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/126797
The air-cooled 500 ASE is the flagship of the enduro line and has a 482cc engine. double leading shoe front brake. three-gallon tank and air scoop. A variable exhaust valve system makes its debut on the 250 MX l/C. The 218-pound bike also gets a dual leading shoe front brake and new styling. The 250 ASE l/C has a 248cc liquid-cooled engine. 34mm carburetor. full lighting. a digital odometer. aluminum silencer and Metzeler'tires. The RAVE (Rotax Automatic Variable Exhaust) set-up is also fitted to the 125 MX II C as well as a split radiator system and a Marzocchi 40mm fork. - The 350 Trial features a Rotax engine. five-speed transmission. Michelin tires and 35mm Marzocchi fork. The bike weighs in at 200 pounds dry. What you'll ride in '85: Can-Am For 1985, Can-Am's line has been expanded to include 10 models, their largest lineup ever. There are four enduro (ASE),-four motocross 14 (MX) and two trials models offered to the off- road community, all of which are built in England by Armstrong. New members in the family are the 250 ASE Lie and the 500 ASE enduro mounts.. All models in the line are now equipped with the Austrian Rotax engine (the trials models used Hiro engines in 1984). Single-shock suspension is used on all models except the trial machines, and has been updated. Now dubbed the Quad Link II, the system incorporates valving changes in the sinl'le White Power shock designed to make the suspension more compliant over smaller bumps. Travel is thesameon all single-shock models, set at 12.6 inches. A variable exhaust valve system has been installed in the 125 and 250cc MX models. The RAVE (Rotax Automatic Variable Exhaust) changes the exhaust pan timing via a pressureoperated guillotine which varies in relation to engine speed. The 125 MX L/C (liquid cooled) weighs 204 pounds dry, and like the rest of the MX line gets a redesigned fuel tank and longer blue safety seat. New graphics and side panels, a redesigned air filter, stronger footrests, an aluminum kickstarter and a swingarm-mounted kick tand are among the other changes. All MX and ASE models have the 40mm Marzocchi fork witb Piffero damping. Travel is 11.8 inches. The 250 MX L/C gets a Grimeca double leading shoe front brake, twin radiators and Metzder tires. The 248cc motor is paired up with a five-speed transmission. The package weighs 218 pounds. The air-cooled 500 MX, 482cc, has air scoops to direct air over the cylinder head, a double leading-shoe brake' and a ",,10 x J 8 Metzeler tire in the rear. Dry weight is 242 pounds. Can-Am'sonly four-stroke, the 560 Sonic, is back with a redesigned 562cc engine, ND ignition, a 38mm Mikuni carburetor and new exhaust system. It also gets the dual leading shoe brake, and the bike weighs 251 pounds. The enduro line starts off with the 200 ASE, which gets a displacement . bump up to a full 199cc from the 173cc motor used in the '84 175 ASE. While air-cooled, air scoops are used that resemble radiator side panels. The 223-pound machine also gets a larger three gallon fuel Lank and the new .plastic pieces. There are a pair of 250s in the enduro line; the 250 ASE is the aircooled model and the 250 ASE L/C gets the full liquid-cooled treatment. Both have an aluminum swingarm. The L/C weighs in five pounds lighter than Ihe air-cooled model; dry weight on the L/C is 222, versus 227 for the air-cooler. The 500 ASE makes its debut sponing a 482cc air-cooled engine, fivespeed transmission, 40mm Mikunicarburetor and a double leading shoe front brake. The machine weighs 246 pounds dry. For the observed trials rider, there are two mourHs to choose from, the 240 and the 350 Trial. Both have the 35mm Marzocchi fork, Akront rims, Michelin tires and dual shock rear suspension. The 240 has a displacement of 234cc, a six-speed transmission and weighs 196 pounds dry. The 350 model has a 349cc motor with a fivespeed, an Amal carburetor and a dry weighCof 200 pounds. •