Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2023 i BIKE

I wanted something that blurred the division between scooter and motorcycle,’ says John Piper, an ex-F1 designer with no shortage of bike experience – he designed the Foggy Petronas World Superbike and currently has 11 motorcycles stuffed into his shed. ‘I wanted something you could ride like a motorbike, but that looked like a scooter – basically, a Lambretta on steroids.’ The result is this, the J-Series: a 120mph, 70bhp scoot with 17in wheels, 52-degrees of lean angle and the immaculate finish you’d expect of someone who spent most of his career designing and making parts for Williams’ F1 cars. John took the market positioning of the J-series just as seriously: ‘I benchmarked all the maxi scooters – the BMW 650 twin, the Suzuki Burgman and the Yamaha T-Max. They…

If you want a truly unique custom bike, best pick a base model that’s as scarce as political integrity. Like Benelli’s Sei 900 – only 2000 of the air-cooled six-cylinder muscle bikes were built between 1979 and 1989. ‘We were very excited when a customer said he had one for us to work on,’ says Tiago Gonçalves, from Unik Motorcycles in Portugal. ‘He told us it was in bad shape, but the brief he gave us was excellent – the only thing he said was “I want it to be comfortable and I want six exhausts. You can do whatever you want with the rest”.’ Unfortunately the owner wasn’t kidding about the condition – the engine was a runner, but everything else was verging on scrap. Tiago and his team…

Group test When Aprilia launched the Tuono back in 2002 we tested the groundbreaking V-twin at Cadwell Park. Thanks to the control of its wide ’bars and the usable power, our road-tester said he could lap faster than on a ‘proper’ sportsbike. It was the birth of what we now call supernakeds. Fast forward 21 years and the supernaked is now a wild vast-capacity, 200-horsepower animal that requires skill and confidence to get the most out of. However, that just-so balance of power, control, handling and excitement that the Tuono used to win us over is thankfully still available – only now in far more affordable ‘middleweight’ form. In fact, Triumph’s updated Street Triple RS, the new Ducati Monster SP and KTM’s 890 Duke R (a previous test winner) are…

Think your way faster Ex-WSB star Chaz Davies is quietly inventing a new role in elite racing: the rider super-coach. And it’s going really rather well… Marginal gains are big news in elite sport. From cycling to rugby, coaches have cottoned on that when all your rivals have done the obvious stuff, the easiest way to win is to make the most incremental improvements. And in motorcycle racing that applies to the rider’s brain as much as their engine and suspension. This is where the rider coach comes in, and ex-World Superbike star Chaz Davies is blazing a trail with Ducati’s factory WSB and World Supersport riders. He’s setting a template for the job that’s being closely studied by several race teams – including Ducati’s MotoGP outfit. Of course, there…

» With bags of ground clearance, pleasing dollops of twin-cylinder torque piped to the rear wheel before 7000rpm and a taut chassis with quality suspension, my 2000-model Ducati 996 is still a glorious motorcycle to ride hard. And it can still exploit as much grip as I can bestow on it. In recent times it’s had Michelin Power RS (great on the road, front a tad vague at big lean) and Dunlop Sportsmart TT (not enough rear grip). Now it has these Contis and they’re everything the bike – or rather I – need. They’re ‘medium’ compound and were utterly superb on the Duke’s yearly track-thrap, inspiring lots of deep braking and early abuse of the throttle. But while theoretically track rubber, if you pop 36psi in each end they’re…

COOL OR UNFINISHED? I like the Strom’s grey/yellow paint, but several mates have asked when I’m taking it to the bodyshop to get the primer painted. Hilarious. The overall finish looks good and there’s a quality feel, much like the GSX-S1000GT that I rode to the Sahara this year. PROPER COMFY Being a fidget, I like a flat saddle that lets me shuffle. However, the Strom’s sculpted seat is so comfy I can’t complain – it’s easily up to the 200 miles you can get from a tank. Sort the screen and the Strom would be as touring-capable as a BMW R1250GS. STRETCHOMATIC CHAIN The V-Strom’s engine is a beaut but it’s no maniacal Hayabusa. Yet I had to adjust the chain three times in the 600-mile running-in period. Hopefully…

[ Events ] ‘Your last chance to get close to the foot-out action until 2024…’ Blue Haze Day Ace Cafe, that London 10 September » Stand in the middle and breath in the scent of proper bikes. Yes, I’m a two-stroke fetishist and can’t resist a stinkwheel, and with everything from ancient Scotts, through Fizzies and mopeds to late NSRs, it’s a treat. Sorry, what’s that about low emission zones? london.acecafe.com British Trials Geddington, Kettering 24 September » It’s the eighth round of this year’s ACU Trials GB championship. Take a flask and pack-up, perch on a rock in the countryside, and watch Lycra-clad types ride over things you can’t even climb over. acutrialgb.co.uk Hartland Quay hillclimb Bideford, Devon 1 October » Atlantic on one side, assorted loons on all…

British star Sam Lowes is being interviewed by telly types. Bright branded team members stand in groups near pit wall, and a huge screen above the garages is showing a racer being interviewed on stage. I think it might be MotoE star Jordi Torres. Through the middle comes a wide-eyed road rider, trundling up Silverstone’s pit lane looking and feeling as conspicuous and misplaced as they are. This is Two Wheels for Life’s Day of Champions, on the Thursday of the British Grand Prix weekend. It’s the annual charity day where fans get selfies with MotoGP heroes, see big-stage interviews, and bid in the legendary auction – and, this year, watch an imbecile on Triumph’s new Street Triple Moto2 Edition. Officially it’s ‘parade’ laps, but with the tyres up to…

First rides don’t usually happen like this – riding a mile-long hillclimb watched by 60,000 motorsport fans attending what’s probably the world’s number-one petrol-head event. It’s the first day of the Goodwood Festival of Speed and I’m down to thrash the pre-production version of Norton’s new V4CR. The spectator viewing areas are rammed and TV cameras are watching. No pressure. The V4CR is a perfect fit in this showy arena of high-performance, high-bling machinery. Norton is Britain’s all-time most successful bike racing marque – they’ve won 41 grands prix and seven riders and constructors world championships, which is 41 wins and seven titles more than Triumph and BSA put together. So Norton has massive pedigree in high-performance motorcycling, even though much of that comes from the distant past. First thoughts…

3am in the morning ‘Endurance racing tests the reliability of humans as much as it does the bike,’ says Steven Casaer, technical manager of BMW Motorrad’s Endurance World Championship garage. ‘The riders, our physio, everyone… it’s like an orchestra. You need all these people to make the right sound.’ A close-knit team is vital for a bleary-eyed 3am pitstop going as smoothly as all those before it. ‘It’s so fast – most turns you take in fourth, fifth or sixth. On other circuits you’ll only hit those gears on the straight’ Spa is fast, very fast The EWC layout of Spa-Francorchamps spans 4.34 miles and 20 turns. It’s a circuit legendary for motor racing, but the bikers love it too – especially several hours into the 24H Motos when its…

GRINDING GEARS This generation R1’s six-speed gearbox is slick but some early versions were blighted by clutch slip and/or judder, with some warranty replacements taking place in extreme cases. It was fixed with a 2012 update. (Check the exact bike: the 2009-2011 R1 is the 14B, the 2012-2014 is the 14Be.) Yamaha never offered a quickshifter but loads have aftermarket items fitted, which may indicate possible track (ab)use. Ensure it has been set up correctly; if not, gearbox damage can occur. Same with downshifters/auto-blippers. ANY UPDATES? The original 2009 ‘14B’ crossplane R1 ran until the end of 2011. It updated in 2012 to become the ‘14Be’, although the differences are subtle: the main one was new six-stage traction control, but suspension settings were revised and the bike also gained a…

Hagon replacement monoshock Used for: six months Price: £391 Info: hagon.co.uk » Perception is a funny old thing. When I was an engineering apprentice inferior tools were called ‘a bit Halfords’ and I recall bike-riding mates being snotty about kit from Oxford products – and Hagon suspension tended to get similar dismissal. But just as my 20-year-old Halfords socket set has been excellent and my Oxford Hinterland jacket is great, so this Hagon rear shock is brilliant. Fitted to our cheapo Kawasaki ZZ-R600, the unit has done more than just restore the bike’s handling. I always thought Hagon’s shocks were generic and off the shelf (perceptions again…) but each is made to order and built to suit your weight and needs. Preload and damping are adjustable, build quality is mighty…

Classic motorcycling has spread through my group of friends like a curious virus. The original infection occurred a couple of years ago when one of them bought a Norton Commando and quietly spent a small fortune turning it into a remarkably good motorcycle – uprated suspension, engine rebuild by an ex-Norton factory mechanic, all excessively crap bits replaced. You get the idea: it probably cost him as much as a new S1000RR. On witnessing the Commando’s ability to wang round corners like a modern bike, hit 90mph down a Welsh A-road and cover miles without dropping its oil or catching fire, two of our gang donned rose tinted spectacles, placed their senses in a box marked ‘Do Not Open’, and bought sub-£4000 1970s British twins. One even sold a perfectly…

NO CHEATING All the engines are dyno’d to check they’re within a set range at the start of the season and then sealed to stop tampering. Three ECUs will be swapped at each round to try and catch electronic fiddlers ENGINE 399cc dohc four cylinder making 76bhp in stock trim – the race bike’s Spark exhaust and Woolich ECU no doubt bump that up to over 80. SUSPENSION K-Tech DDS Lite rear shock replaces the standard one, and the stock forks get K-Tech cartridge fork internals. EXTRAS Lightech rear sets, a CRC body kit and K-Tech steering damper are obligatory and included in the price. MSS Performance have a range of permitted extras too. Casey Stoner, Cal Crutchlow, Bradley Smith, Chaz Davies, Tom Sykes, Sam and Alex Lowes, Leon Camier,…

BMW have served up a generous portion of marketing gibberish with the new CE-02 but try to ignore that. Behind the Flow, Surf and Flash riding modes and twotty positioning statements – ‘it’s not a scooter, it’s an eParkourer’ – lies BM’s best electric effort yet. Though less powerful than the CE-04 scooter BMW launched last year, the CE-02 is a whacking 100kg lighter and has a 30cm shorter wheelbase. If you want something cool to zip round town on, it looks promising. There are two variants, one limited to 28mph aimed at 16-year-olds and a 15bhp version that does 56mph. The range is claimed to be 60 miles – easily enough for city commutes though obviously not much cop for anything else. As ever, the sticking point is likely…

Norton V4CR I worked under Stuart Garner for maybe a year – I started as a powertrain engineer on the 650 project. We used to assemble parts on a carpeted floor in effectively an office. There was development done on the engine and chassis [for the V4], by Ricardo and at the TT, but testing was dyno-based – there were no miles put on bikes. We’re doing tests we’d never have done before. ‘There have been six verification builds for the CR, each for different tests. This bike is VB3 – Verification Build number three – specifically for CWT and ABS testing. CWT stands for climatic wind tunnel and is verification of the cooling circuit, both water and oil. All the green and yellow wires are K-type thermocouples, on the…

I had spent a year in Patagonia documenting the colony of Welsh who had migrated in 1865. With no transport I vowed to return with a motorcycle. Due to putting on a lot of weight and being 20 stone – my Argentine girlfriend admitted to over-feeding me so that no other woman would want me – I needed a cheap bike powerful enough to carry us both comfortably, so bought a 1992 Kawasaki ZZ-R1100 in Ormskirk for £840 and shipped it to Buenos Aires for £900. Why the ZZ-R? Apart from it being grunty enough to carry two fatties and cheap, I’d wanted one ever since I saw the story in Performance Bikes magazine where one was pitted against a plane on a runway. After trucking it down to Gaiman,…

» On sale for 24 years, the third incarnation of this, the high priest of high numbers, now retails for £17,999 (you could buy one for eight grand in 1999). Other machines now produce more power, more torque, and go faster. The Hayabusa is a relic of yesteryear when top speed was all, and a friendly bobby would do no more than have a quiet word for 180mph in a 30. Or is it? It's still standout fast, and so easy to go quick on too. Abundant torque (110lb.ft@7000rpm) sees to that. Just as important, it’s as comfortable as a British prime minister lying to the nation. Looks better than ever too, which is not saying much if you could never stomach the previous two versions. For fans of brisk…

Gizzago, mister This is Alex Olsen, who’s a front-runner in the Pirelli National Superstock championship. He tested our RC30 at Donington, just before we raced alongside modern bikes in the No Limits three-hour endurance race at Brands Hatch. He’s going to ride for us in the next round of the European Endurance Cup at Pau in the south of France, the weekend before the Bol d’Or. He’ll be alongside our regular rider Lancelot Unissart. Pau is a great little circuit – it’s kind of like a French version of Cadwell Park, only with better weather. ‘Like Cadwell Park, only with better weather’ Clutching at victory The No Limits event at Brands included the European Endurance Cup. Our riders Alex Sinclair and Lancelot Unissart had a healthy lead in class (and…

Know How [ Weird & Wonderful ] People in the USA generally prefer an automatic transmission to a stick-shift. Hence the relative success of the Husqvarna auto in that market (Bike, Weird and Wonderful, July 2023). Lest we forget, and we should attempt to remind ourselves, North America’s indigenous manufacturers were at that game before innovative Swedes Husky – and they’re still at it. Say, for instance, you are scared of imminent Armageddon. You stockpile lavatory paper, baked beans and HP sauce. You have, perhaps, dug an underground shelter beneath the garden shed… and you live in constant fear of a nuclear strike from whoever. Well, your troubles are over – or about to begin. Hard to tell given the constant fluctuations in world order, and traditional dumb reliance on the…