Cw 25 Years Ago
CW 25 YEARS AGO
IGNITION
NEWS
MAY 1990
Watch Out, World!
That warning adorned an unusual cover featuring Team Roberts and its all-star lineup: manager Kenny Roberts and 500cc riders Wayne Rainey, Eddie Lawson, and 250cc rider John Kocinski. For the 1990 season, Roberts built a super team. In addition to bringing thencurrent 500 GP champ Lawson into the fold, Team Roberts retained runner-up Rainey and secured a Marlboro sponsorship package. Almost
as important, they got coveted Michelin tires.
At season’s end, Rainey secured the 500cc title and Kocinski the 250cc.
-> An accompanying story to the Team Roberts feature was our European Correspondent’s post-season sampling ofthefour1989 factory Grand Prix machines, including Lawson’s championship-winning Honda NSR500, Rainey’s Yamaha YZR500,
Kevin Schwantz’s Suzuki
RGV500, and Randy Mamola’s Cagiva V589.
-> Need proof that today’s ADV bikes have been honed for decades?
A test of Kawasaki’s Tengai shows that even the Japanese had their eyes on this market a long time ago. Based on the KLR650, the Tengai had a fairing and windscreen à la Dakar-style bikes and shorter suspension travel to improve its street chops.
-Blake Conner
