Cw 25 Years Ago October 1989

CW 25 YEARS AGO OCTOBER 1989

For kicks, here's our list of Ten Best winners from the October1989 issue. Apart from one American and one Austrian, all were from Japanese manufacturers:

BEST SUPERBIKE: YAMAHA FZR1000

BEST 750cc STREETBIKE: SUZUKI 750 KATANA

BEST 650cc STREETBIKE: YAMAHA FZR600

BEST OPEN STREETBIKE: YAMAHA FJR1200

BEST UNDER-500cc STREETBIKE: KAWASAKI EX500

BEST CRUISER: HARLEY-DAVIDSON SPRINGER SOFTAIL

BEST ENDURO: KTM 250 EX-C

BEST TOURING: HONDA GL1500 GOLD WING

BEST DUAL-PURPOSE: HONDA TRANSALP 600

BEST MOTOCROSS: HONDA CR250R

Elsewhereinthisissue, our “Bui It For Speed” cover story featured a Vance & Hines Suzuki GSX-R1249 that hit 173.176 mph on El Mirage dry lake in California’s Mojave Desert. An impressive performance on a day in which a Suzuki GSX-R dragbike blew a head gasket and a turbocharged Yamaha V-Max holed a piston. Our conclusion: “If you really must have more speed, all you have to do is decide how much you’re willing to spend.” Today, a handful of stock bikes can eclipse that Suzuki’s mark by 10 mph.

Lastly, on page 6, a young (pre-Friends) Courteney Cox looked right at the camera in a prominent Honda ad and declared: "Guys who go out motorcycling dressed for

the beach look dumb, not cool.” As true now as it was then.

Andrew Bornhop