Forecasting Another Good Year

Forecasting another good year

ROUNDUP

CAMRON E. BUSSARD

WE'RE JUST LIKE KIDS AT CHRISTMAS after all of the presents have been opened: We start wondering what we’re going to get next year. So we’re going to go out on a limb and make some predictions concerning the motorcycles we think the coming year will bring. Granted, not all of our forecasts will come out exactly as we predict, and there will certainly be a few surprises as the year progresses; but based on what we have seen and heard so far, 1986 promises to be an exciting year for motorcycles.

At Honda, the most interesting news is of a deadly serious 750 Interceptor. It will retain the same V-Four configuration, but be lower and lighter than the old Interceptor. Also in the works is an inline-Four sportbike much like the European CBX750. It will employ the REV system that engages only two of each cylinder’s four valves at low rpm and all four at high revs, and the rumors indicate a mysterious something else that will make the CBX750 competitive with the GSXRs and FZs. The big question is whether this bike will make it into the U.S. or will be for Europe only. In addition, there is talk of a bigger Nighthawk, maybe in the 900-to1 OOOcc range; Honda will also have a road warrior to take on the V-Max, using the 1 lOOcc V-65 as a starting point. And don’t be surprised if there’s an additional Gold Wing model for ’86, one with more displacement, a radial rear tire and an automatic transmission.

In Honda’s dirt-bike offerings, look for the CRs to have reworked rear-ends and new graphics. The much-talked-about, super-serious, 500cc racing four-stroke should become reality this year. Also, there are rumors of a two-stroke enduro bike, more than likely of Open-class displacement.

Yamaha came on strong in 1985, but that doesn’t mean the tuningfork company will be quiet in 1986. The FZ750 will become legal in California, and it will get a similarly designed bigger brother in the 900to-1 OOOcc range, while the FJ 1 100 will become a 1200. There might even be an FZ600 by summer. The V-Max will also have a sibling: a VFour 700 or 750 meant to be the fastest thing in the class. And maybe both V-Max models will use the FZ750’s five-valve cylinder-head technology.

For Yamaha dirt bikes, look for a whole new line of YZ motocrossers. We got a peek at a YZ 125 prototype that had case-reed induction and sounded very, very strong. The 490 probably will still be air-cooled, but it might incorporate a power valve.

A TT350 in an XT-style frame seems likely, but Yamaha will still lack a serious four-stroke off-road bike, even though the TT600 will be updated.

On Suzuki’s street we see a larger version of the GSX-R750 with at least a 1 OOOcc engine, as well as a larger edition of the Intruder, perhaps with oil-cooling. The latter, incidentally, is rumored to be the largest V-Twin ever to come out of Japan. There will also be a Terry Vance Replica GS 1 1 50, a street dragbike styled much like Vance’s Pro Stock racer. Finally, there are strong indications that an oil-cooled 600cc sportbike will be in Suzuki’s lineup next year.

Suzuki is long overdue for new motocrossers, so look for completely redesigned frames with a new rearend linkage that more closely resembles Honda’s Pro-Link setup than it does the existing Full Floater arrangement. And there will again be an Open-class RM, this time an all-new, liquid-cooled model.

At Kawasaki the word for ’86 is “bigger.” The Eliminator will be pumped up to a full 1000, as will its sister bike, the Ninja. The bigger Ninja will look much like its 600cc brother, and a 750 is now ready to fill the gap that will be created once the 900 grows bigger. The Vulcan will also come in a larger size this year, perhaps a 1200, and it may be available in a sport-touring version as well. But not all Kawasakis will be bigger: How about a 600 Eliminator with shaft drive, for example?

All four of the Japanese manufacturers will build 600cc single-cylinder sportbikes, but initially, only one of them will appear in the U.S. If it sells well, the other models will probably be imported in 1987.

But the Big Four do not have a lock on what is exciting or new for ’86. In fact, some of the smaller manufacturers have some real surprises. Cagiva will have a full 250cc motocrosser rather than its current 190cc machine, and BMW will have a new R80 G/S dual-purpose bike that is a real Paris-to-Dakar replica, with a radical chassis design that should combat the shaft-drive gyrations of the current Boxers. Husqvarna and KTM will both have interesting four-strokes, KTM’s being a liquid-cooled 500. Husky will also have a two-stroke 430 automatic with a single shock.

Remember, some of these bikes are based on rumors, not on solid facts, but most have a strong probability of being built and imported to this country. There is no doubt that in the coming year, the industry as a whole will attempt to lure new riders into the sport with smaller, entry-level machines; but it will also continue to produce larger, more sophisticated, more exciting motorcycles. And for about the umpteenth straight year, the upcoming selling season will bring some of the most powerful performance bikes ever produced. No wonder we can’t wait for next year to arrive.

Sneak Peek: Yamaha’s 1986 YZ125

7"he worst thing a motocross bike can have is a bad reputation. And in that regard, Yamaha’s YZ125 was in double trouble. For the past two years, that bike has had the reputation of being the slowest and least competitive of the 125cc Japanese racers. Yamaha wants to eradicate that image for 1986, so the new YZ is just that: entirely new.

Yamaha’s designers put everything they had into the new engine, including case-reed induction, a 7mm longer connecting rod, more efficient liquid-cooling, revised porting and a 34mm flat-slide carb.

The chassis wasn’t left out of the make-over, either. The front suspension is a Kayaba fork with 43mm tubes. An Ohlins shock controls the rear suspension through a workstype swingarm and a new linkage system.

On paper and in pictures the new YZ looks like a serious attempt to get back into the I25cc MX wars, serious enough, perhaps, to let Yamaha riders tread on ground that has been unfamiliar for the past two years: the winner’s circle.