The Ten Best Motorcycles of 1985

THE TEN BEST MOTORCYCLES OF 1985

WHEN AUTUMN COMES TO THE MOTORcycle industry, there’s little time for looking back; it’s full speed ahead into the upcoming year. It’s time for manufacturers to begin the building of their latest and greatest products, and for riders— and motorcycle magazines—to begin thinking about what might be waiting for them in the year ahead.

But there always is one piece of unfinished business, one final group of questions to ask before the yearly books are closed. Just how good were the preceding 12 months, anyway?

How well did the bikes of that particular year rate, and, more to the point, which motorcycles were the best the year had to offer?

Once a year, questions like these become all-important in the Cycle World offices. And the answers never get any easier. Because every year about this time, we have 10 extremely difficult decisions to make, 10 decisions that require endless \

debate, consideration, argument and, very often, recon, sidération. Finally, after the smoke clears and all the evidence is heard, we end up with the winners of our annual Ten Best Motorcycles of the Year awards.

At one time, perhaps, picking the 10 best bikes would have been easier than it is today. But motorcycles aren’t just motorcycles anymore. The sport has evolved into a pastime made up of many diverse, highly specialized types of riding. As a result, evaluating any motorcycle today means first determining what that motorcycle was meant to do. Some are designed as low-speed cruisers, others as high-speed racers; some are extremely narrow in focus, while others are intended to cover a broad range of riding activities. And a few motorcycles simply defy being pigeonholed into any existing category.

So every year, we take it upon ourselves to decide which motorcycles fall into what categories. In effect, we make the rules, then we make the selections. And if, after all is said and done, you find that you don’t agree with our choices, well, that’s almost to be expected. After all, we never said that you have to I like them. We’re just saying that we do.

SUPERBIKE:

YAMAHA V-MAX

WHAT DO YOU CALL A BIKE THAT WAS created with horsepower as its only reason for being? A motorcycle that wasn’t made for touring, cruising or racing, but just for accelerating? How do you categorize a motorcycle that will demolish any speed limit in the country in first gear, that has more low-end, mid-range and top-end power than any other two-wheeled device you can buy? What distinction can you give a machine that flaunts its power by leaving behind piles of smoking rubber every time its throttle is wrenched open? Would you call it exciting, impressive or merely excessive? Yamaha calls it the V-Max. But we’ll just call it the best Superbike of 1985.

250cc MOTOCROSS:

KAWASAKI KX250

CURRENTLY THERE ARE EIGHT DIFFERent 250cc motocross bikes for sale in this country. We know all about them; we tested them all. And of those eight bikes, there’s one that has at least a slight edge on the others in practically every category, offering more power, and better suspension and handling than any of the others. That one bike not only won a fourway comparison between the Japanese 250s, but went on to defeat all four European models in a second comparison. The bike? Kawasaki’s KX250. After taking on seven different contenders, the KX is an undisputed winner. And winning is what motocross is all about.

UNDER 600cc STREET:

HONDA VF500F

A LOT CAN HAPPE M IN A YEAR. BUT IN the case of Hon la’s VF500F Interceptor, it's what iidn 7 happen that’s significant. And i n the last year, what the VF500F didi i’t do was break. In fact, a random si~ rvey of dealers indicates that the lit cé VF is compiling an excellent rel ability record, despite the nasty eputation the bike earned when soi ne early models either broke a cran kshaft or spun a rod bearing. blem forced Honda Tharinitial pr all, and it also cost into a limited re iward in last year’s the VF500F an ition. But this year, Ten Best present the same strengths the VF wins for >t year: outstanding that it boasted k comfort. Plus one performance am more: reliability.

125cc MOTOCROSS:

KAWASAKI KX125

THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A SHOO-IN when it comes to motocross bikes. Especially 125cc motocross bikes. In the ever-changing, ultracompetitive world of the 125 MXer, the newest and the best are most often one and the same. But in 1984, Kawasaki’s KX125 was so good that it just might have been able to do the impossible: It might have been able in 1985 to return, absolutely unchanged, and still be the best. It would have been a close contest, but the KX might have pulled it off. It’s a moot point, however, because that’s not what happened. The KX motored into 1985 with even more power and better suspension. The result: The KX125 is once again the winningest machine available in the 125 class.

600-to-800cc STREET:

YAMAHA FZ750

YAMAHA’S FZ750 WASN’T CHOSEN THE winner in this category because it’s the first normally aspirated 750 sold in this country which produces over 100 horsepower—although it is. It wasn’t chosen because it’s capable of winning AMA Superbike races in nearly stock form—although it is. The FZ wasn’t picked because it ushers in a new age of 750s that offer liter-class performance—although it does. No, none of those facts made the FZ a winner. Instead, the real reason the FZ wins is that it’s a pleasant, comfortable, versatile motorcycle despite all those facts. The FZ750 proves that you don’t have to sacrifice everything else just to have ultrahigh performance.

DUAL-PURPOSE:

HONDA XL350R

RIDING MOST DUAL-PURPOSE MOTORcycles is a lot like going shopping withyourgrandmother: It’s all right as long as no one sees you. Being seen on a Honda XL350R, though, is something you can be proud of. Because chances are that you’re having more fun than anyone who happens to see you. This bike, you see, is just the right size: It’s big enough to outrun the door-slammers on the freeway, and yet small enough to be a real kick to ride in the dirt. So while it’s true that the owner of an XL350R might not have the fastest, most expensive or most prestigious bike on his block, there’s a good chance that his machine is more fun than anything else in his entire neighborhood.

OPEN MOTOCROSS:

KAWASAKI KX500

WHEN KAWASAKI UNVEILED ITS 1985 motocross bikes, the word spread quickly among the berm-shooters in the company: This would be the year of the big bike. This would be the year in which Kawasaki would finally have a contender in Open-class motocross. But they were wrong. As it turned out, the KX500 isn’t just a contender, it’s the Open bike. It has more power, more blistering acceleration than any dirt bike ever made. Sure, horsepower by itself is never enough, but the KX also has the suspension and handling to make sure that it stays in front well past the start straight. In one giant step, Kawasaki not only caught up to the rest of the Open class, but passed it.

CRUISER:

SUZUKI INTRUDER

SOME CRITICS MIGE T SAY THAT SUZuki’s 700 Intruder is nothing more than a cheap imit ition of the real thing—a Harley-E Javidson. Those probably are the s ame people who said that Japanesi cruisers would never catch on in tl ie first place. The truth, though, is tl íat more original thinking went into the Intruder than any Japanese fact ary custom ever built. From its sleek clean lines to its unusually narrow V-Twin engine, the Intruder marks a turning point in the evolution of t tie cruiser genre, Which isn’t to say tl íat there won’t be any more imitation: ; coming from Japan; it’s just that f rona now on, the bike that they’re im itating might well be a Suzuki Intruc 1er rather than a Harley-Davidson.

ENDURO:

HUSQVARNA 400WRX

FROM TERRY CUNNINGHAM TO STEVE McQueen, from Malcolm Smith to Dick Burleson, America’s bestknown enduro riders have always been associated with Husqvarna. To a certain extent, enduro riding in this country is Husqvarna. So it shouldn’t be surprising that the best enduro bike of 1985 is the Husqvarna 400WRX. From coast to coast, there’s virtually no terrain that the WRX can’t handle, and handle in winning style. It has a torquey motor that makes it a natural in the east, and its long-travel suspension makes it well-suited to the west. Of course, the 400WRX isn’t guaranteed to turn you into a Cunningham, a Burleson, a Smith or a McQueen; but on the other hand, if anything can do it, the WRX can.

TOURING:

HONDA ASPENCADE

WHEN YOU’RE ON THE ROAD SOMEwhere between Reno and Winnemucca, you want to have some good company. And if 10 years and millions of miles have proven anything, it’s that the Honda Gold Wing is good company. Other touring bikes have come and gone, and several have, in some aspects, surpassed the Gold Wing. But anytime the competition even comes close to outdoing the ’Wing, the Honda returns a year later as a better motorcycle. That’s why this year’s Gold Wings are the best ever. And of the three models (Interstate, Aspencade and Limited Edition), the Aspencade gets our nod as the most motorcycle for the price. But all three are tops when it comes to transforming a long ride into a vacation on the open road.