25 Years Ago October, 1972
25 YEARS AGO OCTOBER, 1972
"55 Cubic Inches!" shouted this month's cover blurb, in reference to Kawasaki's then-new big Four, the 120-mph Z-1. In previewing the bike, Editor Ivan Wagar told readers of his secret conversations with Sam Tanegashima, Kawasaki's "007 Agent." Tanegashima had approached Wagar in 1967 regarding a "Super-cruiser," a machine to replace the legendary Vincent HRD. Tanegashima's dream, Wagar explained, was a motorcycle that would trickle along in city traffic, but keep you up nights thinking up excuses about sick aunts for the boss so that you could get on the open road and jam a thousand miles in two days. Before Honda dropped its CB750 bombshell at the Tokyo Motor Show in '68, all indications pointed toward a 750cc four-stroke Four. Despite the showbike setback, though, Kawasaki continued with its plans to build the "New York Steak," as the bike was code-named, and the 903cc Z-1 debuted in '73.
• Hot-rodder Barry Watkins built this issue’s project bike, a Yamaha 360. With advice from Yamaha and using a truckload of aftermarket parts, Watkins managed to slice more than 39 pounds off the bike, producing the world’s first stockframed, sub-200-pound big-bore motocrosser.
• Also in this issue, Japanese cor-
respondent Jack Yamaguchi reported on Honda’s RC125M, the prototype for the successful CR125 Elsinore MXer. Producing 21 peak horsepower at 9500 rpm, the twostroke dirt-slinger was designed to put pressure on Suzuki and Yamaha. Which it did. Matthew Miles
