It is believed that of the entire line of Soviet motorcycles "Izh" truly sports only one. It is easy to guess that this is the Izh-350 Planet Sport.
Motorcycle history
In 1973, the Izhmash plant made a real breakthrough: the first sports bike came off the assembly line. It turned out to be the Izh Planet Sport bike . In its appearance, Izh PS was not at all like the rest of the Izh line of motorcycles. Its design, most likely, was borrowed from Japanese colleagues, because the Izh-350 Sport motorcycle resembles some Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki models.
At that time, the motorcycle looked quite modern. No less good was the quality of manufacturing parts and the assembly level of the unit itself. Thanks to this, Izh Planet Sport was popular not only in the USSR, but also abroad. Export of IZH-350 Planet Sport was carried out to the nearest countries - Great Britain, the Netherlands, etc.
PS could easily compete with Czech CZ or Jawa of the same category (350 cubic centimeters).
The cost of PS Izh-350 in the early years of its production amounted to 1050 rubles. At that time it was a lot of money. Only a little later, the price of the bike fell by 50 rubles. The release of the motorcycle continued until 1984, then it was discontinued.
It is believed that it is the first models of Izh Planet Sport that are distinguished by the high quality of production of parts and assembly of the structure itself. This is not surprising, because the Izhmash plant needed to demonstrate the high quality of the product for its successful implementation both domestically and abroad.
Specifications "Izh Planet Sport"
Izh PS was produced in two versions, which have some differences in the parameters of speed, mass, etc.
The factory characteristics of Izh PS in 1975 are as follows:
- base - 1390 mm;
- height - 1150 mm;
- length - 2070 mm;
- width - 790 mm;
- ground clearance - 135 mm.
- weight of unloaded apparatus - 135 kg;
- maximum speed - 140 km / h;
- acceleration - 0 ... 100 km / h in 11 seconds;
- motor power - 32 l / s;
- compression - 10-10.5.
The same parameters in the 1983 Planet Sport modification look like this:
- base - 1440 mm;
- height - 1150 mm;
- length - 2150 mm;
- width - 810 mm;
- ground clearance - 135 mm;
- weight of unloaded apparatus - 155 kg;
- maximum speed - 135 km / h;
- acceleration - 0 ... 100 km / h in 11 seconds;
- motor power - 28 l / s;
- compression - 8.7-9.2.
The rest of the "Izh Planet Sport-350" of 1975 is no different from the 1983 model:
- single-cylinder, two-stroke engine with three-channel purge;
- air cooling system;
- carburetor K-62M ("Mikuni");
- lubrication system - together with fuel;
- Four-speed gearbox;
- multi-plate clutch system, in oil bath;
- electrical system voltage - 12 V;
- tank capacity - 14 l;
- fuel - AI-93.
Interesting features of modifications
1974 model:
- equipped with a Japanese Mikuni carburetor;
- chrome direction indicators (similar to "Izh Jupiter-3" and "Izh Planet-3");
- foreign electrical equipment and lighting;
- self-adhesive inscriptions on the sides and glove compartments;
- ignition switch Jawa.
1975 model:
- steering wheel switches and ignition switch from a Yamaha motorcycle;
- import direction indicators.
1978 model:
- rigid engine mount;
- installation of a lock with anti-theft function.
Reviews
The production of a serial sports motorcycle in the Soviet Union became real news for citizens who are not indifferent to the automobile industry of the USSR. At the very beginning of the production of IZH Planet Sport, people talked about the export destination of the bike. The first five hundred copies were completed with a service book with a unique number for ordering spare parts from the factory.
The owners claim that the quality of the motorcycle was unusually high, which seemed somewhat strange for car owners. Those who managed to get this motorcycle were lucky to be convinced of its excellent characteristics.
In addition to the excellent technical data - speed, safety and comfort - it turned out that the "dog" (that's what the youth of that time called it) is also very reliable. A motorcycle could easily cover 50,000 km without significant wear and tear.