Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127768
THE FLORIDA HARLEY-DAVIDSON® DEALERS ASSOCIATION PRESENTS: Meanwhile, the sports-touring twin got a new lease on li fe as BMW prod uced an all-new horizontally opposed machine, th e RllOORS. As a modular starting block for a whole new line of high-tech twins, the R259 engine was air and oil-cooled, featuring fuel injection, engine management and ABS systems. Ground clearance was much improved over previous boxers . The frame basically didn ' t exist, wi th sub frames mounted to the engine supporting the front and rea r suspension. While the back end fea tur ed BMW's si ngle-sid ed swi ngarm "Paralever " system, the fron t fork was replaced by the g ro und -breaking Telelever se tu p . With Te lelever, a fork-typ e system mounts to a long , wid e, V-shaped con t rol arm that p ivo ts off th e engine crankcase, cont rolled by a single shock abso rber . While many designers toyed wit h similar sys tems, attracted by handling and a nti- d iv e I m p rove me n ts, BMW wa s the first to take a non-fork into the mar ket place. Men tion sho uld also be made of Yama ha's hub-cen ters teer ed GTS 1000, a bulk y bu t good effo rt tha t was le t d o wn by th e fact tha t the fuel-i njec ted FZR1000 powerplant was detuned for sports-touring use. . 1994 was a yea r of, refinement, and the most popular new machine from a gawker's point of view was Ducati's latestDesmo twin, the 916. Slimmer and mo re exotic-looking than its bu lbou s predecessor, the 916 had a variety of technical imp rovements. However, the changes were overshadowed by the single-sided swingarm and exhausts exiting th rough the tail section. While the 888 was still competitive as a World Superb ike mou nt, Carl Fogarty took one of the few works 9165 to the series title in its debut season. . . The 916 ove rshadowed Ho nda ' s newest V-f our, th e u lt ra- t ric k, fuelinjec ted RC45. Th e RC45 suffe re d in road tests since Honda opted to deliver the rare and expensive stree t ver sion with full-on handling capabili ties but conservative pow er characteristics. As a focus for attention, the RC45 was initia lly a d isappointment, but two Suzuka 8h our successes and Migu el Duhamel's 1995 AMA seas on show that the latest Honda is a mo r e th a n capable p er forme r. A lack of persp ective makes it hard to fairly evaluate the recent crop of sports machinery. Honda' s latest CBR600, the new-for-1995 F3 version, continues to amaze. It seems shocking that a competent and comfortable street bike can so easil y turn in to a National road race winner. Kawasaki's efforts w i th the ever-evolving, aluminum-framed Z X-6 line are also im p ressive, if somewhat o ve rshad owed by the FJ. So far, this year's brea kthrough sportbike appears to be Suzuki's all-new GSXR750. Suzuki admits that the new machine is an engineering, not marketing, project . With weight down, power up and geometry in line with current track thinking, the '96 GSXRproves that the si mple and well-proven sportbi ke form ula still works. The futu re ma y see)apanese big twins rise to sportbike popula rity, with electronic fea tures and lower we ig h t mak ing up for potential power d rops . But don't rule out the in-line four, since every time that design seems antiquated, some build er comes along to give the four a new lease on life. If the next 25 years of progress ar e anywhere near as adventuresome and exciting as the last 25, we sh ou ld all look forward to some wild rid es. ~ Friday, March 1 Saturday, March 2 ' Su nday, March 3 ' Su nday, March 3 Monday, March 4 Tuesday, March 5 Thursday, March 7 Friday, March 8 Saturday, March 9 Oglethorpe Speedway, Savannah, GA 1/2 Mile St. Augustine Speedway, SI. Augustine, FL 1/2 Mile Vol us ia Speedway, Barberville, FL 1/2 Mile (asphalt) Vol us ia Speedway, Barberville, FL 1/2 Mile (dirt) Volusia Speedway, Barberville, FL 1/2 Mile (dirt) East Bay Raceway, Tampa, FL 1/2 Mile St. Augustine Speedway, St. Augustine, FL 1/2 mile Municipal Stadium, Daytona Beach, FL Municipal Stadium, Daytona Beach , FL "DOU BLE HEADER- Asphalt half-mile Sunday aftemoon (2:00p.m.)/dirt track half mile Sunday night (7:00p.m.) Daytona Municipal Staduim Ticket Info: (904)253-RACE HARLEY-DAVIDSON OFLAKaAND 3205 U. .92 East. Lakeland, FL 33801 S MARION COUNTY HARLEY-DAVIDSON 5331N.Highway 441 , Ocala, ~ 34475 ADAMEC'S HARLEY·DA VIDSON 6263Roosevett Blvd. U.S. 17, Jacksonville, FL 32244 WEST COAST HARLEY-DAVIOSON 1855 Boy Scoot Rd., Fon MyeIs, FL33901 HARLEY-DAVIOSON SOUTH 9860E.Fern 51., Perrine, FL33157 3558 NW. 97th Blvd., GainesviDe, FL 32606 HARLEY DAVIDSON OF FORT LAUDERDAlE, INC. 443South State Rd. 7, Plantation. FL33317 DICK FARMERS HARLEY-DAVIDSON OF ORLANDO,INC 46 N. Orange Blossom Trail Orlando, FL 32805 3956 Ponce de Leon Blvd., SI.Augustine, FL 32084 FLETCHERS HARLEY-DAVIDSON SALES 17129U.S. Hwy. 19N., Cleanwater, FL 34624 ROSSrrER'S HARLEY·DAVIDSON 1175 N. W ashington Blvd. (Rt.301), Sa rasota, FL 34236 JIM HARLEY·DAVIDSON OF ST PETE 'S . 5989Ha Road., St. Petersburg, FL 33714 ines HARLEY-DAVIDSON OF TAMPA 7202E. Hillsborough Ave., Tampa, FL 33610 GATORHARLEY·DAVIDSON 2325 E. Main SI. Leesburg, FL 34748 HARLEY-DAVIDSON OFSTUART 4260 S. Federal Hwy. (U.S. '1) Stuart, FL33494 HARLEY·DAVIDSON FO MELBOURNE 6030 N. Ha r City Blvd., Melboome, FL 32935 rtlo HARLEY·DAVIDSON OF PALMBEA CH 420 Pa Place, West Palm Beach, FL 33401 rk HARLEY-D AVIDSON OFTALLAHASSEE 4003 W. Pensacola a , T allahassee, FL32316 HA RLEY·DAVIDSON OFMIAMI, INC, 19400NW 2ndA M . ve., iami,FL 33150 REGENCYHARLEY·DAVIDSON 10399 Mantic Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32211 SUNSETHARLEY-DAVIDSON 8546 LeoK"1d Ave., New Port Righey, FL 34668 GA INESVILLE HARLEY-DAvtDSON HARLEY-DAVIDSON OF ST. AUGUSTINE . .. •• _ .~• • ~. W I.E D AMA C SANC TI O N E D iil'iis1 MOTORCYCLE ASPHALT ~ RACING SERIES FOR INFORMATION CALL KEN LILLY AT (803) 626-9455 OR DM PROMOTIONS AT (904) 788-4709 Donate to THECLAYTON FOUNDAnON 2201 Cherry Avenue Long Beach; CA 90806 310/427·7433 "We want to be yourfavorite charity"