Cw 25 Years Ago April 1990
CW 25 YEARS AGO APRIL 1990
IGNITION
NEWS
Viewing the trio of open-class road burners on the cover was a trip down memory lane. I vividly recall the day I spent aboard the uniquely styled BMW K1, the shrink-wrapped Honda CBR1000, and the mega-fast Kawasaki ZX-11, riding each for action photos in the Santa Monica Mountains. This was only my second Cycle World assignment as a freelance tester for hire, and I found it difficult to fathom that Editor David
Edwards would entrust a pair of $8,000 Japanese sportbikes and a $12,990 BMW to a wet-behindthe-ears roadrace refugee such as myself. Of the three bikes, the mighty Ninja remained etched in my mind for years.
A feature titled "Superbike Number One” offered a look way back to the V-8-powered Curtiss. The bike was built and ridden by Glenn H. Curtiss, who reached an astounding 136 mph in 1907 to
become the fastest man and machine on earth. Remember, this was at a time when others were struggling to reach 70 mph. Curtiss’ twowheel speed record stood until 1930.
Finally, in "Tools of theTrade,” Senior Editor Ron Griewe rode Larry Roeseler’s Baja-winning Kawasaki KX500. The ultra-plush bike, ported by Pro Circuit, was geared for a top speed of 116 mph.
Don Canet
