25 Years Ago July 1985

25 YEARS AGO JULY 1985

The writing was on the wall-lit erally-on the July, 1985, cover, as

Suzuki's Intruder separated itself from other "customs"

from Japan by looking, well, truly custom. Chrome covered the bike from its spokes on up, while the engine was as much a part of the styling as it was of the riding experience.

• Americans suffered from what editors called the They-Get-TheGood-Stuff Syndrome, a malady in which we lusted over foreignmarket motorcycles that weren't imported to this country, and then bitched about it. But in 1985, Honda listened and brought in the VF1 000R after Americans complained that the VF1 000F wasn't sporty enough. Once stateside, the bike was tested

by the CW staff, which ultimately determined that "Having is never quite as much fun as wanting."

`In the mid 19$Os, ATVs were kicking sand in the face of off road motor cycle sales nearly five to one. So, the staff set

off for the dunes of Pismo State Beach in central California to see what the hype was all about. Honda and Kawasaki three-wheelers, a Suzuki QuadRacer, a balloon-tired Yamaha BW200 two-wheeler and a Honda Odyssey dune buggy were among the allterrain machines sampled. In the end, no one was willing to give up his or her motorcycles for an ATV but the staff was definitely impressed by how quickly novices learned to ride the various machines. I_I__

Blake Conner