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/141033
o N AER ACCH "> g Q. N " '" ci N c ": ..., ::I ~ w Z W ..J U >- U From Milwaukee, home of fine beer and venerab le V -twins, the friendly folks who developed the Baja 100 now present the 125 Regularity with Italian flavoring. By Buzz Baty Reall y jfow! If n o th in g else is done, the name is going to have to be changed. Harley Davidson Aerrnacchi won't even fi t on an entry b lank. Can't you just see so me guy, half alseep, trying to write that in a little space on an e ntry blank in the hal f-ligh t of an early dawn? There's an old saying that if you want something done, and done well, do it yourself. But then, like a lot of other hackneyed sayings, this one has a lot of hair on it, too. So, with that in mind, Ha rley Da vidson p ut together a great big package of cubic money. T hey then persuaded Jack Krizm an of Kriz man Enterp rises and Filtron Filters to ta ke said cubic dollars, their Italian im p o rted motorcycle and make d ese rt and motocross winners out of them. Has this blending of mo ney, iron, and talen t produced the results that Harley Davidson wanted? I think that Jack Krizman's record speaks for itself. All Biggest single improvement: 400 Suzuki ignition system replaces giant flywheel. ". one has to do is to review the Harley Davidson Baja story . Krizman developed the Baja for Harley Davdison also. Read that big poster with the eight out of ten first place finishers led by desert ace, Terry Clark, to find your answer. What then of this new project, the 125 m otocrosser, now under development? The early record is absolutely scary . Prior to Jimmy Beauchamp breaking his ankle during a CMC event at Escape Country, he and Terry Clark, mounted on various prototypes of the Harley-Davidson Aennacchi were considered the ones to beat any time they were in the field. I covered a series of mo to cro ss events an d so reported that the combination of Bea ucham p and the Harley were un to u ch ab le. What then is it about th ese m ach in es that makes them a le th al weapon in the h ands of J im my Beauchamp an d Terry Clark? A NOTE OF CAUT ION , Ter ry Clark help s prove the new 125 every step of the way. Don't be breaking open the piggy bank. and hu rrying down to your local Harley-Davidson dealer waving a fist full of legal tender in his face. demanding that he deliver to you one Harley-Davidson Aermacchi Regulari 125cc type motorcycle of the variety ridden by Messers, Beauchamp and Clark. Until the development program has been completed to Jack Krizman's satisfaction, been accepted by Harley-Davidson, and then implemented by the factory, the only ones around will be the ones that Jimmy and Terry are riding. Jack Krizman wanted it clearly understood before okaying this story that he didn't expect availability of the bike to the general public until sometime in 1974. THE FRAME As Jack Krizman put it when he invited me to pick up a bare stock frame sitting on the floor. they make this frame out of the best water pipe available in Italy. I suffered only a minor hernia in trying to pick it up . It's a heavy dude with weaknesses, bu t then of course , that's the reason for this develop ment program, find 'em and correct 'em. At this point in the development, three tubes are being added to strengthen the frame. One tube, a more or less vertical piece, is added between the uppe r motor mount and the point whe re the upper fram e ra ils are joined to the steering head section. T his was t ried, b ut it was fo u nd that the fram e was st ill ben d ing . Now, two more tubes have been added on both sides of the frame, from the junctu re of the upper frame rails and rear down tubes, to the middle of th e front down tubes, in line with the upper forward motor mount. Take a lo o k at the picture and you'll see that this forms a double triangle, albeit a bit massive and heavy. Excess brackets and mounting tabs are removed, such as those for the kick stand and center stand. SUSPENSION GEAR AND RUNNING Ceriani forks are used. the newest available. These new Cerianis have a 2mm larger O .D. of the upper tubes than the old ones. The I. D. remains the same, so it seems what they've done is to increase the wall thickness of their tube for additional strength . Springs and oil capacity remain the same . Koni shocks are used, but here of course, spring rates and shock settings