1988 Kawasaki Bayou 220

1988 KAWASAKI BAYOU 220

RIDING IMPRESSION

An ATV for the masses

IF KAWASAKI COULD TRANSform ATVs into pickup trucks, the 1988 Bayou 220 would be a perfect subject. It’s a hard-working, blue-collar ATV, a no-nonsense four-wheeler that will do virtually anything, go nearly anywhere without a lot of fuss—and without costing six months’ pay. For $2299 you get a full-featured, midsized ATV with electric start, front and rear racks, automatic clutch, shaft drive, reverse gear, independent front suspension and even a fuel gauge.

This list of features makes the new-for-’88 Bayou 220 appear strictly utilitarian; but this is a case where appearance clouds reality, because the 220 is a machine that needn’t be confined to the farm. You certainly wouldn’t want to enter it in your local hillclimb or motocross, but the 220 still is capable of per-

forming admirably in a wide variety of riding situations.

Compared to Kawasaki’s own Mojave 250, the company’s four-stroke sport four-wheeler, the Bayou is considerably smaller, falling into the same basic size category as Suzuki’s 230 Quadrunner. With a seat height of around 28 inches and a wheelbase in the neighborhood of 44 inches, the 220 is a compact unit. And it is built around an all-new, sohc, 215cc aircooled four-stroke Single equipped with a balancer shaft to help quell vibration. The motor pumps out a claimed 17 horsepower, which, for a machine of this type and size, is plenty of juice.

Besides, of greater importance is how that power is delivered to the rear wheels. And the 220 has a smooth, wide powerband that starts from idle and tapers off only a little before the rev limiter kicks in. Alto-

gether, the predictable, steady power makes the Bayou friendly and easy to ride.

It doesn’t take long to realize that this ATV is most at home when putting along at a relaxed pace. It’s perfectly happy just wondering about, doing a bit of exploring over here, visiting a neighbor over there. The automatic clutch helps make this kind of riding very pleasurable; and since the 220 is even capable of chugging away from a dead stop in fifth gear, shifting is not a critical operation.

At a relaxed pace, the 220 maneuvers lightly, almost as if by thought. And it rewards its rider with an easychair ride thanks to a pillowy seat and soft suspension. But when you try to ride the 220 fast, you quickly find its limitations. The front end then pushes through the turns, and the suspension that worked so well at slower speeds begins to abuse the rider. The rear shocks actually aren’t too bad at higher speeds, but the front shocks bottom and allow the Bayou to wallow. The machine also gets twitchy at higher speeds due to its short wheelbase and sensitive steering. Granted, it doesn’t start doing tank-slappers when ridden wideopen, but it does move around and let you know it prefers more-relaxed tempos.

Still, those are perfectly reasonable limitations, given the intention of this ATV. If going fast most of the time is your desire, you need a different kind of ATV. But for the family looking for a good, unintimidating, versatile and reasonably priced fourwheeler, the 220 Bayou may be the perfect choice. S