Cycle World's Ten Best Bikes 1994

CYCLE WORLD'S TEN BEST BIKES 1994

BEST SUPERBIKE DUCATI 916

HOW TO TAKE home a Ten Best medal: Start with the engine that has won three World Superbike titles. Enlarge and refine it. Install it in a clever and unique chassis equipped with top-quality suspension. Cloak the result in avantgarde bodywork that displays all the best of the Italian passion for line, shape and proportion. Paint it racing red.

The result is the Ducati 916, the most sensational motorcycle to appear so far this decade. It is theoretically possible that in spite of the creativity the 916 shows, despite the excellence of the hardware employed, this new Ducati could have been a gorgeous disappointment, a brash, beautiful bomb effective at turning heads, but not hot lap times.

It is not. A racing sage once remarked, “If it looks right, it is right.” The 916 does, and it is. It balances stunning looks with performance and handling that is nothing less than breathtaking.

And it displays the sort of detail refinement once considered the province of Japanese manufacturers while retaining the charisma that has so marked the Italian motorcycle. It is neither inexpensive nor common. Committed sport riders nevertheless will require it-for the Ducati 916 is 1994’s Best Superbike.

BEST OPEN STREETBIKE KAWASAKI ZX-9R

IT'S ALWAYS INTERESTING WHEN conventional wisdom is successfully challenged. Conventional wisdom advises us, "There's no substitute for cubic inches." To this Kawasaki drawls, "Well, horse puckey!" As evidence to support this impudence, Kawasaki presents the ZX-9R, a machine that substitutes science for cubic capacity. That science is found in the form of very clever gas flow into and out of the engine, very finely formed combustion chambers, and very precise control of the combustion process. As a result of this, the ZX9’s engine performs like something much larger, cranking out 125 rearwheel horsepower. This, from an 899cc engine, is prodigious. The ZX-9 is a two-wheeled Howitzer, a rolling artillery piece that fires its rider into the nether regions of time and speed with a light roll of the throttle grip.

BEST 750cc STREETBIKE HONDA VFR750F

HONDA APPARENTLY HASN'T IIEARI) TIlE SUGGES tiOn that, "If it isn't broken, don't fix it." For 1994, the company "fixed" the VFR75O, never company never mind that most observers would have suggested the VFR needed very little help.

In past years this machine has owned the Best 750 title, and with good reason. But all our reasons for relishing the VFR became more compelling with the introduction of the 1994 version, which features a refined engine, improved shifting, decreased weight, substantially upgraded suspension and completely revised bodywork. The result is not a repli-racer, a move that continues to represent a roll of the dice for Honda, since most of the occupants of this class have strong ties to supersport and Superbike racing.

Or maybe it isn’t such a gamble, after all. Instead of being hard-edged and peaky, the VFR is refined and torquey. Instead of insisting upon a racer tuck from its rider, it allows a relaxed, semi-upright riding position that provides a high comfort level. It delivers very fine handling. And, oh yes, it’s fast; the VFR rips, cranking through the quarter-mile in 11.30 seconds, at 119.36 mph.

So let’s see: The VFR is beautiful, fast and comfortable. Sounds like Best-in-Class to us, and for the fifth straight year. Nice fix, Honda.

The ZX-9 matches this blistering performance with fine handling and, for a sportbike, unusual creature comforts-plush suspension, a good seat, raised clip-ons-which allow the bike’s pilot to enjoy long rides instead of merely enduring them.

It is this combination of qualities that makes the ZX-9 a superb choice for the sport-touring rider. The same combination also makes the ZX-9 this year’s Best Open Streetbike.

BEST 600cc STEETBIKE HONDA CBR600F2

NOTHING SUCCEEDS LIKE SUC cess, and the CBR600F2 has indeed succeeded in past Ten Best awards eremonies and on the country's roadrace courses, thanks to its power, handling, comfort and sophistication. Except for last year, that is, when Kawasaki spoiled things by sneaking up on the CBR with a greatly refined ZX-6 to cap ture a CW Ten Best medal and the AMA's 600cc Supersport title.

Honda’s 1994 response was the same old CBR600F2. Or was it? After all, except for its revised paint scheme, the bike looks the same. Ah, but under that familiar bodywork, the CBR wears upgraded suspenders. In a class as competitive as this one, that makes all the difference.

The CBR600F2 has always been a balanced and forgiving motorcycle, and this year it is even more so, thanks to a cartridge fork and a fully adjustable shock. These new components provide a composed, controlled ride, and they deliver contact-patch feedback that we’ve come to associate with machines that have been race-prepped. Mix in a spunky engine-powerful enough to record low-11-second quarter-mile runs and a top-speed of 145 miles per hour -and you’ve got one of the great motorcycles of the past few years, a 600-class success story that just won’t quit.

BEST STANDARD BIKE BMW R1100GS

THE BEST BIKE UPON WHICH TO show up at the next Friends of the Weird convention? Hey, don't be mean! The BMW Ri 100GS might just be the best bike upon which to show up anywhere. Sporting the new Type R256 Boxer engine and Telelever front suspension, the GS vaults BMW's explorer-bike concept from the retro to the wild. This thing's an absolute marvel of a streetbike. Remember that. This is not a dirtbike. It is huge, and it is heavy. It will tolerate exploration of graded dirt roads, but nothing rougher, and only then at a stately pace.

But get it on paved backroads, especially if they’ve got bumps and potholes, and especially if they’re very sinuous, and you will immediately realize the genius of BMW’s design. It’s equally adept at commuting,'“sport-touring or long-distance rides. Fine, you say, but is the RI 100GS a standard? Of

course it is. It's got a comfortable, upright seating position, a comty perch for a companion. stunning suspension, optional hard luggage and an engine you can see. Plus, you can comer the GS so hard you’ll swear its oil-cooled cylinder heads will throw sparks. But they won’t. This is one exceptional motorcycle, a decidedly unstandard Standard, the best of 1994.

BEST BARGAIN BIKE KAWASAKI NINJA 500

ONE OF TITlE GREAT lessons we all learn is this one: You get what you pay for. The folks at Kawasaki would beg to differ. The 1994 suggested list price of their Ninja 500 was $4399, right down there in the basement with low-rollers and El Cheapos. The Ninja 500 is no low roller. It is not an El Cheapo. In a world of motorcycle prices driven by the costs of technology and the ebbs and flows of international exchange rates, it is, instead, one hell of a new bike bargain.

The Ninja 500 also is something else. It is our old friend, the long-running EX500, resuspended, reclothed and renamed. The core of the EX/Ninja remains untouched; It’s got the same stiff steel frame and the same counterbalanced and powerful liquid-cooled parallel-Twin it always had. But to this core Kawasaki’s engineers added a stouter swingarm, a stronger and recalibrated fork, 17-inch wheels, significantly upgraded brakes, and new fairing, instruments and switchgear. The end result is the Ninja 500, which still runs better than any bike this size has a right to, and which now owns handling and looks to more than match its free-revving engine. This is a lot of motorcycle for the money. That’s why it’s this year’s Best Bargain Bike.

BEST TOURING BIKE HONDA ST1100 ABS-TCS

MOTORCYCLE TOURING is one of the most inspired, and inspiring, activities we know of. Few forms of riding so completely merge a rider with the wonders of his natural envi ronment. It stands to reason, therefore, that a rider ought to be able to think only about the ride, and not wony about what he's rid ing. That's why Honda's

ST 1100 V-Four is our pick for Best Touring Bike, for the third straight year.

Larger touring bikes existlarger in terms of engine size, carrying capacity and weight-but when it comes to carefree travel without j being intimidated by a bike’s size or reluctant slow-speed handling, when it comes to the effortless dispatch of any kind of road you can think of,

the Honda ST 1100 looms

Honda Europe’s desire to compete with BMW’s Kbikes, commonly used in Europe for touring duty. The ST’s designers equipped their machine with effective suspension, one of the business’ great engines, more than adequate weather coverage, detachable luggage, and an overall nimbleness and balance that can’t be matched by any other touring bike. Add optional anti-lock braking and traction control, and you’ve got a terrific piece of equipment, a bike for all reasons. If you’re lucky, one’s already parked in your garage.

BEST DOUAL-PURPOSE BIKE KTM 620 R/XC

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND, AND IN THIS CASE, WHAT IS coming around are dual-purpose bikes with both tires firmly planted in the rich loam of off-road intent. Once upon a time, dual-purpose equipment accounted for a huge percentage of new-bike sales. The KTM 620 R/XC’s sort of excellence could send the type’s popularity upward once again.

The R/XC is a very sharply focused machine. Though it wears a license plate, there is one type of riding it is clearly intended for. That starts when the pavement ends and the dirt-the rougher the better-takes over. The R/XC is basically a KTM 620 LC4 enduro bike, a very high-quality piece. In R/XC form it still carries only a kick starter and just enough street equipment to allow it to slide through the licensing procedures of most states. Make no mistake, this is neither the ideal commuter nor a passable touring bike, but with race-proven suspension, a stiff frame light weight and a monster of an engine, the KTM more than makes up for that when the going gets dirty. It’s a machine you can ride to your neighborhood convenience store; if you detour over a few miles of trails to get to that store, even better. It’s this 85 percent/15 percent dirt/street balance that makes the KTM the year’s Best Dual-Purpose Bike.

BEST MOTOCROSS BIKE HONDA CR250

A STUDY OF THE 250 motocross bike is the study of the possible. How light is it possible to make a bike? What sort of a powerband is it possible to come up with? How much is it possible to improve already excellent suspension? It's much the same for any motorcycle. But for these off-the-shelf racebikes, every small improvement is of major importance.

This is so because the major players are so close in every regard that small advances in engineering yield advantages on the track.

The Honda CR250 is the bike that this year best displays those advan-

tages. They’re not short-lived. After a year’s use, Cycle World's test CR continues to be a rolling testament to the power of constant improvement. Substantially revised from last year’s model, the CR shows what it takes to win races. For starters, it offers an engine that creates forward motion with all the smoothness and implacability of an electric motor. Its multi-adjustable suspension is so sensitive over the wide range of its parameters that it is capable of extreme adjustment precision-the rider perceives even small changes in suspension values. Add to this the sort of reliability and durability motorcyclists have come to expect from Honda, and what you have is the year’s Best Motocross Bike.

BEST ENDURO BIKE YAMAHA WR250

THE DIRT RIDER'S favorite pipe dream? It's a

powerful and proven racebike that can whip all comers while remaining tame and manageable enough for fun-time trail riding. Not possible, we all know that. At least thought we did. Then we rode Yamaha’s WR250 and changed our minds.

Yamaha is on the right track with its enduro bikes. Historically, it’s made last year’s motocrosser this year’s enduro bike by retuning the power curve, changing wheel sizes, adding a wide-ratio transmission and fitting a largecapacity fuel tank. This year Yamaha changed its strategy. It made this year’s motocrosser this year’s enduro bike, ing up with a machine that can be competitive in the hands of a hard-core Pro one day, and an effective and reliable ride for a Super Senior Novice the next.

The engine is what makes this bike a winner. Its power is smooth and easy to control. And there’s so much of it that even the most competitive Expert-level rider will have all he needs. The chassis, composed of top-quality components, matches the engine’s excellence. Making the bike endurolegal means adding a headlight and a spark arrester, but that’s no biggie. What is big news is this bike’s overall quality and effectiveness. They’re the reasons the WR250 is this year's Best Enduro Bike.