Inhoudsopgave van August 2015 - Performance Bikes

WELCOME TO THE August issue of PB.TT race week is always an interesting time in the PB office. The truth is, what with online live timing and Manx Radio commentary we get naff-all work done. Guy Martin is a long-term friend of the magazine, John McGuinness is a columnist and Michael Rutter is our road tester. All of them had a great TT and visited the podium at some time or other. Guy went faster than ever but the standout performance was by McGuinness. We interviewed him just before his triumphant Senior TT and he seemed a beaten man, but he turned everything around, wiped the floor with his rivals and set the quickest-ever lap around the Island. Rutter deserves recognition, too. As well as getting a podium in the…

BEFORE RACE WEEK had even started, Michael Dunlop was creating all the headlines. Splitting from the Milwaukee Yamaha team (rather embarrassingly, the TT programme’s cover featured a picture of him riding the R1) during practice, citing its lack of competitiveness, he turned to his 2014 TT team for help. The problem was they weren’t actually at the TT... “We got the call from Michael on the Wednesday evening of practice week, which left us one day to get the bike ready then out to the Isle of Man for the Friday practice,” explains Steve Hicken, BMW Buildbase team manager. “Michael is a friend and we had a great season together last year, so we have spoken regularly and there are no hard feelings between us. If we had kept the…

23 AND COUNTING McGuinness is now just three TT wins behind the record 26 wins of Joey Dunlop. Next year then, yeah? THIS YEAR’S TT races were the stuff of fairytales. Not only did we see the outright lap record smashed in the Senior race by John McGuinness, fans were also treated to the return to form of Ian Hutchinson after five years of injury hell. Bruce Anstey’s win in the Superbike race demonstrated that when practice week is disrupted it’s the old guard who reap the benefits. In the first Supersport race the almost unbelievable happened when Hutchy took victory. His entry into the race a last-minute event (Prodigy front man Keith Flint only funded it weeks before the TT), and it was his first win since 2010 saw…

2015 KTM 1290 SUPER ADVENTURE CHRIS NEWBIGGING ADVENTURE BIKES ARE everywhere these days. And in fairness, a lot of them are pretty handy. Comfy, torquey and easy to ride swiftly, they’re often just as fast as sportsbikes on the road, at least up to 75% effort. KTM have taken a slightly different tack. The 1290 Super Adventure is superficially the same deal as the benchmark BMW R1200GS – utilitarian design, big fairing, 19in tubeless wire wheels and room for two, plus panniers. Except, they’ve added the hatstand engine from the Super Duke. And it’s barely detuned – claimed power is the same as a Ducati 1098, but with more torque. On a bike with nearly eight inches of suspension travel... That sounds like just the bike for the PB reader…

1999 ENGINE Type 20v inline four Bore x stroke 72mm x 46mm Capacity 749cc Fuelling Fuel injection Claimed power 106bhp@11,000rpm Claimed torque 53lb.ft@9000rpm CHASSIS Frame Aluminium twin-spar Front suspension Fully-adjustable Showa 43mm upside-down forks Rear suspension Fully-adjustable Öhlins shock Front brakes 2 x 320mm discs with four-piston calipers Rear brakes 210mm disc with two-piston caliper DIMENSIONS Wheelbase 1400mm Rake/trail 22.8°/95mm Wet weight 198kg (measured) Seat height 840mm Fuel capacity 24 litres BUYING Price then £21,749 Price now £20,000…

2015 ENGINE Type 16v inline four Bore x stroke 79mm x 50.0mm Capacity 998cc Fuelling Fuel injection, two injectors per cylinder Claimed power 197bhp@13,500rpm Claimed torque 83lb.ft@11,500rpm CHASSIS Frame Aluminium twin-spar Front suspension Fully-adjustable 43mm upside-down forks Rear suspension Fully-adjustable monoshock Front brakes 2 x 320mm discs with four-piston calipers Rear brakes 220mm disc with two-piston caliper DIMENSIONS Wheelbase 1405mm Rake/trail 24¡/102mm Wet weight 196kg (measured) Seat height 860mm Fuel capacity 17 litres TECHNOLOGY Rider aids Semi-active suspension, traction control, slide control, anti-wheelie, ABS, quickshifter BUYING Price £18,499 Contact www.yamaha.co.uk…

SUPERCHARGER DRIVE BELT A Gates carbon/Kevlar belt runs from the crank pulley to the supercharger’s pulley. It’s a 12mm wide belt and has a manual tensioner and CNC machined cover designed by TTS PLENUM CHAMBER The MT-09’s airbox has been removed and in its place sits the supercharger and a CNC-machined billet aluminium plenum chamber. Ideally it would be larger to help cool the air, but there isn’t much room under the MT’s tank CRANK MOUNTING The lower pulley is attached directly to the end of the crank. TTS have tapped and threaded the crank, which has an extension shaft that leads to the pulley. This pulley has an outrigger bearing so it doesn’t pull on the end of the crank SUPERCHARGER A Rotrex C15-60 supercharger is restricted through a…

1999 SUZUKI TL1000R CHRIS NEWBIGGING THE TL1000R has taken countless steps forward in our quest to make our unfavoured 1990s V-twin a properly rapid piece of kit. But with such a comprehensive reworking, you have to expect the odd setback. Project TL1000R has gone mostly pretty well – the rebuilt 135bhp lump has been fine, with loads of stab to match the chassis transformation we’ve performed. Unfortunately, while the engine is getting on with the job, the transmission it shares a crankcase with isn’t quite playing ball. The engine isn’t our original – it’s based on TL1000S cases, and a selection of James Holland’s (the J and H in JHS) spares, combined with some tuned and modified parts. It’s always a gamble building a motor with unverified used parts, so…

2015 BMW S1000RR SIMON HARGREAVES “YOU CHECKED TYRE pressures?” asks editor Matt, wielding a foot pump. Well, I was going to ride round on the Pirelli Supercorsa SPs and see what happens. I’m not big on that track-prep stuff anyway. It’s all a bit too factory. Besides, I know the old Snetterton but the new layout is also new to me. And despite countless track days and track launches, I still get nervous. It’s not crashing so much as, “Will I be fast enough for my ego, or will I be shit?” No point kidding ourselves; even at 47, it matters. The sighting laps are cut short by an oil slick. Then, after a brief pit stop, it’s green lights. At the first corner the BMW brims me with confidence.…

2015 SUZUKI GSX-R750 SIMON RUSSELL BEING PB’S DESIGNER, a visual makeover was always on the cards for the Suzuki. But with the GSX-R being one of the UK’s best value sportsbikes (right now Colin Appleyard has a pre-reg L3 model for £7995), any changes had to be cost-effective, and not damage PB’s curry fund too much. So following contributor Kar Lee and his GSX-R’s lead a couple of years ago, I started looking at Chinese bodywork kits. They’re a PB favourite mod, with painted plastics delivered from China cheaper than you can get some plain fibreglass race panels in the UK. With 30 years of GSX-R heritage for me to use as inspiration there was only one timeless design I wanted: Lucky Strike. Just two minutes on www.auctmarts.com…

£15 EACH INCLUDING POSTAGE & PACKAGING Choose from 30th birthday T-shirt, or two reborn classic PB designs Sizes: M, L and XL Order hotline: 01733 468081 FREE PB STICKERS Send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: Performance Bikes, Bauer Media, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA SORRY OFFICER This 1996 tee is reproduced in all its original glory, right down to the typo. Comes with PB anniversary badge on the sleeve 30th BIRTHDAY Celebrating 30 years of motorcycling how’s your father. All these T-shirts are limited edition SPECIAL FRENZY A faithful reproduction of the mid-90s Cadwell Frenzy souvenir tee. Been there, set a toilet block on fire? Now get the T-shirt…

MATT WILDEE EDITOR matt.wildee@pbmag.co.uk Seeing McGuinness pull it out of the bag and prove all his doubters wrong. SIMON RUSSELL ART EDITOR simon.russell@bauermedia.co.uk Dunlop changing bikes took balls, but listening to the Senior left me shaking. CHRIS NEWBIGGING FEATURES EDITOR chris.newbigging@pbmag.co.uk McPint’s lap record, with a pitstop, and his massive cheer from the crowd. JOHN McAVOY ROAD TESTER editorial@pbmag.co.uk James Hillier overwhelmed by the speed of the Superbike race and blubbing. MICHAEL RUTTER TRACK TESTER editorial@pbmag.co.uk Getting the Paton on the podium in the Lightweight. And my 131mph lap. MARK WHITE TECHNICIAN editorial@pbmag.co.uk Michael Dunlop having the courage to walk away from a below-par bike. RUPERT PAUL CONTRIBUTOR editorial@pbmag.co.uk Finding out my mate Adam was alive and well after he crashed at Guthrie’s. SIMON HARGREAVES CONTRIBUTOR editorial@pbmag.co.uk Hutchy winning, having…

SHELL The new composite-fibre shell is 30g lighter than the RX-7GP’s thanks to a new construction and bonding resin. It’s stronger, rounder, smoother, and has a 3mm deeper chin area NEW VISOR The visor mechanism is completely new, and easier to use than the old one. Its lock system is taken from Arai’s F1 car racing lids VENTS The new diffuser system is 20mm longer and flows 19% more air than the old RX-7 GP’s vents. It operates with three-position slide gates rather than push buttons. The two-position chin vent is now removable via a screw, for ease of replacement INTERIOR The removable Eco-Pure interior is reduced in thickness and now has a removable crown section to help riders customize the fit WARRANTY Every Arai comes with a five-year warranty…

German lube and general cleaning freaks SDoc100 have been busy in their lab again, coming up with a chain lube designed specifically for summer use. The Dry Lube is, as the name suggests, a clear, dry chain lube that is claimed to be considerably cleaner to use, with less fling than a traditional wet lube. Where wet lubes use oil-based lubricants to stick to the chain, Dry Lube contains graphite technology that, once fired out of the can, attaches to the chain. The benefits of dry lube are not only that it is cleaner to use, but also that grit doesn’t stick to it (which can happen with a wet lube) and damage a chain. Dry lubes are more prone to getting washed off the chain than wet lubes, which…

SIMON HARGREAVES’ MUM WRITES... Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed Si H’s contributions in the last couple of issues. I thought his observations about the Kawasaki H2R were very fresh and honest, and his way of describing how it accelerated eye-opening. I also enjoyed the tech feature about three-cylinder bikes, it reminded me a little bit of the old tech features John Robinson used to pen for you guys. In fact, it is nice to see his work back in Performance Bikes after his years working for other titles. Lets hope he doesn’t get another luggage rack like that old Fireblade he ran years ago. Ian Bruce I agree, although you must remember he’s also a cretin of the highest order. It may be a little late for…

OW01s WON MANY World Superbike and endurance races, but few set lap records that lasted as long Foggy’s 123.61mph lap of the TT, which lasted until 1999. Embroiled in a bitter battle with Norton Rotary-equipped Steve Hislop, Carl gave no quarter to the race-kitted British Supercup-spec OW01, blowing the fork seals, rear shock and exhaust in an attempt to wrestle the TT victory from Hizzy. He eventually lost the race by 4.4s. His historic race bike is now owned by the Manx Government.…

THE R7 FELL short where the RC45 triumphed and never won a WSB title. But it went down in style. A test-bed for Yamaha’s YZR-M1 four-stroke MotoGP bike which debuted a few years later, Haga’s factory-run R7 boasted super-trick race-kit parts and direct development from Japan. Power was around 180bhp when BSB R7s barely managed 160bhp. In the running for the 2000 WSB title, a dispute about a positive drugs test ruled Haga out of contention at the end of the year. He managed four wins and 11 podiums, and won the hearts of a generation with some wild riding. Incidentally, the only rider to win a BSB race on an R7 is PB road tester Michael Rutter.…

THIS YEAR’S TT has certainly been a fast one. Personally, I don’t feel like I’m riding that badly or have done anything in particular wrong, but when I pass my first pitboard it is showing stuff I don’t want to read! P6 or P7 despite the fact I’m on course for a 130mph lap from a standing start!” Speaking to PB before the sensational Senior race, John McGuinness is right, the 2015 TT has been impressively fast. In the Superbike TT, the first six riders all completed their opening laps at an average speed of over 130mph, while on lap four both Bruce Anstey and Michael Dunlop went into the 131mph averages and Bruce and Ian Hutchinson did 131mph laps to finish the race. If it wasn’t for Michael’s accident,…

REBUILT BLUE-SPOTS Last month Matt felt the improvement of fettled borrowed calipers. This month he rebuilt his own 2000 YAMAHA YZF-R1 MATT WILDEE IT’S BEEN A really enjoyable month with the R1, which is now operating at its most sorted state since I bought the bike. In the last 15 months, I’ve replaced all worn bearings, had the suspension fettled, got the cosmetics back to standard and last month refreshed the brakes. I suspect, now with modern tyres boosting grip and stability, my 5JJ is actually performing better than it did when it was new, despite showing 30,000 miles on the clock. But there was still a little bit of work to be done. In order to save time during last month’s brake test at Bruntingthorpe, Mark nicked the blue-spot…

1988 YAMAHA FZR400 MARK WHITE THIS TIME LAST month I was wondering how the hell I was going to get this bike up and running. But now I’m about to set off to Scotland with PB’s editorial assistant Caroline to help her in her quest to ride from John O’Groats to Land’s End, with a bunch of other nutters on £300 bikes in aid of Cancer Research. I’m sitting here with a fresh MoT certificate and wondering whether it needs a tad more rebound damping. It’s been one hell of a month. If you remember my previous update, I’d built the FZR’s rolling chassis up. It was in desperation more than anything. I wanted to ignore the horrible box of random engine parts, and at least I thought if the…

2015 DUCATI 1299 PANIGALE S MATT WILDEE IT’S BEEN ANOTHER month of joyous road riding on the Panigale, and I’ve spent the month revelling in the V-twin urge and light, fast steering that make it so easy to get your kicks on the twisting blacktop of B-road Britain. It’s been an epic month. Now that summer is in full swing the OE Pirelli Supercorsas are bang in their operating temperature and offering so much grip that I can get away with taking huge liberties. My favourite daily road is made up of fast, flowing corners with mid-lean and lots of positive throttle. Through these the Pani is unassailable, driving hard, grunting through the midrange and laying rubber in a way that only a bike with over 100lb.ft of torque can.…

SLIDERS Because everyone’s getting their elbow down these days... FIT There are several keprotec stretch panels used throughout the suit PROTECTION Held’s top-line suit has a built-in back protector. Arguably, you’d expect it for this price GRIP Extra-grippy material is used on the inners of the knees, to help with cornering stability Held Race Evo suit HOW LONG 12 MONTHS COST £1299.99 CONTACT WWW.HELD-UK.CO.UK AT THIRTEEN HUNDRED quid, this top of the range suit from Held is up there with the Italian brands when it comes to price. It’s all very well reeling off the spec list, noting features of the Race Evo such as the fact that it’s made from 70% kangaroo hide, uses stingray skin in the areas vulnerable to sliding, has built-in, CEapproved armour including a back…

FINISH The standard of detailing and overall quality of finish is head and shoulders above the likes of Harley’s GROUND CLEARANCE Don’t expect much, but do expect to get hours of fun from increasing it by grinding the pegs to a sharp point SPIN HER UP The Hammer Sport lives for having its clutch dumped and redistributing loose road surface WHEN THE MOST exciting new bikes are usually powerful sportsbikes, it’s easy to use them as your yardstick for everything when you test them day in, day out. One of the most important lessons any bike journalist can learn is appraising a bike in context – most bikes have their place in the world if you approach them in the right way. But no matter how you look at it,…

THE RC213V-S IS not Honda’s first attempt at bringing its MotoGP technology to the road. Leaked patents showing a version of the five-cylinder RC211V got our hopes up years ago, but when MotoGP pegged maximum capacity back to 800cc and Honda lopped a cylinder off to create an 800 V4, rumours of the road bike died. But Tetsuo Suzuki reveals the project did in fact reach the prototype stage as a mass-production replacement for the FireBlade. “The RC211V-derived project had a different purpose. If we had continued with the V5 design, it would have been as a model for large volume production. The RC213V-S is a road-legal replica of our MotoGP racebike.”…

CHEAP VIDS Drift have chopped the price of their Stealth 2 and Ghost-S video action cameras, which now cost £149.99 (a saving of £50) and £249.99 (a saving of £70) respectively.www.nevis.uk.com PEEL COAT If you are a bit indecisive this will suit you perfectly. Peel coat is a temporary paint finish that can be applied to any painted surface via an aerosol can, then peeled off later. It costs £9.99.www.halfords.com BOOT GUARD R&G have developed a neat product to prevent scratched frames. Boot Guard is an adhesive material that is attached to vulnerable areas of the frame or swingarm. It’s available in model-specific kits, typically for around £25. www.rg-racing.com…

WHAT CAN I say? The Senior was a hell of a race. I knew I had to pull my finger out a bit, but I honestly didn’t feel I was taking any risks. There are a few areas around the TT course that you can take a chance, and at places like the Sulby Bridge and into the Creg I was absolutely on the fucking limit. But if you are going to take a crash, you are better off taking one there than into a stone wall. It was pretty full-on, but that’s what you have to do nowadays to win. If you go through Bishopscourt, Alpine or Crosby flat out, there isn’t much time you can make up. Everyone is fast through there so I went back to my…

PARKED NEXT TO a brand new R1M and an immaculate, rare R7, an OW01 hailing from a quarter of a century ago is in danger of looking antique. Nice, in an ‘Aw, bless’ way; a classic with a proud history... but, like grandad inadvertently farting at dinner, quietly embarrassing in present company. And when my considerable bulk settles on the seat, compressing the standard-fit Öhlins into an undignified, bum-dragging ride height typical of many late 1980s sportsbikes, the day starts to bear all the hallmarks of one spent making excuses for the old girl. It’s the Brussels sprouts, etc. But it turns out not to be like that at all. When Mark, on the R1M, and Matt, on the R7, clear off in a blur of revs into the back…

SIXTEEN YEARS OF sportsbike development haven’t dimmed the shine of the jewel-like YZF-R7 OW-02. Built as a final roll of the dice in an attempt to wrest a 750cc WSB title from Ducati, it was the pinnacle of Japanese sportsbike engineering, with a lightweight, sharp-steering chassis loosely based on a 500 GP bike, an engine packed with cutting-edge tech and a rabid desire for revs. With its bug-eyed projector lights, trademark speedblock paintjob and possibly the most exquisite braced and plated swingarm ever to appear on a production bike, it was right at the cutting edge of Japanese exotica. Now parked up in a layby with the OW01 and R1M, it still feels like it. Exclusive, effusive and on UK roads at least, elusive, the R7 feels the most special…

FOR THE LAST 10 years, my life has been defined by R1s. Each new incarnation has propagated a trouser tent, but none more than the new R1M. Over the years I’d fallen in love with the wobbly-cranked charms of the 2009 crossplane version and the thought of the offbeat power delivery of that bike combined with a small, tight, light chassis and the best suspension money can buy has made me work out if I can sell a kidney to afford one. On paper this is my dream bike. But I can’t buy one, they’re already sold out. Of the 500 produced, just 75 R1Ms were earmarked for the UK for 2015, although there will be more in the pipeline for next year. It’s Yamaha’s low-volume homologationspecial racer for the…

THESE THREE HOMOLOGATION specials are glorious snapshots of motorcycle development and because of the need to get a racing edge, all three of these bikes were (or are) at the vanguard of technology. The OW01 is all about discovery. Beam frames, fat 17-inch wheels, titanium engine parts and fully-adjustable cartridge forks were things that seemed impossibly exotic at a time when most bikes were still wobbly and crap. The fact that it held the outright Isle of Man TT lap record from 1992-1999 proves how far ahead of its time it was. The R7 is about refinement. Yamaha’s final 750 takes all the lessons learnt from the OW and distils that knowledge into a bike that, sixteen years after we first saw it, can still be defined as modern. The…

SECOND OPINION THE MV IS my favourite. The engine is really engaging and lively. I’m not sure exactly why the engine and fuel injection on the Brutale is so much better than the F3’s – maybe it has different cams and/or timing that’s better suited to the system. Comparing the 800RR’s power curve with the F3’s, it suggests that contrary to what the spec sheet says, there are significant internal differences between the two motors. Either way, this is the best MV I’ve ever ridden. GENUINELY LIKED BOTH bikes a lot. Even though I only had a short amount of time on each one, I learned enough about them to know that I could easily have spent the whole day just going round and round and round. They’re both more…

1 Once you’ve got the caliper off the bike, remove the pads, pins, and anti-rattle spring. 2 Next up, you’ll need to remove the bleed screw and check for any debris inside its hollow. 3 Use a brake piston puller (£20 from eBay) to work out all the pistons. You can also buy a tool to undo the blue caliper caps, but Mark’s never needed one. 4 Prise out fluid and dust seals using a pointed tool. Re-use if not damaged, but use new seals if you’re not sure. 5 Clean with rubber-friendly degreaser. Use a stiff-bristled brush. Pay attention to the seal grooves to remove corrosion/salt. 6 Clean the outside of the seals to remove any debris. This is also a very good time to inspect for any damage…

2015 KAWASAKI Z1000 CHRIS NEWBIGGING I DO LOVE a good modern classic sportsbike. So much so, the last four years of my life have seen me working on PB’s sister title, Practical Sportsbikes riding all my 1980s/1990s lust-things. But I craved the speed fix only newer machinery can really give, so here I am. Upon arrived, Matt promptly handed me the keys to PB’s 2015 Z1000, which put a smile on my face. I like fast naked bikes – ideal for wending my way through Peterborough in the morning, and then wheelieing through the lanes on the long way home. The only nagging worry was making the switch from my old GPZ750R – 75bhp at the rear wheel, 240kg with a tank of fuel. All good fun in its own…

2015 YAMAHA MT-07 ABS MARK WHITE LAST MONTH I introduced the MT-07 as a budget entry into performance riding so I needed to back that up. Snetterton with Matt, Chris and Simon on their ‘proper’ bikes for a few evening sessions through the tight corners, bloomin’ long straights and fast sweepers should do it. But I knew it wouldn’t. So much so that I booked into the novice group as the thought of being a 115mph mobile chicane would have taken the fun out of it. It was fun, but there’s work to be done. I already knew that apart from top speed, the engine would live with the best of them out of corners and leaving the mirrors on for track use allowed me to giggle while watching riders…