25 Years Ago July, 1976

25 YEARS AGO JULY, 1976

ROUNDUP

This issue was so vintage1970s, I swear it got me high! The cover story was an off-road comparison between a pair of two-stroke enduro models, Hodaka’s 250ED Thunderdog and Honda’s MR250. What were they smoking? Pre-mix, apparently...

• In reality, editors judged both bikes using a tough test regimen, which included both easy and difficult hillclimbs, a timed enduro course and acceleration testing. Factors such as gas-tank capacity, speedometer error and ease of wheel removal were also considered. Which bike won? After all was said and done, it was a tie. At least the Hodaka had the coolest name.

• Even more representative of the disco era was the article on the hippy-dippy CW Supervan. Leave it to our former editors to take a Dodge B300 Maxivan, slice it down the middle and then widen it by 14 inches. The newly chopped vehicle was good for hauling four bikes side-by-side, no problemo. So where’s o¿yr tractor-trailer or converted school bus? The current staff needs a land yacht, too, you know! • In addition to full road tests on the new four-cylinder Honda CB400F streetbike (“a charmer with few thorns”) and Montesa Cota 348 trials bike (“only for those who want the best”), this issue had a decidedly technical bend. One article was titled, “Easy fork fixes you can do at home.” There was a lot of damper-rod drilling and spring swapping, to say the least. Just try that with today’s twin-chamber, fully adjustable inverted forks, we dare ya!

Jimmy Lewis