Round-Up
ROUND-UP
IT’S A GAS
A reader wrote in recently, asking if we had heard that the amount of lead in gasoline was going to be reduced by federal regulation and wondering what would happen to the European bikes which require premium gas. Without getting into the technical details (which are covered in Service) there are a number of important points for motorcyclists.
Regulations adopted by the EPA will reduce the amount of lead in gasoline to 0.5 grams per gal. in 1980 and to 0.4 grams per gal. by 1982. California has its own restrictions of 0.5 grams this year and 0.4 grams next year. That’s about half the amount of lead in leaded gasoline now. But that’s not the whole story.
EPA regulations don’t limit every gallon of gas to the same level. The limit applies to individual refineries, not individual gallons of gas. That means that if a refinery produced '1 million gallons of gasoline in a day, it could put up to 400 kilograms of lead in the gasoline. But if half the gas produced had no lead, the other half could contain up to 0.8 grams per gal., enough for premium gas. Don’t quit reading, the story’s not finished.
A spokesman for Mobil Oil Corp.. when asked if leaded premium gasoline will remain available, said “I can’t predict the future, but it appears there will be a supply of leaded gasoline available.” But leaded gasoline isn’t necessarily high octane gasoline.
Most gas stations have three tanks and sell three types of gasoline: unleaded, regular and premium. Some stations only have two tanks and sell unleaded and either regular or premium. In some parts of the country, particularly in rural areas, there is already a shortage of high octane gas because service stations only have a demand for unleaded and regular. The problem will likely get worse.
Detroit hasn’t made cars which require premium gas for the past eight years and it’s been nearly as long since even imported cars required high octane fuel. Even most motorcycles (meaning those from the Japanese manufacturers) nowadays are happy to sip unleaded or regular gas. The number of vehicles on American highways which require premium gas is very small. And the vehicles which use premium gas don’t use very much of it, ie. motorcycles.
For gas stations and oil companies, it’s a matter of demand. When the demand for premium is too small, it won’t be produced. What poses the biggest threat to the supply of premium gasoline is the demand for diesel cars.
General Motors now expects that onefifth of its automobiles will run on diesel fuel within three years. Other auto manufacturers are coming up with their own diesel engines. Because cars, even diesel cars, use more fuel than motorcycles, there will be more demand for diesel fuel than for premium as more diesel cars fill the roads. And that will push high octane fuel from even more stations.
It isn’t the EPA which will eliminate high octane gas, it’s the will of the people.>
GREEN AND MEAN
Two Kawasaki dirt bikes not shown at the 1979 Kawasaki press introduction reported on in the December CYCLE WORLD have since appeared. Both the KDX 400 competition enduro bike and the KLX four-stroke play bike are scheduled to arrive at dealers early this summer.
Serious is the word for both bikes. The KDX is equipped for real ISDT-style enduros with quick-detach wheels, powerful 35-watt headlight, extra-soft seat, 3.3 gal. gas tank and wide plastic fenders. The engine is a 392cc two-stroke Single with Boyesen reed valve and Kawasaki’s electrofusion cylinder. Power is listed at 38.5 bhp at 6250 rpm, 2 bhp less than Kawasaki’s 250cc motocrosser. A brief ride at the introduction showed the KDX has plenty of low end grunt and aboye average flywheel effect. Dry weight is a claimed 240 lb. Wheelbase is listed at 57 in., ground clearance is 11.7 in. and seat height is a tall 37.7 in., due more to the soft padding than long wheel travel. Suspension had not been finalized at the Sears Point showing but the front forks on the first model had 38mm tubes. And the 400 will be made at the Kawasaki factory in Lincoln, Nebraska.
The KLX is a different sort of serious dirt bike, perhaps a serious playbike would be the best description. Power comes from the same 246cc sohc Single used in the KL250 on-off road bike. Horsepower is listed as 21 bhp at 8000 rpm. Unlike the KL, the KLX uses the same basic frame and suspension as the KX125 ^motocrosser, with box-shaped aluminum swing arm, long-travel forks and all other chassis pnrts from the KX. Kawasaki claims the KLX weighs 231 lb. dry.
KAWASAKI 1300 DETAILS
Besides the impressive size of the new Kawasaki Z1300, the technical details revealed since the earlier press introduction are just as exciting. To keep the engine as narrow as possible the engine is unusually undersquare with a 62mm bore and 71mm stroke. Liquid cooling has kept the clearance between the six cylinders down. A jackshaft driven from the plainbearing crankshaft by a 32mm Hy-Vo chain transfers power to the clutch via a 40mm Hy-Vo and drives the dual overhead cams with a 10mm Hy-Vo. By driving the cams from the jackshaft, rather than directly from the crankshaft, engine width is reduced.
An auxiliary shaft operates the water pump and ignition. Unlike the Honda Six, the 1300 alternator is mounted on the right side of the crankshaft, not on a jackshaft.
To control emissions, fresh air is sucked into the exhaust ports, through small reed valves, and continues combustion outside the combustion chambers and allows use of richer mixtures than are common with other large-bore 1979 motorcycles. Carburetion is handled by three dual-bore Mikunis.
The end result is 120 bhp developed at 8000 rpm and a near linear torque curve. Weight with a half-tank of gas is 695 lb. Compression ratio is 9.9 to 1 and Kawasaki engineers recommend premium fuel which is a turnaround for Kawasaki street bikes. The bike will run on any gasoline, however. Kawasaki claims a quarter-mile time of 11.7 sec., or about one-tenth of a second quicker than is claimed for the new KZ1000 Mk. II.
DERBI'S COMING
It will be several months before Derbi motorcycles (as distinguished from the mopeds) are seen in America. Derbi, a Spanish company, is now clearing a 200cc two-stroke street bike with the EPA and is planning on importing limited numbers of 50cc and 125cc road racers and a 125cc motocross bike.
The Derbi 2002 is an unusual bike, a small displacement street bike. Derbi claims 27 bhp and 100 mph from the 200cc Twin. Features include electric starting, triple disc brakes and a six-speed transmission.
Cobby is the word for the 125cc motocrosser shown at a press introduction. The swing arm was welded up from small diameter tube and had two shock mounts. Many pieces of tubing were hand-formed into the pipe. Motoplat ignition, Petty grips, CZ-bend handlebars and a Bing carb complete the package. According to the Derbi Motor Corporation (23011 Alcalde Dr., Suite A, Laguna Hills, Calif. 92653), the 200-lb. motocrosser puts out 31 bhp which sounds maybe a little farfetched.
No specifications were given for the liquid-cooled single cylinder two-stroke road racers.
