa n t to p o tter round a n d pi ck up place money, but th ese bikes wer e desi gned to go out th ere and w in ! And on th e pan of th e track I did qui ckly get th e hang o f i t - ro ugh ly turns tw o to seven inclusive, mostl y because I co u ld see where I wa s su pp osed to be goi ng - I was a ble to find o u t how well th ev fulfill th at ro le. The co m binatio n' o f a vas t torq ue band , pinpoint handling and su perb front brak es (I hardl y used th e rear eithe r : it 's redundant ) make the Intercep tor o ne o f th e easies t bikes to sta n riding fast o n through co rne rs . M ind yo u, given my E uropean heritag e o f ri di ng ' prope r' race bikes with fairings an d clip-e ns a nd suc h , it felt stra nge to be sitt in g there wi th the high , flat bar s to ho ld o n to a n d no fairin g, giving th e illusio n of being a bit hi gh er o ff th e g rou nd th an usual o n a race- tra ck, but a fte r a few laps even that di sappeared and I began to feel co m p le te co n fide nce . Two p la ces exe mp lified th is: turn two is a lo ng, lo ng uphill horseshoe with just a touc h o f o ff-ca m ber. You go in th ere hard, lean th e bike hard over to th e righ t, a nd leave i t th ere for what seems like a n age wh ile yo u hope yo u ca n catch th e right m oment to sn ap th e throttl e o pen wi tho ut having th e back en d step o u t o n yo u . The co ntrols o f the Intercep to r are so lig h t a nd res pons ive a nd the steeri ng so perfectl y bal an ced , w ith ou t a h i nt of th e understeer th at wou ld spell di saster if yo u did n't nip it in th e bud , th at af ter a wh ile I was a ble to start takin g it a gear hi gher than I' d been do ing a nd let th e tir es sta rt ea rn i ng the ir living . Tha t's wh a t in spi ring co nfide nce means o n a bi ke. Th e other pl ace was j ust a bi t furth er o n , th e 3/4 co m plex th at swoop s up th e side o f th e h ill , turns . shar p right. th en d ro p s do wn hi ll again . H ere the ben efits o f th e 16" front wh eel became rea di ly apparent, becau se while brak in g ha rd for the entry to turn three (a n d those brak es are fantasti c, wi th lots of p rogression and feel ) yo u ha ve to turn into th e co rner qui ckl y and sta rt climbi n g th e h ill without losing mom entum , all th e whi le tr ying not to run off th e edge where th e road flattens out. Then at th e top of th e h ill you have to flick over to th e righ t to drop down aga in to tu rn five . The bi ke felt so beau tifull y bala nced and the steerin g so li gh t a nd respo nsive that again after a few la p s I co u ld a p p roac h thes e co rn ers with impugnity , too. And under braking for turn three th e anti-dive reall y retained road feel and movement, rath er than freezing th e suspen sion a s o n o the r race bikes I' ve tri ed . . An yth ing I didn 't like? Well , th e front end felt a bit stiff (p ro ba bly set up for Da ytona 's bank in gs), a nd at th e end o f th e da y I rea lly d idn 't care th at much fo r th e rid ing p osi tion in race terms, bu t that 's a q uestion of personal prefere nce a nd what I'm used to . Wi tho ut a noth er bi ke there to com pare it to , I'm n ot sure about th e Intercep to r's accele rat io n ag ainst the o pposit io n , but to have go t a bike beladen with wat er -cooling so close to th e cl as s we ig ht lim i t is a rea l feat that H onda sho u ld be proud o f, especia llv since th ev've done it without to o ~n uch exotic metallurg y, And their power output wa s certa in ly well ah ea d of the rest un til Ka wasa ki ca ug ht up a lot at th e en d o f th e seaso n . But no w Ka wasa ki h as closed its race shop, put riders an d engi neers on the u nem p lo yment lin e, and we' ll nev er kno w if Honda would rea lly ha ve got their own ba ck in '84. T ho ug h it 's rumored that Yamaha a nd Suzuki will bo th have a Superbik e tea m in 1985, that still leaves next season as all the makings of a H onda be nefit: yo u know - a racing certa inty. . ~ lojak Crowned National Hare Scrambles Champion Husqvarna rider Ed Lojak became the first rider in AMA history to earn the Natio nal Hare Scrambles championship by capturing the overall win in the 9th and final round of the series held at the Loretta Lynn Dude Ranch in Hurricane Mills,Tennessee.His Husqvarna 250XC carried him to victory, Husqvarna riders also clinched 3 overall class titles in the National Hare . ship. Cong ratu lations to Mark Hyde, 200elass Winner, Kevin Hines,Open Class Win ner, and Barry Higgins, Senior Class Winner: Sc~blesChampion. Th e Husqvarna 250XC is a Husqvarna builds motorcycles to proven Hare Scrambles winn er. Th e fit the needs of any rider- Motoair cooled 250 six speed engine is cross, Enduro, and Cross Coun try. Th ey are backed by many years of simple and reliable yet powerful when you need it. ITC suspension research, testing, and competition. keeps the rear wheel on the ground This intense commitment to qual over the roughest terrain, for ity, dependability, and performance superior handling and high speed have made the Hu sqvarna Motorstability. cycle a winner. All Husqvarna XC's feature large See the full line of Cross COUntry fuel capacity, rear fender loop, bikes at your Husqvarna Dealer and engine pro tection guards, wide become a pan of the winn ing ratio six speed transmissions, low tradition . maint enance, q uick change wheels, and an ignition that T H E F I N A L STEP UP can deliver light ing if desired. Husqvarn a Motorcycle Co. • 4925 Mercury Street H usqvarna e San Diego. Ca. 92 111 NATIONAL #1 ' Frank Gio rdano wins tne 1983 NM RA Sup er 983 NMRA Modified #1 p la te ! Jim Cooper wins 1 . Competition Elim inator #1p la te! Fra nk and Jim have three things in common. They both are nationa l record hol ders . have national # 1 p lates and depend on WES-CAM PERFORMANC E CAMSHAFTS to kee p them winning . For more information on the # 1p e rform a nce camsha fts contact your local deal er or send $3 fo r the 1 984 c a ta log. 55

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