High inventory, falling demand, a crushing tariff: Last year's crucible creates '84's brightest lights—the 700s.

Our XV Virago, Yamaha's only entry in the 700cc class in 1984, was truly the sleeper of this comparison. Like the 1iter sized Virago tested in the August issue, the XV700 is a modified version of the old-style pressed steel frame which places the air cleaner under an external pod on the bike's right side (the left pod holds an anti-backfire valve and evaporative emissions equipment), and substitutes a pair of Kayaba dampers for the old model's monoshock rear suspension.

As with all the 700s. the Virago required minimal massaging to slip it under the tariff's net Valve sizes and cam and ignition timing are unchanged, though the difference in cylinder head volume bumps compression from 8.7:1 on the 750 to 9.1 on the 700. and slight tuning alterations affect the pair of 40mm Hitachi CV carbs nestled between its 75-degree cylinders. Gearing changes were made at two points along the Virago's driveline; the secondary ratio was shortened a hair and the 1000cc Virago's "overdrive" top gear ratio of 0-852 slipped into the XV's five-speed transmission. The combination of a taller top and shorter secondary gear ratio leaves the 700's engine spinning nearly 100 rpm slower at 60 miles per hour for leisurely, economical cruising. The redesigned chassis points to a new role for the 700 Virago in Yamaha's line up. A "cruiser-type" 15-inch rear wheel replaces the 750's 16-incher, and a wider front tire is supported by 36mm fork tubes raked out 2.5 degrees farther from vertical, to 32 on the 700. Brake components differ as well, the 750's large-rotor single disc replaced by a dual-disc system with smaller, 267mm rotors, while the 700's single-leading-shoe rear drum unit grew 20mm.
The new bike's suspension received the "stripper" treatment, however. The 750's front fork had air caps and the monoshock rear end featured full adjustability, while the 700's fork has larger oil reservoirs but no pneumatics and the dual Kayaba shocks feature five-position preload but no damping adjustment. The fork handles most road conditions adequately, with little stiction and springing and damping action that is a good compromise for most road conditions, but the shocks' soft springs allow the Virago's rear end to bottom over harsh bumps, even with their preload collars set to firm.
The Virago is the lightest, lowest-revving motorcycle of this group, but the real key lo the XV's economy is its engine performance: our 700. sleeved down in bore by 2.8mm to 699cc. outstripped the original 750 by half a horsepower and nearly two-and-a-half tenths of a second in the quarter mile. In everyday riding the 700 feels every bit as brisk and willing as the 750 and, at $3049, it is also one of the least expensive of the 700s, retailing for only $50 more than the 750 cost when it was introduced three years ago.

Three years ago. things were very different in the motorcycle industry. Even at the beginning of 1983, few could have predicted that Harley Davidson's suit before the ITC (yet another in a series of H-D-sponsored petitions for protection—one challenging the importation of the popular British twins in the mid-fifties, another charging

Japanese manufacturers with dumping in 1978— neither won H-D any relief) would have been the law of the land by April 15th. Yet. with the proliferation of 700s. all produced with expedience and economy as their top priorities, the tariff has once again demonstrated the resilience and adaptability of Japanese pricing and engineering.

In April 1985. safely after the election, the tariff comes up for its mandatory two-year review. Some changes have taken place since its passage: Democrat Paula Stern, who cast the single dissenting vote against the tariff last year, has since become chairman of the powerful International Trade Commission, and the Commission itself has become bipartisan where previously it was dominated by a Republican majority. Shipments of heavyweight Japanese motorcycles across the Pacific have slowed to a fraction of their pre-1983 levels and the stockpile of unsold Japanese inventory, which Harley saw as its chief threat, has been substantially reduced over the last year. Also, with Harley's financial position improving, much of the rationale for the tariff has been diluted. Still, legislation, once on the books, is difficult to erase.
To the good, the tariff has unquestionably

Mechanically, the 700 Virago remains unchanged for 85 other than the switch to cast-type wheels. But with its new graphics and addition of gold-type plating on the wheels, the 700 is practically indistinguishable from the 1000 Virago.

increased stateside production while encouraging imports from Europe and Japanese investment in this country. It has also demonstrated the viability of the motorcycle induslry to absorb and adapt to sweeping change, and given us, in a period which nurtures doomsayers, flashes of brilliance and originality—the new 700s. ■