Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127131
Harley frame (Continued from page 20) riders) a second quicker. The test was not that co ncl usive. ' " Carr did some good tim es o n it, but th e times really weren 't a lot better than what he did on his own bike: ' Ther e was n o fu ll ' secon d differen ce. " All three fell ow s said th e same th ing - it's as good as wha t we're runnin g now," Conway said. " Chris though t it was better than what we're runnin g n ow . Sco tt a n d Jay wouldn't go th at far. " We took the num bers (lap times) just for comparisons ," Conway said. " Carr just broke into the 38s, but he was almost into the 38s on h is ow n chassis. There were different tim es d urin g th e da y. We're j ust no t pre pared to say it's a fu ll second faster o n a di rt tra ck. " All in all , we're p leased ," Co n way said. "B ut we're not ready to manufactur e them. After one day, on one test tra ck, we're not prepared to ma ke any decisions. . , " It 's heavy, bu t we didn 't design it with weigh t in mi nd ," Co nway added. "Eventua lly we'll wo rk on ge tti ng th e "weig h t dow n . We're looking at. five to seven cha nges already. That 's typ ical of a prototype. We're pl eased with it but it still needs work." Will P arker race a n X R 750 eq u ipped with the pro tot yp e chassis some time this year? " It .prob abl y won' t be during th e California swing, " Con way said. " It will be on th e race tra ck this seaso n. It dep ends o n how easily andq uickly we can make modificati ons. '.'Righ t now it 's diffi cult to work with (th ere a re a few p rob lem s with getting th e engine in a nd ou t of th e frame q uickly)," th e tea m manager said. " It 's definitely a prot ot ype, bu t we do have peop le looking at the chassis from th e standpoi nt of duplicating it." Co nwa y wouldn't com me n t o n c ha n ges m ad e to X R7 50 team engi nes d uring th e winter, but he said new engine development has take n pl ace and claimed th e 1988 team bi kes are fast er than last year's factory race bikes, " T he dyn o told us we had more horsepower and the race in Sacramento con firmed it," said Conway, the da y after T eam Honda 's Bubba Shobert j u st edged Parker to win the Sacramento Mile. " We do n 't believe (Shobert 's factory H onda has) a n edge o n us any longer. Now we have to get lighter." Wh en ask ed how much Parker 's stock XR750 weighs, Conway said, "T oo much. There's a new weight minimum (for the 1988 season - 320 pounds for fou r -valv e (H o n d a) motorcycles and 300 pounds for twovalve (Harley) motorcycles). H onda's alm ost a t th eir min imum. We're not at ours. We won't be hap py until we' re a t o ur minimum." . On th e su bject of new p roduction X R7 50 e n g i nes . Co n way said , " We' re bui ldi ng 100 new 750 engines (to be a vailable to com pe ti tors late this year) . T he 100 engines will be sold at a reaso nabl e cost (retail prices are no t yet avai lable), will be mo re d u ra b le a n d w ill h a ve more horsepower. " T hey have a new rod bea ring and reta ine r, new, larger ma in bea rin g, redesigned o il pum p and new cast cylin der head s whi ch match the heads on th e team engines," sa id Conwa y. " Everyone complained th at the team bikes were faster because of the head s; now they' ll be available . to everyone. We too k one of o ur best engines and ha d th ose heads dupl ica ted. T ha t's what were casting to sell to the public. • LAST EVER SEE THE FINEST DIRT TRACK RIDERS IN THE NATION BATTLE WHEEL TO WHEEL FOR ONE LAST TIME IN THIS AMA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT! SUNDAY • MAY 22nd • 2 P.M. • TRIPLE HEADER PROGRAM • 25 LAP EXPERT NATIONAL. • 600 NATIONAL • CAMEL CHALLENGE. SANTA CLARA COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS • TULLY ROAD • SAN JOSE GATES OPEN 9 A.M. • PRACTICE 10 A.M. • FIRST RACE 2 P.M. (408) 438-3211 ORDER TICKETS BY PHONE (TUESDAY·FRIDAy) GIIMe(. (sHOEI) CHALLENGE I Cycle News readers - the f irst to know! V1$1' .HONDA. There's A Few, BUT NOT.MANY HONDA. CR 12SR • • • M ot ocrossers Left. We Have VERY Lim it ed Qua n it ies. IT'S TIME. ; • To take advantage of our Husky sal e. Excellen t motorcycl es at excellent prices: New 1 987 250 End uro $3030 New 1987 4 3 0 C;o s. Co unt", $31 29 New 1 987 500 Cro ss Cou nt ", $3229 1988s at s im ilar sa vings . SPECIAL 198 8 5 10 Cross Co u nt ", . . .Call Check Ollt th e n.w ··Wh ite Hot " C.giv. 125MX . nd 250MXI 1361 E. W.ln" SL Pss.d,n.. CA1 81B1 449·ERIC CAG.I'VA Husqvama ~ ~MAICO Suspension· portlne • Hellarc W eld ing Machine Shop - UPS P arts Da ily FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED, DO MISS OUT!!! N7 Call the Nation 's Leading CR Support Dealer J im Bran non 's FREEWHEELING HONDA 873 Bankhead Hwy. Mableton, GA 30050 (404) 948-06 ~6 r=:.'" . l:!' :A. _ ~ ~ NEED CR PARTS, WE HAVE AHUGE INVENTORY, UPS DAILY! HONDA 25