Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

PRODUCT EVALUATION A ThelSI Used Bike Buyer's Guide You've fi na lly made the dec is io n, you' re goi ng to bu y a street bi ke. But wh ich o ne? For no particul ar reason, you' ve always had a certain spot in your heart for a Suzuki Katana 600, but a brand new o ne is ou t of yOUT price ran ge, so a used Katan a will hav e to do. Now that you've prett y mu ch decided on the Katan a, you spend the next coup le of weeks digging th rough yo ur m il e-h igh co llec tion o f o ld motorcycle magazines, flip ping one page after another, searchi ng for any kind of information abo ut yOUT soo nto-b e " new" bik e. T ests, ShOOlOUlS, co mparisons , spec box es, hop-ups, tune- ups, prices, any kind of inform atio n will do, but the mor e the merri er. But just wh en you 're abso lu tely , posi ti vely a nd tot all y so ld o n the Ka tana, after weeks o f Kat an a information sea rch ing, you happen across a test o n th e Yam aha FZR 600. The lead ph ot o of th e FZR fl icke d over i n a turn ca p tures you r att ention and you read th e a rt icle. Looks pretty go od ! N ow you s ta rt seachi n g th rou gh yo ur pil e o f back iss ues o ne more time looking fo r more information about th e FZR600. Kat ana o r FZR , Kat ana o r FZR . .. ? We've a ll been there. But woul dn 't it be n ice if yo u co u ld just di al a phone number , tell th e person o n th e o the r en d of the lin e th at yo u want a ll - o r at lea st as much as possib le - infor mat io n ever printed abo u t th e Kat ana an d the FZR , perhaps a co m paris o n between th e two, a nd have it a ll show up in yo u r mailbox a few days later? Well, you ca n now mak e that ca ll . Ian Sm ith o f Ian Smith Information do es, in fact , provides suc h a service. Smith has ca talogued every issu e o f Rider, Cycle World, Cycle, Motorcycl ist a nd o the r well -k n o w m o torcycl e p ub licati ons ba ck to J anuary 1985 and ca n pull all rel eva n t articles for an y mot or cycl e (as well as off-road bikes) p roduced since the n, includin g articles o n accesso ries, tune ups, problem s and cures. In add iti on , detail ed used p ri ce informa tio n and articles o n buying and sell ing used bi kes are incl uded. Sm i th sen t u s a sam p le copy of hi s product , a p proxi mately 100 pa ges o f past tests, co mparisons, graphs , etc. o n the Ka tana 600. Almost every thi ng ever printed a bo ut the bike in the U.S. is in this magazine-size , th ree- ta n g fas te n e r -bounded presentation folder. O n th e cove r is a color photo of th e most cu rr ent Ka tana model, but th e follow ing pages are bl ack a nd white Xerox cop ies, incl udi ng pho tos of no n- cu rr ent Ka tan a test s ta ken di rec tly o ut of magazines, of co urse, w ith eac h pub lication 's permission. The Ian Smi th Info rmation Use d Bike Bu yers G u ide booklets aren 't exactly pretty, bu t information is informa tion, wh ether i t's printed o n glossy coated stock or o n sta nda rd white paper. In o u r o p i nio n, thi s is a real p ra ise wo rt hy idea , and a service well worth th e price. Th e cost is $15 for a fu ll report on a si ngle bike, $22 for two bikes, $27 on th ree and $30 for four. If shooto u r/corn pa rison tests are no t required , deduct $5. For mor e informat ion co n tac t, Ian Smith Information, Dept. CN , P.O. Box 5893, Sh erman Oak s, CA, 914135893, or ca ll 818/ 905-1820. Kit Palm er ~ m c-r O'l O'l ......-4 ......-4 ....... .... . ~ 0- < fB G) ~~ ~\J [7o&<9 Glen Helen OHV Park. San Bernardino CA April 4 &. 5 1992 New 1.992 Yamaha Us andATVs On Display at Moto Expo j:)/?IXof MeJ. Two-daytickets: $20,00 " Special Edition " Yamaha U.S.G.P. Stickers Available at Yamaha and Cycle News Exhibits USGP Tickets Ava ilable From These Part ic ipating Dea lers CA LIFO RN IA JOHN8URR CYCLES. INC. HONDA YAMAHA KAWASAKI . A.V. KAWASAKI YAMAHA 400WestAvenue T Lancaster. CA 93534 (805) 948-101 9 8EACHYAMAHA 19721 Beach Blvd. Huntngton 8each. CA 92648 i (714) 536 .7555 9OD8 Sierra Ave. Fontana. CA 92335 1 714) 823.1338 CONCORDYAMAHA 1891 Mart MANUFACTURED IN JAPAN or send CheckIM.O. to : Artistic licens e 1808 "a" Street, sacramento, CA 95814 Want Ad Inforllllltlon - (310) 42 7·70\33 BOYESEN REEDS OSC Distributing 4232 Dixie Hwy . Waterford. M I 48329 (313) 673-3366 (313) 673 -81 44 FAX UPS Daily High perfo rmance race style pistons man ufactured from special high-silicon al um inum alloys. Piston kits supplied with rings, circlips, wrist pin. For leading makes and models. . See your dealer. LOS ANGELES SLEEVE CO., INC. 8311 Chetle Ave.• Santa Fe Springs. CA 90660 (310) 945-7578 Dealers call or write ! or your free catalog and decals 19

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