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/141062
,... . ... -. " '" '" ,... Q. M ,, ~ C'l '" >N ::; '" Vl ;: W Z W ..J U > U -" In foregrou nd is t he 1OO's little bro th e r, t he ST-80, wit h lights, ho rn a nd spee do . Chaparral dusts a 2 50 Su zuki ou t of t he ho le. Th e lead was sh ort lived. by the Cy cle News St aff In testing the Chaparral T-IOO min icy cle we managed to p rove at least one of the following : I) That it wasn't intended for a 165 pound rider; 2) That it puts out tremendous troque for its size (even wi th a heavyweight aboard); 3) That it h an dles q uite well when bet tershocks are fitted and 4 ) That it 's a terrific little slider. Our test session was abbreviated (T .S., right?) when the rear wheel loosened and bent th e ch ain adj uste r, allowing the chain to co me adrift . The adjusters are not heavy d uty item s, but the cause could easily have been the heavyweight rid er , o r an insufficiently tightened rear ax le , o r b oth. The adjuster co uld have been forced back i nto pla ce a n d th e c h a in remoun ted, bu t the problem' was Comp o unded when we loosen ed the rear shock (the chain bei ng between it and th e sp roc ke t .) T he dist rib utor had fitted a pa ir of Boge shocks , which are far superior to the stock ite ms , and spacers were used to give the ch ain adeq uate clearance . Re moving t he nu t, we fo und th e thr ead s on t he st u d sti rppe d , so we packed it in for t he day . Also, th e Boges are an inc h and a ha lf lon ger th an the standard shocks; though that see med to have no adverse effect on the han d lin g, it may ha ve co n t rib u ted to the ch ain trouble. With a comp ressio n ra ti o of 7 : 1 and a h o r s ep o w e r rati ng of 8 .5, th e Chaparral engi ne provides terrific low end scoot. The power curve is rel atively flat an d the front wheel can be lifted at will with a tug on the bars, even in thi rd gear . The 20m m Mikuni carb had n o faults. The gea rbo x is ideally suited to the engine and shifting was, for the most part, clean and po sitive. We managed to ge t neutral several times when we expected second, b ut we ad m it it may have been d ue to lack of left foot shifting experience, o r big feet, or both. The ex haust pip e incorporates a built in m uffler /s park arresto r and the e x hau st no te is well below the annoyance level . The rear brake is a full floater, b ut it could be anchored to the frame with a sturdier piece of metal . The weldin g is semi-cabby all aro und , bu t th e fra me it self appears capable of absorb ing co nsiderable pu nishmen t . Foo tpegs: Booo! Th ey fold, b ut no t bein g spring load ed , they like to go to th e up right p osit ion an d stay there . Ooo psie.. ... They are also ro und and rub be r co vered , yo u from the m ini di vision to th e 100 cc whic h is fine if yo u're a basketball. class, and it's to ug he r up there. Th e bra kes are adequate , but we Other goodies includ e adj us table seat qu ic kly ran ou t o f adjus t ment on th e heigh t (2 8 to 3 1" ) and op tio nal oil fro nt o ne . The good for ks an d 18" injection. wheel co mb ine for easy traveling over The Chaparral T·IOO is a sound lit t le th e rippled st uff, but little racers are motorcycl e with o nly min or flaws. We advise d to check the local rul es o n can' t say whether o r not it's co mpe titive wheel size . The 18 inc h er may move in its cl ass, because we don't real ly k now enoug h abo u t m i n i c y cl es. (Re me mber, this is the first in a series.] Bu t , as we learn mo re , we'll b egin to compare an d eval uate so we canlet you m in i-crossers know what 's happening. Now, drink yo ur mil k and go to bed. Engine Type Horsepo wer Compre ssion Ra tloBore & Stro ke Displocement Ignition Carb uretor Lubricat ion Mu ff ler Drive Tra in Sta rter Primary Drive Clutch Transmission Final Drive , Dimensions Wheelbase Sea t height G round ClearanceWet w eight Tires Suspension Front Rea r . Clut ch arm is in a vulnerable spot. Fo otpegs shou ld be rep laeed . Kick starter st ic ks out a bit too far ' . . ~ ..and we were just gett ing into it. too . Two -stro ke, Single cylinder 85 hp.- @ 7500 rpm. 7:1 53 x 44 rnrn . 97cc (5,92 cu. in.). Flyw heel mogneto w ith lig hting coil 20 mm M ikuni O il and gas mixture (O il injection opt ional) Torque-tuned w ith integra l Forest Service approved spark arrestor. 78db(o) Primar y kick Helical gear, 3.16 to 1 Mu ltiple disc., wet 4 speeds: 3.80:1,2.43:1, 1.63:1,1.22:1 No . 420 chai n. 14 tooth countershaft sprocket, 44 toot h rear w heel sprocket. 44 Y, " Ad justab le 28" to at 8S' 149 lbs. (T-100), l56l bs. (ST-100l Front 2.50 x l B"knobby.Reor 3.00 x 16" knobby. Consront rate springs , oil dampened telescopic forks Wit h 4-1/8 " travel. Ad justa ble progressive rate springs, hydrau lic dampened movement w ith 3" travel.