R1 Road trip
R O F T N U H THE D’S BEST L R O W e pics white, Kar Le wildee, Mark words: Matt
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: Rory Game
THE R1
ed up their d a lo k r a M d n a t So Kar, Mat y Cours for n g a M r fo d e d a R1s and he perbikes. u S ld r o W f o d n the last rou der the n u t e g o t n io t a it We’d had an inv terilgarda Yamaha ’s S skin of this year al Crutchlow has eC Italia R1 – a bik h to give a MotoGP bike g proven fast enou 0 miles in and we’ve just 15 a dusting. We’re re 540 more to go… ea hit France. Ther
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The plan We’re taking our tired Daytona and making it lighter, better handling and more powerful*
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1 Sort the engine As standard it's bunged up, restricted and has a huge flatspot. We can liberate 10bhp for just £400 using a second hand eBay can and a Power Commander. We'll also save 5kg.
Shock and awe
PrOjeCT TriUMPh 955i
Now we get to grips with the suspension issues that are stopping our newly slimmed 955i from really flying
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2 MaSS centraliSation We’re moving weight away from the poles, fabricating new subframes and using a lightweight battery. And save 20kg in the process.
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3 lightweight clockS We show you how to wire function-heavy lightweight instruments into your bike. 4 SuSpenSion rebuild and Set-up Ultimate suspension solutions thanks to Maxton. 5 the final reckoning A gigantic roadtrip where we find out what we can do with the 955i. *Obviously this is a PB project and as such is subject to change or total cock-ups. You have been warned. 125
Main test Used 600s
‘I’ve always felt that 600s are like toys and have no place on the road. The cbr changed my mind’
honda cbr600rr On your marks, get set, chequebook
speed: 166mph 0-60: 3.15s Power: 107bhp Torque: 45lb.ft Dry weight: 155kg Wheelbase: 1375mm Rake/trail: 23° 98mm Fuel capacity: 18-litres Spec Top
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Park up the four bikes in this test and I guarantee the CBR will be the one everybody walks straight past. The styling’s almost bizarrely restrained in this company, especially in its muted (but classy) blue/silver paint. But the truth is the Honda doesn’t need to make a big visual impression. It can just sit there, quietly confident that when it’s time to stretch throttle cables and torture tyres looks aren’t going to matter and the others are going to be on the back foot for the rest of the test. There’s just something about the CBR that feels right as soon as you sit on it, a feeling that’s reinforced as soon as you pull away. I don’t know whether Honda’s much-vaunted MotoGP-inspired mass centralisation’s any more than marketing speak when applied to road bikes, but this is certainly beautifully balanced (we’ve measured
Buying one
‘Look, Olympic Breakfast doesn’t mean you get a medal if you eat more than everyone else’
TargeT Price Dealer £4900 TargeT Price Private £4500
The tech engine Honda cut 2kg from the RR’s engine in the 2007 update as well as making it remarkably compact. The main shafts are organised in a tight triangular formation to reduce the crank to countershaft distance by 30mm. Magnesium head cover, nutless conrods, single exhaust springs and lightened crankcases all help to shed bulk. SuSPenSion/ brakeS The threespoke cast aluminium wheels have compact hubs to reduce unsprung weight while the radial calipers are held together by three horizontal bolts for a stronger grip and a more even distribution of brake pressure. Honda increased the diameter of the rotors to improve braking performance while the disc diameter remained the same 310mm. The 41mm inverted forks and monoshock are both fully adjustable. chaSSiS The completely redesigned die-case aluminium frame is 900g lighter than the previous model. STyling The most obvious addition to the 2007 model was the centrally mounted ram air Induction system. The fairing was redesigned for better aerodynamics and engine cooling.
previous ones at exactly 50/50 front/rear balance fully fuelled). It feels as though the CBR is poised to do your bidding, even at low speeds where the ZX-6R and R6 are way out of their comfort zones. Out on the road and as the speedo climbs there’s a seamless transition from low-speed balance to the kind of poise and control most of us can feel, but few of us know how to adjust into a bike. Absolute stability, precision steering, and compliant but talkative suspension are half the handling equation. The other half comes from a riding position that manages to work as well knee down on a smooth roundabout as it does chuntering along on the motorway. Only the GSX-R is more comfortable, but this feels more natural.
With nearly 10,000 miles on the clock this is by far the highest mileage bike here, but it certainly doesn’t feel it, or look it. It’s obviously been looked after, and probably hasn’t seen much rain. The engine’s perfect, loose (in the best possible sense) and free-revving but with plenty of midrange and perfect fuelling. Maybe the Arrow titanium tailpipe gives it a few extra ponies, although I doubt if it’s a significant difference. It does make a hell of a lot of noise though – too much for me on the road – and it doesn’t properly fill the space where the standard can used to sit. Obviously that’s not a problem for the CBR’s rider, who can’t see it, but it’s a problem for all the others because they’re spending most of their time staring up the CBR’s pipe...
Kev Smith had somehow managed not to ride one of these when they were new, and he was absolutely knocked out: ‘I need this bike in my life. It’s my new girlfriend. It’s phenomenal, it’s Jekyll and Hyde, two bikes in one. By far the best engine – it actually pulls. It turns so quickly I actually squealed like a girl the first time. It’s the best-handling motorbike ever built. Nice and normal, then once you turn in, it’s a full-on race bike. I reckon I could take that bike back to the GPs in the 80s and compete.’ I’ve known Kev for 20 years and I’ve never heard him raving like this. Johnny was much the same: ‘The Honda was the polar opposite to the R6. I had to check if the one on this test had some trick suspension fitted… it didn’t. The feeling of ‘togetherness’ and quality was extraordinary – not only better than the other bikes on this test, but better than most of the bikes we’ve tested all year. I’ve always felt that 600s are like toys and have no place on the road. The CBR changed my mind.’ It’s not all perfect – the gearbox is a bit clunky, the mirrors aren’t much cop at motorway speeds (they clear a bit as you get into the higher rev range though), and there’s sod-all room under the seat. The chain and sprockets are looking a bit knackered as well, possibly before their time if the chain’s always been set overtight as it is at the minute. Set the chain looser and the gearbox is clunkier. None of this matters. This is the bike everyone wanted to ride. In fact there were only two things wrong with this CBR. 1: We had to give it back to its owner Tom Austin. And 2: a few days after getting it back, Tom was knocked off smashing his left arm, de-gloving several fingers and writing off the bike. If you don’t know what de-gloving is don’t Google it on a full stomach. Get well soon Tom. 095
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How to: paint bodywork Pro paint is expensive and rattle cans are useless. Right? Wrong. Play it right and DIY paint can work wonders Words: Alan Seeley Pics: Kevin White
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uscious layers of lacquer you could dive into. Lustrous hues that shimmer and shine in the light. That’s a pro paintjob and it’s the only thing we’d recommend for your pride and joy road bike. Track bikes, however, are a little different. Why bother with the expense of posh paint on a bike that’s ultimately going to be thrown in every gravel trap Jonathan Palmer owns? It’s money that’d be better spent on track days, race entry fees and spares. Luckily, with a little patience, it’s possible to get a decent finish using the oft-derided rattle can, so we consulted the database of RS Bike Paint (01707 273219 www.rsbikepaint.com) and found an exact match for our project Triumph 955i’s Tornado Red. We’d have been surprised if we hadn’t; the company list over 25,000 colours so your bike is almost certainly on there, whether it’s a flat finish like our 955i, or a pearl, metallic, candy or fancy chromoflash paint. At £17.62 for a 400ml aerosol for the flat colour and £11.75 for lacquer (a can covers around 3m²) it’s a cost-effective option.
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What you’ll need ●600 and 1200 grit wet-and-dry ●Face mask ●Paint preparation wipes ●Surface cleaner ●Masking tape ●Five-minute epoxy (or filler)
1 People get ready ●Plastic spreader for glue or filler ●Plastic etch primer ●Top coat ●Lacquer
A good finish depends on preparation. Our aftermarket glassfibre has already been on the bike so there are a few cracks here and there and we drilled holes we don’t need. Five-minute epoxy is great for filling these. Sand it flush once it’s gone off.
2 Key to success
3 Masking off
Give the panel a going over with surface cleaner to get rid of all oil and grease, sand with 600 grit wet-and-dry paper to give a good key for the primer, then remove the dust with a clean cloth soaked in surface cleaner or a tack rag.
Take time to make sure the paint doesn’t get where you don’t want it to. Our 955i’s tail unit had the light riveted in by mechanic Mark White, plus he’d attached some metal numberplate brackets. Use low-tack masking tape if you’re protecting already painted surfaces. Masking tape you can curve is also available for the more tricky and fiddly nooks and crannies. And it’s well worth buying.
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Our bikes Words PB team Pics Various
Skinned knuckles and scraped sliders on the bikes we own and love
Roop blinds his rust problems with science but falls foul of a gaffa tape goof up
1990 Kawasaki ZZ-R1100 Story so far: Wreck turned into decent runaround springs a leak. Total miles: 42,295 Miles this month: 0 Costs this month: £23 plus 10p electricity
Rupert Paul Contributing editor
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Last issue I gave my rusting, leaky fuel tank the electrolysis treatment. The reason: a new ZZ-R1100C tank is £700 and used ones are like hens’ teeth. After a few days the reaction stopped and I sloshed it out with detergent, then chased the water out with paint thinners. That left a rust-free surface inside and rust flakes. They eventually came out with a vacuum cleaner sucking through a battery breather pipe. Kev Smith had offered to weld it but some seams are
impossible to reach, and it’s hard to see where the leak is. I decided tank sealer would be better. A good one, my classic bike mates tell me, is the US-made POR 15. Just pour it in, sluice it around, drain the surplus, then wait four days. But I still needed to deal with the external rust. The bracket area was too fiddly to clean up with a rotary wire brush so I masked off most of the tank and took it to Peter Boonham at Summit Blast Cleaning in Easton, Cambridgeshire (01480
981696). Ten minutes later and the cause of the leak became obvious. You imagine rust eating away metal from a central point. In fact it swarms through a wide area, making the steel more and more porous. The biggest holes looked like woodworm. The smallest were microscopic. I tried pushing a pin into a 0.5mm hole and it went straight through. Gulp. Don’t let water or condensation get into a tank. I reckoned Araldite would seal off the areas of weakened metal for good. It did, sinking in as if
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HOW TO RePAIR A 20-YeAR-OlD TANK
Rust damage: it was probably battery acid that kicked this off years ago
The easiest way to prepare the internal surface for a sealer is electrolysis BABIYOS morphs into RAPIAGS: Refurbish A Project In A Garden Shed
2006 Yamaha Simoto BABIYOS Tank sealer: it sticks like the proverbial, but needs four days to cure
Tank wrapped: if the rest of the paint is good, you need to mask it off before blasting. Don’t use flappy stuff like I did. It’ll let the blast media in
soaked up by a sponge. A quick blow over with primer and gloss black and the job’s a good ’un. But to seal off my pin hole, and any damage the blast cleaning might have made, I’ve gone for another layer of POR 15. So it’ll be a few more days before I can fill up and see if it’s worked. My major error throughout all of this was to run out of gaffa during masking and switching to masking tap. Blasting grit has got into the sound-deadening foam under the tank. Getting it out is proving to be very difficult.
Worm holes: Araldite is a cheap, permanent seal for affected areas. You can see the rust holes underneath
Respray: bad as I felt about my case of rust, seeing the tank resprayed was a great thing and worth having to be patient over the electrolysis and sealing
Simon Martin Contributing editor
Story so far: Three years on, BABIYOS requires some TLC Total miles: 8843 Miles this month: 0 Costs this month: £650 on OZ Racing wheels. £55 on sending forks and shock to Maxton. £1200 on 12x6ft garden shed and its concrete base.
Knackered fork damping adjusters and an enforced two month riding sabbatical have prompted a major overhaul of BABIYOS, PB’s pet project bike. The forks and shocks are due back from Maxton any day now. Both ends will run slightly softer springs and compression damping as I attempt to add a little more comfort and control over our appalling roads, without compromising the pin-sharp steering and reassuring stability. HPS loaned us a pair of sublime BST carbon wheels for the original build. Despite my tears these had to be replaced with the stock R1 items. I still cannot bring
myself to cough up in excess of two grand for the laminated lovelies so I have compromised with a pair of OZ CNC’d beauties sourced from eBay. The original Altamura paintwork has proved to be extremely durable – there’s not a single blemish despite the bike being kept outside for the majority of its three years, and my fear of buckets and sponges. The frame and swingarm will be left well alone but the black and rainbow scheme will be refreshed. Various brackets that were not properly painted due to time constraints during the original build will be sorted, and stuff such as the coolant hoses will be replaced (the donor bike is now 12 years old). Who knows, I may go completely bonkers and add a smattering of trick levers and anodised doo-dahs. If the bike was not within my immediate reach I’d never get it done so I have erected a shed in the back garden to provide dry storage and admittedly very limited workspace. Now the hard work can begin. Performance Bikes – still keeping it real after all these years.
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GPR V4 steering damper is not only the lightest in the range but helps keep the SV700R totally stable
And you cAn mAke it into A brilliAnt roAd bike…
Firstly sort the handling. It’s the upgrades to the chassis that really make the difference to the bike. With a few mods you’ll be amazed what difference you can make. Get a GSX-R600 front end for £500 – sell your stock front end to a MiniTwins racer to claw back some cash. Then get a decent shock – go for a Nitron if you don’t want to spend Öhlins money. Steve Jordan Motorcycles offer a standard ECU remap for £150 which, in conjunction with an exhaust system, filter and some airbox mods, will easily get you around 77bhp. Some people go for big bores like Steve’s done here on the race bike, but really most of the gains can be achieved with bolt-on stuff.
Steve has kept the standard SV linkage but bolted it to his self-rebuilt shock with 0.85kg.mm spring
Brembo 18 ratio master cylinder has the best combo of feel and travel. The racers’ choice HM quickshifter is electronically linked to the Interceptor fuelling control unit .
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ollocks. No doubt it’s a reasonable chunk of industrial language, and a pretty obvious reaction to hearing us say it is possible to qualify a Suzuki SV650 on this year’s British Supersport grid. Mental images of the little commuter mixing it with razor-sharp R6s and ‘cut your face off ’ ZX-6Rs could only be classed as delusional. Telephone the secure ward we have another incoming. But it’s all true, we tell you, true… Steve Jordan’s incredible SV650-based Thunderbike can lap the Brands Hatch GP circuit within the 110% of pole needed to get onto the Supersport grid. Granted, Steve’s a seasoned campaigner who’s ridden and raced in countless classes, including racking up top ten finishes at the NW200. But as impressive as his racing CV is, it doesn’t detract from his home-built, ultra-lightweight SV650. What started as a blown-up novice bike worth little more than £800 carried Steve to the 2010 Bemsee Thunderbike championship in a campaign that saw him besting serious competition from Ducati 749s, CBR600s and ZXR750s. So how does a bike bred for commuter friendliness cause such a stir? ‘I can’t really say it bears much resemblance to an SV anymore,’ says Steve, racer, engineer and owner of Steve Jordan Motorcycles. He kinda has a point. The distinctive black ally frame, box swingarm and familiar V-twin outline are where the similarities end. Central to this impressive transformation are a GSX-R600 front end – forks, yokes and brakes – and full GSX-R600 bodywork wrapped in gorgeous Altamura paint.
‘Pin the throttle. Brake light, turn late, knee scraping down Paddock Hill with the SV glued to its unshakeable line’
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Then there’s the engine. Bored-out to 699cc and pumped-up with Wiseco pistons, Carrillo rods and a lightened and balanced crank it’s a whole different animal. ‘It’s taken three years of development to get the bike to this standard,’ says Steve. ‘I’ve done it all myself, all the tuning and the development. The crank, barrels and cams have all been modded to my spec and the head work is a closely guarded secret.’ When the power has been boosted to almost 90bhp it is no wonder Steve’s keeping his cards close to his chest – that’s nearly 20bhp more than the output of a standard SV650. Then there’s the weight. Steve’s bike tips the scales at a respectable 158kg, a number helped massively by the stunning Dymag carbon fibre wheels Steve uses for his dries. ‘You really need to try them,’ he says, lifting the slick carbon fibre rims and their Pirelli Supecorsas from their home on the rack. ‘The difference they make to the handling is unbelievable.’ After a washout of a weekend at Brands, Steve fought his championship battle to the last round and is sat here the morning after, nursing a champagne hangover and drying out his pants… oh and to let us ride his cup-winning machine for ourselves. Thankfully the rain has stopped falling, but the newly resurfaced Brands Hatch is still sodden. Still, that doesn’t stop Steve whipping off the wets and slapping on the Supercorsas. ‘There’s a drying line out there now, you need to experience these wheels,’ he says. It isn’t just the wheels I need to experience, the whole bike sounds like something I simply have to swing a leg over. From the get-go this Suzuki is clearly nothing like the SV650 it once was. Exiting the pit lane and powering out down Paddock Hill Bend the engine revs with the freedom and smoothness usually reserved for top-flight race machines. The throttle response impresses immediately. Crisp and reactive, it feels as if the cable is wound directly around the crank. Down the hill and back up the other side the extra boost from the 49cc capacity increase feels good as the SV frisks up the incline, gagging to be flung hard into Druids. STEADY: a killjoy marshal holds up a sign to dampen spirits. The newly resurfaced track seems to be bleeding oil in the soggy conditions which makes for a treacherous line around Brands’ famous hairpin. Despite the slippery patches, the SV700R remains composed and bang on line. Steve’s revalved and resprung the GSX-R600 forks and today in these patchy conditions the rebuilt front end feels compliant and confidenceinspiring. The pace increases, chasing the decline down Graham Hill bend the SV feels like it has the wind at its feet. This bike is light, frisky yet utterly composed. Through the Nova close-ratio gearbox power always seems to be firmly in the grasp of my right hand. Not that it feels like there is oodles of power, there is no ripsnorting explosion on each and every corner exit. Riding this bike is more about a conservation of momentum. An easy, unrestricted flow from an engine and chassis that just seem to work together brilliantly. Stable, composed and ruthlessly effortless. It’s addictive. So fluent is the handling it feels like I could last a full GP distance, let alone a few drizzly laps stolen on a trackday. There is absolutely no effort required in turning or stopping this awesomely light machine. Direction changes happen without strain and, as the
Buying a 2003 Kawasaki Z1000
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naked warts & all
30 years after the original Kawasaki, once again, went wooing men of a certain age. Now, seven years after that relaunch, the elements and many a brutal wheelie have taken their toll on the Zed. But all is not lost for 70s superbiker nostalgists‌ Words: Alan Seeley Pics: Jason Critchell
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PaRts dRaweRs ‘They were surplus to requirements at work, so I had them, then bought loads of fasteners to fill up every drawer.’
HaRRison l5 latHe Like everyone we’ve visited who has a lathe, Sam wonders how he would cope without his. This one was bought for £400 ten years ago.
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boileR For the house but it keeps the chill off. (See Workshop Wisdom).
tig weldeR See Tools of the Trade on p121.
Project bike MoRe sPaRe wHeels Ingeniously mounted to the ceiling rafters.
HydRaulic woRkbencH Would normally have a Suzuki twin on it, but we took it out so you could see the garage.
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cutteRs For the milling machine.
aRboga Mill Made in Sweden and bought used for £150. It was cheap because it requires a three-phase supply (industrial rather than 240v domestic). Sam bought a £200 inverter to convert the power supply.
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tyRe waRMeRs In the neighbouring boxes are a circular saw and a cordless drill.
Race toolbox It was still race season when we took this photo, so the box hadn’t been put away for the winter.
Vax Promoted from household duties, it’s now Sam’s garage vacuum cleaner.
Ducati 1098R
Loud and lairy yet stripped back, neat and restrained. Brothers Dave and Nobby words: Gary Inman pics: paul Bryant
Don’t you see? It’s what isn’t there that’s more impressive than what is. The Hamilton brothers relocated a shopping basket full of ugly, but necessary gubbins under the seat.
DrilleD belt covers ‘I like to see things working,’ says Nobby.
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Hamilton’s schizo Bolognese bullet is a home-brewed trackday superhero
Cool There’s an oil cooler hiding in here. Can anyone tell us why race teams don’t do this any more?
Homemade CrasH bobbins The ‘Build it, Don’t buy it’ force is strong in this one.
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his Ducati 1098R has two wildly different characters, a lot like the brothers who built it. On one side it is as loud and lairy as Millwall’s crew meeting West Ham’s in a dank underpass. On the other it’s stripped back, neat and restrained. Almost Zen. And it’s inspired by a couple of much older Ducatis. ‘Years ago I had a 900SS, the original one, and it was a right pain in the arse,’ explains Nobby Hamilton, ‘but on the right day on the right road, it was like riding into heaven.’ The look of this gloss black Bolognese bullet is a nod to that original 900SS. The 1098R just has its top fairing fitted, like the 900SS had a curving bikini, both leave their vees in the wind. And while this isn’t the most radical Obsession we’ve featured, it manages to look
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nt tIsh hIp’ ‘So do you want to trade for those Nikes or what?’
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Owning Yamaha YZF750/1000SP
Living the
SLiding
Samurai
dream Words: Emma Franklin Pics: James Cheadle
When Noriyuki Haga started swapping paint with his 90s World Superbike rivals we sat in front of our TVs transfixed. Especially Alex White who grabbed the chance to live the Nitro Nori dream with both hands…
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at cross-legged in front of the TV, young eyes watched as a talented Japanese wildcard won his home race. Transfixed by an inaugural season that saw paint swapping, accusations of dangerous riding and race wins, Noriyuki Haga’s performance in World Superbikes in the late 90s left a lasting impression on Alex White. Despite being just 14 when Nitro Nori took his first win, an impressionable Alex was captivated by the Yamaha rider’s incredible style and tenacity, so much so that 11 years down the line, World Superbike’s very own Samurai of Slide ultimately influenced Alex’s early bike buying choices. ‘I rode my CG125 all the way up to Warwick to go and take a look at it,’ remembers Alex as he recounts the day he clapped eyes on the bike that would become his first, full-fat project. The Yamaha YZF750SP he’d risked life and limb to see was worth every bit of that 11bhp effort. ‘I could tell right away it was a special bike because it was absolutely dripping in trick bits. But I could also see it had been ridden hard and was in desperate need of some love. It was like the previous owner had spent so much on fantastic parts he didn’t have anything left for basic maintenance. So that’s what I set out to do.’ But what started as a simple refresh quickly turned into a project when Alex’s special new purchase toppled over in the van on the way home. Out with the old Virgin Mobile Aiwa Yamaha scheme and in with something much more fitting.
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Race face: exiting the garage can be a serious business
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