Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

- -- - - - -1 UJIsG '~-4lj, 'f~""Q ~Qttl :. ". :.. ". : .. ~.:ver PrOducts : ,..-- - - - - 1 27460 ':. ..' : ':- . . . Avenue SCott , Valencia, CA 91355 ' , , ' :80.5 / 257-44H ' , ' oblige when informed of our project. On the Line supplied us w ith th e same graphics, Cobra non -slip seat cover, upper fork gu ards, number plate backings an d numbers that are used by Huffma n and the rest of the factory Suzuki team . H uffman and the Suz uki squad also use Answer's Pro Taper handlebars, which was especially convenient for us since we have found th e tapered alu minum bars to be amongst our favorites. Cycle Engineering , , 26810 Oak Avenue, Uni t C CanyonCountry, CA 9i351 'S05/ 29s:.o206 , ', .... On the Line Racing 30South WaCker Drive, Suite 1120 Chicago; IL 60606 • ' ' 708/295-0Q32 , : ',' 'ShowaOnly , :5442 Tate Court , Riverside"CA 92505 909/392-5023 POSING We couldn' t help but chuckle w hen we p ulled up to th e tr ack and hea rd people ga sp, "Look, H uffman's here!" And who cou ld blam e them for believing so? The CEF/Showa Only machine, comple te with number 20 on the plates, looked exactly like th e machines tha t Huffman himself rides. Needless to say, we were anxious to throw a leg over the mod ified RM. Did the bike work as good as it looked ? From the m oment we fire d up the yellow tid d ler, it was very ap pa ren t that the powerband was nothing like that of a stock RMI25. The engine revved mu ch quicker th an before, and had a higher, " tin nier" ex ha us t not e, so u n ding as wicked as a 125 poss ibly could. nit's an advanced rid e r's mo tor," Huffman Sr. had warned us, and boy was he right. Po wer down lo w was, well, almost nonexisten t. Once into the midd le of the powerban d, though, the CEF engine really - and we mean reallycomes to life. One trip through the gearbox made it crystal clear w hy CEF had chosen "Ballistic!" as the ir slogan - the bike is a rocket. From the middle of the powerband on up, th e bike pulls lon g an d hard. We're no d yno experts, but we wo uld guess that the CEF engine chums out at least two tho usand more RPM th an a stocker. Wh er e th e stock bike would begin to flatten out an d fall on its face - the CEF engine just keeps on pulling. Rid ing th e machine on a sandy or loa my tr ack is a blas t. In cond itions where the bike is kept w ide open with liberal amounts of clutch abuse, the CEF engine is hard fo beat. . It w as on slip pery, ha rd-pa cked tracks, ho wever, that ou r skills began to limit our enjoyment of the machine. On surfaces where smooth power deli very was-crucial, we found ourselves d oin g burn-out slides and nearly high-sid in g bec ause of the engine's pip ey powerband. Good throttle and clutch control .are imperative, and in th e hands of a less-skilled rider, the "Huffman replica" engine is hard to manage. As w ith an y machine, thou gh, time spen t on the machine will allow m ost riders to adapt. But what about the suspensi on? Well, true to King's words, the Showa Onl ymodifications worked wonders. Gone . '. (Left and bottom) Thanks to the Showa Only-altered suspension components, the Cycle News project Suzuki RM125 is a pred ictable flier and a stable lander, even from the greatest of leaps . , (Above left) The Cycle Engineering exhaust pipe Is completely hand-made, as Is the · shorty" silencer. The Technoselshroud graphics are printed on heavy-duty, 12mm thick vinyl. (Above right) The Technosel Carbonium upper fork guards have a carbon fiber look, and like the shroud graphics, are printed on heavy-duty vinyl. On the inside, the Showa Only-modified fork Is quite different from stock. w as the initial harshness of the stock for k, and in its ' place was a plush ride that got progres sively stiffer as the fork was pushed through its range of travel. Headshake was also eliminated with the pl ushe r in it ial travel , and high-speed straights and wicked braking bumps were no longer a scare. Out back, the shock was pleasantly compliant. No more swapping for thi s screaming yellow zonker. Where the stock bike sometimes felt short and twitchy, the modified shock gave the bike a more predictable, controllable ride. Powering out of rough, rutted corners was a breeze, as the harsh, erratic feel was eliminated. , After spinning a few laps on our project bike, even Huffman was impressed with the Sh owa Only m odifica ti ons . "This bike reall y lands nice," said Huffman, after catching some m ajor air at Shane Trittler's Castaic Supercross Park track. As for the rest of the bike, what can be sa id except tha t it definitel y looks trick ? Stares and whispers could b e detected whenever we took the bike out for a ride. The Technosel Cobra sea t cover felt odd at first, as its ribbed surface provided m ore tr action th an we had become accustomed to w ith the stock cover. The cordura sid e paneling on the cover did an excellen t job of holding up under the abuse of knee braces, but we must admit that the cover itself seemed to tear easier than others. In one of our aforementioned high sides; the metal toe p iece of a test rider's boot , snagged the cover and promptly removed it from the bike. The Technosel shroud graphics kit is a cinch to apply, though we would recommend having a ha ir dryer handy to soften the stickers up for easier application. The same goes for the pre-cut number plate backings, which, like the shroud graphics - are sized perfectly. The Showa Carbonium (who, may we ask, came up with that name?) upper fork guards are nice and thick, and are sure to protect the delicate aluminum fork tubes. They look pretty dam trick as well . Okay, so we have the bike and the look... now all we have to do is learn to ride as fast as Damon! (N 29

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