25 Years Ago February, 1976

25 YEARS AGO FEBRUARY, 1976

No serious motorcycle manufacturer would dare follow in quirky Rokon's footsteps, but that's just what Husqvarna did in introducing the 360 Automatic featured on this issue's cover. Where the Americanmade Rokon RT 340 used an infinitely variable torque converter, however, the Swedish Husky boasted an honest-to-goodness four-speed automatic transmission. Testers praised the Auto’s handling and seamless gear changes, but had difficulty coping with its tendency to freewheel downhill. “Not the answer, but an answer,” was the consensus.

• Germany’s Maico, meanwhile, was following in Husky’s footsteps, looking to broaden its horizons by introducing a line of Cross Country models to complement its motocrossers. The editors raved about their 250 WR testbike’s suspension and steering, but lamented the lack of low-end power. “A good enduro bike for good riders in difficult events with fast schedules,” they concluded.

• Off-roading obviously was still the rage in 1976, as eight of this issue’s 10 stories had to do with doing it in the dirt-there was even a mini-poster of Team Honda’s Rich Eierstedt on a works Honda RC250 MXer, inexplicably not located in the centerspread where it could be removed for wall hanging. The exceptions were part one of a Kawasaki Z-1 hop-up and a 5000-mile road test of a KZ400, which was as “exciting” today as it was a quartercentury ago. Maybe they should have called it the KZzzz-400...

Brian Catterson