Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

~ ~ l.!) 00 Q') ...... ~ (,,0 .... (l,) ..0 E (l,) > 0 ' ." Yamaha 's 1986 Radian is a combination of a modified FJ600 engine in a new chassis, made to be sold for the bargain price of $2399. sem bla nce to sp u n -a l u m in u m raci n g wheel s; the fro m is a 16,therea r a 15 , with tw o 10.5-i nch slo tted from discs a n d a single, ventilated I0.5-in ch rea r d isc. L ik e the FZ750, th e Fazer 's airbo x a nd filt er are locat ed directly a bo ve th e d ow ndra ft ca r bs, underneath a cover whi ch carries a panel o f in di ca to r ligh ts; th e gas ta nk, wh ich uses a n a i rcra ft-styled Iill er ca p , is beh ind th e ca r bs a nd cv lind ers a nd runs vert i0 Gilly do wn 1 j ust a bo ve th e engine cra n kcases, Th e Fazer has a re era ngu lar headlight wit h no ri m a ro u nd th e len s a nd tw o sepa rate in st rum ents, a speedom et er a nd a sm a ller tachometer. both wi th ch ro me co ve rs. C laimed d rv weig h t is 14 I pou nds . .. L i ke th e Fa zer, the Radi an ha s it s roo ts in a not her model ; in th is case, th e FJ 600 . T h e 598cc, 58 .5x55 .7m m a ir-c ool ed , two -val ves-per -cylinder en g ine is essen tia ll y un ch anged . Bu t th er e ha ve been de tai l chan ges , in clud in g more m et al immediatel y around th e link -plate cha in sprocket in th e m iddle of the cra n kshaft; ca m tim ing cha nges to increase mid-ra nge performance; 30mm Mi k uni CV carbs vs. the FJ600 's 32 m m carbs; a new ex h a ust system; a o ne-p iece shift lever vs. the FJ600 's shift lin kage; and .ru bber from engine m ou nts. The Rad ian uses an airbox off a 550 Maxim with 4.7 lit er s o f capaci ty com pare d to th e FJ600's 5 .6 -liter airbox. Bo th wheels o n th e Rad ia n a re 16in ch, a nd th e 10.5-in ch d ua l front discs a nd calipers carne o ff the RZ350 , T he fro nt fo rk s hav e 36 m m sta nchion iubes a n d a n aluminum brace, T h e swi nga rrn uses tw o shock a bsor- ' bers a nd the rear brake is a rnechani ca l drum . Rake is 27° a nd tra il is 5.0 inches. Fue l ca paci ty is 3.2 gallons. Yamah a targets th e R ad ian as a p peal ing to yo u ng. new m ot orcycIists, a mong o thers, a nd ret a il p r ice will be $2399 . . While th e FZ600 S has a n FJ600 engine. th at engi ne is Sluffed into th e Iully-fuired . dual -h eadlight chassis o f th e J apanese-m a rk e t FZ400; the bi ke's ta rg et ed a t th e hi g h -perfo rmance en th usiast, Like the Rad ia n , t h e FZ600 U Sl'S 30 m m carbs, bu t Ya ma ha spokesmen say a different rea son : th e FJ600 's 32 m m ca r bs wouldn 't fit ins ide th e square-ste el tubing perim et er fram e's back bone tubes. T ha t's a lso the reason th e FZ600 has a 5.2-l iter a irbo x vs, th e FJ600 's " .6-l itl·r ui rbox. Th e FZ600's frame dowutu bes un boh to mak e il possi ble to fil the engin e int o the fra m e. and the en tinrear secrion of the frame u n bo lt s fro m tilt' m ain Irame. L ike th e Radian, the FZ600 differs fro m the FJ600 ill th at ca m tim in g ha s been cha nged fo r more m idra nge. It 's a lso got a fou r -in to -on e ex ha us t syste m , A longer co u n tershaft m ov es th e sprocke ts fa rt her o u t to clear a larger rear tire. A new twi st is tha t four of th e FZ6 00's engi ne m ount in g p o int s incl ude vibra rion -u bso rbing rubber; o nly th e two front m ounts o n th e left side o f the en g in e a re r igid, to firml y lo cate th e engine in th e fram e. Wh eelbase fo r th e FZ600 is 54 .5 in ches, rake 26°, trail 3,98 in ch es. The bike has a 2.50xI 6-inch front w h eel a nd a 2.75x I8 -inch rea r wheel carryi ng 100/90-1 6 a n d 120/80-18 ti res. respe ctivel y, Two 10.5-inch d isc bra kes are used in th e fro m with a sing le9.6-i nc h d isc in th e rear. T here's a si ngle-sh oc k . li n kage-eq u ipped swi ngarm and air-assi sted, variabledamp in g -by-tra vel fro nt for ks with S6m m stan ch ion tubes , The speed om et er a nd ta ch omet er are held by race bike stvle foam rubber a n d th e cast wht-els 'have three spokes each. An o il cooler is mounted on the frame downtubes . Fuel ta n k ca p aci ty is 4.8 gallons , and there's an aircraft -style fi ller cap. T he bi ke has a side stand on ly. W hile th e FZ600 is th e res ult of stuffi ng a bigger engine in to an existing m ot orcycl e, the FJ I200 is the re-s u lt o f bori ng o u t th e engi ne o f a n exis ting m od el (the FJ II 00 ) a nd th en ref ining th e m od el i tself. The bo re increase. is 3m m, m aking the engi ne 77x 63.8m m a nd bringing ca pacity fro m 1097cCIO 1188ccwilh no change in th e cy li nder head or ca m ti mi ng. T he ex tra ca paci ty su bs ta n ria lly improves engi ne to rque a n d power throughout th e rpm ra nge. T he ex ha us t syste m h ead p ipes a re no w si ngle-wa ll sta in less steel, m ak ing th e sysr em 3.7 pounds lighter , the muffler s are black instead of polis hed steel, a nd g lass wool p acki ng is added to th e muffl er s to hel p th e bik e meet th e 80dbA maximum so u nd le vel fo r 1986 m od el s. C hanges m ad e to irnIHO \,{' shifti ng incl ude wider tra ns missio n gear d ogs, reshaped sh iftdrum grooves . two oi l seals (V". one) on the shift shaft a nd cha nges to the shi ft-d ru m sele ct o r ca m . Inta ke tract chan ges include lo ng er rubber vel ocity sta cks inside th e a ir bo x (to reduce int ak e noise ) a nd cha nges in th e ca rb u ret or e n r id ll'ni n ~ circuits to slow down cold-stun cng in« speed . T he cha nges in th e fuir ing wer e ma de to improve aerodynam ics a nd we re tes ted in a wind tun nel. with specia l uu en rion pa id to no t losing the excc lh-n t prot ecti o n from rhe elemen ts t ha t the FJ I 100 fai ri ng o ffr-n-d . The ,fairi ng is na rrower. wit h the Z .... The Radian has 16-inch wheels front and rear, with dual front disc brakes off an RZ350 and a drum rear brake. It's it new do-anything machine. The FZ600 has a mod if ied FJ600 engine stuffed into a Japanese-market FZ400's frame; it 's a tight fit and the style is full-race . wi ndscreen lower. T he fro nt tu rn signa ls a re bu ilt into th e fair ing, a nd the co w I underneath th e engi ne is res haped . T he rear-view m irrors have ro u nded bac ks a nd oval -section stal ks. The resu lt of a ll the test in g' a t the J apa n Auto Resea rch In st itu te wi nd tunnel is tha t th e FJ I200 u ses fo ur less ho rsepower to cru ise at 121 mph tha n the FJ 1100 doe s. O the r ch a n ges for the FJ 1200 in clu de a d igi ta l clocki n th e fa iri ng, need le roll er beari ngs ins tead o f bus h ings in th e sin gle- rear-sh ock li n kag« system , a new passenger gra b ra il, bungeecord hooks, Iorged -alu m in u rna llo y Ioorpegs inst ead o f stee l [ootpegs. a nd a fuel reserve swi tch. T he SR X600 is an u nu sual o ffering for tw o reaso ns. Fi rst , it's a singlecy linder street bike, a nd tha t type hasn 't exactly ta ken the world by storm in recent his tory . Second, mos t Yamahas- a t least most Yama hassold in th e U .S. - a re bu ilt to order after extensive mark et res earc h . T he Ya m a ha Mo tor Corp. U .S. ma rket eers determ in e a seg m en t o f the ma rket a n d what type o f bike is needed to fi t that segment, and th e engineers back in Japan whip up a m ot orcycl e to mat ch th e resea rch . T ha t's how cru iser -styled J a pan ese m ot orcycles wer e born, a nd th at 's wh at led 10 t he Viragos a nd V-;'vIax . At a n v ra te, the S R X600 isn' t the pro du ct o f research . Instea d . it re p resen ts o ne m a n 's vision : tha t m a n . p roject leader Takashi Ma buchi . ra lls th e m achi ne a " ki nd of pro posal to t he m a rket. Mos: m od els are the resu lt o f customer research ," he says. " T h is .25

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