VOLUME ISSUE JANUARY , P99
All except one, that is. The
1978 Kawasaki 250 A4 was
made in a limited production run.
Here was a motocross machine
that its manufacturer dared to
call a real works bike. Was it a
real works' motorcycle? The an-
swer was "yes!" Why? Because
Kawasaki said it was!
In February of 1978, Cycle
News tested the all-new Green
Machine at the famous Saddle-
back Park motocross track. Cali-
fornia's winter season brought
rain that transformed the hard-
packed course into a gooey cake
batter. A rare occurrence, to be
sure, but what was particularly
unusual about the day was that
Kawasaki USA had sent along "a
chaperone" for its replica racer!
"It's a full-on, works replica,
and it needs to be maintained
like one," said Kawasaki's PR
man Jeff Shetler. Shetler would
keep a watchful eye on the A4,
which was delivered to the track
that morning and would be re
-
turned to company headquarters
that same evening, making the
experience more of an impres-
sion than a thorough evalua-
tion, and the Cycle News staff
was right-minded and noble in
labeling it as such. So, what kind
of an impression did this self-
proclaimed works bike make on
the CN staff?
"Lime green and works mean,"
read the headline, and the A4
was eye candy from the get-go.
The eye was drawn to the gold
anodized, aluminum swingarm,
which was a rarity for a produc-
tion motorcycle in the 1970s.
The fork was an air/oil adjust-
able unit from Kayaba, the
company which also provided
springers for the rear end. Those
shocks were connected to a
swingarm that rolled on needle
bearings versus the more con-
ventional bushings found in the
Kawasaki's competition. Needle
bearings arguably provided a
smoother pivot point but also
required more maintenance. But
ownership of a works bike brings
with it a much more involved
maintenance schedule, so no A4
owner should've been surprised
by the frequent teardown for
inspection and cleaning of the
needle bearings.
Strategic use of lightweight
metals, like aluminum and mag-
nesium, helped the A4 keep its
girlish figure, tipping the scales
at a claimed weight of just 207
pounds. A generous use of light-
weight metals won't even bring a
second glance from 21st century
MX bike shoppers, but again,
this was 1978, and the Kawasaki
stood apart from the competi-
tion in its makeup.
But the real test of a moto-
cross bike has nothing to do
with good looks or even light-
weight. On the track, the A4
proved to be a solid machine.
Tester Dave "Keep It Sano With
Miller Mano" Miller put the green
bike to work on the muddy track
and found it to most certainly
be an expert-only machine. "If
the Kawasaki comes out short
in any way," said CN, "…it won't
be due to insufficient power, at
least not on the top end."
Miller had more compliments
for the "works" bike. "The clutch
is perfect…I can use it with one
finger!" Stopping the bike was
easy because "the brakes are
perfect." And the many magne
-
sium and aluminum components
meant that "this baby is light…no
vibration, either."
Our test rider, Dave Miller, said the
A4 was a fair copy of a true Kawasaki
works bike, but Billy Grossi, who
raced it a few times, said it was a
sheep in wolf's clothing.
