25 Years Ago April, 1982
25 YEARS AGO APRIL, 1982
Honda’s CX500 Turbo “Pressure Cooker” was the biggest news this month a quarter-century ago. “It’s big, heavy, expensive and complex, but the flair and exuberance overcome almost everything,” read the table-of-contents blurb. The limited-edition Honda cost $4898 and was the most electro-gizmo-tronickly advanced bike of its time, but power delivery showed a sudden spike at 5000 rpm, when boost pressure reached a whopping 19.3 psi.
• Roundup featured another Honda, the RS1000RW, a 1024cc four-stroke V-Four roadracing machine, forerunner in many ways to today’s RC211V MotoGP bike. Also in the section was tongue-in-cheek how-to instruction on building a “BS Detector,” part of a larger April Fool’s theme that included a fake cover on page 139 that read “Cycle Word” and had a spy story on a BMW toy bike, as well as how to hop up a Tohatsu Run-Pet. • On the “dirty” pages of the real CW was a full test of the Husqvarna 430WR enduro bike. The six-speed tractor was said to have the ability to run on bad gas, and was good at churning up the desert and plowing through tight stuff. Suzuki’s openclass RM465, meanwhile, roosted its way to major praise. “Perfect” was the word used to describe the RM’s suspension balance and braking feel. • Peter Egan wrote a feature called “Adrift in Lotus Land” that was a journal of his travels to Japan, a tour of the Yamaha factory and finding truly exce 11 ent sake. -Mark Cernicky
