25 Years Ago March, 1981

25 YEARS AGO MARCH, 1981

This was a time when dirtbikes got much love, even gracing the cover more often than not. This month, the Honda XR500R nabbed the glory and was called King of the Trail. The $2098 machine was loaded with upgrades, and topping the list was the use of Pro-Link rear suspension brought over from Honda motocrossers, the same system found on today’s CRFs.

• A full 14 pages were filled with “A Guide To Competition,” a complete primer to the ins and outs of just about every form of professional racing.

• On the street front, the Kawasaki KZ1000J was tested and found to have less weight and more power, making it better in every way, while the Honda CB650 was declared, “Not a great motorcycle, but a very good motorcycle,” primarily based on the fact that it didn’t offer as much performance as other bikes in the class. • Race Watch was full of the latest news at the time, even giving an update on rider changes for the upcoming 1981 season in various series. Wes Cooley was declared 1980 AMA Superbike champion after a lengthy protest-stating Cooley’s Vetter/Yoshimura Suzuki had an illegally modified frame-filed by Kawasaki’s Eddie Lawson. “Rocket" Rex Staten won the Four-Stroke Nationals held kj at Carlsbad \

Raceway over Donnie Hansen and Johnny O’Mara.

Ryan Dudek