Cw 25 Years Ago July 1989
CW 25 YEARS AGO JULY 1989
NEWS
The thenEurope-only CBR1000F was called "awesome, outrageous, and, alas, unavailable" on our cover. The bike was so enticing that we traveled to England to capture a lengthy riding impression and sang the praises of this fully faired open-class sportbike. We got the Honda as a 1990 model.
-> Proof that the definition of "sport-tourer" has changed in the past 25 years? The "Kings of the Hill" comparison test pitted the $5,249 Kawasaki Ninja 750 against the $5,299 Suzuki Katana 750 and were called-you guessed it-sport tourers. The Katana won and was declared one of the best motorcycles in any category.
-> A racing feature on the United States Grand Prix started like this: There are over 40,000,000 motorcyclists in the world. One Sunday at Laguna Seca Raceway, these were the Top 10." Wayne Rainey topped the podium. `I've ridden 2,000 miles on GP bikes so far my first two seasons, and that's given me the confi
dence and the strength," Rainey said. Kevin Schwa ntz was second. "He's a maniac," one of his crew mem bers said in the story. Ques tioned about his "dramatic" or "erratic" style, Schwantz replied, "That's how you have to do it if you want to go fast." Reigning world champ Eddie Lawson was third
despite coming to grips with his new Honda. The worst news was the cooldown-lap injury of three-time Grand National Champion Bubba Shobert. After finishing ninth, the Texan col lided with Kevin Magee who had stopped to do a burnout on track. Shobert recov ered but never raced again. -Mark Hoyar
