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/141042
You Can Get Anything you Want at Soichiro's Restaurant Regardless of engine type, displacement or number of ·t .l·' . f" wheels ~ y 'te" ~ w Z W ..J U > U \ Mrs. Honda. The woman behin d the man beh ind t he explosion. If you are under 30 years old. you 're pro bably riding a motorcycle because of this man. Sochiro Honda (center) really knows how to tell 'em . And design motorcycles. The 125 two-stroke also became an enduro, much like the 250 in appearance. Local syndicate chief tries o ut the 125 six-spee d motocrosser. Perfect for quick getaways. by John Huetter LAS VEGAS, NEV., Jan. 18 , 1973 - It was once again very obvious at the Honda convention that Honda can get away with anything. Would anybody . else in the world be ab le to bring out three CB-350 street machines on top of their street scrambler and dual purpose 350s. Probably not. Or how about two different 250 enduro bikes: one with four strokes in the engine; the other with two ? The latter scooter is a slightly milder enduro-ized version of the 250 Elsinore motocrosser. The less publicized 125 two-stroke motocrosser also appeared and, though not as talked about, is te chnically more advanced than the 250 with ele ctronic ignition and a six speed transm ission, among other goodies. The 125 probably won't be available until June. All 180 pounds of it. Reports of the death of the Ho nda . 450 DOHC twin were seemingly premature, as two models of it were . looking very good at the show. The streeter and up-pipe street scrambler were both · offered, again . as was j ust abou t every other bike Honda h as made in the last couple of years. They don't seem to d ro p models ; they.just add new ones . Another new. Trail 90 and a .125 four-stroke Trials bike were Included.? " e It was almost h ar d to fin d those stars of yesteryear, the CB-75 0 Four an d the XL-250 single . They were tucked away with the o th er machines of their ilk b u t it see ms like only yesterday that they were the big news in motorcycling. There was a 125 single for the street, however. Honda's decision to market a 250 enduro two-stroke against their 250 enduro four-stroke is remarkable. Ditto with their 125 ma chines. The two-strokes, basically being motocrossers, are Iigh ter but there will always be those who will opt for a thumper. For a lot of good reasons. If the two-strokes (MX and enduro) have inherited any of th e traditional Honda never-say-die reliability ; they could materialize into a real competition threat. All of the ingredien ts are there in both machin es; 12 5 an d 250. As is usually the case, the real highlight of th e show was Mr . Sochiro Honda himself. He brought hi s very charming wife , Sachi, with him to the ,U.S: this year. His down-loose manner and a wit that survives translation and crosses cultural barriers manage to charm even the most cyn ical. His talk was spiked with the Motorcycle Truism of the Year: "When 1 play golf,l always lose." w -th e translation, " b u t I never ent lose in b usin ess. " Honda seems to hav e enough winners among its 37, co un t 'em, 37 1973 models to ensure that their preponderant share of the market won't shrink up too much. After years of HOh, wow!" shockers like the 750, 500 and 350 Fours, it was almost surprising that Honda didn't zap the dealers and press with a 125 Six o r so mething. Bu t they probably wil l. 7 Above : a 350 twin with a di sc brake and new forks . Below: an all new 175 four-strok e single dual purpose machine.