1973 Honda CR250 Bike Test
At one time or another, you’ve sat around with your friends and jabbered about the mythical “composite” motorcycle. You know the one -it’ got the peak horsepower of a breathed·on Pursang, combined with the low-end grunt of a Stiletto. It`s got the plush forks of a Maico, turns like a CZ and tracks like a cut-frame Husky. It weighs less than a good 250 and has the punch of a 400. And the best part-you don’t have to do anything to the bike. just ride it like it was a 350 Honda pseudo-scrambler.
We’ve all dreamed about that kind of a machine, but up until now, it never existed.
A quick look around at the competition mounts of the Staff of DIRT BIKE shows what has to be done to make a motorcycle “right” for competition. No one but a fool rides a Maico in stock trim. Different filters, rims and assorted bozos are a must for the serious rider. Continue reading
YZ360B Dirt Bike Test
Mono-Mania – THE OPEN CLASS ULTIMATE
’75 Yamaha YZ Monocross by the Staff of DIRT BIKE
Let’s skip the old format for a dirt test this time, and put the conclusion up here – first. That’s breaking a precedent, but the YZ Monocross breaks precedents too. OK, here’s the conclusion: This motorcycle is THE ultimate weapon right now!
Oh, it’s got stuff wrong with it. It’s not the traditional maintenance-free Yamaha of the past. But even if the motor fell out of the frame once every day, it is still the finest racing bike you can buy, right now.
And this is why: It’s got power.
YZs always had power. So does this one. It comes out of the hole and out of the corners like a greased, goosed grand prix race car. It is screaming from the moment you crack it open. It breaks the rear wheel loose in every gear. When you’re on it, your favorite track gets shortened by what feels like 20 percent. Everything comes up sooner than ever before. See that corner up there? It’s here. Right now. Continue reading
1974 Suzuki TM400 Test
MOTOCROSS ACTION TEST……
Ever since that first orange tanker hit the tracks in 1971, people have been buying, racing and falling off 400s in mass‑ production numbers. They bought ‘em ’cause they were far and away the cheapest way to go big-bore racing; they raced ‘em ’cause, “Lookit what that Belgian dude does on one;” and they fell off because the Cyclone had to be the most evil package of raw power and horrible handling ever produced. So the bike became a legend in its own time, and the legend was a horror story. Rosy-cheeked farm boys could always be counted on to enter the Transylvania Grand Prix on Cyclones, with the Marquis de Sade as their sponsor. Blood City was the result, and Billy Dracula cleaned off the course.
Why so? Is the legend of the TM400 for real? And, if so, is it still valid in 1974? Continue reading
1973 Honda CR125 Bike Test
Wow be unto the 125 class buyer. It is now officially Decision Time. We’ll take it for granted that you want to win, and you want to spend as little as you have in order to wn (or do reasonably well) in that class.
Up until now, you’ve been faced with several alternatives, let’s examine a few of them in retrospect Continue reading
Taming Suzuki’s TM400
Came across this 1972 test in a DIRT BIKE magazine to tame the 71 – 72 TM400 Cyclone motors, I have heard of other solutions using the TS400 ignition systems but I have not found any written tests on that yet. Not sure if the 74 model needed the same treatment as the 75 TM400 was said to be ok but by then the RM series were out and that was the end of the TM’s.
A BOLT-ON SOLUTION for TM400 sweaty palms?
Some people have this healthy fear of snakes. Others cringe inwardly when they find themselves alone in a dark room. Yet others can’t stand being up high, or even worse-flying in an airplane. All of these fears pale by comparison to the fear-inducing potential of a stock 400 Suzuki MXer. This is one of the truly Frightening Machines Of All Time.
What makes it increase your pueker power? Part of the problem lies with the frame. another part with the suspension—but the bulk of the guilt lies with the power band of the engine.
There is no such thing as “just a little more” from the twist grip on the TM 400. Nosirree. You either get a giant handful or the engine stalls. This phenomenon is, of course. caused by the lack of flywheel weight. A logical cure, then, would be to bolt on some weight to slow the rev buildup down to a more usable level. Remember, power that does not get to the ground is wasted power. And slower building revs mean that the bike will be easier to ride. At least in theory.
1973 Yamaha SC500 Test
Everybody jabbers on and on about changing the powerband of a motorcycle engine. The scrambles boys want a bundle on top; the MX-ers want a nice, even spread.
Sooo, motors got ported, polished, reeded, drilled, stuffed, files, tampered, folded, spindled and mutilated in the never ending quest for the prefect powerband.
However, only one path has been found to that elusive Perfect Power-band: cubic inches. Or even better, cubic feet.
Yup. You can achieve bottom end, top end and even middle end, if the motor has a big cnough hole in it (and a piston to fit that hole).
Naturally, whenever we get a big-incher in for a test, we expect to be greeted by power. Buckets of power all over the place, Power from idle to peak revs. We expect to put the bike in top gear and go boom-boom-boom down thc road, digging trenches as thc engine barely turns ovcr.
A short while ago, Yamaha dropped off one of their new 500cc bikes at our offices. And promptly blew our preconveived notions about big-inch power right out of the lunch box. Continue reading
1974 125 Motocross Shootout
THERE’S NO doubt about it. The Japanese have been the most instrumental power in bringing the world of small-bore off-road racing to its present level in the United States. Even way back when Yamaha Trailmaster 80s and Honda S90s were bouncing their semi-modified selves around the boonies, things were beginning to take shape. The adage that there is strength in numbers held true once again when, due to the enormous number of these trail bikes showing up at a given race, it wasn’t rare to see both an 80cc class and one for the 90s.
Then along came the Hodakas. First a four-speed 90 and then a five-speed 100. It wasn’t long before the bigger Japanese manufacturers bored their bikes out to 100 and added another gear in the transmission. As these little screamers buzzed their over-stressed guts out week-end after weekend, the European distributors took notice of the tremendous market that was being created. The European machinery was better. It was not much more reliable than the Oriental stuff, but was faster and handled better. Continue reading
1974 KX250 Cycle World Test
POKER, IF YOU don’t already know, is a game of both patience and action. Players are dealt cards, and play them out, bidding according to their value and the odds of someone else having something better. Poker is also a game that should be familiar to just about every motorcyclist.
As a motorcyclist, and therefore always a potential purchaser, you are dealt a new hand each year, by the motorcycle manufacturers, in the form of new and (hopefully) better models. This is true whether you are a street biker buyer or an off-roader.
The Japanese are the most notorious for dealing out fancy hands. The Europeans change little, if anything, from year to year. but the Big Four? WOW!
1974 Yamaha YZ125 Vs MX125
1974 Yamaha 125 Dirt Bike Test – is the Yamaha YZ125A better than the Yamaha MX125A, place your bet and lay your money down on the table….
There’s only one logical question and you know we’re going to ask it: “Is the 125 YZ worth the extra money?” Continue reading
1975 Yamaha YZ250B Bike Test
This original test report from 1974 Cycle World tested the first monoshock YZ250b, it was a great bike then and you can see why…..
WE GET ASKED several times a month, through reader letters or at race tracks while testing, what we think is the best 250 motocrosser available today. Our answer has been, “It ain’t been built yet.” Oh sure, the 250 Elsinore is a bullet and it handles well, but trying to turn one is like trying to roller skate on ice.
The first Yamaha YZ was also fast, but it was too pipey, had zilch for tires, a toggle-switch rear brake, and wanted to high side a lot. The Montesa VR was a handling son of a gun, but try to name just three Montesa dealers in your area. Any three. How about two? One? The same goes for Bultaco and Ossa. Nice bikes, but what do you do when one breaks. And they will break, everything does sooner or later.
And what about Husky, Maico and CZ riders? Most of them would be on Japanese bikes if it weren’t for the fact that the only dealers in their counties are a couple of blocks away.
So you see, that elusive motocrosser, the one with the power, the handling, the right carburetion, non-mudding rims, cleated footpegs, gnarly knobbies and the rest of the proper paraphernalia, sitting complete at several dealers’ showrooms right near you just hasn’t been built yet. At least in 1974 it hadn’t been built. Continue reading
Posted in 1975 Yamaha YZ250B project, Vintage Dirt Bike Tests | 
1975, 250, b, Motocross, Vintage, yamaha, yz | 
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