25 Years Ago March, 1974

25 YEARS AGO MARCH, 1974

ROUNDUP

Blazing toward the horizon on this month's cover was Yoshimura's racy Yvon Duhamel Replica. Fashioned from Kawasaki's formidable Z-1, the 486-pound, street-legal Superbike had a braced frame, firmed-up suspension and one of the broadest torque curves staffers had ever tested. On the dyno, the "Pops" Yoshimura-built, air-cooled 984cc inline-Four produced nearly 90 percent of its peak torque over an amazing 5500-rpm spread. Top-speed was an eye-watering 133 mph.

• In the features department, "Just Fueling Around" charted the fuel economy of bikes in relation to cars. No surprise, BMW's R60/5 topped the two-wheelers with a 50-mph average of 54 mpg. A Datsun 710, meanwhile, re turned 28 mpg, while Buick's gas-" guzzling Riviera could only manage 14 mpg. "While a large car can be as economical as a motorcycle," the author noted, "actual practice and habits of driv ers deem otherwise."

• Other highlights included "Baja 1000, Mexican Style," written by CW founder Joe Parkhurst. "A brand new paved road now connects the deep interior of Baja with the rest of the so-called civilized world. And that has changed things quite a bit," he lamented. "Mrs. Espinosa, proprietor of the cafe and gas station in El Rosario, said it best: ‘Bad roads bring good people. Good roads bring bad people.' Her place used to be one of those very hard places to get to, but not now. She closed it up and retired." -Matthew Miles