Superbike magazine october 2005 pdf ebook yyepg by Ayaz Ahmed Khan

LAUNCH TEST

PIRATE GAMES MOTO MORINI RETURNS WITH THE CORSARO 1200

THE REAL WORLD

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USED BIKE TEST

SUPERBIKESTUFF

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HOURS OF SPEED

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DUCATI ST3 HONDA VFR800 BMW R1200ST

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OCTOBER 05 ON THE COVER: Big Al’s in long term ZX-6 action from Silverstone Pic: Jason Critchell

THE

BIGT

FEATURES

26 GSX-R vs ST3

S TE RERS TS TOU

Logically, you can’t ride much further than Lands End so we sent Simon to Cornwall on a Ducati ST3 and a Suzuki GSX-R1000 to compare how each bike takes its toll on the body.

SPOR M TEA C R E A E VO N IN D

42 SPORT TOURERS

Devon knows how they make them so good. On the hottest week of the year the ofﬁce decamped to the North Devon coast for a few days out beside the seaside. And what better bikes to relax on? The perennial sports tourer winner, the Honda VFR800 takes on the Ducati ST3 and two new bikes for 2005, the revised Triumph Sprint ST and the BMW R1200ST. Cream tea anyone?

GRIPPING STUFF

Having won the last 13 blue riband titles, Michelin seem to have cracked the art of making tyres for 500cc and MotoGP bikes. Kenny travels to meet Bibendum and ask the fat Frenchman just how he does it. What do you mean he’s not a real person?

LAUNCHES

6 CORSARO

RETURN OF THE PIRATE KING

Big Al, more Captain Birdseye than Captain Blackbeard, travels to Italy with a yo ho ho and a bottle of rum to test the new Moto Morini Corsaro (that’s Italian for Corsair or pirate – hence the seafaring connotations ye landlubbers).

RM-Z450 FIRST RIDE

Fancy Nicky Hayden’s RC211V or Valentino Rossi’s M1? Well you can’t have one. If you change your sport, however, you can get close to full on GP machinery – as JP ﬁnds out while testing Suzuki’s new RM-Z450 (which won its ﬁrst MX1 race just as we went to print).

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www.superbike.co.uk JUST A BUNCH OF CHEAP TV MONSTERS Editor KENNY PRYDE DALEK Agressive salt shaker

020 8726 8445 kenny_pryde@ipcmedia.com

REAL WORLD SUPERBIKING 72 NEWS, RIDING TIPS, ADVICE...

Deputy Editor ALAN DOWDS DAVROS Basically a dalek going topless

You should learn something new everyday, and if you spend a month reading these pages then you probably will. Top tips, racer advice and dealer news make it a one stop shop for the world of biking.

020 8726 8444 alan_dowds@ipcmedia.com

76 LONGTERMERS Features Editor JON PEARSON CYBERMAN Depressive robot in a tin foil suit

020 8726 8443

A flurry of spannering not only results in a month’s worth of scuffed knuckles but also some fine looking upgrades to the fleet. And they’ve not spent all month on the work bench you know…

jon_pearson@ipcmedia.com

84 OLD STUFF TESTED When we receive new kit we usually fall in love with it and start using it at once. But like that mental ex-girlfriend that you just drifted apart from, bad kit can come back to haunt you so we tell it like it is, bunny boiling and all.

Road Tester SIMON ROOTS ICE WARRIOR Sad-looking courgette with gloves on

104 SUPERSPORT TWINS LISTINGS

020 8726 8442 simon_roots@ipcmedia.com

This month’s spotlight falls on the most evocative class off all, the supersport twins class. Why evocative? Well, many of these bikes hail from European shores where the blood, sweat and toil that goes into a bike seems tangible and real. We give you the low down on what’s still hot and what never was. Art Editor HUW WILLIAMS LORD KIV Half man, half sleeping bag

020 8726 8438 huw_williams@ipcmedia.com

RACING

REGULARS

94 SUZUKA

Assistant Art Editor JAYNE TOYNE SLITHEEN Bug eyed, farting machine

As single races go there isn’t an event that comes even close to the magnitude of the Suzuka 8-Hour. The pride of a factory is at stake as bills go through the roof and riders go through the kitty litter. Aussie star and friend of the magazine Paul Young stuck the billy on and had a yarn about his race on the Phase One Yamaha R1. Strewth, it’s good.

020 8726 8439 jayne_toyne@ipcmedia.com

Editorial PA NUALA FITZGERALD ZYGON Reasonably faithful representation of Croydon girls

020 8726 8419 nuala_harvey@ipcmedia.com

PUBLISHING ADRIAN VAUGHAN Marketing manager – 020 8726 8401 adrian_vaughan@ipcmedia.com KEITH FOSTER Publishing director – 020 8726 8400 keith_foster@ipcmedia.com AMY PUTT Keith Fosters PA – 020 8726 8402 amy_putt@ipcmedia.com

ADVERTISING STEVE JONES Advertising manager – 020 8726 8415 steve_jones@ipcmedia.com NEIL HANDLEY Display senior sales executive – 020 8726 8411 neil_handley@ipcmedia.com CLARE PAYNE Ad production – 020 8726 8316 clare_payne@ipcmedia.com SUE BANN Classiﬁed sales manager – 020 8726 8412 susan_bann@ipcmedia.com CHARLOTTE ROGERS Sales executive – 020 8726 8414 charlotte_rogers@ipcmedia.com

David Hasselhoff walks into a bar... SuperBike is produced at Leon House, 233 High St, Croydon, Surrey CR9 1HZ, part of IPC Country and Leisure Magazines, which is part of the IPC Magazines Group. All enquiries on direct lines above or switchboard on 020 8726 8000. Fax on 020 8726 8499. General e-mail is on: superbike@ipcmedia.com ...star-struck barman says, “Wow! David Hasselhoff!” Call 020 7261 7704 if you have trouble ﬁnding us

98 WSB

After a thrilling round at Brno, the Kent congregation gathered at the church of WSB to worship the glorious ones at Brands Hatch. James Toseland looked for salvation but it was Troy Corser that took one step closer to becoming the new Messiah.

100 GP

Anglo-German affairs went exceedingly well for Valentino Rossi after making the pack look like fools at a soaking Donington and leaving Sete Gibernau with so much egg on his face after the Sachsenring race that the Spaniard is now know as ‘el tortilla’.

102 BSB

With the paddock freshly settled into Butlins holiday camp for the summer, we look back on the action from Snetterton as Michael Rutter pushes for glory – and ends up on the deck

David says, “I prefer just to be called “the Hoff.” Subscribe on the subs page. Full rates are £43.20 for UK and BFPO surface mail, £53.50 Europe and Ireland air mail or £69.50 Rest of World for air mail. Send cheques to IPC Media Subscriptions, Freepost CY1061, PO Box 272, Haywards Heath, Sussex, RH16 3FS, or phone 01444 475675. Back issues are on 020 8503 0588 “Okay,” says the barman. “No hassle.” Colour repro at PlanArt, 9 Morocco St, London SE1 020 7407 5811, Printers, St Ives Andover Ltd, Telford Gate, Westport Way Ind. Est, Andover, Hants, SP10 3SF, 01264 387000, and distributors, MarketForce, 5th ﬂoor low rise building, Kings Reach Tower, Stamford St, London SE1 9LS. Tel: 020 7633 3300 Next issue on sale Wed 28th September SuperBike is published by Focus Network Magazines and is copyright, ISSN no 0262 8456

14 94 More R1-lobbing adventures with Paul Young

NEWS

While 2006’s bikes are slow to break cover, Italy’s massive clothing manufacturers start to release their ranges for the new year. Plus we round up the month’s stories and distil them just for you.

18 LETTERS

“You don’t have to be mad to write in to the letter’s pages… but it ‘elps.” And never has this tired old saying been more true. Your lives in two pages. Plus some wifely eye candy.

STUFF

I suppose the kids would call this month’s ensemble of all things new and shiny ‘bling’. The phrase that I used as a child was something a little more base, “fooking lovely,” if I remember rightly. Either way, let the drooling commence.

122 FINISH LINE “Oh, that’s a good one that is. Arf!” That’s what you’ll be saying after you’ve delved in to the funnies at the back.

KARINA AND A K1200R

CENTREFOLD

Who would have ever thunk it? A BMW as a centrefold bike seems almost sacrilegious but the K1200R has made it to our hallowed studio on its own merits. As has Karina, a lover of all things German 22 Two fools and a bike cover

LAUNCH TEST MOTO MORINI CORSARO 1200

f you’re a (heterosexual) man and you’ve ever been to Italy, I’m guessing you’ve noticed the women there. As soon as you get on the plane in Blighty (even a squalid Ryanair flight), the female half of the population suddenly takes on a mysteriously attractive air. It’s hard to put your finger on at first – their hair and makeup is classy, but not that different from Brit girls. The clothes aren’t necessarily finer and their shoes aren’t all Jimmy Choo. They may be a (tiny) bit cuddly round the waist, and there may well be a hint of excess facial hair. But the sum of all these parts results, almost invariably, in a feminine package not unlike some sort of sex goddess for your typically pasty, slightly overweight, badly-dressed UK

6 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

man (I’m not excusing myself from this description). Italian men tell you it doesn’t last, and I’m sure there are downsides to Italian women. But on the face of it, your typical Italian lady seems to add up to more than the sum of her parts. That’s sort of the case with Italian bikes too. Generally, the emphasis is on the more soulful side of the motorcycle equation; heritage, design and style, rather than mere consumer product performance. And that’s no more true than amongst the smaller Italian manufacturers, like newly-revived Moto Morini. The historic name is back with the base for a new range of V-twin machines, and I was on a lovely British Airways ﬂight to Bologna to try out the

first new Moto Morini, the 1200 Corsaro (Italian for Corsair – a Barbary coast pirate). Next day, we get a guided tour of the new, small-scale factory, an introduction to the designers and engineers, and a history lesson on Moto Morini. Then we’re led outside to a line of gently throbbing Corsaros, warming in the Bolognian summer heat. We left the small, neat Moto Morini factory, cocooned in a throaty V-twin roar, like some well-heeled bike gang. But at the first traffic light, three or four bikes stalled at the lights, and the idiosyncratic starter system left us stuck there like a CBT group on its first lesson, surrounded

Return

Pirate of the

King

MOTO MORINI’S THE LATEST HISTORIC ITALIAN NAME TO MAKE A COMEBACK. BIG AL WENT TO BOLOGNA TO RIDE ITS FIRST NEW MODEL – THE CORSARO 1200 Words: Alan Dowds Pics: Blind Pugh

by hooting Italians, unable to get moving again. Eventually, all the bikes sputtered back into life, and we were off, following Rudy, the rapid Morini test rider. The ﬁrst few miles of any new bike ride tells you a lot – particularly about the engine performance. And it’s mostly good news from the Corsaro. Sure, the stalling and poor starting is a faff, and the fuelling just off-idle isn’t really sorted yet. But get past 3,500rpm, and the thing just takes off, roaring towards the hard rev limiter at 9,500rpm. The power delivery is pretty abrupt, but that’s more a function of the engine’s strength than anything else. Pulling out of dead slow hairpin bends needs a careful hand, and even a dip of the

www.superbike.co.uk OCTOBER 2005 7

MOTO MORINI CORSARO 1200

T E C H

S P E C

MOTO MORINI CORSARO 1200 Price NU Ins group

£8,400 (approx) TBC

ENGINE Type Displacement Bore x Stroke Compression Carburation Gearbox Power Torque

l/c 87° V-twin, DOHC 8v 1,187cc 107x66mm 11.8:1 Weber Marelli electronic fuel injection, 54mm throttle bodies Six-speed 140bhp@8,500rpm (claimed) 90lb ft@6,500rpm (claimed)

CYCLE PARTS Chassis Suspension

Brakes

Wheels/Tyres

Rake / Trail Wheelbase Capacity Weight Contact

Tubular steel trellis Front: 50mm fully-adjustable Marzocchi USD fork Rear: fully-adjustable Sachs monoshock Front:Twin 320mm discs, four-piston calipers Rear: 220mm disc, dual-piston caliper Cast aluminium/Pirelli Diablo, Front: 120/70 17 Rear: 180/55 17

ENGINE DESIGN

24.5°/103mm 1,440mm 18 litres (3.96 galleons - arf!) 198kg dry (436lb) claimed Moto Morini, +39 051 199 84 162

ENGINE POTENTIAL Very short stroke means a high theoretical rev ceiling – mean piston speed is lower than on a longer-stroke design. Prototypes have reached 14,000rpm in 1,000cc form, and 190bhp is reckoned to be possible with this basic design. Next production motor will be a 950, with the same 107mm bore, and a super-short 55.5mm stroke.

clutch in first gear, just to smooth your progression. But I’ve not ridden anything that allows you to take the piss so easily, lifting the front wheel on the way out of a corner, then hauling it upright onto the straight. Massive pulses of torque lift the front wheel in first like a hairy old 500cc two-stroke motocrosser. Even second gear is power-wheelie territory with a flick of the wrist, and while it’s not as natural a wheelie bike as Triumph’s Speed Triple, it’ll still have you popping ever-improving monos every time you ride it. The irresistible urge of the 1,187cc Vtwin becomes more addictive the further we ride. Indeed, at times, it’s almost too strong for the narrow mountain roads we’re on. A nanosecond’s wandering

8 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

EXHAUST

The Corsaro 1200 motor is an all-new design by former Ferrari engineer, Franco Lambertini. The layout is a 87° V-twin, with vertically split crankcases, a pressedup crankshaft, one-piece conrods and plain bearings. The massively oversquare 107mm pistons run in drop-in liners, four valve heads have dual springs, each cavernous combustion chamber has one spark plug. The valves have a very narrow included angle – just 22°, which contributes to the efﬁcient combustion chamber shape.

Made by Termignoni, massive bi-conical silencers echo Yamaha’s MT-01 styling. A powerful catalyst in the link pipe helps the motor achieve Euro-3 emissions compliance

WHEELS Brembo cast aluminium sixspokers, with Pirelli Diablo tyres

BRAKES Conventionally-mounted Brembo four-piston calipers and 320mm discs form a typically Italian setup. Radial calipers not used because they’re too ﬁerce for road use

concentration has you arriving at a bend 20mph too quick, and hauling desperately on the brake levers, then the bars to get round yet another tight bend. The rest of the bike is your ally here though. That fearsome engine is housed in a pretty friendly chassis – a simple steel tube trellis frame with aluminium swingarm, monoshock rear suspension and upside-down forks. If you think that sounds like Ducati’s Monster or Cagiva’s Raptor then you’re right – the Corsaro follows a tried and tested Italian roadster design. From the comfy seat, you reach forward to wide, classy aluminium handlebars, and down to neat rearset footpegs. That riding position is slightly forward, and you’re given a good

commanding spot to direct proceedings. The steering is pretty quick and direct, as it should be on a unfaired roadster, but on long sweeping bends later in the day, it also manages to feel very stable indeed; a neat trick when you can manage it. Ground clearance was a bit of an issue on these pre-production bikes, where a wrongly-sized header pipe grounds out early on the right (this will be ﬁxed on production models). On the left hand side, things were better, but the sidestand does drag when you get it right over. The suspension feels a bit weird at ﬁrst, like there’s a mismatch between the springs and damping. There’s a hint of harshness over bumps on the road,

TECHNICAL EQUIPMENT Dash is a smart CAN unit, with gear position indicator, and all manner of speed, distance and fuel consumption displays. Levers are adjustable, clutch is hydraulic, mirrors work well. Fuel consumption seemed heavy on the launch, blamed on incomplete fuelling map. LED rear light

FUEL INJECTION

TRANSMISSION

Magneti Marelli injection uses 54mm throttle bodies with a single injector per cylinder

Slipper clutch for seamless downchanges, six-speed gearbox, chain ﬁnal drive

FRAME Steel tube trellis frame uses the engine as a stress-bearing part. Asymmetric swingarm is sand-cast aluminium

BODYWORK Two-tone nylon tank is hand painted, small nose cone shrouds a pair of headlights. Comes in black/silver or red/silver

THE BOTTOM LINE: For a furiously fast pirate ship this Italian model isn’t too many pieces of eight. Not the ﬁnished article yet though

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Want to ride bikes fast? Raise your limits with Mike 'Spike' Edwards ACU coach, 4 x British Champion and Macau GP winner

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07813 659760 www.superbike.co.uk OCTOBER 2005 9

MOTO MORINI CORSARO 1200

MORINI RISING ITALY’S MOTORCYCLING HERITAGE IS LITTERED WITH HISTORIC NAMES THAT ARE SADLY NO MORE

rands like Benelli, Mondial, Laverda, Morbidelli and Aermacchi are all shadows of their former selves. Some, like Benelli, Mondial and Bimota have been ‘revived’ in recent years, with varying success. Unlike in the UK, there seems to be a steady stream of wealthy Italian industrialists with a passion for bikes, keen to recreate their dream bikes of yesteryear. Which is pretty much what’s happening with Moto Morini. The original firm was set up in 1937 by Alfonso Morini, a dedicated engineer, racer and businessman. It had an illustrious history, helping to launch the career of a certain Giacomo Agostini, amongst others, but by the early nineties, Moto Morini was in trouble. Bought by the Castiglioni brothers, then sold to Texas Pacific Group, the brand languished in an production netherworld, the last bikes being built in 1993. But a partnership between engine building company Franco Morini and electronic firm Sinudyne bought the brand Eyetie birds - crap at in 1999, and the new firm has big plans. The Corsaro 1200 is the first shaving but they can put of a full range of V-twin machines planned, including a 950cc roadster, a bike together alright and more sporting models.

together with a rather soft feeling. But as the day wore on and I got into the Corsaro groove, I actually quite liked it – the softness doesn’t translate into vagueness, and on smoother surfaces, the wheel control is more than adequate for a naked roadster. Even when accelerating hard in second gear, with the front Diablo skipping over the road, the suspension absorbs the shocks, keeps the tyre planted, and basically helps you keep it all together. Morini engineers told us they chose conventionally-mounted Brembo fourpiston calipers over radial-mount parts because they didn’t want aggressive, super-powerful race-style brakes. And at ﬁrst, when I sampled the awesome power of the motor, I questioned their wisdom – this is an aggressive, super-powerful engine. But, again, by lunchtime I was won over by the power, progression and

SUPERMARKET SWEEP The small scale factory uses a ‘supermarket’ production system. A team of two bike builders takes a ‘trolley’ through the warehouse area, and loads all the components needed to build a bike – frame, engine, suspension, wheels, brakes etc. They then wheel the trolley to a production line area, and build one bike at a time. Adding more trolleys and more teams lets the factory build more bikes. It’s a ﬂexible, low- to mediumvolume system that seems pretty efﬁcient.

feel of the classic sporting setup. So, the new Corsaro has a great, strong engine, a taut chassis, good brakes and it even looks pretty decent. Perfect, eh? Well, no. These preproduction bikes had a few problems. We’ve mentioned the poor fuelling low-down, the rubbish starting, and the supply problem with the exhausts. Magneti Marelli is working on new fuelling maps (one was due the week after our test) and Termignoni has corrected the production problem with the rear cylinder’s header pipe. In addition, two bikes broke down (out of ten) on our ride. A Swiss journalist reckoned his motor broke something solid inside, but when my bike went onto one cylinder later in the day, it didn’t sound so bad. Engineers later reported a

fouled spark plug on my bike – down to the poor fuelling again, which was also creating black puffs of smoke from the exhausts, and giving the bikes a healthy thirst for fuel too. If this bike was Japanese, I’d have no doubts about recommending it wholeheartedly. All the pre-production worries would have been sorted months ago, hundreds of robots and computers would have ﬁnalised the design, and if a Japanese ﬁrm had supplied a wrongly-sized exhaust pipe, the CEO would apologise by disembowelling himself with his grandad’s Imperial Navy sword. Perhaps. But then if this bike was Japanese, it would probably be missing that certain something that those Italian women manage. That blend of enthusiasm, heritage, and passion that makes Italian bikes as beguiling and desirable as Italian women. SB

THE FINAL ANALYSIS The Corsaro is a great start for the new ﬁrm, with a superb engine and sound chassis. But Morini needs to nail down build quality and ﬁnish issues to match the bike’s massive potential.

10 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

FIRST RIDE SUZUKI RM-Z450

MX TRACK DAYS Get out on the track and you quickly ﬁnd the similarities between Tarmac and dirt; the bloke with the bestlooking bike and kit isn’t necessarily the fastest, the fastest blokes out there are much faster than you and the majority of people are having a great day’s ride without a care in the world. Motocross practice tracks pepper the country with twice the prevalence of road race circuits and are open throughout the week in much the same way. The major difference is a day at a MX track will set you back around £20 rather than £220. Check www.mxtrax.co.uk or Trials and Motocross News (weekly paper) for track listings.

12 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

SUPERBIKE HAS ALREADY TESTED 2005 OFFERINGS FROM PLANET MOTOCROSS BUT THERE WAS ONE NOTABLE ABSENCE, SUZUKI’S NEW RM-Z450. IS IT THE GSX-R1000 OF THE MX WORLD? Words: John Pearson Pics: John Noble

t’s an odd world you enter when you step away from the sports bike and land at an MX track. All at once you’re in an alien world, feeling slightly daunted by some serious-looking people with some serious-looking machines but also immediately refreshed by the laid-back attitude of the people you meet. The Suzuki RM-Z450 is a serious machine. It’s Suzuki’s ﬂagship MX bike: the GSX-R1000 of its offroad range, with all the same connotations. Suzuki has been slower to introduce its 450 four-stroke production bike to the world, at least a good bit slower than Honda was with the CRF450F which ﬁrst saw the light of day in December 2001. A ‘prototype’ raced in the MX1 world championship but Suzuki has been a while perfecting the beast for us mere mortals. Well, here it is, at last. Just like the GSX-R1000 the

beauty of this particular Suzuki is that it doesn’t behave like the wild animal you expect – if you don’t want it to. The 250 two- stroke/450 four-stroke MX class has produced some awesome bikes in recent years but they really are bikes for the experts, and certainly too much for the novice (in terms of ﬁtness required if nothing else). You underestimate the potential of a bike that produces 50bhp yet weighs only 101kg at your own peril. But, and here’s the crunch, the RM-Z450 is pretty easy if you lick along at your own comfortable pace. It’s only when you go beyond that and push a little harder into the corners, start trying to get on the power sooner and harder coming off the berms, that you glimpse some of the huge potential of the RM-Z450. The bike looks small and always feels controllable. Form deﬁnitely follows function on off-road bikes so everything is right there where you need it. Throttle, clutch, gearbox and brakes are all spot-on, and deliver exactly as much response and feedback

as your hand/foot asks for. It came with an odd match of softish rear suspension but very stiff front forks which made the sunbaked Pineham track near Milton Keynes trickier than it needed to be. But there’s a huge range of suspension adjustment here, about as much as you’d ﬁnd on Ohlins road suspension (rather than the relatively limited range on a standard CBR600RR say) so a couple of clicks softer and I had the front end diving more on the brakes and helping the front Bridgestone bite the dirt more. Conventional wisdom in the off-road world tells us that the RM-Z is 2005’s pick of the crop and on this showing I’m inclined to agree. Honda’s popular CRF450F may have slightly better suspension and chassis, but the Suzuki, in standard form and with this super smooth, yet strong as hell engine, is the better overall package. In short, there’s as much or as little power and ﬁnesse as you want and, so long as you remember the throttle goes both ways, life aboard is zed sweet. SB

SPECIFICATION Price £4,999 Engine 4-stroke l/c, 4v, DOHC single Displacement 449cc Bore x Stroke 95.5x62.8mm Compression 12.0:1 Carburation Keihin carburettor Gearbox four-speed Chassis Aluminium twin spar Suspension F: 47mm USD Showa forks, fully adj R: Showa monoshock, fully adj Brakes F: Single 250mm disc, fourpiston caliper R: Single 240mm disc, single-piston caliper Wheels/Tyres Cast aluminium F: 90/100-21 R: 120/90-19 Rake/Trail 25.5°/111mm Wheelbase 1,486mm Fuel capacity 7 litres (1.54 gal) Weight 101kg (220lbs) Contact Suzuki GB 01293 518000

www.superbike.co.uk OCTOBER 2005 13

NEW BIKES

EVENTS

NEWS

GEAR

CONTACT

Late breaking superbike news @www.superbike.co.uk

THE EDITOR

o maybe we should slow down a bit. I know, who would have thought it, an editorial in SuperBike exhorting you all to maybe just roll off the throttle a smidge. And why this apparent editorial about-face? Well, there were a couple of things that prompted it. One was a scare all of my own making. I was riding way, way too fast on a very familiar piece of road when, all of a sudden, a car nosed out of a half-hidden driveway. Frankly, I thought I was going into and over the bonnet at a speed well in excess of the national speed limit. All I got was a sharp intake of breath, my heart rate going through the roof and a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. In short, I got away with it. A couple of days after my close call we got news of an MCN journalist ending up in intensive care on the weekend of Brands Hatch WSB. The poor sod swerved to avoid a car coming out of a drive, straight into an oncoming car. Unlike me, he really didn’t get away with it – pelvis, ribs, lung, leg all need a bit of time to heal. The point, if there is one, is that even on familiar roads in the best conditions in the most mundane of rides, someone else can mess up your day and your life. Of course the truth is that shortly after a big fright, you get back in the groove and start riding like a twat again. Riding like a twat maybe, but paying much more attention and, yes, maybe not quite as quickly. Just keep your wits about you – especially on roads you think you know well.

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owa, the new Suspension is by Sh ially designed for ec sp are Dunlop tyres unit folds out to the XB12X. The seat ge rack over the ga convert from a lug n back rest, to lio pil a to t, pillion sea the passenger. d a luggage rack behin S receiver will be GP a d an Hard luggage word optional extras. No new the for t ye ce pri on ing rid be ’ll Buell, but we ed tun y sta – nth mo it next for more info.

193kg dry mass 100bhp 120/70 17 180/55 17 Dunlop D616 tyres

“I...IWASTHOUGHT GOING INTO AND OVER THE BONNET AT EXCESSIVE SPEED...

”

14 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

AL TO SEE ORIGIN E IS R P R U S O IT’S N G FROM HARLEYTHINKING COMIN KE ARM, BUELL DAVIDSON’S SPORTSBI which will Buell has also updated the XB12S Lightning, the long gets This on. be available in a new ‘Long’ versi the Lightning in es, Ulyss the of e fram r wide and swingarm XB range also streetfighter configuration The rest of the ox and final gearb ed revis , garm swin r lighte gets a new, ges. drive belt and other detail chan

ULTIMATE STREETBIKE SHOOTOUT

POWER GAMES AL FOUND HIMSELF DOWN IN WOKINGHAM ONCE AGAIN LAST MONTH, FOR THE ANNUAL BIG CC RACING DYNO HORSEPOWER SHOOTOUT his year was slightly different – the dyno shootout was just part of a three-way contest for the UK’s Ultimate Street Bike Challenge. Organised by the horsepower junkies at the 200mph.org Internet Forum, the USBC competition comprised a dyno competition for sheer brute horsepower, a top-speed run at an RAF base in Suffolk and a quarter-mile drag race at Santa Pod. Essentially, to get into this exclusive club of top-end powerhouse machines, you really need 500bhp-plus. Which means a turbocharged Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa or Kawasaki ZX-12R. The ﬁnal winner (earning a SuperBike subscription, £100 of DVDs and a pair of ﬁne Bridgestone tyres from us) was Dave Freeman. Dave’s fully road legal Hayabusa is an understated-looking machine in black, but it pumped out a crazed 591bhp, thanks to a huge Big CC turbocharging kit, full Motec engine management and a heap of heavy-duty mods. It managed

222.4mph on the top speed run, and did a 9.157/163mph quarter mile time. All in all, ﬁve bikes topped 500bhp on the day – showing that the UK extreme power tuning scene is alive and well, and snapping at the heels of the Americans. And the prospect of a 600bhp-plus winner next year seems pretty certain.

SCHOOL’S OUT … FOR EVER? One of the biggest and most established names in track events, the European Superbike School (no relation to the Californian Superbike School whatsoever), went into administration at the beginning of August. The school had introduced the likes of Frankie Chili, and Mick Doohan to UK customers as star instructors but the harsh realities of business bit. Administration laws are tough for customers who are left in the lurch after any collapse and only those that booked any days with the ESS with a credit card are likely to get any money back – and this is through credit card insurance schemes rather than through administrators. Those who booked by cash, cheque or debit card are unlikely to receive anything. Tony Scott, the ﬁrm’s owner posted a message up on their website saying, “It has become clear that the costs of running the days [sic] coupled with the current climate of track days means that the margins available do not counter the risk, what is made on one day is so easily wiped out on the very next,” before alluding to other operators suffering similar problems. With this in mind, credit card bookings may prove a safer form of payment to any operator you’re not 100 per cent sure will be in business come your trackday.

EXPENSIVE MOTORCYCLE (SLIGHTLY CHEAPER THAN EXPECTED)

Channel Five shoots a scene from its latest reality show “Bike Mounted Blow-Job Bimbos from Mars”

SUPERBIKE: WRITING THE WRONGS THERE’S ONE IN THE BOX We wrote last month that Shoei’s otherwise excellent XR-1000 was let down by its lack of chin curtain guard thing. Well the ink wasn’t even dry on the mags at the printers before Rob Fairburn of importers Feridax was on the phone, explaining – as politely as he could – that it most certainly does come with said comfort device. Punishment whippings were issued and writer Tom Lawrence threw himself on his sword. Reinstate your Shoei lid order on 01384 413841. YOU’D THINK WE COULD GET A SIMPLE TRACKDAY FEATURE RIGHT (1) Last month’s ‘Foreign Track Days’ feature detailed the top-notch Hungaroring Performance Riding School and explained just how packed with goodness that school really

is, both on and off track. Unfortunately, due to a cock-up in the sophisticated HBK (hand/brain/keyboard) system in the SuperBike office we omitted any contact details for the school. Which we also managed last time we wrote about it. Sorry to Attila and Max at the school and if you want a holiday in a fantastic country combined with two days of rocking track riding go to www.moto-ring.co.uk or call 01622 631555. YOU’D THINK WE COULD GET A SIMPLE TRACKDAY FEATURE RIGHT (2) We also forgot to mention top foreign trackday firm Racedays last month. Get in touch with the boys at www.racedays.net, call on 07813 659760 or 0049 172 2963100 for the German office. Sorry Gerry.

We brought you the launch report last month with a pinch of salt and a hint of scepticism but word hits us that Bimota Experience Ltd (the UK importers of the exotic brand) is bringing in a batch of DB5s with a lower price tag than previously announced. Prices were initially set around £15,270, plus VAT and OTR costs. Fearing life would be hard enough, Douglas Braddock of Bimota Experience Ltd negotiated a price drop for UK imported bikes to £14,495 OTR. He told us, “I’ve initially got 20 bikes ear-marked for the UK and at that price I’m pretty certain we can sell them all. The original price tag from the factory (as quoted in last month’s SuperBike) wasn’t competitive enough so I re-negotiated a better on the road price.” Call Bimota Experience on 020 953 6250

www.superbike.co.uk OCTOBER 2005 15

NEW BIKES

EVENTS

NEWS

GEAR

CONTACT

KENNY PRYDE’S

ITALIAN ADVENTURE

JUST BEFORE ITALY CLOSED DOWN FOR THE AUGUST HOLIDAY, KENNY LED A DAMBUSTERS-STYLE RAID ON THE NORTH-EASTERN AREA AROUND VENICE WHICH IS THE HEART OF THE ITALIAN MOTORCYCLE KIT INDUSTRY. HERE’S THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE DESIGNER BRANDS WE’LL BE SPORTING NEXT SEASON

SPYKE The folks at Spyke are a bit pissed off at the ‘kangaroo-skin’ claims of some other suit companies. They hinted that some companies are putting one or two kangaroo panels into a suit, then giving the impression that they are all marsupial skin. Spyke was keen to point out its new space-age gloves, the VTS, but we were impressed by the overall quality of the designs throughout the entire range. There are some very smart looking leather jackets which manage to achieve the safe on the bike, cool-looking off the bike status, which is rarely the case. Have we got time to talk about the new Germandeveloped TFL Cool system leather used in some jackets? No? Well the Spyke 66 jacket looks great and features the TFL treated leather. Overall, there are plenty more hits than misses for Spyke in 2006.

DAINESE There’s no doubt that the new Dainese headquarters in Vicenza are the most impressive clothing company building you are ever likely to see. A massive windowless black cube, it cost around 18 million quid to design, build and fit out and it contains the best robot technology we’ve ever laughed at. With five computercontrolled robots and more storage space than Dainese currently knows what to do with, it’s jaw dropping. And so is the showroom. There isn’t a supermarket sweep trolley big enough to grab as much kit as you would like to. In terms of apparel the slightly retro look is still king at Dainese and there are great designs in leather jackets, a new two-piece which (for once) works as a leather jacket. “Previous zip-together two piece suits have tended to have a jacket that’s too short to be used on its own,” explained marketing’s Elena Parise, “this new design has a longer jacket back.” There are a host of new accessories too. The Sherco Dry winter gloves caught our eye, the Speed Metal gloves have been tweaked to give more flex and there are about half a dozen leather jackets we would gladly have walked out with. Oh and for Dainese fanatics, we can tell you that there’s been a change to the logo. Can you spot the difference? Answers on a used Dainese kneeslider to the usual address,

16 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

This month’s bitching, back-stabbing, praise, stupidity and grateful thanks

IT’S CALLED ‘SYNERGY’ ACTUALLY We would never cast aspersions on the integrity of anyone, anywhere, in the motorcycle magazine industry. But we wonder if the appearance of ‘Purely Porsche’ and ‘Autocar’ tin-box magazine journalist Colin Goodwin as a contributor to TWO magazine might have anything to with said chap’s abilities to help editor Alex ‘Crazy Frog’ Hearn secure ‘bolt-on goodies’ for his Porker?

THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURES We were resigned to losing features editor JP when he was enticed away to become editor of some field bikes leaflet in deepest Fenlandia. In addition to his mud-plugging duties he was also going to test proper bikes on sister publication Motorcycle Port and Lemon. But, just two days before he was due to quit SuperBike, he learned that MSL had been sold to classic and scooter pamphleteers at Moreton’s publishing. So he’d be stuck riding field bikes in muddy fields in perpetuity. So he’s returned to the fold, bloodied but unbowed. Just as well we didn’t offer his job to anyone else...

WHO NEEDS JOURNALISM WHEN YOU’VE GOT THE INTERNET? Following up last month’s shameful – and so far utterly groundless – pillory of Suzuki’s titanium valves, Underperforming Bikes put the frighteners on GSX-R1000 K5 owners by – again – putting a picture of the bike under a scaremongering ‘feature’. This time about frame welds, seemingly based on the ranting of internet chatroom theorists ‘backed up’ by evidence garnered by typing the word ‘welding’ into Google. Here’s a tip lads – stick to ‘attempting to re-create the glory days of PB in 1993’ in your wee pamphlet, and leave the ‘making fuck-off motorbikes’ to the guys who know what they’re doing in Japan.

M-TECH M-Tech is part of a massive leather-tannery company called Mastrotto which supplies leather to everyone from BMW to Alfa Romeo to Bulgari to Ikea and Clarkes shoes, so when it comes to leather… The ﬁrm supports a number of riders in MotoGP, including our very own Chas Davies and has just introduced a new design of race suit with a stretch panel which runs from behind your knee all the way up to under your shoulders. Looks good. But it’s so new that we weren’t allowed to take a snap of it…

CLOVER You may not be familiar with the Clover brand; Al wore its RC 100 race suit last year and liked it. But we didn’t see much of its other kit. Imagine our surprise when we visited the Clover greenhouse to discover a big old collection of ﬁne apparel in leather and textiles. Apparently the UK importer hasn’t brought too many designs into the UK. Our loss, we’d say.

PLANET EARTH CALLING FAST BIKES You’ve got to give the Bath née Orpington loudmouths credit for banging away. The latest issue features the cheaply-besuited editor, handing over a small trophy purchased from the local cobblers to a pair of embarrassed-looking Suzuki marketing honchos. The story begins, “The one award every sportsbike manufacturer wants to win is the annual Fast Bikes ‘Ofﬁcial Sportsbike of the Year’ award.” So, not the MotoGP, WSB, BSB or AMA championships, nor the top seller in the showrooms then? Wonder whose idea that was?

THANKS THIS MONTH: Simon Tonge for spannering duties – there will be more where that came from. The assembled ranks at the Freelancer’s Arms; namely Mr Dave Smith, Mr John Noble, Mr Chris Moss, Mr James Moore, Mr Bertie Simmonds, Mr Jason Critchell, Mr Graeme Brown, Mr Stuart Barker and Earl Bob of Gray. The Grenadier, Star Tavern and Nag’s Head pubs in Belgravia, which are ﬁne establishments, well worthy of a pub crawl. And Paul ‘Youngy’ Young for air-freighting us back some ofﬁcial Suzuka 8-Hour garlic ‘n’ chilli crispy snacks. Arrigato!

ALPINESTARS A trip to Alpinestars headquarters in Asolo always leads to a tour of their testing facility. “We have quality control in our other factories,” said Rod Chapman at Alpinestars, “but we pull out some kit at random just to make sure everything is being produced to our Oh the indignity... standards.” This means stripped naked kit is bent, abraded, that Checa might burned, bounced, highside with washed, rained on, impunity baked, scraped, frozen and exposed to ﬁve years of intense sunlight. And of course the sponsored riders do a good job of testing designs too, as Carlos Checa demonstrated at Sachsenring with his 120mph highside and subsequent slide on his back. He was out in the same session ten minutes later, using the same suit. Let’s hear it for kangaroo hide!

NEW BIKES

EVENTS

NEWS

CONTACT

GEAR

READERS’

LETTERS WRITE TO: READER’S LETTERS, SUPERBIKE MAGAZINE, LEON HOUSE, 233 HIGH ST, CROYDON, SURREY CR9 1HZ

FAX: 020 8726 8499

SUITS YOU SIR

GERMAN ÜBER-FAN GETS BRIT IN A RIGHT OLD LEATHER I am writing to let you know of the most amazing set of leathers I saw on the Isle of Man. I spotted them outside Bushey’s in Douglas on Mad Sunday, being worn by a German. Despite having a slightly unwashed look, I did my best to improve Anglo-German relations (only mentioned it once and think I got away with it!) and this was his tale – He has followed the TT for many years and also the GP and WSB circuits. At these events he has the stars sign his leathers. Here are a few of the many we chatted about, not in any particular order, as to try and rank these fellas would be like trying to answer which of your kids you love most – Joey Dunlop, Steve Hislop, Giacomo Agostini, Kevin Schwantz, Colin Edwards, Chris Walker, Randy Mamola etc. Legendary stuff, I’m sure you’ll agree. Martin Sweeney, email Cheers Martin, it sounded intriguing so we contacted Konrad, the owner of the jacket, and here’s what he had to say…

GUTEN TAG Hello mein friend, I bought the leathers in 1984. Several European racetracks have scratched the leathers when I drove some production-races with my old GSX-R1100 in the Eighties. There is also a little story to every badge, but that would take too long to explain! I wore them all the time until about ﬁve years ago, when I did a wheelie that was more than upright, so I had to get the front wheel back to the ground with the back wheel brake. As I came down harder than usual, I hit the tank with one of the badge-chains and hurt the paintwork a bit. So since then I only wear the leathers for bike-rallies and meetings. A special thanks to the nurse of Nobles Hospital, who wanted to cut the leathers off after a car kicked me off the GSX-R during last year’s TT, and I broke several bones. After a lot of persuading, I managed to stop her hurting my most loved leathers. I nearly lost my mind because of the pain at pulling the leathers out, but it worked! “Wheelie-Konni” Ammenhäuser, Germany

After the Bee Gees split, Gibb went into leathers design

pretty easily compared to you poor bastards in the UK, and I don’t want to give the law here any more ideas. Thank you. Mario, Canada Appreciate the request Mario but if we

didn’t run editorial about how unfair the law is in this country SuperBike magazine would be little more than an A4 pamphlet. Not unlike some other motorbike magazines we could mention.

EVERY MONTH THE STAR LETTER WINS AN

HJC HELMET This month it’s an FG-14 GLEN RICHARDS REPLICA WORTH £169.99

LAW ENFORCEMENT Dear SuperBike, love your magazine, but, is there any way you can send it here without the articles about your brutal trafﬁc laws and punishment? We seem to be getting off

AGGRESSIVE PARKER LEG HORROR I

“Gnnna!”

“Ooooh!”

“Aaargh!”

18 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

A new driver did this to my ankle. He gave me one cars’ length notice as I was ﬁltering past and he decided to turn. No indication, no escape, bang, ouch! And then he disputes the claim and says I was overtaking on the wrong side of the road! So what side are you supposed to overtake trafﬁc moving in the same direction as you? Drowning is too good for ‘em. Have ‘em peeled then dipped in salt! Then drowned.in shit! Pete Holyoake, email Email us your crash and injury pics from next month and win a top prize!

NEW BIKES

EVENTS

NEWS

GEAR

CONTACT

THIS MONTH’S BEST NEW KIT & PARTS

ARATA

TITANIUM EXHAUST SYSTEMS EXHAUSTS, PARTICULARLY FULL SYSTEMS, ARE GETTING LIGHTER AND ARE BETTER LOOKING WITH EVERY NEW MODEL

MOTO-XTREEM

BIKE WASH AND AFTER WASH Wash your bike with the Bike Wash detergent, which is non-caustic, and safe on anodised aluminium. Then spray on the After Wash which will protect from corrosion and add a silicon-type sheen. COSTS: £5.99 CONTACT: 01933 418 414 www.motrax.co.uk

LITTLE SUPERBIKE

STUFF

AEROTEK

STAINLESS ENGINE BOLT KIT A big tub of stainless steel allen-head bolts to replace the corrosion-prone standard items. This kit is for Ducatis, and will ﬁt most popular models. The kit also includes a tube of copper grease, an allen key, and a few spare bolts for your toolbox. COSTS: £24.99 CONTACT: 01386 849060 www.bsr-aerotek.com

his precision-engineered, titanium system has tapered head pipes and elbows. The elbows and head pipes are also oval-shaped for better airflow. The main pipes all get a hand job, er, we mean are hand-crafted to create longer and smoother bends, allowing for even better flow which, Arata claim, increases torque at low and mid-range while producing higher top-end horsepower gains. Arata systems have been around for eight years in Japan and the USA (apparently proving popular in Japanese race championships) and are imported to the UK through Faster by Design in County Durham. They’re becoming more prevalent across the UK racing scene, most notably helping John McGuinness and his AIM Racing Yamaha R1 to victory at the TT this year. Arata exhausts and systems are available for a wide range of sports bikes, this system fits a Honda CBR600RR, a bike with more bottom and mid-range power in 2005 but one which could do with a tad more. Silencers are packed with “Silent Sports” packing which, despite the massive hole in the can, doesn’t seem too loud at low to mid-revs and is therefore less likely to attract the law. Cans come in titanium or Carbon and all Arata products come with a one year warranty. COSTS: £900.00 (CBR600RR) CONTACT: 01338 773322 WWW.FASTERBYDESIGN.CO.UK

PEEK

POLISHING KIT Neat little plastic box with a selection of small, precision polishing bobs and compounds. Will take some time to polish your frame, but what else will you be doing this weekend? COSTS: £19.50

METAL POLISH Metal polish that’s almost as legendary as Autosol. Works on metals, plastics and ﬁbreglass. Smells powerful. COSTS: £3.50 CONTACT: 01706 658 619 (www.frost.co.uk)

ALPINESTARS

BIONIC PROTECTION JACKET Crazily-styled armoured jacket, with CE-certiﬁed GP protectors in the elbows and shoulders, chest protection, and a detachable Tech Race back protector. A very comprehensive protection package, and will never look better than when sported by the lovely Becky here. COSTS: £189.95 CONTACT: 0039 04235286 (WWW.ALPINESTARS.COM)

20 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

SuperBike

STUFF

THIS MONTH’S BEST NEW KIT & PARTS

SATO

RACING CLIP-ONS Replacement clip-ons are the stuff of race bikes and crashers, mostly. If you fall into the race category (or fall off into the other) then Sato racing products have just the answer. They’re simple, neat and feel like full factory kit. They’re adjustable through two to eight degrees by turning the handle bar, which lets you adjust to suit your preference. They come in three colour options too; black, gold and silver (shown). COSTS: £129 CONTACT: 01524 733994 (WWW.PERTECH-IMPORTS.COM)

SPIDI

JK JEANS Rather smart, Italian designer denims (made in Romania), reinforced with Kevlar sections to add some abrasion protection in the event of a spill. Nicely cut for Big Al here who’s much taller and thinner these days, good quality denim, and clever zipping rear pockets. Good for summer city riding with a stylish bar at the end of it. Or a spot of topiary. COSTS: £69.99 CONTACT: 01536 526460 WWW.SPIDI.COM

SILVERTECH

MOTORCYCLE COVER There’s not much you can say about a motorcycle cover that its Ronseal-esque title doesn’t. This cover is a big ‘un and will cover almost anything up to Big Foot. There’s an elasticized bottom to keep the bike snug and reinforced grommets allow locks to be used to keep your bike safe and unseen. COSTS: FROM £22.99 CONTACT: 0117 9770466 (WWW.FOWLERS.CO.UK)

22 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

ERMAX

ENGINE COVERS

DAINESE

BORA V-PROF SUIT THE DEVILISHLY BRANDED ITALIAN OUTFIT’S RACE SUIT WITH A CURIOUS ZIP ARRANGEMENT

Tough plastic engine covers with a faux carbonﬁbre look. Stick onto vulnerable engine casings with silicone sealant, protecting your engine from damage in low- to medium-speed spills. Keeps the oil in and dirt out after a crash too. These are for a ZX-6R, other ﬁtments available. COSTS: £70 CONTACT: 01522 697007

THE FACTS Sewn together with care from large pieces of full-grain cow hide and ‘D-Stone’ fabric, this suit features elasticated panels which stretch horizontally and vertically to aid fit from lower back, under your arms and through to the shoulders. Comes in sizes 44 through to 60 with an option for a custom fit, it also comes in five colourways, as we are wont to say these days.

BUILD QUALITY Cunning use of stretch panels constructed from Dainese’s own D-Stone (which is sort of like Kevlar but not, if you see what we mean from a patent and trade mark point of view) in the chest and legs mean you get a tight yet ﬂexible ﬁt. There are carbon and titanium shoulder cups, a modestly-sized speed hump. And, worth noting perhaps, this suit is made in Italy. And there aren’t many suits you can say that about these days. Check your own and see…

PERFORMANCE The double chest zip takes a bit of getting used to and, more than with most suits, this is a case of try before you buy. You may need a larger size than usual, although obviously the suit will stretch a bit with use. Boots can be worn over or under the suit – “we prefer under, it’s safer” say Dainese. There’s no zip-out liner thanks in part to the design and the cut is most certainly for on-the-bike rather than strolling about posing in the paddock. Snug is the word.

SPORTVUE

MC1 HEADSUP DISPLAY Wacky-looking heads-up display for your lid, comprising a bike-mounted transmitter and a visormounted display unit. The transmitter sends speed, revs and gear position to the helmet unit, which beams the ﬁgures into your eyes, allowing you to see all the info without looking away from the road. The helmet unit is a bit large, and the transmitter takes a wee bit of ﬁtting and setup. Gadget fans will love it. COSTS: £249.99 CONTACT: 01249 705926, WWW.VEYPOR.CO.UK

VALUE You pay a premium price for a premium product and it really doesn’t matter what sort of stuff you are talking about (cars, computers, whiskey, etc) you pay more for a top brand. There are other cheaper suits but few carry the cachet of that devil’s head logo. In addition – and this is probably important – it’s made in Italy which also adds to the cost, which is £1,099 of your English pounds.

CONTACT: 00 39 0444 224100 WWW.DAINESE.COM

www.superbike.co.uk OCTOBER 2005 23

HUGE STOCKS • FRIENDLY, EXPERT ADVICE • WORLDWIDE EXPORT • HIGHEST QUALITY PARTS

NEWW ER

CARBON FIBRE WHEELS FASTER, LIGHTER STRONGER SAFER. BST MotoGP proven road-legal race wheels and race-only wheels, are crafted from aerospace quality carbon fibre in a single moulding process, for immense strength and longer life.

LO ES PRIC

Far lighter (from 1.9kg race & 2.1kg road), than even the lightest standard metal wheels, they’ll release the improved acceleration, braking, turning, grip and nimbler handling, hidden within your bike… Ready to install on your road, track or racing Sportsbike today - sprocket is included where needed - so you can simply fit your own discs & tyres and go!

FROM...

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BUY NOW & PAY A YEAR LATER with no interest charges.** Finance arranged by HPSrt

www.bikehps.com/bst Raced in the MotoGP World Championship

MRA SCREENS

NEW RACE BIKE REPLICA STICKER KITS KITS

LIGHTWEIGHT WHEELS

LATEST HIGH-QUALITY KITS AVAILABLE NOW

£45

.00

www.bikehps.com/stickers

PERFORMANCE CHAINS & SPROCKETS AFAM Sprockets, as used by Honda HRC MotoGP champions AFAM chains and sprocket with steel or alloy rear & steel front.

5 SPOKE CARBON FIBRE

7 SPOKE FORGED

Stylish ultra-light, ultra-stiff and strong design, double and single-sided rears available from... Front £979, Rear £1072

Brand new advanced and attractive design

Alloy rears from £31 (400cc upwards) Chains from only £59 (400cc upwards)

5 SPOKE CARBON/MAG

Sets from only £75 (400cc upwards) Massive range available, call us now more information on-line at...

Ultra-light carbon fibre rims with stylish five spoke design magnesium centres from... Front £799, Rear £893

GSX-R1000 K5, BMW K1200S & OTHER ’05 MODELS NOW AVAILABLE

THE BEST SCREENS YOU CAN BUY From the world’s largest maker and inventor of the Double-Bubble... • Excellent Fit • Manufactured in Germany to TüV Standards • Supplied with rear edge finishing trim • Smoked/Grey, Clear or 10 other colours and finishes • Black gradient ‘Raster’ fade out on underside - to conceal rear of instruments - on most sportsbikes (confirm when ordering)

Talon UK made 7075T6 Alloy Gold Anodised Rear Sprockets are 1/3 the weight of steel!

R6 03/04

www.bikehps.com/talon

GILLES

£119.99

Honda from £150.00 Kawasaki from £70.54 Yamaha from £89.99

£29.99

ADJUSTABLE REARSETS

www.bikehps.com/gilles

ZX-6R 03/04

£85.00

TAIL TIDIES Massive range available in neat, lightweight alloy (or steel - where extra strength is required)

NEW

FROM £29.95

FROM

£275

WORKSHOP MANUALS & BOOKS GENUINE MANUFACTURERS’ WORKSHOP MANUALS Available for most Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki & Yamaha models. ORIGINAL FACTORY PUBLICATIONS

FROM £28

For more info, plus more books & DVDs... www.bikehps.com/books

BRAKE LINE KITS THE FINEST BRAKE LINES AT THE BEST PRICES! Specially made by Goodridge & HEL for HPS, our complete brake line kits are fully approved for Road and Race use and have a Lifetime Guarantee! And, where most others’ kits just include the bare minimium, our stainless steel kits include absolutely everything you need... • Banjo Bolts • Bleed Nipples & Caps • 3, 4 (or 10 Braided Brake Lines Honda CBS Kits) • Grommets to mount the lines on your bike’s original guide brackets • Protectively Sheathed Stainless Steel Lines with Clear or Choice of Coloured Finishes • Special Front Master Cylinder Bleed Banjo Bolt (Goodridge kits only) Complete 3-line kits £75 HEL, £95 Goodridge Complete 4-line kits £95 HEL, £110 Goodridge

FREE 0.5L DO T4 BRAKE FLUID WITH FULL KI TS

GILLES KTS PRECISION CHAIN ADJUSTERS

Can be fitted without any modifications, however for race teams requiring ultra fast wheel removal, kits have the option for an additional threaded mount.

Adjuster sets Optional lifters Paddock stand adaptors Complete kit offer

£125.00 £33.00 £12.00 £169.00

Available for many recent sportsbikes.

WAVE DISCS FROM BRAKING & GALFER • More power & feedback • Lighter - in most cases • Shorter pads bed-in • No pad glazing • Better cooling • World Superbike Spec. • Awesome looks!

Rears from... Braking £79 Galfer £83 Fronts from... Braking £176 Galfer £177 Galfer Speed Kit - pair of front disk with pads included £379

Optional lifter assembly gives the exclusive Moto GP look and also provides a more secure mounting for paddock stands and better leverage for easier lifting, using the paddock stand adaptors available separately.

www.bikehps.com/braking Available in Black, Gold, Titanium, Red and Blue anodised finishes

Tidy up Your Rear End!

www.bikehps.com/tailtidy

3 SPOKE RACING CAST MAGNESIUM The de-facto standard race wheel, used by champions from... Front £534, Rear £752

www.bikehps.com/dymag

New CNC alloy adjusters, carefully designed for simple but more accurate chain adjustment, and perfect wheel alignment - with great looks!

www.bikehps.com/seatcowls

• Stylish Satin Black or Silver finishes • Quick and Easy to fit • Retain Standard (or use Mini) Indicators & Number Plate Light (or replacement light supplied)

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£105.00

£150.00

Benefit from the lightest carbon fibre rims combined with magnesium hubs and spokes from... Front £799, Rear £893

See our chain and workshop tools at www.bikehps.com/tools

YZF-R1 04

CBR1000RR 04

3 SPOKE CARBON/MAG

Massive range of bikes and sizes - call us now or order on-line at...

GENUINE SINGLE SEAT COWLS

Kawasaki

5 SPOKE SPORT CAST MAGNESIUM Ultra-modern and stylish design, perfect for road and race from... Front £534, Rear £752

Titanium Sprocket Nut Kits. Silver or Gold anodisied from £28

STANDARD REPLACEMENT, TOURING & UNFAIRED BIKE SCREENS TOO

www.bikehps.com/mra

Forged Aluminium from £999 pair Forged Magnesium from £1688 pair

Fronts from only £9 (400cc upwards)

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Offers subject to availability. Trademarks acknowledged as property of their respective owners.Transactions subject to GHC’s Terms & Conditions of sale, available on request. Information & prices correct at time of going to press but may vary without notice. HPS is a division of GHC/Gordon Harwood Computers Limited, founded 1955. PRICE PROMISE: Our prices are always the most competitive, but we’re also delighted to BEAT any competitor’s prices subject to being in stock, current nationally published magazine advertised price (not catalogue) & available separately to any retail customer. Images are for illustration purposes; appearance of actual products may vary. †MONEY BACK GUARANTEE applies to UK consumer mail-ordered goods, complete, unused & unfitted (including partially) with all packaging & resaleable as new, returned at customer’s cost, within 7 days - statutory rights unaffected. Calls may be recorded for training/security purposes. E&OE.

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26 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

THERE ARE OTHER WAYS OF GETTING FREE MASSAGES, BUT FEW ARE AS MUCH FUN AS RIDING TO THE END OF BRITAIN TWICE ALL IN THE NAME OF RESEARCHING HOW TWO VERY DIFFERENT BIKES PRODUCE TWO DIFFERENT RIDES Words: Simon Roots. Pics: Jason Critchell

www.superbike.co.uk OCTOBER 2005 27

GSX-R1000 VS ST3?

NO CONTEST, SURELY No one actually needs a Suzuki GSX-R1000. It may be the most glittering bike on the planet, and at £8,799 it quite simply represents the best value for money performance purchase you can buy, but in the real world™ aren’t there other tools more suited to the job? When it comes to buying a new bike rational thinking goes out of the window as the gloss of the greatness clouds what would be your regular judgement. Your brain’s inner monologue transforms into something like question time in the House of Parliament. “Would the right honourable gentleman please explain to the house why he should spend nearly £9,000 on a Suzuki GSX-R1000 when he knows full well that he’ll need a

chiropractor after a day’s hard riding? Does the member for Croydon South not realise that a cheaper sports tourer, something like Ducati’s versatile ST3, will offer most of the thrills, lower bills and fewer pills – of a pain killing variety?” “Here, here,” excitedly shouts the brain’s backbenchers, rufﬂing papers in the air while considering a retreat to the Palace of Westminster’s watering holes. So in the spirit of adventure, and the lure of a couple of free massages to see how each bike takes its toll on the brain and body, we’ve decided to pit the above-mentioned bikes in a thousand mile test of the body’s endurance. And who better to arbitrate than Simon, a man so riddled with injuries that the cod liver oil industry made him their ‘Man of the Year 2005’ for his services to their industry. LUGGAGE

SPORTS Tank bags and throwovers can be used, but be really careful about ﬁtting them as soft luggage in the rear wheel doesn’t help with stability or feel. If it’s wet these items will need to be made waterproof too. If you’re using a rucksack then the best policy is to pack as little as possible to keep the strain off your back. Hotel toiletries always come in handy as do half used toothpaste tubes – saving space and weight is the key here.

t’s not often that we get to spend a day on a bike without a photographer barking ever more dangerous orders at us, so I seized the chance to spend a whole day on the Ducati ST3 and decided that both the roads and the connotations leading to Land’s End would suit the story perfectly. We had visited some of these Devon roads the week before, so at least I knew a hairpin wasn’t going to jump out on me there, while the rest of the A39 and the run down to the tip of Cornwall looked mighty promising on the map. I had an appointment with a sports masseur booked for 6pm that evening, so I couldn’t hang about. With caravan season well and truly upon us I knew that the roads would be busy so I had to be clinical

28 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

LUGGAGE

SPORTS TOURER If you opt for the OE luggage option then you should cram as much as you can into the panniers and top box. Any female passenger that’s with you on the journey will appreciate the space and is likely to ﬁll it with random shite – so be ﬁrm with her. The more you pack in though, the more weight is taken away from the front wheel so expect the steering to feel lighter and less stable.

in dispatching the trafﬁc while toilet and food stops would have to wait until whenever the Ducati needed ﬁlling. So two miles into the journey I grabbed the opportunity to start the day the Ginsters way. Well, the Ducati’s seemingly clever instrument panel was telling me, nee imploring me, to fuel up so it would have been churlish not to take in breakfast at the same time. 14 litres, 15 litres, 16 litres, 16.43 litres? The pump stopped dispensing as fuel coldly splashed back into my groin. Hang about, where does Ducati think we’re riding, across Australia? With a 21-litre tank there was at least a county’s worth of riding left in the Ducati and to cry wolf so early pissed me off.

SOFT PACKAGE Oh well, the splash and dash allowed my to reset the trip, check the seven kilos worth of luggage was safely packed away in the panniers, pick what remained of a breakfast slice out of my teeth and stick my iPod wannabe on at full blast. Starting from Bath, I’d got through Frome, Shepton Mallet and Glastonbury

by the time the A’s in my MP3 tracklist had finished and the Ducati had dealt with the rush-hour traffic (mainly Morris dancers on their way to morning practice and scrumpy apple pickers) clinically. The ST3’s engine offers a huge depth of performance and through idyllic villages the Ducati could be cogged down into a low gear to cue good behaviour, while the national speed limit signs were eagerly revved through as fields, verges and a huge amount of roadkill blurred into recent history. The chassis didn’t really get as good a workout until I reached the other side of Minehead on the magnificent A39. The road is sandwiched between Exmoor and the stunning Devon coastline and makes a thrilling test for any machine. Still feeling fresh after an hour and a half’s riding, I attacked the horizon as best I could and found that the ST3 matched my commitment almost to a tee – the Ducati and I were working as one. I knew the limits of the chassis, suspension and tyres after our big test and I was happy riding within these confines. The overall softness of the package wasn’t really hampering my enjoyment of the ride (That’s not what your wife told me. Boom fucken Boom! – Ed) and the Ducati remained planted, although with more weight shifted towards the rear (with the full panniers) the unhurried steering slowed to a near dawdling pace. The ST3 could get away with this on these flowing roads, but the tighter turns that heralded the path to Barnstaple did make me get a sweat on. My body temperature was spot on up to this point but the sun had managed to win its fight against the cloud at this point, just as I was really having to shift my body weight around the bike to get it moving.

SIMON’S

HAPPY SNAPS

DIGITAL CAMERAS EH? SUDDENLY EVERYONE’S LORD FUCKING LICHFIELD

Beware, sometimes full of hippies

It’s amazing who you meet at the motorway services

“Don’t mention it”

Who said there’s no luggage space on a sports bike? You’ve just got to be a bit creative

www.superbike.co.uk OCTOBER 2005 29

TYRES

SPORTS TOURER Nothing too exciting here, just tyres that last for ages but don’t offer too much in terms of feel and feedback. Sportier tyres defeat the objective of touring and chassis and suspension would often struggle to cope.

By this point I was in a world of my own. Overtakes of cars, caravans, tractors and trailers were being timed deliciously and often the voyage of passing trafﬁc would set me up perfectly for a left-hander. My only problem was the odd mis-timed pass when I’d suddenly come face-to-face with a local’s rear bumper at a silly closing speed. At least the Brembos, worked slightly harder with the extra weight, prevented my from face from imprinting itself onto a car boot. With so much on my mind I hadn’t even thought about the comfort afforded to me by the Ducati. Ample proportions, a dirty big seat and an accommodating screen all combined to cosset me in almost club class luxury but as the road straightened

30 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

and my mind wandered I started to get an achy sensation from below. Yup, my arse was falling asleep and it was a relief to pull in for fuel 152 miles and three hours after my last stop. 50mph doesn’t sound a great average speed but given the twisty roads, lots of speed limits and the odd stop for a quick piccie (and then overtaking everything I’d just passed), it wasn’t a bad pace. But I soon

TYRES

SPORTS MotoGP stars from the eighties used to dream of the rubber we can now buy at our local tyre shop. Track rubber makes roads feel like velcro, but you start to measure a tyre’s life in hours rather than miles. There’s plenty of more practical rubber available that should last longer.

realised that I had miles to go before reaching Land’s End itself, so I did up my Alpinestars Gore-Tex jacket and pressed on into Cornwall and through the F’s of my music collection’s playlist. I was on a mission now after some mental calculations ﬁgured out I was going to struggle to get back in time for my massage. I stepped the pace up towards three ﬁgures where I could and the ST3 barked allegiance to my cause. With more weight away from the front wheel higher speeds were accompanied by a small wobble at speed, although I’ve felt far worse on other machines with loaded panniers. Roundabouts around Newquay and then the A30 soon became mini racetracks, with me rattling down through the gearbox before throwing the ST3 one way, before grappling over to the other side of the Michelin Pilot Road tyre. I don’t often get my knee down on the road when there are no photographers about, but I made exception to this on the ST3 and I had a thoroughly good time in the process. The anchor-like centre stand did curtail lean angles somewhat on a few corners, but there was certainly enough ground clearance to make life interesting on the sports tourer.

THIS IS THE END I eventually made it to Land’s End at 1.50pm. I was that late I only managed a lap of the car park before heading home as quickly as I could. And here’s when life suddenly started becoming more mundane. The A30 teases you with dual carriageway for some long stretches before narrowing into small, untouristy towns and I was losing patience with the whole day by the time the road widened for good. Despite the space on board,

my neck was starting to hurt, my wrists were sore and my arse was practically in a coma. I resorted to standing up on the pegs to stretch my body out again and again as I wished the miles away. 454 miles after I’d started I was under the firm control of Janine, the sports masseur, and as the hurt was manipulated away I reflected on just how much fun the ST3 was. Two hours later the only tenseness left was the prospect of doing it all again on the GSX-R1000. But I was pleasantly surprised with how comfortable the first miles on the little/big Suzuki were two days later. Granted, it’s no tourer, but having spent my riding life on sportsbikes it’s still amazing how obliging to the human form Suzuki was when designing the world’s ultimate machine. A slow-ish start saw slightly more traffic now I was at the end of the week but with just the smallest twist of the throttle, raising revs by literally on 200300rpm any impediment to progress was dealt with pitilessly. No longer needing changes down from sixth, like on the ST3, the GSX-R steamed through Somerset with only two or three changes down for the closest of overtakes. Ah, so that’s what an extra 50bhp of power achieves. But by Minehead my arse had gone into relapse. You can feel some of the big lugs underneath the seat and after an hour my arse

had learned braille and these lugs were spelling p-a-i-n. I was starting to regret my eagerness for ever saying yes to this caper. But excitement levels soon perked up. The most astonishing contrast in rides came on the Minehead to Lynmouth road. Prior to this stretch I’d noticed that my corner speeds were up around 10mph compared to the ST3. I wasn’t going any faster down the straighter roads (as points do not make prizes), but through the turns

SIMON’S

HAPPY SNAPS

www.superbike.co.uk OCTOBER 2005 31

I was braking later and feeling much more reassured travelling through the turn. But that reassurance went after the happy home of Butlins. The open moorland encourages greater speeds and the Suzuki felt as if it was ﬂying, sometimes literally. While the Ducati seemed planted and polite the extra speed of the Suzuki was lifting the front at crests that had just been slopes on the Ducati. No biggy, but the front tyre was then needed for some drastic cornering shortly afterwards, once it had sorted its headshake out – praise to the steering damper here. The rear was working hard too, compressing and extending rapidly, often bucking me out of my seat. Fiddling with the suspension to make it a tad more sympathetic would have helped, but I wasn’t about to fanny about diagnosing problems with a deadline to meet. It was such a different ride. The

MASSAGING THE FIGURE After each ride I went to see top sports masseur Janine Tozer for a rub down to how my body had reacted to each bike. Janine has been a qualiﬁed sports masseur for 10 years. I didn’t feel unduly achy after either ride, just in need of a good bath I felt, but Janine thought otherwise and after an hour and a half on the massage table she came up with the following conclusions.

DUCATI ST3

SUZUKI GSX-R1000

JANINE SAYS

“The upper traps, the muscles that run from the neck down to the shoulders, are tight, as are muscles attaching inside border of scapula (shoulder blade). While there are no fibrous adhesions there was certainly some acute tension here. Overall there’s a lot of neck tension but going down the back things are a bit better. The middle back feels OK, but both sides of the lower back are tight, especially the last third. It’s difficult to say about the glutes (‘Gluteus maximus’ or ‘arse’ to give it its Latin name), Simon really is in the best position to comment here. His injuries to the legs make it difficult to say how the day has affected them. His hamstrings are tight but that could be down to his injury, his calves are OK but his quads (the muscles running down front of the thigh) are tight on the left hand side. The hamstrings are comparative with someone doing a vigorous sporting activity. His forearms are tight too. Overall, Simon’s not in too bad shape considering he’s been sitting all day and to be honest, I was expecting more tension.”

SIMON SAYS “I’ve felt a lot worse, particularly after travelling from Cadwell to London on a Ducati 999R. The ST3 seems like a Rolls Royce in comparison. The massage was like the best Radox in the world although afterwards I did feel a bit squiffy. The massage releases toxins from the muscles

ESSENTIAL EXTRAS

SPORTS TOURER Security is still important, but you’re probably at Def Con Two rather than Def Con one with a sportsbike. You may be wearing some waterproof gear given the more relaxed riding you’re likely to be undertaking – take some if you’re wearing leathers though. To keep the chain healthy some chain lube is useful and a splash of oil could always come in handy. A few extra tools could get you out of a spot of bother and a puncture repair kit could be a godsend.

SPORTS The first thing you need is some decent security, so you’ll need to find somewhere on the bike or your person to carry a chain. You’ll also need a set of waterproofs as unless you’re touring the Gobi desert you are likely to get pissed on. Documents are always handy if you’re abroad, as is a florescent jacket if your in Spain or Austria.

32 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

DIY While you’re on your bike the biggest thing you can do to alleviate muscle pain is to relax. As soon as you tense up then the muscles start to develop ﬁbrous adhesions that can then develop into knots that then really start to get sore. Developing your core strength (using Pilates principles) helps to carry the weight of your upper body and prevent other muscles from overworking. Try not to hold a static position as this can develop postural problems – even something as small as waggling your ﬁngers helps

MASSAGE

“The upper traps are tight as before but Simon seems to be tighter around the left scapula (shoulder) and in the rhomboids (the muscles around the shoulder blade) and this is probably down to a postural cause. With Simon lying down I could see that the right shoulder blade is higher than the left one (indicating left one restricted). The mid back is stiff, again more on the left side but the lower back seems to be OK. Simon’s hamstrings are no worse and the calves are OK although the outer head of the gastrocnemius (part of the calf muscle) has some fibrous tissue build up. Both quads are tight and the right is definitely tighter. Simon says he feels more confident on right hand turns so it could be because he’s bracing differently here. The forearms are still tight and the arm extension is tighter on the right hand side. Overall, the neck is tighter and this is consistent with him holding his chin up higher due to the posture the bike forces him into. The left shoulder is also noticeably worse than before.”

SIMON SAYS “I was glad to get that day over and done with, although I thought that it was going to be worse than it actually was. The seat on the GSXR isn’t particularly comfortable and that seemed to be the main problem. I ﬁnd there’s enough room on the bike to move everything it’s just that –around, and slouching is

deﬁnitely out. Sports massages don’t grow on trees and at around £30-£40 an hour they really are a luxury that only a few could afford regularly. Every now and again they’re a perfect remedy to built up tension and can route out problems in posture and help to prevent further damage. Unless you’ve got a speciﬁc injury that needs ice to control the swelling, a hot bath after a ride encourages blood back to the muscles that brings

THANKS TO JANINE FOR HER FINE WORK. SHE’S ON THE INTERNET AT WWW.THEHEALINGROOM.ORG.UK

commitment required to ride that extra 10mph faster was all-encompassing. I had my tunes on for the length of the road but I have no idea what was playing I was concentrating that much.

Lynmouth was an all too short rest in legality before wailing off in search of the likes of Ilfracombe and Croyde. The tighter corners here suited the hunched and hunted look I was shaping on the

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bike. With the stalks of my eyes on stalks and my left toe hovering between third and fourth gear it felt a world away from the ST3. I wasn’t racing, perhaps only qualifying, and that sums the Suzuki up completely. It doesn’t compel you to ride fast, it just makes it so easy to get sucked in to doing so. Still, the bike is much more capable than I as I realised mis-reading a corner, running wide and having a quiet word with myself under my helmet. 123.7 miles saw my ﬁrst fuel stop on the GSX-R, way ahead of the time I was making on the Ducati and other than my arse ache I wasn’t suffering a jot. I pressed on as hard as I dared until the threat of speed traps on the A30 forced me to knock the pace off. The best part of this trip was not the massages, lovely though they were. No, the A3071 from Penzance to Land’s End is as good a piece of road anywhere in the country. Smooth tarmac, inviting corners and the promise of journey’s end all make up ten miles of perfect riding. The GSX-R was perfect company too. Fast, accurate steering combine with sensuous feedback and precise responses obliterated any such euphoria from the Ducati, seeming lumbering and lethargic in comparison. But the Ducati’s revenge was a dish served on the A30 and M5 and not daring to let the Suzuki truly loose I ran at a similar cruising speed to the Ducati, but in starker surroundings to the Italian machine. More wind noise, aching wrists, shoulders and neck, throbbing quad muscles and all round feeling of having been beaten up combined to make me contemplate pulling an HT lead out and phoning the AA. As I pulled up for my second massage I’d learnt that there’s no such thing as a perfect compromise. Sacriﬁce comfort for speed and you’re only going to start aching quicker. You want life’s little luxuries? Well, be prepared for your speed to suffer. You simply can’t blend the best bits of the Ducati and Suzuki and come up with the perfect bike. But what you can do is appreciate the facets of each bike and work around their downfalls. The Ducati, like all its rivals, is mighty good fun through corners, but it’s never going to rival a sports machine. Yes, you could stick gluey rubber on it but then the chassis and largely unadjustable

THE DAY IN NUMBERS Miles Journey time Average speed Litres of fuel Cost of fuel Miles per litre (gal) Knee downs Wheelies Missed gears Caravans overtaken Shite sandwiches eaten Indicated top speed (sounds like) Price

suspension would scream under the new forces raging through them. You’d then lose all the bike’s comfort as you really need to manhandle the ST3 to get it steered while your wallet will drain funds straight to your local tyre dealer in the process. Likewise, you can potter on the Suzuki,

“

...AFTER AN HOUR MY ARSE HAD LEARNED BRAILLE AND THE UNDERSEAT LUGS WERE SPELLING PAIN...

34 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

DUCATI ST3 454.6 8 hours 22 minutes 54.33mph 51.76 £47.67 8.78 (39.08) 7 7 5 14 2 One bun (red) and naughty late £7,695

”

SUZUKI GSX-R1000 433.8 7 hours 56 minutes 54.68mph 47.35 £43.07 9.16 (41.59) 18 16 4 22 1 One bun (red) and nifty Tyne £8,799

CLOTHING

SPORTS TOURER One piece leathers look a little odd, two piece sets are just about acceptable. The full on Gore-Tex ensemble not only looks right but keeps you protected from the weather as well. Even better is a one piece oversuit that you keep your clothes on underneath so you can literally zip out of your motorcycling clothes and into a dry Martini. Waterproof boots and gloves should ﬁnish things off nicely.

SPORTS Not much choice here other than a full on star spangled race suit. Anything else just isn’t sportsbike riding. You’ll have enough room in the pockets for some cash, a few cards and a phone, everything else you’ll have to pack away. Boots are unlikely to be waterproof, a back protector is recommended and a clear visor should be stuck into a rucksack too. Mind you, when visiting the local sights leathers do make you look like Quasimodo…

but in doing so you’re using the bike to about one per cent of its potential while putting your body through the mincer. But it’s your experiences that matter and I had a fantastic time – whenever I was off a dual-carriageway – on both days. I never for one minute thought that the ST3 hampered my progress while my pains on the GSX-R were only temporary. Both got to me to where I needed to be on time and provided thrills whenever a curve appeared, so, in the end it’s just riding that matters. SB

TYRE WHERE? MICHELIN AT LADOUX

IT TAKES EVER WONDER WHAT E THE TO DEVELOP A TYRE LIK CE? OLD MAN MICHELIN POWER RA CHELIN’S R&D PRYDE SNUCK INTO MI UX DEPARTMENT AT LADO D UL CO HE TO SEE WHAT ... OM FIND OUT FR

Words: Kenny Pryde. Pics: F Lehritier

et’s be honest here. In recent years, Michelin road tyres for sports bikes haven’t been too good. If you were feeling generous you might say they were OK – but nobody outside of Michelin’s Clermont Ferrand headquarters ever got too excited about the Michelin Pilot Sport. And before that, the old Hi-Sport design was, semi-fondly, generally known as the ‘Hi-Side’. How could it be that Michelin couldn’t

36 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

make a tyre to heat up as quickly as the competition? How could it be that a company so dominant in Grand Prix and World superbike championships couldn’t make a top-ﬂight sporting road tyre with grip to match? Harsh? Well, reading between the lines, it appears that someone very high up at Michelin was asking more or less the same questions. They were spending truckloads of money in racing, so where were the

commercial beneﬁts of this expensive track-based research and development? We will never know who started the ball rolling, but ﬁve years ago, Michelin men got a wake up call and collectively realised they were selling themselves short. The upshot of this rubber revelation was that the marketing bods reported back to the product development team that they needed a new tyre with more grip, a faster warm-up time and decent

THE COMPANY LINE MICHELIN - THEY’RE VERY, VERY CLEVER Michelin spends 4.3 per cent of its turnover on research and development. That’s more than any other tyre manufacturer. It can call on research carried out by 4,000 people in three continents (Japan, US, Europe), albeit they’re all working on different kinds of tyres. And, as if to prove that it has always been keen on R&D, Michelin was at pains to point out it was the ﬁrst French company to invest in computer technology allowing it to use computer modelling simulation. “The other was Meteo France, the French weather service,” said Gilles Colas de Francs (above), the head of motorcycle tyre research and development at Ladoux.

Typical – you spend hundreds of man (and woman) hours scientiﬁcally developing a set of tyres. Then the testers only use the rear one

wear characteristics. And could they please get it to the shops as soon as possible – please? And that, in the case of the Power Race, was how the three-year process kicked off. And then what happens? Well, the mathematicians, chemists and engineers get together to start work, each bringing their own expertise to improving the computer simulations , to cross-check combinations of tyre construction and

compound mix. But even at this early stage, test riders are involved, “so as they fully understand what sort of tyre we are trying to produce as an end product,” says said Gilles Colas de Francs, the head of motorbike tyre research and development at Ladoux. “If you were to ask me where the next stage of development was to come from, I would have to say it is probably at

Above: The Ladoux test facility. Below: An unconventional way of using it

www.superbike.co.uk OCTOBER 2005 37

the level of the chemistry, the production of polymers, elastomers and so on.” It might seem like mumbo-jumbo but, consider this; you might have produced the stickiest and most durable compound in the world of bike tyres but, if you can’t get it to mix evenly with carbon black and silica, you’ve got nothing but a sticky mess. You need the glue to bind the elements together and, after that, you can start to tweak the compound. “To be honest, the chemistry involved in producing the synthetic compounds is possibly the most important and difﬁcult part. Not only do the ingredients have to mix, they also have to be spread evenly throughout the tyre, to make sure than every inch of the rubber has the same properties – the same level and consistency of grip and wear.” See, you never thought about that did you? OK, I know I didn’t.

With the Power Race tyres, the competition team was involved at every level and stage. “We now have a meeting every month to discuss developments within each department. After all, the chemists who work in the competition teams might work with between 300 or 400

compounds a year, whereas the road tyre R&D teams might work with 50. You can see why we need to talk to each other when we are developing a supersport tyre.” And so, via the miracle of rolling roads, computer simulations, computer-aided design and in-house know-how, the engineers end up with the production of a dozen tyres for test-circuit evaluation. And, from a tyre tester’s point of view this is where the fun really starts and practice meets theory. “We test the tyres on the high-speed track and the handling and steering circuits as well as at speciﬁc wettrack facilities we have and we also, eventually send tyres out to ‘normal’ riders we have contact with throughout Europe and America to give us feedback,” continues Colas des Francs.

MICHELIN COMPETITION NICOLAS GOUBERT IS THE HEAD OF COMPETITION AT MICHELIN. WHICH IS TO SAY THAT HE IS MR MOTOGP, OFTEN SEEN IN THE GARAGES OF VALENTINO ROSSI AND THE REST OF THE MICHELIN RIDERS. HAPPILY FOR MICHELIN, GOUBERT IS A METHODICAL AND COMMUNICATIVE KIND OF FELLOW, UNLIKE, SAY, SOME OF HIS PREDECESSORS

istorically, the competition team and the road tyre research and development mob haven’t been too good at telling each other what they’ve been doing. “There was a point when we thought the Competition guys were basically just rushing about, pushing loads of buttons to see what came out the other end and seeing if it worked,” explained Colas des Francs, not altogether joking, “but when we sat down to work out how we could help each other, we realised that each side had a lot to gain. We got information on tyre compounds and construction and they got information and access to construction technologies which helped them turn round tyres really quickly thanks, in part, to the C3M process. If you like, what the road tyre guys brought to the party was the fact

that we had worked out how to get the best of the C3M production, we had de-bugged it, so to speak.” Goubert concurred. “When I started in competition, it took three weeks to alter a tyre, it was a very labour-intensive process,

they had to ﬁnish the tyres by hand and if we wanted a change to the proﬁle of a tyre, we needed to start from scratch. Now, with the computer-based C3M process, we can turn a new tyre much quicker, which is why we were able to tweak the race tyre between Mugello and Catalunya this year – that was effectively only four working days.” And of course the tyre worked – Rossi’s winning race time at Catalunya was 40 seconds quicker than last year’s race time. And he set a new lap record on the penultimate lap to boot. Proof positive? Rossi sets the lap record late on at Catalunya

...EFFECTIVELY, WE CAN “CHANGE A TYRE IN FOUR WORKING DAYS... ” NICOLAS GOUBERT

38 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

runo Perard has been at Michelin for 13 years in total and his job for most of that time has been to test-ride bike tyres. That’s it. Bruno and his team spend every day riding bike tyres and reporting back to the development gurus. “I never know what tyre I am on when I am on track – or any time in fact,” explained Bruno, “there’s no point in that, it just gets in the way of me trying to work out what the tyre is doing (are you reading this, MCN?). There are lap timers on the bikes – all of which are left completely standard – but there’s no point in looking at them as you ride, again, it just gets in the way of you working out what the tyre is doing – all that would do is cloud your judgement.

As much as possible we try to lock down all the variables and distractions.” And how far does this go? Well, when Bruno and the boys go out to test tyre ‘A’ or ‘B’ they do their laps, come in and make their notes then go out again on the same bike on different tyres. But the petrol tank has been re-ﬁlled so as the weight of the bike

MICHELIN’S TEST RIDER

BRUNO PERARD...

– and the weight over the front of the bike, is exactly the same. Bruno and his band of brothers also head out on the roads over longer trips. Curiously – but not accidentally – Bruno and the testers are all different weights. And on three or four day tyre-wear road tests, the riders wake up each day knowing that their tyres have been changed, but, of course, not knowing which tyres they are riding on, so yet again, their feedback at the end of that day is blind. But – get this – they send tyres out to speciﬁc regions where the road surfaces and temperatures are different, yet again ensuring the widest possible spread of ‘real world’ feedback.

“Come on, there are some American F1 fans who’d really like to meet you”

...AND THOSE OTHER TESTERS

ichelin is quick to talk up its corporate strategy which includes, in big letters, ‘competition driven innovation’. Which means that they use the MotoGP riders to test tyres, sometimes, if the opportunity arises, road tyres. “I remember Colin Edwards was at Ladoux last year, (pictured above)” recalls Goubert, “and he was really struggling to ﬁnd a front tyre he was happy with. At one point I asked him if he would go out on the

40 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

Power Race tyres and give us some feedback. He jumped on the bike and did some laps then came in and told us that was the front tyre he needed.” And, speaking of MotoGP tyre testers, what makes a good tester? “Well, the rider has to be ready and willing psychologically,” mused Goubert, “but just because a racer is fast it doesn’t mean he is a good tyre developer. Mick Doohan was a great racer and was always willing

to test tyres. If we told him we had 10 tyres to test, Mick would turn up at nine o’clock and ride the tyres, then tell us which one was the best, but give us little information about that tyre or any of the other nine. If we ask Valentino (Rossi) the same thing, he’ll say, ‘OK, I’ll maybe turn up at 11 o’clock and I’ll test three for you,’ which is exactly what he’ll do, but he’ll give you very

exact information on all three tyres. You tell me, which is the best?” SB

E TH

G I T B S TE

DEVON

RS URE H O T RT S IUMP S P O DA VS TRDUCATI HONBMW VS VS

HELL?

LET’S STOP KIDDING OURSELVES. WE’RE NOT GETTING ANY YOUNGER AND WE’RE NOT GETTING ANY FASTER EITHER. SO, CAN SPORTS TOURER TRIPS TO THE SEASIDE EVER BE MORE FUN THAN A NOISY TRACKDAY ON ONE OF THOSE NEW FANGLED ROCKETSHIPS? OR ARE THEY THE SPAWN OF SATAN? SIMON WENT WEST TO FIND OUT Words: Simon Roots Pictures: John Noble

e humans are a lot like moths you know. As soon as the sun comes out we’re mystically drawn to this ﬂaming orb in the sky, much like a moth ﬂutters frantically around its

42 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

100w Osram sun. And as temperatures soar, there’s nothing quite like a dazzling ride to where the roasting red sun meets the two blues of sky and sea while you race across a trafﬁc-light green

countryside in a celebration of primary colours. And few places offer colours as rich as Devon. With a coastline that nestles against both the English and Bristol

www.superbike.co.uk OCTOBER 2005 43

SPORTS TOURERS: DUCATI ST3 BMW R1200ST

HONDA VFR800

TRIUMPH SPRINT ST

WHERE WE WENT

CYDER COUNTRY Look on any map (unless it’s a map of Beijing or something) and you’ll see a red road running inland from Bridgewater to the north Devon coast. The red part implies that it’s an A road, but this is no trunk route. Rather, tall green verges sandwich winding macadam all the way through to Bridgewater, 60 miles, and thousands of heartbeats, away. Away from the water, you can turn off the A39 and join the A396 towards Tiverton although many of the other roads over Exmoor are tight, twisty and full of sheep, caravans or poor road surfaces – usually at the same time. Police are few and far between, but they do patrol the more popular routes hawkishly at the weekends, and mobile speed cameras are often set up through villages. Check out www. dcsafetycameras.org for more information.

PRESSED SHIRT

DAVID GOAT FREELANCE ROAD TESTER

HAWAIIAN SHIRT

SIMON ROOTS SUPERBIKE ROAD TESTER

STUFFED SHIRT

JON PEARSON SUPERBIKE FEATURES EDITOR

SHIRT LIFTER

CHRIS MOSS FREELANCE ROAD TESTER

THOSE TOURISTS channels and an interior that includes the desolateness of the Exmoor National Park and a bovine heaven of lush green ﬁelds, there are few places in the country to

44 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

match its magniﬁcence. But to tear through the county on a battalion of thoroughbred sportsbikes would be doing it an

injustice. No, this is landscape to be savoured, so a sedative needs to be prescribed to a machine so that you can appreciate bike and backdrop in perfect harmony. The remedy for million-mile-an-hour riding comes in the form of sports tourers. Tranquilised compared to their race-bred brethren, this breed of bike is many things to many people. Some see them as relaxed scratchers, ready, willing and able to mix it with the big boys. Others see them as mileage machines, capable of making continents smaller places with all the essentials packed neatly into panniers and top-boxes. Some are daily commuters, some venture out only a few times a year. Some are polished to death, others are ridden into the ground. A sports tourer has to perform a multitude of roles well, otherwise more specialised niches will get the business. They need to be comfortable otherwise a sportsbike is an obvious choice, while they also need to be sporty enough to lure people away from the dedicated tourers, like Honda’s Pan European or Yamaha’s FJR1300.

THE BIKES A

nd this collection of bikes has more tricks up its collective sleeves than the Magic Circle’s AGM. The deﬁnitive sports tourer for nearly 20 years has been the Honda VFR800. The heady days of the VFR being considered sporty are long gone now and no racer will repeat Rocket Ron Haslam’s feat of gaining a podium place on a Transatlantic Trophy race on a stocker (with or without the rumoured tax disc). But success is still highly evident, although these days it’s calculated by the subjective measurement of smiles per hour rather than by traditional, objective means. Ducati also has a decent record in the class over the past decade and by blending the ﬁrm’s simpler engines

with sympathetic and uncomplicated chassis technology Ducati has competed in the class – although nowhere near the levels of the Honda. That’s until the ST range started to up its numbers. The ST2 was always a bit of a whimpering dog at the best of times, but versions of the ST4 are genuinely exciting bikes that use the throbbing heart of Ducati’s superbike in a more relaxed chassis. The ST3 was introduced last year as a cheaper way to see the world. Fresh from the Bavarian block comes the R1200ST from BMW. Now, BMW has been very busy of late, beavering around with four cylinder technology as seen on the K1200 series, but the ST sticks with two cylinder boxer twin

technology for now. On the GS enduro and RT tourer the new lump is spot-on for the work the bikes undertake, implying that the ST has an emphasis on the T rather than the S. Astonishing chassis technology, radical suspension and those indescribable looks make the ST interesting from the outset although BMW’s reputation in the class has always been solid, rather than spectacular. And finally comes the nearly man for so many years. The VFR800 has been the bane of Triumph’s engineer’s lives for years now because their rival, the Sprint ST, has been a damn fine bike, just not quite damn fine enough to wrestle the title from Honda. But

if Triumph can’t steal the lead from Honda after arrogantly leaving the VFR neglected for four years then they should really ship their production out to America and go and kiss cruiser cock, because that would be the only market left where they produce bikes that rule the roost.

www.superbike.co.uk OCTOBER 2005 45

SPORTS TOURERS: DUCATI ST3 BMW R1200ST

HONDA VFR800

TRIUMPH SPRINT ST

Engines & Performance f I’ve given the impression that these bikes are constantly in a state of Irelaxation then 150mph swooshes through the countryside should set the record straight. The fact is that these bikes are extremely fast and in an everyday sense they’re as fast as anything you can buy in the showrooms. It’s just that there’s no implicit resolve of these bikes to make you go as quickly as you can. Each engine’s conﬁguration gives a breadth and elasticity of performance that enables you to ﬁnd your own pace and not have one dictated to you. Unsurprisingly, given the limitations of its fundamental technology, the BMW R1200ST suffers at the hands of its rivals even though only the Triumph is more powerful. The two big pistons punch sideways against convention, demonstrating why convention is so in favour these days. Boxers, in the pugilist sense, always hit hardest with a rising uppercut dealt to the chin. Punching sideways only wears yourself out, and that’s how you feel on the BMW, knackered trying to get anywhere quickly. Inheriting the position of tail-end Charlie was the norm on the BMW as the engine never makes up for the idiosyncratic nature of the chassis. At a gentler pace the motor also fails to perform lower in the revs. You can be as delicate as you like with the throttle as you open the ST up at the apex of a hairpin bend, but that subtly is lost as soon as the pistons pick up and

46 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

it lurches right under its own momentum. It’s like your own mini T-bone crash, but without the carnage. BMW owners will be used to it but it belies the bike’s real sophistication for it to feel so crude. While we’re on the subject, the fuel injection system isn’t that sharp down low either, compounding the problem. As a tourer, the BMW makes a little more sense as more gentle inputs don’t expose the bike’s lack of enthusiasm. But why you’d plump for the ST over the new R1200RT is beyond me. As a form of transportation the BMW works, but only just.

Being built to a budget, the ST3 forgoes the 996 superbike motor found in the ST4S in favour of the simpler and less powerful six-valve 992cc motor but it’s an omission that’s barely noticed against its peers. There’s a certain simplicity, even rawness, to this motor. Forget Honda’s convoluted V-Tec system or Triumph’s roaring triple configuration, this is a motor that just loves petrol being squirted down its holes and for all its lack of sophistication, the ST3 just runs and runs. Mind you, you do get used to life’s little luxuries, like an automatic choke, and when the ST3 doesn’t fire up first time

T E C H

S P E C

BMW R1200ST Price NU Ins group

£9,060 (ABS £9,855) 14

ENGINE Type Displacement Bore x Stroke Compression Carburation Gearbox Power Torque

a/c Boxer twin 1,170cc 101 x 73mm 12.0:1 BMW BMS-K engine management six-speed 100.4bhp@7,280pm (at wheel) 77.9lbf ft@6,400rpm (at wheel)

CYCLE PARTS Chassis Suspension

Brakes

Wheels/Tyres

Rake / Trail Wheelbase Capacity Wet weight Contact

Three piece alu/steel tube Front: Telelever Rear: Paralever monoshock, preload and rebound damping adjustable Front: dual 320mm discs, fourpiston EVO calipers, optional ABS Rear: 265mm disc, dual piston caliper Front: 120/70 ZR 17 Dunlop D220 Rear: 180/55 ZR 17 Dunlop D220 27°/112mm 1,502mm 21 litres (4.6 gal) 241.5kg (531.3lb) (measured) BMW UK 01344 426565

ENGINE The layout of the engine may be the same as that found in the GS but there’s 15bhp more in the ST to suit BMW’s sporty intent. This power is found through raising the rev limit 500rpm, modiﬁcations to the camshafts, a new intake system and higher pistons that increase compression to 12.0:1. The BMS-K engine management system has an anti-knock control and oxygen sensors that control the fuel/air mix to each individual cylinder. Top gear has been made short to use the bike’s torque rather than hunting for a high top speed.

CHASSIS Largely based on the more relaxed RT, the front and rear steel elements to the frame are both bolted on to the motor to form the load bearing structure. The Telelever arm rests on the engine while the Paralever pivots on the rear of the frame.

SUSPENSION The Telelever design eliminates virtually all dive on the brakes but for some it reduces feel and feedback, especially when combined with the Dunlop D220 tyres. At the rear the drive shaft is incorporated into the Paralever system that’s claimed to be as light as a conventional swingarm.

BRAKES ABS is an option but as standard you get braided hoses, stiffer calipers (than the old model) and 320mm discs. The jury’s out on the effectiveness of the ABS, but the brakes themselves are powerful enough to cause the ABS system to kick in.

CLOCKS The instruments are easy to read but it is difﬁcult to pluck your speed ﬁgure from the dial. There’s a gear indicator along with information on range, trips and a whole host of warning signs. An immobiliser comes as standard.

SPORTS? You’re having a laugh aren’t you? While the Boxer Cup entertained the GP crowds the fact of the matter is that BMW has never been the sportiest kids on the block. There’s plenty of weight to hurry around and while the motor may hint at chucking decent power out, it’s difﬁcult to harness it in this chassis.

TOURER? The ST certainly makes long journeys bearable with a big comfy seat protecting the rear from a numb bum. But the

ergonomics aren’t that generous really and there’s not too much protection gained from the screen. But that’s not to say that it won’t eat miles easily and you’ll not have to look at the thing while you’re on the move either.

PREVIOUS MODELS The R1150RS (right) was itself an update of the R1100RS so expect the R1250ST in the next few years if these 50cc capacity hikes are anything to go by. The R1100RS was born way back in 1993 and replaced by the 1150 in 2001, the ﬁrst of the new-generation boxers. The styling of the ST remains in the same vein of the RS, but ugliﬁed by 84 per cent.

THE BOTTOM LINE: There’s a ‘hi’ and an ‘e’ missing from the ‘ST’ logo. Average in everything, except ugliness – buy a K1200S instead www.superbike.co.uk OCTOBER 2005 47

SPORTS TOURERS: DUCATI ST3 BMW R1200ST you just have to look down towards your left hand to see the choke needs to be employed. Once warm, the Ducati runs well. At low speed there’s the necessity to choose the right gear for the job. You’re not likely to have any ﬁllings left if you go through town in top, but the Ducati starts to pull from around 3,000rpm right through to its imaginary redline at 10,000rpm. In the gulf between those marks the Ducati acts eagerly at all points. There’s plenty of pull from the big pistons and as the 50mm throttle bodies are asked to spit more fuel into the chamber the more the ST3 reacts positively. The Marelli fuel injection system not only allows Ducati to use its timeless logo on the tacho but it also presents no nasty surprises as you wind the machine up. Power is neat and progressive although the long gearing often fools you into thinking you’re cruising in top when actually you’ve got another cog to go. The technology that Honda has thrown at the VFR is in stark contrast to the Ducati, but it just goes to show you that there are always two ways to crack a nut. But for all the years spent conjuring up engineering masterpieces (and the acronyms to go with them) you can’t help but feel that the Honda just needs a capacity hike rather than further fantasies conjured up in Honda’s R&D dream factory. I felt this was the case when we tested the VFR on the Isle of Man last year, and a year has only cemented this view. Ride the Honda ﬂat out and you’ll mask the problem, but if you take a more everyday approach then there are genuine reasons to question the bike’s

48 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

HONDA VFR800

TRIUMPH SPRINT ST

legendary status. For a start, the fuel injection is poor and switch-like even at lower revs. Holding the bike on a neutral throttle through a corner is also difﬁcult as the bike urges you to make advances even when you’re not ready. The 7,000rpm mark signals the VTEC system to bring the other two valves per cylinder into operation and this can cut in unexpectedly through a corner, although this seems to depend on an individual’s riding style. JP and I had no problem with it, but Dave and Mossy kept on hitting what should

otherwise be a sweet-spot just at the wrong time. Another problem is the bike’s huge lack of torque, at least 15lbf ft less than its rivals. The claims behind the VTEC system are that using just two valves below 7,000rpm makes for a gruntier motor, but that’s simply not the case. The VFR800 struggles to pull itself out of the mire below 3,500rpm in top and is sluggish beyond this meaning that only psychics can make sharp overtakes. Those without clairvoyant tendencies get to gawp at the two waving kids relegated to the boot seats of the Volvo you’re following wishing that their shite-driving father would just put his foot down. So I was starting to think that there really was a lot of fuss over nothing until an evening ride across Exmoor. Then, with the VFR’s tacho bouncing around 10,000rpm the Honda felt devilishly fast

T E C H

S P E C

TRIUMPH SPRINT ST Price NU Ins group

£7,799 (ABS £8,500) 14

ENGINE Type Displacement Bore x Stroke Compression Carburation Gearbox Power Torque

l/c 12v triple, DOHC 1,050cc 79 x 71.4mm 12.0:1 Keihin electronic fuel injection Six-speed 116.5bhp@9,400rpm (at wheel) 73.0lbf ft@7,950rpm (at wheel)

CYCLE PARTS Chassis Suspension

Brakes

Wheels/Tyres

Rake / Trail Wheelbase Capacity Wet weight Contact

Aluminium twin spar Front: 43mm RWU Showa forks, preload adjustable Rear: Showa Monoshock, preload and rebound damping adjustable Front: dual 320mm discs, fourpiston calipers, optional ABS Rear: 255mm disc, dual piston caliper Front: 120/70 ZR17 Bridgestone BT-020 Rear: 180/55 ZR17 Bridgestone BT-020 24°/90mm 1,457mm 21 litres (4.6 gal) 245.2kg (539.4lb) (weighed) Triumph Motorcycles 01455 251700

SUSPENSION The Showa RWU forks are adjustable for preload only and are again very different to the Speed Triple, relaunched at virtually the same time. This shows that Triumph is serious about tailoring each bike for its likely uses so while the Triple terrorises local communities, the Sprint offers a plush and graceful ride. The Showa rear shock has no compression damping adjustment but everything else can be ﬁddled with.

ENGINE Why bother spending pots of cash on a complete engine redesign when a stoke will do? And Triumph gave the old 955cc engine a loving stoke too, increasing it by 6.4mm to 71.4mm boosting the new engine to 1,050cc. Not only that but Triumph worked on the crankcases, cylinder head, pistons and cams to great effect. Keihin’s fuel injection system is all new too after extensive work with the Hinkley factory. The exhaust now exits under the seat, as is the way these days, which may turn a pillion’s trousers into hot pants if you get stuck in trafﬁc for any length of time.

CHASSIS Triumph has stuck with the fundamentals of the twin spar aluminium frame but the Sprint’s wheelbase is now 13mm shorter (now 1,457mm). Other changes to the Sprint’s steering geometry (a degree steeper rake and 2mm shorter trail) make the Triumph a ﬁne-handling machine.

BRAKES There’s no radial mount calipers as with the redesigned Speed Triple but the Nissin system uses the same sized discs as found on the Triple for some strange reason. Fade is an issue under extreme usage. ABS is an option.

SPORTS? The Sprint feels like a big bike from the off so you are bound by the constraints of its size but you can certainly have a stab at scratching on the Sprint. Wind the preload up at both ends and try and dial the softness out and head for country that ﬂatters the chassis.

TOURER? There’s plenty of room for two and the (rather crap) optional panniers and top box mean that you can load the Sprint up and virtually move house with it. The seat is big and comfy and the pegs and bars are a comfortable reach away. The

STYLING Not a thing of beauty, but the Sprint has a sleek and complete feel about it. Take a look at the front of it, for instance. The lights are sculpted beauty, the dark screen is tres stylish and the integrated indicators in the mirrors epitomise how well designed the Sprint ST has become. Don’t even get me on the rear view with the three shimmering exhaust outlets…

Triple’s a bit thirsty when you’re on the charge so have the Clubcard at the ready to collect those petrol points.

PREVIOUS MODELS The Sprint ST ﬁrst appeared on our shelves in 1998 and had very few modiﬁcations throughout its six year history other than receiving the retuned 955cc engine in 2001. Blindingly fast and silky smooth thanks to the donated motor, the Triumph felt solidly built yet was so supple and balanced through the curves that it nearly toppled the VFR from its cement-like perch when it appeared, but back then the VFR truly was imperious in the class.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Triumph comes top for the second time this year with a really sorted engine and top all-round package www.superbike.co.uk OCTOBER 2005 49

SPORTS TOURERS: DUCATI ST3 BMW R1200ST

– but only because the speedo said so. The chassis is so reﬁned that you really can take in scenery while travelling so rapidly. It’s an odd criticism to lay at the Honda’s door but in the same way as the furiously fast Fireblade has achieved a level of assuredness that almost dulls the senses, the VFR does the same. It would sound a great bike if it had pipes to suit, it would feel more alive if it had a transplant of torque and it would feel desirable if it had a character. But it doesn’t, it’s just too bloody competent for its own good. So if the “Are these refreshments on expenses?”

50 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

HONDA VFR800

VFR’s V-four motor is the school nerd then the Triumph Sprint ST’s really is the class clown. As soon the bike is started (annoyingly only after the ECU has done it’s pre-ﬂight checks) the chuckling gurgle from the exhaust system draws you towards it. I was either glad I was onboard or intensely jealous of whoever’s turn it was on the Trumpet. After spending quite a bit of time on Triumph’s Speed Triple (that shares the Sprint’s motor), I soon reacquainted myself with the massive “What do you mean ﬂexibility of the refreshments? This is enlarged 1,050cc dinner?” motor in wheelie form. Yes, while the Sprint may look a sensible choice, the motor, hidden away under the swathes of deep blue plastic, is a cheeky monkey of a block. Unlike the VFR, there’s a real character to it, revving freely at all but

TRIUMPH SPRINT ST

the lowest revs in a high gear. The grunt in the middle of the range destroys the VFR in top gear roll ons, although the Honda fought back when it was in a lower gear and the VTEC system cut in. Triumph’s work with Keihin has paid dividends with the results from the fuel injection and powering the Sprint from a neutral throttle is very smooth, much like the rest of the motor. Rolling the throttle on from 6,000rpm sounds like you’re not on a bike, but rather in the pilot’s seat with a Spitfire around you. With a dogfight ensuing, the Triumph is a spitting image (or rather a sound) of the iconic Merlin engine; burbling on the overrun, humming sweetly on song. I am Douglas Bader in leathers – now where’s that Kraut gone? The performance of the motor really puts the Triumph head and shoulders above its rivals and it does enough to warrant a test against say the Honda Blackbird and ZZ-R1200. The Sprint would lose the headline-grabbing speed tests, but the triple feels every bit as useful as these bigger bored brutes. If the gearbox didn’t need two stabs to get from first to second I’d say that it was perfect in this application.

T E C H

S P E C

ENGINE

DUCATI ST3 Price NU Ins group

£7,495 15

ENGINE Type Displacement Bore x Stroke Compression Carburation Gearbox Power Torque

l/c, 6v, 90° V-twin 992cc 94 x 71.5mm 11.3:1 Marelli electronic fuel injection, 50mm throttle bodies six-speed 99.8bhp@8,980rpm (at wheel) 68.9lbf ft@7,180rpm (at wheel)

CYCLE PARTS Chassis Suspension

Brakes

Wheels/Tyres

Rake / Trail Wheelbase Capacity Weight (wet) Contact

Tubular steel trellis Front: 43mm USD Showa forks, preload adjustable Rear: Sachs Monoshock, fully adjustable Front: dual 320mm discs, four-piston calipers Rear: 245mm disc, dual piston caliper Front: 120/70ZR17 Michelin Pilot Road Rear: 180/55ZR17 Michelin Pilot Road 24°/102mm 1,430mm 21 litres (4.6 gal) 230.1kg (506.2lb) (weighed) Ducati UK 0845 1222996

SUSPENSION Ducati cut a few corners when it ordered its springs from Showa and Sachs. The Showa forks are only adjustable for preload while the Sachs unit at the rear isn’t the most sophisticated unit it produces. However, they combine well for the designated tasks and only really suffer under prolonged tortuous use.

BRAKES Ducati only offers ABS on the ST4S, and if you plump for that you’d better have over £9,500 on the table before you can grasp the keys. The Ducati’s weight works in its favour though as the Brembo brakes work well.

The six-valve, liquid-cooled, Desmotre 992cc motor is a weird, bastard relation of the four-valve air-cooled 1000DS motor used in versions of Ducati’s Monster, Multistrada and SS range as well as the new Bimota DB5 and a few new leaf-blowers on the market and it ﬁts well into the philosophy of the ST3 too. Pay an extra grand though and the ST4S is blessed with the motor from the 996 (as well as other bells and whistles) that equates to a 15bhp boost.

CHASSIS The aluminium twin spar – nah, only joking, of course it’s a steel trellis frame. Offering strength on combination with lightness, the chassis handles the things that the suspension spits back at it. Ducati has engineered a few neat touches into the design too, most notable the exhaust height system that changes to suit loading and riding style. However, the ST3 shares the same chassis as the ST2, itself nearly a decade old, and it would be nice for Ducati to make a few bits look a bit prettier – the swingarm looks like it was designed by the work experience boy when compared to the rest of the bike.

SPORTS? Ducati knows sports and the ST3 can be hustled and harried down many a country lane without feeling that you’re either on a two-wheeled triﬂe or that you’re sitting on a bull that’s just been branded. It’s stable through quicker corners and offers a good blend between the ﬁnesse of touring and the thrill of cornering.

TOURER? The fuel tank holds enough juice to make the world seem a smaller place while Ducati has added neat touches to make riding a breeze. The screen is big and works well, the handlebars are easily adjusted for height. There’s a 12v DC plug under the seat for heated clothing and the seat is generously plump and comfortable. Bigger

CLOCKS The Magneti Marelli logo grins back at you with all the class and dignity that you’d expect of Ducati. The classy white analogue tacho blends well with the LCD display that includes the well thought out ‘miles to ﬁll up’ function – even if it seems a little wayward now and again.

jobs when it comes to servicing mean that it’s not a particularly cheap bike to run.

PREVIOUS MODEL The ST2 offered a Tesco No Frills approach to touring. The two-valve liquid-cooled 944cc motor was harsh and unbecoming of Ducati. The ST2 meekly boasted about 83bhp which needed an awful lot of coaxing through the gearbox to get anything like decent performance out of it. The ride could be crude and uncultured at times, and those times would be whenever it was off its side-stand. It just seemed like it was a sports tourer designed by someone that had either never been touring or who had to build a bike to a budget the size of three packets of crisps.

THE BOTTOM LINE: An Italian sports tourer? Well yes, and it’s a corker, servicing costs and reliability questions aside. But it goes well www.superbike.co.uk OCTOBER 2005 51

SPORTS TOURERS: DUCATI ST3 BMW R1200ST

Chassis &hileHandling the BMW R1200ST may get you to either St. Ives or St. Tropez W in a physically comfortably state it can’t transform itself in a carnivorous cornering machine turning you into a mental wreck. Indeed, the faster you go on the BMW the more confused the signals return from the idiosyncratic suspension. Now, if I were BMW 70 years ago and I’d just invented the telescopic fork I would have thought that a good day’s work and got on and used it. But no, not our

52 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

HONDA VFR800

German friends. Shunning an idea that keeps the whole motorcycling industry in suspense, BMW dropped the whole fork idea in favour of something that looks like a Meccano set for engineering graduates. But BMW is nothing but belligerent and have persevered with the Telelever and Paralever systems for a Reich now and they’re reﬁned to a good degree. That still doesn’t stop them feeling odd when you ﬁrst jump on a Beemer. At slower

TRIUMPH SPRINT ST

speeds, the front end feels a little distant as you expect the front shock to ﬂex more under braking, but as you speed up there is a growing appreciation of being able to brake late into a corner before getting the bike turned. Mossy and Dave then started moaning about the ABS system. Both were saying that if they steamed into a corner the system would kick in and release the brakes, but then wouldn’t re-apply them quickly enough leaving the bike to run wide at the turn in point. Now, JP and I didn’t get close to locking the front, so we can’t comment, maybe it’s just something that maniacs have to cope with. On the whole, I felt the front brakes are sharp and work well in conjunction with the Telelever suspension – although the servo system hampers moving the bike around without the ignition on and then drains the battery if you’ve not got the engine running. Sadly, the BMW lacks accuracy in its steering and feel from its Dunlop rubber. The rear had a tendency to kick you out of a corner as it jumped up off the brakes and gassing the bike hard makes the rear feel as if it’s loading up, but it seems as if it can only deal with one input at a time making for an uncertain and clumsy ride at times. The Ducati also feels far from perfect, but rather than those imperfections spoiling a ride, the ST3 communicates and lets you know when danger is imminent. Ducati has a huge amount of experience with the steel trellis frame, but it has learnt lessons from the ST2’s harsh suspension to give the ST3 a ride that’s soft enough to soak the worst bumps up, but not too wallowy and imprecise.

T E C H

S P E C

HONDA VFR800 Price NU Ins group

£8,499 14

ENGINE Type Displacement Bore x Stroke Compression Carburation Gearbox Power Torque

l/c 16v 90° V-four, VTEC 781cc 72 x 48mm 11.6:1 PGM electronic fuel injection Six-speed 96.8bhp@10,750pm (at wheel) 53.8ft lb@8,900rpm (at wheel)

CYCLE PARTS Chassis Suspension

Brakes

Wheels/Tyres

Rake / Trail Wheelbase Capacity Weight (wet) Contact

Aluminium twin spar Front: 43mm HMAS RWU forks, preload adjustable Rear: Pro-link monoshock, preload and rebound adjustable Front: dual 296mm discs, three-piston calipers, ABS, CBS Rear: 256mm disc, threepiston caliper Front: 120/70ZR17 Bridgestone BT-020 Rear: 180/55ZR17 Bridgestone BT-020 25.5°/95 mm 1,460mm 22 litres (4.7 gal) 254.2kg (559.2lb) (measured) Honda UK 01753 590500

ENGINE The days when Honda could market the VFR on the back of its world superbike cousin, the RC45, are long gone now. The unique selling point of the Honda is the VTEC system that was halfinched off their performance motahs. For the uninitiated, this variable valve timing system switches valve operation at a designated point in the revs. So at anything below 7,000rpm the VFR runs on just two valves per cylinder while at seven grand and above the system wakens the other two camshaft and gets the lobes working so all four valves pump the fuel in and get the gasses out.

CHASSIS Not quite as clever as the motor, but still as effective, the aluminium twin spar is narrow thanks to the engine conﬁguration and although the bike with its assorted gadgetry is heavy, the chassis itself does a grand job of coping with the pressures.

BRAKES ABS makes sure that you don’t lock up the tyres, a brilliant invention for the wet and for those panicked moments when you steam in too hot into a corner, and CBS to add a little assurance to the braking system.

CBS is Honda’s combined braking system and works by applying pressure to a piston at the rear when the front brake is applied while a single piston is employed at the front when the rear is dabbed.

SUSPENSION As is the norm for the class, the front forks only get preload adjustment through the HMAS system while there’s no compression adjustment on the rear shock, although rebound and preload can be changed.

SPORTS?

TOURER?

PREVIOUS MODELS

If you’d asked this question nearly 20 years ago when the VFR ﬁrst appeared on the market you’d respond with a resounding yes. But in the year of our lord, 2005 the answer is becoming more tentative. Sure, the VFR is a very neutral steering machine but its weight, the lack of adjustability in the suspension make it more middle-aged than other machinery available. Don’t get me wrong, you can still go extremely fast on this motorcycle, but just not as fast comparatively as you could way back when.

As the VFR has aged so its comfort has increased. If you ever ﬁnd a Honda dealer next to a sofa shop check out both at the same time and you’ll barely notice the difference. The on-off nature of the VTEC motor makes urban incursions a pain and if you’re cruising around the 7,000rpm mark you can be on two valves per cylinder one moment and four the next, which is mildly disconcerting. But it’s such a well-behaved bike that if Phileas Fogg were alive today he’d certainly wager that he could ride around the world on one of this in 80 days.

Ask your Grandad when he ﬁrst saw a VFR750 out on the street and he’ll regale you with tales of the King and rationing. Launched back in 1886 (er, shouldn’t that be 1986? – Ed) the Viffer was more sports than tourer as the likes of ‘Rocket’ Ron Haslam raced them round the countries tracks. The 781cc motor was introduced in 1998 while the V-Tec version came out in 2002 with a whole new look to boot and since then the VFR has barely changed.

THE BOTTOM LINE: New balls please Honda. Everyone else is over the litre here; the VFR needs an extra 300cc and another cylinder www.superbike.co.uk OCTOBER 2005 53

SPORTS TOURERS: DUCATI ST3 BMW R1200ST What is immediately noticeable about the Ducati is how astonishingly slow the bike is to turn. I’d point the finger largely at the Michelin Pilot Road tyres whose profile wouldn’t look astray on a Scania truck. Given the bike’s light weight, its narrowness and the leverage your legs get from the low slung pegs you really expect to boss this bike only to find it reacts like an aircraft carrier with the steering lock on. The bike’s rake and trail figures allude to slightly quicker steering so a change of tyre should put a spring in the Ducati’s step – if that’s what you’re after. The preload-only adjustable suspension doesn’t like too many inputs after you’ve decided on your initial line and the rear feels as if it could be stiffened, but once you’ve felt the limitations of the ST3 you can get on and have fun riding it. We stopped and did a few shots on one corner with a huge bump in the middle and Dave and JP could barely watch the Ducati go round as it hit the bump and struggled to settle until the bike was upright. I insisted that it didn’t feel as bad as they’d described, and then started moaning about the ST3’s ground clearance, easily the worse on test as the centre stand and exhaust deck out early into a corner’s life. The Ducati’s Brembo brakes are solid

54 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

HONDA VFR800

performers, although they lack the reassurance that a good ABS system gives. It’s available on the ST4S if you really must have it. The VFR’s ABS system is a ﬁne example of how these safety systems should work. They stop the Honda sharply and with very little drama, and that was before Mossy reminded me that the back brake operates one of the pistons in the front caliper too, so I was only at 5/6ths braking power. Elsewhere the VFR feels the sportiest of the bunch, especially watching the three bikes in front of me bucking like branded steeds on the race back to the hotel. The measuring tape revealed that the Honda has the sportiest position of the

TRIUMPH SPRINT ST Mossy came along on his own bike

four bikes, with considerably narrower handlebars (that stops them ﬂapping over bumps), less room between the seat and the pegs (tipping your body towards the

CHRIS MOSS

SECOND

OPINION BMW R1200ST

“

I don’t like the Bee-Em at all. It has too many quirks and isn’t satisfying to ride at all. Every time I got on it, it pissed me off for some reason. For starters it’s big and bulky. The engine’s torque reaction is irritating. There’s too much sag in the front shock so the front end rises and falls like a rocking horse. The suspension effectively stiffens up when you’re hard on the power thanks to the shaft drive effect. The gearbox is slow and agricultural. The indicator switchgear is stupidly over complex. And worst of all, the brake set up is, at times, quite worrying. The servo-assisted stoppers are powerful and sharp, but if you trigger the ABS (as you do when you ride hard on bumpy roads), it takes an eternity before the brake pressure is re-applied. Occasionally, the risk of running on and missing apexes worried me enough to slow right down. It looks pig ugly and costs too much too. If it was the only bike you could buy, I’d consider giving up biking.

”

front wheel, helping the bike to turn) and a smaller distance between the seat and the bars (highlighting the more compact, and thus more agile, nature of the VFR). Honda may not have blessed the VFR with fully adjustable suspension but the stock settings coped well with the rough terrain, feeling the most planted over the multitude of bumps and the most accurate in terms of line giving you the feeling of complete control. So you keep your head while all around are losing theirs, especially in the conﬁnes of Devon. On longer, sweeping turns, the Honda remains planted although, with the Bridgestone BT-020 front tyre on its side for longer, you don’t quite get the same feeling as from the Bridgestone BT-020 of the Triumph. On the face of it they are the same tyre, but Bridgestone provides two different tyres for each manufacturer for their OE ﬁtment and you can tell that the Triumph’s is the more recent design.

THANKS TO Pidcocks not only for sorting out the BMW at the last minute from its Long Eaton branch but also to the Nottingham branch for getting us out of a hole with the Triumph at the last second after Al dumped our one from Triumph. The Long Eaton contact is 0115 9462233 and the Nottingham number is 0115 9692200. Alternatively get on t’internet at www. pidcock.com. Also thanks to Richard at TTS for supplying the dynos. Check out www. tts-performance.co.uk. No thanks whatsoever go to the inhospitable Exmoor Sandpipers Inn on the A39 just before Lynmouth. If you get a chance to go there, don’t – they don’t seem to be too keen on guests.

The only problem that the chassis faces is dealt to it when the VTEC system kicks in during the middle of a delicate manoeuvre. With your eyes ﬁxed on where you want to go, you tend not to notice the tacho hovering around the 6,900rpm mark so when you feed the power through the 7,000rpm range it just feels as if someone has twisted the throttle round another few degrees. It’s unsettling if you ever come across it but a different riding style may negate this from ever happening. While the VFR was a breeze to squeeze down Devon’s tight country roads, the Triumph Sprint ST was a lot more work and in the near 30-degree heat of these perfect July days the extra input required was not particularly welcome. It doesn’t take long to realise that the Sprint’s home is through grand, sweeping bends. As you muscle the Sprint one way before forcing the bike another you dream of foreign climes and 100mph curves where the bike’s weight angles it perfectly through to the exit. But alas, the new incarnation of the Sprint has been set up softly, well, certainly softer than the version it replaces, so there’s a tendency

56 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

for the Triumph to feel a bit like a barelyset jelly at times. Part of the problem here is the sheer size of the Sprint. It’s no shrinking violet and the big comfy seat and width (relative to the Ducati and Honda) give it ample proportions. These make good arguments for the bike’s role as a tourer, and indeed the ride is plush enough for a minor royal at more sedate speeds. But as the wick is turned up and the quality of the roads is turned down, the Triumph suffers under its soft springs, bouncing this way and that, deviating slightly off your ideal line and undermining the vast potential of the luscious motor. Quick changes of direction for a set of S-bends, or a daydreaming sheep stepping into you path, are also a hardy task, although shifting 247 kilos of

weight is always going to be a struggle if you’re used to razor-sharp sportsbikes. But ﬁnd a set of smooth and gentle curves and the Sprint won’t fail to bring a grin as wide as the Triumph’s stylish headlights to your face. Ground clearance is good and you’ll need stickier rubber than the OE Bridgestones to grind away the hero blobs. There was a lot of free play in the brakes on our model too, although it’s something we’ve also seen happen on other Triumph’s too. So the ﬁrst squeeze of the lever doesn’t achieve the results that your rapidly bulging eyes hoped for as you start to come face to face with a dry stone wall. The power of the brakes kicks in after an inch or so of travel, but it’s disconcerting to begin with.

CHRIS MOSS

MOSSY’S OWN VFR

SECOND

I’ve got a VFR long-termer this year, and after just three months, I’ve already racked up 9,000 totally trouble-free miles. I’ve used the Honda pretty much as my sole form of transport and have grown to like it – well most of the time anyway. The only thing I think I haven’t done on it is a trackday, and whether I’m popping round the shops, visiting my bird in Brighton (a 300-mile round trip), or just

OPINION HONDA VFR800

“

The VFR is one sorted piece of kit. It’s a classic example of a Honda and there’s not much it can’t do well. But you could say it’s a bit too good, and because it rides so bleedin’ well it can feel a bit automated and bland at times. You don’t really need to put any effort into making the VFR perform and as a result it can be a bit unfulﬁlling. It handles very well at all speeds, has good (linked) brakes, and is comfortable and relaxing to be on all day long. All it lacks is a bit of attitude and character. The VTEC valve arrangement helps with that a bit by giving a bit of a kick in the otherwise very linear (and boring) power delivery. But it can also be a bit irritating, as can the lack of bottom end grunt, which means you need to drop gears more often than you’d like.

using it for general duties, the VFR always impresses (though rarely excites) me. The only thing that irks me, though not all the time, is the VTEC valve arrangement. When I’m riding it by myself and I’m feeling a bit sporty I don’t mind it. But when I’m loaded up and have got the missus on the back I can get a bit cheesed off with it. The engine’s real power and torque lies above the 7,000rpm VTEC cut-in point, so when you want more from the motor, you have to use the gearbox to get the bloody thing revving harder into that zone. I don’t think you should have to do that on a bike like this. The way Mossy in ‘fe the extra stomp el a bit sporty’ ing kicks in can be pose. Im agine a bit too abrupt at times too. I’ve ﬁtted Bridgestone BT020 tyres designed for the Triumph Sprint ST. Their spec is a lot sportier than the VFR versions and they have tons more grip. They let me ride the Honda a lot harder and liven the bike up a bit. They aren’t recommended by Bridgestone, but they very much are by me!

rizla.co.uk

It’s what you make of it.

stops a CAD designer from coming up with this. It’s clearly been designed to within an inch of its life, just badly. But beyond its grotesque, disjointed looks the BMW suffers from furrowing its plough against modern convention. Indicators belong on the left-hand clip-on, not one on either side with a separate cancel button for fuck’s sake, engines need to be in V’s or inline otherwise people can’t get them up their garden path, and brakes need to work when the ignition isn’t on for when you’re pushing them about. The speedo is difﬁcult to read and the adjustable screen doesn’t keep the worst of the weather off. And come to think about it, the bike’s dimensions aren’t that generous either when BMW really could have factored in more room. Now that I’m in critical mode, I can’t say that I’m in love with the Ducati’s looks either. It doesn’t look like it deserves an 05 plate on its arse as the design of the bike looks ten years old. Soft, sloppy curves mix with the clutter of the frame, wires and hoses to give the bike the dynamism of passed-out tramp. At least on board things perk up with a roomy feel to the ST3. The big screen is excellent for those times when you’re burying your head into the tank and the simple looking dials (that incorporate a range of functions) work well against the simple design of the bike, which doesn’t. It’s a shame that Ducati has really taken its eye off the ball recently and in my mind has gone from producing some of the best looking bikes on the planet to designing some really bland and misconceived creations. Like a good football referee, you don’t really notice much about the design of the VFR. The ergonomics are just so,

CHRIS MOSS

Styling & Ergonomics

otorcycles these days are generally so good that it gets tedious having to search for new and exotic superlatives, so it’s refreshing for BMW to have provided us with such an abomination of a bike to really let us stick the boot in. Stare at the R1200ST too long and it’ll send you into an anaphylactic shock. Computers are powerful things these days and surely there must be some sort of program that

SECOND

OPINION DUCATI ST3

“

I like the Duke. It’s sporty and going fast on it is easy. Much of the credit for that has to go to the motor. The punch and torque of the long-legged V-twin means it’s relaxing and you don’t have to reach for the gear lever too often. It gets a bit harsh when you thrash it, and snatches at low rpm in the bigger gears. But keep it in its meaty mid-range, and it can run with the rest quite comfortably. The Duke corners well too. The steering’s slightly slow and heavy, and the ground clearance could be a tad better. Otherwise it’s a very handy handler. Braking is good if a little wooden. Comfort is decent with a big screen and a plush, supportive seat. Though the heavy throttle’s a bit of a pain after a few hours. And it’s a shame the ST3 doesn’t look as good as it goes.

CONTINUES 58 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

”

PAGE 66

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• These superbly designed German made wheels will enhance your motorcycle • Available in either forged aluminium or forged magnesium • Weight savings from 2kg (a pair) for aluminium and up to almost 6kg (a pair) for magnesium • Reduces gyroscopic effect as well as unsprung weight • Wheels available for conventional swing arm models and single-sided swing arms (brake discs not included) • Many colour options available • Wheel prices from: £1,050 aluminium, £1,570 magnesium, both prices include VAT • Full range of braking solutions available for road or track – please phone to discuss. From discs, convention to radial 2-pot to 6-pot calipers and master cylinders (with ﬂip-up lever)

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SPORTS TOURERS: DUCATI ST3 BMW R1200ST

HONDA VFR800

TRIUMPH SPRINT ST

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 58

making for a comfortably sporty ride while it looks simply merge into the background, like a piece of furniture I suppose. From the front, the VFR looks a little like the form of a Silverwing, Honda’s super-scooter, which is hardly praise I suppose. The slim frontage, thanks in part to the side-mounted radiators, make the bike balanced and controllable, so fast, slow or somewhere in between the VFR works nearly perfectly. In many ways, the Sprint looks as if it should have a Honda badge on it – and that’s not the ﬁrst time that’s been said about a bike to emerge from the Hinckley factory. But thanks to Renfrew Design, a Leicester based consultancy, the Sprint pleases the eye as much as its note pleases the ear. Away from its big, bold, blue clothes the theme of three is easy to see; three headlights sit in front of three dials on the instrument panel that lead to the three faux exhaust outlets at the rear. Elsewhere, the black frame contrasts well with the colours of the machine and the single-sided swingarm still looks the business, even though it’s the equivalent of a pair of ﬂares in engineering terms. But look closer and the sheen starts to fade a little. The chrome swoop across the fairing and the heel plates look a little tacky while the subframe struts could have been easily hidden away. Life on this 3,000-mile demonstrator looked to have been hard too with the rubber well worn from the footpegs and pillions are in for a hot time, perched on the silencer clutching the pre-warmed grab rails. The riding position is good, but the screen needs to be more substantial, or to have a lip on it, to become more effective while we’ve heard from a few disappointed customers of the optional panniers; complaints revolve around the build quality and their ease of use.

66 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

CHRIS MOSS

SECOND

OPINION TRIUMPH SPRINT ST

“

The Trumpet is my favourite. Its motor is ace and seems to have power everywhere. And with its super smooth and progressive delivery, wheelies are an absolute doddle. In fact, if you can’t get the front end up and hold it there, then you might as well hang up your leathers. Getting your knee down is a piece of piss as well. The shock needs ﬁrming up a bit before you go

mental on it. But do that, and the Sprint can be hustled along very quickly indeed. Not everything’s perfect though. The brake lever’s travel can get a bit excessive at times, and the gearbox isn’t as slick as it could be. But more worrying is the build quality which looks ﬂimsy in places, and some of the cheap looking components like the rear light, look like they’re from a lucky bag. It’s still the one I’d have though.

”

SPORTS TOURERS: DUCATI ST3 BMW R1200ST

HONDA VFR800

TRIUMPH SPRINT ST

2005 SPORTS TOURERS TEST

THE VERDICT

THE LOSER FROM THIS TEST IS ALL TOO EVIDENT WHILE THE WINNER JUST ABOUT EDGES IT ould the deformed Kraut please step forward to receive its kicking? Are we being unfair on the BMW? Well, on reflection maybe we are being a bit harsh because it really doesn’t have the balls to compete in this market. The ST suffix should be more like sT because neither the ill-configured ALL OVERING motor nor the eccentric RAT TH suspension can haul its mass into contention. Take the fat price tag into account and only a fool (or a happy current BMW owner) would buy one. If you’re even contemplating one here’s a tip, the K1200S is £800 more but is light years better at everything, apart from scaring young children.

The Ducati ST3 offers lots of entertainment but precious few reasons to buy one, which is longhand for saying there are better bikes out there. It’s an easy bike to ride at many different paces.

68 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

It takes corners enthusiastically, although like a dog chasing a stick, it’s not too bothered where it goes, as long as it gets that stick. Comfort levels are high on the ST3 and the motor can deliver good bursts of midrange grunt to accompany good low-down drive and high-revving action. Servicing costs and major work intervals are a ﬁnancial consideration so while the initial outlay is cheap you may be asked to ﬁnd more money than you expected as the miles rack up. Not forgetting that last year we had an ST3 that took a distinct disliking VERALL O ING to inclement weather. RAT RD So there’s no denying it’s a Ducati then…

The VFR800 is a great illustration about what happens when you rest on your

laurels. If this were a sportsbike then it would be on its second revamp by now, but having been put out to pasture for so long Honda has become victim to overconﬁdence to the point of arrogance. Honda really needs to plump the motor up to ALL OVERING get back in RAT ND the game as it only performs to the best of its abilities in certain constrained circumstances. More torque, more power and a reﬁnement of the VTEC system is required to get the VFR back where it belongs. The chassis needs less attention, but a little bit more room, a weight loss and increased adjustability in both the riding position and suspension would all we welcomed with open wallets by the VFR faithful.

ALL OVERING RAT ST

2005 SPORTS TOURER OF THE YEAR

SO THE WINNER IS...

hich leaves the Sprint ST to shed its bridesmaid tag and to ﬁnally lord it up over the VFR. The engine takes most of the credit though and if anything the work put in on the 1,050cc motor almost unbalances the poise of

the Sprint, but fuck it, it’s a great motor. It’s by no means perfect though, and while Devon’s roads forced the Sprint to hustle its way between the hedgerows you feel it longs to be let out onto wider, smoother roads. Even so, it’s hard not to

Overall Test Ratings BMW R1200ST

Engine Chassis Styling

90% 91% -32%

Ducati ST3

Engine Chassis Styling

fall completely head over heels with the roar that babbles beneath you and the sheer exuberance of the drive it creates. SB

(Ratings apply to this test only) Honda VFR800

94% 93% 90%

Engine Chassis Styling

Triumph Sprint ST

93% 95% 94%

Engine Chassis Styling

96% 93% 95%

www.superbike.co.uk OCTOBER 2005 69

LONGTERM GEAR TESTS

LONGTERM BIKE TESTS

BUYERS’ GUIDE LISTINGS

INDUSTRY NEWS

RIDING ADVICE

MONEY NO OBJECT? There might be doubts about the nation’s economy at the moment. But if you hung around Crescent Suzuki’s Performance Centre you wouldn’t think so. Scores of Suzuki GSX-R owners spend as much as £45,000 on their bikes. And with Brembo monoblock radial brake systems at £3,000, Yoshimura race systems at £1,750 and Marchesini wheel sets at £1,600, it’s easy to see why. “We’re always building top-spec replicas of our racers” says Ashley Pierson (pictured). “Plenty of customers ask for bikes ﬁtted with everything we sell. They want 16.5 inch wheels so they can have the latest slicks. In fact sometimes Marchesini can’t keep up with the demand. The only thing we can’t really give people is the best-spec engine management systems we use on our superbike racers. And that’s simply because you need a man to ﬂy in from Finland to set it up properly every time you run the bike. That’s OK for us in BSB racing, but it’s not really practical for the road.”

PIMPING YOUR RIDES

PED BIKES MIGHT BE BETTER THAN EVER, BUT THAT’S NOT STOP WAY. THE MAJORITY OF YOU TRYING TO IMPROVE THEM IN SOME NG THE THE TILLS OF DEALERS THROUGHOUT THE LAND ARE RINGI TS CHANGES, AS MORE AND MORE OF YOU FIDDLE WITH YOUR MOUN

he amount of modification varies a great deal, dependant mostly on the depths of pockets. But one thing many are changing is, unsurprisingly, exhaust endcans, particularly since the advent of those with removable baffles. “Loads of customers are buying Scorpion cans, taking the baffles out and then sticking them back in when it comes to MOT time,” says Adam West from Pidcock’s in Derby. He confirms the keenness to alter bikes by saying, “at least half of our customers make some sort of mods, and it’s rare for me to take a trade-in which hasn’t been altered

72 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

anything that can be seen. Crash bobbins and double bubble screens are popular, as are seat cowls and huggers. Occasionally we get guys who want to spend a lot more though. Right now we’re building a Hayabusa which the buyer wants to spend £15,000 on in total. We’re going

Marchesini wheels? Öhlins suspension? Yoshimura swingarm? Basically, it’s a BSB a winner with lights and plate, but you lot seem more than prepared to pay for it

in some way. Most prefer

0 MONTH 1THIS

THINGS YOU REALLY SHOULD DO

to ﬁt some trick wheels, brakes and a fancy swingarm to it. We’ve got a lad who’s already spent over £20,000 on top brand stuff for his GSX-R1000 and wants to chuck even more at it. And we’ve started to sell some brand new bikes with some trick bits too.” Ron Moxham at P&H in Crawley echoes the desire for change. “Our aftermarket parts department is getting busier and busier. I reckon at least 75% of customers want to modify their bikes. Most want stuff like end cans and crash bobbins, but there are some who’ll chuck a hell of a lot more money at their bikes. Trick rearsets, full titanium systems, top notch steering dampers and brake parts soon add up to a big bill. Though fancy suspension isn’t something we sell much of.” A fair few riders at Crescent Suzuki in Verwood are keen on fancy Ohlins kit though. “A lot our customers are wealthier and more discerning,” says Crescent’s Ashley Pierson. “And though volume sales are for stuff like tail tidys, end cans and carbon parts like huggers and exhaust brackets, there are a fair few people who buy very expensive parts, or bikes built to spec featuring a lot of these bits. We’re agents for Marchesini wheels, Ohlins suspension, Brembo brakes and Akrapovic exhaust systems and we sell and ﬁt plenty of that stuff.”

and sort out a visit to the Hinckley factory. The tours run nine times each week and are a fascinating insight into what it takes to build a bike.

UPGRADE YOUR HOME SECURITY. This could mean feeding/not feeding the dog, ﬁtting motion sensors around the house or improving the locks on your garage door. Anything so that the bastards don’t run off with your bike

BUY A SET OF EARPLUGS But don’t stick them both in yet. Just stick one in and notice the difference. You’ll never go riding without them again.

LUBE YOUR THROTTLE AND CLUTCH CABLES The last thing you need on a trip is to ﬁnd a snapped cable ruining your life and the occasional lubrication should curb the cable’s chance of splitting into two. Simply use a cable oiler (that shouldn’t cost any more than a ﬁver) and stick your lubricant down the sleeve of the cables and another job’s done. If you’ve got a speedo cable, best do that too.

MAKE THE ANNUAL PILGRIMAGE TO ASSEN

PRACTICE YOUR RACE STARTS

WET YOURSELF LAUGHING at www.motogpnews.com. So long as you’re the type of cruel person who loves the piss being taken out of every single person in the GP paddock you’ll love it. And don’t forget to keep it Stateside…

CONTACT YOUR LOCAL RACING CLUB and marshal for a day. There’s no way of getting any closer to the racing and you’ll be helping the sport out to boot. Contact your local club or www.racesafe.org for more info.

For world superbike’s visit to Holland – practice starts on 2nd of September. Cheer on James Toseland and Chris Walker until your throats go hoarse. You never know, Frankie Chili may also make another appearance in his dressing gown and threaten Foggy. Go to www.tt-assen.com for ticket info.

Unless you’re racing it won’t make much of a difference to your riding, but at least you’ll be ﬁrst to the pub. Get lots of weight over the front wheel to stop wheelies, rev the bike to close where it makes peak power and then slip the clutch so you get a balance between forward momentum and the front wheel kissing the tarmac – controlling rear wheel speed with the back brake also helps. Get good and go to a ‘run what you brung’ meeting at a drag strip. www.rwyb.co.uk tells you more

DAFTER MODS Not everyone buys the most obvious bits to fit to their pride and joy. “This year we had a guy buy a brand new GSX-R 750 and all he wanted us to add was a set of heated grips. Given the fact he used the bike all year round, maybe it wasn’t such an odd idea, but we had a chuckle when a customer asked for a top box for his GSX-R 1000,” smiled Adam West of Pidcock’s. There was a similar tale told at P&H, though this time the customer couldn’t have what he wanted. “When we told him there wasn’t a top box kit available for his new 999 Duke, he looked quite disappointed,” said Ron Moxham. Ashley Pierson has differing views on some mods. “We’ve got a GSX-R1000 K5 owner with heated grips on his bike. But he’s already done 18,000 miles on it this year in all conditions, so that’s a sensible extra in my book. But I can’t see the sense in those who’ve had flat bars fitted to their GSX-Rs. They say it makes them more comfortable. But they just look daft to me.”

CONTACT YOUR LOCAL TRIUMPH DEALER

STICK YOUR BIKE UP ON A PADDOCK STAND, take the rear wheel out and give the shock a proper clean. All sorts of crap accumulates here and a stitch in time saves a hefty bill for a replacement unit a few years down the line.

RIDE TO WORK ALL WEEK. Forget that the national week for it was in July, just do it because it’s bloody good fun. There’s not much of summer left so don your riding kit and turn up early. You never know, the foxy, young receptionist may just take a shine to you in your gear…

www.superbike.co.uk OCTOBER 2005 73

LONGTERM GEAR TESTS

LONGTERM BIKE TESTS

BUYERS GUIDE LISTINGS

INDUSTRY NEWS

RIDING ADVICE

RIDING TIPS FILTERING PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE, BUT IF WE BIKERS WERE PATIENT IN TOWN AND DOWN CLOGGED MOTORWAYS THEN WE’D TAKE FOREVER TO GET WHERE WE’RE GOING he law takes a cloudy view of filtering T (‘When overtaking traffic queues look out for pedestrians crossing between vehicles and vehicles emerging from junctions,’ so says the Highway Code) while insurance companies will typically apportion blame equally in an accident – even if the twat didn’t look in his mirrors. So you need to ride defensively in traffic and use sensible judgement regarding your speed and positioning on the road. On a motorway your best policy is to think that cars that are alongside one another aren’t going to hit each other – so there should be space in between to ride through. Choose a gear with enough acceleration in it to ride out of any danger while fingers covering the horn, indicator and front brake should be itching with anticipation. If cars are staggered and bigger gaps develop you can’t rule out that a car

driver has calculated that the quicker lane will get him to work 0.534 seconds sooner and act accordingly. Motorway junctions always see lots of lane changing so be mighty wary here. Of course, rain extends braking distances and makes near misses into calamitous hits, so knock the speed back accordingly and remember that cosy car drivers may have a harder job seeing you. Through town you not only have to look out for car drivers but cyclists and pedestrians also can make unwelcome advances. A noisy pipe helps to ward off danger here, but look out for people at trafﬁc islands, bus stops and parades of shops in particular. Cyclists are a bit less of a problem as they aren’t travelling in a perpendicular direction to you, but keep an eye on your mirrors too, especially in snarled up towns. Any junction is perilous in town so look at drivers as you go past. Has a gap developed in front? Is a car edging right? Are the wheels pointing into a side street? Never assume an indicator has been applied – or even that it works.

WHAT TO DO WHEN…

STEVE PLATER’S

YOUR BIKE WON’T START

TRACK SENSE

et’s rule the simple things out ﬁrst L shall we. You’ve got the ignition on, the kill switch isn’t off, the choke’s out, you’re

fucking idiot. If it still won’t go then you need to start thinking why your bike isn’t going. The most common two problems are that fuel isn’t getting to the chamber (a fuel pump problem) or the spark plugs aren’t ﬁring

pulling the clutch in, the bike’s not in gear and the stand’s up. OK. Is the starter motor spinning? If not the chances are you’ve got a flat battery. To remedy this you can either bump start the bike (find a hill or push the bike with the clutch in and the bike in second gear, get lots of momentum and then jump down on the seat and release the clutch) or if you’ve got a bike with loads of compression (especially a big twin) then you’ll need a jump start. The procedure is just the same as a car here. Find a car or a bike to get a jump off, connect the jump leads positive to positive, negative to negative, Alternatively you could adopt keep the motor on the this approach. It won’t get it other vehicle revving started again but you’ll feel a and combusting the fuel. Your fairly hard, give it a few damn site better for it fuel pump usually makes a moments to get a bit of ‘charging’ noise when you charge and then fire the switch the ignition on so look out for this, starter button on your bike. Still nothing? otherwise check each spark plug to make It’s got fuel hasn’t it? If not, sheepishly sure they look ok. put some in when nobody’s looking you

74 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

OVERTAKING STEVE’S OVERTAKEN MORE PEOPLE THAN THE DALEKS SO HE KNOWS HIS SHIT WHEN IT COMES TO PASSING When you start overtaking people on track then you’re not just dealing with yourself, you have other people’s safety to consider so the most important thing to do is use lots of common sense. At the trackday briefing you’ll be told to do all of your overtaking down the straights, and this is where getting past someone is easiest. Never slipstream someone, but use your skill and knowledge of a circuit to start the overtaking procedure on the exit of a corner and then get cleanly past down a straight. If you’re on a 600 and matey boy is on his new GSXR1000 then this could be a bit tricky, so if you are coming up on people going into a turn and can’t get past them then you’ve got two options. The first is to follow him (or her) for a couple of laps and see where they brake so you’re looking and learning at opportunities. Then, when the time comes you need to be 100 per cent sure that you will get past cleanly and make your move. The second option, and by far the easiest and safest choice is to just shut off and find some clean space. It’s no fun being stuck up someone’s chuff for a session so just back off and then concentrate on your own riding.

Lining up a pass on track? Do it on the straight and be aware that someone might be lining you up at the same time

SUZUKI GSX-R600

SUZUKI GSX-R1000

YAMAHA YZF-R1

HONDA CBR600RR

KAWASAKI ZX-6R

KENNY

PRYDE YAMAHA YZF-R1

TOTAL MILES DONE: 4,225 MODIFICATIONS: Fitted Sigma slipper clutch

’ve had two weeks on the bike this month – at best. I Which is to say that I was on a family holiday in the Spanish Pyrenees (www.rocroi.com) then had to wet-nurse the ad team in Italy for a week while they struggled with the language and cuisine. We all learned a lot, such as if you ask for a ‘latte’ in Italy you’ll get a cup of milk, and ‘coffee’ is invariably a ﬁerce little espresso, not a mug of Nescafe with milk and two sugars. However, while I was absent, the R1 was entrusted to the hands of toppermost of the poppermost mechanic Simon Tonge, the redoubtable Dave and our pet racer Paul ‘Youngy’ Young. All this to ﬁt and tweak a Sigma slipper

clutch then have a ride around Silverstone on our Focused Events-managed track day in July. Alas, Youngy vanished to Suzuka to ride the 8-Hour race, and we haven’t seen him since. With both Kawasaki’s ZX10R and ZX-6R, and Suzuki’s GSX-R1000 K5 all featuring slipper clutches, I strongly

suspect that the next model of R1 will include just this feature. So we thought we’d get the jump on those early test reports and ﬁt the British-designed Sigma number. Sigma has been designing slipper clutches for race bikes – principally Ducatis

YAMAHA YZF-R6

– since the late 1990s and you would reasonably expect them to know what they were about. Sure enough, when I jumped on the bike after a two-week break I soon got over my tentative clutch-dumping experiments and went for full-on high-revving stupidity and made it home in one piece. All that was hurt were my ribs as I pissed myself laughing with the noise emanating from the bike as I pushed down the gears. Without the slipper clutch I would have locked up the back countless times and scared myself senseless. But of course I wasn’t on a racetrack and it’s on track that one of these devices makes the most sense. Which begs the question, at £550, is it a modiﬁcation worth making if you ride mainly on the road? Well, if you have the money, it’s something you can enjoy every time you shift down and, on those infrequent (?) occasions when you get the downshiftthrottle blip timing wrong, this contraption will ensure you never end up sideways. On trackdays, well, it’ll be one thing less for me to worry about, wont it, but there’ll be more about that next month. SB

WHO ARE THESE MEN? eil Spalding: one of the men behind N Sigma. He knows what he’s on about. He can talk rings around us on matters technical. In fact he can talk rings around most people in this department. Simon Tonge was chief mechanic to some fella called Kevin Schwantz in MotoGP a few years ago and ﬁtted the clutch. “It was straightforward, well

76 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

made and everything ﬁtted sweetly enough. Maybe it’s a bit too tricky for most, I’d advise most people to take it to a mechanic, it shouldn’t be more than an hour of labour. You can adjust the amount of slip a lot as well but you’d need more time and a lot more mechanical knowhow to do that, it’s more complicated than just ﬁtting it.”

CONTACTS Sigma Performance: 01892 538802 www.sigmaperformance.com

SUZUKI GSX-R600

SUZUKI GSX-R1000

YAMAHA YZF-R1

HONDA CBR600RR

KAWASAKI ZX-6R

YAMAHA YZF-R6

TYRED OUT

SIMON

ROOTS SUZUKI GSX-R1000

TOTAL MILES DONE: 5,002 Stuff done: Can on, pillion pegs off. Tail tidy on, dirty black plastic off. Wax on, wax off, wax lyrical

piling on the miles – and it. The GSX-R seems Ito’mloving be taking it in its stride too as the bike pulses its way through what should have been its 4,000-mile service and into unknown territory. The highlights remain numerous. One night I got home from Croydon to my folks place 68 miles away (er, both in Germany and therefore on the unrestricted autobahn) in 34 minutes. So that meant that I held open a GSX-R1000 in top for about 20 seconds before getting a grip on my senses again and returning to sub150mph speeds.

My trip to Land’s End was fabulous too. While the speeds seemed much more sensible, Devon and Cornwall blurred passed almost more insanely – if that’s possible. But after a day of this you start to realise that the only place you can really let the GSX-R1000 loose

is during the Proddie race at the TT, and I’m not doing that any time soon. At least my wheelies are improving, there’s simply so much power available that even this old fool can feel like AC Farias showing off to a burd. And at the end of the day the Suzuki is getting me the 120 miles home with barely a whimper of discontentment. Is there anything this bike can’t do? SB

By the time a nail pierced the original rear Bridgestone BT-014 I’d already done the best part of 3,500 miles so they were a little bit worn out to say the least. ‘Squared off’ is the phrase that best describes them as they actually stood up on their own by the end of their life. The very helpful chaps at Barton Motors in Bath changed the tyres when everyone else in the West Country seemed to be suffering from a scrumpy hangover. A set of Metzeler Racetecs replaced the Bridgestones and they proved to be outrageously grippy on both my jaunt to Land’s End and our SuperBike trackday at Silverstone. Once the day dried out I really had my Bridgestone head on before I realised that there was tonnes more grip available. The wear on them at the end of the day looked as if the suspension wasn’t giving them the easiest ride, so I’ll have to get the bike dialled in for our day at Cadwell.

A SPANNER SPANNERS ’m not the greatest mechanic in Ihesitantly, the world and I approach any task but I couldn’t put off fitting an exhaust any longer. The first one to try was the official Suzuki option (£699) that’s been developed with Yoshimura (like the stock bike) and looks as if it’s been freshly prised off a GP bike. It’s only an end can, but it’s lighter than the stock item and improves the looks of the GSX-R no end. Fitting it is a reasonable faff as the exhaust valve needs to come off and then be put back on precisely so that the fuel injection light doesn’t flash its warning. Somehow I managed to bodge it all back on and I can now sit and stare at it for ages. It’s beautiful and topped off by a neat Sato exhaust hanger (£57.95). The left rear

pillion footpeg has been removed too for a really clean look. I’ve not got a dyno yet but the can is supposed to not need a Power Commander as it’s a factory endorsed part, but I’m not convinced so far as it feels fluffier than before. The other successful part thrown on is the smart Ermax number plate bracket (£90) that rids the bike of the swathes of ugly black plastic at the rear. And then things started to go wrong. Despite using quality tools and a delicate hand I managed to round one of the heel plate bolts on the footrests just as I had a set of Arrow rearsets at the ready. So things have stalled there while I get a hacksaw and turn the allen head bolt into a flathead screw. I was also going to stick an Ermax screen on the bike but

the integrated indicators in the mirrors are routed through the fairing and windshield through to the mirror and my patience doesn’t stretch to rethreading the wires down through the mirror’s arm or taking the front fairing off to unplug them from behind the speedo. I’ll just have to wait until the Marzocchi forks go on to do it. Yippee!

CONTACTS Suzuki: 0845 8508800 online shopping at www.suzuki-gb.co.uk Ermax UK: 01522 697007 www.ermaxuk.co.uk Pertech Imports (Sato): 01524 733994 pertech-imports.co.uk Barton Motors of Bath: 01225 427906 Metzeler: 0845 6094949 www.metzelermoto.co.uk

www.superbike.co.uk OCTOBER 2005 77

SUZUKI GSX-R600

SUZUKI GSX-R1000

YAMAHA YZF-R1

HONDA CBR600RR

KAWASAKI ZX-6R

ALAN

DOWDS KAWASAKI ZX-6R

TOTAL MILES DONE: 3,050 MODIFICATIONS: Power Commander, full Akrapovic system, went on a track day, ﬁtted BT-002 race tyres, lent it to Jayne

EXHAUST BOX Fitting the exhaust is pretty straightforward. You have to de-activate the exhaust valve motor with a wee plate, which is ﬁddly on a UK bike (an anti-theft plate covers the ECU and partially obscures the motor). After that, it’s just a case of removing seat unit, fairing lowers, pegs and old pipe. Fit the new ‘un with all the springs and stuff. T here’s a replacement bracket arrangement for the rear-end which takes a bit of unscrewing, but there’s nothing requiring a MotoGP technician, to be honest.

78 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

ighlight with the ZX-6R this month was definitely the SuperBike trackday at Silverstone. It was my first chance to have a real go with the ZX-6 on track, so I spent the week beforehand fettling like a madman. First job was a set of Arata rearsets. The stock bike isn’t short on ground clearance to be fair, but since I’d also fitted a pair of Bridgestone’s BT002 race tyres for the event, I wanted to make sure I had some lean in reserve. The rearsets are nicely made, come from Japan and are available in silver or black. They’re also pretty straightforward to fit – although do remember to Loctite all the threads and copper-grease all the moving bits. Check the pre-assembled sections are tight too – I forgot to check the toe pegs, and lost both of them around Silverstone as a result. D’oh! The aforementioned BT-002 rubber was excellent. The Bridgestone guys don’t push this tyre for road bike use, because they reckon it’s not really suitable for use away from the track – a BT-014 is a better bet for road and some track use. The tread pattern is typically minimalist, and the sharper profile gives a sharper turn-in at the front. Once scrubbed in, they were flawless in terms of grip around Silverstone. They did seem to lend a hint of instability to the ZX though – I had one medium-level scare coming out of Woodcote corner when the front wheel caught a bump and flew into a wee tankslapper. Two things should help this in future – a new Sprint SXC steering damper, which I’m currently negotiating with Colin Peabody from Performance Parts, and the latest BT-002, which has a revised design for improved stability. So – better ground clearance and more grip. The last piece of the picture is a bit more power. I finally fitted the lovely Akrapovic Evolution titanium full race system which has been sat behind my chair for weeks now. I’d been waiting for a Power Commander to make sure the fuelling was spoton, and when it arrived, I spent a sweaty Saturday in

YAMAHA YZF-R6

the lockup, fitting the PC, then the ‘Akra’ system. It all went easily enough – the hardest bit of fitting a Power Commander is getting the connectors off the injectors. If you have a baby orang-utan in the neighbourhood, offer it a banana to squeeze its small-but-verystrong hands under the tank and unclip the connector plugs. Otherwise, prepare for some cursing. The result of all this faffing? One hundred and eighteen of your Scottish horsepower, measured at the rear tyre on Carbontek’s Fuchs dyno, a gain of 6.2bhp over stock. Six horsepower doesn’t sound like much for your £1,200. But there’s also a weight saving – the ‘Akra’ weighs just 4.6kg in total, versus 10.3kg for stock. It goes without saying that there’s a lovely yowl from the Akrapovic too – at the end of Hangar Straight, it sounded like a Typhoon fighter bomber swooping down onto a Nazi armoured column (in my head, maybe).

CONTACTS Akrapovic, Performance Parts. 0870 240 2118 www.performanceparts-ltd.com Bridgestone 07000 228852 www.bridgestone-eu.com Arata rearsets 01388 773 322 www.fasterbydesign.co.uk Autocom 01926 431249 www. autocom.co.uk Garmin Europe Ltd 01794 528 447

irstly, I wanted to test an Autocom Pro-7 Sport system and secondly I wanted to try a new Garmin Quest GPS gizmo (and thirdly, to visit your French boyfriend? – Relationships Ed). So with panniers and tailpack ﬁtted, I headed for the Hoverspeed port. My destination: a ﬁeld in south-west Brittany. No maps, no route-book to help guide me through France, just a little plastic box of tricks artfully cable-tied to the top yoke. The Autocom box was nestled in a side pocket of the tailpack hooked up to one of two MP3 players. I really wasn’t expecting the reception I received at each of my regular fuel/food stops. I was never

A NINJA ADVENTURE AFTER WEEKS OF HAVING NO BIKE TO RIDE, ALAN TAKES PITY ON JAYNE AND LOANS HER THE ZX-6R FOR A LITTLE FRENCH ADVENTURE short of people to talk to, offers of a drink, people asking me where I was going, asking if they could take a photograph of me and the bike, some were readers of the magazine, others were just curious as to why I was riding alone. It seems lone female bikers are rare! The ZX-6R is a terrific bike, but I would need to be a Chinese gymnast to find it comfortable for more than an hour. The main pain, as ever with sports bikes, was aching knees from being bent in a fixed position. The cure was either to stop or break away from the motorway to find a much nicer bendy road. The GPS had planned my route mostly along motorways but it was very fast at recalculating a new route for me when I headed off. Tres bien so far, except for the Autocom system. It’s a great setup, with loads of connections for intercom, phone, music player and GPS system. But my Suomy lid is really loud, and I was struggling to hear the Autocom in-helmet speakers at speeds much over 50mph. I reckon it would be better in a quieter lid, and on a more touring bike (without a wailing Yoshimura race can). But with the Autocom system inaudible at very high speeds, I had to rely

on a visual check of the GPS every now and again to make sure I was pointing in the right direction. After seven hours riding, 430 miles, four pit stops and a put-your-waterproofs-on quick stop I was very relieved to see my final destination as dusk was falling. This was my first time riding a motorbike in France and I loved it. The roads are terrific, but watch out for the police. If you haven’t been yet, go. Average speed: 69.3mph Max speed: 127mph (141mph indicated) Total time moving: 14 hours Fuel used: 29 gallons, averaging 39mpg over 1,130miles

Beware the underseat exhaust. If you’re a cheapskate like me and use a bin liner to cover your tail pack, if it ﬂaps loose it will immediately shrink-wrap the exhaust in black plastic. Luckily, it peels off easily.

CALAIS

QUIMPERLE

www.superbike.co.uk OCTOBER 2005 79

SUZUKI GSX-R600

SUZUKI GSX-R1000

YAMAHA YZF-R1

HONDA CBR600RR

JONATHAN

PEARSON HONDA CBR600RR

MILES DONE 2,657 MODIFICATIONS Arata titanium exhaust system

t’s traditional for me to say “the only thing you Ireally need to change on a modern sports bike is the shock” but I’m coming around to the idea that’s not true with the CBR600RR. After half a dozen track days I’m more than happy with the stock set up. I’m planning a trip to a suspension specialist but I’m fully aware there’s no point just pitching up and

saying “my suspension needs sorting mate”, because the first thing I’ll get as a reply is “what’s it doing wrong at the moment?” A question I could scarcely answer. I suppose my only complaint is how hard the bike can feel for everyday use. The forks are fine and I leave them set as detailed below, come rain or shine, track or road. But the rear suspension is more difficult

KAWASAKI ZX-6R

YAMAHA YZF-R6

It’s still not quite right (the track focus of the CBR600RR doesn’t compromise much for pot holes, speed bumps and it’s been giving me back-ache) but that’s where it stays when I’m not on track now. Maybe more preload and the introduction of a little sag is the answer, I’ll try it and let you know next month. The major bolt on this month is an Arata exhaust. because it’s quite hard, particularly in the early part This £900 titanium system has ‘hand-crafted pipes to of the stroke. create longer and smoother I took the trouble of setting off home one evening bends, allowing more ﬂow and increased torque at with the compression and low and mid-range while rebound wound fully hard, producing higher top-end stopping every few miles horsepower gains’ – so says and turning the adjustor the press blurb. I’m awaiting screws half a turn softer to see what difference it made. a Power Commander before getting the dyno to tell To cut a long story short, me the real truth but the after about ten miles, I had difference over standard is the thing wound fully soft. marked. The bike now pulls from around 2,500rpm and is far more willing around the 4-5,000rpm mark which is just where it’s needed. SB

SUSPENSION SETTINGS Ignore all that day-to-day stuff and the suspension does work just ﬁne on the track. I tried going harder with the shock to stop it squatting under power (half a turn out from fully hard compression and rebound) but found

80 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

that made the rear tyre work too hard. So here are the settings I’ve ended up with; TRACK: Front, rebound and compression one and a half turns out from hard with the preload as standard. Rear rebound

and compression one and a half turns out from hard again with no adjustment to the preload. ROAD: Front the same. Rear compression and rebound fully soft with no adjustment to preload.

CONTACTS Arata Exhaust: 01338 773322 www.fasterbydesign.co.uk

www.superbike.co.uk OCTOBER 2005 81

YAMAHA YZF-R1

SUZUKI GSX-R1000

HONDA CBR600RR

SUZUKI GSX-R600

KAWASAKI ZX-6R

YAMAHA YZF-R6

BRAKING NEWS

NEIL

HANDLEY SUZUKI GSX-R 600

TOTAL MILES DONE: 2,120 MODIFICATIONS: BST carbon wheels, CRG brake levers

mentioned two months ago that I was going to I get the suspension set up properly. I had only had the bike for a couple of weeks and was assuming the stock suspension would be as horrible as on other bikes I have had, but I’ve changed my opinion. After a Donington track thrashing and racking up road miles I reckon the suspension is fantastic in standard settings and needs no fettling for most riders. I did put a half turn of preload in at the front to stop the forks bottoming out under hard braking though. This helped cure the chatter up front and meant I could brake harder and later than usual into the corners at Donington. Unless you’re a midget or an 18 stone monster leave it well alone is the best advice I can offer. I was reasonably happy with the 104 bhp output at the dyno once the Arrow titanium exhaust system was added. The Power Commander arrived from Dynojet UK preprogrammed with the correct fuel mapping for the new exhaust and air ﬁlter. When ordering they will ask what settings you require.

The power delivery is now smoother and more linear through the rev range over standard although strangely there is a slight dip on the graph at 9,000rpm now. The fuelling will need slight adjustment as Carbontek’s dyno says it’s still running a little rich. With the standard system the GSX-R put out 97bhp so a 7bhp increase is pretty cool for a 600cc with an exhaust/ ﬁlter/Power Commander combo. This still works out at near

£155 per bhp increase over standard. It’s an expensive way of gaining power but you also lose around half the weight of the original exhaust system which is no bad thing. The deafening sound of the exhaust oozes quality and, if this is high on your reasons for choosing an aftermarket exhaust, I can recommend the Arrow systems highly. The build quality is second to none and at around £750 it’s

The brakes were also an issue for me but since the standard pads were bedded in properly they’ve got better and better. I received some CRG two ﬁngered levers to try from Faster by Design. The CNC machined aluminium levers have roll-a-click levers for easy adjustability on the move to counter brake fade. The short length of the lever gives you more control over your braking too, meaning a more generous bite when you grab a handful. Cost is £130 for both which is reasonable for tricking up and ﬁtting more adjustability and feel.

cheaper than Akrapovic and Yoshimura. SB

SPECIAL THANKS Go to P+H Motorcycles in Crawley for getting the GSX-R roadworthy again in lightning quick time. A stone had holed the radiator and cut short the fun at Donington but a quick call, and they had it sorted in no time.

BST CARBON WHEELS The week before the MotoGP circus arrived at Donington, I gave the GSX-R a run-out on the GP circuit to test a pair of BST carbon wheels courtesy of importers HPS. We ran the wheels on Pirelli’s new Supercorsa Pro tyres which were stickier than Jacko’s white glove after a babysitting session. The BST carbon wheels are claimed to be 40 per cent lighter than standard, meaning around 4kg less unsprung mass, including the weight of the

82 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

sprocket and carrier. The beneﬁts are highlighted when throwing the bike into a corner. It takes you by surprise to begin with as you head to the inﬁeld but once you get used to it; the ease of turn is incredible. I shaved four seconds off my lap times at Donington (although the new rubber accounts for some of that). HPS has dropped the price from £2,400 to £1,895 a pair including spacers, bearings and a choice of size of rear sprocket. It’s made a big

difference to the GSX-R600 so far and I can only imagine how it improves the handling of a bigger, heavier 1,000cc bike. We’re doing a fuller test on these wheels next issue.

CONTACTS B+C Express: 01522 791369 (Arrow exhausts) Faster by Design: 01388 0773322 (CRG brakes) Pirelli: 08456 094949 HPS: 0870 774 0475 (BST carbon wheels) No Limits track days: 01727 899173 P+H Motorcycles: 01293 413300 Carbontek 01737 789878

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YES, IT’S ALL MANNER OF KIT AND EQUIPMENT WE’VE USED, RIDDEN AND RATED. BASED ON PRICE, FINISH, DESIRABILITY, DURABILITY AND VALUE FOR MONEY

STIN

SIMON ROOTS’

ALPINESTARS RUCKSACK

COST: £99.00 ON TEST FOR: 18 MONTHS CONTACT: +39 0423 5286 WWW.ALPINESTARS.COM

herever I’ve been this past year and a half, this rucksack has been too. Because I’m rarely away for more than two days at a time there’s ING RAT enough room to stuff a pair of jeans and some trainers in which suits me just ﬁne. There are plenty of pockets and the straps are adjustable and make the bag suit my form pretty well. There’s a back protector integrated into the ‘sack that can come out easily for casual use. So far, so good then. My only problem (above the £99 price tag) is that when it really starts raining the bag leaks a little. The last thing you want to ﬁnd pitching up to a hotel is a bag full of wet clothes and that’s happened a few times now. So good, but not great.

75%

BMW

JAYNE TOYNE’S

RALLYE GLOVES

COST: £45 ON TEST: 28 MONTHS CONTACT: 0800 777155 first tried these gloves on a BMW off road course in Wales. I was so impressed by them I immediately got myself a pair to use daily. They don’t offer a huge amount of crash protection in all honesty but their strength is in the level of comfort they give. The carbon/leather knuckles are vented, the leather between the fingers is vented and the leather feels very smooth and silky. On a hot day riding around town I would rather wear no other glove as they keep my hands much less clammy and the level of feel on the levers is almost like bare hands. The only down side was the pair I tried on initially fitted absolutely perfect, the second pair I ordered which I have now are the same size according to the label but for some reason they don’t fit quite as well (they are slightly bigger).

ING RAT

90%

BELSTAFF JON PEARSON’S

MONZA JACKET

COST: £99.99 ON TEST: 18 MONTHS CONTACT: LOCAL DEALERS

tyle and function at an affordable price” it says in the old Belstaff catalogue sitting on my desk. And you know what? They’re right. £99 for a simple, stylish, three-season (spring, summer, autumn) jacket is comparatively piss-all these days. The breast pockets are handy but offer zero waterprooﬁng, a costly lesson for my mobile phone one day, but a ‘storm shield’ means the inside is completely waterproof and the double zip at the front keeps out all but the heaviest downpours on motorways. Apart from tearing the inside pocket getting my wallet out, the zip tags on the front shoulder vents are my only gripe. All zips

84 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

have handy little rubber bobbins on the tags (to help you grab them with a glove on), but they’re exactly where the straps of a ruck sack rests and on top of my collar bone, which was annoyingly painful until I found you can remove the rubber bobbin in about ﬁve seconds. There’s CE armour and it seems pretty durable so far but Belstaff clothing is sadly obsolete these days and only exists in shops while stocks last. My advice is hunt around and get yourself one, quick.

ING RAT

92%

Have a brake... Most rubber hoses are permeable - they allow your brake fluid to absorb water vapour from the atmosphere which lowers the boiling point. Our stainless steel braided brake hose kits don’t allow this to happen and offer you the ultimate in brake line technology. They make your brake system more responsive and remove the swelling found with rubber hoses under extreme braking conditions to deliver ultimate feel and response when you need it the most. Your kit will offer you complete braking performance coupled with quality, safety and a lifetime of performance. Your hoses will be manufactured to exact specifications using the highest quality stainless steel parts and include all of the banjo bolts and copper washers. And as your hoses will be made specifically for your bike you can easily install them. Feel the incredible difference to your braking system immediately - With a three-line kit costing just £75.00 including our lifetime warranty you can see why our kits are the best protection for any bike. So at lunchtime today why not call us and have a brake - have a real brake. HEL Performance Products - What’s Stopping You ?

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Call for more information and a free catalogue or ride on over to www helperformance com What’s stopping you ? www.superbike.co.uk OCTOBER 2005 85

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STIN

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SPIDI

ALAN DOWDS’

ING RAT

87%

H2OUT TOUR S5 JACKET COST: £309.99 ON TEST: NINE MONTHS CONTACT: 01536 526460

his is Spidi’s topline winter coat, and it’s got spec and performance to match. The brochure tells you all about the laminated outer layers, removable liner and waterproof membranes. But what’s it like on the road, in shitty UK weather? Rather good actually. It’s very warm – the inner liner is thick and toasty. It’s not leaked anywhere, and there are internal pockets that stay waterproof in the worst rain. Take the lining out, and open the zippy vents and it’s cool enough for warm days, although the thick outer layer is a bit warm on really hot days. It’s tough, well-put-together and has CE-approved armour in the right bits. A bit subdued colour-wise, the pockets are slightly faff-ish to operate, and it’s not cheap. But recommended nevertheless.

KENNY PRYDE’S

XPD

ING RAT

90%

have to confess right here and now that I have something of a fetish when it comes to boots.

86 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

Boots and gloves. Oh yes indeed, there’s nothing like a nice pair of boots. And these are a lot like a nice

XP-R5 BOOTS

COST: £179.99 ON TEST: 18 MONTHS CONTACT: 01536 526460

pair of boots. Which is to say that they are the race version of Spidi’s XPD boot brand. Which means? Which means they have an internal articulated brace to protect your ankle. Make no mistake, these are an out-and-out track boot with a very stiff sole and a snug ﬁt. In fact they take a bit of time to break in and the ﬁt around your ankle is very tight, at

least initially. For my money these are the best compromise between a clodhopping heavy boot (with fundamentally the same level of protection) and something that is too light and too ﬂexy to instil conﬁdence. I crashed in them on the road and they escaped with nary a scuff. More importantly, my ankle and tootsies remained intact and unbruised. Maybe not ideal for long distance daily use, but that’s not what they are designed to do. Obviously they get pretty dirty, but nothing that a dab of bath cleaner won’t help clear.

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• Strong & stiffer JWL & BSAU50 certified for road & race use (not all makes of race wheel are suitable for road) which is why so many TT winners consistently choose Dymag, year after year • Up to half standard weight, with lower rotational inertia, for stronger acceleration & braking • Tyre valves, bearings, disc bolts, cush drive, sprocket & carrier included✝ • Deep well to aid tyre fitting without rim damage WORLDWIDE SHIPPING • Single and double-sided swing arm applications • Individually UK manufactured, inspected and serial numbered • Wide range of durable and attractive powder coated colour finishes • High purity Magnesium with chromate anti-corrosion protection coating and/or Carbon Fibre

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+441 77 383 11 22 WORLD WIDE www.bikehps.com/dymag Email: info@bikehps.com

Alfreton • Derbyshire • DE55 7BP • England UK Fax: 0870 774 7741 • International Fax: +441 77 383 10 40

Prices include VAT at the current rate of 17.5% but exclude standard delivery, express carriage or export options. US Dollar prices are for US export only, are tax free, and have been calculated at a rate of £1=$1.6 which is variable and subject to any charges levied by the customer’s card issuer/bank. ✝Sprocket not included with single-sided wheels. Dymag Carbon 5 spoke Wheels are TUV approved.Transactions are subject to Harwood’s T’s & C’s of sale, a copy of which is available on request. All offers are subject to availability. Information and prices correct at time of going to press. E&OE. Harwood Performance Source is a division of the GHC group (Gordon Harwood Computers Limited), founded 1955.

www.superbike.co.uk OCTOBER 2005 87

MASSIVE CRUISERS

BIG TRAILIES

COMFY TOURERS

SPORTY TOURERS

NAKED STREETFIGHTERS

MUSCLE BIKES

MIDDLEWEIGHT ROADSTERS

SUPERLISTINGS OUR COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO THE BEST BIKES AND HOW MUCH TO PAY FOR THEM...

SUPERSPORT

TWINS

APRILIA RSV MILLE/R/FACTORY

DUCATI 996/SPS/S/R

PRICE GUIDE: New £8,572, £10,922 (Fac) 2001 £3,225 - £4,400, £3,950 - £5,400 (R) 2002 £3,575 - £4,750, £4,375 - £5,825 (R) 2003 £3,950 - £5,200, £4,825 - £6,350 (R) • 2004 £5,525 - £6,800 (R), £6,450 - £7,950 (Fac)

PRICE GUIDE: 1999 £5,200 - £7,050 (SPS)

LATEST MODEL

Twins are no longer big news but now that Aprilia’s future has been secured following its purchase by Piaggo, you can consider your Aprilia option with more conﬁdence. The R has radial front brakes, revised fuel injection – hello 2bhp extra – and a tasty lion livery. Roomier than the Duke, so good for big ’uns, and cheaper too. Loads of trick bits – Öhlins suspendies and Oz wheels on the Factory. Still no match for a K5 though.

Took over from the 916 in late ’98 using a bigger, more powerful 996cc lump, as the name suggests. The twin-seat Biposto was the base model, while the SPS was the all-singing, all-dancing Öhlins equipped homologation racer. Late S and R models offer a diluted SPS spec for far less green. Indeed, the 996R had the short stroke (100x63.5mm) 998cc motor that later appeared in the 998

SPEC HIGHLIGHTS

Engine lc DOHC 8v 60º V-twin Power 130.6bhp @ 10,050rpm Torque 74.2ft-lb @ 8,140rpm Weight 189kg Suspension (F) Fully adj 43mm USD forks (R) Fully adj monoshock Brakes (F) 2 x 320mm discs, 4-piston radial calipers (R) 240mm disc, 2-piston caliper Fuel capacity 18 litres (3.96 gals)

Engine lc DOHC 8v 90º V-twin Power 109.5bhp @ 8,400rpm Torque 68.7ft-lb @ 7,800rpm Weight 198kg Suspension (F) Fully adj 43mm USD forks (R) Fully adj monoshock Brakes (F) 2 x 320mm discs, 4-piston calipers (R) 220mm disc, 2-piston caliper Fuel capacity 17 litres (3.74 gals)

2000 £5,900 - £8,050 (SPS)

2001 £5,025 - £6,750 (S)

TWINS VERSUS FOURS OK, so maybe we’re going to be stating the bleeding obvious, but then again…A twin is called a twin because the engine has two cylinders rather than four. This means that the way the bike delivers power to the back wheel feels different (and is different). The engine braking characteristics are very different as well…. Essentially a stock four-cylinder bike will make more power than a twin with similar capacity. The twin will produce more of its power and torque lower down in the rev-range though – thus the famous low-down grunt test clichés you read so often. A cliché maybe, but true nonetheless.

...TWINS “ PRODUCE MORE OF THEIR POWER AND TORQUE LOWER DOWN IN THE REV RANGE...

”

PREVIOUS MODELS

A real alternative to 10-a-penny Ducatis and thought to be better than Bologna’s ﬁnest in some circles, but the R and Factory are the only ones worth having. Stock RSVs have crap suspension and the SP is little better than the R, yet costs the same as a small principality.

Steeped in racing glory and praised by style wankers the world over, the 916 and its subsequent updates saved Ducati from ﬁnancial meltdown. Being Italian they require constant pampering (read pricey servicing) if they’re to give their best. If your pockets are deep enough the rewards are huge.

CONTACT:

APRILIA UK (0161 475 1800)

CONTACT:

DUCATI UK (08451 222996)

SUPERSPORT TWINS USED TEST

DUCATI 996SPS EACH MONTH WE PICK A USED BIKE FROM A DIFFERENT CATEGORY OF MOTORCYCLING.THIS MONTH DUCATI’S LEGENDARY 996SPS SUPERSPORT TWIN GOES UNDER THE MOSSY MICROSCOPE WHAT IT’S LIKE TO RIDE: Few bikes have made the sort of impact on the biking world like Ducati’s 916 has. Its to-diefor-styling with performance to match instantly made it one of the most desirable bikes on the planet. We’d simply seen nothing like it. And that was just the start. Very quickly it put Ducati and Carl Fogarty on the WSB map, and changed the face of biking forever. It spawned various subsequent versions; the 996SPS being one of the better ones. And though it was out of reach of the pockets of many when it was new with a price of nearly £19,000, these days it’s a bit more affordable. Riding one brings on emotions few other bikes can match. The styling, sound, and sheer speed of the Duke

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guarantee that. No journey on it will feel just like a ride. Instead, it’s more of an experience. And a fantastic one at that. The peak power from the 996cc V-twin motor can’t match some of the latest Japanese superbikes’. But the SPS-spec of the engine gives an almost explosive throttle response, especially when it’s revved a bit harder. And when it’s spinning hard, opening the throttle body butterﬂies always brings you out in a rash of goose bumps.

It’s a bit handy round corners too. Pricey, highspec Ohlins kit

keeps things under control nicely, and though the steering isn’t too light or fast, the front end will always track true. A damper is ﬁtted to further that

SUPERSPORT TWINS

HYPER BIKES

600CC SPORTSBIKES

750CC SPORTSBIKES

1,000CC SPORTSBIKES

...IF THE BIKE YOU WANT ISN’T LISTED HERE, YOU REALLY DON’T WANT IT...

HONDA SP1/2 PRICE GUIDE: New £9,399 2004 £6,025 - £7,700

SUZUKI TL1000R 2001 £4,100 - £5,600

2002 £4,825 - £6,550

2003 £5,325 - £7,100

PRICE GUIDE: 1998 £2,250 - £3,050 2001 £3,200 - £4,200

USED TEST 1999 £2,450 - £3,350

2000 £2,800 - £3,725

LATEST MODEL

Still in Honda’s range, although probably not for long. Dealers are struggling to shift them, so bargains are there to be had. Still a ﬁne bike though – quick, well mannered and beautifully put together. Not as kind on the eye as the CBR1000RR, perhaps, but the massive HRC-style swingarm, digital clocks and top-shelf Showa suspension are usually enough to get your sap rising.

Built to win the WSB title but, in the end, never even made it to the grid. Big, heavy, awkward, peaky and not a patch on Duke’s 916 or Honda’s SPs. Pretty quick in a straight line (170mph), even if they don’t have a clue when it comes to the turns. Could be the answer if you’re after a big V-twin on a budget. Fucking ugly though.

SPEC HIGHLIGHTS

Engine lc DOHC 8v 90º V-twin Power 121.5bhp @ 10,000rpm Torque 71.1ft-lb @ 8,000rpm Weight 194kg Suspension (F) Fully adj 43mm USD forks (R) Fully adj monoshock Brakes (F) 2 x 320mm discs, 4-piston calipers (R) 220mm disc, single-piston caliper Fuel capacity 18 litres (3.96 gals)

Engine lc DOHC 8v 90º V-twin Power 120bhp @ 9,000rpm Torque 74.5ft-lb @ 7,250rpm Weight 197kg Suspension (F) Fully adj 43mm USD forks (R) Fully adj rotary damper Brakes (F) 2 x 320mm discs, 6-piston calipers (R) 220mm disc, 2-piston caliper Fuel capacity 17 litres (3.74 gals)

PREVIOUS MODELS

SP-1s put the snatch into bad fuelling and require a morning on the dyno if they’re to perform as intended. They’re not worth a great deal either so, if you can cope with the bike’s singleminded attitude, they’re a lot of metal for the money.

Was supposed to smooth Suzuki’s entry into the big twin market after the TL1000S debacle, but simply made matters worse. If you really want one, go for something with Öhlins/Maxton suspension, fruity cans, a power commander and decent rubber. CONTACT: SUZUKI GB (01293 518000)

CONTACT:

HONDA UK (01753 590500)

DUCATI 996SPS steadiness. And when you do need to drop the pace, the brakes can be counted on to do a sterling job. Now there are some drawbacks to owning and running a 996SPS. For starters it’s not as easy to live with as a Jap bike. The riding position isn’t exactly relaxed so it’s not a bike for everyday use. And unless you treat it like a supermodel and spend heaps of time and wonga on it, it’ll throw tantrums and make you wish you’d never bought it. Look after it though, and any other bike you ride will feel just that bit duller and conventional by comparison. This Ducati is special, and that’s exactly how you’ll feel when you ride it.

HONDA VTR1000F FIRESTORM

SUZUKI TL1000S PRICE GUIDE: 1997 £1,825 - £2,550 2001 £4,100 - £5,600

1998 £1,975 - £2,700

1999 £2,175 - £2,950

2000 £2,800 - £3,725

PRICE GUIDE: New £6,699 2004 £3,825 - £4,900

2001 £2,750 - £3,825

2002 £3,075 - £4,200

2003 £3,425 - £4,550

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

LATEST MODEL

Monster engine, crap chassis. Suzuki’s answer to early examples’ slap-happy handling was to ﬁt ’em with cheapo steering dampers, thus ruining any steering they once had. Later TLs (1998 onwards) also came with tamer fuelling, spoiling the bike’s best feature – its fuck-off motor. In fact TL engines are arguably the best large capacity V-twins ever made. Tame the handling and laugh your cock off.

Less focussed than Suzuki’s TL-S and Duke’s 916, but easier to ride/live with as a result. Softly sprung with lazy steering, and now almost a decade old, the VTR is hardly cutting-edge. A good compromise if you’re after a sportyish all-rounder, but not much cop for keeping up with well ridden GSX-Rs. Good on road, but needs suspension sorting for the track.

SPEC HIGHLIGHTS

Engine lc DOHC 8v 90º V-twin Power 114.5bhp @ 9,200rpm Torque 74.2ftlb@7,750rpm Weight 187kg Suspension (F) Fully adj 43mm USD forks (R) Fully adj rotary damper Brakes (F) 2 x 320mm discs, 4-piston calipers (R) 220mm disc, 2-piston caliper Fuel capacity 17 litres (3.74 gals)

Engine lc DOHC 8v 90º V-twin Power 105.3bhp @ 8,500rpm Torque 71ft-lb @ 6,750rpm Weight 193kg Suspension (F) Fully adj 41mm RWU forks (R) Fully adj monoshock Brakes (F) 2 x 296mm discs, 4-piston calipers (R) 220mm disc, 2-piston caliper Fuel capacity 17 litres (3.74 gals)

TROUBLESHOOTING

PREVIOUS MODELS

Sales were hit almost from the off by tales of tank-slapping terror, from owners and press alike. The rotary damper rear suspension is rubbish – bin it and replace with Öhlins, Maxton or similar. Easy(ish) to sort and worth it for the motor alone.

The VTR has changed little over its eight year production run, but there are a few things to look for. Its pathetic fuel capacity was upped by one whole litre in 2001 – essential if you make long trips, plus it got Honda’s HISS security system in the same year too.

CONTACT:

SUZUKI GB (01293 518000)

CONTACT:

When it comes to buying a used 996SPS never let your heart rule your head – if you do, it’ll end in tears. Ducatis must be constantly loved and cherished to stay reliable and retain their value. If you ﬁnd one that’s been well looked after, then life with it will be heavenly. But if you don’t spot any signs of negligence and abuse then it’ll be hell – not to mention bloody costly. So take your time and be super-fussy with any prospective purchase. Inspect the bike in minute detail and don’t be afraid to seek expert advice. And if it hasn’t got a full service history carried out by an ofﬁcial and reputable dealer, then walk away – however far you’ve travelled.

HONDA UK (01753 590500)

Faults with this model are actually quite rare if they’ve been shown plenty of TLC: Clutch slave cylinders can leak – check to see if the paint has been stripped from the crankcases behind the cylinder near the gearbox

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HYPER BIKES

SUPERSPORT TWINS

600CC SPORTSBIKES

750CC SPORTSBIKES

1,000CC SPORTSBIKES

SUPERLISTINGS USED TEST

DUCATI 996SPS sprocket. Inspect the clutch master cylinder. The ﬂuid should be a bit dirty and at the right level. If it’s very clean or low then things might need sorting. Expect to pay around £100 to sort it. Noisy clutches – the dry clutch will rattle and make a bit of a row when you pull the lever in. But excessive noise can indicate worn drums and baskets. Sorting it will cost over £400. Fitting one from an ST4 is a good plan. They’re cheaper, quieter and more durable. Noisy bottom-end engine noise – this can indicate a loose alternator rotor rattling on the crank. End your interest immediately and walk away. Fork seals can leak. Make sure they’re sorted by a Ducati or Ohlins expert dealer. Rear axle bearings will be damaged if the rear hub-clamping bolt is not torqued to the right setting after chain adjustment. Servicing must never be skipped. Minor @ 6,000miles/ 12months = £425, major @ 12,000miles/24months = £650:

DUCATI 1000SS/900SS PRICE GUIDE: New £7,250 2004 £4,175 - £5,575

2001 £2,625 - £3,800

DUCATI 800SS/750SS 2002 £2,900 - £4,125

2003 £3,925 - £5,325

PRICE GUIDE: New £5,995 2004 £3,350 - £4,450

2001 £2,500 - £3,625

2002 £2,750 - £3,950

2003 £3,050 - £4,225

LATEST MODEL

Been around in one form or another for donkey’s years. Still uses an air-cooled V with two valves per cylinder, but as a pure road tool that’s all it needs. Feels agricultural compared to today’s state-of-the-art twins, but this is one for purists – aye, a proper bike that son. The seat is harsh, the fuelling’s crude and the spec is low, but then so is the price. For a Duke.

Dropped from Duke’s 2005 range, although it’s possible to find one or two still kicking around. Essentially a 1000SS with a smaller motor, so it’s little wonder the tiddler’s popularity has fizzled out. Far from quick, but a charming beast all the same. If your expectations are low you’ll love it, but if you hanker after a 999 you’ll want to throw the 800 in a deep clay pit and set fire to it.

SPEC HIGHLIGHTS

Engine ac DOHC 4v 90º V-twin Power 82.9bhp @ 8,000rpm Torque 61.5ft-lb @ 5,250rpm Weight 188kg Suspension (F) Fully adj 43mm USD forks (R) Fully adj monoshock Brakes (F) 2 x 320mm discs, 4-piston calipers (R) 245mm disc, 2-piston caliper Fuel capacity 20 litres (4.4 gals)

Engine ac DOHC 4v 90º V-twin Power 74.5bhp @ 8,250rpm (claimed) Torque n/a Weight 185kg Suspension (F) Fully adj 43mm USD forks (R) Fully adj monoshock Brakes (F) 2 x 320mm discs, 4-piston calipers (R) 220mm disc, single-piston caliper Fuel capacity 20 litres (4.4 gals)

PREVIOUS MODELS

Became the 1000SS in 2002, presumably in an effort to ﬁnd more poke – they found ﬁve more horses. Cantilever rear suspension is basic, as were early bikes’ electrics. Buy as new as you can, for reliability’s sake if nothing else.

Like its bigger brother the 800 also gained extra capacity in 2002, evolving from the venerable 750SS. The 750 was slow – so slow it’d struggle to out-run an NC30. Still a bloody cheap way to own a Ducati though.

CONTACT:

DUCATI UK (0845 1222996)

DUCATI 999S/R

DUCATI 998S/R PRICE GUIDE:

CONTACT:

DUCATI UK (0845 1222996)

2002 £6,725 - £8,450

2002 £6,925 – £8,725

PRICE GUIDE: New £13,995 (S) £19,995 (R)

2003 £7,725 – £10,100 (S)

2004 £8,400 - £10,600

TYPICAL VALUES YEAR REG PRICE 1999 S £6000-7250 1999 T £6250-7750 1999 V £6500-8000 2000 V £6750-8275 2000 W £7000-8500 2000 X £7500-9000 2001 Y £8000-9500 *Ducati stopped making the 996SPS in 2000, but later registrations are available as several bikes stayed in dealer showrooms for sometime longer. EXPERTS: Ducati Coventry – 02476 335300, Gtech Performance – 07841 099998, Veloce Motorcycles – 01508 571070 THANKS TO: Riverside Motorcycles (01604 417010) for the loan of the 996SPS we tested. This 2001 Y-reg, 12,200-miler is on sale for £8,495

LATEST MODEL

Last of the 916 evolution and the best by far. Testastretta (narrow head) motor has plenty of go and is reliable enough not to blow its guts every 2000 miles (touch wood). What’s more, the chassis is sublime and despite more than a decade passing since the 916’s launch the look-a-like 998 remains evocative enough to stir one’s loins – even today. A true icon and a modern design classic to boot.

Now’s the time to buy a 999. The base model has gained 16bhp, the R’s race-spec swingarm, more kudos and shed a hefty 13 kilos in the last year – that’s the same power as last year’s £20K R model for nearly half the loot. Bargain? We should say so. The 999 is so reﬁned it almost feels Japanese, yet it’s still very Italian in execution. No inline four beater though – see WSB results for evidence of the rearguard action being fought.

SPEC HIGHLIGHTS

Engine lc DOHC 8v 90º V-twin Power 136bhp @ 10,000rpm (claimed) Torque 74ft-lb @ 10,500rpm (claimed) Weight 187kg Suspension (F) Fully adj 43mm USD forks (R) Fully adj monoshock Brakes (F) 2 x 320mm discs, 4-piston calipers (R) 220mm disc, 2-piston caliper Fuel capacity 17 litres (3.74 gals)

Engine lc DOHC 8v 90º V-twin Power 133.2bhp @ 10,110rpm Torque 75.3ft-lb @ 8,090rpm Weight 186kg Suspension (F) Fully adj 43mm USD forks (R) Fully adj monoshock Brakes (F) 2 x 320mm discs, 4-piston calipers (R) 240mm disc, 2-piston caliper Fuel capacity 15.5 litres (3.41 gals)

PREVIOUS MODELS

Reﬁned in a way early 916s can only dream of. The very last 998, the Final Edition, was a limited edition (only 300 made) with uprated Öhlins suspendies, an authentic headstock plaque, single seat and unique graphics – if you can ﬁnd one they’ll almost certainly appreciate in value.

Had a hard act to follow (916/996/998) and initially failed to win the hearts of even the most loyal of Ducatisti, but then it was built to win races rather than please the eye. It did the former and is now making inroads into the latter. Sounds less evocative than the old bike too.

CONTACT:

90 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

DUCATI UK (08451 222996)

CONTACT:

DUCATI UK (08451 222996)

www.superbike.co.uk OCTOBER 2005 91

WORLD OF SPORT MOTOGP... WORLD SUPERBIKES... BRITISH SUPERBIKES

OUR MAN PAUL ‘YOUNGY’ YOUNG ON UPS, DOWNS, CRASHES, SALINE DRIPS, SEAWEED, SUSHI AND RUBBER-CLAD JAPANESE GIRLS. AND THE SUZUKI 8-HOUR AS WELL Pics: Redleg ost bike racers have a list of ‘must do’ races. The sweeping mega-fast turns of Suzuka’s figure-of-eight, and the 8-Hour race, probably appear on more riders’ wish lists than any other event. Having popped my Suzuka cherry at the 2003 8-Hour, and having had one of the best times in my 15 years of racing, I didn’t have to be asked twice. An experienced team, fast teammates, a familiar and fast bike, it couldn’t be better! A real chance to have a crack at an overall podium finish and avenge the fourth overall and Super production class victory that was stolen in the final hour of the 2003 race. That year, a 10p connector caused the lights to fail; two laps lost in the pits, we slipped to ninth overall and third in class. Ironically, Phase One inherited class victory and fourth overall. A fact not lost on team boss Russell Benney, hence the offer to join his line up for the 2005 race.

MONDAY 25TH JULY Ben Wylie, Phase One junior team rider, picked me up and whisked us away to Heathrow. Hooked up with the rest of the team, minus my fellow Aussie teammates Damien Cudlin and Warwick Nowland, both of whom were travelling from Australia. Minor chaos ensued at checkin when ‘Phase One’ big cheese, Russell Benney tried to check in the three huge ﬂight cases

full of bike bits, team paraphernalia and a stack of loose tyres. An indication of just how big motorcycle racing is in Japan was demonstrated when we managed to check in what must have been more than thrice our total baggage allowance. The JAL staff, all Japanese, knew about the race which helped us no end.

TUESDAY 26TH JULY As we approach Tokyo, the captain warns of a possible bumpy landing due to a typhoon that has been hanging around. The typhoon turns out to be a bit of a disappointment in the wind department but the tropical rain is in full ﬂow. Hmm…maybe all that testing for the HRC teams will count for nothing after all. Well, if a typhoon can’t level your playing ﬁeld, nothing can. Another plane journey later and we are landing in Nagoya, nearest airport to the circuit. Yamaha had sent a mini bus and a van for all the bodies and gear. Better still, they sent Yuki, the do-it-all dude. He was Kato to our own Inspector Jacques ‘Benney’ Clouseau. Stopped at a 7-Eleven for seaweed

Here are four good reasons for making the trip

94 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

and sushi snackage courtesy of ‘Super Yuki’, then into the circuit hotel. Woke up my roomy for the weekend ‘Damo’, talked tactics, hit the pillow and dreamed of monster skids.

WEDNESDAY 27TH JULY Up at 7.30am. Most surprised to find blue skies over Suzuka. Hook up with Warwick and his girlfriend Kristy and the rest of the crew for brekky and much catching up. A 10 minute walk through Suzuka’s family fun park to the circuit and we arrive to find Yamaha has been at it again. Carpet has been laid, team banners commissioned and hung, cool box full of treats and the biggest paddling pool I ever did see. They had also organised the use of one of the airconditioned offices behind the garages. This sanctuary from the oppressive humidity became affectionately referred to as ‘The Fridge’. Sign-on and scrutineering goes like a dream, lining up between the Japanese Woman-riders.com team and Samuela De Nardi of the Aprilia Motociclismo test team. Last formality of the day was the practice group draw. The 80 teams

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You wouldn’t want to be seated next to this lot all the way to Japan now would you?

are split into two qualifying groups to keep the lunacy to a minimum before the race starts. Our hopes for the senior and junior teams to be drawn in different groups were dashed and no amount of grovelling would change it. This would have allowed us to share our bike with the juniors through practice and qualifying. Too bad.

THURSDAY 28TH JULY 7a.m. Breakfast. It’s cornflakes. Practice was split into two forty minute sessions and an hour-long session, with all three riders sharing the time. Warwick started and handed over to me after 15 minutes. Out of pit lane, one sighting lap to suss out the new chicane and then it was head down. First flying lap. This is what I’ve been waiting for. Thrashing someone else’s motosickle around one of the world’s wildest racetracks. Throttle fully pinned through the last downhill right-hander and straightened up under the finish line gantry, the bike started to wobble so violently that I had to shut off before I’d reached the end of the pit wall. Once the bike was settled I cracked the throttle open again, only to

have the same thing happen again. I arrived at turn one shocked at what had just happened. Even more so when I went to grab the anchors and the lever went straight to the bar with out so much as a semblance of braking. The violence of the speed wobble had pushed the brake pads so far into the callipers that it needed three pumps before anything happened. And so it was for all of free practice and qualifying, one terrifying experience after another. We tried to work on ﬁxing it with suspension changes, different front tyres, and more steering damper. I tried every trick in the book with altering my riding style too. Holding on so tight I thought my head might explode. Hardly holding on at all. Pushing myself right up over the tank. Sitting on the tail unit. Riding back to front and squawking like a bird. The most puzzling thing was the fact that Damo felt there was some instability but not so much that he had to shut off the throttle, and Warwick felt there was no instability at all. Going by the evidence, it seemed the problem was linked to rider size, with the jockey-sized jockeys getting the roughest end of a very shakey stick.

By the end of free practice I still hadn’t completed a single lap without having to shut the throttle on every straight and pump the brakes as I approached every corner. It was starting to look like I was going to spend the race in the timing box and Warwick and Damo were going to have to ride back to back.

FRIDAY 29TH JULY For qualifying each rider gets two halfhour sessions and just two sets of tyres. As a result of this tyre rule, not all teams use qualifying tyres, although most of the top teams still give their quickest rider a run on the ‘Q’ rubber just to make sure they get into superpole. We were still trying to get to the bottom of our handling problems so there was little point in wasting track time on qualiﬁers. Thankfully I found a reason for the death wobbles right at the end of my last qualifying session. For this session I’d got the guys to drop the back of the bike 10mm. They put me out on a second hand rear tyre that Warwick had already smoked in his session. Half a lap into the session and I knew we’d found a ﬁx. I just didn’t know whether it was the geometry

change or the tyre. I warmed up for a few laps, ﬁnally enjoying myself on a bike that, despite being completely sideways out of every corner, had at least stopped trying to feed me to the spectators at the end of every straight. I pitted for a new tyre buzzing with anticipation at what I should be able to do with some grip and no death wobble. Within half a lap I knew the job was fucked. Dr. Death Wobble was back with his little black bag of no good, and my hope of a good qualifying lap was over. A big disappointment, but at least there was a solution for the race. The tyre I’d started on was a 195 section Japanese Dunlop. Narrower and stiffer than the 205 section, UK-made Dunlop, that’d been on the bike every time it had been misbehaving. Turns out the bigger UK tyre had been growing. The faster the wheel speed, the bigger the tyre gets, effectively jacking up the back of the bike and reducing stability. In what was our last chance to move up the grid, Damo made good use of this rubber revelation by banging off a couple of high 2-14’s on a new Japanese tyre. Bloody good work for a Suzuka

www.superbike.co.uk OCTOBER 2005 95

newcomer, someone should give that lad a job. Initially there was some concern over whether we could get supply of any more of the Japanese Dunlops. Thankfully Dunlop UK had sent out Peter, to look after the European teams. A very helpful guy with a mullet so extreme he could have been plucked straight out of Sydney’s western suburbs, or a Mad Max ﬁlm. Pete managed to secure enough standard Japanese ‘A’ compound tyres to get all Phase One riders through the race.

SATURDAY 30TH JULY 10a.m. I’m woken by a billion cicadas having a riot to the sound of race cans and cheesy fairground style ragtime jazz. I asked Damo whether I was still asleep. “Welcome to the twilight zone!” was his reply. Suzuka is a truly surreal experience at times. Failing to make the top twenty in qualifying meant a day off the bikes, but there were still a few PR duties. Yamaha had organised an interview session on its stand. Having both sweated our way through all the team gear we had. Damo came up with the idea of fronting up in old unbranded kit, hoping Yamaha might donate some shirts for the occasion. Nice one Damo, top idea. Next up was the pit lane walk. Just the usual affair really. A hundred or so

Another day another crashed R1. Our man is forced to make the walk of shame

Two more good reasons for making the trip

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teenage Japanese girls wrapped in rubber ribbon, joined by the Michelin Man, Darth Vader, The Masked Riders, and various walking exotic fruits. The people wearing those big furry suits really should be on an emperor’s salary. It’s 35 degrees out there for fuck’s sake. Superpole at the 8-Hour is called ‘The special jump up stage’. The top 20 teams get a last chance to ‘jump up’ the grid. Geddit? Probably the coolest thing about getting into Superpole is that every rider gets to choose the sound track to their own ﬂying lap. It’s played over both the track commentary and the TV coverage. There seemed to be a lot of extremely inappropriate tunes on the menu. Certainly more classical ballads and Japanese girly pop than I expected. Still, different strokes and all that… Leon Camier psyched himself up for an absolutely blistering lap in the 2 minute 10’s on the Moriwaki Fireblade, with track two off the latest ‘System of a Down’ CD which he’d gone into Suzuka city to ﬁnd just for the occasion. Yukio Kagayama was another

highlight. Ripping the handlebars off (no, not literally) the Yoshimura GSX-R1000 to the sounds of ‘The Offspring’ doing a little number that seemed to be mostly about doing several big numbers.

SUNDAY 31ST JULY With the bikes prepped and riders feeling good, all that stood between the race and us was the 45-minute morning warm-up. The plan was to do a couple of laps each and park it. Oh how I wish we’d cut straight to the park it bit. Going in to the second part of turn one on my ﬁrst ﬂying lap I got stuck between two riders on a collision course. Cue a tumble through the kitty litter and a mission impossible to make the start of the race. With less than an hour to go till the start, the crew was faced with a bike with most of its extremities bent or missing, including the fairing bracket lugs being completely snapped off the frame. Despite the guys from Yamaha writing off our chances of making the race, the Phase One crew got stuck in. They

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This fella earned his money for the weekend

“Everything seems to be in order up here” weather, by the time I got the ‘5 laps till your IN’ board we were up to 24th position. Just when I thought I’d made amends for being in the wrong place at the wrong 1. Ryuichi Kiyonari – Tohru Ukawa (Seven Stars time in the warm up – Whamo – I’m on my Honda) 204 laps in 8-01.22; 2, C. Vermeulen – K. arse again. Three laps from bath time, I Fujiwara (Honda) at three laps; 3, H. Aoki – Yasuda lost the back through the middle of spoon (Honda) at four laps; 4, Deguchi – Teshima curve, saved it, lost it saved it, lost it, lost (Honda) at five laps; 5, Yamaguchi – Tokudome it. And did I feel like a spoon? You bet. (Honda) at six laps; 6, Sugai – J. Brookes (Honda) Run over to bike, pick it up, rides at seven laps; 7, Kitagawa – Philippe (Suzuki) straight back to pits. The crew bolt on at eight laps; 8, Kawase – Tamitsuji (Suzuki) at a new footpeg and Warwick’s away! In nine laps; 9, Giabbani – Jerman (Yamaha R1) at truth we probably only lost half a lap and 10 laps; 10, Y. Kagayama – A. Watanabe (Suzuki a couple of positions, but I still got the Yoshimura) at 11 laps; 15, N. Matsudo – L. Camier feeling I was off Russell’s Christmas list. (Honda) at 14 laps; 18, W. Nowland – D. Cudlin – P. By the time Damo’s next session was Young (Phase One Yamaha) at 15 laps; on, Warwick had got into 19th place. The track was drying fast at this stage and it was a tough decision for tyres, again a lack of wheels and tyres forced our hand and Damo went out on hard wets, 20 minutes later he was back in for slicks and straight back out. 80 odd minutes on a mostly dry track with the sun’s heat building up again pushed Damo to the edge of endurance. A little trick I’d picked up originally from the Brazilian GP in 1996 and used again at Suzuka 2003 is getting a saline drip before the race and between sessions. Super Yuki had organised us a doctor and a load of Everything was going sweetly when replaced all the bodywork, mufflers, saline bags, two of those babies and you’re on my second lap I started to see little handle bars and controls, drilled and rehydrated and feeling like action man. spitlets of rain on my visor. Not enough tapped new lugs in the frame, zip tied the Damo having had a really tough session to soak the track but there were some steering damper in place, and generally was all that helped me get another go on seriously dark clouds rolling over. I tried the bike. Just as I was preparing to take worked miracles. 50 minutes later to make as much use of that ‘mental rain’ over from Warwick, Big Russ had come up Warwick was riding down pit lane to join period when most riders really slow up to the fridge and told us all that I must the grid, albeit a minute too late to join but the track is still dry enough to keep be injured as I’d crashed twice, and he the sighting lap. We’d incurred a stop the loud button pressed. and go penalty before the race had even wanted Damo and Warwick to finish It wasn’t long before the sky finally started but at least we were on the grid. the race back to back. I told him he gave way and a tropical rainstorm Amazingly, the entire field of 70 bikes was talking utter bollocks, but that dumped a load on its victims. After a made it around the first lap. Warwick got I respected his sacred right couple of laps tip-toeing around on slicks away well and made up a few positions I got the signal to come in and switch to before getting the board to pull in for the wets. A shortage of wheels and tyres penalty. By the time he’d pulled in and meant I was sent back out on hard stopped in the sin bin for 30 seconds we wets, which weren’t ideal for were dead last and half a lap behind the standing water but certainly a next team. All to play for. lot better than slicks. You usually don’t have to wait long I admit I didn’t feel super for things to happen in the 8-Hour. And confident on the bike. But thanks it certainly wasn’t long before riders to a steady and quickish pace, started throwing themselves at the a longer than usual riding fence and bikes started breaking down. stint (90 minutes rather Warwick and Damo chipped away and than the 50 minutes on moved us steadily up the standings, by a dry track), and the the time I jumped on we were around attrition rate due to the 45th, still with six hours to run. Below: Kiyonari (pictured) partnered Ukawa for a Honda win

SUZUKA 8-HOUR

RESULTS

as team manager to talk as much bollocks as he liked. Anyway eventually it was decided it was probably a good idea to give Damo more time to recover. I did my second stint and managed not to crash. Damo did the ﬁnal roster and brought it home in 18th. The junior lads came in 28th. And both teams moved up in the World Championship rankings as a result, mission accomplished, kind of. Not too disgraceful considering where we started, and there’s always next year. Cue ﬁreworks, and anyone and everyone within groping distance to be thrown into the paddling pool.

SUNDAY NIGHT 31ST JULY In the interest of maintaining a tenuous grip on a reputation of professionalism for myself, and others, I have omitted details of post race activities and the following three days of ‘cool down’ time spent in Japan. I’d like to say a big time thank you to Russell, all the Phase One crew and the junior team riders for being a fuckin’ ace bunch to work with and not giving me too much shit for crashing; Yamaha for its outstanding help and hospitality; Damo and Warwick for being absolutely top class team mates. And special thanks to my big sister Simone, who came over from Australia to cheer us on, and ended up doing our timing for the whole event. If I’m lucky enough to be invited back, again, I still won’t have to be asked twice. In the mean time though, I’m off to Germany to do the Oschersleben 24 hour sausage scramble. SB Quick, get him off there before it falls over

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THE CHAMP MAYBE REELING AGAINST THE ROPES BUT, HE TELLS SUPERBIKE, HE’S NOT FINISHED YET hey say that the one thing T harder than winning a world championship is defending it. Well, you can bet your bottom dollar that James Toseland is singing this song as he slumps further behind Troy Corser in the 2005 championship. Every race Toseland expects to turn around his season and so far all he’s experienced are further problems or stalled starts. Brands Hatch typified this. The Sheffielder couldn’t hide his glee after securing a front row start on Saturday but his bright Yorkshire tones soon reverted to resignation come a miserable Sunday at the office. Toseland was one of the only riders to use Pirelli’s new 200-section tyre and his DNF with electrical problems in race one meant that valuable race data was lost to make a decision on tyres in race two. “We only did six laps on the 200 in qualifying and seven laps in race one so I went with the same tyre in the race but halfway through the race I was really struggling with it. It needs more work doing to it because it pushes the front more and they are changing the front’s profile to suit the larger

rear tyre,” pretty much sums up Toseland’s Brands Hatch but doesn’t the rest of the season need explaining too? “Well it’ll take me less time to tell you what’s gone right this season than to tell you what’s gone wrong. So let’s see. Silverstone went right, Monza went right, Brno first race went good. I suppose the main thing over the season that’s gone right is that my riding has improved. I’m happy with the way I’m improving as a rider but as far as results we’ve had everything from getting on top to crashes, injuries, the puncture at Valencia, the tyre problem at the second race in Brno, the breakdown at Brands. If you wrote them all down in a list it’s just unbelievable. I don’t believe in good or bad luck but it’s certainly been difficult, every time I’ve picked myself up it’s like I’ve been jabbed and got winded again,” and there’s no doubting that Toseland is still trying his heart out but people are starting to look to 2006 and questioning whether Toseland will still be in the Corse team. “I don’t think they’ll get two riders as committed as me and Regis. I don’t think you’ll find anyone else to do a better job really. Whether Troy Bayliss comes back or Ruben Xaus or whoever the latest rumours are, I think

TROY’S THE DADDY

RESPECT IS DUE TO TROY CORSER AND HIS BALLS-OUT DETERMINATION TO WIN RACES, WHATEVER THE CIRCUMSTANCES s the WSB Circus reached Brands Hatch, not only had the Australian got A the championship in his back pocket but he’d also become a father for the second time ten days prior (it’s a girl, Kelisa) but this didn’t stop an all out attack on Nori Haga to take the race two win rather than sit back and tot up the points. Fortune favours the brave and while Corser messed up his braking point and ended up on the grass, the championship leader kept it upright and coasted home to second place. And all of this was after a desperate ﬁght with Haga in race one that saw rabid overtakes from start to ﬁnish. Diving on the inside at paddock? Bonza!

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And Corser’s reaction? Casual, to say the least, “Yeah, it was a fun race really and I suppose we got close a few times. On the slowing down lap the marshals were running away from me because I think they thought I was going for them too.” But why the lay it on the line race moves? “I want to win the championship but I want to win races as well,” and with Corser the two are inextricably linked.

Ducati know we can do just as good a job if not better with our experience, especially on the Pirelli tyres,” said Toseland, said conﬁdently on the outside but there must be a tinge of apprehension on the inside. Put simply, Toseland has eight races left to save his factory skin. And that means taking on Corser who looks in no mood to roll over and have his belly tickled on the way to the championship. “It’s been a disappointing season for the team but we want to win as many races as we can. If I have to be 52 again next year then so be it. You saw at Brands he didn’t have to ride that hard but he went out there and wanted to win two races and full credit to the guy. His bike seems to have an advantage on the tighter corners really, the way the bike turns just seems to be a little bit better and the way it lays the power down seems to be a little bit better than us. You saw in superpole at Brands that the bike’s capable of going round at the same speed, it’s just if we can get the tyres to last the same as the four cylinder bikes because doing one lap is one thing but doing 25 in a row is another thing,” much like doing one race is one thing, but performing in the remaining eight (at time of writing) is quite another. Toseland can’t afford a couple of good races, he needs to race better than at Magny Cours last year when he won his championship to keep the pay cheques from Ducati coming.

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“

...EVERY TIME I’VE PICKED MYSELF UP IT’S LIKE I’VE BEEN JABBED AND GOT WINDED AGAIN...

”

JAMES TOSELAND

WORLD SUPERBIKES

RESULTS ROUND SEVEN: BRNO, CZECH REPUBLIC SUPERBIKE RACE ONE 1, T Corser (Alstare Suzuki); 2, J. Toseland (Xerox Ducati); 3, R. Laconi (Xerox Ducati); 4, C. Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki); 5, P. Chili (Klafﬁ Honda); 6, L. Lanzi (Caracchi Ducati); 7, N. Haga (Belgarda Yamaha); 8, C. Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda); 9, N. Abe (Yamaha Motor France); 10, A. Pitt (Belgarda Yamaha) FASTEST LAP: Corser 2-03.812 SUPERBIKE RACE TWO 1, N. Haga (Belgarda Yamaha); 2, T. Corser (Alstare Suzuki); 3, C. Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda); 4, N. Abe (Yamaha Motor France); 5, P. Chili (Klafﬁ Honda); 6, L. Lanzi (Caracchi Ducati); 7, R. Laconi (Xerox Ducati); 8, J. Toseland (Xerox Ducati); 9, K. Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda); 10, C. Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki) FASTEST LAP: Haga 2-03.747 SUPERSPORT 1, S. Charpentier (Ten Kate Honda); 2, M. Fabrizio (Megabike Honda); 3, G. Nannelli (Caracchi Ducati); 4, R. Harms (Stiggy Honda); 5, J. Fores (Alstare Suzuki); 6, C. Jones (Ten Kate Honda); 7, S. Chambon (Gil Honda); 8, A. Corradi (Ducati Selmat); 9, W. Daemen (Van Zon Honda); 10, B. Veneman (Suzuki Nederland) FASTEST LAP: Charpentier 2-07.316

ROUND EIGHT: BRANDS HATCH SUPERBIKE RACE ONE 1, T Corser (Alstare Suzuki); 2, N. Haga (Belgarda Yamaha); 3, R. Laconi (Xerox Ducati); 4, C. Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda); 5, C. Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki); 6, K. Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda); 7, A. Pitt (Belgarda Yamaha); 8, L. Lanzi (Caracchi Ducati); 9, Y. Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki); 10, M. Neukirchner (Klafﬁ Honda); 13, D. Hobbs (Nvidia Yamaha) FASTEST LAP: Haga 1-27.489 SUPERBIKE RACE TWO 1, N. Haga (Belgarda Yamaha); 2, T. Corser (Alstare Suzuki); 3, C. Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda); 4, C. Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki); 5, R. Laconi (Xerox Ducati); 6, A. Pitt (Belgarda Yamaha); 7, J. Toseland (Xerox Ducati); 8, L. Lanzi (Caracchi Ducati); 9, Y. Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki); 10, B. Bostrom (Renegade Honda); 15, D. Hobbs (Nvidia Yamaha) FASTEST LAP: Haga 1-27.272 OVERALL POINTS STANDINGS (After 16 of 24 races) 1, Corser 344 points; 2, Vermeulen 234; 3, Laconi 214; 4, Kagayama 172; 5, Haga 167; 6, Toseland 161; 7, Walker 130; 8, Chili 111; 9, Pitt 95; 10, Abe 88 SUPERSPORT 1, S. Charpentier (Ten Kate Honda); 2, M. Fabrizio (Megabike Honda); 3, K. Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany); 4, S. Chambon (Gil Honda); 5, F. Foret (Megabike Honda); 6, K. Fujiwara (Ten Kate Honda); 7, A. Corradi (Ducati Selmat); 8, C. Jones (Northpoint Honda); 9, M. Lagrive (Moto 1 Suzuki); 10, C. Crutchlow (Northpoint Honda); 12, T. Tunstall (Hardinge Honda) FASTEST LAP: Charpentier 1-29.380

WITHER CHRIS VERMEULEN? HONDA’S YOUNG HOTSHOT TO JOIN CHELSEA ON A BOSMAN? STRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED Ten Kate Honda superbike rider Chris Vermeulen has made it clear that he sees his future in MotoGP with Honda, but so far HRC has played it rather cool with the 23-year-old Australian. Even after his second place at Suzuka, a hoped-for guarantee of a MotoGP ride didn’t materialise. Now there is talk that Ducati might be interested in hiring him with, obviously, some kind of guarantee of a MotoGP place in the future. “My

OVERALL POINTS STANDINGS (After eight of 12 races) 1, Charpentier 190 points; 2, Fujiwara 116; 3, Curtain 109; 4, Foret 85; 5, Fabrizio 82; 6, Chambon 68; 7, Parkes 60; 8, Nanelli 56; 9, Fores 52; 10, Lauslehto 42

BSB Supersport’s Craig Jones takes 6th at Brno standing in for Fujiwara

contract is up at the end of October, so I’m a free agent,” said Vermeulen. “We haven’t talked to him,” said Ducati chief Paolo Ciabatti, “but we haven’t made any decisions about anyone yet.” Well, maybe after Brands Hatch they had a better idea…

GET YOUR RUMOURS HERE... Troy Corser to stay at Suzuki and ride the Suzuka 8-Hour next year with Mat Mladin Max Neukirchner to stay with Klafﬁ Honda with supersport hotshot Michel Fabrizio Troy Bayliss on a factory-supported MV Agusta run by GSE supersport superstar Sebastian Charpentier to ride a Ten Kate superbike, Karl Muggeridge to be shifted to a satellite team supersport to feature a ‘superpole’ session just like superbike Lorenzo Lanzi to get an ofﬁcial factory ride on the Xerox Ducati, not because he’s very good, but because his personal manager is someone called Davide Tardozzi…

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HAYDEN DELIVERS AMERICA’S YOUNG PRETENDER PUTTING HONDA BACK IN CONTENTION

ou’d have to be a hardhearted bastard not to Y have taken pleasure in Repsol Honda’s Nicky Hayden winning his ‘home’ race at Laguna Seca. Although the Honda Racing Corporation clearly had a lot of faith in the Kentuckian when they put him on the Repsol Honda bike in 2002, rumours persisted that he was under some pressure to deliver in 2005, particularly because his contract was up at the end of this season. So, there was no pressure for him on his home ground then? Hayden was on the case from the opening sessions on Friday morning, heading the timing sheets, claiming pole position and led the race from the front to claim his ﬁrst-ever win in MotoGP. Although he tried to remain calm prior to the race, Hayden later confessed that he was feeling it all. “On Saturday I thought about my tactics and I reckoned I would try to get to the front and make a break, I didn’t want Colin or Valentino too near me.”

But then, of course, the pressure was on him to demonstrate that his win and pole weren’t ﬂukes on his home track. A crash early on at Donington didn’t help his cause, but his pole

position, third place and race pace were impressive at Sachsenring. Was he happy? Was he fuck. “I’m happy enough with the podium, but to be honest, once you’ve tasted victory, that’s what you want. But overall it wasn’t a bad weekend with the pole and my birthday and all,” said Hayden later. After the race was re-started, following Suzuki’s John Hopkins’ highside, Hayden wasn’t quite as conﬁdent in his front tyre and struggled a bit. “I used up my clutch a bit more than I should have on the start line but I stayed with the two best riders in the world and in the end I wasn’t far away, I was able to match their pace. I still got a lot to learn, I’m still pretty new to this game in comparison to them and to be able to run with them at the front on every track I still need some time. But running at the front with those guys was a bit like going to school.”

MAX BIAGGI WHINGE WATCH IF IT AIN’T ONE THING ITS ANOTHER

GIBERNAU ON THE MOVE? ete Gibernau is getting the hump with Fausto S Gresini (right), his Telefonica team boss and is eyeing up a job at Ducati, where Lil’ Loris is rumoured to be off at the end of the season. Ducati might say they love the wee man but Loris loves the podium more. Gresini now has Marco Melandri, so doesn’t care if Sete leaves anyway… Meanwhile, given Gibernau’s last-lap, ﬁrst turn, mistake at

100 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

Sachsenring where he handed the race to Valentino Rossi, Sete was understandably gutted in the postrace press conference. “This has been the hardest year of my career, no doubt. We worked hard the whole weekend and without my error I think I could have been on the top step of the podium. Saturday was Nicky Hayden’s birthday, but I gave the present to the wrong guy.”

This month, Max was mostly moaning about the same thing he’s been moaning about every month. But you still have to ask the question; Max, what’s the problem? “It’s the same thing I’ve been saying since January. I don’t know what else to say, but I can’t say nothing. Basically I can’t go into corners as fast as I want, I can’t attack them because of the chatter at the front end.” Next month, Max tests new bits at Brno…stay tuned!

Come on, two signed posters for a quid. I’m practically giving ‘em away

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MOTO GP

RESULTS ROUND EIGHT: LAGUNA SECA GP ONE 1, N. Hayden (Repsol Honda); 2, C. Edwards (Gauloises Yamaha); 3, V. Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha); 4, M. Biaggi (Repsol Honda); 5, S. Gibernau (Movistar Honda); 6, T. Bayliss (Camel Honda); 7, M. Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda); 8, J. Hopkins (Suzuki); 9, S. Nakano (Kawasaki); 10, L. Capirossi (Marlboro Ducati); 15, S. Byrne (Roberts KTM); 16, J. Ellison (Blata WCM) FASTEST LAP: Edwards (lap 5) 1-23.915

ROUND NINE: DONINGTON PARK GP ONE 1, V. Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha); 2, K. Roberts (Suzuki); 3, A. Barros (Camel Honda); 4, C. Edwards (Gauloises Yamaha); 5, C. Checa (Marlboro Ducati); 6, L. Capirossi (Marlboro Ducati); 7, M. Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda); 8, A. Hofman (Kawasaki); 9, T. Elias (Fortuna Yamaha); 10, R. Rolfo (D’Antin Ducati); DNF, S. Byrne (Roberts KTM); J. Ellison (Blata WCM) FASTEST LAP: Rossi (lap 24) 1-45.377 250 1, R. De Puniet (Aspar Aprilia); 2, A. West (Red Bull KTM); 3, C. Stoner (Carrera Aprilia); 4, D. Pedrosa (Movistar Honda); 5, S. Porto (Aspar Aprilia); 6, S. Corsi (MS Aprilia); 7, A. Dovizioso (Scot Honda); 8, J. Lorenzo (Fortuna Honda); 9, S. Guintoli (Equipe Aprilia); 10, A. Ballerini (Abruzzo Aprilia); DNF, C. Davies (Aprilia Germany) FASTEST LAP: West (lap 17) 1-47.025 125 1, J. Simon (Red Bull KTM); 2, M. Di Meglio (Kopron Honda); 3, F. Lai (Kopron Honda); 4, M. Simoncelli (Nocable.it Aprilia); 5, P. Nieto (Caja Derbi); 6, T. Luthi (Elit Honda); 7, M. Kallio (Red Bull KTM); 8, J. Olive (Nocable.it Aprilia); 9, D. Linfoot (KRP Honda); 10, T. Kuzuhara (Angaia Honda); 13, C Elkin (E3 Honda) FASTEST LAP: Bautista (lap 6) 1-38.408

ROUND TEN: SACHSENRING GP ONE 1, V. Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha); 2, S. Gibernau (Movistar Honda); 3, N. Hayden (Repsol Honda); 4, M. Biaggi (Repsol Honda); 5, A. Barros (Camel Honda); 6, S. Nakano (Kawasaki); 7, M. Melandri (Movistar Honda); 8, C. Edwards (Gauloises Yamaha); 9, L. Capirossi (Marlboro Ducati); 10, M. Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda); DNF, S. Byrne (Roberts KTM); J. Ellison (Blata WCM) FASTEST LAP: Gibernau (lap 3) 1-23.705 OVERALL POINTS STANDINGS (After seven of 10 races) 1, Rossi 236 points; 2, Melandri 116; 3, Gibernau 115; 4, Edwards 114; 5, Biaggi 113; 6, Barros 101; 7, Hayden 101; 8, Capirossi 72; 9, Nakano 65; 10, Checa 51 250 1, D. Pedrosa (Movistar Honda); 2, A. De Angelis (MS Aprilia); 3, H. Aoyama (Movistar Honda); 4, A. Dovizioso (Scot Honda); 5, S. Porto (Aspar Aprilia); 6, R. De Puniet (Aspar Aprilia); 7, C. Stoner (Carrera Aprilia); 8, H. Barbera (Fortuna Honda); 9, Y. Takahashi (Scot Honda); 10, A. West (Red Bull KTM); DNF, C. Davies (Aprilia Germany) FASTEST LAP: Pedrosa (lap 16) 1-25.327

ROSSI RE-SIGNS ROSSI TO STAY AT YAMAHA…TILL 2007? e knew before Assen that Valentino Rossi wasn’t going W to go to F1 (and we said so on our website) but now he’s signed for Yamaha for another season the ﬂag has dropped on the silly season-type transfer nonsense. And speaking of rumours, how about he’ll stay at Yamaha for longer than just next season too? How else would you interpret this statement? When he was asked about the capacity reduction change, he said, “We are close to the limit in terms of speed and power and what it is possible for anyone to control, it’ll be hard work to redesign the bike next year to get it ready for 2007.” Which sounds like he’ll still be racing in 2007 as well…

OVERALL POINTS STANDINGS (After nine of 15 races) 1, Pedrosa 181 points; 2, Stoner 131; 3, Dovizioso 124; 4, Porto 96; 5, De Puniet 89; 6, De Angelis 87; 7, Aoyama 87; 8, Lorenzo 78; 9, Barbera 59; 10, Corsi 54 125 1, M. Kallio (Red Bull KTM); 2, T. Luthi (Elit Honda); 3, M. Simoncelli (Nocable.it Aprilia); 4, G. Talmacsi (Red Bull KTM); 5, J. Simon (Red Bull KTM); 6, L. Pesek (Metis Derbi); 7, F. Lai (Kopron Honda); 8, J. Olive (Nocable.it Aprilia); 9, A. Espargaro (Seedorf Honda); 10, P. Nieto (Caja Derbi) FASTEST LAP: Kalio (lap 6) 1-27.965 OVERALL POINTS STANDINGS (After nine of 15 races) 1, Luthi 119 points; 2, Kallio 116; 3, Talmacsi 113; 4, Simoncelli 101; 5, Pasani 100; 6, Simon 91; 7, Lai 88; 8, Poggiali 64; 9, Koyama 52; 10

Pedrosa - still bossing the 250s

OHLINS NEW SHOCK Gauloises Yamaha have had a bit of help from Swedish suspension bofﬁns. Rossi’s M1 featured a new rear shock, which was ‘reserved’ for the two Gauloises bikes of Rossi and team mate Colin Edwards. The team was looking for more stability in fast corner entry. Needless to say it’s been two years in development and Ohlins is saying nowt about it. Except that “it’s a completely new concept, it’s lighter, smaller and easier to set up”.

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SNETTERTON

YOUNG

GUNS SUPERBIKE REPORTS ON SOME OF THE YOUNG TALENT PROPPING UP THE TOP GUYS AT NATIONAL LEVEL netterton went pretty much S to plan for the big boys. The big budget teams performed to expectation with wins for Ryuichi Kiyonari and Gregorio Lavilla. But if you’re looking for new talent you had to look a bit further down the timing sheets. But what are looking at? Are these guys finishing further down the timing sheets simply not good enough or are the riders hampered by their lesser machinery? If they had the money would riders like Ben Wilson, Chris Burns and Luke Quigley be battling for the podium? Ben Wilson rode in the superstock championship in 2004, finishing third. Quigley rode in supersport at the start of this season, but quit to ride the Dunlop-shod Jentin Yamaha from Croft onwards. Burns has had a varied career to say the least, superstock runner-up to David Jeffries in 2001 followed by a MotoGP ride with WCM in 2004 followed, essentially, by unemployment. In 2005 he bagged a ride at Le Mans 24 Hour before taking over from John McGuinness on the AIM Yamaha for the first time at Snetterton. So three runners in the superbike class, all from different backgrounds in the previous season. Wilson from superstock, Quigley from supersport

and Burns from MotoGP, endurance or unemployment, depending on how you want to look at it. In any case, we asked them how they were coping with the jump to hyperspeed, so to speak. Wilson ﬁnished ninth and sixth at Snetterton aboard a Vivaldi Kawasaki. “I knew I was riding a superbike at the end of last season and we had a winter test on the bike at Almeria but to be honest I didn’t really notice a huge difference. The thing is that every year you have a break and when you get back on a race bike, they always feel really fast. I suppose my superstock Suzuki last year had about 160-plus bhp and the superbike has 180-plus, it’s more, but it didn’t feel that different. What is difﬁcult is the qualifying. We obviously don’t use proper qualifying tyres in superstock and it’s hard to get the best out of them on a superbike. My race pace lap times are OK, but early in the season I wasn’t qualifying high

TOMMY’S SUCCESSFUL

COMBE OVER TOMMY HILLS ENJOYS RETURN TRIP TO THE ‘NATIONAL’ AS THE WILTSHIRE-BASED CIRCUIT BIDS FOR BSB STATUS ou can bet Virgin Yamaha’s Tommy Hill is praying that Castle Combe makes the safety changes necessary to hold a BSB race at Y the Wiltshire circuit next year. Why so? Well, Hill scored his best results of the year at the Grand National a year ago on the Yamaha and this year he bettered that record by scoring two wins on the R1 ahead of Honda UK’s Karl ‘Bomber’ Harris both times. OK, so many of the BSB series ‘playas’ were sitting the non-championship meeting out, but the win has rocketed Hill’s confidence – and his bank balance by £3,000 in the process. Don’t be surprised if Castle Combe makes it onto the BSB calendar either as the circuit’s officials are pressing BSB’s powers that be for a spot in the series – if they sort a few safety issues out first. Hill elaborated, “I was going round and kept thinking ‘I really don’t want to crash there’ and ‘I don’t want to go down there’ and you don’t really need that when you should be concentrating about other things.” Quite.

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Hill puts his foot in at Snetterton - that’s gotta hurt

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BRITISH SUPERBIKES

RESULTS ROUND EIGHT: SNETTERTON BENNETTS SUPERBIKE RACE ONE 1, R. Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda); 2, L. Haslam (Airwaves Ducati); 3, J. Reynolds (Rizla Suzuki); 4, J. Haydon (Rizla Suzuki); 5, M. Rutter (HM Plant Honda); 6, K. Harris (Honda UK); 7, S. Plater (Hydrex Honda); 8, G. Mason (Stobart Honda); 9, B. Wilson (Vivaldi Kawasaki); 10, T. Hill (Virgin Yamaha) FASTEST LAP: Kiyonari (lap 15) 1-05.685

“

...EVERY YEAR YOU HAVE A BREAK AND WHEN YOU GET BACK ON A RACE BIKE, THEY ALWAYS FEEL REALLY FAST...

”

BEN WILSON

up the grid. At Snetterton I qualified better, got a good start and ran nearer the front. Now that the bike is set up for me I’ve got to work on is to use the qualifying tyre better.” Burns was pleased to be back riding a bike in the UK in the superbike championship and aimed to give it his best shot. There was a feeling of unfinished business with Chris and his BSB ambitions and a tenth in race two was an impressive start – particularly since he qualified in 20th. Clearly in the process of getting acquainted with the bike, his best race lap was as quick as his best lap in qualifying, so you get the feeling there’s more to come from the ultra-fit Geordie. Quigley left his supersport team just before midseason and joined up with the Jentin

RUTTER AT THE

READY?

HM Plant Honda championship leader Michael Rutter came back from a family holiday in St Tropez fully recovered from his shoulder injury at Snetterton. “I need to get my head down and win the championship,” said Rutter, “as far as next year goes, I haven’t heard anything because Honda hasn’t decided what it wants to do yet, although I think they are going to keep (Ryuichi) Kiyonari on. That’s as much as I know.”

superbike team to ride their Yamaha R1 from the Croft round onwards. So, Luke, what was it like? “I had half a day testing on the bike at Castle Coombe, a new track and a new bike and I couldn’t believe the difference from my CBR600RR. There must be an extra 70 horsepower at least and when the power comes in, it comes with such a kick that it really does stretch your arms.” The whole superbike experience came as a surprise to Quigley though, with two races in a day and those extra five and ten minutes tacked on to every free practice and qualifying session. Add the extra physical effort required to muscle a superbike around a track and it’s no surprise that even a rider as fit as Quigley finds the class demanding. “Everyone is on it and has their head down from the second they roll out of pit lane. I’ve learned more in eight weeks than I have in eight years of racing. And I’m really enjoying it!”

BENNNETTS SUPERBIKE RACE TWO 1, G. Lavilla (Airwaves Ducati); 2, M. Laverty (Stobart Honda); 3, M. Rutter (HM Plant Honda); 4, J. Reynolds (Rizla Suzuki); 5, S. Plater (Hydrex Honda); 6, B. Wilson (Vivaldi Kawasaki); 7, T. Hill (Virgin Yamaha); 8, G. Mason (Stobart Honda); 9, D. Thomas (Hawk Kawasaki); 10, C. Burns (AIM Yamaha) FASTEST LAP: Laverty (lap three) 1-05.713 OVERALL POINTS STANDINGS (After 16 of 26 races) 1, Rutter 302 points; 2, Kiyonari 257; 3, Lavilla 241; 4, Haslam 172; 5, Richards 160; 6, Harris 125; 7, Laverty 113; 8, Thomas 109; 9, Mason 98; Emmett 79 METABO SUPERSPORT 1, L. Camier (Padgett’s Honda); 2, P. Riba (MSS Kawasaki); 3, C. Crutchlow (Northpoint Honda); 4, J. Robinson (JR Motorsport Honda); 5, R. Frost (Angel Racing Honda); 6, T. Tunstall (Hardinge Honda); 7, S. Owens (Premier Motorsports Honda); 8, M. Llewellyn (Buildbase Honda); 9, E. Laverty (Red Bull Honda); 10, M. Jessop (JHP Ducati) FASTEST LAP: Easton (lap eight) 1-08.588

Camier (above) took advantage of the fact that both Craig Jones and Stuart Easton crashed out in separate incidents. Jones bounced well but Easton’s high-speed front-end washout at Coram Curve left him with a compound fracture of his wrist. OVERALL POINTS STANDINGS (After eight of 13 races) 1, Camier 133 points; 2, Jones 110; 3, Easton 105; 4, Sykes 90; 5, Riba 83; 6, Crutchlow 79; 7, Robinson 73; 8, Vincent 51; 9, Murphy 50; Laverty 48 METZELER SUPERSTOCK CHAMPIONSHIP 1, A. Coates (TAS Suzuki); 2, O. Bridewell (Vivaldi Kawasaki); 3, A. Zanotti (Vivaldi Kawasaki); 4, R. Rainey (Image Yamaha); 5, P. Young (Paul Young Racing Yamaha); 6, D. Johnson (X-Press Suzuki); 7, C. Fitzpatrick (Comptech Graves Yamaha); 8, L. Shand (Aim Yamaha); 9, J. Ingram (Ingram Suzuki); 10, I. Hutchinson Hark Johns Motors Honda) FASTEST LAP: Coates (lap ﬁve) 1-08.180 OVERALL POINTS STANDINGS (After eight of 13 races) 1, Young 139 points; 2, Jackson 100; 3, Coates 93; 4, Fitzpatrick 85; 5, Tinsley 76; 6, Rainey 76; 7, Bridewell 71; 8, Johnson 63; 9, Shand 58; Reilly 46

SENDOVER It turns out the stories circulating about the Sendo team reviewing their sponsorship options were a bit optimistic. Sendo is not reviewing the teams funding and never was – it has gone into liquidation. The team is now in a very long queue of people owed money by Sendo.

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FREE CLASSIFIED BIKES SUZUKI BANDIT 600CC 1998 R reg 26000km lots of extras alarm datatag race can polished parts T&T plus more VGC great bike must be viewed Tel: 07708 251854 £2250. SUZUKI 600 BANDIT tax May 06 MOT Sept 05 twin headlight art end can new avon tyres 19k braided hoses £1200 ono Tel: 07866677100. HONDA NC29 CBR400 J reg repsol colours 30k miles double bubble screen alarmed new rear tyre, exhaust system tax Oct MOT Nov garaged immaculate condition £2100 ono Ellesmere port Cheshire 0151 513 0042. YAMAHA R1 2003 SILVER 1800 miles pilot powers fitted absolutely as new condition through out £5800 Tel: 07968 383838 Lancs SUZUKI SV650S K2 52 reg blue 6500 miles FSH alphadot, 1 lady owner, brand new rear tyre £2495 ono 07050 114872 York. HONDA VTRSP1 51 REG, 11,000 miles, FSH, MOT March 06, taxed, standard spec plus hugger, screen, Joey Dunlop rep decals excellent condition, genuine sale future classic? £4400 ono 01142481794. HONDA CBR1100 XX super blackbird black 1997/R 10250 miles MOT Nov Tax Sept serviced full givi luggage VGC £3250 Aberdeenshire 01346 532655. YAMAHA SR125 new exhaust new tyres MOT TAX till Sept 05 ideal commuter £800 ono Tel: 07939 436359. APRILIA RS125 2000 MODEL less than 10,000 miles excellent condition lady owner £2,000 Tel: 07957373382. SUZUKI GSXR1000K3 blue and white 3,400 dry miles mint £5300 ono 53 plate 07813 408026 Essex no canvassers no money no test ride Tel: 01245 231672. SUZUKI 750 GSXR 1998 blue and white full akrapovic good tyres remaped MOT and TAX £2800 ono Phone Nick 07940287351 London. YAMAHA YZF750R 22,000 miles taxed tested many extras dream machine paintwork alarm datatag racepipe hugger mushrooms goodridge hoses new tyre battery £2000 OBO 01748 829627. HONDA FIREBLADE RRY 929CC 2001, black/red two owners 3000 miles outstanding showroom condition boss carbon exhaust damper without doubt the best out there £4400 ovno Tel: 07787 546346. YAMAHA YZF600 THUNDERCAT 11,000 miles tagged dynojetted art can 12 months MOT perfect condition excellent runner 6 years old reluctant sale £2500 or vno,. Call 01252 372067 Fleet Hants. KAWASAKI ZX10R 54 plate 1800m blue unmarked condition £6850 01384 895107/07989190314 Midlands N.C SUZUKI GSXR600K3 53 plate immaculate condition FSSH 2000 miles blue/white datatool alarm UK bike never seen rain 1 owner garaged £4350 ono daytime 07769 936526 evenings 01732 844171 Kent. KAWASAKI ZXR750HI 1990 24,000 miles dream machine paint full replacement exhaust, lots of extras, last owner for 11 years phone for details Pete 07712 787670 £1850 ovno "Superb Machine" YZF600 THUNDERCAT 1999 12k miles cocktail red fantastic condition taxed MOT till June 96 datatagged great looking bike £2000 ovno call Reg on 077697 10653. FOR SALE SUZUKI GS400E year 1991 with 12 months MOT 9 months TAX new front tyre very good runner. Price £750 ono Call 07845 820504 Bournemouth.

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AKRAPOVIC EVO FULL SYSTEM for 2002 R6 Yamaha top end and mid range power gain nearly new £650 ono Phone Richard 07950 351139 Kent.

FIREBLADE RRY 2000 frame engine forks tank s/arm r/wheel b/discs some plastics harris s/damper kit frame was year MOT contact Eddie 07747 165191.

SUZUKI GSXR K3 parts for sale-new unused headlamp £50. Front indicators - £25. Carbon airscoops £50 pr all new and unused 07879453188 after 6pm or weekends.

AGV T1 TECH HELMET rossi red unused £200 wolf racing suit large yellow black £200 sidi vertebre boots size 10 £40 yellow black Tel: 01278 431353.

YZF750 REMUS system alloy polished can stainless downpipes pre curved RAD models only! Excellent Condition £120 ono also carbon frame covers £25 inc. P&P Tel: 07989 583655/01843231523.

APRILIA RSV1000R 2003 black petrol tank no marks or dents VGC, new price £1250 only £375 01905 452014 Worcester. Tel: 01905 452014. CCM NEW SPARES ROTAX 604RS end cans tank seat carb starter motor pillion footrests to many to mention £3000 worth the lot £500 will split Tel: Lancs 01204 657796.

LAZER ALSTARE CORONA OFF ROAD HELMET size medium to large complete with light reactive goggles condition as new £60 mobile 07835 483466 or 01902 411879. HONDA CBR1000RR FIREBLADE AKRAPOVIC titanium exhaust road legal rem baffle mint 330-00 front/rear braking wave discs 2 months use only cost £440 sell £280. Genuine Honda seat unit red £90 full set indicators new £90 Tel: 07836 269586 Middlesborough.

WANTED ART QUAD PIPES for Z1000 must be in good condition Tel: 07969 000213.. KAWASAKI KMX125 barrells six petal reed valve blocks and inlet rubbers must be cheap, barrels can be knackered Phone 07766 026889.

SOMETHING FOR NOTHING! If you have a bike to sell, bits to get rid of or you’ve just had your bike stolen and want our readers to look out for it, then take advantage of our FREE offer. Just write your ad (no more than 28 words including address/phone number), in the space provided below and we’ll print it on a first come, first served basis. Private advertisers only. Please don’t put your home address on the coupon unless you want it printed. BLOCK CAPITALS 1

TICK BOX FOR APPROPRIATE HEADINGS SUZUKI GSXR400 blue white recent new parts TAX MOT very fast good condition great summer bike hardly ridden genuine reason for sale £1250 07812210532.

REAR BRAKE DISC for VFR400 NC30 Honda £50 pair of brand new mirrors still in box £20 (postage included in price) Tel: 07729 443488.

Motorbikes

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Thrashers

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Name: Address: Daytime Telephone Number:

YAMAHA XJ600S diversion R reg 19,000 miles brilliant condition new battery new tyres scottoiler alarm engine bars great first bike 12 month MOT £1195 Tel: 01337 828530 Fife.

Advertisements without full name, address and daytime telephone number will be omitted.

YAMAHA R1 2005 05 plain silver carbon cans 700 miles mint £8250 ring Cameron 07760 160702 Cumbria.

Please remember to mention

Post to Nuala Harvey, SuperBike Advertising, IPC MEDIA LTD, FOCUS NETWORK, Leon House, 233 High Street, Croydon CR9 1HZ - By Fax 020 8726 8294 No responsibility will be accepted by the Editor, Publishers or Printers of SuperBike Magazine for the quality of any goods offered, bought or exchanged through these columns or for failure in payment etc. although the greatest care will be taken to ensure only bona fide advertisements are accepted. TRADE DESCRIPTIONS ACT, 1968. Particular attention should be paid to the Act governing trade descriptions, especially when detailing accurate descriptions of goods offered for sale. IPC MEDIA LTD, FOCUS NETWORK, Leon House, 233 High Street, Croydon CR9 1HZ. Registered in England 3754353. IPC Media Limited, (publishers of name of magazine) and IPC Electric Limited (“IPC”) will collect your personal information to process your entry and to gain a better understanding of our magazine readership. DATA PROTECTION : Superbike, published by IPC Media Ltd (IPC), will collect your personal information to process your order. Superbike and IPC would like to contact you by post or telephone to promote and ask your opinion on our magazines and services. Please tick here if you prefer not to here from us. ❑ IPC may occasionally pass your details to carefully selected organisations so they can contact you by telephone or post with regards to promoting and researching thier products and services. Please tick here if you prefer not to be contacted. ❑

when responding to advertisements

www.superbike.co.uk OCTOBER 2005 121

WIN GOOD STUFF www.demon-tweeks.co.uk Each month, those ﬁne folks at Demon Tweeks are giving away a top-notch gift to the best jokester of the month.

EXPLAIN THAT There was a couple that had been married for 20 years. Every night when they made love, the husband always insisted on turning off the light. Well, after 20 years the wife felt this was ridiculous. She ﬁgured she would break him out of this crazy habit. So one night, while they were in the middle of a wild, screaming, romantic session, she turned on the lights. She looked down... and saw her husband was holding a battery-operated pleasure

FINISH LINE

IT TAKES A LOT OF TALENT TO BE A STAND-UP COMEDIAN; QUICK WITS, A SHARP TONGUE, AND THICK SKIN. SPEND A FEW YEARS ON THE CLUB CIRCUIT, DEVELOP GOOD ANTI-HECKLING SKILLS AND YOU MAY MAKE IT. SENDING A JOKE INTO SUPERBIKE IS MUCH EASIER, AND GUARANTEES ALMOST AS MUCH FAME AND RICHES THOUGH. SO GET THE FUNNY STUFF IN HERE, YOU JOKERS! Write to Letters, SuperBike, Leon House, 233 High Street, Croydon, Surrey CR9 1HZ Fax on 020 8726 8499 Email us at superbike_letters@ipcmedia.com Offers do not apply outside the UK

device... a vibrator! Soft, wonderful and larger than a real one. She went completely ballistic. “You impotent bastard,” she screamed at him, “how could you lie to me all of these years? You better explain yourself!” The husband looks her straight in the eyes and says calmly: “Well I’ll explain the toy ........ if you can explain the kids.” Andrew Usher, email

ONE OF MINE A man was standing next in line at a checkout, when the

SUPERJOKE SUPERJOKE www.demon-tweeks.co.uk

THREE BLIND MEN A care worker takes three blind men to the park to have a game of football. Confused at quite how they were going to achieve this they ask the care worker, “How do you expect three blind men to play football?” “Ah you see, this is a special ball,” explained

122 OCTOBER 2005 www.superbike.co.uk

the care worker, “it has a bell inside it so you can hear where it goes.” Fantastic, thought the three men, who started playing football like seasoned professionals. Seeing they were safe and occupied the care worker thought he’d pop into the local pub for a few drinks while they played. After a couple of pints, a man comes running into the bar shouting, “Quick everyone, come and see this, three men are kicking the shit out of a Morris Dancer!” John Grogan, email

attractive blonde woman in front of him turned around and gave him a big smile. “Hello,” she said, as she waited for her change. “I’m sorry. Do I know you?” The man said in some confusion. “Oh, my mistake. I thought you were the father of one of my children,” she said apologetically, picked up her shopping and left the store. The man was astonished. He thought, “How amazing that a good looking woman like that should have forgotten who fathered her children.” Then he began to worry. He had had an encounter in his youth that could have resulted in a child he didn’t know about. She had been blonde, pretty, and about the same height. On leaving the shop, he saw the woman getting into her car. He ran over to her and said, “Look, you couldn’t have been the girl I met that night at a party in Hampstead, in 1990 could you? We shagged on the billiards table in front of everyone, things got really wild and I got so drunk that I didn’t get your number.” The woman looked utterly outraged and said, “Absolutely not! I’m your son’s English teacher.” Julian Barker, email

DINNERTIME A hunter kills a deer and brings it home. He decides to clean it, prepare it, and serve the deer meat for dinner. He knows his kids are fussy eaters, and won’t eat it if they know what it is, so he doesn’t tell them. His little boy keeps asking him, “What’s for dinner dad?” “You’ll see,” he replies. They

start eating dinner and his daughter keeps asking him what they are eating. “Okay,” says her dad, “Here’s a hint. It’s what your mother sometimes calls me.” His daughter screams... “Don’t eat it Jimmy! It’s a fucking arsehole...!” Rod Smith, email

AUCTION HOUSE Jane and Steve are like any normal couple after 35 years, everything seems just too familiar. They go to bed, wake up, go to work, home, bed and so on until one morning Jane wakes up and says to Steve, “I had a very weird dream last night. I dreamt that I went to a cock auction.” Steve, looking surprised, asks, “What do you mean, what sort of cock auction?” Jane said, “They were selling cocks. Big fat juicy cocks for £100, smaller thinner ones for £50 and small wrinkly old ones for £10.” Steve was thinking this was a little strange and asks Jane, “How much for one like mine?” Jane replies, “They were giving them away for free at the door.” Steve goes to work really pissed off but the next day wakes up and says to Jane, “That dream you had last night, I had one just like that, but it was a pussy auction they were selling nice tight, smooth juicy pussies for £100, slightly looser with light stubble for £50 and wrinkly old dry pussy for £10.” Jane, looking for a compliment, turns over and asks, “How much for one like mine?” Steve replies, “Funny you should mention that, that’s where they were holding the auction.” Olly Clifton, Hampshire