Fast Bikes Magazine March Issue Preview!

It’s been the quietest January I can remember. Usually there’ll be one or two chances to pop on a plane, to top up on vitamin D and try out some mind-bogglingly brilliant new bike… but not this year. It’s not as if I’ve been sitting twiddling my thumbs, but probably like you, I’m gagging to get stuck in and clock some miles on anything, anywhere. Thankfully, February has got a lot more about it, so stay tuned for plenty of fresh metal reviews, but in the meantime I’ve been busying myself out in the garage. I’m guilty of starting things and then getting distracted, especially during the summer when the pace of life seems to crank up tenfold. The point being, I’ve actually enjoyed sorting out everything from bike kit to crankcases, tidying stuff up, handing stuff I no longer

wear to my mates and generally figuring out a game plan to get a couple of old bikes I’ve been building over the finish line. They’re not going to be finished anytime soon, but there’s something nice about just tinkering and making progress, however big or small. Weird, isn’t it, that motorcycles can consume you and fulfil you even when you’re not riding them. It feels good to have charged up a couple of batteries, checked fluid levels and even just fired one of the machines into life, drenching my clothes in a smell that’s unmistakably ‘motorcycle’. I digress, but it’s been a great way to warm up to the forthcoming season, to get excited for it and make sure that when the good weather starts coming through, I’ll be set and ready to get out and about. Our friends at No Limits have got a trackday on February 18 at Cadwell and I’m

actually really contemplating rocking up for it, despite knowing it’ll be freezing, probably wet or maybe even snowing. Who knows, but it’ll just be good to be among bikes and mates that I’ve not caught up with in a month or two. If that’s not reason enough to get excited, what is? The other thing this forced break has offered is the chance to plan out the year ahead. We’ve got a full agenda of antics on the cards, and I hope you have too. I always go into a new year wondering if it can come close to matching the one before, but as great as 2022 was, ’23 looks worthy of going a step further. At least, let’s hope so.

Enjoy the mag

FAST BIKES – NEW ME TAL, NE WS & REVIEWS

DUCATI RELEASES SPECIAL EDITION WSBK

AND MOTOGP CELEBRATION PANIGALES

Fair play to Ducati – the Bologna rm utterly smashed it last year in both the MotoGP and WSBK. Team Red took not only the rider’s title in both championships thanks to Pecco Bagnaia and Álvaro Bautista, but it also snapped up the constructor and team trophies in each class as well.

Winning MotoGP and WSBK in the same year puts you into a pretty special league. Yamaha did it in 2021, of course, with Fabio Quartararo and Toprak Razgatlıo lu. But you have to go back to 2009 for the last time it happened before that, again for Yamaha, when Valentino Rossi and Ben Spies won MotoGP and WSBK respectively. Rossi and

Colin Edwards did it for Honda in 2002 on an RC211V and VTR1000 SP-2, as did Mick Doohan and John Kocinski in 1997 (NSR500 and RC45) and Eddie Lawson with Fred Merkel in 1989 (NSR500 and RC30).

It’s probably fair enough that Ducati wants to mark the occasion with something a bit special – like this brace of posh limitededition Panigale V4 S specials. There’s one for MotoGP, painted in the Lenovo Factory team colours, and one for WSBK with the Aruba.it livery, and both are signed by their respective title-winning riders.

Both have almost the same spec, based on the 2023 version of the 216bhp/174kg Panigale V4S. They’ve been treated to a stack of sweet bolt-on parts from the Ducati Performance catalogue, including a road-legal Akrapovic pipe that saves a couple of kilos, a nine-disc STM-EVO SBK dry clutch, Rizoma rearsets and race windscreen. There’s a sprinkling of carbon bre panels for the exhaust heat shield, front and rear mudguards, swingarm protector, engine covers and brake ducts. The only real difference between the two specials is in the fuel tanks: the WSBK rep gets a brushed aluminium tank to echo the V4 R racebike, meaning the MotoGP replica is actually slightly less trick then the proddie racer machine…

Only 260 of each bike will be made and, predictably enough, they all sold out within a couple of days of going on sale. Keep your eyes peeled on Gumtree for any resellers though, you never know…

Ducati also had its best-ever sales gures in 2022, shifting no less than 61,562 bikes around the world. And the top seller was the frankly insane Multistrada V4 superadventure bike – more than 10,000 of those were sold in 2022 and are now no doubt wheelieing about the place at very high speed.

Ducati’s total sales gure is up 3% on 2021, which is pretty impressive when you consider the state the world is in. Top work.

TRIUMPH E-FUEL RESEARCH KICKS OFF

Depressed about electric bikes becoming the only option in the future? Confused about how we’re going to get anything like respectable performance from two-wheelers lugging around massive 150kg lithium batteries? Frankly terri ed by the proposed government ban on all petrolpowered motorbikes by 2030 or 2035, as is the current plan?

Well, you’re not alone, hombre. The industry is quietly lling its pants at the thought of having to adopt a technology that works okay (sort of) in a £30k-plus, two-tonne car but is useless for £15k 200kg motorcycles that make over 150bhp and can do nearly 200 miles between three-minute ll-ups.

So, there’s a big hunt on for an alternative to battery power

that still ticks the ‘no CO2’ box (or at least minimises it). One option is hydrogen, although that comes with some non-trivial problems around storage and production. But another is bio-fuels, which Triumph is launching a new research project to investigate, alongside MotoGP owner DORNA.

The Hinckley out t is aiming to see how its 765 Street Triple Moto2 engine will run on bio-ethanol, produced from fermenting and distilling plant material like maize. The aim is to have the Moto2 bikes running on E40 – petrol containing 40% ethanol – in 2024, and E100 –pure ethanol – by 2027.

The aim is twofold: allow the absolutely tiny ecological impact of MotoGP racing to be mitigated as a marketing move, while also (perhaps) paving the way towards road bikes using much more bio-ethanol in future.

Ethanol produces CO2 when burnt, but the plants used to make it had to absorb that carbon from the air in the rst place, so in theory there’s no net emissions. In practice, energy is used in its production, so it’s not a 100% carbon-free technology.

Ethanol is actually fairly decent as a fuel in some ways. It has a high-octane number so resists knocking very well and doesn’t need a lot of modi cation to basic petrol engine design to run. It’s not great for many older bikes,

which weren’t really designed for it – but as a possible steppingstone away from the small-scale fossil fuel use that motorcycling represents, it’s de nitely an option.

In a Triumph press release, Steve Sargent, Triumph’s chief product of cer, said: “Ultimately, our aim is always to take all the

learnings we gain from racing to make our road bikes even better, which of course encompasses not just performance but also their impact on the environment.

“I can tell you that everybody here at Triumph is very excited to be involved in such signi cant developments at such a pivotal moment in motorcycle history.”

STARK CHOICE FOR ROYAL ENFIELD’S BATTERY FUTURE?

There was a slightly obscure story that crept out between Christmas and new year about an investment in a rm called Stark Future by another rm

called Eicher Motors. That gets a bit more interesting when you remember that Eicher is the parent rm of Royal En eld and Stark Future is the rm behind the Varg electric motocross racebike, launched last year to some acclaim. Stark has some pretty impressive electric powertrain technology, and Royal En eld is one of many big bike makers that needs to get moving on a change from petrol power

by 2030 to 2035. So, with a €50 million investment into Stark by Eicher, and an Eicher staffer added to the Stark board, it looks like a concrete partnership is on the way, harnessing some of the insane performance of the Varg MX bike to suit the sensible retro-roadsters made by En eld.

Keep an eye on our online channels – Facebook, Twitter, and the Fast Bikes website (www.fastbikesmag.com) – for news as it happens.

BMW 100th ANNIVERSARY BIKES

BMW Motorrad is celebrating its 100th birthday this year. The rm’s rst motorbike, the R32, was launched at the Paris motor show in September 1923, just ve years after the end of the First World war.

The R32 was an air-cooled 494cc shaft-drive Boxer, and the Munich rm has released a pair of modern shaft-drive Boxers to celebrate (presumably the rst of many specials this year). There’s

an R18 100 Years and an R nineT 100 Years, both limited to 1923 units each and on sale now. They are mostly cosmetic upgrades – posh paint and extra chrome parts on the R18, plus paint and a single seat unit on the R nineT. Both have sweet pipes, though: a chrome Akrapovic system on the R18 with the BMW roundel picked

out in the perforated end caps, and a slick dual-can system on the R nineT. The R18 also gets a special red embroidered saddle and tank badges.

Fancy a limited-edition retro cruiser or roadster for the summer sun? Get down to the dealer now, then... the R18 100 Years is from around £21k and the R nineT 100 Years starts at £18k.

HONDA UK SIGNS MCGUINNESS AND HARRISON FOR 2023 TT AND NW200 CAMPAIGN

People in Scotland were still clearing up after their Hogmanay parties when Honda UK announced its road racing line-up for 2023. And the big H has signed up the big JM once more – John McGuinness will be back at the TT and the NW200 on a factory Honda UK Racing Fireblade SP, alongside new teammate Nathan Harrison.

McGuiness needs no introduction, of course. The 2022 TT was his 100th start, and he’s won 23 TT races over the years. Harrison is perhaps less well-known but is a resident of the Isle of Man and nished his rst Senior TT race last year in 10th. He’s picked up a few wins and podiums at the Manx GP too, so de nitely a name to watch for the future.

In a HUK release, McGuinness said: “Riding a Fireblade again at the TT last year was something special, so it only felt right to continue for another year. I couldn’t feel more at home with the Honda

team, so I need to say a massive thank-you to Harv (Beltran) and Neil (Fletcher). Celebrating 100 TT starts with the team and riding with that one-off livery and all of the history we have was really something else.

“We also managed to crack the top ve last year on the superbike, which was great, but I’m hungry for more. I just want to get started now and go racing again!”

Harrison is, understandably, pretty stoked about the whole scenario: “To race alongside John and to ride in the Honda Racing UK team has always been a dream of mine. Coming from a Manx family that has always been involved in motorcycling, the TT is in my blood. Watching the TT as a child with John and Honda dominating made me want to be the next ‘John McGuinness’ – and that was my full focus.

“I can’t thank Havier and Honda Racing UK enough for the opportunity. It’s only my

second ever TT, so to be going into it on a great bike, with the best teammate I could ask for, will be an incredible experience. Hopefully, with the long-term plan – where John can teach me things I may not know, learning from the team with the experience they have on the Fireblade, and then my own progression – we can make small steps on last year to hopefully get me to that top step in the years to come.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my mum and dad for all their support and sacri ce over the years, my sponsors, and supporters for sticking by me and helping me get to this position where I have been given a fantastic opportunity.”

The team didn’t release any pics of the bikes – we’ll have to wait a month or so to see the livery and sponsors (we don’t think you’d get very big odds on it being ‘mostly HRC red, white and blue’, mind). Watch this space…

ALL THE L ATEST, COOLEST & TRICK EST PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS

These semi-hard (!) cases from German firm Hepco & Becker are designed to fit most sports, adventure and naked bikes, using the firm’s C-Bow quick-release carrier brackets. They’re light, tough and lockable onto the bike, with zipper combination locks and an internal removable waterproof bag. Recommended weight is up to 5kg, and they’ll easily carry enough kit for a massive lads’ and/or lasses’ trip away. Available in black and grey, or with fluorescent yellow highlights.

£308.57/pair (bike-specific fitting brackets required, from £185) www.hepco-becker.uk

GILLES APRILIA RS660 RACE FUEL CAP

It’s 2023, folks – there’s absolutely no need to be riding about with frozen pinkies. These Tucano Urbano Seppiawarm heated gloves come with rechargeable batteries that fit neatly in cuff pockets, giving about four hours of warmth at full power, with three heat settings. They are waterproof, of course, with a Hydroscud breathable membrane and polyester insulation, touchscreencompatible fingertips, CEapproved knuckle protection and goatskin protective inserts on the palm.

RRP £179.99

We’ve all jumped on a bike wearing just a hoodie for a short trip round town, but this smart-looking Alpinestars Neo hoodie comes with CE armour, impact protection, waterproofing and thermal liner all built-in. The outer shell uses a soft-touch material that’s both waterproof and windproof, and you can fit a Nucleon back protector – or even a Tech-Air airbag system. Sweet urban style that looks good on or off the bike, plus sensible protection both from crashing and the elements. Makes sense to us.

www.tucanourbano.com

German firm Gilles has been making slick bolt-on performance parts for years, and this race fuel cap is just the job for your Aprilia RS660. Milled from hard-anodised aluminium, it’s super-light, and has keyless opening using the supplied special tool. Also available for most other sports bikes.

RRP £103.00 www.performanceparts-ltd.com

The Pro is the 2023 update of the Shark Spartan GT lid, with an updated aerodynamic carbon and fibreglass outer shell, optimised ventilation and a new multi-density EPS inner liner. The ECE 22.06-approved design has the same four-point visor locking system as on Shark’s top-end Race-R Pro GP helmet and is supplied with a Class 1 optically clear shield. It has a double-D ring fastening, there’s an internal flip-down sun visor, and it’s compatible with the Sharktooth intercom/audio system. Comes in nine different colour schemes and sizes XS-XXL, with a Pinlock visor insert supplied in the box.

RRP £429.99 www.nevis.uk.com

SHARK SPARTAN GT PRO HELMET

Italian exhaust maker Zard has branched out a bit with this tasty sump guard for the new Ducati DesertX adventure machine. Made from tough aluminium alloy with natty lightening slots and a stainless steel bracket with stainless fasteners, it looks spot-on and provides premium protection for your fancy Ducati motor. Fits to the chassis without any mods to the bike.

RST has revised its 2021 Pro Series race suit, with this new Evo cut less aggressively than the previous V4.1. It’s certified to AAA level protection and is compatible with the latest version of the In&Motion airbag system. There’s a fully removable washable liner to keep the gunk levels down, extensive stretch panelling for extra comfort and movement on

It’s not just track bikes that need crash protection – throwing your road bike into the scenery is just as expensive (and painful). Plus, retro-style roadsters like the Kawasaki Z900 RS have exposed motors which are easily wrecked – and look terrible once damaged. Enter the GBRacing case protectors for the Kawa: a three-piece set to cover the alternator, clutch and pulser casings. Made from tough impact-resistant polymers and supplied with all fittings, they sharpen the motor styling up a treat as well.

the bike, double leather panels in impact areas, and removable CE armour in shoulders, knees, elbows and hips. An aerodynamic race hump, neoprene collar and cuffs, plus RST kneesliders round off the spec nicely.

The two eye-bleeding neon green and pink colour schemes are amazing limited editions –and will definitely get you noticed on track. RRP £849 www.rst-moto.com

DUCATI CORSE 2022 YEARBOOK

and WSBK last year, and this gorgeous yearbook covers it all. Rammed with more than 200 fantastic pics, including new behind-the-scenes content, it tells the full

story of Ducati’s most successful season ever.

If you couldn’t quite stretch to the special edition WSBK and MotoGP Panigales released by Ducati to celebrate 2022, then this is almost as good. The Bologna firm won the rider, team and constructor titles in both MotoGP RRP: €60 www.artioli.it

good

BETTERING

WORDS: BRUCE PICS: BMW

BETTERING THE BEAST

BMW S 1000 RR

ENGINE:

Type:

Compression: 13.3:1

ELECTRONICS:

CHASSIS:

Frame:

Front

Rear

Front

Rear

DIMENSIONS:

Wheelbase:

What do you give that special person in your life who already has it all? I imagine those were the thoughts of BMW’s engineers as they sat down to plan out this latest iteration of the S 1000 RR. It was already a re-breathing, tech-loving class leader, and despite being four years long in the tooth, it wasn’t exactly on the ropes or questionable when compared to its peers. But complacency is a fool’s game, as the likes of BMW know better than most, so something had to be done to the RR – and done it most certainly was.

Bucking the trend of most manufacturers this season, BMW’s actually gone to town on the new RR for 2023, but you’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise because it looks

similar enough to the outgoing version... well, assuming you’re horrendous at ‘spot the difference’ and haven’t picked up on the model’s new winglets that are a direct hand-me-down from the outgoing M 1000 RR. As you’d expect, they’re there to add downforce as well as look pretty, with a claimed boost of up to 17.1kg of load being added to front wheel when you’re tootling along at 186mph. The other major aesthetic difference is to the rear of the bike, with a new subframe and seat unit... a combination to suit those of a loftier disposition, because the rider’s perch now towers at 832mm (it was 824mm before). Add to this mix a change of three colour options and some slightly different graphics and that’s your lot

on the surface of the Beemer, but there’s so much more to talk about.

Naturally, power and weight are two parameters close to all our hearts, and while the latter hasn’t changed a jot (it’s still 197kg), the number of ponies the ShiftCam motor packs has gone up a few notches to 207bhp. The reasons for this are quite simple: it now revs higher, and the top end has been switched for one that pretty much mirrors that on the M 1000 RR. There’s also a new airbox to talk about that packs shorter variable velocity stacks to optimise the bike’s output, and on the nal drive side of things the rear sprocket is a tooth bigger to add a bit more zest to the bike’s acceleration.

So far, so good, eh? Well, it doesn’t stop there. Continuing with the theme of borrowed brilliance, the M 1000 RR’s geometry has found its way onto the S 1000 RR. The steering head angle is 0.5 degrees less (66.4) and the fork offset has been reined in by 3mm to better the front end’s feel and accuracy – a by-product of which means that the wheelbase is now longer (from 1441mm to 1456mm). There’s also more ex in the frame, and there’s scope to adjust the swingarm pivot point in case you’re ever bored on a Friday night and fancy something to do.

The magpies out there get shiny blue brake calipers that are, you guessed it, M brakes. And last but not least, there’s a load more tech on the BMW that takes some getting your head around. Luckily, I had time on my side when I sat down with the model’s creator, Sepp Mächler, at Almeria circuit, where he ran me through the major changes.

But before we get into that, it’s worth reiterating that the S 1000 RR has never been a Luddite and retains most of the systems of old, including launch control, hill start control and four programmable rider modes. You get the gist... it already came fully loaded, with the icing on the cake being the sector-leading 6.5-inch TFT dash that has

been optimised for the 2023 machine, with a multitude of changes to make it clearer and easier on the eye than ever before. Working with a six-axis IMU, there’s another new toy in town that, quite simply, measures steering angle and relates that info back to the motherboard. It’s nestled down the left side of the cockpit fairing and to look at, you’d think it’s about as signi cant as a pebble on a beach, but this particular gizmo holds the keys to a new plethora of acronyms adding to the RR’s arsenal.

First off is brake slide assist, which, as the name suggests, helps you slide the BMW into corners, governing the amount of slide possible (actuated by the rear brake pedal). It limits the differential between the front and rear wheel’s alignment according to lean angle, so the more upright you are, the more angle (yaw) you can achieve going into a bend, essentially squaring off the entry of a corner. At the other end of the spectrum but using the same steering sensor is the DTC’s slide control function that allows you to gas the bike out of bends and rear wheel steer your exits to a lean determined angle. The other big feature is the MSR tech that controls engine drag torque regulation and is in place to keep the wheels in line when you’re hard braking into bends and don’t want the bike to back

in. You’d need another cup of tea and I’d need a diploma in engineering to go through these features properly, but hopefully this gives you an idea of what’s joined the party.

I was impressed by what I’d heard, but I was also in no hurry to try out the systems, potentially becoming the rst journo in the world to write-off the new RR in the process. Nope, I gured I’d let someone else take that accolade while I got my head around the spec of our particular test bikes. On top of the base model, our RRs came kitted with everything short of the kitchen sink, including: the performance package (£925), consisting of an Akrapovic end can and low friction M Endurance chain; the dynamic package (£1400), meaning we got DDC electronic suspension, plus riding pro modes, cruise control and heated grips; and the M package (£4480) of carbon bre wheels, M paintwork and a grippier M-spec rider seat.

Collectively, it meant the bike was hiked up from £17,150 to £23,955, but it also meant we had all the weaponry imaginable to take on the track we were about to ride. Better still, our RRs were shod with super-sticky Bridgestone V02 slicks that had been readily

warmed for our onslaught. I clambered on and adjusted the span of the levers but was otherwise straight at home on the machine. It felt as familiar as any Gen 4 BMW I’ve ever ridden, which was no bad thing, with the same intuitive switches in place to set and alter the tech. Because of the dynamic package, it meant we had three different race modes we could alter. For that rst session, I rolled with what the technicians had dialled in, with the TC setting at zero – halfway in the range of +7/-7. Power was at full, wheelie control was on one, and I didn’t even glance at the suspension settings – I just wanted to get on with it. The bike felt good from the offset.

Within two laps I was scraping my elbow past the photographer, hanging off like a monkey while acknowledging the improved feel of the RR’s front end. I say this from the perspective of someone who crashed the last generation, having lost the front for no particular reason. There was something about the old bike’s set-up that gave off a vague disposition, but this machine was much more telling… still far from the best on the market, but a step in the right direction.

The Beemer’s more stable than ever on its side.