25 Years Ago October 1985
25 YEARS AGO OCTOBER 1985
"Cycle World’s 10th Annual 10 Best Bikes of the Year Awards,” proclaimed the cover. The large “10 BEST” fonts in that headline were actually photo frames stuffed with a montage offering clues as to the 10 winners within. While it was Mr. Max out-muscling all comers to take the Best Super-bike honor, my leanings at the time tipped more toward the Yamaha FZ750 that claimed the Best 600-to-800cc Street award.
An adjoining feature written by CW founder Joe Parkhust commemorated a decade of Ten Best selections with photos of every bike and commentary on some of the significant models. Looking through that list now, I found my heart tugged by the 1983 Honda VF750F Interceptor [P'Çrzr-,—~ and ’84 Kawasaki ¡j¡3!ÚC&J¡g' Ninja 900, one being my first brandI new bike and the Ï
other a machine j I’d always wanted, j
• Getting down j
and dirty with an j,
MX comparison u-JL.—_____ test, the Cagiva 125 put in a strong showing against the classleading Kawasaki KX125. While rich in potential, the Italian machine required a fair bit of setup, whereas the green MXer proved to be a race-ready performer straight out of the crate and was called “the best 125 you can buy.”
• Laguna Seca’s AMA National headlined the Race Watch section with a wheelie-fueled duel between 25-year-old Randy Mamola and his elder mentor, Kenny Roberts (age 33). The pair rode works 500cc Grand Prix machines flown in by Honda and Yamaha, respectively, treating American fans to a one-off show of top-tier roadracing talent
and filling the void caused by the absence of a GP round in the States at the time.
Don Canet
