Inhoudsopgave van September 2016 - Performance Bikes

BMW R NINET ANDREW KNIGHT “I’VE ALWAYS HAD a tendency towards slightly ‘left-field’ bikes and I get a lot of satisfaction from modding. I bought this R nineT in October 2014 and although it’s not your typical PB bike, all of my mods (where possible) are aimed at making it perform better. “I’ve fitted Kineo aluminium tubeless spoked wheels (the original steel wheels were a bit hefty). I’m running a 6in rear and a 200-section Metzeler M7RR. It offers immense grip with no steering penalty. The original inner-tubed tyres were not for me. “An Akrapovic exhaust with custom map provides 102.99bhp (from 84bhp) at the wheel, and lots of torque – not too bad for an air-cooled Boxer. I’m hoping for a bit more as it loosens up. “I’m on…

‘The R1’s firmer suspension is awkward unless you’ve really got your head down’ THE SPORTSBIKE IS a motorcycling niche these days: but what a fabulous one. But the rise of all-rounders, adventure bikes and supernakeds isn’t killing the sportsbike off – it’s actually making them better. Think about it: in the 1990s, FireBlades sold to everyone from couriers to Production TT racers. They were used for touring, trackdays, road riding, pillion-carrying. Motorcycling was fairly black and white: you bought a sportsbike, or you bought something a bit dull with crummy spec. If you wanted up-to-the-minute technology, you had to go for a sportsbike and bend it to your needs. But now you can buy a bike for your tastes, with the best technology available. Manufacturers don’t need to build a…

THIS IS THE first time we’ve gathered Rutter’s test data during a public trackday at Mallory Park. We would usually prefer instead to use the relatively tranquil track conditions of an ACU licence-holders’ test day, where sometimes it can be just us and a handful of other bikes. The MT-10’s laptime was ultimately defined by its ground clearance and in the hands of Rutter, was not very much faster than the majority of the fast group riders. We can say with certainty that the laptime wasn’t affected by the on-track traffic. We chose two bikes to gauge the MT-10’s performance against. Firstly, comparing Yamaha’s supernaked to the bike with which it shares a motor – the Japanese company’s own YZF-R1 sportsbike – will tell us just how close the pair…

For the last 25 years, his feedback has been key in developing every production Honda roadbike, from Goldwings to Fireblades to the RC213V-S MotoGP replica. Here, he talks to PB about his amazing life of racing and testing, and the sometimes bizarre experience of being the most important development rider in the world’s biggest motorcycle company. THEY ASKED ‘CAN YOU RIDE A BIKE FAST?’ I SAID ‘YES.’ THEY SAID ‘YOU’VE GOT THE JOB’ I’d done lots of things previously – a mechanic for Charlie Williams, building factory engines in GPs, running the Yamaha ProAm series and a group of Yamaha dealers, before I moved to Honda to become national sales manager. They were looking for new testers as they were struggling in Japan. Mainly because the engine man, the chassis…

“ALL THAT I have done with my partners is to complete assembly of two prototypes of the T12, and demonstrate its efficacy by going to Modena Autodromo for Luca Cadalora to test it, as my father had asked him to do before he passed away. Luca refused to take a single Euro for doing so, saying that it was an honour to be the one asked to ride it. Also, Yamaha with whom he is contractually bound as support for Valentino, were good enough to release him to attend the test. “In four uninterrupted hours of running, the T12 Massimo ran perfectly. Luca commented from the first moment how light the bike felt, and how easily it steered. He didn’t make a single change to the rear suspension settings, which…

“THIS IS A little lower budget than the racebikes I’m used to riding but at the end of my time with it I have to say that PB’s Bandit racer isn’t all that bad. “I was horrified when it came out of the van and not too excited at the prospect of riding it. Still, sometimes you just have to get on and do what you’re told... “Leaving pitlane it felt like the frame might be a little bent and the Bandit was crabbing slightly. Although it soon settled down as I got going. “Mind you, I could have done without the end of the gear lever falling off. You can tell the boss that happened on what would have been my fastest lap. “Despite the fact that things didn’t…

‘I led for the first lap and things were looking good. Then the pace car came out...’ 2016 BMW S1000RR MICHAEL RUTTER I WASN’T LOOKING forward to Snetterton, if I’m honest. It’s nothing against Norfolk and its friendly inhabitants, it’s just that I’m not keen on Snetterton as it is now, since they changed the layout and added all that nadgery stuff to the infield. Give me a fast, flowing circuit any day. That appeals better to the real roads racer in me. Still, back to the job in hand. My times after the first session put me around fourth place, so I could see the potential for a good weekend. That got me motivated, with the idea I was just outside the top three. There was some work to…

HOW LONG TWO YEARS/ONE WIRING LOOMS COST £15 FOR PACK OF 100 CONTACT WWW.EBAY.CO.UK THESE CHANGED MY fettling life. My soldering is hit-and-miss, but these allow joins to be securely fixed with good conductivity and waterproofing without me farting around with soldering irons. Slide over one of the wires you want to join, twist together, centre the solder butt and gently heat. The shrinkwrap seals the join and forces the solder into the wire strands for a solid, easy, no-mess soldered join. They’ve served brilliantly while scratch-building a loom as well as repairs, and removing an alarm from our race Bandit, too. Just don’t use a naked flame or too much heat, you’ll burn the shrinkwrap.…

STEP 1 WHEELS Matt shaved off more than 4kg of rotational mass by fitting Rotobox carbon-fibre wheels. STEP 2 EMISSIONS Binning the cat and fitting a Scorpium link pipe unleashes allows gases to flow more freely. STEP 3 ECU An ECU re-flash netted a 5bhp gain at the topnd, and a particularly 10bhp boost in the middle. STEP 4 GEARING Fitting a 16-tooth sprocket robs the ZX-10R makes it more willing everywhere. 2016 KAWASAKI ZX-10R MATT WILDEE AS THE ONLY new 1000cc sportsbike launched in 2016, the ZX-10R has been subject to more aftermarket tuning bits and bobs than any other bike this year. So, I decided in the name of curiosity to give some of it a go. One thing that I wanted to improve was the ZX-10R’s roll-on…

‘You can feel the bike hold its line better, there’s no weave or wallow’ 2016 TRIUMPH SPEED TRIPLE S MATT WILDEE IF YOU’VE BEEN in the market for a sporty Triumph over the last couple of years you’ve had to overcome a small, but not entirely unpleasant dilemma during the purchasing process. Whether a Daytona or a Speed Triple you’ve had to question whether it’s worth buying the base model, or stumping up the extra money for the Öhlins-branded loveliness of the R model. Last year we were amazed when PB’s TT hero Michael Rutter lapped a stock Daytona 675 faster at Mallory Park than he did on the R. He said that over a lap there was little difference at all, although the shock did fade during a session.…

RACE-BRED | ADJUSTABLE | BRITISH K-TECH DDS PRO REAR SHOCK Able to lay legitimate claim to being race-developed, this shock features the usual compression and rebound damping, plus a ride-height adjuster. It has hydraulic preload adjustment and K-Tech’s unique Bypass Valve adjustment for comp and rebound mangement at low-velocity shock movement. Price: £1200 Contact: www.ktechsuspension.com REMOTE CONTROL Hydraulic preload adjuster is ribbed, for your riding pleasure. RACE-PROVEN The DDS Pro is used by BSB and Isle of Man TT race teams. BYPASS VALVE Controls both rebound and compression damping. AUTOMATIC CLUTCHLESS | TRICK CORDONA BLIPPER QUICKSHIFTER Cordona have a new digital strain gauge quickshifter for bikes whose ECUs have blip facility. It allows clutchless up and downshifts for the likes of the 2016 Kawasaki ZX-10R, 2016-on Yamaha R1 and Ducati…

THANKS TO AN overlooked noise meter and a lot of good will, John McGuinness took to the circuit for what was meant to be a single demo lap on the Honda RC213V-S. Four laps later, he returned... “Did you hear it spin up as it came on to the start/finish?” said the beaming McG, who was visibly moved by the experience and almost lost for words. “That is incredible; I wish I had enough money to buy one. It’s the most beautiful thing on two wheels and a proper mental MotoGP bike for road riders – it’s everything you have ever dreamed of and not been allowed to have. “It’s a pussycat at times, but then it tries to hurt you, so thankfully the traction control is good. The engine…

KAWASAKI ZXR400 JAMES COTTENHAM “I BOUGHT THIS after my Aprilia RS250 seized up at Mallory and left me with broken bones. The ZXR came from a lad who raced with EMRA but didn’t have good repair skills. It had a load of bodges to the wiring, rev counter, temp gauge and sump plug... “When fourth gear lost three teeth, I found a ZXR400 SP bottom end on eBay for peanuts. It now only drops 500 revs between gear changes, and I can live with the tall first gear. A Fireblade seat unit was fitted and the subframe modified to sit me higher (I’m short, and wanted to get more weight over the front without stretching). But the ZXR fairing looked wrong. A Honda RSW250 top fairing was an easy fit…

BMW CAN DO no wrong with the S1000 platfrom. From the class-defining RR superbike to the XR tall-rounder making it possible to go like crap all day, the jump into conventional-ish inline fours has paid off handsomely for the Bavarians. The thooper-nekkid S1000R is also a winner, and the MT-10 has to beat it. The Yamaha has a comfortable price advantage over the S1000R. In theory, the BMW is £10,350 – £351 more than the Yamaha. In reality, nobody buys the base model with basic electronics. The S1000R Sport is the one everyone wants: proper DTC rider aids, semi-active DDC suspension, a quickshifter and Riding Mode Pro, which allows you to adjust the individual settings of the electronics. It’s £11,750, and plenty spend a few quid extra on heated grips,…

ACCELERATION WITH THE LEAST power and the tallest frontal area here, it’s no surprise that the MT-10 is the slowest of the three bikes when it comes to out-and-out, through the gears acceleration. But the smooth power delivery and slick quickshifter actually make it more fun than the BMW. BRAKING 70-0MPH THIS TEST ISN’T about finesse, just power. The BMW’s combinations of Nissin and Brembo rules, while the R1 gets beaten by the MT despite a better on-paper spec. The R1’s weak point has always been its linked stoppers and ABS system. The MT feels happier with the front wheel pinned... ROLL-ON 40-100MPH IN 4th A TRUE TEST of flexibility, and an easy win for the MT. It hits 100mph sooner, plus its initial acceleration is much better, reaching 60mph…

WITH ITS 151BHP peak power, the MT-10 sits at the top table as one of the most powerful nakeds money can buy. Only the Aprilia Tuono V4 and KTM Super Duke R have more. Its power and torque curves aren’t the straightest, which is at odds with how it feels on the bike. The dip at 6000rpm is most likely to do with the engine being managed for emissions to that point, and the second kick of power at 8000rpm is most likely where the exhaust valve opens fully and the crank harmonises with the balance shaft. Aside from some small vibrations between 6000-8000rpm, the motor feels perfectly smooth and not at all as the curve suggests on the road. Gearbox ratios and final drive set-up must be smoothing out…

CLARKE BENCH ‘The bench is brilliant but I’ve overloaded the storage draw and that’s why it has fallen out. The TL engine is from the yellow bike and while it didn’t need a rebuild I fancied giving it a go. It has been a learning experience but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it and everything seems to be going together correctly.’ MCN AND STREETFIGHTERS PATCHES ‘I was an MCN road tester for about two months in 1996, but I didn’t really enjoy the experience. It was all I ever wanted to be but didn’t live up to my expectations, so I returned to Streetfighters. I edited the magazine for a year and worked with them for about five in total before going freelance.’ SPECIALIST TOOLS ‘I am a big believer in spending…

‘I could almost match Kar’s V4 on the straight, but couldn’t go into corners or stop as quickly’ 2000 YAMAHA YZF-R1 MATT WILDEE I’M NOW IN my third year of R1 ownership and it’s been an edifying experience in every way. Bought as a very well looked-after, but sloppy-handling modern classic, I tweaked the running gear, sorted the suspension and got it running as nicely as I can. Within about six months I was the owner of a super-smooth, grunty, sweet-steering stunner. In many ways I’d achieved road-going superbike nirvana. It should be heaven, right? Kind of. But a trackday at Cadwell last year wasn’t as much fun as I’d hoped. I spent a lot of time kidding myself about how much fun I was having, but I’d hoped for…

HOW LONG ONE YEAR COST £75 CONTACT WWW.RG-RACING.COM I REALLY SHOULD get rid of this: it’s pants. A paddock stand, of any price, should at least withstand chain adjustment and lubrication. This isn’t strong enough to resist a spanner wielded on the spindle nut, thanks to the collapsible design. It’s supposed to make it easy to fold flat for storage, but it doesn’t. And in use, it bends and wobbles whilst lifting the bike or trying to work on it. It doesn’t take much to lift and release the bike either – I worry it’ll get knocked off, or just roll off on an uneven surface. The locknuts for the lifting prongs come undone, too. It costs the same as the very best ones, too. Apart from the nice powder-coated…

 I WAS A little concerned I’d turned the ZX-10R into a wild, tankslapping animal, but the truth is I’ve simply made it better. The wheels make the bike even more nimble and precise, but haven’t affected stability. If anything the ZX-10R is a little less fidgety during fast road riding. The steering now has the kind of weightless feel that reminds me of top-end supersport racebikes. It’s up to your bank balance to decide whether that’s worth the purchase price. ‘The wheels make the bike even more nimble and precise’ But the combination of the gearing, mapping and the exhaust have made the bike far more urgent at road speeds, responding from minute throttle openings before heading off into the kind of craziness that only a 192bhp roadbike can deliver.…

2016 DUCATI 959 PANIGALE JOHNNY McAVOY IT IS THE day before the PB trackday at Rockingham, and in preparation I’ve finally set the sag on the Panigale’s suspension. I had noticed that it was understeering a bit, and that it felt a bit tall at the front once back on the power out of corners, and as such it wasn’t tracking on the line I’d expect. With the help of Whitey, the rider sag for the forks came in at 37mm which is bang on (normally look for between 30mm and 40mm), so with my reputation in tatters we looked at the rear, and it measured 38mm (normally look for between 30-35mm). OK, so I’d pointed at the wrong end of the bike as being at fault, but I was…

A LA MODE The Panigale S Anniversario offers three customisable Ducati Riding Modes (race, sport and wet). TRACK BITS The 1299 Anniversario will come with a track kit containing an Akrapovic Racing titanium end-can, aluminium mirror mount blanking plates, and a cover for the hole left after removing the numberplate holder for trackdays. SHOW YOUR COLOURS Inspiration for the 1299 Panigale S Anniversario’s paint p job came from Ducati racebikes. The white, black and Ducati Red fairings are complemented by special gold-finish wheels. HERE’S A WAY to mark a significant anniversary. Ducati are to celebrate 90 years of existence with the 1299 Panigale S Anniversario, a limited-edition loaded with new tech and unveiled at Misano’s World Ducati Week 2016 in July. MotoGP hero Casey Stoner and Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali…

DUCATI MULTISTRADA 1200 MARK TILLYARD “I BOUGHT THIS bike after getting rid of my KTM RC8 and ZX-10R; I fancied a change. I always loved the look of the Pikes Peak racebikes when the original 1200 Multistrada was released, so used this as inspiration. The bike started off standard, but I’ve added an SC Project exhaust system, ECU re-map, HealTech quickshifter and Brembo M4 monoblock calipers. “I’ve also fitted some carbon, a bit of vinyl to spice it up, and a short screen and numberboards to make it look a bit more sporty. All the standard crap like the bellypan was thrown into the back of the garage and I attacked the grab handles and rear rack with an angle grinder. “For more ground clearance I’ve fitted knurled and raised…

KAWASAKI ZX-10R PETER DICKS “ALL THE WAY through this project I’ve been obsessed with saving as much weight as possible and the bike is now down to 167kg ready to roll, but without fuel (that’s a 28kg weight saving over stock – MW). “There’s so much high-spec stuff on the bike – carbon Dymags, Öhlins FGRT forks and an Öhlins TTX36 rear shock, Brembo GP4RX calipers, an Austin Racing link pipe and can, Starlane quickshifter... “And there’s loads of carbon. Basicially everything but the main bodywork, as I still wanted some green around! I’m just waiting for a few more parts to be made by Moto Composites in Canada, and I’ve recently spent a huge amount of time changing 300 steel bolts to titanium.”…

THIS YEAR MARKS Yamaha’s entry into the supernaked class with their take on an increasingly popular approach by manufacturers to turn their backs on the original formula for a naked bike (namely, a soft, no frills machine for the masses) and instead up the ante by giving their naked bikes big power, trick suspension and aggressive chassis. Some manufacturers have used their existing superbikes as donors, notably Aprilia and BMW and with the Tuono and S1000R. Others such as KTM and Ducati have gone down the dedicated design route with the Super Duke R and Monster 1200R. In terms of design, the MT-10 sits somewhere between the now established supernaked class and lower spec/ lower price sector occupied by the Kawasaki Z1000, Suzuki GSX-S1000 and Triumph Speed Triple. The MT-10’s…

SO 600S ARE dead, are they? Right now, chasing the Z-shaped tail lights of ZX-6R-mounted Matt that seems hard to believe. The ZX-6R and CBR that Matt and I are on feel tight, light and very exciting, despite both of them having base designs bordering on a decade old – and despite them both being largely discounted by the motorcycling public. The truth is, even in this world of weapons-grade 1000cc sportsbikes, nothing turns or screams like a good supersport 600. The CBR has already been finished off, dumped from Honda’s 2017 range after a half-hearted update when it got slightly worse styling and Showa BPF forks in 2013. That alone was a sign of Honda’s disinterest – the first RR had the might of HRC behind it, but this…

MASSIMO TAMBURINI IS probably the greatest motorcycle designer the world has ever seen. As well as being the creative force behind Ducati’s 916, he also penned such delicate beauties as Cagiva’s 500GP bikes and the original MV Agusta F4. Before this, he was one of Bimota’s founders and the man who forged the Italian bike industry’s reputation for style. ‘Genius’ is a word bandied around too much these days, and a term that Massimo himself felt uncomfortable with, but few deserve it more. This bike, the Tamburini T12 Massimo was his final masterpiece. Sidelined for three years after he retired from MV Agusta in the aftermath of their Harley-Davidson takeover, he planned and plotted this bike while on his gardening leave, finally starting it in 2012. Powered by a BMW…

‘ THE RIDING POSITIONIS SO DIFFERENT IT’S UNREAL’ IF YOU’RE PLANNING on building a performance motorcycle, basing it on a BMW S1000RR is either a brilliant start in life, or setting yourself up for a fall. As Italian minnows Bimota, with less staff than your local McDonalds, discovered. We tested their road-going BB3 superbike in 2014, but it wasn’t as good as the standard BMW. We weren’t impressed. Not surprising really – in 2014 nothing was as good as the BMW, but the Bimota had the dubious distinction of costing £14,000 more, as well as being inferior. As gorgeous and skilfully handmade, and with attention to the tiniest detail as the BB3 is, the stock bike just doesn’t equal the sum of its parts, which makes the story of…

PROJECT TL PART 1 ‘I’ve always wanted an AMA superbike TL1000R replica, but the only TL I could find was this yellow one, not a blue and white one. It was tidy so I bought it with the plan of changing its colours. After collecting lots of bits, I happened upon a really nice blue and white TL and so this has become a kind of donor bike that is running in parallel with the main project TL. Any parts I don’t use on the blue and white TL end up on this one. The end game is a standard looking TL with a few subtle trick bits.’ BEARING PRESS ‘This is a 12-ton press and I’ve only used it a few times, but it is worth having. It only…

2015 APRILIA TUONO V4 FACTORY KAR LEE A CONFESSION: WITH well over 1000 miles on the clock the Tuono has already racked up half a dozen trackdays but amazingly it hasn’t had a single proper, licence-threatening road ride under its wheels. You know the type: when you’re not hanging about, cranked over, the suspension working hard as it tackles road undulations and you’ve one eye on the mirrors for tell-tale flashing lights. Well it’s getting a good thrashing now. We’re chasing Matt on his second-gen R1 to Cadwell Park to meet up with a few friends for a track evening. The route Matt has chosen is different to my usual... and, I have to say, bloody amazing. Fast and bendy in all the right places, the mid-afternoon traffic on this…

2016 BMW S1000XR MARK WHITE I DON’T KNOW what’s happening to me. I’ve never been in possession of a motorcycle that’s made me feel like this. This is, and it’s now in print I’ll never be able to take it back (but I stand behind it 100%), The Best Bike In The World (sacked – MW). This month I’ve been trying to dodge writing this update because, like a Radio One playlist, I’m repeating myself. I’m almost at the point of having to make criticisms up just so I sound genuine. I wasn’t supposed to like this bike. I’m sure the office Chuckle Brothers thought the joke would be on me when they decided “Let’s get Whitey on the sort of bike he can’t stand. It’ll be worth it for…

AN ASSURED ROADBIKE, a tidy Y drips in millennial cool and has an operatic ram-air gargle that makes a modern bike seem sanitised. Even better, in the right hands it can still not only run in the fast group of a trackday, but also bloody well win it. The GSX-R750 was Suzuki’s first response to the technological onslaught of Yamaha’s R1. The SRAD models before it were Shaun Ryder superbikes – bloated, lethargic and stuck in the 90s, but Suzuki turned the 750 into something that could give the R1 some gyp. The Y was lighter, longer, more stable, with cleverer fuel injection and and a sweet-revving motor that made 115bhp at the back wheel. Before the GSX-R1000 was born, the 750 did battle with the 1000s, making the R1…