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VOLU ME IX
NUMBER 2
WEST
Jan ua ry 2 5, 1972
PRICE TH IRTY CENTS
America 's la rges t an d most complete week ly motorcycle new sp ape r
Lookie here! Anew XL 250, 350-4, and, of course, alawn chair.
Honda managed to keep the new 3504 a well-kept secret. Oddly. both the 350 twin and 450
D OHC w ill remain on the market.
P
ublicDebut inLas V g s
ea
Th e N ew Ho nda X L- 250 w ith the elect rics remov ed .
LAS VEGAS, NEV_, Jan_ 13 , 1972 American Ho nda's first serious entry
into the burgeoning dir tbike market was
greeted with hearty applause and cries
of "it's about time!" by the motorcycle
press and some 4,000 Honda dealers at
its p re-p ublic u nveiling. Un imaginatively
n am ed the 250-XL , t h e lon g awaited
answer from Honda to Yamaha 's
impressively successfu l DT-1 is an
unusual 4-va1ve (2 intake, 2 exhaust),
single cylinder design, with wet sump
engine and magneto ignition, Its lighting
eq uipment is quickly detachable for
easy conversion between street and dirt.
and it is designed to run with the
battery removed.
The silver and b lack 250 has a
lea ping-forward lo ok that makes it see m
like it is eating up the desert at 80 mph
even when it 's standing sti ll.
Trick features such as ad justab le rake
and trail, quick chain tensioners and a
steering-head mounted chokc contro l
combine with 21" front and IS" rear
The motorized lawn chair was designed in a contest amongst Honda engineers .
Ne-w-spaper
alloy, self-cleaning rims and a rca lly
quiet , tuned exhaust system to make a
very sophisticated dirt machine,
Fork travel is 6.7" and the spark
arrester is buil t-in , Magnesiurn pa rts
throughout the 5-speed engine/gearbox
uni t h elp keep the weig h t down to a
respectable 265 Ibs.
Avai lability of the XL-250 in d ealer
showrooms
is
estimated
in
approximately one month, Price should
be under S1000 .
A lso fresh from the drawing boards
of Nippon is a new 350cc 4-cylinder
runabout roadster. Added to the two
other successful fours, the 5-speed,
four-carb , overhead cam CB-350 Four
will be p riced between th e 450cc tw in
and the 500cc fo ur, No informatio n o n
ava ilab ility is known yct.
And, lcast as well as last, Soichir o
Honda spru ng his la test brainchild o n
the unsuspecting press. It is a motorized
lawn chair that you stccr with your
fcet!
