25 Years Ago August, 1981
25 YEARS AGO AUGUST, 1981
ROUNDUP
Talk about getting your money’s worth. For just $1.50, you got four full tests, two street and two offroad. The coverbike, a Kawasaki GPz550, was given this enticing conclusion: “A hot-rodded version of what was already a high-performance bike." Next in line was the BMW R100CS. If you think BMWs are pricey, you’re not alone, as the editors declared, “The price is high but so is the quality.” What the BMW had over the competition was that it was lightweight. “Simplicity, weight and price are related... BMWs were light before light became fashionable.” The $6600 MSRP doesn’t seem so bad these days. Dirt tests included two bikes that seem older than dinosaurs: a Maico 250 Mega 2 and a Suzuki DR500. Thank goodness for modern, lightweight four-strokes!
• Other features included a four-page guide to motorcycle insurance, while at the back of the book was a feature that would have kept Exec. Ed. Hoyer’s Anglocentric mind spinning: a Speed Twin blast to the past featuring the Triumph Trophy TR5T, written by the late, great Editor-At-Large Henry N. Manney III.
• Who let Test Editor Ron Griewe loose? My personal favorite was the long-term report on the Suzuki PE400.
It had to be the Ogre’s idea to change the steering-head angle by cutting the backbone of the frame with a hacksaw. He then simply inserted a piece of tubing and welded it back together with extra metal for strength, all to change the rake a mere 1.5 degrees. It must have worked, because the PE went from a good bike to an exceptional one in the eyes of the staff. Try that on your alloyframed RM! -Ryan Dudek
