25 Years Ago February, 1981
25 YEARS AGO FEBRUARY, 1981
ROUNDUP
We said on the cover it was the “Grandest Tiger in the Jungle,” then in the story called it “a wolf in wolf’s clothing.” The wild beast in question was the 1981 Kawasaki GPz1100, which made 108 horsepower, featured fuel-injection and got 52 mpg. The verdict? “We’ve never seen a motorcycle this fast and this quick be so completely dedicated to sport riding.” • Dirt testing focused on the Yamaha YZ250 with a full 12.2 inches of Mono-X rear-suspension travel. The $1998 air-cooled two-stroke was termed to have “huge” fork tubes (a full 43mm...), while it weighed 233 pounds, not too far off a modern 250cc stroker.
• Under the heading “the more things change, the more they stay the same,” was the newest Yamaha Maxim, dubbed the “Midnight,” a name revived for many of Yamaha’s more recent, blacked-out cruisers. %CW s recent focus on specials such as the Jamie James Productions YZF-R1 and Tamburini has its own historical reference: The Krauser MKM 1000, a BMW R1 OORS-based sportbike intended to “give maximum
pleasure to even the most demanding rider.” In addition to demands, the rider in question also needed $14,000!
No doubt the custom trellis frame demanded a lot of labor for Krauser-a touring accessories company-to construct.
-Mark Hoyer
