tr The 80s are the glamour bikes of theminicycle world. There are more 80ccaccessories, more 80cc racers and more80cc bikes sold than any other class. With-out a high profile TV series or a big-buckssoft drink sponsor, the minis have burstonto the American motocross scene in abigway. There are l4-year-old factoryriders who are catered to and waltzedaround the main offices like diamonds inthe rough. The 80s are virtual rocketshipsin the hands of a talented rider.

Each year the bikes get faster inguantum leaps, get better suspension inaverage leaps, and improved handling inmediocre leaps. Only the price keepspace with the horsepower ratings.

1980 is the first year of a full frontalassault on the mini market by all fourmaior Japanese manufacturers. Honda has

ioinedthe fray this year with a brilliantfirst effort. Kawasaki is only in theirsecond year of production, and hasrefined some of the rough flaws out of theirgem. Suzuki and perennial minicycle

leader Yamaha have their acts together.Each bike plies its particular personality tothe advantage of every potential motor-cycle racer. If you have an honestappraisal of your ability and needs there isa minicycle powerband that is perfect foryou.

There isn't a markedly bad minicycle inthe grroup, but there are significantlydifferent machines. You pays your moneyand gets your kicks.SUZUKI NMSOT

The all-yellow Suzuki RM80 is a potentpower package tucked into a miniaturereplica of the World Championship SuzukiGrand kix bikes. The motor is the samestraightforward Suzuki desigrn that hasblessed the RM since its inception. Thesingle downtube frame nestles in betweena set of Kayaba forks and Showa shocks.

The swingarm is steel, although it ispainted to look like aluminum. The rearbrake is rod activated, but it has an un-usual mid-way pivot point that doubles themoving parts used to stop the sucker. The

brake pedal is adjustable in height.The RM air filter is serviced by

removing the seat and spinning twowingrnuts on the front of the air box. Thefilter is oiled foam, but isn't very large.

The miscellaneous paraphernalia on theSuzuki is top-flite. The tires are made byIRC, and the RM and KX are the onlyminis that come stock with a 4.l0xl4 reartire. The 28-inch-wide handlebars haveOury-type grips attached, but the leversand throttle are nothing special. The tripleclamps have only one pinch bolt on eachleg. The seat has a nifty lift handleVelcd to the rear to aid in hefting it inandout of the van.

The Suzuki plastic is identical to thedetailing on the works bikes. The ga^s tankis steel. The gas cap is minute, and makes

' putting fuel in the bike a hassle. The RM isthe only mini in the test with aluminumrims. The chain is a hefty 4% unil.YAIIIAHA YZSOG

The YZ80 is the only single shock mini-cycle on the market, although several of

56 MOTOCROSS ACTION/SEPTEMBER 1980

The Suzuki RM80 has good, quick and abrupt ponies. lt wouldwin any raco on a tight, bermy track.

The green machine is slow, but like the tortoise and the hare ithas winning traits. lt is the easiest to ride.

Ridinqthe YZ _means keeping your wrist locked and your too ingear. The YZ8) would win on smooth, fast and long fracks.

You can carve circles around the competition with the Honda;it turns better than all of them.

SEPTEMBER 1980/MOTOCROSSACTION 57

EIGHTIES:their competitors are testing mono set-upson their works bikes. The Yamaha motorhas been the bacldcone of minicycleracing since the first mini enduro 60ccengine. It still has plenty of ponies.Yamaha has a double downtube framewith Kayaba forks and a Kayaba minimonoshock.

The triangrulated YZ mono swingarm isextremely rigid, and Yamaha didn't paintit silver to make it lok like aluminum. It issteel. The rodoperated rear brake pedal isnot adlustable in height.

The air filter is easy to get to and easy tochange. It hides behind the left sidepanel. The kill button is totally wrong! It ison the throttle housing instead of on theclutch side, and it can't be moved.

Yamaha uses IRC tires, but mounts a3.60x14 on the rear instead of the larger4.I0. The handlebars are 30 inches wide,and have long powerbend levers.caressing them. The grrips aren't anythingspecial. The Yamaha is the only mini witha plastic ga^s tank, and it has adecentsized gan cap. The biple clamps on the YZhave only one bolt on the top set, but twoon the lower unit.

The center port, CDI, reed-valvedengine is fueled by a Mikuni carburetor.The Mikuni has a push-pull choke device.The power is transmitted down a 4%chain.KAWASAf,I KXSO

The grreen ru(80 really stands out fromthe other bikes. The KX is the largest of the

mini-motocrossers on the track. The seatheight is over Vz-inchhigher than theother bikes. The KX motor is an electro-fusion cylinder (no liner), and uses aheavy flywheel igrnition.

Kawasaki has built a rugged lookingframe to hold its motor. The swingarm issteel, paintedto look like aluminum, andmade out of rectangrular stock. The rearbrake is rod activated, and has an adiust-able pedal. The forks are by Kayaba andthe shocks are Showas.

The air filter is a nightmare. To removethe fuzzy foam filter, the seat has to beremoved and bolts have to be backed outof the front of the air box. It is similar to theSuzuki unit, but without the simplewingnuts.

The Suzuki RM$ is an excellent minicycle package. The poworis top of the line and the suspension is good.

The Yamaha YZfll has been the standard bearer of minicycleracing for the past five years. A little more low end and longerforks would make it first rate.

The Suzuki motor has more beans than any of the minis. lt isMr. Horsepowol.

58 MOTOCROSS ACTION/SEPTEMBER 1980

The YZfl) comes on later and stays on longer. lt is a high rpmrocketship.

The KX uses a 4.l0xl4 Nitto tire. Thehandlebars are27 % inches long, andhave unusual Can-Am-style, cross-hatchgrips. The triple clamps don't have barbacks, and the fork caps are the difficult-to-use circlip kind. The KX does havedouble bolts on the lower clamp.

The chain is a small420 (American 40).The kill button is too small. The rims aresteel. The front number plate rubberbands rotted through immediately. Or thegood side-the KX has a large gas cap,radial head and a oonical front hub.HONDA CNsO

The all-red CR80 is the new kid on theblock. Its stylish desigrn was the bestlooking of all the bikes. The little 80ccmotor is a pre-shrunk version of the

CR250R motor, with the addition of a smallflyn'heel. The Keihin carb breathesthrough reed valves.

The swingarm is steel, painted red. Therear brake is rod operated, but the pedal isnot adiustable. The single downtube frameis the smallest and lightest tubing of all theminis. The forks and shocks are by Showa.The shocks are miniafure versions of thecast aluminum reservoir works bikeshocks.

The air filter is serviced by removingthe right side panel and taking a rubberband off of the air box cover. Then twobolts have to be removed. The filter is duallayers of oiled foam.

The Honda uses IRC tires like Yamahaand Suzuki, but it chose to mount a small

2.5ox17-inch front wheel and a 3.60x14rear tire. The handlebars are?B incheswide, and have mediocre grips. The tripleclamps have one bolt on the top clamp andtwo on the bottom.

The red gas tank has a small gas capopening. The chain is a smallish 420. TheKeihin carb has the pin-type of chokelever that is hard to use.

The Honda has extremely short foot-pelts. Stealinq an idea from Suzuki,Honda mounted a nylon strap to the backof the seat to help lift the bike.WIIEnE ITS AT_POWEN

Racing a motorcycle is a personalmatter, and it takes on all sorts of peculiartraits. What one nrern loves, another hates.It is no different in minicycle powerbands.

The Kawasaki KXfl) is the big kid on tho block. The KX has themost torque and the softest suspension. lt is an excellentbeginners bike.

The new kid on the block is the Honda CR80. lt is the smallestof the mini machinee. lt also has the least suspension travol,but the best cornering manners.

Thanksto a flywheelignition the Kawasaki KX80 motor ismellow and torquey. The red Honda engine is short, brisk and snappy. lt is quick.

SEPTEMBER 1980/ MOTOCROSS ACTION

EIGHTIES:

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When tho RM80 hlts you had betterhave it aimed. Younger rlders would bewell advlsed to stay off this potentpackage.

Kawasaki built a slow fl), but it gets theiob done by being tractable andcontrollable. We got good lap timeswith no wheelspin.

The Suzuki RM80 is the most potent ofthe bikes. The power is very e:rplosive.The RM has good, guick and abruptponies. It hits hard and pulls strong. Theengine is not a hiqh rpm unit, and sigrns offguickly. When it's on, it's really on. ASuzuki would be hard to beat on a trackwith a lot of berms and short straights.

The Honda CR80 has the same type ofpower that the Suzuki makes, but not so

much of it. The Honda power is crisp,short and brisk. Essentially the differencebetween the Honda and Suzuki power-band is that the CR80 power is shorter.You can't dog it in one gear without pay-ingthe price. The Honda is ac/ufci it,shift il,clutch it kind of power. The close-ratio Honda reguires more work than theSuzuki to acheive the same thing.

The Yamaha YZ80G hits real hard whenit comes on the pipe. But the Yamahaseriously lacks the low end burst of itscompetition. The YZ's power comes on

The YZdl was mlghty smooth. lts hlghrpm rat-a-tat-tat motor and golldsuspension made lt the fastest blke lnour lap time test.

Honda has made everybody happy. TheCR80 is light, agile and a blast. The sus-penders are wimpy for serious raciitg.

Iater than the RM, KX or CR. The YZ is fastarrd peaky. Because theYZdoesn't have alot of lowend, it revs a little higher thanthe others, and can be made to srng onIong straights and fast tracks. In practicestarts on both bikes, the Suzuki was thefastest, but the Yamaha beat out Hondaand Kawasaki consistently.

The Kawasaki had the longest, smooth-est and torguiest powerband. The flyrn'heeligrnition smoothed out the KX powerpulses. Because the KX was desigrned to beeasy to ride and manageable it doesn't hitwith the force of the yellow and red flyers.The Honda has a flyrrheel also (muchsmaller), and the the feel of the twoengines is similar, but the Honda is much

. guicker thanthe lGwasaki.WIIERE YOU'\'E BEEN - HANDUNG

The worst of the bikes in the suspensioncategorywas the Kawasaki. Perhaps it wasbecause the KX suspension rates are so faroff. The forks were unbelievably under-

IIIIIIIIII

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sprung. The shocks were just average.The KX had seven inches of front wheeltravel (the most).

The shortest suspension was on theHonda. It had a little over six inches offront wheel travel, but most of the testriders felt that the Honda was the mostagile, and the best furning of the bikes.The short suspension of the Hondaresulted in the footpegs draggng throughthe rough.

The Suzuki had the second-most frontwheel travel (6.7 inches). But the handlinqwasn't spot on. The test riders thought thatthe furning wasn't very precise, and thatthe shocks were just average. The Yamahawas the only bike that anyone Iiked therear suspension on. The YZ monoshockwas stiff enough to hold up to full-on flightsand berm shots. The Yamaha had 6.4inches of front wheel travel.

The Kawasaki had the most travel, butthe worst spring rates. The Honda had theshortest suspension, but felt the best.Paradoxes!

WORKING ON IT_PROBIEMSThe four minis have got their acts to-

gether, and should provide trouble freefun with normal maintenance. The Y7ffiYamaha has a problem with the spoketightness. The Yamaha spokes had to betightened three times as much as any othertest bike. The spoke next to the rim lockwas the worst offender. None of the 80shad rim locks on the front wheel and allfour of them had the front tubes slip alittle. Grly Suzuki used aluminum rims;the rest were heavy steel models.

The YZ kill button is a disgrrace. Thethrottle side kill button is totally useless inemergency situations. The button is alsotoo small.

The Kawasaki KX80 had very few, trouble spots. The steel rims, Iack of frontrim lock and small kill button were notice-able. The difficult-to-service air boxwillmake many riders forego the necessarytask. The 420 chain is not reallysophisticated enough for a full race mini.

The KX front number plate rubberbands rotted through. The circlip forkcaps are totally archaic. The gas cap islarge, but it is held in place by the oldfashioned tangs. It could be more secure.

The Honda matched the others with norim locks on the front wheel, steel rims andthe shortest footpegs. The Honda also hadthe weakest throttle spring. On bikesdesigned to be ridden by children we'dlike to see a strong, refurnable, throttlespring. The Honda also has a specialsprocket gruard to keep the chain fromwedging between the sprocket and theswingarm. It doesn't work. The tin guardwas destroyed by the chain, and thenwouldn't let the 420 chain come out frombetween the hub and the swingarm. Thatwas the opposite of what it was desigrned to

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62 MOTOCROSS ACTION/SEPTEMBER 1980

EIGHTIES:

The RMfl) rear brake setup is a bogusdouble pivot unit. Unnecessaryengineering anstead of thoughtfulengineering.

The YZfll had the best rear suspension.The mono could be raced right out ofthe crate. The others need accessoryshocks.

King of the swingarma was the KX80arm. Beefy construction andgargantuan proportions made it flexfree.

Honda bolted on the trickest lookingshocks, but with the least travel. Therear end is pretty spindly.

do. Honda also has one of the smallest gascapoperungs.

The Suzuki RM80T had the thinnest seatof the bikes, and on occasion a rider wouldbottom out all the way. The Suzuki doeshave aluminum rims, but it doesn't have arim lock on the front wheel. The rearbrake arrangement is a Rube Goldbergdevice that doesnft look vegypro-moto.The gas tank opening is the smallest of thesmall.BITS AND PIECES _ NIT.PICTING

The Honda frame is suspect. It is so

flimsy looking that hard, fast or big riderswould be well advised to check the tubesregularly. The Honda also has the smallestswingarm. The Kawasaki frame is by farthe strongest looking of the four, and therectangular box swingarm helps afld tothat impression.

The Kawasaki and Honda had trouble-some air boxes. The Suzuki was a littleeasier to work with, while the YZ was asnap. The Honda seat was the thickest,softest and plushest. The Suzuki seat wasthe thinnest and firmest.

The Honda is a very small motorcycle.Every piece of it is low, narrow and thin. Itis very sleek and small feelinq. TheKawasaki gives a oompletely differentimpression; it is tall and wide.

Chain gruides showed varying degreesof concern. The Honda and Kawasaki hadthe smallest chains, and the worst provi-sions for griding those wimpy chains. TheK)( had no rollers, no spring-loadedtensioners and only one metal gruide. TheKX chain was eating away at the shiftlever.

The Hondahad a chain guide with aroller in it. The roller didn't spin at all, andwore out quickly. The rear sprocket had aguard on it to prevent the chain fromlodqinq between the swingarm and thehub, which wa.s necessary because wethrew the chain on the Honda. It killed thegruard.

Suzuki had a frame-mounted roller upbythe countershaJt sprocket and air box,and it had a large chain guide withanother roller in it. The Yamaha had aframe-mounted roller, a spring-loadedchain tensioner and a metal gride. TheYamaha was tops, the Suzuki was second,and the Honda and lGwasaki didn't placein this category.THE WORTD IN A PARAGRAPH

If we were buying a bike to race for our-selves we would stand back and look in amirror. If what we saw was not the fastestthinq on two wheels, and just out there lorfun, we miqht take the more tractable andtorquey Kawasaki.

If we were a hot shot pro, and soon to behigh up in the Nlv{A standings, we wouldopt for the Suzuki or Yamaha. The Hondais too new, too short on suspenders andpossibly prone to first-year gnemlins. Butall four bikes have their moments! !

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SEPTEMBER 1980/MOTOCROSS ACTION tr}