Boxer 1000 Vecteur

BOXER 1000 VECTEUR

CYCLE WORLD RIDING IMPRESSION

MOTORCYCLING'S ANSWER TO BRIGITTE BARDOT

WONDERFUL PEOPLE, THE French. Over the years they've given us the Statue of Liberty, champagne. the bikini and Brigitte Bardot. But even if you count such musty, two-wheeled relics as the Monet-Goyon, the Stimula, the Viratelle, the Supplexa and the San-Sou-Pap, France’s contributions to the world of motorcycling have been, shall we say, less than magnifique.

But there’s a French company, called Boxer, out to change that reputation. Until recently. Boxer has been content to sell aftermarket components for Kawasaki GPzs. But now it’s into the bike-making business and has its sights set on American fans of motorcycle exotica.

And make no mistake: The vehicles that Boxer hopes will pull at the heartstrings of U.S. buyers certainly qualify as exotic. The bikes have aluminum frames fabricated in the south > of France by Claude Fior, a forwardthinking designer who has built frames for GP racers and is constantly tinkering with new concepts in frames and suspension. The Boxers' frames will be fairly conventional, though, with single-shock rear suspension and a massive Ceriani front fork. Still, Fior’s craftsmanship can be seen in the frame’s precise welds and in the adjustable plateholders that control the bike's steering-head angle and swingarm height.

More exotica wraps itself around the Fior frame. From its gull-wing fairing to its tucked-in, through-theframe exhaust system, from its suedeand-leather seat pad to its faired-in taillight, the Boxer announces in a none-too-subtle manner that it is something special, something out of the ordinary.

Ironically, the engines that Boxer has chosen to power its bikes are anything but out of the ordinary. Boxer chassis will come with the buyer's choice of 1 1 engines, all Japanesemade. Kawasaki fans can pick from GPz750, GPzllOO, GPz750 Turbo, 1000J, 1000R or Ninja 900 motors. Ifyou like Honda V-Fours, Boxer will sell you either a 750 or lOOOcc version. One Yamaha engine, from the FJ1100, is available, and Boxer frames will come with two Suzuki powerplants, the GS1000 or the GS1 150.

Using mass-produced engines has several advantages. First, by using U.S.-spec engines, the Boxers get past the EPA’s exhaust sniffers; second, by installing readily available engines. Boxer can keep the prices of its bikes lower. That's important, because even with those engines, a complete Boxer motorcycle will set you back a throat-tightening $9000. For budget-minded exotica fans who already have one of the aforementioned 1 1 engines bolted into a stock frame that is either wrecked or merely unwanted, though, there is hope. Boxer will sell you a rolling chassis, complete save for engine, wiring and instruments, for the less-intimidating sum of $6000.

Transplanted Frenchman Francis Degroof, who is importing the Boxers through EuroCycle (PO. Box 6656, San Rafael, CA 94903; [415] 4921 158), agreed to loan Cycle World a Boxer prototype for a brief riding impression. Powered by a Kawasaki 1000R Superbike Replica engine, the bike already had 12,000 hard miles of European testing under its belt. Still, with a fresh coat of wax laid on its sculptered bodywork, and a pair of new Michelins mounted, the Boxer looked stunning and ready for a backroad workout.

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Degroof mentioned that the Boxer’s riding position was patterned after a Yamaha roadracer’s, and that fact is apparent as soon as a rider settles onto the thinly padded seat and reaches way forward to the clip-on handlebars. The bike’s racing ties are reinforced by the barely muted snarl escaping from the blue-anodized muffler canisters. And just in case you’re a little slow on the uptake, the Boxer’s racebike heritage is driven home by suspension that spells firm with a capital F.

Of course, all of these track-bred characteristics make the Boxer just plain nasty for in-town riding and freeway commuting. But for true sport-bike believers, this lack of civility will matter not one iota. For them, justification for the Boxer will come where the potholes and the straight cement end, and where the curves begin. There, the Boxer comes into its element, and as long as the pavement remains smooth, this is a motorcycle that has an infectious appetite for all manner of corners, a motorcycle that demands to be ridden faster, cornered quicker and braked later.

What remains to be decided, then, is whether or not a Ninja 900powered Boxer, say, is $4500 better than the stock Ninja. Taken on a quantitative basis, the answer has to be no. About the only place the Boxer bikes will have a performance advantage over their stock counterparts is on a racetrack at racing

speeds; and it just doesn't make sense to spend that much money for such an esoteric gain.

Still, when it comes to sportbike exotica, logic flies straight out the window. For a select few’, the Boxer’s price, as well as its compromises on comfort and everyday ridability. will be no deterent. For them, riding the Boxer will be akin to a date with Brigitte Bardot: illogical, undoubtedly, but deliciously, delightfully intoxicating. And worth every penny.