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/141020
By David Swift Mo t orcycl e it is; very. Enduro? Not really . Oh , they tried but GreeveS di dn ' t d o eno ugh h o mewo rk on t he American market. That's ironic, considering the advertising mentions t hat the 175 Pathfinder was "aimed for the American market." Let's talk ab o ut the enduro features, friends. Lights? Useless. You'll never get it street legal in California the way you buy it. Waterproofing? Nonexistent. Even th e air clean er on the Pathfinder doesn't do a worthwhile job, partly becaus e the rubber b o ot between the carb and the element do esn't fit right. It su cks in sand, bugs, ice cream, wh atever get s close . Distributor Nick Nich olson t a citl y admitt ed it wasn't th e fin est air clean er going. To be fair, everyone wh o buys a competition bike alwa ys ends up changing shocks, h and controls, air cleaner, and other incidental items. In this case , anyone who doesn't dump the air cleaner for someth ing decent should buy rings by the bushel. \ There is no speedometer. O h, t he re's some dinky d evice on the fork slider tube th at will tell you how fast you are going if you want to stop and kneel down to look at it. The o dometer isn 't rese ttabl e, either. Like I said ... ~ '" '" '" 0.. N r- '" 175 PATHFINDER ~ C. « rn ;;: w A hot dog dirt machine that doesn't like water. Z w -" o >o ~ ~ ;5 III ~ G. -g I';l .~ ~ 's o ,. " ~ €i: ~ ~ Editor Sw ift tr ophied his first enduro on the Pathfinder. Im agine what you can do. It.'rl'"'_-""""" Hey, it handles super. You should try it. Cerianis and Girlings. I hadn't gone 50 feet in first gear before I fou nd t he bike perfect for me. In no ti me I was bopping in sixth gear across the desert (un offi cially clocked at 65 by a waggly speedo on a frantic Suzook) faster than I had ever dared to go before. Breathtaking. Stand on the pegs, butt back, and look between two rocks Iour inch es apart. Thread th e needle every time. Pick a line through the puckerbush es and gen tly sh ift y o ur wei ght to each peg. Impeccable. I sh o uld hav e goneo n my head o nc e for every slot ma chine in Ve gas. I act ually cras h ed just once aft er I missed a tum and failed to miss a bush th at was h aving an a ffa ir with a ro ck. I crumpled o ne o f t hose fine-looking alloy fenders and b ecame an inst ant ad fo r Preston Petty products . My apologies to Nick Nich olson. Other folks who ride th e Pathfinder had a hard time getting used to the hand ling. Paul Boudreau, who wrote to you abo ut the Gr eeves 250 Enduro last week, was p rett y well spooked by the 175 's han d ling un til he go t used to it. T he n h e agreed it was b o ffo . And it too k me a lo ng tim e to ge t used to h is 250 , which he had no trouble with . Just goes to show yo u . One could go o n and on about peg placement, contro l co mfort, and th e number of o unces p ressure it takes to tickle the carb uretor a t 74 d egrees Fahrenheit . Res t assu red that everything that a rider needs is the re, ready to be fooled with. Personal ' tastes. All the importan t stu ff is in good o rder. The ' ch o ice of a Pu ch engine is ad mirable. T his 169·see-see runt once swept the tough SoCaI desert with a mind-boggling 1-2 sweep over Hunkies, Blowturkeys, an d all the other bullies. This particular engine had X ho rsep o wer an d Y foot-pounds of torque and we nt as fast as any stock 250 . It takes a lo ng time to ro w the thing fro m first gear to sixth b ut you never stop accelerating in th e meantime. So it has a super-low low and a supe r-hig h high an d you h ave no pro bl em keeping t he t hing o n the pipe in b et w een . Lo ts of fly wheel effect in th e lower regions. problem inh eren t T here is one with th e Puch engine's su nburst des ign. If you want to change a plug after so me muddy going, the fins fu nnel garbage into the open plug hole. Th e co mp ressio n release , wh ich I found to to b e of little us e unless you want make fu nny noises at othe r rid ers; is in the way , ma kin g it nearly impossible to clear the area out with your tremb ling gloved fingers. So lu ti o n he re is to tak e out the compression release and put on a spare p lug in its place. Two birds w ith one wrench, by go lly. Shifting presents no real problems o nce you get into the habit of driving the lever home every time. I could find a neutral on the way to third every so often but I have a habit o f always shifting lightly . It's not perfect but as good as an ything from Europe. I really thrashed th e cl u tch while playing slidey in the sand. No problems at all. The low point of th e Pu ch engine is the amo u nt of mechanical and intake noise. The odd-looking sil encer on the up pi pe squelched th e bite out of the exhaust note but the running gear was th e noisiest I had ever enco untered . It's reassuring to be able to hear that the innards are hunky-dory at all times, but I got tired of the racket oc casionally . The steel rims took a beating like a man. I cho o se thes e rims over any o the rs, any time . The brak es performed we ll enough. T he b ike stopped every time up o n ap plicatio n. In water they can't hold their b reath very lo ng. It starts first kick, every time. When co ld yo u'll h ave to start it th ree or fo ur ti mes, though, if you prefer to get a bik e's blood circulating befo re you whomp through t he gears. I cringe every time som eo ne winds out a scooter from co ld . It 's your bike. The 26mm Bing was a complete gentleman and didn't load up even when that ubiquitous Japanese carb might have. I loved the way the Pathfinder looks b ec ause I nearly barfed th e first tim e I saw it. A styling genius must ha ve figured out th at this is th e way to make a bike look starkly b usin ess-like . The aluminum alloy tank is singularly outstanding, both fun ctionally and esthetically. The frame is painted a sick gr een color to match th e Girlings. Not a doo-dad in sight. When the English build a motorcycle, it looks like a motorcycle. Frame is constructed of Reynolds 531 (that's good) and workmanship will bring a tear of j o y to an enthusiast's eye. Let 's see, wha t did I forget ? The footpegs are spring-loaded . Gas cap is easy to get at even with glove s. Re ar sprocket has a cush d rive, I guess . T here was slight off-axis p lay in t he unit b ut it see med harmless at the time . The b ik e weighs less than 200 pounds. Aircraft-type lo ck nu ts are use d everywhere. I experienced abolutely no failures fo r the I 2 0-p lu s miles I pu t o n the b ike. Seat was good. Inciden tal electrics were a bit on the fragile side, but they don't belong on the Pathfinder any way . I had a h ard time trying to empty the float bowl. Engine and foot co ntro l protection was excellent wi th a strong alu minu m bash p late an d loo ps from the fra me at th e b o t tom of the do ubl e do wn t ube defending the mach in e's honor. Because of the weig ht and su pe rio r p er forman ce , I could see buy ing th e Pathfin d er. If you want to en d uro it , plan o n spending so me mo ney. I f yo u 're looking fo r an outstanding all-around dirt bike, h er e it is. Thanks to Nic k Nic holson fo r letting us h ave the 175 and 250 . Surprised th e h eck ou t of us . You can find him at 11 5 73 Va nowe n , North Holl yw ood, . Cali f. (2 13) 764-8 67 4 . GREEVES 175 PATHF INDER SPECIFICAT IONS Engine Borelstro ke Compression rat io Clutch Countershaft sprocket Rear sproc ket 169cc Puch 2-stroke 62mm/56mm 12 :1 17.6 :1 corrected) Wet multi-plate 16T ,•. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SST Chain Carbu reto r Ignit ion TI ~ Fron t Rear Tank Weight Renold y,x5/ 16 in. 26mm Bing concent ric Bosch transistor ized Flywh eel magneto . 3.00x2 1 3.50x19 Aluminum alloy. 211, gal. 198 Ibs. Ground clearance 11 in. Wheelbase 52 in. Seat height 31 in. Price What can you say about the 175ce Puch six-speed? Spot on. N.A.