Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2023 i Fast Bikes

Sportsbikes… they’re bloody awesome. They always have been, and for us, they always will be. While we can appreciate all kinds of bikes on this mag, there’s a special allure to machines that are built first and foremost to go really fast, to handle like nothing else, and stir your emotions in a way that simply can’t be mirrored by any other sector. The other thing we like about these types of machines are their rich seams of innovation, technology, and thinking outside of the box. If you’ve ever been up close to a MotoGP machine, you’ll know exactly what I’m on about –every inch is heaven-sent, purposeful, and often built of materials so precious that they can make the Crown Jewels look duller than dishwater. Impressive doesn’t cut it,…

ULTIMATE SPORTS BIKE 2023 When I first clapped eyes on this carbon-covered kryptonite, I can’t say I was particularly dazzled by the new styling and upgraded aero package. Now I’ve seen one in the flesh, I’ve turned a full 180 and can completely appreciate the bodywork overhaul and the detail within. The sheer size of the bike is the first thing that jumped out at me, and when you line it up next to the Honda, it’s night and day in terms of stature and styling. The cockpit is simply huge, with a massive amount of wind protection; BMW claims that the revised aero package gives a 5mph bonus at top speed. I’m no physician, but to look at it, the M 1000 RR doesn’t look particularly slippery, simply because…

ULTIMATE SPORTS BIKE 2023 I’ve said it before, and no doubt I’ll say it again - Ducati doesn’t do things by halves. It’s cleaning up in MotoGP, WSB and BSB, which shouldn’t really come as a surprise because right now Ducati is peerless when it comes to innovation and trying different things. It understands that to beat the opposition, it’s not good enough to just try and do what they’re doing but a little bit better. You’re much better off ploughing your own furrow, developing your own concepts, and backing your own engineers. The V4R engine, as well as being the bike’s frame, also has a counter-rotating crankshaft, a V4 layout, desmodromic valves, a twin pulse firing order and a bespoke fuel and ignition map for each of its six…

ULTIMATE SPORTS BIKE 2023 This is a hard bike to criticise, to the extent that I’ll jump in with both feet and lay my biggest hang-up on the table from the get-go…. I don’t like the number one sticker on the front number board. There, I’ve got that off my chest, which means I can get stuck in and tell you why this bike is otherwise exceptional. For me, it’s the complete package, with the best looks, tech features and performance of any sportsbike I’ve ridden in a very long time. It is a pukka race bike on the road, unapologetically crafted to perform, to blow minds, but also to be ridden down the chippy to get your mate a pea fritter. It literally does it all, and with levels…

FEATURE DUCATI 749R It's midway through the Noughties and the Japanese manufacturers are running away with the World Supersport Championship, dominating the middleweight sportsbike market… a red rag to a bull, if you ask any Italian, but of course Ducati had something up its sleeve to put a stop to that – the 749R. This old-school Duke is far more than just a pretty face or a dancing beauty in a red dress; it is a distinctive machine hosting a whole accolade of goodies and features derived from a long-lasting bloodline, and I’m here to tell you why I thought the riding experience was just as special as it looks. Before I jump the gun, I’d best put up my hand and own up to the fact that this was my…

LONGTERMERS When you are offered a bike as a Termer, it’s hard to say no to something you’d rather not have for fear of sounding ungrateful or like a spoiled kid. When I was offered a Kawasaki Z-H2 SE, I didn’t have to make any fake noises or feign any signs of pleasure. I have only covered a few miles on one of these bikes before now, when FB put one through its paces in last year’s supernaked test, and I remember how I was left feeling that I wanted more time on it. I must be truthful: the chirping sound that comes from the blow-off valve when you close the throttle appealed to my inner child – and I’m sure it would to most petrolheads. It might be interesting…

SHARK stars Sometimes, it’s hard to work out what qualifies someone for a job. But when it comes to SHARK racing and technical manager Mark Eilledge, it’s much easier. He’s not only spent most of his life riding and racing motorbikes, but he also started out in motorcycling as a technical manager for the Yoshimura UK importer. And now, nearly 30 years on, he’s the top man for SHARK Helmets in the UK, looking after a very successful group of young racers and experienced veterans at BSB and other race meetings. We spoke to Mark halfway through the 2023 season, and asked him first about his early years in the trade – starting out on four wheels rather than two. “I was a technician for a Ford RallySport dealer, so…

Upfront PLANET FAST BIKES – NEW METAL, NEWS & REVIEWS Is it really 25 years since the Yamaha R1 rocked our world? It shurely is. And while Yamaha as a whole has been a little bit slack on the celebrations front, its GYTR (Genuine Yamaha Technology Racing) factory race tuning arm has been beavering away on this saucy piece of nonsense. The GYTR PRO 25th Anniversary R1 is apparently as close to a WSBK or WEC machine as you can get without running a world championship race team – and it has a price tag to match. It's built by the factory's own race technicians, with engine and chassis parts filched from the world race programme, and will set you back a stunning £138,000 including VAT. That's enough to get…

At this point, it’s probably prudent to introduce this test’s protagonists and explain a bit about them. In alphabetical order, we’ve got BMW’s M 1000 RR, a new face and new standard in aero. BMW claims to have made this M-spec missile 5mph faster through aerodynamics alone, while integrating improved downforce and cooler braking through other carbon additions. It is a feat of engineering and perhaps even a sign of things to come, as manufacturers look to areas outside of the engine to make their bikes faster. Next up is the Ducati V4R. In complete contrast, the focus of this bike is its engine. The V4 motor was ceremoniously handed down from the brand’s MotoGP efforts back in 2017 and ever since the design has been bettered and bolstered to…

ULTIMATE SPORTS BIKE 2023 What’s interesting about the Fireblade is that unlike the other bikes on this test – pumped-up trick homologation versions of existing bikes in their ranges, so BMW and Ducati can go racing – the Fireblade was made from day one as a race bike. It’s true that there is an SP version, but don’t be fooled – that’s not a homologation special, it’s just a special version with some nice added touches. It’s easy to forget just how big a shift away from the concept and architecture of the previous Fireblade this latest-generation one is. By comparison, the previous one was a big ‘ol soft lump that never stood a chance against, well, pretty much all the other litre bikes when it came to racing. It…

ULTIMATE SPORTS BIKE 2023 I Know the Blade well. I had one of these back in 2020 and did the best part of 5000 miles on it. Not much has changed since the inaugural version, aside from a tooth on the rear sprocket and some slightly revised electronics. Oh, and the paintjob of this SP that came about last year, alongside the tweaks, in celebration of the Blade’s 30th anniversary. The decision to include the Honda in this test spawned from appreciation of the brand’s efforts to make such a cracking bike in the first place, starting ground-up to deliver a machine with more than 200bhp, top-level tech, and pioneering GP-derived features such as its double skin wings and RCV-honed geometry. At the design stage, it was completely uncompromising and…

ULTIMATE SPORTS BIKE 2023 Ducati settles for nothing less than perfection, and the V4R is right at the very forefront of that. Experience is the first word that springs to mind; it’s a truly special experience to ride this Panigale (just like the rest of the V4 range), and you can just tell that every last detail has been thought about with this bike. This first thing I noticed when swinging my leg over this beauty is just how incredibly refined everything is, and I want to start with the throttle connection; it’s just next-level. When you’re on the edge of the tyres at maximum lean angle and you tap the throttle on in first gear, it is silky smooth and I honestly don’t think I’ve ever ridden a bike…

There is no need to introduce the 1998 Yamaha YZF-R1 4XV to anyone who holds a motorcycle licence – even less so if they are reading a magazine called Fast Bikes! This groundbreaking machine arrived 25 years ago (yes, really… 25 years ago!) and set the blueprint for the modern sportsbike. A vertically-stacked gearbox, 17-inch wheels, inverted forks, monobloc brake calipers, long swingarm and more power than you could ever require … Yamaha got everything right when it designed the R1, and since then, all sportsbikes have copied the formula. But we are talking about a bike that is now a quarter of a century old, fed through carbs, and lacking anything in the way of electronic assists… does the R1 still feel special to ride nowadays? Special enough to…

LONGTERMERS Some smiles last longer than others, such as the one I picked up last week blasting around Cadwell on the SP2. Many sleeps later, I’m still beaming like an idiot, replaying the magic of that day in the saddle of the big Ducati. Yep, that was a very good day at the office, despite the strong wind, relentless rain… and the eleven quid for chicken and chips at lunch. On paper, it should have been a write-off of a trackday, especially considering I turned up on treads and with nowhere to hide on the many occasions it lashed it down, but I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed myself so much on a circuit. It was also special because it was my first trip of 2023 to my…

LONGTERMERS TIME ON TEST: SIX WEEKS ODOMETER MILES BHP: 207 GAIN: 0 Since my last instalment on life with the S1000RR – which was also my first instalment – I’ve had a two-week holiday with Mrs Mack, spent the best part of a week building the Bathams Racing Suzuki XR69 for the upcoming ManxGP, and been away with the team to the Classic Superbike Festival at Bishopscourt, just south of Belfast. What a brilliant event, and a brilliant circuit. If you’re able to get over for it next year, make sure you do. Busy schedule and much-needed family time are my excuses for not racking up big miles on the S 1000 RR this last month, but that’s not to say I haven’t been out on it and trying to…

FastBikesMag.com/ FastBikes-Forum Facebook.com FastBikesMagazine @FastBikesMag WINNER Here at Fast Bikes magazine, we love trackdays. So much so, we wanted to give something back to you, the reader! We’ve teamed up with the lovely lot over at No Limits Trackdays to offer a free trackday every month! All you have to do is send us a picture of yourself at your last trackday for a chance to win. If you're the lucky person highlighted on these pages, you've won a trackday of your choice! If it’s you, get in touch with us and we’ll look after the rest, and if you haven’t won this time, there’s always next month. There are no cash alternatives available. The winning image is drawn at random. Terms and cond ditions apply. To view the priivacy policy of…

ULTIMATE SPORTS BIKE 2023 The latest M 1000 RR must surely be the first bike to be faster in a straight line as well as around corners than the bike it’s replacing without getting a single upgrade to its engine or chassis. The 2023 M 1000 RR has the exact same engine with the same power and torque, the exact same chassis with the same components, that weighs the same, and has the exact same electronic rider aids without a single line of code different than before. Yet, BMW claims that it has a 5mph higher top speed by virtue of having less drag than the previous bike, plus up to 40% more downforce depending on the speed to help it stick to the tarmac better in the corners. Wait…

ULTIMATE SPORTS BIKE 2023 Just like that, our three days of testing were done and dusted, barring a final blast over the Mountain. The question was, what bike would I be doing it on? The answer to that lay in the hands of our mate Nick, who’d picked three different lengths of grass for Tim, Joe and I to wrestle from his grasp. I went first… and the outcome was the Beemer. I was quite happy with the result, which said a lot alout how much the M 1000 RR had come to appeal to me over the shoot-out. No, it wasn’t my favourite, but it was a solid choice and I felt little smug as I learned my gear for one last roll of the dice. To be fair,…

ULTIMATE SPORTS BIKE 2023 To kick things off, I decided the Fireblade would be the weapon of choice to get my I senses sharpened and the ball rolling for this year’s Ultimate Sports Bike track test. I’d been using this very Fireblade SP for a couple of recent track guide videos we’ve made for the Fast Bikes YouTube channel, so I was somewhat familiar with its characteristics and figured it would be best to get up to speed with the Michelin Power Slick 2s and Donington Park before letting rip on the other rocket ships. My first impression of the Honda was that it felt fantastic straight out the box. The connection with the newly-resurfaced Donington Park tarmac was loaded with feel, and when you’ve got that sense of control…

It’s funny now, but this was one of those tests that so nearly didn’t happen. I won’t bore you with it all, but the list of challenges, right up until the night before the shoot-out, was staggering. But we pulled it off and the fruits of our labour were reward tens of times over. In my seven years on Fast Bikes, I can’t recall such a special opportunity… we had such a brilliant time and learned so much about the machines in question. Perhaps the most pressing thing to say is that each of these machines hammered home the great state of the sportsbike sector, highlighting in different ways the unimaginable engineering feats that can be achieved when the desire for unmitigated performance is put before everything else. Getting our…

Up until 2021, BMW’s premier motorcycling event – that’s now in its 21st year – had been held in fields in the Alps, on the outskirts of the picture-postcard town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The beer was flowing, the bands were playing, and every so often you’d hear a bike on a limiter, moments away from detonating. It was the consummate motorcycling party, with the cultural twist of sauerkraut and lederhosen thrown in for good measure. For me, and the tens of thousands who made the pilgrimage each year, it was arguably the best piss-up outside of Oktoberfest, made all the sweeter by an abundance of great roads to ride and picturesque places to pass the time while your hangover was at its worst. It was a very homely place that welcomed…

MOTO2 FOR YOU… FROM THE NETHERLANDS Hello guys, Attached you’ll find a picture of me enjoying my Street Triple RS Moto2. After ordering it November last year, it took seven months of waiting for it to finally arrive#8230; but it was definitely worth the wait. What an amazing machine! Done about 2500km on it now and have loved every single one of them. Roads here in The Netherlands aren’t very spectacular, but I’m planning to take the bike to Germany and/or Luxembourg for a few days soon. Love the mag. I recently subscribed after buying some single issues, and I look forward to every issue. Keep up the good work! Cheers, Neem van der Reest FB: Hi Neem, great choice of bike. Triumph’s nailed the middleweight naked sector with the…