25 Years Ago November, 1977
25 YEARS AGO NOVEMBER, 1977
In a time not too long ago, from a land far, far away, came Maicos. I longed to ride one of these mystical German machines. Much like the Swedish Husqvarnas of the day, they were status symbols, especially for a kid perched on the seat of a Honda XR80. Even my dad wasn’t man enough to own one; he “only” had an XR200R. This month’s coverbike, Maico’s WR400, took the latest in motocross tech and added trail necessities. It was a bike that could literally be ridden on water-or so you’d think from the accompanying photos!
• To improve your off-road readiness, there were “29 Tips the Experts Never Told You.” Except that here they did. From taping your rims to corking your handlebar ends, these throwback how-to-doits still work today. Amazing.
• Yes, there were a few streetbikes in this issue, a Laverda Jota 1000 and a Ducati 500 GTL. With all of those Italian Triples and Twins running around, you’d think current Executive Editor Brian Catterson, not then-Editor Allan Girdler, was running the book! As for Honda’s CM185T Twinstar, the new minicruiser/beginner bike was tested under the cover of darkness to avoid embarrassment. Technical Editor Ron Griewe said it best: “I never said I didn’t like it, I just said I didn’t want to be seen in public on it.” In the end, however, editors decided the little parallel-Twin was a great way to get people into motorcycling. They then noted the bike was proof positive that Soichiro Honda no longer had control of the company. Jimmy Lewis
