| During the 1970 - 80 era, considerable tuning up of automobiles and motorcycles has taken place to make them more efficient and comfortable. In the case of motorcycles, much of the information gained from international racing has been applied tot he street bikes, such as aerodynamic cowlings etc. Efforts will continue, as in the past, to make these machines faster, safer and more appealing in the future. Cowlings were not allowed on motorcycles in Japan until May of 1982, due to restrictions placed upon the manufacturers. Honda's Super Sport machine the VT250F, was one of the motorcycles which gained great popularity shortly after its release and after the law on cowlings was changed, was one of the first to receive the new look. The full cowlings on motorcycles are not there just for looks. Without the cowl the rider exerts a tremendous amount of drag to the performance of the machine and is apt to tire much more quickly due to this wind resistance. The VT250F Integra cowl is fixed to the fram of the bike, taking the weight of the cowl, headlamp and winker lights off of the front forks, making for a better overall weight distribution and easier handling. The looks of the VT250F changed completely with the addition of the cowlings; however, the basic machine remains the same. The masterpiece powerplant is still the famous 90 degree V twin cylinder 4 stroke water cooled engine derived from the Honda NR500 Grand Prix racer. The engine is mounted in a double cradle frame of the twin pipe type. This 12,000 RPM engine produces 35hp of power and the transmission uses an oil pressure clutch for the first time in 250cc class machines. Suspension on the integra is the well known Honda Pro-Link at the rear and air damped telescopic at the front. The VT250F uses an inboard ventilated disc system at front and a large shoe drum system at the rear, for positive and safe braking. With the addition of the full cowling you would think that the aerodynamic efficiency would suffer somewhat, but such is not the case. The Integra has an overall fantastic .00183cd wind resistance rating putting it in a class by itself and making the Integra VT250F even more popular and safer than ever before.
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