BMW S1000RR
the pin
Easier to ride, more stable, faster. The quickest sportsbik Words Matt Wildee Pics BMW
006
nacle
ke there has ever been just got even better
Two years ago BMW made every other performance bike manufacturer look stupid when they launched the S1000RR. Here was a bike that re-defined what a standard, from the showroom sportsbike could offer, both in terms of performance and the kit on offer. It was simply the most powerful, most sophisticated road bike we’ve ever seen. In a world where you need to fill out a risk assessment form to pop to the bog, with over 180bhp at the back wheel as standard it was a triumph of insanity over reason. It had electronics that had only been seen in WSB, the dimensions of a 600 and performance that was at the very edge of reason. It instantly ruled proddy racing. We even put an Akra pipe and a different sprocket on one and got it to do 200mph. Mind-warping performance had never been so accessible. And now BMW has made it even better. Gruntier, easier to ride and prettier, the 2012 BMW S1000RRis probably the best motorcycle ever produced. In pure performance terms there isn’t really going to be much point in testing it against its Japanese rivals. Te only question that would be answered would be ‘how much faster is it?’ But there is much more to bikes like these than just the figures at the outer edge of the performance bracket. And for this reason, the old BMW was never PB’s favourite bike.
007
One-off oil tank lives in the tail unit Ohlins shock nestles neatly underneath the motor
So what’s it used for? Trackdays? Hooning? “Lust,” says Adrian
✱ R1 forks and brakes ✱ R6 wheels, swingarm and bodywork ✱ Update of the legendary two-stroke V4 ✱ Emphasis on handling
1984 Yamaha RZ/RD500 Adrian Weir
✱
Tis Aussie-spec RD500LC (known as the RZ500 over there) is nothing less than stunning. With virtually everything replaced for modern items, bar the frame and engine, this big stroker is the 21st century RD500 that Yamaha could have been building, were it not for fun-castrating European emissions laws. Te story begins on this side of the planet. Originally from Northern Ireland, Adrian grew up around Yamaha two strokes and bagged one of the first in the country back in 1980. Fast forward to today, he’s moved to Australia and stumbles across one stored in a garage in Bondi, which he acquires and restores. “I got the 500 bug so I bought one, along with a load of extra standard parts, from a guy in Sydney who usually builds GP replicas. He was clearing his garage of donor parts and I decided to build a standard 500, as well as a customised one. I wanted it to look like what Yamaha would’ve been making, and the PB concept 500 was an inspiration. I got some great help from the guys on the RZRD500 forum and two years later, this is it!”
Forks and brakes from a 2005 R1, wheels, swingarm and bodywork from a 2007 R6, Ohlins shock with ride height adjuster (underneath the engine, as per RD500 of course), a fabricated custom oil tank in the tail unit and Tomaselli clipons. Te top yoke is an R1 leftover from Performance Parts in Germany, the dash is made by Koso and there’s a lightweight gel battery living in the front cowl. In comparison, changes to the motor are few. “Power isn’t that important so long as it handles and stops,” says Adrian. Wise words. Te engine is near stock, but refurbished with new cranks, a rebore and new top end. Mikuni TM28 flatslides breathe through Unipod filters, spark is courtesy of an Ignitech box and power valve controller, and smoke blows from Jim Lomas GP pipes. At the time of writing the bike had only just been finished, but Adrian reckons the geometry is similar to his R1 so should go, stop and handle better. “My expectations are realistic, as it’s still essentially a 27 year-old bike,” he adds. Even if this bike never turned a wheel we’d be happy to just sit and gaze all day.
One-piece tail unit and flush-fitting filler cap are neat touches
1985 Yamaha RD500 Vin Jerreries ✱ Bought as a £3k cosmetically challenged project ✱ 916 front end, RGV swingarm ✱ YZR500 fairing
✱
Another RD500. Owner Vin wasted no time on the rebuild – within days of purchase he had the entire bike in pieces and now sports a Ducati 916 front end with a bespoke, machined steering stem. A modified RGV swingarm uses a Nitron underslung shock, the frame, swingarm and wheels are powder-coated and there’s an R6 radiator, Brembo controls and brakes, and a homemade hydraulic clutch conversion. Te motor has been treated to a total rebuild including refurbished cranks, barrels, skimmed heads and bigger carbs. Zeeltronic ignition, heavy duty clutch and Jollymoto pipes complete the engine work. Te aesthetics were crucial, says Vin. “Te best mod was the YZR500 fairing. It was the look I wanted together with the standard paint scheme” 025
Kawasaki ER-6n
026
mini twin cranks up the class PB’s favourite mini twin finally gets the refinement that’s been missing from the entry-level sportsbike market
n
Words John McAvoy Pics Paul Barshon
ew year, new face. one previous, but mid-corner stability is still great, and Trying to get excited turn-in is quick, thanks to a 160-section rear tyre. about a styling update Following Kawasaki’s test rider through the neverhas always been the ending mountain chicanes, the pace and the direction toughest part of this changes, combined with my bulk, was causing the rear job. Listening as the shock to get a bit confused and me a bit sweaty. enthusiastic Kawasaki Unloading as I lifted the bike up then compressing presenter at the launch again, before unloading back through the vertical again. of the 2012 ER-6n gushes over the redesigned bodywork Over and over. It was making the rear of the bike feel and improved clocks. PB already loves the ER-6 because like it was floating. But all it took to fix was just a single of its good manners, flexible engine, funky looks and notch of preload adjustment to make the handling spot attention to detail. Tere’s news that there are other, on and that’s a great testament to the bike. Too often more substantial changes too: more power below when a bike is built to a budget, you can adjust the 7000rpm and an all-new frame and swingarm. Te suspension until the cows come home and it won’t make presenter goes on to explain that the frame revision is to a difference. Te ER-6’s rear shock may be built to a give the bike a narrower riding position for more price, and lacks damping adjustment, but it was built sprightly handling, whilst the swingarm refresh makes bespoke for the ER-6n and the fact that it responds to a room for the bigger exhaust can which is responsible for tiny change speaks volumes for the quality of the unit to the increase in low down shove. To top it off they’ve start with. Cheap doesn’t have to mean nasty. Te rest slapped on a set of Dunlop’s new RoadSmart 2 tyres. So of the bike is built in the same vein. Tere are lovely it appears that the 2012 bike is more than just a facelift. touches everywhere like the brake fluid reservoir with Te 2012 bike is still very much an ER-6 but now it’s an its chamfered edges and the chain adjuster blocks that ER-6 with added fizz. Although very subtle, the tweaks look like they’ve come from a far more expensive bike. to the geometry and engine characteristics are Kawasaki could get away without these details because noticeable and make riding it that bit more engaging after all it’s a cheap entry-level sportsbike, but they have and fun. Riding an ER-6 rewards chosen to go the extra mile with you with a chassis that behaves the finishing touches. itself and an engine that is as Let me cut to the chase. Is it happy rumbling around town as better than the second it is being held at 10,000 rpm in generation ER-6? Yes, but the top gear, on a motorway, for five differences are subtle. Have or six miles. I might have done Kawasaki been making updates this and I might have seen an just for the sake of it? No, but I indicated 208kph (129mph) on would have liked to have seen the speedo, with one arm some updates in areas that behind my back. Te new didn’t get any, for example the PB’s favourite mini-twin continues to improve with sharp chassis feels a bit lazier than the new looks, a bit more grunt and narrower new frame brakes. Tey’ve never been the 027
deďŹ ned
ILMOR WHEEL Remember Ilmor? The Indy Car experts built a MotoGP bike, signed Pitt and McWilliams, but they lasted just one race. This front wheel used to belong to them
031
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041
20 years of Fireblade The stats
The Fireblade’s evolution in numbers. And great big graphs
55% more powerful in 20 years Words Rupert Paul , Matt Wildee
model years
Engine power
180
106bhp might be the power of a 600cc sportsbike now, but this was big power for any bike in 1992. Look how the power has grown over time and capacity. By 2004 and the first 1000cc Blade, power had risen by 41% and by 2011, it has risen by 55%. Torque has risen too, but not by as much – a 40% gain, but what is impressive is that despite the redline rising by 4000rpm over that time, peak torque is just 700rpm higher.
power bhp
170 160 150 140 130 120 110 100 90
70
torque ft-lb
60
Acceleration
50
Standing ¼ miles haven’t deceased like you would think, for one reason – there is only so much power that you can put on the ground. Over that time, testing has become more accurate and foolproof too – it is harder to get GPS timing wrong than it is timing lights.
40 30 20
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
0
1993
10 1992
power/torque
80
standing quarter mile seconds/mph 10.5secs 143mph
10.5secs 143mph
10.5secs 143mph
10.3secs 144mph
10.3secs 144mph
10.1secs 147mph
11.0secs 139mph
10.8secs 137mph
10.5secs 142mph
10.5secs 131mph
10.5secs 131mph
10.5secs 131mph
10.9secs 133mph
10.7secs 130mph
10.7secs 130mph
10.7secs 130mph
10.9secs 131mph
10.8secs 134mph
10.8secs 131mph
10.9secs 129mph 052 000
price when new £ 2
199 5 12 £7
Te 149.5mph extracted from a tight 1992 Blade into a Bruntingthorpe headwind is the lowest figure we’ve seen – the 160mph of an RR-P model the following year is more representative of an early Fireblade. Over the next 19 years speed, generated by more power, grew. We’ve already established that power has risen over this time by 55%, but such is the exponentially-increasing drag force at speed that maximum velocity we have seen (180.3mph) is a gain of just 20.6%.
1994
top speed mph
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
125
150 175
weight kilos 200
170 160 150
3
9 19
5
0 14 4
9 19
5
0 14 5
9 19
5
0 14 6
9 19
5
0 14 7
9 19
5
0 14 8
9 19
5
0 14 9
9 19
5
0 14 00 20
00 14 01
200
Honda claimed a dry weight of 185kg in 1992, which equated to a measured, real-world, fully-fuelled weight of 207kg. Te 929 and the 954 Fireblades were the lightest, with a claimed weight of 170 and 168kg. In reality, this was a real weight of around 198kg. By 2008 Honda were claiming their weight as full wet weight, but we still found a 3kg discrepancy in their figures. A 2011 bike is just 5kg lighter than the one from 1992.
180
5
0 14
20 00 14
Dry weight
190
wheelbase millimetres
Top speed
1993
175
1
1992
2
9 19
11 20
10
21
Based on a combination of inflation and price rises, salaries and interest rates, the £7125 that the Fireblade cost in 1992 is the equivalent of £11,257 in today’s money – £82 more expensive than the 2011 bike. Prices have fluctuated in that time – the £9299 the similar bike cost in 2008 is the equivalent of £9671 today.
£11
20
09
7 09 £1
20
05 £1
9
29
08 20
9
9
£9
89
07 20
£8
89
06 20
9
9
79
05
£8
20
9
2
79
04
£8
20
£8
34
1
0 20 9 04 £9
0 20 9 04 £9
6
49
00
03 20
20
£8
5
5 26
8 199
£9
5 26
7 199
£9
5 26
6 199
5
£9
4
5
199
199 5 65 £8
65 £8
5
£8
9 199
3
56
74 £7
199
£7
Price
02 20
00 14 03
20 00 14
04
20
10 14 05
20
10 14 06 20
00 14 07
20 00 14
08
20
5
0 14 09
20
10 14 20
10
0
2 14 11 20
0
2 14
053
Aprilia RS250
for all the wrong reasons
Impractical. Expensive. Unreliable. There are more reasons not to buy a two-stroke than there are to buy one Words Emma Franklin Pics Jason Critchell
070 000
ld tech and phased out, the Aprilia RS250 was once the ultimate race replica, a little slice of GP tech you could keep in your very own garage. Now it’s something of an anachronism – something to swoon at across a showroom or keep cossetted in a garage. Far too much hassle to use as a regular ride. If all you want from a bike is the ability to press a button, ride off then shove it back under its cover at the end of the day then the thought of a delicate but demanding machine won’t really appeal. But that’s sadly missing the point. To get something great out you’ve got to put the effort in; that’s the mantle by which I forgive every two-stroke I ride. Admittedly I’m a sympathiser, owning both road and race variants of high maintenance 250s, but for me bikes like this are about so much more than just the riding. And the riding is phenomenal… It starts even before I’ve turned the key. Just looking at the RS250 is a rush. Every component, every aspect has been lovingly and beautifully crafted. A near perfect replica of Biaggi’s GP bike, it’s poised and purposeful, compromised little by the trappings of a road bike. Because, despite the headlamp and indicators, this isn’t a road bike. Not really. Wanting to capitalise on its racing success, Aprilia built the RS250 as a faithful road-going replica and it shows in the stunning chassis. Te top spec inverted Marzocchi forks, featuring adjustable preload in one leg and damping adjustment in the other, were just like something straight out of the race paddocks of the 071