Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Vibration , which h as been a problem with the Yamaha in the pas t, is remarkabl y reduced . Engi ne n oi se is much m ore intense co m pa red 10 th e Kaw a saki a n d Honda. since the Yamah a ha s cooling fin s on th e cyli n der; th e wa ter-coo lers, of cou rse, do n' t. T he Hon da is st ill ha rd to sta rt , hot o r co ld. The kic kstart er m ust be a t the ver y to p of th e stroke befo re th e rider ki cks, or else th e most th e rider will ge t fro m th e engi ne is a pop . T he kicks tart lever is aw kwa rd to use a nd a foot sm as hed o n th e foot peg is not uncommon. Once fired , the H onda produces a health y. lo w, crisp ton e co m pa red 10 th e Yama ha 's ra tty n ot e. Of th e th ree moto rcycles. the H onda has th e least vibra tio n. Sta rt ing th e Kawasak i is a lso diffi cu lt , but at lea st th e ki ckstarter ha s a better des ig n tha n th e kickstarr er on th e H onda ; it 's more like th e Yamaha 's kickstarter. H owever, it ta kes every o u nce o f the rid er 's weig h t o n th e kickstarter 10 cra n k th e en gine over. T o reduce tha t problem, Ka wasa ki su gg ests usin g two h ead gas kets to low er th e co m p ress io n, making it easier to sta rt a t the expe nse of a hor sep ow er or two. The KX so u nds simi lar 10 th e Ho nd a , a nd has more vibration: th e KX still vibrates less tha n the Yama h a. Without a doubt, th e Ka wasaki is the horsepower kin g of th e th ree, a nd tha t's evide nt th e first time th e throttle is twi sted. T he KX hits verv ha rd down lo w. much har der th ~n the Yam aha , a nd sligh tly stro nger th an th e Hon da . At m idra nge, the Kawasaki flattens o ut a bit, the n p icks up again o n top, Th e Kaw a sak i's power band is simi lar 10 last year's but hits ha rder o ff th e bot tom a n d ha s a bit more gru nt in th e m iddle. The Honda 's powe rb an d is much smoother th an with la st yea r's CR , but th e bik e hasn 't los t a ny horsepower.1t still ha s exce lle n t power o ff th e bottom but doesn 't have th at exp losivene ss that many CR ow ners co m p la ine d a bo u t la st year; in stead, th e H onda co mes o n stro ng down low a n d pulls progr essi vel y harder and harder until topped ou t in fifth gear. The powerband is very easy 10 ma na ge and very forgiving. The Yam aha , on the o the r h and , doesn 't have nearl y as much power off th e bottom as th e Kawasaki or th e Honda, but holds its ow n with stro ng midrange and top end. There is no burst of power when th e th rottle is twi sted , but yo u do get a smoo th, gradual su p p ly of power th at makes th e Yam aha easy 10 ride. Th e YZ comes jetted a little on the rich sid e a n d sputters a bit a t midrange, while th e Honda and Kaw asaki are jett ed spot on. We fouled spark plugs o n the Kawasaki and Yamaha , n ever o n the Honda. Wh en it co mes 10 seco nd- an d third-gear ro ll -on d ra g races, the Kawasaki proves it's the h orsepo wer kin g; o n ly th e Honda gave th e Kaw a saki a run for its m oney, with bo th bikes co m ing on th e p ipe n earl y dead-even . Wh en th e pow er d id come o n, the Kaw asaki wo u ld jump to a o ne- bi kelength lead by th e time bo th bi kes reac hed fourth gear. From the n , o n , th e two bikes ra n even ly. The key 10 success o n the Ka wa saki is 10 keep . p lenty of weight ove r th e handl ebars so th e front end stays cl ose to the gro un d . The Honda has the same problem but is less dr asti c. T he Kaw a sak i ran away a nd hid from th e Yamaha everv time. T he d uel wasn 't even close o ffthe bottom ; th e Kaw asa ki wo u ld co me on the pipe a sha de qu icker, the n pull away 10 a bo u t two bikelen gths before the Yam aha ma intained even gro u nd by fourth gear. T apped out in fift h gea r, the two ra n nearl y even. The Yamaha/ Honda drag was the closest mat ch-up o f th e three. T he Honda clearl y ha s m or e punch o ff the bottom , but th e Yam aha would noticeabl y gai n on the C R in fourt h gea r, th en trail th e Honda by a w heel len g th the rem ain in g way. There were times th e Yamaha did bea t th e H onda , but th a t was beca use the Yamaha is mor e pred icta ble o ff th e bottom an d th e rider doesn 't have to worr y so much a bou t th e front end risin g a nd havin g 10 ba ck o ff th e thro tt le, whic h h ad 10 be do ne on the Ho nda a few tim es, ca usi ng it to lose a drag by ha lf a bi kelen gt h. Desp ite having th e most p ow er o f the bun ch, th e KX is by fa r th e h ardest to ride. Since th e p ower is so exp los ive o ff th e bottom , the Kaw asaki is someti mes hard to keep under co n tro l co m ing o u t o f th e tur ns, or through tigh t and technica l sect io ns . As soon as th e th rottle is a pplied , th e Kaw a sak i reac ts ins ta nt ly with a healthy dose of power put 10 the rea r whee l, ca usi n g th e fron t wheel 10 rise a lmost every time. This mak es th e KX hard to co nt ro l an d to keep o n lin e, a nd in dr y a n d hard-packed co ndi tio ns, th e back end ge ts reall y sq u irre ly. Mu ch of this has 10 do with th e gear ratios . On dr y, slic k a n d hard-packed track s, first gea r is next to useless, because it is wa y too low , wh ile second is 100 ta ll. If first gear is used, th rottl e co n tro l is very critica l - a little 100 much th ro tt le a nd the back end shoo ts ou t 10 the side as th e rear tire sp ins. Seco nd gear is so tall th at th e mot or has a hard time pulling a t slow speeds. If th ere is pl enty o f tra ction , the problem is n on -existent. First gear becomes usabl e if needed. Even though th e Honda puts o u t a lmost as much p ow er as th e Kaw asaki, th e CR is much easier 10 rid e with or without traction, and the Motor: - ~ ao The KX is best for Interm ediat e / Ex pert riders because of its brute powerba nd and long suspension, In the right hands; the KX is very potent, gear rat ios are more in tune with th e motor, making quick ge ta ways a breeze in th e turns . The Yam aha is very deceiv ing beca use o f it s very smoo th power band, On the track, the YZfeels slo w because the mot or isn' t a revver an d lacks th at exp los ive burst o f power off th e bottom. In stead , th e Yamaha hooks up bett er than th e Kawasaki an d H onda by not wasting time sp in ni n g th e rear wh eel. Wh at 's reall y ni ce a bo u t the YZ is th at it is very hard to stall th e m otor, whi ch means th e clutch hardly ever ha s to be used ; th e bik e ca n be m ot ored th rough th e turn s m uch easier. The Kawasak i, on th e o the r hand , is ver y hard not 10 sta ll, so th e rider a lwa ys has to keep at least a finger on the clutch lever a t a ll tim es in tight turns, Stalling the m otor on the Honda was much less frequent th an th e Ka wa saki. All three bikes ha ve adeq ua te susp en sion, but th e Yam aha and Honda a re the most improved. Even though last year 's rear suspen sion on th e Yamaha wasn 't bad , it couldn't match Certified wet weight (In pounds) Kawasaki Honda the suspens ion o n th e Ka wasaki or th e H onda. Th is yea r, how ever, the Yamaha ha s matched an d sligh tly exceeded th e Honda and Kaw asaki . Unlike big-bore Yamahas o f th e past, th e '86 YZ comes o u t of th e cra te set up a li ll ie o n th e st iff side, wh ich would sa ti sfv ride rs a ro u n d 180 pounds. An yth ing under tha t, th e Yamaha will beat th e ride r to ex ha ustion in a long rn oto. T o soften up th e Yamaha's forks, we chan ged th e stock ISw oil 10 lOw, used 10mm less oi l in eac h leg, backed th e co m p ress io n damping valve 10 th e softest sell ing a nd cu t th e pr eload spacer down 2mm. In th e rear, we wentto a lighter sp ring and reduced th e co m pressio n damping from stock by two clicks. These modifications m ad eallthedifference in the world for a rid er a ro und 160 pounds. Both front and rear suspen sion on th e Yamaha is very good - the ba ck en d n ever ki cked or swa p ped 10 th e sides, but we co u ld nev er quite get rid of a h ar shness over the sma ll, squared-off bumps. Nonethel ess , the Yamah a maintains IIIII!_!-.. _~ ~ Yamaha -----IIIIf!! !!!!!!!!!!;.IIJ!!!!!~~~ Yamaha Low end----.--~ __ ..-.... Mid range _ _"IIIIII!~-!!IIII~"'IIII!"" Top end --....,.-...IIII!~.,. II!II~ --~~ Lowend--..,.----- -.......-. range--..----i!end----... range------IIII!------- Honda -IIIII!..- - - Mid Top --IiIi!I-jIII-i-. Sus~ension (front) rating. Poor. IIIII!I--------Ii!III-- -.-IIII.. Yamaha - - -... Honda Kawasaki - -.... -.~ -II!II~- ~,...iJ}~ ...... Kawasaki (rear) Low end----------~----- Yamaha ---IIII!~----------IIII , Honda Kawasaki --IIIII!!!!!!-III!!!!!-IIIII!!!!!!!11!!!!!!!!!!!. Mid Top end--IIII! I!!I!P--Ii!!!!-~!.!!!IIII!!!!!~~!-..;,,~ -------lIIIi!pIII--. 15

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