25 Years Ago September, 1982
25 YEARS AGO SEPTEMBER, 1982
“The Liquidators” was the headline emblazoned across the Issue’s cover heralding a shootout between the liquid-cooled 125cc motocross bikes from the four Japanese companies. Liquid-cooled MXers were such a recent development that people often referred to them as “water-pumpers” to distinguish them from their air-cooled counterparts. Suzuki’s RM125 narrowly topped the other three 125s in the comparison.
• Other tests included Yamaha’s XT550 and XT200 dual-purpose Singles, plus Suzuki’s GS1100GK, “a high performance touring bike” with an “ability to go fast either in a straight line or along a crooked highway.”
• Among the issue’s features was an entertaining tale by Peter Egan describing the misadventures of Editor Allan Girdler, Managing Editor Steve Kimball and himself as the trio took a “crash course” (literally) in the slideways sport of speedway racing.
• Competition coverage described how Danny “Magoo” Chandler handily beat Europe’s best in the annual Carlsbad USGP motocross, and Girdler wrote a profile of the late Ricky Graham, at that time a young privateer leading the points standings in the AMA's Winston Pro flat-track series.
• Steve Kimball penned a nice his-
torical piece about the legendary Indian Chief V-Twin, with the story’s subtitle quoting an old saying that originated during the rivalry that raged between Indian and Harley in the middle of the 20th century: “You’ll Never Wear Out An Indian Scout, Or Its Brother The Indian Chief. They’re Built Like Rocks To Take Hard Knocks. It’s the Harleys That Cause the Grief.” Paul Dean
