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/141046
o M 1l, '" 0.. M .... The Purple People Pleaser '" .... N .ci '" 11. ~ w Z W ..J U >- U Four-hund red eiqhtv-nine dolla rs w ill get your a 98ce end uro b ike th at f its j ust abou t ever y b od y . b y Randy Die tzel Ph ot o s b y La rry Groves In these times of cl amo rin g b y th e public for tes ts o f so -cal led "monster " m achines, b oth dirt a n d street, it is refr eshing to ge t h old of a sm a ll-b o re, e n d u ro -ty p e m otorcy cle . S o it was when we pi ck ed up th e Yamah a 100 LT-3 en d u ro . · A "pl ay bike" is wh at we .JI JI WARREN ~ WILSON ~MOTORS "." term ed this ma chine but it p roved to d o al l things well con sid ering it s d esign charac te ri stics : it ' s a small displ acemen t street-legal dirt motorcy cle. Th e bike's colo r immedi a tel y sets it o ff a deep purple tank , o il inj e c t ion-covering sid e p an els a n d stri ped fenders. Styling is clean, crisp and n ot too gaudy. Turn signals a re standard . Chrome abounds and se ts o ff y MONTESA Motorcycle Sa les Service , 9000 SEPULVEDA BLVD. Sout h o f Nord off in Se p ulve da , Cal if. - ,- , ... (2 13 ) 89 4- 9 21 8 . . . .. ... ... th e d eep p urple de sign b eau tifu lly. Yamah a always seems to jet the ir test bikes ric h and su ch was the ca se for the 100. S tar tin g was easy as long as a fresh plug Was u sed a t regu lar intervals . A . s t a ndard fea tu re o n t he Yamah a en d u res is an e le c tr ical set-u p that in cludes b o th a battery and a m agn eto . Th e latter proved very benefici al sin ce w e lost the keys almos t im me d ia tely. ~jll~I".I·t~ ~' ~IT~~~ MEANS MAICIO WE'RE THE LEADER IN CZ SALES T h e re 's a reason! Ch ec k Us Out Before Yo u Buv ! 2331t h A ve.. Cit y of Indu stry , Cali f , 9 1746 .\\i11·'~1111·1 72 4 1 O ra ngeth orpe Buena Par k., C A 9 06 2 1 ..'. ~ It seems that if you disconnec"t the w ir es (w hich are o f con ven ien t b ox p lug design ) from the ign it io n switch to the battery, a ke y is n o longer n eeded. This w orked out ve ry w ell wh en .o n our first trip out we fo u n d out...Hm m m m , no ke y s. The 100 see med to res pon d to an y reques t we p u t to it. It is equip ped with Y am ah a' s w el l kn ow n "Torq ue Inducti on " wh ich aids ac celera tion immensel y . Power w as always the re. wh ich w as a wel co me su rp rise to th o se wh o are used to bigger m achines. I t is a very fas t 10 0 single, even with the mild endu ro engine. The o n ly fa ult we found w ith th e injection syste m wh ic h prevails on a ll Yam ah a' s di rt m ach in es, is th a t o n ce you wind th e R's ou t in any given gear. th e p ow e r flat te n s o ut. T he refore , gear c ha n ges are neede d mo re often to keep th e e ng ine with in it s power b and. S h if ting w as Yamah a-standard, i.e ., c risp and fau ltless wi th short th ro ws. Rowing through th e gears an d keepi ng the 98cc's buzzin g w as m o re fu n th an h assle. Eng in e d esign is b asic all y unchanged fro m '72. A five-sp eed gear b o x with a wet cl u tch is st andard. T h ro ug ho ut our tes t neither gav e us an y problem s. You w ould no t n eed to ma ke any sp roc ket c ha nge s as it has p lenty o f pullin g p ower for b oth pavement and o ff-ro ad rid ing. Asid e fr om it s g reat p ow er ch a rac te ristics, the th in g th at im p ress ed us mos t abou t th e 100 is h ow well it handled. T he for ks a re o f sma ll di am eter but didn" t se em to p ro test in- even the rou ghest o f conditio ns . T h e rear shoc ks w o rk fo r th e Iigh t scoo te r. Th e m ach in e is Iigh t en ough for a rider to hol d it stead y if it ge ts o ut of sha pe due to an ex ce ss o f zeal. T h is fea ture is n ice, too. wh en co ns idering t h at m any of these b ik es are purchased fo r th e wi fe o r y o u nger ch ild in th e fa m ily . (Of co u rse . D ad will probabl y sn ea k o ff wi th it an d h ave a grea t tim e .) C on tr ol p la cement seeme d to fav or th e av erage to smaller size person. This aspect seem ed to be more not ice abl e in th e fo ot-o p erated co n tro ls ra th er th an the hand o nes. A "knees in the m outh " atm o sphere w as c rea te d when a six -fo o te r m oun ted th e bike. T he lo w profile made it super -fun for impromptu sh ort track ra ces and la y in g it wa y o ve r Co llin s & S ons 12 6 5 E . Lincoln A naheim (714) 535-5 000 1550 801bo. Blvd. ~~~. . . . . ." Van N uys, Cal. 91406 • 213 - 18&- 336 5 -- ~ MOST CHAMPIONS DEPEND ON' 'THE MATCHED SET' ... so CAN YOUI For Motocross and Enduro. . . orjust street riding. . . this new pertormance-reted greaseless protector has to be used to be bel ieved. Dries out igniti ons.. , protects the entire electrical system. . . protects the cable mechanism.. . keeps chrome sharp. . . even protects yourvinyl. Fantastic? You said it! LPS #1 LPS # 3 There has never been an all-weather chain lubricant and rust inhi bitor like this. Its complex formu la will protect your chains whether the cou rse is wet or dry, hot or cool, ' smooth or rough. And it won't sling off. No wonder it's the West's hottestseller. ~ ~ Write for free co py of Mike Ca pa lit e's test report on LPS #1 in " Cycle G u id e ." Wr ite for free co py of ~ Kend ick Performance Product ' s evaluation of LPS #3. 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