SPECIAL FEATURE

40 MOTORCYCLE OF THE YEAR

In a year of amazing horsepower,

an innovative chassis ranks as the

most important development

42 SIXTEEN YEARS OF

MOTORCYCLE

OF THE YEAR

Stepping-stones to the bikes

we ride today

43 THE CONTENDERS

Footnotes in motorcycle

history books

MOTORCYCLES

22 HONDA CBX75O

The Nighthawk S seen through

European-colored glasses

30 THE NIGHTHAWK

REEXAMINED

How does the

‘‘maintenance-free"

sport bike look after

5000 hard miles?

34 HONDA V30 MAGNA

Take a 500 Interceptor and dress

it for a night on the town.

54 YAMAHA XT250

Just for fun—and transportation

FEATURES

21 COMPETITION CALENDAR

Hot dates

44 GALLERY

Proven on the racetrack,

ridden on the street

46 BLACK-TIE BOXER:

UPDATING BMW TWINS

Customizing Europe’s premier

motorcycle for American riders

50 R65 APPLICATIONS

Special tips for the "little"

Beemer

58 DAYTONA BY EGG

Enter the CPT (continents-

per-tankful) standard

63 MURPHY’S LAWS APPLIED

TO MOTORCYCLING

How to predict when your nose

will itch

ACCESSORIES, ETC.

65 BAGMAN INTERCEPTOR

SADDLEBAGS

Soft luggage to match your

flashy flier

66 TURN SIGNAL REMINDER

MODULE

In case your bike is too flashy

66 FREY BOOTS

Sheepish comfort for sport riders

68 OKO MASTER TIRE

SEALANT

How to avoid beating inflation

69 MOTHERS CLEANERS,

WAXES AND POLISHES

Let it shine, shine, shine

69 WINTER HANDS

It’s already time to think about

keeping your fingers warm

this winter.

DEPARTMENTS

6 EDITORIAL

Riding habits and mattresses

10 LETTERS

The world according to

motorcyclists

17 ASK THE PROS

About modifying injection systems

19 HOTLINE

Suzuki goes luxury touring;

Cagiva comes back.

20 SPORT

Lawson finds an edge;

Honda finds the groove

71 CATALOGS

Creative writing

76 ADVERTISERS INDEX

The fastest way to find

that address

73 TOURING MARKETPLACE

Before you go, stop here.

77 PERFORMANCE

MARKETPLACE

More power to you

78 SELF-SERVICE

More on smoothing your

carburetion

80 LAST PAGE

Gone to the dogs

ABOUT THE COVER: No, you aren't

seeing double. This is the Euopean

equivalent of the Honda Nighthawk S,

but it differs in a number of ways and

for a number of reasons. PPC lensman

Paul Martinez captured its image.