Up front, we tested a 683cc Rickman eight-valve Triumph, a bike that had very few Triumph parts left on it by the time the Rickman brothers were finished. The Rickman–with 10-inch disc brakes front and rear–stopped in a shorter distance than any road-going motorcycle we had ridden. It was also the quickest street bike we had thrown a leg over, peeling off quarter-mile times in the low-13s, at more than 100 mph. That performance led the staff to dream of a bike with a fully modified Rickman engine. "Just imagine, an eight-valve, large-displacement Twin with 9000-rpm reliability–a short step away from a street-GP bike."
Sandwiched between the Rickman and the Laverda was the two-wheel-drive Rokon Trail-Breaker, maybe the only motorcycle that had no equal, then or now. "It is a mechanical mountain goat," we said. The Breaker topped out at 20 mph, but climbed 60-degree slopes, made child's play out of three-foot obstacles and churned through a two-foot-deep stream. It even floated. Cycle World - COVER TO COVER is the definitive reference destination for motorcycle enthusiasts, pro racers and leisure riders alike with thousands of reviews, road tests, photos and more!
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