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WEDNESDAY 22 APRIL 2009 kkk"achcfWmW`YbYkg"Wca
News FUX]WU` 8iWUh] Acbh^i]W\
Retro style but fast
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More SHARP rating shocks Bad news if you own an RST PC1S, Vemar VSSEV, KBC Magnum or TK8 – they’re the latest lids to net a one-star rating in government SHARP tests. Twenty-eight new ratings have been unveiled. Two more Nitros, a Marushin and Bell joined the elite group of top-rated lids. SHARP ratings have now been given to 125 helmets. Find them all at www. motorcyclenews.com/sharp
Make AGV Arashi Arashi Arashi Bell Box Box Duchinni Givi HJC Kawasaki KBC KBC KBC Marushin Marushin Marushin Nitro Nuvo RST Shark Shark Vemar Vemar Vemar Marushin Nitro X-Lite
Model K3 Galaxy Sonic Turbo M5X BX3 Dagger BX5 Hurricane D701 HPS40.1 FS 10 Carbon Ninja Magnum TK8 XP3 Ikusa Samura Shivan N1700 VF SP2 PC1S S650 RSX VSSEV VTXE VXP M401 F347VN X1002
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Chris Newbigging I FYdcfhYf chris.newbigging@motorcyclenews.com
Retro style is definitely ‘in’ as this modern, yet old-school, Radical Ducati special shows. Based on a 1000DS engine used in the Multistrada, Spanish firm Radical Ducati has transformed the bike with a new frame and bodywork kit finished with the retro paint scheme. The frame is unique to the Rad02, similar in design to Ducati’s own superbike series. The key to the look of this bike, dubbed the Montjuich in tribute to the 1980’s Ducati race-rep road bike, is Radical’s Rad02 bodywork kit, which comprises a small nose fairing sloping down for a racy look with a kicked-up tail unit. The tank is designed to suit the new bodywork’s radical stance. The bike is painted in a blue/red scheme to pay homage to classic Ducati racers. The frame is complemented with reworked forks with titanium nitride sliders, held in a set of thick billet aluminium triple clamps. The radial calipers are from Discacciati complete with narrow-track race discs, which have a narrower swept area to lower unsprung weight, aiding steering, braking and grip. An Ohlins shock absorber props up the rear end, attached to a trellis-style tubular steel swingarm. Carbon five-spoke wheels are matched with carbon mudguards and a race bellypan. Black Rizoma rearsets allow extensive adjustment of the footrest position, and lightweight clip-ons complete the extreme riding position. Radial brake and clutch mastercylinders are fitted, and a new clutch slave cylinder lightens the action of the infamously heavy Ducati clutch. The dry slipper clutch is exposed with only a small guard to keep the rider’s toes out. The lightly-tuned motor is kept cool with a massive oil cooler to assist air-cooling. The bike isn’t just for show
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► The Spark megaphone
exhaust is a modern take on a retro design, finished in titanium for low weight.
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► The filler cap has been
replaced with a key-less alloy race filler, modified with a dummy breather tube.
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► Ignition coils are
exposed on the right – a trick employed in the past to keep electrical components cool.
either – the heat-stained exhaust, frazzled tyres and precautionary crash protectors betray the bike’s hard track use. Want one? Call Radical Ducati on 0034-9166-15702. You’ll then need an 1100DS to base your bike on. The price is dependent on kit spec selected – a multitude of options are available, including aluminium or steel frame tubing.
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32
WEDNESDAY 22 APRIL 2009 kkk"achcfWmW`YbYkg"Wca
Road test Hyper-bikes
BMW’s shot at the 6][[Yf VYhhYf ZUghYf \UfXYf. WUb h\Y bYk ?%'$$G XYh\fcbY Gini_]Èg a][\hm <UmUVigU3 GINI?= <5M56IG5 6M BIA69FG
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mph at the end of the 2-mile straight Standing 1/4-mile time
%&"$&
mph faster than the K1300S
Adam Child Senior road tester adamchild@motorcyclenews.com
No matter how old I get or how many bikes I test, I still get a huge adrenalin buzz when I ride hyperbikes like these. When the speedo passes 170mph and the bike is still accelerating, it’s a high like no other. Tucked in, throttle wound open as far as I can, I’m focusing on the speedo and watching the needle edge past 175mph. It’s a drug I could easily overdose on. Yes,
the majority of these bikes will never reach their maximum speed, and it’s important to know which comes out top in the real world, but I’ll come to that later. First off it’s a simple case of which has the biggest balls. In terms of outright speed Suzuki’s Hayabusa has still got it: 183.17mph against the BMW’s 171.15mph; that extra 10mph means the ’Busa is still king in the car park boasting stakes. Yet 171mph into a headwind isn’t shabby, and more than enough to scare most people.
The standing 1/4-mile has been a long-standing measure of any bike’s performance, and as expected the ’Busa takes the honours here, too. Completing the charge in 10.23secs is mightily impressive and really shows what this legendary machine is all about. It’s the same in the 0-60,mph, 0-100mph and 0-150mph tests: the Busa is considerably quicker than the BMW. But these figures only tell half the story, especially in a UK riddled by speed cameras. So what about the real world?
At around 6000rpm, the BMW’s turning 95mph and bike and rider are in perfect harmony. The engine is smooth, the seat is comfy, the bar/seat/peg ratio is spot-on and the fairing is excellent, although not as wide as the Suzuki’s.
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WEDNESDAY 22 APRIL 2009 kkk"achcfWmW`YbYkg"Wca
GPNews
GOLD & GOOSE
250GP bikes will be history
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The two-stroke 250cc Grand Prix bike – a mainstay of world championship racing since its inception in 1949 – will become nothing more than a museum relic at the end of 2009. For 2010, the 250cc world championship will be replaced exclusively by 600cc four-stroke bikes, with MotoGP bosses deciding to advance plans for the new Moto2 class by a year. For the racing purist, the decision has killed off a fundamental appeal of Grand Prix racing. Reverting to a more affordable, production-based format instead of remaining true to its prototype ethos has gone down like a lead balloon.
For the realist, though, the change is essential to safeguard the future of cashstrapped 250 teams, threatened to the point of extinction by the extortionate costs of leasing Aprilia machinery. Several teams are only on the grid in 2009 because of Dorna handouts as they struggle to survive the global economic crisis. The Moto2 series will slash costs by a staggering 85-90%, with bikes being produced for as little as £70,000. Previously, even private teams leasing old production bikes from Aprilia would ask riders for ridiculous fees as high as £250,000 to secure a ride. And to lease the latest full factory Aprilia 250, there’s no change out of £1m – for a bike you only run and don’t actually own, The single engine rule will also help
to control the costs even further, and should keep the racing close, so MotoGP teams scouring for talent will be able to weed out the great and the good from the average and the also-rans. The single engine rule, initially derided for depriving fans of competition, is gradually gaining universal support. International Race Teams Association boss Mike Trimby was a personal opponent, but he told MCN: “I’m coming round to the idea, because the manufacturers have told us they are worried about the amount of money that might be needed. If a team is doing well, they will want their factory to spend money on development to keep them on top. On the other hand, a team trying to play catch-up will also be asking its factory
to develop, and that also costs money. “Given the current situation, the manufacturers don’t want to be doing anything that diverts money away from MotoGP, so that’s one of the main reasons we have gone to the single engine.” Trimby spent part of the opening MotoGP weekend in Qatar earlier this month on a special canvassing mission with all the existing 250GP teams,
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gauging the reception to the single engine proposal. Support was unequivocal, said Trimby: “They are all interested, they are gungho ready to go. Some MotoGP teams want a B-team and there’s also interest from some 125 teams, too,” he added. The only outstanding issue is the identity of the engine supplier. As MCN revealed last month, Kawasaki is the preferred candidate, given its lack of involvement in MotoGP, having quit the premier class in January because of the credit crunch. Kawasaki’s interest in reciprocating Dorna’s request to run Moto2 on ZX-6R engines until the end of 2012 at least, has been lukewarm at best. Wary of the urgency to appoint an engine supplier now that Moto2 bikes will be raced in 2010, Dorna boss Carmelo Ezpeleta will hold several key meetings in the build-up to this weekend’s Japanese GP to thrash out a deal with one of the