ROAD T . E S T s
36 DUCATI 888 SPORT PRODUCTION
On a mountain road, a most moving violation.
48 HARLEY-DAVIDSON XLH 1200 SPORTSTER
America’s favorite motorcycle gets better.
77 SUZUKI DR650S
A single reason to go off road.
f.a t u r e s
4 2 THE BLANK CHECK XR by Steve Anderson
Ron Wood crafts a dirt-tracker fit for a mantlepiece.
67 SUPER HAWK by Charles Everitt
Two Brothers Racing hawks honking Hawks, stays out of hock.
72 WAYNE RAINEY: WORLD CHAMPION
by Tyrone van Hooydonk
7 wins, 5 seconds, 2 thirds, 1 DNF. What a season!
S P E Cl A IS E ,c T I o. N
56 SUZUKI ’91
Raising standards to new heights, Suzuki brings back
Everyman’s 1100.
61 DUCATI’91
The Bologna brigade is still in attack mode.
62 KAWASAKI ’91
Akashi finds itself in a 750-engineering frenzy.
D , .E P A R T M E NTS............................
9 EDITORIAL by Steve Anderson
10 TDC by Kevin Cameron
16 NEW PRODUCTS by John Burns
18 LETTERS
27 BITS
98 PIPELINE by Jim Greening
When the sport-
ster’s precursor was
introduced in 1952,
Harry S. Truman was
president, foreign
cars consisted of the
occasional Volks-
wagen or MG, and
Soichiro Honda was
still selling clip-on engines for bicy-
cles. Then, a four-speed gearbox was
standard equipment for any sporting
lightweight motorcycle: Triumph,
Matchless, Norton, and the like
routed their power
through four gears,
and anything with
more than that num-
ber was genuinely
exotic—and probably
Italian. Four decades
ago, the Model K’s
four-speed was thor-
oughly up-to-date, with a hand clutch
and foot shift.
Since then, Harley’s unit-con-
struction twin has gone through two
major redesigns and innumerable
updates, sprouting overhead valves,
electric starting, disc brakes, and
hydraulic lifters, and has grown from
883cc to 1202cc with several slops in
between. But that four-speed has
remained as predictable as a Milwaukee
winter. Never mind that since the baby
boomers started turning gray most motor-
cycles—including H-D’s own 80-cubic-
inch twins—have upgraded to
five-speeds, and sport bikes now com-
monly use six.
Traditionally, Harley owners have
viewed change with the flinty-eyed sus-
picion of a small-town sheriff, and in
1985, when the thoroughly massaged
Evolution XL debuted with only four
gear pairs in its crankcase, some enthu-
siasts despaired of ever seeing anything
more. Despite having only four ratios in
its gearbox, the Sportster—in 883cc and
1202cc capacity—has become the
largest-selling big-bore motorcycle in
this country. From a sales viewpoint, the
addition might seem hard to justify.
For comfort though, anyone who’s rid-
den a four-speed Sportster can attest to
the need for another ratio; as the speedo
needle sweeps past 60, the vibration
rises to Richler-scale levels, prompting...