Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

throttl e or steady thrott le to the apex was exce llent, in smooth and bumpy turns a like. T his motorcycle was forgiv ing a nd frie ndly, and bit by bit I eased into riding it harder and harder. T he seams in the straight didn't cause p robl em s, a nd th e cross and headwinds h it the bike without maki ng the ba rs flutter. I rode a nothe r o ne in th e fin al da y's test sessions , a Fre nc h model with used tir es, a nd it wa s a lmost as good as th e Ca na d ia n on e wi th n ew tires. The o the r m aga zin e g uys reported tha t a ll th e bikes were good that da y. I co u ld feel th e rear tire slip a nd sta rt to chatter a lill ie in fas t, tra ilingth rottle turns. especially th ose entering tight ersecti ons o f th e esses. But I wasn 't ge ll ing sideways off co rners; no doubt warmer temperatures a nd a full da y's traff ic around th e co urse had improv ed tract ion. T he brakes fa de d slig htly a n d hadn 't th e da y before, p robably beca use a 900 ch ica ne wa s added to a fast ess sectio n a fter two rid ers - 'a n Am eri ca n a nd a Belgian - fell o ne after-a nother. I sa t up and m ad e a lap at stree t speeds, and q u ickl y was ch illed to th e core by th e co ld bla st o f air h illin g my helmet at 100 kph (62 mph). Ba ck under th e bubble, it was warm wh ich ma v mea n th at a GS X R750 rider will b'e warmer tha n h e wa nts to be o n a hot su mmer day! ••• The big quest ion was wh at was do ne to ma ke th e bikes work better, a nd why some worked better tha n others, especia ll y on th e first day of ridin g. T he re were severa l th eories, no ne concl usive. T he Suzuki engineers sa id th a t a ll th e sus pe ns io n sett ings h ad been returned to sta ndard a fter journalists had p la yed w ith the m the fir st da y, and th at so lved th e problem. Which co u ldn't be. since th e first bike I rode was th e worst, and n o sus pension adj us tmen ts h ad been made befo re I rod e it. Graeme Cro sby, prese nt for the introductio n, sa id th at an engi nee r to ld h im in co n fide nce th a t p art o f Suzuki's interna l design requiremen ts for a ll models was roc k-steady handl ebar s when th e rider ta kes hi s h a nds off a t abou t 40 mph ; a nd th a t th e p rofi Ie a nd tire co nstructio n req ui zed to ens u re th at characterist ic was n o t go od for h igh-speed sta bility . I co u ld a lmost bel ieve th at ; I kn ew that ro u nder -profi le tires made a stock GS 1100 I used to race wobble in h ig hspeed turns even th ough those part icu la r tires gave th e bes t traction for accele ra ti n g o u t o f co rners. But th at still didn ' t expla in why so me bik es were beuer th an others o n th e first da y of rid in g. Pops Yoshim u ra sa id that th e en ginee rs had set th e bikes up to wo rk best for wh at they th eorized was th e average weigh t o f a westerner , as com pared to th e a verage weigh t o f Suzuki's J apanese test riders. Nobody had ac tua lly tes ted th e theoretica l settings, he told me, a nd on Sa turday nigh t th ey p u t every th ing back to the settings th eir testers h ad fo u nd to be beSI. Whi ch didn 't explain why the bikes felt too so ft to sta rt with , nor why some worked better th an o thers, "Can yo u mak e sa me ba by?" Pops as ked me when I wondered a bo ut th at . " I ha ve three babies an d all are different." H e p ointed to th e G SX R750s lined up in th e p it s. "Same thing with th ese bikes." Wh ich is p robabl y as clo se as I'll ever ge t to kn ow in g th e tr u th. • ••• Nex t week: In sid e t he GSX R 750 - a techn ical report. GRAND RE·OPENING February 15, 16, 17. NO MONEY DOWN oac 12,9% Financing On Some Models , NEW Yama ha 400cc Mo torcycle - SUPER SAVINGS On Motorcycles 3 and 4 Wheelers SEE YAMAHA'S NEW V-MAX (World 's Fastest Production Motorcycle) Come in and see our new store, Bring the family - 5 cent hot dogs & soft drinks, D rawing For FREE PRIZES $200 On., $33 .oo/Mont h, 36 M o. oac NEW Seca 6SOcc Inline 4 Cyl. Shaft Drive - Price starts dally at $1995.00 PRICE DROPS $SO.OO EACH HQUR UNTIL SOLD! (3 Bikes Per Day Umit) Virago 750 $1795.00 ACCESSORIES Up to 40% off HELMETS, PANTS & JERSEYS. Goggles $9.95 Jerseys $10,95 Yamaha Hats $2.95 Many More Specials MOTORCYCLES Virago 920 $1995.00 Maxim 400 $1095 .00 3-WHEELERS Tri-Z 250 Ca ll for low price YT60N Save $ on this 3-Whlr. 3 Days On ly! Feb. 15, 16, 17 INTERNATIONAL MOTORCYCLES 7233 Canoga Ave., Canoga Park, CA 91303 (818)346-3700 All motorcycles + T., L & Doc. 4 -WHEELERS See The FIRST SHOWING of Yamaha 's New 225cc Shaft Drive FULL SUSPENSION 4-Wheeler 29

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