Hrd

HRD

Home of Italy's most expensive 125s

YOU'VE GOT TO LIKE A MOTORCYcle company whose founder started building bikes almost as a joke.

That's just how HRD—short for Happy Red Devils—came into being. In 1979, a friend talked Franco Galli, the well-heeled owner of an Italian foundry, into building a frame for a mini-motocrosser. The bike looked right and did well at the races, and before long Galli was producing two motocross models. Shortly thereafter came a mini speedway bike, and the Florida, a cheeky, 60cc facsimile of a

full-dress Harley-Davidson.

When Galli, a man of exclusive tastes, decided to build full-size motorcycles, he went after a niche that had been ignored by other companies: the upscale market for the booming 125 class. Galli gambled that enough l 6to l 8-year-olds had access to the kind of money it would take to buy a limited-production l 25.

So far. he’s been right. HRD sold almost 600 motorcycles in l 984. and is looking to crack the 1000 mark this year. Twelve employees now assemble about 30 motorcycles a week, and

the company brochure includes three I25cc roadrace-styled machines, a genuine racer, and the WH Road, a stripped-down, muscular-looking l 25. Also in the works are an enduro bike and a I25cc tourer, complete with sound system.

While emissions laws will keep the l 25s out of the U.S., there still could be HRDs in our future. The company is hard at work developing 350cc and 600cc sportbikes powered by Rotax four-stroke Singles, bikes that would be as at home in the twisties of America as on the backroads of Europe.

SILVER HORSE 125

HRD LIKES TO THINK OF ITS SILVER HORSE AS THE

Bimota of 125s. The little red-framed motorcycle does exude some of that fresh-from-thetoolroom feel of Bimotas, and its price does separate it from its competition—at $2560, the Silver Horse is almost twice as expensive as other Italian l 25s.

It’s in the saddle, though, where the Silver Horse tells you how it’s really different, for it feels like a slightly detuned I25cc roadracer. The reed-valve engine (from the Tau engine company, known for its limited-production competition engines) screams out 26 horsepower at the top of a narrow' powerband, necessitating substantial clutch slippage for a quick getaway. Touch the brakes going into a corner, and you'll have to drop dow n at least two gears to be in the powerband when coming out. And despite rubber front engine mounts, the engine buzzes the pegs, bars and tank when it's pulling hard.

Handling of the 242-pound Silver Horse is racerquick. and the bike responds to the slightest rider input. The brakes are equally responsive, and w ill stand

the Silver Horse on its front w heel. The entire engine/ handling combination requires some adjustment: but once into the bike’s rhythm on a twisty backroad, a rider can maintain a high average speed while experiencing the sensations of a 125 GP machine.

All in all, the Silver Horse is the ultimate 125 image bike for the Italian teenager with a wealthy father.