25 Years Ago April, 1983
25 YEARS AGO APRIL, 1983
The ’80s were getting into full swing and to see evidence of this you needed to look no farther . than the cover of this month’s CW a quarter-century ago. Just check out those brown leathers, those boots and that Simpson helmet. Oh, yeah, and the Honda V65 Magna on test. The boys at the office back then were mighty impressed with this machine. Its dohc V-Four pumped out 116 horses and launched this newfangled musclebike through the quarter at a smokin’ fast (for the time) 11.07-second, 123.62-mph pass, “With the throttle turned off in second gear.” It was a little wheelie prone!
• For proof that the rectangular headlight was coming into its own, readers were greeted with a Yamaha Vision 550 test. This was an angular Bike of the Future at its 1982 debut, and the sporting, dohc 70degree V-Twin came back in ’83 with a new fairing and a few other tuning tweaks that made the $3299 machine even better.
• Big, big news in Roundup: Kawasaki’s ZN1300 Voyager was first shown, with fuel-injection for its wide inline-Six, plus dual 500-watt alternators and a claimed dry weight of 851 pounds. CB, AM/FM/cassette radio, the luxury just didn’t stop. There was even an electronic compass!
• On the lighter side, Suzuki’s RM250 was riding on a wave of success. It had won CH/’s Best 250 Motocrosser for two years running, and editors wondered if the minor updates were enough to keep the RM on its throne. After thrashing the yellow bike in all its Full-Floater glory, they thought it was a likely candidate for a third win. -Mark Hoyer
