Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

19941FMA Gologne Motor Show (Above) One of the best-looking bikes Introduced In Cologne was Aprllla's stl1l8tlegal 250cc Grand Prix replica. A Max Blaggi championshiP. winning replica. (Right) The dramatically styled Mantra from Bimota is the work of French designer sacha Lakic . n's powered by an unmodified Ducatl 90055 engine . ~ 0\ 0\ rl -.D N I-< (l) E o 22 ever twin-eylinder bike built by the German marque, and the firs t true sports bike to be targeted for production by a mainstream manufacturer using Yamaha ' s 10-valve parallel-twin TDM850 en gi n e . Designer Richard Seymour explains: "What we wan ted to do was to follow .on from the Skorpion and aim for a light bike with quite a bit more power. The TOM package is very compact, and that allowed us to produce a simple, sexy, svelte, sensible sports tourer that you can do the shopping wi th as well as have fun on." What sounds like a contradiction in terms is actually both visually striking and dynamically practical, thanks to an idea that Seymour sa ys he and other designers should have addressed years ago: collapsable high-capacity ballistic nylon luggage containers, which fold flat and can be tucked away in a special receptacle when not in use, but can be fitted in seconds onto special mounts behind and in front of the rider - the rear bag is even big enough to hold a crash helmet. We ighing o n ly 422 pounds dry in prototype fo rm, the Kobra retains a strong family resemblance with the Skorpion range and is hardly any wider, uses an ova l-section version of the distinctive twin-tube perimeter frame design, and has Paioli inverted forks combined with FZR1000 EXUP running gear. The TOMBSO engine fitted in this first prototype is the current 360-degree version wi th both pistons rising and falling together, for which a startling 91 bhp is claimed by the MuZ factory. But they also admit that their deal with Yamaha envisages using supplies of the new TOM motor - rumored to have a lBOdegree crank or, even more fascinating, a "b ig bang" 270-degree format - once these become available sometime this winter. Production of the Kobra isn't scheduled to begin until January '96, so there's time for that to happen. Over at the Yamaha stand itself there was no sign of the new TOM sports bike still due to appear in time for the 1995 model year, and not a lot of an ything that w as really new apart from the XJ900s Diversion that has already been well previewed in the press. Ditto the naked XJR1200 musclebike that has been on sale in Japan for the past year. But Yamaha were among the first of the man y due to launch a four-stroke scooter to get it into the marketplace, with the debut of the XCl25T Cygnus, combining motorcycle performance and four -stroke econc omy with the convenience and comfort of a scooter. And Europe's bestselling motorcycle over the past decade, the XT600E Tenere trail bike, has been comprehensively updated with new frame, bodywork, brakes, instruments and a larger fuel tank, ready for the next 10 years - even if it still has an air-cooled engine. But for how much longer? The same thing applies to its Honda rival, the NX650 Dominator, also updated, still air cooled, and now made' in Italy to try to cut costs in the face of the escalating yen. Honda's main efforts for next year have been directed at its class- lead ing CBR600 F-3 supersport, which got a fright this yea r with the competence of the new FZR600 Yamaha now updated at Cologne with fully adjustable suspension front and rear. Ho nda have gone much further, though, by introducing the third generation of the bike they invented the 600cc Supersport class with in the mid-80s, and which has sold over 100,000 units since then - their best-selling model. Though the styling is practically unchanged, the new CBR is extensively rewo rked aerodyn amically, and is fitt ed with a twostage ram-air induction system which optimize s power delivery and engine response at both high and low speeds. A new d igital ignition, mechanical camchain a dj us te r instea d of th e old hydraul ic system and a revised exhaust sys tem with bal an ce p ipes connecti ng each p air of he aders for im proved midrange, a re the main m echan ical improvements to the basic engine package. On the chassis side, the new 296mm . floatin g front di scs resolve the biggest ad vantage the newer Yam aha had over the old CBR, coupled with the increase in size of the rear wheel from 4.SO in. to . 5.00 in. and an improved ra tio for the rear Pro- Link suspension. Honda' s o the r ma jor no vel ty has again been well previewed, namely the introduction of the VTll00C2 American Classic Edition Yankee V-twin cruiser, with built-in vi b ra tion a nd sty li ng incredibly reminiscent of that other marque that begin s with an " H," whos e name Honda managed not to mention once in the course of a 45-minute product laun ch at Cologne. Is this a record for corporate self-control? Maybe they were too con fused tryin g to remember who th ey worked for, since th e VT ACE's tank bad ge says "Shadow" in very large script and "Honda" underneath in very small lett ers, almos t apologetic ally. Of course, all this is Marketing wi th a capital " M, " and the long-s tro ke watercooled three-valve OHC Shadow engine with digital ignition and five-speed gearbox is certain ly a hand so me- looking lum p, which in C2-form with a singlepin crank and the resulting vibration fed carefully in to the fra me dir ectly under th e se at, deliver s what Honda ter m a "m ild th rob" as opposed to the "m ild pu lsa tion" of the C-model 's dual-pin crank with 9D-degreeoffset to redu ce the vibes. Market forces? Maybe they should check out a 916 Ducati passenger seat for what rea lly g ives the custo mer a mechani cally ind uced hot flush ... At the other end of the Custom cruiser scale and in a laudable effort to catch 'em young, Honda have launched the SOHC parallel-twin CAl25 Rebel range, selling mainly on price to 16-year-olds and up. The rest of their range continues with minor updates, but also on display .at Cologne was the EX-P2 works desert racing prototype with which Honda will return officially to the Sahara in the forthcom ing Granada-Dakar (ex-ParisDakar) Rally, emblazoned with the slogan "Friendly to Man and Earth." This gives a clue to the point of the exercise, for the EX-P2 is powered by a 402cc water-cooled two-stroke eng ine which Honda ha ve spent a lot of time and money refining in terms of power delivery, emissions and fuel consumption by means of electronics - to overcome the two-stroke's inherent drawbacks in environmental and fuel-efficiency terms. The two-man team will give added interest to the desert marathon this winter. Suzuki's main emphasis was on the 600cc version of their well-established Bandit naked bike, powered by an updated version of their neoclassic GSX600F air I oil-cooled in-line four,

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