25 Years Ago March, 1982
25 YEARS AGO MARCH, 1982
ROUNDUP
"Kawasaki’s Incredible GPz750”
wowed editors so much it got the whole cover. Performance was awesome, from handling to braking to acceleration. In fact, its 11.93-second run in the quarter-mile was a record, making the GPz the quickest 750 ever tested by the magazine. Interesting side note: It was found during an engine teardown for photos that the head was ported and polished. Was Kawasaki trying to fiddle with test results by doing a little extra work? Nope, it was later found that the fancy port work was standard on bikes at dealerships, too.
• While the GPz looked forward, Yamaha’s XS650 Heritage Special looked backward. It had groovy 64spoke laced wheels, a kicked-back riding position and celebrated the XS line’s then-12-year run of sales success (“more than a quartermillion sold”).
• On the dirt front, staff opinion of the Can-Am 250 Qualifier was succinct: “Lots of new parts but they don’t work.” Next!
• Some guy named Egan did a fuelmileage adventure story using a pair of small-displacement Hondas. The Passport C70 (102-198 mpg) and MB5 (81-139 mpg) were ridden by him and Managing Editor Steve Kimball 300 miles from CW HQ to San Luis Obispo, then on the Craig Vetter fuel-economy run held outside of town. “We checked our mileage figures that evening, trying not to muddy our calculations with spilled zinfandel and globs of cheese fondue.” Another observation? “The trouble with riding a 50 and a 70 more than 300 miles from home is you have to ride them back...” Indeed.
-Mark Hoyer
