25 Years Ago March 1984
25 YEARS AGO MARCH 1984
Forget about the bike on the cover-the third-generation Honda GL1200 Gold Wing. I’m sure it was “a nice place to sit while the world glides by,” as stated on the table of contents. My attention, however, was on the brandnew, bumblebee-yellow Yamaha YZ250 featured elsewhere in that issue. As good as that bike was, though, if the editors from a quarter-century ago could ride the 2009 model tested in this month’s issue, I’m sure it would blow their minds.
• Also tested were the Kawasaki 750 Turbo and KTM 250MXC. The latter story was titled, “Quick, Light and Expensive.” The Katoom was a liquid-cooled enduro, a novelty back then. Testers wondered if an enduro even needed such plumbing. Really? I can’t think of a single competition-oriented dirtbike these days that isn’t equipped with radiators.
• While competition-related stories are usually reserved for Race Watch, smack dab in the middle of the feature well this month was coverage of the 1983 Barstow to Vegas, the
Senior Open Expert class won by CWs I own Ron Griewe. Shut down after the ’74 event due to pressure from environmentalists, the event was revived thanks to the efforts of Louis McKey, the “Phantom Duck of the Desert.”
«The first installment in a new series, “How Motorcycles Work,” took an in-depth look at the fourstroke engine. The concept was to show the not-so-simple side of motorcycles. Target audience? A rider who “likes to understand bikes, work on them and ride them with the knowledge of what makes them work,” wrote Technical Editor Steve Anderson. —Ryan Dudek
