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/126772
The OW69 has a hand-formed aluminum gas tank and fiberglass fairing and tailsection/seat. The close ups seen here show the four magnesium Mikuni carburetors with intake shields riveted in place - the shields keep the sides of the fairing from being sucked against the carburetor bell mouths at high rpm. Two radiators cool the engine, a large one fitted behind the frame downtubes and a small one hung off the front of the downtubes, just behind the front wheel. A combination of rubber hoses and aluminum tubes connect the radiators. Coils bolt to the downtubes and a self-generating COl runs off the output shaft on the left side of the engine. The engine is a stepped Square-Four with four individual crankshafts geared together at the center; the crankcases split at about a 45° angle - on the same plane as the cylinder bases - and the six-speed transmission can be removed through a cover behind the dry clutch. out of the corners so slowly. "He rode a smart race... " "It would smoke the tire off the corners," Lawson says. "Out of turn one, from the scoring tower or before, just light up the tire until you were straight. "At the Match Races last year in the rain, we just could not ride 'em. Kenny and I finished like founh or fifth in some of the races in rain. They were impossible to ride. Yamaha wanted us to ride 'em again this year and we told them no. "These things don't like to slide. They want to high side. You turn on the gas and they want to stand up. 50 throllie control, is so important, you have to discipline yourself. They're difficult to ride. "We rode them at Laguna 5eca and it was hard. Difficult. I didn't enjoy it atall. "My 500 is lighter, smaller, easier to ride, has beller power. It's a completely different motocycle from the 680s. The 680s this year are good for Daytona because it's all straightaways. "Last year they were a lot worse. Now you can ride it off the powerband. Before there wa nothing there, then about 7500-8000 it woulet kick in, all at once, everything. "It's fine for Daytona. Even before, the first time I rode it at Daytona, I thought 'This is the way it should feel.' It felt fast. I knew it was fast. I was just so happy to get on a fast bike after riding slow garbage at Daytona every year for all my life." What's this OW69 really like? Comparing its specifications to street bike tells much of the story. Consider the Yamaha RZ350, a machine noted for its light weight, . quick handling and excellent power. The TZ350 weighs 370 pounds with gas, has a 54.5-inch wheelbase, and makes 52 bhp. The OW69 weighs 305 pounds with gas, has a 53.5-inch wheelbase, and makes 148 bhp. It weighs less, it's shorter, and it makes almost three times as much horsepower. Jump on an RZ350 after riding almost any other street bike and it feels tautand firm and quick-steering. Jumpon itaIterridinganOW69and it's loose and sloppy and slow steering, with no power. Probaby the best analogy to the OW69 is an RD350 with a GS II 00 engine stuffed into it. A I260cc GSIIOO engine built to Pro Stock drag racing specs. Like Lawson says, the OW69 wants to straighten up anytime the gas is on; it feels like it wants to flick the rider off the high side and carry on by itself. That makes it hard to change direction when the engine's on the Specifications Engine Water-cooled rotary-valve two-stroke. Bore x stroke 64 X 54mm. Displacement 695cc. Carburetion (4) 34mm Mikuni. Dry weight 297 pounds. Wheelbase , 53.5 inches. Rake 26°. Trail 4.13 inches. Fork tube diameter 40mm. Front tire size 18 x 3-inch. Rear wheel size 18 x 5-inch. Front brakes (2) 12.6-inch floating discs. Rear brakes ...........•......................... (1 ) 1 O-inch disc. Rpm at 60 mph 3370. Redline 11000. Horsepower 148 bhp. Torque 75.9 lb.-ft.