25 Years Ago December 1985

25 YEARS AGO DECEMBER 1985

We Set World Speed Record," screamed this month's cover. The goal, to set a 24-hour world speed record on the then-new Suzuki GSX-R750, seemed simple A enough. But the actual at tempt, which took place in the blistering heat on Uniroyal Tire Company's test track at its Laredo Proving Grounds in Laredo, Texas, turned out to be extremely difficult. Chunking rear tires, high-speed wobbles and small boars runfling onto the track at night were just a few of the challenges the staff encountered. In the end, the CW crew averaged 128.303 mph, exceeding the previous mark set in 1977 by a team from Kawasaki on a KZ650 by more than 11 mph. A second GSX-R averaged an equally impressive 128.059 mph. "No one," wrote then-Editor Paul Dean, "had ever gone faster for longer. We set an absolute world record." ________

• Nothing says Americana like a Harley-David son Sportster. The 1986 XLH 1100, which, at that time, was the largest displacement Sportster ever built, was pho tographed in a Bruce Springsteen Born in the U.S.A.-themed setting. Wearing a sleeveless T-shirt and tight jeans with a baseball cap stuffed in his back pocket, the model stood alongside the bike in front of a red-and-white-striped back ground.

• Another V-Twin, Cagiva's 650 Elefant, was a grandfather of today's adventure-bike class. "This is not a dirtbike," began the road test. "But appreciate this non-dirtbike, this larger-than-life dual-purpose machine, for what it does well, and you may find it's your ideal motorcycleS"

Blake Conner