Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

~ c Sig And A lmost: New Hondas for 2001 c .... LJ C o o o o o o o o o o o o c ,... T he new 2001 models that Honda introduced to its d e a l ers l a s t week in L a s Vegas , N e v ada , we re impressiv e. The m odels Hon da say s are com ing may be eve n m ore notable, mak ing the the m e o f th e show B ig and A lmost. The B ig co mes from the introduction of the new 1832cc , six -c y li nder Gol d Wing - eas ily the m ost inc re d ible Gold Wi ng ever produced an d on e tha t m ade at leas t the ha rdcore Go ld Wing dea lers salivate. It's a full-o n tourer that bring s eve rythi ng to th e tabl e. What this Honda doesn't have, isn 't m ade . B ig also co m es in th e fo rm of Hond a ' s newest cruiser - the VTX [second from top) . How d oes nearl y 900cc per cylinde r sound? The VTX is a 179 5c c Vt w in that produces a cla imed 103 horsepower at 5000 rpm and a whoppi ng 117 foot-pounds of torq ue at 3000 rpm . The Almost comes from what Ho nda is promising. And first on that list is a four-stroke moto cross bike, although th e bes t Honda c ould do at th e sho w was an aud io presentation of a fou r -stro k e m ot o cro ss bi ke d oin g a la p of a m otocross track . The sec ond Almost co mes in th e fo rm of Honda 's new fou r -str ok e person al watercraft . This o ne did m ake an appear anc e, though it is obvio usly still in dev el opm ent because no o ne could com ment on even basi c inf o rma t io n re gard ing th e craft - info su ch as eng in e size, etc. There was also no looking un der th e hood , ma inly because the craft' s hull was empty . Some were surprised that Honda would enter the persona l watercraft arena , given the somewhat slumping sales of the other manufacturers. ..... ' We will not let any opportunity get by ," said Hon da vic e president Ray Blank to a showroom packed with deal ers. "We thi nk th is segment has ma tur ed and stabilized and that th ere is huge potential. ' Blank also spoke of thi s being th e second ye ar of Honda's th ree-year plan for m ark et share dominatio n. A m on g other new m od els introdu ced at the show wa s Shadow Sp irit 750 - a bargain bas ement crui ser set to retail fo r $5999. As f o r th e sportbi k e m ark et, the CBR 6 00 F4 becomes the CBR600 F4 i, th an ks to fue l inj ec t io n. The CBR92 9RR remains as it was, except fo r a new addition to the fam il y - the Erion Rac ing Edition. The Erion bi k e is a looke r, featuring th e paint scheme of the racing b ik es that hav e dominated the AMA Form ula Extrem e class since it s inception. If it brought smiles t o th e faces of Honda dea lers, they pal ed in c om pariso n to the sm ile o n th e face of t eam owner Kevin Erion - truly one of th e proudest m en at the show. Honda also introduced a brand new scooter to its line - th e Ho nda Refl ex . The 249 cc four-strok e fea tures ABS and a m ini -Gold Wing look . As Bl ank said, Honda is not on ly t alk ing the talk but wal king the w alk . The words, however , continue t o be st ron g as they continue along "Th e Honda Way. " As B lan k told the dea lers: "We will fight those who challenge us : Paul Carru t hers ......... T..--;'9 _ ~".L~~ • rropl Honda's n_ Gold Wing • 1800cc of everything but the kitchen sink. (Abo-I The biggest V-twin of them all? Honda's 1800cc vtwin cruiser. (Right) The CBR6 00 u F4 becomes the F41, thanks to new fuel injection. ILeft) Honda introduced Its fourstroke personal watercraft to Its dealers In Las Vegas. C C o o o o o o o G o Did you e_r think you'd see Freddie Spencer giving aclvlce to a Roberts? in this case, It's Kurtis Roberts. Continued from page 3 S FX M o t o r Sports has kicked off its nat ion al t ic ket sales for the 200 1 EA Sport s Supercross season. Tickets are now available on line at www.sfxmotor sports.co m, Ticke t ma st e r and Tickets.com (Las Vegas only). The series begins on January 6 with the Anaheim Supercross at Edison International Field in Anaheim, California. Announcer Larry Huffman w ill again act as the voice of the 2000-2001 Cycle World Intemational Motorcycle Show that be g in s o n Novem ber 10 at t he S an M a t eo Cou nty Exp o C en t e r in San Mateo, California. Huffman will also produce all of the tour's radio and TV commercials. Huffman will also co-announce the Del Mar Vintage weekend on October 7-8. Huffman has recently comple ted a successfu l two-year prostate cancer treatment program . o ,... "record straight, the Formula USAlWrenchead .c o m N ati o nal D irt Track S erie s Sacramento Mile on September 23 and the Eddi e Muld er Vin t age D irt Trac k Series race on September 24 will run as scheduled. The canceled event was to be a 600cc invitational race that would have run as a support event to the USAC Silver Bullet Series championship dirt car race on October 7. There has reportedly been some confusion with regard to the recent cancella tion of a flat track motorcycle event s at the S acramento M i l e . To set the teur motocross on the National track. For more information, call 909 /880-3090. Ad d 12 5cc World C hamp io n G rant La ng st o n to the list of clients now being managed by Fred Bramblett 's OM S Ltd. Langst o n has been signed by OM S ' s I '-' t> l..J r-- w C r I:Yl:lenews.l:om reader poll question of the week 1.J o o o 84 Which of the following World Champ' ions hi s wou ld be the most i mpressiv e to wi n'jl- - -A: i!DDD FIM World Supe rbik e Cha mpi onship '--B: i!DDD FIM World SDDct Grand Prix Road Racing Champ·onship ----- S EPTEMBER 27 . 2000· cu e I e n e _ s Superc ross/motocross accou nts exec utive Bob Moore. Langston, incidentally, w ill be raci ng in t he 200 1 A MA 125 Supercross and 125cc Natio nal Champio nship Mot ocross Ser ies on a factory KTM . A Supercross t rack wi ll be ope ning at Lake El s i n o r e MX Park in the next cou p le weeks for Pr o f e s sio nal Fact ory/Privateer riders to practice and test on for the 200 1 Supercross season. For pri ces and information call M arc CN Peters at 949/ 367-9583.

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