Performance Bikes

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6

ness

In the last couple of years few bikes have had as much of a slagging as the MV Agusta F4. “I’ll never ride one again,” I was once misquoted as saying when the throttle stuck open on me during a Fenland thrash (it also lunched the motor).

“Italian lemon,” PB tester Trevor Franklin said of the stuttering MV F4RR that took part in our litre bike group test this year.

You see, when a company with the heritage and history of MV Agusta produces a machine as brutally beautiful as this, expectations are raised. Every time you look at it, you want it to be amazing – especially when you find out about the price tag.

But in the past little niggles meant it has fallen short, to the point where it almost isn’t fair comparing it to its non-exotic rivals.

Te bike you see before you is the MV F4RR Corsacorta, the updated 2012 F4RR. It’s the upgraded, lighter, more powerful version of the F4R that Guy Martin tested for us at the beginning of 2011. With a virtually new, short stroke, (claimed) 201bhp engine, top of the range Ohlins forks and shock, lighter wheels and race-spec Brembo monoblocs, MV say this is the most powerful superbike in the world. And it needs to change some perceptions.

7

2012'S BBS'" S ...IOKY HOOPS _

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The definitive guide to t he

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Trackday tyre test

1

TBBTBST Dry, sunnyintervals, airtemperature 13째 Tracktemp 18째

Tester 1 Bruce Dunn Long time road tester, 250GP racer and experienced tyre tester, Bruce has been the man behind many a PB tyre test. He's here to represent the ultimate evaluation as he 's able to push the tyres to their limit in a highly consistent manner. His lap times, GPSdatalogging and opinions will form the foundations of this test.

"Tyre tests are the most demandingform of testing I do," says Bruce, "because it's not all about going as hard as you can .Youhave to ride at 9/10ths in order to push the tyre to its limit while also freeing up mental capacity to note all the subtle differences between the tyres on each session, and also remain utterly consi stent. It's a tall order but I really enjoy doing it."

Tester 2 Emma Franklin If Bruce is representing the top 5%of riders, PB'sdeputy editor is here to represent the majority. Emma rides a litre bike on the road and the occasional trackday. She also races a TZR250 at club level. She won't be pushing

0

7

as hard as Bruce, but will be able to pick up on aspects of each tyre that Bruce's skills allow him to ride around.

Test bike 2012 Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Suzuki's big litre bike is here as the test mule. Chosen for its lack of electronic aids and power delivery, the GSX-R1000 is agoodrepresentation of your typical road-spec 1000cc sports bike. Although as standard the GSX-Rwears 120170 up front with a 190/50 rear, all the rear tyres on test are the slightly taller profile of190/55.

Fitter James Powell, ofInFront Motorcycles, Chester, is an experienced tyre fitter, mechanic and racer. When he's not tweaking his customers' road bikes, he's fitting tyres at trackdays or spanneringfor his mates at BSB.He's here to make sure each pair are fitted correctly and help us ensure the pressures are set to the manufacturer's recommendation.What James doesn't know about tyres isn't worth knowing.

The test track Blyton Park near Gainsborough is the perfect facility for testing tyres. The newly resurfaced 1.6 mile circuit offers a 160mph straight , undulations, technical chicanes , hard-braking areas, off-camber corners and plenty of run-off plus it allows us to configure the layout to our own requirements . We've got sole use of the track so we're able to subject each set of tyres to a fair, repeatable, unobstructed lap. www.blytonpark.co.uk

How we did it

The controltyre

With our pair ofidentical GSX-RI000s, fitter James set about removing the wheels and tyres from one while Bruce completedinstallation laps on the other. One bike was fitted with the datalogger and was used for all of the track test, while the other was used for its wheels alone to speed up the tyre changing process.

With the installation laps completed, Bruce returned to the pits to tweak the suspension. He dialled one click of rebound damping to the forks and a full turn of rebound to the shock. No further suspension alterations were made for the rest ofthe test. He then set a lap time for our control tyres - the OEM spec Bridgestone S20s.

All test tyres were set to the manufacturers' recommended cold pressures but, owing to the cool conditions, we opted to warm each on warmers for 30 minutes prior to fitting for safetyreasons. Bruce then completed six warm-up laps th en came back into the pits to adjust the pressures to the manufacturers' suggestedworking/hot pressures (where given) before heading out on 15 datalogged test laps .

Bridgestone 520 ÂŁ248

T Bru ce Du nn

Best lap time 1:06.88

Weight:

Front 4.75kg; rear 6.5kg Contact:

www.bridgestonebikers club.co.uk

Bridgestone's S20 is the newest tyre in their range and comes as standardfitment on our 2012 GSX-RI000 test bike. As a sporty road tyre it's not in the same categoryas the rest of the tyres on test but it's here to illustrate the performance difference between a road biased tyre and the more track-biased tyres on test here.As we're using the OEM spec S20s their performance may well not be indicative of the S20s available from your local tyre shop as they will have been made to Suzuki's own specification for cost reasons.

J a me s Po well

Emm a Fr an kl i n

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Trackday tyre test

Dunlop 0211 GP Racer

"I was able to brake later and harder than on the Mi.che1i.ns and Metzelers"

ÂŁ280 (per pair as tested)

Compound: front medium; rear endurance Weight: front 5.5kg; rear 6.25kg Working pressures: 32psi front; 23psi rear Working temp: front 42'C; rear 53'C Best lap time: 1:03.56 Web: www.dunlopmotorcycle.eu

Bruce says: "These are at the sportier en d of the spect ru m and it shows with how they m ade the bik e feel- angry. The bik e comes alive with these tyr es in more ways than one.

I certainly went quickly on them , quicker than on the stock tyres, Michelin s and Met zelers but Iwas just gritting my teeth and holding on. Gettingthe bik e from upright to leant over is much more lin ear than it was with the Michelin s or Met zelers and mid-corner stability is vastly improved m eaning initial drive is good, but over all stability is

Technology The rear features Dunlop's 7000 series MultiTread compound meaning there are seven zones of compound across the width of the tyre , maximising side grip, stability and drive.

They also feature NTEC technology which has filtered directly down from the handmade race tyres and allows them to be run at very low pressures (as low as 17psi) to maximise grip.

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ROAD _ ...........compromised .The bik e shakes an d slaps quite a bit and you n eed a firm h and t o h ang on to them, but in spite of this Iwas able to m ak e up time m assively on corner entries and exits.

"Braking is superior. Iwas able to brake later an d h arder than on the Michelins and Met zelers, just as Iwas able to get h ard on the gas earlier when exit ing corners. Becau se these Dunlops are at the sport ier end of the spect rum there's a little more compromise wit h them which expl ain s the stability issu es.

Theywould n eed more setting up t o get the mo st out of them . But overall I'm impressed ."

Emma says: "For me these felt awesome. Turn-in is abs olut ely spot on . I apply input and it leans without any resistance or undue flightiness. It's a direct, connected feeling. On theback straight I experien ced a little hint of the in stability Bruce described but nothing t o those ext reme s.The Dunlops gave m e a great feeling of confidence without compromise.

They perform like a sports tyre: they're pointy and accur at e but they do make you feel like you're working for your lap time - they're n o magic carpet rid e."

"They could turn as quickly as t he raciest .tyres and . were tmpresstve t n the chicane"

Pirelli Supercorsa SP £290 (per pair as t ested) ~

nocnoa 01-"";

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BI'UC<I says' "I n ",..ny...,ys t~ p<rform in. similuw"}' to

<he Ilridge<"".. RIO.K• •yr. bu' I nunogedtogof..tetont.......

Uk< ,he RiGs the .moont of rid<r input ..-lo;d to 11'" ,hem 'UmMis much Ins thon

lhe OI!wn,.rod riding futon thom b«omeo ralIy,ralIyOUf·~tb<f..t ... l.>ptimrs am< I r>o<k<d 1~ ....nto_.mJnd quile- bit. They oqu.ot.nd SQUinn u """" lun:! ""dorllion. «p«WIy whrn J"I'1"", ..illlr."t

howmuch grip til...-.is; 1!>q'.. lelli"8 "'" k....... how much""""Jan push tIwm. Pinlli 'l..lm to h""" otiffl."l'l<d up tho s;dewallt of <he SP'outthoy'. ..,m.loI toft« ltun l!>oHm th<rornprti';oruoo h'"his giw in ,h..id<...11 tlut 'ho <ammunir"ioo oi grip.

They could (u'" U'lUi<kIy... tho ""...1 tyre<on 'm (II>< R10sland d•• y won i"'P"-m.in thodue."., bu' I'd.. y.1>q needed just ~ 00 <lightly"..,... offerllo get th.m from knr< ,ok""" S,ill,it '. . v<ry

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Emma says' "1bey·... sublime.

r...... Super<....... """"good. t.", rd<Or'JVi~mystifu­ _SP.~ldbt ali\lIe"-"

road bW><d. so IW"IIUfpr;s..d. when I nail<d my lapof' ho dar on <hem.Theydon', f~l .. p>in'y .. tho BtidgMono RIO. w!><'n

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changingdi_. bu'lhq".. somblo.nd COJ'>$i$,en,,!Ieya110.. mHO gn on 'ho gas ..rli.und 'boo braka b,Ot. Phu Y"'-' don', gi.... grip ... oond thoogII, .nd I know from past • • pt'fin>:o how...;ll tho Sul"'fCO'"'" laS!.so "-~ldbomypi<koflhobu "'''

Trackday tyre test

Metzeler Racetec K3

"The datalogger proves I managed a genuine 160mph on the back straight on these tyres"

£250 (perpair as tested) Compound used: no choice of compou nd Weight: front 4.3kg; rear 7kg Working pressures: front 36psi; rear 29psi Working temp: front 42°e; rear 50Se Best lap time: 1:04.71 Web : www.metzelermoto.co.uk

Bruce says: "Of all th e tyres here these feel like they sit more towards the road end of the spectrum, but the overwhelming sensation Iget from them is just how stable they are . On the back straight I could bla st up to top speedwithout any proble ms at all and th e datalogger proves it - on these tyres I managed a genuine 160mph.Youcan accelerate really hard and they stay tot ally planted.Around Lancaster, the flat -in-third corner directly before t he straight, these tyres allowed me to fire out whi le Iwas still

S

standing the bike up; the side grip is very impressive.There's good feel in all the places you n eed it - from t he backwhen accelerating and on the brakes whe n trailing in. Where the Met zelers lost out was in the turn-in and direction changes; they're so tough t o turn-in, requiring a big shove and a lot of effor t .The data shows th ey were th e most ponderous through the chicane, at 2mph slower. But th ey ba lance th is by beingvery stable at speed once upright. They feel physically heavy.The ride quality is also a little bit severe t oo, choppy and a little harsh ."

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Emma says: "In one word: planted.Theyfeelreassuringly h eavy (the heaviest tyres on test) wh ich gives a great sensat ion of connection to the tarmac but makes t he handlingfeel slower. Ifound them an effort to h aul from one side to ano ther in the chicane and t hey didn't feel as pointyas the Dunlops or Bridgestones. Ifyouliketyres t hat give th e ult im ate sensation of gr ip, these are for you, but ifyou like your tyres a little livelier and quick to turn,they'll annoy. Good bet if you plan to do more fast road riding than trackdays."

"The R10s deliver performance 'in a t ot ally unflappable way. Hi ghl y

Bridgestone R10 £267 (perpairastested)

recommended"

-- ~

Weighl: IrMI. <Il<g: ..- 6.4SI<g _ Ing ","""reo: front 3Opoi: . . . 25poi 'NO,'d"II ~ ' 1Jonl51'C....

_ , lap lime, 1:03.5:1

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Bruce says: "Th<Rl Oo porlo<m

f....."hrnugh tho ,ha...""

IDsolut~ brilli.ontly.lhq

stiI1 rngoodsh.;>< ...bili,y·""'" I""""" lh.-....gll Lon<Ulot • nd ,n." ""Ie tho bad "night. r.... got nothing Nd"' .. y >bout t l.... ' pOUt .11. ruJly. Y... thry . ", .t u.. """" e., _ . r>ocyend of I he ,,>tk<L>y ty'" . nd...... olt will"..". amul w.nningifyou~tou>< th.montherood. bu' thof.justcom"""'....... Tho RIlls

""live, loul ".1>;1 i'y,grip .nd ~

F"""u""",. pointof

~<J.....tyftSp<rlonnso ...lI ,!JeyUIlac'

... bit of • go! "'" oi ja;1 f_ a ni beuuseyou a n g<1 'w;oy with br2king deep ;RlO <»met'$, or <hongingl;.... t th<lu' minu.. without

• ny penoll y. 1htw.y ,hey chong< dire<lion is proNbIyon< of their "..,.. ""..... nding .uriblJ,... I," qui.. owrwh<lming. Youg<t lh.>l,. .I kn ife·edge ''''''' Iyte

porlo<m<>"".

withou' rompromising....bility.1 w..... sily

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~perfornu.n«in.,oul!ynnlbpp.obie,

"'. ....ring way- tMy'", like , I>< rubber oqumlent of the Hondo F;.-.bb&e. !lriU;"nt ,~highly r«ornmmdod.-

Emma says:-n....fffi.xxtly how Iuf>«' ,;ocOlyre >houId. Neverm;nd ,hogrip,.lhhetym ......,onl... ~ultim..l..Jy grippy. bu' thos< Bridgm ones do in<rMibio things to Ihis Sl=k;', N ndling. Theynu"" thr biJu, f.., llil« iu up on iu toes. prim<d.rId 7Ndyto

'lheytumthequicl=.,al.ny ty>'t' in foctthey aught "",,'ut l><cou5< thtydo.,',....,... mud> i"""t to grt thrm OWf. IWJld ;.....,lly thrtxlgh,he 'hic. ....on I hom. If! w. nted. set of tyra purelyfot trod< <by..... thos< wouldb. them:

Trackday tyre test

TBB

PAOTS

We've analysed the fastest lap by each set oftyres and overlaid themon a circuit map to seewhere and why somedo betterthanothers.

Top speed at end of straight The back straight at Blyton is 727 metres long and features a bumpy mid-section where we deviate off the fresh tarmac in order to miss out the chicane. It's a great test of high speed stability and shows a wide variance in each of our test tyre's performances.

1st Pirelli 162.1 mph 2nd Michelin 160.5mph 3rd Metzeler 160.4mph 4th Bridgestone 159.2mph 5th Dunlop 15S.5mph

Fastest laps 1st Pirelli 1.03.1 9 2nd Bridgestone 1.03.53 3rd Dunlop 1.03.56 4th Metzeler 1.04.71 5th Michelin 1.04.88 High speed side grip Lancaster is a high speed corner that leads onto the back straight and is an extreme test of a tyre's grip and drive whilst under incredible load - 100mph flat in 3rd gear whilst still at 30 degrees of lean. Tyres with good side grip will be able to inspire enough confidence to keep driving hard until the bike's fully upright. Bruce rated each tyre on how well it gripped and how stable it was under power.

The 'Ump' Low speed direction change A right-left flick that requires a lot of physical input to get the big Suzuki from your right knee straight onto your left knee , it's a great test of how agile each set of tyres is. Here we've measured the time it takes each set of tyres to get through the chicane, along with its entry and exit speeds, as well as lean angles.

1st Bridgestone Timethrough chicane 3.94sec Entry speed53.3mph at 41.S2" of lean Exit speed 61.5mph at 40.46" of lean 2nd Pirelli Timethough chicane 4.03sec Entry speed54.4mph at 43.39" of lean Exit speed 61.4mph at 40.46" of lean 3rd Dunlop Timethrough chicane4.05sec Entry speed54mph at 43.90"of lean Exit speed 59.6mph at 42.33" of lean 4th Michelin Timethrough chicane4.0Ssec Entry speed51.1mph at 40.99" of lean Exit speed 59.6mph at 40.66" of lean 5th Metzeler Timethrough chicane4.11sec Entry speed52m ph at 43.31" of lean Exit speed 59.1 mph at 39$ of lean

1st Pirelli Joint Bridgestone 3rd Metzelers 4th Michelin Joint Dunlop

Jochen Ushers Twickers

Port Froid

Hard braking Bishops corner sits right at the end of the back straight and it's tighter than it looks, so to prevent us from ploughing a new furrow into the farmer's field beyond we need to scrub off 110mph to make it round . Braking here is the ultimate test of front end stability and also trail braking prowess. The figures below show the time from the start of braking to letting off the brakes at the apex and also ape x speed.

f1

BIShops

Braking to mid corner 1st Pirelli 6.0sec 2nd Bridgestone 6.1sec 3rd Dunlop 6.11sec 4th Metzeler 6.12sec 5th Michelin 6.2sec

Apex speed 1st Bridgestone 56.5mph 2nd Dunlop 54.3mph 3rd Pirelli 53.13mph 4th Metzeler 52.Smph 5th Michelin 52mph

High speed direction changes Port Froid is an exhilarating high speed chicane with a lot of run off. It's approaching 100mph so you need to be electrified with your steering inputs. It's a good test of how reactive each set of tyres is and also a good measure of how linear the steering characteristics are. Again we 've measured the time it took each set to get through the chicane and also recorded entry/exit speeds.

1st Pirelli Timethough chicane 9.73sec EntryspeedS1.Smph Exit speed9S.6mph 2nd Bridgestone Timethrough chicane 9.S0sec Entryspeed77.1mph Exit speed96.7mph 3rd Dunlop Timethrough chicane9.S6sec Entryspeed76.5mph Exit speed96.2mph 4th Michelin Timethrough chicane9.91sec Entryspeed79.Smph Exit speed96.9mph 5th Metzeler Timethrough chicane10.29sec Entryspeed75.4mph Exit speed95.Smph

~=~

Twickers

Michelin Power One

"Revving hard i n second gear on corner exits it felt under total control"

£240 (pef- pair as tested) ~: roo<I

w.IgIlt from •.~ ..... 6.25I<U

_

Ing ... _

~~

JOpoI Irt>fI1, 25poi ...., _ Ing temPo: Irt>fI1 oI2"C, _

1coi:l ............. 10 55,5OC

Best lap time: t:Of.811

_

www.rnc:nelln.oo. ~

Bruce says: "Slnighl owoy I,«lid fffi thr diff""""" ~-.m ,hes.o.ndthoOEMty.u. lhert'ob.lgs

"J'«""",....

~grip, 'h<y'.. """"....,.~'oyourinpu ..

• .-.1 <Mr.'o~,.,.f<edb.<k,~.....,. ""u,..'.Iy .nd~deunt.moun .. ci<i<lo grip which gi.....good conf>don« mi.d «>rno<, 1h< ... r f...J. wdl""",,",,'od too; Tevving lard in ~ 8""''''' <Or'J'>O>' <>;i.. f.1I undor tot.lI con'rol H<>wew< whm Iw.....rting '0 pu' '''S'"'he myf_ t.",...bilityw>Wfod.

On ,he • • it ciLonuotor, in Ihirdg..r, ,he

A.,

Technol ogy AST~ Tocl.iW\M. 3CT~ ~Tocl"o...".Jl. Tho....

t>ao _ _

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..ltll oolt on

ono _ son onlhO _ """ n-..n In thO e.ntt-. Tlio ltS'f"WI'OII'k deolgn _l'O" to _ t h O tyro .. IhO _ """'l>OUl<l ""'" on 11>0 _ "'"' wiI _11>0 . . - come«.

landlob>.. , ..,to<! ki<klng. It lupponod twry Iop.OOoerioody . ff""to<! my"","""",,"" ,n. " nigh, .. I w.s h.,.; ng to roll off >lightly. If ,n.ci<cuillud bHn ,moo! ho' <hI< pn>babIy woukIn't h.o.., hopp<'Of!<!. hut I f<el ~ 'Y'" didn't ,op< .....11 wi'h b.ing un~t1od.1\"n-in i<V.,11y i"'Jl<OYod .,.,.,.OEM, hut {n>m. pmonmnc. riding poin' of vi<w it:' not ""'Y

Ii...... -throffon roquirodchong<> ......n-. poin.. of,,,,,,· in. rd oay 'hoy',. nussivoly improvrdfrom tho."" kty=.OO~'o goodgrip hu' i.....bili'yon >«omtioo..nd bnkingdoesn'I irupi",ronf><lo.-"

Emma says' "1hoyfeol knitlod to thr rood.liR ,he.'s ~of grip.,., off.., ...,.eWIy lrom tho ,..,whmon,bego.. Butl w.. ,....".ful!ycon'..,'with 'befron'<nd. 1be /ront tyR f.h ligh" <=flOivdyso,Iii« it w ', b;tingin to ,be h.ord """"&h .nd ....,r, go"" b;t ci• f1igh'y rido .nd . «..,to<! myconf>don«.,., tho b... ka J found i' hord lObo consi<,.." withIhom, Swo thoy'.. grippy. but <Mr.·o somothing quit. q..irl<y .bout them in thr ... y thq <tteJ'ed t1ut Iju<t ""'Idn\ goton wilh."

,1..,.

Trackday tyre test

And the winner is ... PirelliSupercorsa SP

Do it yourself

The fact that all the tyres on test were at least two seconds quicker than the 0 EM control tyres - themselves not bad at all- speaks volumes. All of these tyres will make you ride faster and more confidently in the right conditions. They've all got an abundance of grip and all have the potential to improve your bike's steering. But a couple of the tyres delivered standoutperformances.

There's no getting away from the fact that the Pirellis posted the fastest lap times.

Both of our testers were blown away by how they delivered this pace in a totally unflappable way. The Pirellis made riding fast very easy and provided an excellent sensation of grip in all situations.Ifyou're looking for a set of tyres to have some road and track fun this summer, these are for you .They even last remarkably well too.

Butifyou want to get your track bike shodwith something tasty you won't go wrong with a set of Bridgestone R10s. They're similar in performance to the Pirellis but felt that little bit racier and sharpened the bike's handling.The R10s will be right up the street of those riders who enjoy a quick-steering bike.

Bike trackdays at Blyton If you fancy having a crack at Blyton Park, why not rock up to one of their trackdays this summer?

BikeDays.co (That's .co only and NOT co .uk) are running a series of sessioned bike days this summer with prices starting from just ÂŁ69.

Blyton Park is located five miles outs ide of Gainsborough in Lines.

11 May 23 May 5 June 19 June 4 July 1 August To book call

07788 992589 or go to bikedays.co

Big thanks to James Powell of InFront Motorcycles (07810 300127) for his superb tyre fitting skills. If you're looking for advice or to buy tyres then James is your man.

Richard Usher of Blyton Park. Richard's done a great job developing Blyton - it's the perfect venue for testing and trackdays . www. blytonpark.co.uk

grea JO eve oping Blyton - it's the perfect venue for testing and +I"-:I"l.rn'3\/~

\AI\/lI\,."

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TRACKDAY

JUL

201Y 2

s y a d k g c n a i r t e com ar

! e m o H t back a is y a ckd B’s tradwell Park.

P e c n bse – Ca -year ait all started o w t a After cuit where the cir

As well as use of the best circuit in the country and the chance to take the piss out of the PB staff we offer the following…

● Suspension set-up clinic from MCT ● Tyre advice from Bridgestone tyres ● Modifying clinic from M&M Motorcycles ● Mobile Dyno ● The best specials of the last 25 years of PB ● PB-Hosted barbeque on the Thursday night ● Road bikes AND track-bikes are welcome ● Instruction from top racers

£119

only

Friday 6th July For more information click on www.clubmsv.com CAMPINg AvAIlABle

What would it REALLY be like to own a Panigale?

You’ve read the track tests, you’ve pored over the pictures, but now it’s time for the acid test: how does the 1199 fare in the real world?

Words Matt Wildee, Kar Lee Pics Rory Game

Y

ou need at least £15,750 to buy a Ducati Panigale 1199. And while Ducati can’t make enough 1199s to satisfy demand from well-heeled bikers and collectors, for most of us it may as well cost a million.

But it doesn’t stop us dreaming, or speculating with our mates what it would be like to ride one day in, day out. Te next ten pages are about furnishing that dream with a healthy dose of reality. We’ve done everything that a Panigale owner would do with their bike in a year and crammed it into one week.

We’ve thrashed the bike through our favourite twisties; nipped, tucked and posed our way through central London; raced it against a GSX-R1000 and a BMW S1000RR; and even worked out how much it would cost to own compared to a Fireblade. We also took it on a trackday. If you had access to the world’s sexiest bike for a week, you’d do the same. Wouldn’t you?

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Golden Era Superbike Honda RC45

R E D C E A R UNIT RE or Pics R ildee att W M s d Wor

e y Gam

e t lik s u j s ike h a b isappear t i w d o er ly ing h complete c a r e 0s e a 9 Answer: h t i n u ? ou re s heyday y n e i h wh pens d back in p a h e What e rac h e n the o

Colin Morris Former GP mechanic and Honda expert, not to mention the RC45â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s owner. Hence the nervous look...

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iAn siMPson 1994 BSB champion and winner of the 1998 Senior TT on a Honda Britain RC45. He now races just for fun.

“P

eople say this series is all about celebrating the golden era of superbike racing, but it isn’t just old racebikes being put out to seed,” explains 1994 BSB champion Ian Simpson. “This bike is better than the Honda Britain RC45 I raced back in 1998. It has a better engine, better power delivery and far better tyres than back in the day. It’s astonishing.”

I’d bumped into Ian and his RC45 in garage number nine at Donington Park. Team PB had been stumbling up and down the pitlane looking for miracle remedies for our wobbly Triumph racer, when a familiar face and a very familiar bike caught my eye. Multiple TT winner, five-times British champion and – thanks to his efforts winning BSB on the Duckhams Norton in 1994 – a personal hero of mine, Simpson and his bike had been brought in to give a dose of glamour to the PB-supported RST Golden Era Superbike championship.

In a garage full of scuffed 600s and race-prepped SV650s, the Honda glows like a jewel. Te RC45, which dates back to 1998, is the sexiest club-racing bike I’ve ever seen. Simpson’s team-mate in the V&M-run Honda Britain squad was a certain Michael Rutter, who took this very RC45 to sixth in the BSB title that year, scoring two wins and eight podiums.

Owned by former GP mechanic and Honda expert Colin Morris, it runs bare, virgin carbon bodywork but, apart from that, is representative of the ultimate race version of one of Honda’s greatest superbikes. I watch agog as Colin and his team of holidaying GP mechanics work on the RC. It’s an education.

A mixture of factory race parts, Honda race-kit items and engineering inspiration by Steve Mellor (the M in V&M), the bike is the fastest, best-sorted 750

What is Golden Era Superbike?

Run by Thundersport GB, Golden Era Superbike is a brand new class for 2012. Essentially trying to replicate the golden era of superbike racing the class is for pre-2000 750cc inline fours, 950cc triples and 1000cc V-twins, plus some post-2000 machines where the spec hardly changed. More details at: www.thundersportgb.com Round 7 26 May – Oulton Park GP Round 8-9 23-24 June – Snetterton 200 Round 10-11 28-29 July – Rockingham Round 12-13 26-27 August –Anglesey Round 14-15 22-23 September –Cadwell Round 16-17 20-21 October – Mallory Park

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Maintenance brake guide

how To pull more Tha Braking g for a 38,000-mile Yamaha R6 going from 100mph to 20mph as quickly as the rider dares.

Red line shows data for five crash stops in a row

How we did the test In the absence of a standard braking test, we invented one: hook up a GPS datalogger, ride 120-ish, then brake as hard as seems prudent down to 10mph or so.

We then took the slice of braking between 100 and 20mph, and used the time to calculate average deceleration. (If you have a GPS phone app you can do this yourself: divide your speed loss in metres per second by the time taken, then divide the result by 9.81. To convert mph to m/s, multiply by 0.447. It probably counts as pacemaking, and therefore invalidates your insurance, but there you go.)

Our test deliberately ignores how quickly the rider gets up to full power, because we don’t have the means to set consistent start speeds. It also eradicates any low-speed stoppies which tend to muck up an otherwise clean run. So it’s a bit of a sterile test but at least it is repeatable. What it does reveal is how much power the rider can get at over a given speed range.

And because we repeated each run five times, it also tests for fade. Averaging the results of all five runs masks the effect of one unusually good or bad run.

“It seems many people just don’t regard brakes as service items”

1.1g

test 1

test 2

Old brake fluid, worn discs, fresh EBC HH pads (£48.99)

New brake fluid (£8)

l

1.0g

Average 0.92g 0.9g

l

l l l

0.8g

0.7g

0.6g

Takes a moment to find full pressure, but OK feel and power.

No detectable fade. Back end fishtailing from 60mph, stoppies from 30mph. Tyre making loud howling noise. One lockup.

More than enough power, even then. Modern brakes are more powerful still, but most development over the last couple of decades has been about improving feel and getting consistent performance. Today, we take both for granted – at least in a new bike. On a used bike these handy attributes can deteriorate shockingly quickly.

Back in 2010, I tested about 30 five year-old bikes with PB’s Kev Smith and Johnny McAvoy. None of them had any engine problems, but about half had weak braking, poor feel or warped discs. Te reason: corrosion getting into the calipers. It seems many people just don’t regard brakes as service items, even when it’s obvious that the bike can’t stop as well as it did when it was new.

We thought it would be interesting to measure the effects of poor maintenance, and also to discover whether typical upgrades really make a difference. Our guinea pig was a 2000 Yamaha R6, mainly because it was there (it belongs to photographer Rory Game, who took most of the pics in this article).

Te bike’s done 38,000 miles and been ridden through two winters, though you wouldn’t know it – Rory is an obsessive cleaner. On the other hand, all three of its discs are near the service wear limit, and it’s not had new brake

Average 0.90g

l

l

The neglect effect

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l

l

As before but stoppies from 60mph. Evening run, so cooler weather. No other detectable difference.

fluid for at least a year. Te pads are brand new (EBC HH) but as far as Rory knows the calipers have never been apart. All in all, a reasonably typical enthusiast’s bike.

Painting the cleaned, pumped-out pistons with silicone grease – a vital once-yearly job

l

an 1g on your brakes Slightly worn, negative profile tarmac. Dry, warm weather. Dunlop SportSmart tyres.

test 3

test 4

test 5

Calipers rebuilt with red rubber grease, new brake fluid

New EBC X series discs (£270 front, £115 rear), new EBC HH pads

Brembo RCS 19mm master cylinder (£290), new brake fluid

l

Average 0.97g l

l

l

l

l

l

Average 1.035g l

l

l

Felt slightly mushier but much easier to be consistent.

EBC’s new discs are cast, rolled and ground in Germany, and use a patented square button system to ‘eliminate distortion’. Fitted with new mounting screws (Yamaha’s originals are made of cheese) and bedded in for 80 miles.

The difference was astonishing: masses more feel, power and precision. Best run: 1.076g.

RCS stands for Ratio Click System – the rider can vary the lever ratio with a click roller, and also choose from two pivot positions. The master cylinder comes with a brake light switch and a folding brake lever. It promises even more feel and consistency. Unfortunately rain stopped play so we were unable to run a test. But we already know the RCS gives better feel than a standard master cylinder.

Rory’s calipers turned out to be annoyingly free from corrosion, but the results are still interesting. In its original form, with no recent servicing and freshly runin pads, the bike averaged just over 0.9g. Tat’s a respectable performance, similar to some new bikes. But with improvements (the biggest of which was a caliper rebuild) it got consistently close to 1g – close to the limit for any bike. Racer and PB tester Bruce Dunn has datalogged new bikes for MCN at Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground for the past 12 years. Te fastest stopper, a 2005 Triumph Speed Triple, went from 70mph to zero in 43.8 metres, at an average deceleration of 1.03g. If Rory’s bike had been more neglected the improvement would have been even more dramatic; a typical sportsbike with gummy calipers languishes around the 0.7g mark.

where’s the limit?

A really good car can probably stop a bit better than a bike. Bruce has measured a Hayabusa-engined Radical sportscar going from 100mph to 20 in 3.3 seconds and 110.2 metres – an average 1.1g. A standard Hayabusa needs almost half a second and 12 metres more, dragging it down to 0.96g. Ten again, the Busa is hardly the best braker, so how about a MotoGP bike? A data

A brake bleeding kit makes the job easier.

The hat doesn’t, but it looks nice

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