Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

BSHOW FMA C ologneShow 1990 e th eir hub-cent er Tesi ID, now availa ble i n cu sto mer fo rm wi th fu elinjected 8-valve Du cati engine in either 851cc or 904cc versions. T he latter reta in s the stock 92mm Ducati bore but em p loys a 68mm stroke rather than the standard 8-valve 64mm crank, thanks to new , mor e-robust cra nkcases in trodu ced by Ducati on their o wn engines which per mit the lo nger stroke to be reliably used. Bimo ta will produce the T esi in both forms according to customer preference, and are developing their own ra nge of performance pa rts for the eigh t valve desmo engine, though the racing version also sho wn at Co logne (wi th a different co lor scheme fro m the roadster whi ch some observe rs found more p leasing ) will o nly be ava ilable to special order. With the first batch of 150 bikes now bein g built. Birnota may ju stl y cla im to be tne firs t to bri ng a lternative chassis tech- .... v ,.0 o .... u o . I (L eft ) Birn o ra joined T riump h in stealing the sho w with th e debu t of the T esi ID . (Belo w) The all-new T riumphs, incl udi ng the 750cc th reecyli nder, impressed show visitors. I e nn f emotorcycle By Alan Cathcart wo themes ominated the IFMA Co logne Show: new concepts in mo torcycle design , and enviro nmemally-friendly applied tech nology. Th e gree ni ng f th e mo to rcycle . co upled with an o nsl aught o n the st a b lish ed m o ld f two -wheeled c nventio n , has never been more popular, even if the vogue for cat alyst exha usts, volun tary po wer limits, everquieter silencers a nd im pro ved fuel co nsu mp tio n stems fro m a desire bo rn of necessity, leavened wi th a health y do se of self-in terest. . As BM W ch a i r m a n H a n s G la s remarked: " Issues of s" fety and the enviro nment co me first wi th BMW, and since we wish ' to act o urselves witho ut any pressure fro m lawmak ers, we have decided to launch BMW's. env iro nme nta l offens ive at the 1990 IFMASho w." In o the r words. go g ree n o n a voluntary basis befor e you 're forced to, and hope the resu ltant good publ icity will hav e a beneficia l effect on the o verall image of motorcycling as a who le in th e sight of the public in genera l and government in particular. BMW was no t the only company to head in thi s di rection at IFMA '90, bu t the y were th e o nes to trumpet the fact most lo ud ly, perh aps beca use of thei r lack of any really new bikes to displ ay at the bienn ial exhibitio n whic h has traditio na lly ac ted as a lau nc hing pad for the Germa n mak er's new mod els. Revised bod ywor k for the GS end uro range a long Trans(Bavari an )alp lin es was the maj or in novat io n , coup led wi th the adoption of Marzo cchi front forks and a special Bilstein rear un it offering gr eat er adju stahility for th e Paralev er suspe nsio n now fitted to both th e R80GS and RIOOGS, but like all box ers - now comprising 40% of BMW's 31,000 a n n ual production (itself a 10% increase over '89) - the GS mod els are now avai lab le with the SAS (Secondary Air System ) emission control device a lready . employed to pass U.S. norms. Only available as an op tio n, SAS is the first of BMW's threeway gr een offens ive, matched by a T 18 fu ll y-co ntro lled three- way cat a lyt ic co nverter (expected to retail for abou t DM850 fro m May '91) also available as original equipment o nly for the 16valve K-I a nd KIOORS mod els, and by a retro-Iittab le non -controlled (wit h o ut o xygen sensor) three-way system ava ila ble for the two-valve K-series four-cylinders. 1 0 sign of th e bo rn -aga in Boxer engine know n to be un der develo pment, but wh ich PR chief Hans Sautter says will not be on sale un til 1993 a t the earl iest, thou gh the basic format (Left) Mota Guzzi displayed the final produ ction version of the Quota Enduro, first shown at Milan last year. It features a fuel-injected engine. for the liq u id-coo led engi ne has now been decided on. O therw ise, the worldwide availabilit y o f the K75RT hi therto sold only in Spain and the U.S. was BMW' s only signi ficant new step for '91. Also going green are BMW's new compatrio ts MZ, who debuted their own th ree-way catal yst syste m ' at IFMA, claimed to be the first developed for two-stroke use and avai labl e immedia tely on their existing ra nge wh ich celebrated impending reun ificati on of the two Germanys a nd the ent ry of DDR industry into the real world by ap pea ring in a range of colo rs straight ou t of the Aprilia ca ta log. A 250 " Pro totyp " with half fairin g desig ned by Briton Tony Divey, but still fitted with the humble - but economic pis to n -po rt two-stroke single-cyli nder eng ine showed the way MZ hope to stay alive in the immediate future, but their days are surely numbered without a massive cash injectio n to enable them to build a new factory . Whi le G erman m a n u fact u rers marked time , therefore, th e stage 'was stolen at Co logne by foreign com panies, headed by the unquestioned stars of the show, Bimota and Triumph. The sma ll Italian · firm more th an satisfied expectations with the muchawai ted debut of th e street version of nology to the high way in m a ssproduced form in th e mod em era , but it has n't stopped them from updatin g thei r existing Yamaha-po wered range wit h the launch of the new Dieci (Ita lia n for ' 10', prefera ble i to th e -designation YB10. according to factory boss Giu seppe Morr i, because it's a real word instead of one that just looks li ke o ne - wh at's a n Ybio, anyway?!) An upd ate o f the T ua tara, with fue lin jected FZRlOOO eng i ne, it wi ll simi larly be bu ilt in limited numbers for those with deep pockets and a desire for exclus ivi ty. Triumph o n th e other hand launch ed th eir mass-volume attempt to revive the British motorcycle industry, (though owner John Bloor sees it as anything bu t such a quixotic ideal I), wit h n ine motorcycles on display at Co logn e whi ch formed a h ig h l y impressive debut for the born -again marque. Judging by the enthusiasm of the hordes of German punters li n in g up to tak e their turn to sit on them , and their relu ctance to get off again, th e new Triumph models look like they' ve p as sed th e li tmus test of

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