Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

co m p le tes th e p icture. Ava ilable col ors are white wi th Ch appy Red or Yamaha Black. Yam ah a 's pr ess ki t to uts th e low prices of both RT s, but actua l pri ces for Yama ha 's complete 1990 model l in eu p were n o t ava ila ble at presstime. The RT s are th e o nly a ll -new o fferings , b ut there a re a nu mb er of m odel s th a t have been updated su bstan tia lly. Probabl y t he m o st ra di call y changed is th e FZR600, which was universall y proclai med as the best middleweigh t spo rt bi ke of 1989, with the race track results to ma tch . But th e FlR600 is much im proved for 1990, wi th most of the changes com ing in th e handling departm ent. For sta rters , a p a ir o f fou r op posed -pisto n front brak e ca li pe rs replace th e two -pi ston calipers used this year, with drill ed front d iscs to reduce wear. Radial tires a re now em ployed front and rear, and th e rear (A bove) The FZR10 0 0 is lar gely un changed, except for it s new b lack paint. (Below) the FZR600 now fea tures four-opposed piston front brakes, radial t ires and a w ider rear wheel. wh eel and tir e are now wider a t four in ch es (u p from 3.5) and 140mm (from 130), respectively. The fin a l drive wa s in ceased to correspond increase d from 2.24 to 3.5 gallons through th e add itio n o f a regular gas tank. The new tank acts as a reserve for the.origi na l under-sea t tank , a nd is actua ted by a ha ndl ebar-mo unted switch. Complementing th e new tan k is a redesigned sca t , wit h separate rid er a nd passenger sections. Fi na lly. th e Air In d uction Syste m (AIS) featured on California-model 535s in 1989 will be Iitted to a II 1990 U.S. models to red uce hydrocarbo n em issions . Ya m a ha 's e n try in th e g ra n d touring market is the su btly-refined Venture Roya le, which now feat ures a more effic ient di gita l ignition (ra ther than the a na lo g uni t used previousl y), a new petcock , strength en ed travel trunk mou nting system. more co m fo rt able passen ger sea t, rubber fork boo ts, a nd co n venient rear suspens io n grease fittin gs. T he Bad Bo y o f the Boulevard, th c V-Max, ret u rns for 1990. a nd ha s a lso been given the o nce -o ver- lig h tly, with di gital igniti on bein g its on ly sig n ifica nt change. . T he bal an ce o f Yam aha 's 1990 lincup is un ch an ged from previous years, a nd consists o f the F] 1200 sport /tourer, 1100 and 750cc Vira go cr uisers, th e do -everything Rad ian , XT350 d u al- spo rt . R ou te 66 beginner' s bi ke, fa t-tired T W200 a nd BW80, and th e 50cc fearsome th ree- Add itionall y, a la rger Deltab ox swingarm replaces last year's boxsection swi ngar m, making for a li ghter-y et -st ron g er • package. min im al , cos metic cha nges. Paint is now Black Meta ll ic 2 rather than Si lky Wh ite/Red , a nd th e exhaus t : pipe rear o f the collector is now whi te-ch romed rather than black , with a sta in less ou ter su rface. One minor change is the ada p ta tio n of ca m- type fork sp ring preload adj usters, rather th an th e thread ed-type used ea rl ier, to a l low fin er adj us tme nts In th e cr uiser ra n ks, th e Virago 535 has been dramaticall y revam ped. The biggest improveme nt comes in fuel ca paci ty, w hic h has been (A bove) The Venture Royale ret urn s as Yamaha's premium touring offer ing. and has been subtly modified . (Left) The Virago 535 now has an auxiliary fuel tank for increased cruising rang e, (Below) The TW200 ret urn s as a go-anywhere fun m achine. with the lower -profile radial rear tir e, and now com p u tes to 15/ 45 (3.000), up from 15/46 (3.067). Other cha nges are cosme tic , su ch as a painted lower windshield to hide the rear of the instruments, which themselves au: lightly rearranged to resemble th e FZRIOOO's. The FZR600's sma lle r sibling, th e FZR400, a lrea dy had wide wheels and radial tir es, but received th e same brake treatment for 1990 as th e 600. some - th e DT L/C, YSR 50 a nd YZin ger. Not iceabl y a bsen t from Yam aha 's 1990 press kit was a big-bore o n/offroa d machine, a nd a 750cc sport bike. Du al -sport enth us ias ts will be happy to hea r th at an u pdated XT 600 is. expected to be released in Octob er, pe rhaps wit h an electric starter a nd Pa ri s-Dak ar styling, but Supcrbi ke racers will have to wait, as there is no official word yet o n how many, if a n y, OWO ls wi ll be imported. • (Yamaha clai ms the Deltab o x u ni t is 35% stro nger torsionally a nd 57% stro nger lat er all y.) The 400 a lso received a new paint treatment, a nd is now blacklblue. For 1990, o nly California-m odel FZR600s and 400s will feature Yamaha 's Exh aust Ult imate Power Valv e (EX UP). Yamaha' s spo rt ing flagship, th e FZRIOOO, rounds ou t its 1990 racerreplica o ffering, a nd returns with 25

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