Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

35th Tokyo Motor Show Honda's new models included an XR100 for the street, complete with solid wheels and road tires but with a high-mounted front fender. Named "Ape 100: Honda has been selling a 50cc version in Japan for a year or so, and the Ape 50 has been a sales smash. The other new model was called "Bite," a scooter with eclectic styling aimed at fashion-conscious, young Tokyo socialites that want to be seen on something different. Honda's customized models were dressed-up "Zoomers" for going to the beach or delivering pizzas (a Zoomer is a fat-tire scooter with a visible, external tube frame; sort of a scooter Jeep), and specially painted Moming-edition "crea Scoopy" scooters. The crea Scoopy scooter is the lowest retail priced scooter in Japan and, therefore, popular with young women; and Morning is what Japanese call an "idol-group" - a pop music group that appeals to teenybopper girls. As always, Honda leads the way in marketing to every demographic group they can identify in Japan. basket over the front wheel. Hinged in the middle, in the fold-down state the Riding Cart's front and rear wheels are side-by-side, allowing the Riding Cart to rock forward onto a caster wheel and be pushed around in a supermarket, through an apartment building, or in and out of elevators with relative ease. The fold down state is also ideal for storage in a closet or storage room. The last electric commuter bike wasn't really a commuter bike, but an urban road racer for kids. The "eNSR" features big 12-inch wheels (the other electric commuters rode on a-inch wheels) and rim-mounted disc brakes on the front and rear wheels. Honda's vision of the e-NSR is safe but exciting electric road racing bikes on urban racetracks the size of, say, a go-cart track. The e-NSR easily disassembles to fit in a typical car, and would be sold with a storage container for when it is kept away from the track. Honda also displayed two prototype gasoline engine powered commuter bikes at Tokyo; one a moped with a fuel-efficient 49cc four-stroke engine, and the other a 'minimalist scooter' that featured large, narrow wheels and exceptional weight of less than 90 Ibs, dry. In the existing commuter bike product space, Honda displayed one prototype, two new models, and a few customized versions of existing models. Honda's commuter prototype was a long-wheelbase 50cc scooter called "Fusion 50." The Fusion 50 has a large trunk and thick sofa seat for comfortable riding, and an overall rather large size to make a bigger visual presence on the road - presumably there must be some 50cc scooter riders in Japan that have been on the losing end of some arguments with cars and trucks, and Fusion 50 is the countermeasure. KAWASAKI Sizewise, Kawasaki always has the smallest display at the Tokyo Motor Show. Productwise, Kawasaki never shows prototypes or concept bikes, and some years they do not introduce any new models. This year, Kawasaki debuted just one new model in Japan: an entrylevel dual-purpose bike called the "250TR." Essentially a remake of a mjd-'70s foo-foo enduro bike, the 250TR features a air-cooled fourstroke single, and is expected to be used in metropolitan areas by riders who desire a plain, simple motorcycle. Kawasaki presented two customized versions of the 250TR: one reworked to be a vintage motocrosser (though the street disk brake looked out of place), and the other tarted up into a vintage road racer, complete with the old Kawasaki trademark ducktail tail section. And there's another version of the 250111 - a reworked look........ of a ¥intage motocra II.r. 28 NOVEMBER 14, 2001 • cue • .. n e .... s. The emphasis at Kawasaki is on their Ninja and Vulcan lines, and all the Kawasaki dancing girls were over there. SUZUKI If speed is the name of your game, Suzuki was the place to be. Suzuki didn't need to mount their rip-snorting, sumo-size B-King on a turntable to get heads to tum. Touted as the ultimate naked bike, Suzuki engineers started with a 1300cc Hayabusa engine and then modified the alternator drive to power a lightweight and compact Lysholrn supercharger. A Lysholm supercharger uses a screw-type compressor to provide high-efficiency boost at low engine rpm, thus delivering the BKing overwhelming acceleration on the street. The styling of the B-King conveyed pure power. A massive twinspar frame, beefy front forks, and a beautiful bespoke swingarm provide robust styling for the mighty engine. A special one-off Metzler rear tire in an ultra-wide 240 size puts the power to the ground. Above the rear tire were two exhaust pipes styled to look like rocket nozzles. Suzuki employed the latest technology with lighting, making extensive use of LEDs. The rear lamps were all LED, fitted with a reversing half-mirror to give the illusion of having countless sources of light. Turn indicators were LEOs that light up sequentially starting from the inside of the motorcycle. The front lamp used just a single source bulb fitted with a complex reflector to achieve a light distribution that was previously only possible through multi-source lamps. The B-King is also internetenabled. A color TFT LCD display flips up to display the usual information about speed and fuel availability, plus self-diagnostic information regarding, say, brake condition, disconnected wires, battery voltage, etc. (Above) Kawasaki's only new model in Tokyo: The 250TR, a remake of a mid'70s enduro bike. Also on display are GPS navigation information, coupled with internetsupplied weather information regarding what to expect up the road. When the rider is not checking the weather the display can be switched to email. Being Internet enabled means that the B-King has a wireless communication system. Thus, if the B-King detects a problem through self-diagnosis, the computer can call a nearby Suzuki shop for advice, and order the needed replacement parts. The wireless phone is also connected to the alarm system, and programmed to call the police if the B-King is moved. Once the police pick up the phone, the computer informs the police of suspicious activity, and opens a live microphone for the police to listen in on the suspect{s). The advanced security system replaced the traditional ignition key with fingerprint recognition, coupled with an electronic chip in the rider's helmet for additional confirmation of the rightful owner. "The B-King designer stayed in America six months," explained product planner Yuji Nishimoto. "He thinks Americans like muscle bike. Thus, he drew up this model." When suggested that the B-King is a 21 st century V-Max, Nishimoto-san dismjssed the comparison. "The VMax was too long. We want a more sporty machine. People need more horsepower. " As for the origin of the name, SKing is the king of boost (acceleration), block (solidness), beauty, and brains (information technology). It's unlikely the B-King will ever see the street, but if you can't get enough speed in your life, Fujio Yoshmiura, president of Yoshimura R&D, was at Tokyo signing up customers for street-going replicas of the GSXRl000 raced in this year's Suzuka 8 Hours. Umited to just 50 units, the

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