Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Ninjas, and a new radi ator a nd oi l co o ler in crease the cooling capacity by 25%. Th e radiator's taller and narrower , and holds 15.5%more coola n t , whi le th e th ermostat-controlled fan is 38mm wider. It works, too - eve n a fter bein g flogged aroun d th e Sal zbu rgring a t fu ll n oi se for h alf a n hour a t a stre tc h , th e th ermosta t needle n ever got n ear th e red zone, whil e th e 900s were wh ir rin g a way flat o u t. The o il coo ler ha s gai ned 13.6% in cooli ng ca paci ty a nd h olds 9. 1% more o il. Some dragstri p o pe ra to rs a nd hard street rid ers h ave pointed th e finger a t th e 900 's cl u tch as being a p o tent ia l bl ack spot, and Kawasaki haven 't tak en a nv ch ances with th e 1000. The clutch bask et and hub have been adapted from th ose on th e G PzIIOO, with 900 R clutch g ears a n d cam damper. Nin e driving p lat es instead of th e 900's eig h t handle th e power, a nd th ere are now eigh t thicker (by 0.7mm ) driven plates, a lo ng with six springs and m or e teeth p er p la te. This needed a lo n ger in p ut sh aft , but ot h erw ise the gearbox has only been lig htly modi fied . Th ird th ro ugh sixth gear s a re speci a lly ground for more efficie nc y and less noise, and th e dogs for third a nd fourth h ave been undercu t to a llow more. positiv e sh ifting. Internal gea rbo x ratios a re th e same as th e 900's , but th e 1000 p u lls a hi gher ove ra ll geari ng, a 2.666 (40115 ) fina l dr ive ra tio against th e 900's 2.882 (49/ 17). T h e fin a l drive cha in is stronger. Because Kawasak i wa nted to ru bbermou nt th e engi ne for extra smoothn ess, a co mpletely new chassis had to be built. No lon ger is th e engine a stressed m ember. In stea d, th ere's an a ll -ne w three-pi ece frame. The to p secti on is h eavil y braced at th e crucial steeri ng head a nd swingarm m ounting poi nts, a nd flar es o u t to wrap arou nd th e engi ne cylinder h ead. Th e bott om cradles, like th e top loop, are h igh-t en sile steel, a n d th e rear su bfra me , which looks lik e it was designed by a bridge builder , is a l u m in u m , pa int ed bl ack . All -up weight o f th e chassis, with it s mea ty box -secti on a lu m in u m swi n ga rm an d shock a bso rber , is 44 pounds. In th e middl e o f thi s lot, the en gine hangs from six m ounting points. The front tw o are rubberiz ed, a nd the o the r four bo lt it down tight near th e swingarm piv ot. The latter, naturall y, has needle ro ller bearin gs as does th e steering head. A revised Un i-Tra k linkage giv es less shock travel yet more wh eel trav el. The linkage co mp resses - th e sh oc k from both ends , allowing it to 'floa t' in much rh e sa me wa y as Su zuki 's Full Floater system - which , co incidentally, th ey are moving away from . At 62.5mm, th e sh ock travel is down 2.5mm from th e900, while rea r wheel trav el is up 15mm to 130mm (5. 1 in. ). Both sp rin g rat es a nd co m p ressio n damping rat es are up on Ihe900, while rebound damping rem ains adj ustable to four setti ngs by rem oving th e right sidecover. Spring prel oad ca n be a djusted with an a ir pump, as on th e900. Front forks? Well, th ey're the same Automatic Vari able Damping System jobs as o n th e 900 , but now 40mm instead o f 38 and beefed up in m ost area s. G one ar e th e dual -rate sp rin gs, rep laced by sin gl e rat e item s. Compression damping has been increased , whi le the rebound damping rat es are the same as the 900s. T he anti-d ive is a lso stronger, a nd wo rks well. Ka wasaki has repla ced th e 900's 18inch rear wh eel with a 16-inch bear in g a massive 150/ 80 rear tire. Th e 130/80 front lire' s th e sam e as th e 900's, but the new Bridgestone Exced ra tires co u ld n' t qui te co p e wi th the 526 pounds dry weight and gre a ter power in th e wet. _ . TORCO 011. We're as seriDus asYDU are. TAKE THE TORCO CHALLENGE. At 10RCO,motorcycling is not only a business, it's our way of life. Like you, we 're committed to being the best, and we 're dead serious about it. Our 4-stroke racing oil has a high heat range of 700°F, plusit features the additive MPZ. MPZ stands for Moly, Phosphorous, Zinc .:..... which means to you, reduced friction, reduced wear, reduced oil consumption and (onger engine life. We challenge you. Try us. If you are not totally satisfied with the performance of any of our oils, we will refund your money. . AVAILABLE IN SAE GRADES 30,40,50,60, 70, 10W/40 and ZO/W50 12247 LAKELAND ROAD SANTA FE SPRINGS, CA 90670 (213) 946-3581 We 're 10ReO. We 're serious! ~r.:.:.c.I~~:.&lIloOll.":,&,;"""'-lI,,-:~..:.":.;;.a;;..c.;I;.;L=....&.::..:;,,o;.o.:.. .r.:.~..o.;..,;, c,;;;::;"":;;;~:':"L.&':'::L::a;.'::"""~~=:"::;.;r.oI,," . :.:...._g ..... ...... 19

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