GsX-r600 v FUTUrE BiKE
SUZUKI GSX-R600K9
PRICE £7703 POWER 111bhp@13,500rpm TORQUE 47.3lb.ft @11,000rpm TOP SPEED 157mph CAPACITY 599cc BORE X STROKE 67 x 42.5mm BRAKES Twin floating 310mm front discs with radial calipers, 220mm rear disc TYRES F:120/70 17 R:180/55 17 WET WEIGHT 199kg PB LIKES Screaming motor, easy handling PB DOESN’T LIKE It looks the same as its 750 brother
is this the
future words ben wilkins Pics paul bryant
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AGNI MOTORS ELECTRIC GSX-R
PRICE £25,000 POWER 73bhp equivalent TORQUE n/a TOP SPEED 105mph CAPACITY 140Ah (Amp-hour) BORE X STROKE n/a BRAKES Twin floating 310mm front discs with radial calipers, 220mm rear disc TYRES F:120/70 17 R:180/55 17 WET WEIGHT 212kg PB LIKES The concept; stealth speed PB DOESN’T LIKE 75-mile range between 4.5hr fill-ups
It’s not every day you get to ride a TT winning bike. Let alone the winner of the inaugural TTXGP. I’ve lined up at the beginning of Bruntingthorpe’s two-mile straight hundreds of times but never on an electric bike. Everything about it is alien, despite being based on a GSX-R600. On a petrol-engined bike, you press the starter button and blip the throttle. A crescendo of revs, screaming exhaust and lots of clutch slip are normal and almost comforting. Instead, I’m sitting in relative silence, only the sounds of summer for company, staring down the runway. The bike’s designer (and builder) gives me the thumbs up; we’re ready to go. I press the starter. A relay clicks. It’s easy to miss, but it’s the only tell-tale that the systems are live. A full twist of the throttle jumps the bike forwards; the only audible sounds are the chain and the whirr of two electric motors. This could well be the future of motorcycling…
DEVELOPMENT RACING Throughout the TT’s history, the races on the Isle of Man have been used as a tough development track by manufacturers. For good reason. The TT course is punishing on bikes and their components. And so it was with the TTXGP this year. A field of zero-emission bikes were pitted against the gruelling demands of the 37.7-mile course. The TT, more than any event, is the most fitting race to prove a zero-emissions bike concept made reality. Everything from university projects to multi-million dollar commercial designs were entered in the TTXGP, but it was a bike made by Agni Motors, an Anglo-Indian electric motor company, that triumphed. THE RIDING EXPERIENCE This is very different to riding a petrol-engined bike. The chassis is from a GSX-R750, which in itself is familiar, but that’s where the similarity ends. The Agni has been set up with a torque relational throttle; half throttle gives half the torque but it does take time to get used to.
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hoW To Make your r6 like cal’s sTep 1
Akrapovic full race system combined with a Power Commander and race-kit head gasket.
BeNeFiT
Reduced weight, better sound. Up to seven bhp gain.
sTep 2
Öhlins rear shock and front fork internals, Brembo brake discs and pads, but if you can’t afford Brembo use standard discs with SBS pads. BeNeFiT Improved braking, easier set-up, improved stability. Worth at least one second per lap.
sTep 3
Blue printed engine. BeNeFiT Better power characteristics, engine braking and durability. Up to a four bhp gain.
sTep 4
Motec electronics. Fully tailored engine mapping and set-up of advanced electronics such as traction control. BeNeFiT Easier to ride, minimum two bhp power gain.
VerDicT
To get an R6 as good as Cal’s you need big money and even bigger expertise, but you can improve your bike in virtually every area at a fraction of the budget.
TURn ovER foR CAL CRUTChLoW inTERviEW exhausT The Akrapovic exhaust system used by the team is on the market and can be bought by anyone. The team have tried various versions and will continue to develop the system with Akrapovic. The German squad have evaluated other options but while they may gain one bhp on the top end they lose two to three bhp in another area.
elecTroNics Motec M880 ECU allows full mapping options specific for each cylinder, full data logging, traction control and engine braking control. Combined with Lambda sensors, the team can analyse and adjust the fuelling for every part of the track.
eNgiNe With limited modifications allowed within WSS rules it’s a case of getting what you do have right. Engine is blue printed, bearing clearances are set and the squish is set between 0.60 and 0.65mm using race-kit head gaskets. Cylinders are worked on and cleaned, race-kit cams are added. Pistons and con rods are measured and weighed to get four identical set-ups.
suspeNsioN As a factory supported Öhlins team, Crutchlow benefits from the best the Swedish manufacturer can offer, and you can too. The Yamaha team have developed a base setting for the TTX rear shock and closed cartridge front forks. Benefits are more control, increased stability and improved overall balance.
air iNTakes Race-kit air intake trumpets improve top-end power without affecting midrange. The bottom ones are shorter and the top ones longer.
Brakes Brembo discs and pads are consistent and are not a discussion point during the weekend. There are many different systems on the market but Yamaha are convinced this is the only one to go for. The team believe that good braking performance, combined with correct suspension set-up can assist in the overall handling, and as a result, avoid unnecessary set-up issues.
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moDERN LEgEND
words MATT WILDEE pics PAUL BRYANT
ELEVEN YEARS SINCE ITS END, THE CbR600f IS STILL THE PERfoRmANCE TooL of THE PEoPLE... In a radially mounted, alloy-framed world, the CBR600F should be an irrelevant, wobbly anachronism. But it’s not.
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t should be a perfect example of the built down-to a price, slightly patronising attitude that pervaded the 600s class in the mid 90s. The CbR600f was a bike built to what Honda thought riders needed, not what they really wanted. Cynics say it is a 150mph sportsbike that has all the sex appeal and desirability of a ford mondeo. forget HRC, this was more like HRT.
But the truth is, the steel-framed CBR600 is the greatest 600 ever made. By miles. Look past the looks and you’ll find a machine of supreme ability, a bike that is perfectly capable of tackling anything, but one that has the ability to be honed and refined to be absolutely brilliant at one thing. Want a comfortable sporty road bike you can do distance on? Just strap on some luggage and fill the tank. Want a disposable track bike that’s still capable of running in the fast group? Just sling on some sticky tyres and a race shock, and, if you’re up to it, it will confound the fast boys. This is still a proper performance bike – 10 years after the last one rolled off the production line. The ‘steelie,’ as it has become known, first saw the light of day in 1991 as the CBR600FM. This was the second generation of the CBR600. The first, the ‘jelly mould’ thanks to its faired-in looks, was a competent piece of kit, if lacking in sporting ability and image when you compare it to the scratcher’s favourite, the FZR600. And it had an engine that felt pedestrian compared to the turbine-like thrust of the Kawasaki ZZ-R600R. The CBR600 was Honda’s answer – part supersports bike, part sports-tourer. And it managed to be brilliant at everything. But even back then, the CBR’s spec meant it looked like nothing special. A revvy, across-the-frame four in a steel frame with the engine as a stressed member was clever, provided a stable platform and consistent geometry but wasn’t really anything radical. And the smooth, non-threatening
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Sumptuous finish, legendary reliability. Eleven years hasn’t dulled its potential
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