Y2k: Year of the Bargain Bike
Y2K: YEAR OF THE BARGAIN BIKE
ROUNDUP
TAKING A CUE FROM SuzuKI'S stereotype-smashing SV650, bike makers from America, Europe and Japan are gearing up to launch a slew of bargain bikes. Historically, such machines have been-let’s be honest, here-cheap. Cut-rate chassis components, weakkneed powerplants and lose-your-shorts resale values were de rigueur. Well, no more. What we have here are honest-to-goodness, real-world motorcycles. Fun, in other words. And affordable.
Leading the displacement front is Kawasaki’s ZR-7. Already on sale overseas, the unfaired inline-Four is a modern version of the ill-fated Zephyr, last present on U.S. shores in the early Nineties. It will sell for a jaw-dropping MSRP of $5699. “We want to compete with the Suzuki,” says a Kawasaki spokesman. “It will also compete with Honda’s Nighthawk 750 and Suzuki’s Katana 750, even though the Katana is a fully faired bike.” Styling is certainly sporty, but the ZR’s ergonomics are hardly race-issue. The Superbike-bend tubular handlebar, for example, is easily altered, and the one-piece seat is broad and flat. What’s more, the gas tank holds a whopping 5.8 gallons of fuel. “We’re talking Concours-like range,” notes the spokesman.
Weighing in at a claimed 445 pounds dry, the Seven gets its air-cooled oats from the bygone Zephyr’s carbureted, dohc, eight-valve, 738cc engine. Updates include Kawi’s K-TRIC system, which adjusts ignition timing to throttle position and engine rpm for a smoother and wider power spread. “They’ve breathed a little more horsepower and throttle response into the motor, so it’s very lively,” says the spokesman. “My seat-of-thepants guess would be 75-80 horsepower.” For reference, the Zephyr made 58 bhp and 41 foot-pounds of torque.
As before, a non-adjustable conventional fork and tripledisc brakes (with updated twinpiston calipers) are standardissue. Gone are the Zephyr’s reservoir-equipped rear shocks (good) and slick chain-adjustment eccentrics (bad), replaced with a link-type monoshock setup and plainJane bolt-and-locknut adjusters. Cornering clearance should be much improved, thanks in part to a more upswept 4-into-l exhaust system.
BMW, meanwhile, is rumored to be readying a trio of twincylinder machines powered by essentially half of the fuel-injected, liquid-cooled, dohc, inline K-bike engine. Displacing 400-600cc, the rumored K40, K50 and K60 would benefit from a vibration-reducing balance shaft and an emissions-friendly catalytic converter. Target output for the larger bike is reported to be 60 horsepower, on par with the V-Twin Suzook.
Styling resembles the longgone K75, but current Telelever and Paralever suspension components are likely. Ditto fourpiston Brembo brakes, albeit a single stopper up front. Top speed would be in the neighborhood of 110 mph.
“Who wouldn’t love a premium brand like BMW at a lower cost?” noted a company spokesman. “If ever there were a motorcycle that people loved and wished that BMW hadn’t killed, it was the K75. To have a two-cylinder K-bike and a Boxer Twin, however, would be kind of odd. Just from a marketing standpoint, if BMW were going to do something smaller, it would more likely be a three-cylinder.” We’ll see.
Not to be outdone, the freethinkers at Buell are hard at work on an entry-level Single-that’s right, a Single. “Buell has indicated in the past that it wants to compete in a number of different areas in the market, including entry-level,” acknowledged a company spokesman.
Details are scarce, but the “Thor” project displaces approximately 500cc and is not based on the existing Sportster V-Twin. There are, however, some shared components. A heavily revised Sporty primary is used, as is the five-speed gearbox. Buell’s patented Uniplanar rubber en-
gine-mounting system will likely be employed, so engine vibration at moderate street speeds should be negligible. Belt final drive, of course, and there will be two seatheight options, one of which reportedly will appeal greatly to shorter riders. Expect an eye-catching appearance, too, capped by a tubular handlebar and single round headlight. Adds the spokesman, “The bike will have a lot of the same styling cues that a traditional Buell motorcycle has today.”
Of course, the bike’s main selling point will be its sub$4000 asking price. What’s more, should an owner decide to opt for a new Buell V-Twin or Harley-Davidson within one year of purchase, buy-back at full retail is guaranteed.
Good news, all around.
—.Matthew Miles
