Untitled - FLYV65.COM

ililil|ilililililil|ililffi
Redefined
by the Inter ceptor .
Reengineer ed
by Honda
!.
l astyear,the H ondaV 45 SaI A ,hen rtw as i ntroduced
\/ \/ bre appearedto be designedfor lhe fuil rangeof
U U duti eson the sporti ngsi deof the 750 cl ass.Wit h
thoseexpectati ons
i n mi nd,w e w ere a l i ttl edi saoooi n t ed
w henw e testedl he bi ke.H andl i ng
w as shyof the markwe
had set for lhe firsl V-4, and performancewas only average for the 750 cl ass.
Theadvenlof the Interceptor
redefinedthe Sabre'smissi on.l t becamecl earH ondaneveri nl endedthe S abret o
be a ful l -fl edged
sporti ngbi ke.l t w as meantto span the
gap betweenthe full-attackInterceplor,
the most sporting
of l he 750sportbi kes,andthe l ai d-back
V 45 Magnacru iser. l l w as i ntended
l o be a sport/tourer,
w i ththe emphasis
on tourer.
Withthe Interceptor
on handlo establishils lrue identity,
the Sabre seemedsufficiently
slrong lo surviveanother
year or lwo withoutany significantchanges.However,
H onda w as apparentl yi ntenton maki ngthe S abre a s
competi ti ve
as possi bl e.S o, even thoughi t i s j ust i n it s
secondmodelyear,the Sabrehas alreadybeenlhe object
of numerouschangesto i mprovepow er,handl i ng,an d
ri de.
To exlract more power from the Sabre, Honda engineersappl i edsometri cksfromthe V 45 Magnaand the I nl ercepl or.E venthoughthe ' 82 V 45s-S abreand Magnahad identicalengines,lesting revealedthe Magna was
slightlyfaster.The reasonturnedout to be the difference
i n l ocati onand desi gnof the ai rboxes;the Magna' sdel ivered a lessturbulentair flow to the carbs.So the frameof
the 1983S abrew as redesi gned
to posi ti onthe ai rboxb ehind the steeringhead,whereit flows air more eificiently.
To make room for the airbox,the ignitioncoilswere reposi ti onedbehi ndthe si de panel s.
Otherbreathingimprovements
provideadditionalpower
increases.
Thecarburelors'venturishavebeenooeneduo
trom292mm to 30.0mmand shapedl i ke the C B 75OF's
The i ntakeporl sare 1.0mmw i derfor thei renti rel engths.
The cam timinghas been alteredto matchthe Interceptor's. Thesecams open the intakevalvesthree degrees
earl i erl han thosei n l astyear' sS abre,open the exhau st
valvesthreedegreeslater,and close the exhaustvalves
two degreeslater.They also providea quarterof a milli-
,.
l'
,
: 't . ; '
... . $3398
S uggestedretai lpri ce....
months,unl i mi tedm iles
.....,...........12
W arranty
1800
..............A p pr ox.
N umberof U .S .deal ers
m iles
i nterval s................ . . 8000
mai ntenance
R ecommended
2400 2500 2800 3000 3200
PBICI
WET WElOllT
I lLl
TIIE
450
47o 4eo s1o 530
1o. o 10. 5 11. 0 11. 5 12. 0
DRIYETRAIX
gears,1. 736:1
...................S trai ght-cut
P ri marytransmi ssi on
l l , plat es
.........W e1
C | utch...........
3.t 40:
............S haf
, 1
Fi naldri ve....
I
ct{assrt
IXTIRYALS
sooo 42oo s4oo 6600 78oo
63
RPI
lT GO IPH
COXSUIPflO]{
66
69
72
75
S how a,5.5 i n. t r avel;
Frontsuspensi on.......................37mm
TRACanti-dive,adjustmentfor air pressure
P ro-Li nk,
si ngl eS how ad am per ,
R earsuspensi on......H onda
4.2 in. wheeltravel;adjustments
for air pressureand rebounddamping
caliper s
...........,...2,
si ngl e-acti on
Frontbrake...
with dual live pistons,276mm discs
drum, rod o per at ed
R earbrake..............S i ngl e-l eadi ng-shoe
unlopF11
...............110/90HD18
Frontti re.......
D17
unl opK127C
.................130/90H
R earti re
.29.5"14.6i n. (117m m )
R ake/trai l
...61.4i n. (1 560m m )
W heel base...
.....30.4i n. (772m m )
S eathei ght,unl aden.........
gal ( 17. 81)
......4.75
Fuelcapaci ty
.539 l b (245k9)wet ;
W ei 9ht..........
510 l b (?31k9)tank em pt y
or r ed
.............B1ack
C o1ors..........
tachom et er ,
soeedometer,
l nstruments...................E l ecl
roni c
odometer,LCD tripmeter,clock/stopwatch,
gauge,gear indicator/
fuel gauge,watertemperature
6-functionwarningsystem;lightsfor turn signals,
neutral,high beam
3800 4000 4200 4400 4600
20
25
30
g MOTORCYCLIST/NOVEMBER
1983
35
40
1st,4 7 m ph;
.....(10,000)
2nd, 68 mph; 3rd, 8 8 m ph;
4th, 105 mph; Sth, 127 mph;
6th, 149 m ph
mph, actu al29. 2;
error................................30
S peedometer
60 mph, actual56.9
PHOTO:PAUI-MARTINEZ
,-
j
d
!
!
E
'
metermore lift,for a totalof 8.25mm.The
camshaftsnow have more suppor t at
tnelrends,thanksto beefierbossesin the
cylinderheads.
The 9O-degree V -4 engi ne is so
smoolhthat it is easy to wind right past
redlinewithoulknowingit. To make the
Sabre safe for overrevvers,the pistons'
val ve pockets have been deepened
sl i ghl l y and the pi ston domes r aised
0.7mm to rel ai nthe same 10.5: 1com pressionralio as lasl year's.Incidentally,
all of lhese internalchanges have also
been madeto the Magnaengi ne .
A new airboxand changesin the cams
and valvesof a few degreesor a fraction
of a mi l l i meter
don' tsoundl i kemuch,but
theyadd up to a quitesignificant
performance increase.On a hot, muggy day at
the dragstrip,the new Sabre,in spite of
the lousy surfacetraclion,carvedthreetenthsof a secondoff the bestlime of last
year' s bi ke, l urni ng 12.03 seconds at
110.7mph i n l he quarter-4.4mph f ast er
l han l ast year' s bi ke. (C orrectingf or
horsepow erl oss i n the unusua llyhot
w eal her,the ' 83 S abreshoul dha ver un
about 11.85secondsat 1 12.5moh. )At
75 mph, the new bi ke w as al so runnino
3.2 mph fasterthroughthe speedtrapsii
our 200-yardtop-gearaccelerationtest
By increasing fork-tube oveilap and changing
the sleering-head angle and rigidity, Honda
has tmprovedthe Sabre'shandling.However,
suspenstonis stilla Droblem.
A dial now controls the rear suspension's operated by a rod tinkaae, the drum rear
damping setting, but y-ou still have to remove biake offeri good feel and controt combined
the ,saddle to do it. suspension
with plenty of-power. ltsaction doesn't change
and road holding are problems at.c,ompliance
both ends.
when ridihg ih the rain, either.
Always smooth and responsive, the ZS0 V-4
now.nas more power due to betterbreathing
on the intake side. Airbox, carbs, ports. and
cams have all been alteredfor more power.
Theelectronicinstrumentsinclude a useful selection of functions.On the lefl is a clock/stopwalch.Buttonson the left bar selectand control the stopwatch.
P HOTOS PAI]L MAFI NFl
Tailsection storage comparlmentsare vanishing on street bikes, but the Sabre has a fairlv
roomy one. The turn signal mounts are fleiible, an increasingly common feature.
MOTORCYCLIST
/ NOVEMBER1983 31
MilMUIEITIIEilI
Jhe HondaV45 Magnarunsverycloseto
I the mainstreamof Americanmotorcycling.The appealot lhe Magna'scuslomits 750 V-4
lype stylingis well documented;
erqine is regardedby manyas a piece of
future.Theseelementsseem
motorcycling's
combination.
tOptoduc€a very marketable
But the Magnais a lot morelhan a clever
packags.Overall,it mightjust be the most
enfryableridein its class,TheHonda'scomFtition comegfromtwo directions:Kawasacruisers,
ki has two shafl-drivefour-cylinder
the LTDand the Speclre.Yamahaotfersa
ragularMaxim,as wellas a MidnightMaxim.
four-cylinder
cruisCallit the 750shafi-drive,
or clasg.Withinthisrathernarrowrange,the
$3298 HondaV45 Magnais one of the
ch€apestbikesavailable.TheMidnightMaxim b the moslexp€nsiveat $3599.
Essentiallyidenticalwith the motorin the
V45 Sabrs,the Magnamill poss€ssesall of
lh€ 6ameattributes.The V-4's good points
am num€roue.lt's smooth,quiet,powertul,
and prsdiclable.lts mannersare impeccable
at all times.Warm-uprequiresonly a few
secondsof choke.Throttleresponseis crisp
and immediale.The rider has an 8500-rpm
powerbandat his disPosal;the motor pulls
smoothlylrom 1500rpm all the way to the
10,000-rpm
redline.Ina sprint,theMagnais
the fastestin the class.lts 12.25-second,
r is a
107.9-mphbest run in the quart€r-mil
quickerthanthe Spectre's
€olidthrse-lenths
bsst and four-tenthsquickerthan the Maxpoweris excelim's.TheHonda'smidrange
lenttoo.At matchingenginerpm,lhe Honda
will motorawayfromtheYamahaandKawasakl.TheV45is hamperedin our roll-ontesting sincewe usea startingspeedof 50 mph
In top gsar. The Hondahas a tall overdrive
sixth gear, so il is spinningconsiderably
retailprice........................$3295
Suggested
transverse
Liquid-cooled,
Erginetype...........
4-stroke90" V-4
Showa,5.5in.
Fronlsuspension........37mm
travel;TRACanti-dive,
for air Pressure
adjustmenl
............?
Showadampers, The Magna's instrumentationis classicaily
R6arsuspension
lravel: sUled and lacks a lot of gimmicks. A fuel
3.9in.wheel
adjustmenttor sPringPreload gauge would be a worthwhileaddition.
110/90-H1I Bridgestone
Fronttire...........,.,.
Mag.Mopus1303 slowerthan lhe other bikeswhen lhe throtlle
16 Bridgestone is whacked ooen. Thrs resulls in a predict130/90-H
Raarlire................
Mag.MopusG508 ably slow top-gearroll-onspeed{or the Hon1 in. ( 105mm) da. 11averages73.8 mph; lhe Yamahaturns
Rake/trai|...........,.......,.30"/4.
in. ( 1539mm) in a 75. 6- m p hf i g u r e , a n d t h e K a w a s a k i
......................60.6
Wheelbase
in. (754mm) Spectreis good for 77.7 mph.lf downshifted
un|aden.........29.7
Seatheight,
...3.7gal (141) to fifih gear, the Magna should perform alFuelcapacity..
l b (2 3 92k89 ) most as well as the 80.1-mphInterceplor.
We tw eight . . . . . . . . . . . . ................5
tachometer, In day-to-dayriding,the Magna'sengineis
Instruments.........Speedometer,
water by and large an enjoyablecompanion.ll's
tripmeter,
odometer,
gauge;lightsfor
eas y t o m a n a g e a n d a m a z i n g l yf l e x i b l e .
temperalure
turnsignals,highbeam,neuVal, Ther e' s a f a i r a m o u n l o f d r i v e l i n e l a s h ,
(thoughnot as much as the Maxim has) as
overdrive;warninglightfor
fuellevel, well as shafl-inducedsuspensionrise and
oil Pressure,
taillightfailure fall. but both conditionsare livable. The
to 42 mpg, shiftingis occasionallyindefinite;sometimes
..................36
Fuelconsumption
39.3mpgavg. the transmissionpops out of gear immedi145 miles alely after a casual upshift. The hydraulic
louringrange..................
Average
12.25sec., clutch requiresno adjustmentand engages
............
accelefation
Eest%-mile
107.9mph predictably.The clutch won't take much
abuse,however.After five runs at the drag200-ydlop gear
mph slrip,ours was slippingbadly underfull-powfrom50 mph.............73.9
acceleration
terminalspeed er upshifts,althoughil continuedlo work well
1983
32 MOTORCYCLIST/NOVEMBER
I
I
I
l
l
I
I
i
i
duringnormalriding.
The Magna'schassisis standardfare. ll's
got two shocks on the back, just like in the
old days. The Showasadjust for spring preload only, but they do a fair job under most
conditionslust the same. There's a paucity
of rebounddamping if you go blastingover
big bumps or swoop through fast corners,
but the highwayride is betler than average.
In fact, the dual Showas are more responsiveto smallerbumpsand ripplesthanis lhe
Pro-Linkrear suspensionon the V45 Sabre.
This, combinedwilh lhe Magna's cushier
seat, actuallymakes it a more comfortable
long-rangelourer than ils sporling sibling.
With ils moderalelychopperstyle riding position,the Magnastillisn'tideal,but the control layoutis less extremethan the Kawasaki
Soectre's.The Maxim is the most comfortable of this herd, since it is more spacaous
than the olhers.
The Magna'smaincomforlweaknessis its
long leading-axlefront fork. lt is reluctantto
PI]( IIO5
PAI]I MAF T NF I
Very basic shocks support the rear end.
Don'l bother hunting lor rebound-damping
adJusterc,spnng preload is the only variable.
respondto small bumps,no matterhow its
adjustableair pressureis set. On big sharp
bumps, like rough pavementpatches,the
fork exhibitsas much as a half inchof forea nd-af l f le x, wh ich se nd s a pr onounc ed
shudderthroughthe enlire bike. When the
fork beginsto flail,it becomeseven less responsiveto bumps,and the ride qualitydeterioratesturtherstill.We noticedlhe same
phenomenon
on both the V65 and V45 Sabre testedin lhis issue.
When the road gets bumpy enough to
makelhe fork misbehave,
the Magna'soverall handlingsuffers.The bike can get a litile
spookyif you charge hard throughbumpy
lurns.ln smoolherbends or with a bil less
speed, the Magna turns out to be a pretty
nrcehandler,and we suspeclgg percentof
ils buyerswon'l eventry to ride il beyondlhis
comfortzone. The sleeringeffortis low, and
t h e bike ieels lig ht an d nim ble, The big
Bridgestonetires hold solidly beyond the
point when the pegs begin to drag, which
neatlycoincideswiththe onsetof significanl
tork {lex.lf the speed is kepl at or belowpegd r aggingv e locity,lh e Ho nd a wor k s v er y
well;it's betterthanthe Spectre,but several
nolchesbelowthe Maxim.
Each ol the three bikes in the 750-multicruiser-shafty
class has its strongpoints.The
KawasakiSpectre offers the best susoensioncompliance
and ride,as wellas thesecond-bestengine.The YamahaMaximis the
besthandler,rides well, and has a comfortableridingposition.And the Hondahas the
finesl, faslest molor, coupled with decenl
comfortand overall,goodhandling.ln the
cuslomclass,the motor is the focal Dointof
the machine;the appealof the V-4 is very
hard to ignore.For many riders,the engine
aloneis enoughto makethe V45 Magnathe
king o{ lhe class.
fro m 5 0 mp h .In short,w i thoutsacri fi ci ng N umerous changes to the ch assis
a n y l o w -ra n gepow er, H onda has sub- have al teredhandl l ngand ri de. I n cons ta n ti a l liyn c re ased
the S abre' smi drange j uncti onw i th the redesi gnof l he a ir box,
a n d h i g h -rp mpow erto the poi ntw herei l the steeringhead has been rakedoul an
a p p ro a c h elshe performance
of someal l - addi ti onaldegreeand gi ven more supo u t s p o rti n gbi kes.
port. The offsetof the triple-clamps
has
Anotherbit of trickeryborrowedfrom beenrncreased
from55 to 60mm.A side
th e In te rc e p t or
rsa one-w aycl utch,w hi ch effectof thesechangesi s a sl i gh|ylongcan be retrofitted
to lastyear'sbike.This er w heel base.U p front,the fork slider s
d i s e n g a g essli ghtl duri
y
ngharddecel era- havebeenchangedto provideadditional
ti o nto h e l pp reventrear-w heel
l ockupon engagement
and overl ap,and the shock
s l o p p yd o w n s hi fts.
l t i s connectedto the for the P ro-Li nk
rearsuspensi on
now has
s a mes i x -s p eed
transmi ssi on
usedi n l asl four i nsteadof three rebound-d am ping
y e a r' sS a b re ,not a fi ve-speed
as i n l he posrti ons.
R ebounddampi ngnowa djust s
In te rc e p l o r.
The hydraul i coperati onof w i tha smal lw heeli n the l op of the shock
th e c l u tc hi s a bout the same-l i ghtand i nsteadof the sl i di nghandl euse d last
s mo o th -w i th l he dri vetrai n' s smal l year, but you still need to remove lhe
a m o u n l o f l a sh noti ceabl eonl y as the saddle to adjust il. The sidestandhas
c l u tc hb e g i n slo engage.Gearshi fl i ngre- been relocatedto providemore cornerm a rn sa w e a k spol ,and w e experi enced Ing clearanceon the left.
s o m e o f th e same poppi ngout of gear
H ave thesechangesmade the Sabr e
a n d m i s s e dg ears thal w e di d on l ast a handl i ngfool ? H ardl y.l t i s noticeably
y e a r' sSa b re .
moresl abl eat hi ghspeedsw henchar gBra k i n gc o n l i nues
l o be one of l he S a- i ng a corner,but the suspensi on
stillpr ob re ' ss l re n g ths.
pow erandcon- vrdesa roughri de over sharpbum psof
E xcel l ent
tro l , c o mb i n e dw i th the bi ke' sw i de (but al l si zes.A s a resul t,road hol di n gand
s l i g h tl yh a rd )t i res,provi deterri fi cstop- tracl i on sl i l l suffer i n bumpy cor ner s.
p i n g c a p a b i l i ty.
Onl yon roughsurfaces, H ow ever,w i l h the sl ow er steeringr ew h e re th e TR A C anti -di ve system sponsecreatedby the geometrychangre d u c e sth e s uspensi on'abi
s l i tyl o cope es, the bi ke i sn' t bouncedoff cour seas
w i thb u mp s ,i s theV F750F' sbraki ngany- easi l yas i t w as before.E venthe v er sion
th i n g l e s s th an excel l ent. The onl y w e l esl edw i l h H onda' sfai ri ngand bags
c h a n g ema d ei n the braki ngw as the sub- i s more manageablduri
e nghardcor ner s ti l u l i o no f s p i ralsl ol si n the di scsfor l ast i ng than l asl year' s,and ei ther' 83 ver y e a r' ss l ra i g hlones,w hi chw as done to si onrs consi derablmore
y
stabl eth ant he
re d u c ec o s l .
1982modeli n fast,smoothcorner s.The
llff illr RrG0Rll
I put In aboul800 touringmileson the standard Sabreone weekendand did another500
on the dressedversiona coupleoi weekendslaler.I'm lefla littlepuzzledby the bike
now. lt's no longer possibleto dismissits
taut nde, sincethereis no needtor it to excel
in the super-sportmode. Yet the ride intrudesrntothe Sabre'scomfortwhen you are
touring.Withdifferenlsuspension,
the Sabre
couldbe an excellent
tourer,whichseemsto
be somethinglhe 750 classneeds.As it is,
I'm not sure what the bike is intendedto do
or be; it is neitherlourernor sportbike,and
somehow,it doesn't quile seem to fit in the
sport/lourernicheeither.
On the other hand,and despitethis lack of
abilityto placeit, I stilllike'theSabre.lt has
been ov er s ha d o w e db y t h e I n t e r c e p t o r ,
whichcertainlyhas more personalappealfor
me. I also iind the V45 Magna almost as
comfortableas the Sabre,and I certainlypre{er its ride to the Sabre's. Nonetheless,the
Sabre is a competentmotorcyclein almost
any role. lt would just be nice if it stood out
in at leastone area.
-Art Friedman
those of us who bent il through a corner
were, and stillare, irrevocablyspoiledto the
core. Ridingthe Sabre now leaves us nonplussed,not so much becauseit falls short
of expectations,but because il ofters only
minor improvemenlswhere we have seen
majormiracles.
The suspensionis slill harsh, the fork still
flexesannoyinglywhen calleduponto speed
the pulse rale, and lhe bike is nol nearlyas
comfortableas a handfulol other sport/tourers. Add the weight of the accessoriesand
lhe suspensionbecomesa bit more compliant, but il's still harsh enoughto induce a
number of ratlles in otherwise high-quality
touring garb. And the accessoriesare a bit
pricey.
The Sabre does, however,still have a terrific enginethal calersalmostperfectlyto the
sport/touringmode. And, all things considered, it is a nice motorcycle.Adding the
handsomefairing to the package makes
senselo me, but, given lhe price, l'd opt for
larger-capacitysaddlebags'
-Ken vreeke
Thoseof us iorlunaleenoughlo samplethe
initialSabrewere highlyimpressed,not so
much becauseof what the bike did, bul because of what il represenled-thefirst trickle
of what soon became Honda's rushingtorrent of engineeringtrickery.The magnificant
Interceplorwas lhe crest of the wave, and
Until Honda gets lhe suspensionot the Sabre right, I have to think of the chassisas a
perfect example of good lechnology gone
bad. lf I were in a positionof power al Honda, l'd assignlhe engineerwho tuned the
smooth and silky CX650 Turbo suspension
to the Sabre project and then gel out of his
way.
-Dexter Ford
MOTORCYCLIST/NOVEMBER
1983 33
ml [Rr$$Hr
uP
Hondalinefairingand bags for the Sabre:expensivebut effective
Jhe Hondalinefairinginstalledon one of
I our Sabres shouldlook familiar.lt first
turne d u p a fe w yea r s ago as s t andar d
equipmenlon the CBXand has beenfittedas
optional equipmenllo most ol Honda's big
road bikes. We tested a 1982 CB900Fwith
the fairinginslalled.Althoughthe fairingwas
around before the Sabre was ever inlroduced, it looks as thoughit were builtjusl for
the Sabre;the linesof bike and fairingmesh
perfeclly.The Hondalinesaddlebagshave a
similar history,but they, loo, seem lo have
been designedwith the Sabrein mind.Since
the bike and accessorieslook so good togetherand since the Sabre has been reposilionedin Honda'slineupas moreof a louring
machinethis year, it seemedappropriateto
sample the accessoriesand the V45 Sabre
together.
This is not a cheap way to dress your Sabre. The HondalineSport fairingwith lowers
will devour $565, plus whaleveryou pay to
have it installed.The bags are $42 1, and
theirmounlscost an additional
$105. By lhe
time you have paid tax, the tolal is over
$1 100.Forlhat kindof money,you mightexpect something extraordinary,which the
Hondalineaccessoriesaren't.The qualityis
cerlainlytop-notch,with excellentfit, finish,
and delailing,but the performanceis nothing
soecial.
The frame-mountSport fairingcomes wilh
detachablelowers, mounls,and a cover for
the old headlight.All wiring is included,and
it usesa round headlightinsteadof the stock
rectangularunit.Thereare two pocketsin the
fairing, and the right one locks. The tinted
windscreenlurns up at its lop, creatingthe
same annoyingbuffetingwe noted on both
previousbikes lested with the tairing.lt rattles your face shieldand shakesyour helmet.
It would be nice if a taller windshieldwere
available.Since this is a "sport" fairing,the
windscreenis low, and anyonewill be able
to look over it. This improvesyour view of the
road ahead but doesn'toffer much wind protectionfor your head. However,the protection otfered the rest of your body is quite
good. Allhough your hands are out in the
wind, the upper portionof the fairing keeps
lhe wind off the riderfrom kneeslo neck.The
lowers protect most of your lower legs. We
left the lowers off most of lhe time, though,
since we were testingin the midst of an unusuallyhot summer.Evenwith the lowersoff,
you can feel an increasein engrneheal. Unsleering re tain s mo st of it s am az ingly
neut ralfe el, alth ou gha lit t lehas been los t
in the steering geometry changes. For
touring,commu ting ,an d ev en t he c or ner ing done by lhe vast majority of street riders, the Sab re's h an dling is m or e t han
adequate; that last, loony percenlile of
sport riders, though, would be better off
with an Inlerceptor.
T he cha ng es to its geom et r y hav e
made the Sa bre sligh t lyles s nim ble t han
before, an d low-spe ed handling is s light ly
less lig ht an d respo ns iv e. The bigges t
problem at low spe ed is t he Sabr e' s
shorta ge of ste erin g loc k . You s im ply
NOVEMBER1983
34 MOTORCYCLIST/
bags takesjust a few seconds,and when removed,the bags are easy to carry with handles that fold flush into lheir lops. They are
nol as roomy as some of the popular aflermarkel bags, and they won't hold a helmet.
Straps inside help you organize and separate the contents,and a retainingarm keeps
each bag trom openingmore than about 60
degrees,a convenienceif you want to open
one while it's mounted.lf you wish to open
a bag all the way,the retainingarmsmay be
disengagedat one end.
These accessoriesadd 46 pounds and
raisethe centerof gravityof the Sabreslightly. Some of the bike's neukal feel is lost as
Removing
thesaddlebags
is quickandeasy. a resull; the Sabre wants to sit up slightly
Thekey unlocksthe top mount,whichpulls when you brake while cornering.However,
rearward,out of engagement
witha bracket the overall effecl on handling is minimal,
probably less than you would experience
on lhe bag, whichlhenliftsoff.
with any otherfairingthat gave equal proteclike otherfairings,the Hondaline
has pads lion, Unless you have something loose in
whichcushionthepointswherelong-legged one of lhe bags, there are no new rattlesor
riders'kneesmighltouchlhe fairing.
squeakswith these piecesadded, and even
L i k e th e l ai ri ng,the bags are col or- engine noise isn't much increasedwilh the
matchedto the Sabre.They may be de- fairing mounted. Gas mileage was barely
tachedby unlocking
thesinglelockfor each changed*less than two mpg-so the fairing
thelocksin the may be slipperyenough to compensatefor
bag.Thesamekeyoperales
bags'latches.
Detaching
andremounting
the the addilionalweight.
c a n ' ttu rnthe frontfork very far i n ei ther
d i re c ti o nso
, l he S abrew i l lnot maketi ght
tu rn sa t l o w speeds.The bi ke sl i l l feel s
l i g h te th
r a nyou mi ghtexpect.
T h e Sa bre' ssaddl ei s fl at and roomy,
b u t i t i s a l sofi rmerthanmoslcomparabl e
b i k e s ' s e a ts.The fi rmnessw oul d probe i l houtthe sl i ghta b l yb e l e ssnoti ceablw
l y h a rs hri d e,but the combi nati on
of the
mostri derssadtw o w i l le v entual lmake
y
d l e s o re whi l e touri ng.Thosetw o cri ti c i s ms a s i de,the S abre i s an excel l enl
tourer.The 9O-degreeV-4 is extremely
s mo o l ha t al l speeds,w i th nary a ti ngl e
may
re a c h i n gthe ri der.The handl ebars
be pivoted where lhey clamp to the top ot
the fork tubes, and there{orethey provide
l e e w a y f o r a v a r i e t yo f p h y s i q u e s a n d r i d ing styles.
Both the standard and dressed versions of the Sabre go about 165 miles at
louring speeds before you have to switch
t o r e s e r v e .A l o w - f u e lw a r n i n g l i g h t o n th e
dash comes on a few miles aller switching to reserve, which seems backward to
u s . l n h e a v y e x p r e s s w a y t r affi c, th e
switch to reserve can be an exciting mom e n l , p a r t i c u l a r l yi f t h e d r i v e r b eh i n d yo u
i s n 't p a y i n g a t t e n t i o n .
A d i o s t i c k h a s r e o l a c e d t h e o i l - l e ve l
Ir l L r l {r :i
lrALrl MARI N[2
*-
I
o
a
z
w r n d o w i n r es pons e t o cu s to m e r re _ Kawasaki
GPz750,the Suzuki GS750E
quests,and the warranty (as on other
and ES,and the Interceptor.
Thosefavor_
Hondastreetbikes) has oeen extended i n g th e c h o p p er
l ook w i l l turn to the
to 12 months.Maintenanceand service Ya ma h a Vi ra g o
or Maxi m, H onda' s
requirements
remainthe same. lt is still Shadowor Magna,or the
cruisersfrom
necessarylo rearrangethe radiatora lit_ K a w a s a k i
a n d S uzuki .There are al so
tle to get to the valveson the frontcvlin_ 750s that exist
in their own categories,
der bank.
l i k e th e fu l l -d ressS eca and H onda' s
The engineand chassischangeshave Nighthawk.
Since stylingand the image
madethe Sabrefasterand more stable. n conveys
are much more importantto
improvements
ridersof all ilks are likelv mosl buyersthanfunction,
the othermod_
to appreciate.However,even wilh its in_ els will probably
outsellthe Sabreand the
creasedemphasis on touring, brought other less stylized
250s. However,the
aboutby lhe introduclion
of the Intercdo_ standardmodelshave usuallymanaged
tor,the Sabrewould stillbenefitfrom an to outperform
the otherversionsbecause
improvement
in suspensioncomoliance. of theirwiderrangeof
uses.A maiorrea_
Thereis a big hole out there for a 750_ son for their
successin this broad range
crasssuper-tourer.
The Sabre has most has generallybeen their superior
coir_
of thecredentials
to fillit. lt is smooth.reli_ fort. But the Magna and Interceptor
are
able,and powerfulenoughfor the task, a D o u t a s
c o m f ortabl e as the S abre.
but it needsa bit more comfortto com_ Therefore,
riderswho would traditionally
plelelyhandlethe role.As it is, the Sabre forgo
the image offered by the special'_
is a good, broad-spectrum250 sport/ ized versions
in orderto get the bestall_
touringbike with less competitionin the aroundbike
have less reasonto buy the
classthanever.Yamaha'sSeca is avail_ Sa b re .
ableonly as a full-dressmachine,so the
The Sabre remainsa compelent.at_
S abre 'sd i r ec t c om pet it io nc o n s i s tso f lractivemotorcycle,
but pressurefrom its
lustlhe KawasakiKZ7S0and the Suzuki own increasingly
competentsiblingslimGS750T,bothof whichare slighflydated rls the number potential
of
buyers who
and haveflawsof theirown.
will find maximum motorcyclinghappi_
Of course,thereare all sortsof flashier ness-even if function
is a primeconsid_
750s.On the sportingend, thereare the eration-on
a Sabre
All
MOTORCYCLIST/
NOVEMBER 1983 35