On the cover: Getting high on two wheels in

England’s magnificent Lake District. Story on

page 36. Photo by Joan Rouse.

12/Denis Rouse

13/Bill Estes

23/Dick Blom

26/Grace Butcher

6/Rider Response

14/Safety Forum

28/Rider Clinic

60/Kawasaki KZ750 (LTD)

72/Back to Basics — Comparing the 200-250S

F©©W©©

32/The Vetter Rally

36/Travels With Guinness

68/Black Tie Ride

52/Kenya to California — Part 2

W©taB©©0

39/BMW Introduces R80G/S

40/Yamaha to Offer Two V-Twins

42/Keeping Your Distance — Part 2

46/Carburetors vs. Fuel Injection vs. Turbocharging

If two new bikes can be considered a

trend, the new Kawasaki KZ750 LTD

must be part of a trend — it and the

Yamaha Maxim I tested in our

September issue.

The LTD is fairly light and fairly small

but it has a potent ending. The result is

exciting performance along with the

enjoyment made possible by

reasonable weight, carried low enough

that the machine feels nimble and easy

to handle, like a smaller motorcycle

The KZ750 LTD weighs 486 pounds

with its rather small 3.3-gallon tank

filled. It has a 57.3-inch wheelbase,

which is 1.4 inches longer than that of

the E (non-LTD) model. Most of the

difference is accounted for by the

leading-axle front fork, found only on the

LTD model, which changes the

front-end geometry slightly, offering

,6-inch more trail and resulting in a

slight slowing of the steering. It is still

very quick and easy handling under

most conditions, especially around

town.

The seating position tends to inhibit

really spirited mountain road rides, as

does the softer cruiser suspension. In

fact, seating position is the only black

mark against the test bike, but it s a

serious one. The position is terrible. It's

an exaggeration of the chopper or

cruiser style and I felt like the circus

bear sitting up to beg just before rolling

over backwards. I have never had as

much trouble trying to find a reasonably

comfortable position on a bike, all to no

avail. A duffel bag used as a backrest

across the passenger portion helped,

while the neat little Cruiser Bubble

windscreen aided'appreciably by taking

wind pressure off the chest and upper

body. But even with this help it was still

not comfortable.

The big step in the seat puts the butt

too far forward, and the bars put'the

hands and arms too far back. The

footpeg position is acceptable, but the

combination of bars and seat step is

impossible. Maybe it would be OK for

someone under five feet tall. The seat is

so low, at about 30 inches, that a really

short person probably could enjoy this

bike.

Like the E model, this bike offers the

adjustable-damping rear shocks, with

the improved adjustment collar at the...