Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

;>l-< t\l ~ C t\l ~ The LS650 Savage leads the list of new Suzukis for 1986; an air-cooled, electric-start, single-cylinder, four-stroke cruiser. (Above) The S P125 dual-purpose bike and its sister, the SP200, (below) are Suzuki's answer to the first-time motorcycle buyer. 650Cc Single, deluxe Cavalcade: New 1986 Suzukis Suzuki introduced several new U.S.-market models at a round of dealer shows that ended in December, in addition to the previouslyseen GSXR750 and GSXRIIOO sport bikes, H eading the li st o f n ew rnach ines is th e $1999 LS650 Sav age, a 652cc a ir-cool ed , elec tricstart, fou r-speed single-cylin der, 8 fo ur-va lve fou r-stro ke cr u iser w ith bell fina l drive. The LS650's eng ine is de rived from th e proven SP600/ DR 600 power p la nt , reta in in g th e ............. ..... ... . , ....,. gear-d rive n co un tcrba la ncer system a n d manual va lve a dj ustmen t with ex terna lly -restyled cy lin d er, cy Iinder head a nd cra n kcas e sidecovers. Added to th e eng in e is elecnir s ta rt ing: a n eleciro-mcrha nicu l comp ression releas(' isa utomatica llyact iva ted whe n th e rider h its th e starter b u tto n , and mak es it easitT f~H rh e starter motor to turn o ver th e eng im', I •• • • L (Above) The Cavalcade LXE is the new luxury version of the Cavalcade tourer. (Below) The DR200 is the dirt-only version of the SP200. T he bike is targeted at new mo to rcycl ists a nd riders retu rn ing to motorcycl ing: S uzu ki rn a rke teer s wa nted a simple. stra ig h tforward, in ex pensive machine tha t wo ul dn 't leave the new rider feel ing he had "outgrown" h is ne w bi ke af ter a few mont h s. Pari of th e ma rke t research o n th e Sa vage co nsis ted of tal kin g to curren t H onda Rebel ow ne rs: th e Rebel has been a big success for H onda . especia lly in a ttracti ng entry a nd re-e ntry riders. But accord ing to Suzu ki spokes me n , H onda o wners surveyed o ften fel l the 250cc Rebel was a lillie too sma ll after owni ng it fo r awhi le, S uzu ki spokes me n say th e LS650 is a n a ll-new design without parts bo rrowed from ex isting mod els. Not m uc h p lastic is used , with painted steel be ing USl-U for brackets and lenders. Wh eels are wire-spoked ( 15inch rear, 19-in ch Iro nt ) wit h a single fro m disc bra ke a nd a drum rear br ake. Cla imed dry weigh I is 342 pounds. T he bi ke is avai lable with eit her pu llback or flat han d lebars, justlikethesucn'ssfu l l mruderi ntroduced for 1985. T he Intruder is ba ck fo r 1986, with rust-a lumi num-wheel versions join in g the ex isting wi re-spoke-wh eel models. T he re's a lux ury version of Suzuki's Ca valcade 1:l60lT V-four ioun-r, th e Cavalcade LXE, wit h a w ho le list o f n e w feat ures, includi ng lever-con tro lled vents in the fu ll tou ring fairing, corneri ng lights, wi der caSl' g uards, rearview m irro rs raised for less-obstrurted vis io n , rhrome han d h-ba r end weights, added casse tte ta pe storage an d a map case in the fairing , a cha nge holde r for to ll roads, adj us ta bk a ir -p illow rider sea l (rh« passe nger sea l had a ir-p illows in 1985 ), chronu- pand s o n rlu- bo tt om ofl he fl ip-uppassengtTfllxH boa rds, adj usta ble pa ssl'nger h ead res t, add itiona l stereo speakers and p a sseng erco n trolh«! bal ance co n trol. addrd en- '. ..... .. .. . . . . . •. . . •' .1 • • t Il l • gi ne film in g a nd Jlol i s h in ~ . hel me: lock s re located to the rear 0 1 th e to p case for easier access, cords link in g sadd lebag lids to the sadd lebags so a remo ved lid can' t fall o n the g ro un d , new front brake rotors a nd pad mat erial fo r improved longevi; y, a nd a 90 0 va lve su-m o n rhe n -a rwheel for easier access. Cla irru-d d ry weight lor th e Caval ru de LXE is 783 pounds. Refl ecting Suzu ki 's co nce rn that m odern m o to rcycles are becoming too expens ive for fir st-time bu yers, th e co m pa ny's 1986 lineup includes two ' relati vely-i nexpensive d ua l-p urPOSl' machines, th e 51'125 and th e SP2OO. which sell for $ 1249a ndS l54 9, respecti vely, Both ha ve a fro n t d isc brak e, si ng le-shock rear sus pe nsion , a 3A-ga llon gas la n k, a nd end u ro sty li ng w ith in tegral hea dl ight/ from n umber pl a te a nd a tool bag mou n ted o n th e rear fen der. The SP I25 has a 57x48 .8m m, 12·!cc four-stro ke engi ne with a six-speed transmission a nd electroni c ig nition . T Ill' 5 1' 125 uses a 21-inch Iro ni wheel a nd an 18-inc h rea r wheel : wheel base is 54.8 inches: cla imed dry weigtu is 223 pounds. T he four-stroke 5 1'200 displaces 199cc from a bon' a nd stroke of 66x58.2m m a nd has a five-speed tra nsmission. T he 5 1'200 a lso has a 2 1in ch fro n t w heel a nd an 18-inch rear wh eel. wit h a whee lbase o f 54.9 inch es a nd a ' clai me d d ry weight of 225 pounds. J oin iu g th e SP I25 a nd 5 1'200 in S uzu ki 's 1986 lineu p art' two d inon lv va riation s, the DRI 25 a n d DR 200 . T he IW O DR models differ from th e 5 1' model s o n ly in ga s tank si ze (dow n to 2.6 ga lion s), us« of full kn obby tires ins tead of tri al s un iversa l rin-s, a nd lack of full slreet -Iega l l i ~h ling . C la imed d ry weig ht for rl u DRI 25 is 207 po unds w it h a sug~l'sled n -iai l price of 5 1199: rlai mc d d ry we igh t for rlu- DR 200 is 209 pounds with a lri n' of 1) 1-199 . • • II IIJI. I II I l i l ••• • 1 ••• • • • • • 4 .. ' .

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