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bmktm s 00r f8 bmw 250
New bikes///ModerN legeNds///used free Metal
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90s shootout kr-1s v zxr750r r fastieon
sectr soft?
ker e quic e mad ik b your
hardeo best th res ty led revea
actually guy martin
How to SEt UP YoUR SUPERbikE SUSPEnSion bY GUY MaRtin
1000s SupERtESt
is the fireblade fiNished?
NEW R1 v NEW GSX-R1000 K9 v ZX-10R v CBR1000RR
cornerbikes that speedreally lean ÂŁ3.75
july 2009 usa $8.95
vmax v suPerbike
Kawasaki ZZR1400
PRICE £9495 ENGINE 1352cc liquid cooled inline four POWER 166bhp@9300rpm TORQUE 105lb.ft@7700rpm WEIGHT 257kg FRONT SUSPENSION 43mm adjustable upside-down forks REAR SUSPENSION Monoshock, fully adjustable RAKE/TRAIL 23°/94mm WHEELBASE 1460mm FRONT BRAKE 2x310mm discs with four-pot calipers PB LIKES Roll-on power, comfort, handling PB DOESN’T LIKE Very little
SO WHO IS THE DADDY? words Matt wildee Pics rory gaMe
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YAMAHA VMAX
PRICE £16,495 ENGINE 1679cc liquid cooled V-four POWER 178bhp@8900rpm TORQUE 114lb.ft@6600rpm WEIGHT 310kg FRONT SUSPENSION 52mm adjustable upside-down forks REAR SUSPENSION Monoshock, fully adjustable RAKE/TRAIL 31°/148mm WHEELBASE 1700mm FRONT BRAKE 2 x 320mm discs with six-piston calipers PB LIKES Power, noise, incessant wheelspin PB DOESN’T LIKE Tyre bills
When we first saw the V-Max in the late 80s it was revolutionary. With drag bike looks, V-Boost and a 1200cc V-four that sounded like a big-block Chevy being attacked with a plasma cutter, it made custom bikes shrivel and sportsbikes feel limp. And it came at the right time. Crash-happy, impoverished riders were ripping off their fairings, fitting high bars and pulling stunts and the V-Max fitted perfectly in this scene. Along with a naked GSX-R1100 with Renthals, it became the poster bike for a generation of men with tats and slightly tootight jeans. But nothing lasts forever and its appeal
began to wane through the 90s as sportsbikes got ever faster and more delectable. Last year Yamaha launched a new V-Max (and called it VMAX). Bigger, more powerful, it now has a claimed 197bhp and the same ability to smoke rubber that made the original famous. They even say it handles. But things have moved on. Twenty four years later, is the VMAX still the straight-line Daddy? Or has it been sanitised beyond Busa-bashing recognition? To find out we put it up against the Kawasaki ZZR1400 – one of the fastest production bikes on the planet. We’ve already budgeted for new rear tyres… 009
KTM SMT First ride
ktm’s sportsbike wordS ben Wilkins picS rory game
for every road The RC8R could probably set a new lap record at Oulton Park. The SMT could easily smash your ride-to-work record
is it really a supermoto?
No. This is far better than a supermoto. Sure, if you live in the Alps and only pop down to Le Café for a latte with your riding buddy Stéphane Chambon then this won’t pass muster. But if you want a bike that has agile handling and an extremely punchy engine then your search is over. Think of this not as a supermoto but as a big trailie without the trailie bit. This is a hardcore version of Triumph’s Tiger 1050 – agile, capable, comfortable. This is the second bike to branch out of the big trailie norm and doesn’t really have a niche. So I’m going to make one up. This is a Big Roadie. Snappy huh? Maybe not. Maybe supermoto touring is better after all. What makes it different to a big trailie?
This is a completely different genre of bike. By comparison, the BMW 1200GS is lumbering, overweight and gutless (it isn’t really but that’s how the SMT makes it seem). Secondly this isn’t trying to look like it wants to compete in the Dakar Rally. Remember, this is from the home of dirt bikes and supermotos. KTM know a thing or two about making a bike with wide bars and tall suspension. It shows. This has been designed as a sportsbike that’s shaped like a supermoto but has the go of a litre bike. It also has the handling of a supermoto yet with the comfort of a touring bike. All things to all men? Maybe. need more convincing?
On the 25 miles of bumpy roads I take to work every day this ‘Touring’ bike is probably the most enjoyable bike I’ve ridden, including the latest litre bikes and KTM’s RC8R. It is a far more appropriate bike for the majority of riding conditions than, for example, the beautiful, but relatively stiff, RC8R. With WP suspension at the front and rear there’s a setting for everything from soft and boingy to taut and composed. The standard settings work well for just about everything and if you never touched them you wouldn’t go far wrong. The way the SMT despatches bad roads is hilarious. The fat alloy bars let you throwthe SMT around without much effort and the steel trellis frame keeps
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everything together without any mid-bike flaccidity. The engine is exactly the same punchy unit as fitted to the 999cc 75-degree V-twin in the Supermoto R. This engine has masses of power throughout the rev range and feels particularly strong at 5000rpm where it makes a dash for the redline. Give it a handful of throttle in first or second and the front wheel comes straight up in an aggressive manner. This isn’t a bike for being kack-handed with the throttle but with some sticky tyres (and the standard Continentals are pretty damned good) the front comes up lovely on the way out of slow corners. Going into corners is almost as exciting. The Brembo radials are stunning and can haul the back end into the air with only two fingers squeezing the lever. Impressive. should you sWap your bike for one?
It depends. First of all, don’t think of the SMT as anything other than a sportsbike with wide bars and tall suspension. If you’re a trackday hound hell bent on shaving thousands off your best lap of Oulton then possibly not. However, with the right tyres this would put up a good fight. Not to mention the fact that it could embarrass a few RRs in the process. Yet as a road bike this is as good a riding tool as any race rep. Forget the ‘Touring’ part of SMT, which really only alludes to the comfort aspect. When the roads get bumpy or twisty, or bumpy and twisty, this is brilliant. Especially when they’re bumpy and twisty. This isn’t to say that the bike is perfect. It takes a good few rides to get used to the riding position. To me, the bars feel set too far rearwards, so I have to adopt a reclined riding position if I sit in the well of the seat. This is a good attack position when hard on the brakes turning into a corner but hurts my back after a while. Better to sit further back in the seat and adopt a more BMW-esque riding position. Cruising in this relaxed mode the engine will eke out over 160-miles before reserve too. Then there’s the V-twin judder at low revs in a high gear. But these things aside, this is the sensible option for those who don’t do sensible. That’s the way I’d sell it to the other half anyway.
‘with some sticky tyres the front comes up lovely on the way out of slow corners’
KTM SMT
Price £9595 engine 999cc liquid cooled V-twin Bore x STroKe 101mm x 62.4mm Power 116bhp@9400rpm Torque 72lb.ft@7100rpm FronT SuSPenSion WP 48mm, fully adjustable rear SuSPenSion WP fully adjustable raKe/Trail 24.4°/109mm wheelBaSe 1505mm weT weighT 215kg Fuel caPaciTy 19 litres
On the right is the looker. On the left is the bike you’d choose for those last fast 25 bumpy miles home
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First look
words matt wildee pics Bmw
thE BMW For FirEBlaDE riDErs
bmw s1000rr
BMW S1000RR
The first BMW you don’t have to be a bit weird to like which, if true, will make the S1000RR the lightest of any of the 1000s, but we suspect about 210kg on the PB scales.
WITH 193BHP, a wet weight of 204kg, a whole host of electronics and a price that is expected to put it in the same ballpark as its Japanese rivals, the BMW S1000RR has been designed to go head-to-head with R1s and Fireblades. After years of quirky designs and niche marketing, BMW are doing what every other bike manufacturer in Europe is scared to do – fight the Japanese. While Aprilia’s RSV4 is a thinly veiled, low-volume race bike with lights, the S1000RR is a road-going superbike that also races. While it’s no homologation special, it’s far from being soft. Full of clever thinking and slightly unconventional applications of familiar technology, this will be the first indication as to whether BMW can really build a performance bike. It’ll be available to buy by the end of the year.
ElECtroniCs
EnginE
With the biggest bore and shortest stroke of any comparable bike, the S1000RR has been designed to rev. The WSB bike already revs to 14,800 rpm and the redline on the road bike is 14,000rpm – 250rpm higher than a 2009 R1. BMW say they’ve used the experience gained from the 19,000rpm F1 V8 in the cylinder head design – it has a tight valve angle and titanium valves with lightweight followers. The rest of the engine doesn’t really boast new technology, but it has all the things that a modern superbike needs to be on the pace – a neat, stacked gearbox, fly-by-wire throttle, two-stage variablelength inlet trumpets, a slipper clutch and a pair of exhaust valves – one set operating in the exhaust balancer pipes, and another as a flapper in the wellmade, Akrapovic-designed silencer/cat unit. It’s a compact unit and allows the S1000RR a 600-
like silhouette, weighing 59kg and producing 193bhp@13,000rpm. BMW engineers say it should translate to 170bhp at the rear wheel. Chassis
This is a conventional superbike chassis. Telescopic forks, an alloy frame that is a mixture of castings and extrusions, a double-sided, heavily braced swingarm that takes up a large proportion of the wheelbase, and chain drive. The big thing is here is the lack of BMW’s telelever front end – it now has 46mm USD forks. The pressure-cast aluminium wheels are meant to be the lightest in their segment, and the alloy tank is another weight saving move. Claimed wet weight is 204kg,
PRICE £12,500 (est) ENGINE 999cc liquid cooled inline four POWER 193bhp@13,000rpm TORQUE 83lb.ft@9750rpm FRONT SUSPENSION 46mm forks, fully adjustable REAR SUSPENSION Monoshock, fully adjustable WHEELBASE 1432mm WET WEIGHT (CLAIMED) 204kg FUEL CAPACITY 17.5 litres
This is the first litre superbike that is available with both ABS and traction control. It’s a complex, but potentially integrated system that combines engine mapping, DTC operation, ABS set-up and an antiwheelie control device. There are four settings – rain, sport, race and slick. ‘Rain’ reduces power to 150bhp and gives maximum computer assistance for the ABS and DTC. ‘Sport’ gives full power, but looks after you with ABS and DTC. ‘Race’ mode takes things further and sharpens up throttle response and ‘slick’ mode gives you the full-fat experience, but needs to be activated with a key code under the seat. Unlike the traction control found on current BMWs, it also monitors lean angle. looks
Test mules were disguised with R6 bodywork and when you see one you can see why – the bikes share the same proportions. Headlights and fairing air vents are asymmetrical. On the right is an endurance-style small light, on the left a conventional beam. On the right of
the fairing is a standard air outlet for the radiator, on the left three ‘gills’ get rid of hot air. Conventional beauty is judged by symmetry, but this works. Colours are green, black, silver and BMW Motorsport white at extra cost. We’d go for the white.
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bmw f800r
THE MOST THRASHABLE BEEMER YET BMW have their sights set firmly on the class-leading Triumph words kar lee pics jason critchell
First ride
Street Triple, but just how close does it get to hitting the target?
as well as a lap timer… on a BMW. On the road, bumps work the suspension hard but Almost. It’s the same engine, albeit with changed gear the frame feels so stiff it never gets out of shape. The ratios to take into consideration the lack of fairing. It still weight distribution is perfect, helped by the low makes a revvy 87bhp@8000rpm, and it still punts out positioning of the under seat fuel tank. Fuel economy a tarmac-disturbing 63ft-lb@6000rpm of torque. The is a claimed 190 miles-plus. The overall build quality chassis has been tweaked too – there’s a conventional and equipment levels are superb. 90° tyre valves, double-sided swingarm together with chain drive braided lines, easily adjustable preload on the rear instead of belt. Does it look as good as shock and a low, comfortable seat height BMW F800R before? No. Will it keep costs down? make this ideal for shorties, novices and PRICE Almost certainly. There are also minor knee-down pilots. £5925 geometry changes. ENGINE WHAT’S BAD ABOUT IT? 798cc liquidWHAT’S GOOD ABOUT IT? cooled parallel It’s aesthetically challenged. With one eye twin four-stroke bigger than the other (read headlights), a Damn, this bike handles. Seriously. POWER (ClaIMEd) Slicing through the Silverstone Stowe scrawny swingarm and an uncomfortable 87bhp@8000rpm circuit’s esses is a revelation and TORQUE (ClaIMEd) mish-mash of lines and curves, there are mid-corner stability is impressive. 63lb.ft@6000rpm few good angles to gaze at the R. Besides FRONT SUSPENSION that, only the bizarre welding of an ill-fitting Think Buell Firebolt in terms of 43mm forks, non flickability and track prowess. lump of metal on the pillion footrest bracket adjustable The apex-kissing precision is pure lets the side down. REaR SUSPENSION sportsbike and there’s the ground Monoshock, WHAT’S IT LIKE TO RIDE? adjustable clearance to exploit that performance. preload, rebound This is an easy bike to go fast on. The riding Almost as if to confirm its sporting RaKE/TRaIl position is very much a sit ‘in’ job and intentions, there’s a steering damper 25°/91mm WHEElBaSE 1520mm dRY WEIGHT 177kg FUEl CaPaCITY 16 litres IT’S THE F800S/ST FROM TWO YEARS AGO BUT WITHOUT A FAIRING, RIGHT?
although the cowl is low, the protection offered by tank and screen is good. There’s power aplenty from low down the rev range and a noticeable step up at 6000rpm though the engine never really sets the pulse racing in the way the chassis does. The sure-footed nature of the ride hints this frame wants more power. It’s got plenty of torque – 90 per cent of it is delivered by 5000rpm. The front suspension is unadjustable, but for this entry-level bike none is needed. The rear gets preload adjustment via a useful dial and rebound. It all sounds basic but thrashing the bike around Silverstone shows it works when pushed hard. I managed to coax 120mph out of it, and I’d guess you’d probably squeeze another 10mph, although anything over the ton is a windblast wrestle. AS GOOD AS THE TRIUMPH STREET TRIPLE?
No, but it’s not far off. As the owner of a Street Triple R I can say the Beemer is a great piece of machinery and better finished, but the involving 675 triple motor does things to the soul. That said, the F800R is a true 100 per cent thrashable performance bike and deserves a punt. However, a 675 engine in a BMW frame would be better.
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new products
ROTREX
SUPER CHARGER
Fancy getting a cheeky 250bhp out of your GSX-R1000 or upping a Harley V-Rod to 170bhp? Then you’ll be wanting a Rotrex supercharger. Silverstone based TTS Performance are the UK distributors of Rotrex superchargers and have recently added a Harley V-Rod kit to their repertoire, which already includes Hayabusas (natch) and other big Suzukis: Blades, Blackbirds, Speed Triples, Rocket 3s, R1s, MT-01s, Fazer 600s, Z1000, ZX-12, ZZR14 and the Ducati 998. TTS can also make custom kits to suit individual needs. >£1663 >tts perforMance 01327 858212 >www.tts-perforMance.co.uk
AGV T2 BARRY SHEENE REPLICA
MOTO 46 ALLOY RACE
It says something about this nation’s current sporting prowess that we’re still obsessed with things like the Barry Sheene phenomenon and the 1966 World Cup. They should be part of a proud history, not the whole history. But obsessed we are, so this limited edition Barry Sheene AGV T2 will sell out in no time flat. The T2 is AGV’s replacement for the Ti-Tech. Of particular note are the ventilation scoops integral with the lighteweight carbon-kevlar shell – AGV have designed the lid to pass safety testing without the need for these to be separate stick-on (and easy snap-off in an impact) items. >£349 (£299 standard finishes) >Moto direct 01773 864420 >www.Moto-direct.coM
Lose the hideous ironmongery that lurks under the tail unit or in the nose of your bike – and the weight that goes with it – with an alloy race subframe. Perfect for race and trackday bikes and, if you’re resourceful, stripped-down road bikes too. Moto 46 do them for loads of bikes including just about every GSX-R this century; carbed SV650s; 03-06 CBR600s; 04-08 Blades; 94-00 RS250s; SP-1/2s; 04-08 R1s; 06 R6s; 06-08 Daytona 675s and Ducati 749/999s. This is a rear for the 1098. If your bike isn’t listed here give the approachable folks at Moto 46 a call to check. They also do front fairing brackets too, for an even wider range of popular road and track bikes. See the full list on their website. >£60-210 >Moto 46 0845 205 4646 >www.Moto46.co.uk
HELMET
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SUBFRAMES
data
2. CHaRlies 2
Cadwell paRklap times cadwell tests handling like few other tracks in the country. There’s every kind of corner and undulations here – from fast, 100mph sweepers to nadgery, first-gear chicanes and hairpins. it tests everything, including the confidence a rider has to ride as hard as he can. consistent, super-fast kev smith was the test rider on both the road and the track. we logged the bikes using our racelogic performance Box.
848 CBR600RR R1 Rs125R
6 hairpiN
101.77mph 96.52mph 87.49mph 76.94mph
4. CHRis CURVe R1 848 CBR600RR Rs125R
97.43mph 90.43mph 84.83mph 79.96mph
Through the fast, on the power, extreme lean of chris curve, the r1 feels invincible. it encourages you to just lean it over and get on the power ridiculously hard without ever thinking it is going to come around on you. it makes heroes out of the timid. 848 is next, and a long way ahead of the cBr – the bumps around here make it hard for it to hold a line. The rs125r is flat-out, rider tucked in.
5. mOUNtaiN eNtRY Rs125R 848 CBR600RR R1
5
4 coppice
1
park
The rs is fastest here, and would have been significantly faster if it had had more power. with an off-camber exit that drops away from you the other three bikes are nearing the limit of their grip levels of their tyres and their suspension is fully loaded. at this point all are pulling over 1.1g, with the cBr peaking at 1.21g. The datalogger shows it running wide on the entry and cutting back in, therefore turning tighter. The cBr is on its peg here, the others still have some lean to go.
with big, wide lines, the rs carries the most corner speed, followed by the impressive r1 and the 848. The 848’s slow steering penalises it here as this is a corner where the bike is flicked late and hard. likewise the cBr suffers too – not because of its steering, but because of its overwhelmed suspension. it is 8.64mph slower, but has the potential to be the fastest. The r1 covers the distance from entry to exit in the shortest time. Good corner speed, then a great exit.
The 848 feels the best through here. The slowest of the three to steer, but the combination of the communicative steering and friendly power delivery means kev’s happy to lever the bike into the turn with impunity. Next is the cBr600rr. The soft suspension finds its level into fast corner entries. The r1’s slower than it should be – kev overbraked on that lap – easy to do, especially with the r1 characteristic to back-in. rs125r is flat-out, but then loses eight mph on the climb to charlies.
3
70.76mph 70.36mph 69.98mph 68.56mph
paRk cadwell park (2.173 miles) 3. Rs125R 54.41mph R1 54.21mph R1 1:42.0 848 51.98mph 848 1:43.0 CBR600RR 45.77mph CBR600RR 1:44.4 park is flat, open and relatively bump-free, and the rs125r again shows its cornering advantage. Rs125 1:55.3
1. COppiCe
chris curve
Rs125R R1 848 CBR600RR
44.75mph 43.57mph 43.05mph 41.66mph
The rs125r is the fastest here but the gains aren’t as high as they should be, mainly because of the rs’s inability to turn and brake at the same time. The forks just aren’t up to the job – with better forks we suspect it would be significantly faster. Both the cBr and the rs feel under strain here as their soft suspension struggles to cope with the fast direction change, but their corner speeds are reasonable.
6. HaiRpiN Rs125R 848 CBR600RR R1 park sTraiGhT
charlies
2
30.41mph 28.73mph 27.66mph 26.69mph
The rs125r was the fastest here, but what’s surprising is that it isn’t by as much as you’d assume – and that again was down to the fact that the suspension just can’t cope with the abuse. The r1 is again slowest in the slow corners – as you’d expect from a litre-bike. There’s more to be gained by getting on the gas early than carrying another two mph at the apex.
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pb100 feature tagline
the bikes to ride before you die
When Honda came up with the CBR600F Sport, they created their very own Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde middleweight line-up. Mr Hyde, we salute you.
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PB road test///the Plan
onlY one WaY to FInd oUt. rIde theM hard on eVerY KInd oF road, then hand the KeYs to GUY MartIn words BEN WILKINS pics PAUL BRYANT
2009 YAMAHA YZF-R1 159bhp
WitH Rebound in one leg And coMpRession in tHe otHeR YAMAHA is going FoR bRoKe WitH tHe neW R1.
2009 KAWAsAKi ZX-10R 166bhp
KAWAsAKi HAve A ReputAtion FoR stiFFlY suspended biKes. is tHe 2009 ZX-10R AnY diFFeRent?
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2009 suZuKi gsX-R1000 164bhp
big piston FoRKs ARe tHe neWest suspension tecHnologY to be put on A biKe. tHe suZuKi is AHeAd oF tHe gAMe.
With a thousand Lincolnshire miles under their wheels, Ben hands over to Guy at Cadwell
THIS MONTH WE HaVE
2009 HONDA CBR1000RR 161bhp
HONDA DON’t DO BAuBles AND tHis is NO exCeptiON. tHe suspeNsiON is NO fRills But BusiNess-like.
● Worked out exactly what BPF set-up involves ● Twiddled screwdrivers and twirled spanners ● Lapped Cadwell Park 206 times ● Watched in awe as GM saved a front end slide on his elbow
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build it
XLV
obsession Retro racing paintjob, big power and an exquisitely tweaked chassis. Norm Smith built his Martini R1 for less than 1098 money... sort of. words matt wildee photography rory game
Paintjob is based on a late 70s XS1100. This is definitely faster.
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Get The Picture words maT OXLEY Pic GOLd & GOOsE
BiaGGi: lost the Race, won the punch-up Biaggi’s blood was boiling after the race, and with good reason. he had arrived at catalunya hoping to stem the Rossi tide after earlier winning the French Gp to close the points gap. But his hopes were cruelly crushed, Rossi dashing past him with ease. perhaps this is where he saw the title start slipping away. But if Rossi effortlessly swept Biaggi aside on track, the Roman proved a tougher nutter to crack when it came to fisticuffs. Briefly held in a headlock by Rossi’s team manager carlo Fiorani, Biaggi landed a backwards headbutt on Fiorani, broke free and then landed a punch on Rossi. Fair play to the bloke. and he was the coolest of the two in the post-race interviews; asked to explain his grazed face, Biaggi answered: ‘oh, a mosquito bit me.’ any right-minded judge would declare the Roman the winner on a points decision. of course, after catalunya things didn’t get any better for Biaggi. after a brief midseason rally he managed to crash out of three races and then hand the title to Rossi.
17.06.2001 Catalan GP, Catalunya
Rossi: won the Race, lost the punch-up Rossi had just scored one of his all-time greatest Gp victories, coming through from nowhere to defeat Biaggi and increase his championship lead. twelfth on the first lap after a rival almost ran him off the track as the pack ran for turn one, he had one of those mind-boggling rides, slicing his way past rivals like they weren’t there. this was before computers ruined everything, when a good rider could still make the difference. it was an important win, but Rossi tarnished his golden reputation in the pre-podium brawl. no-one had managed to land a proper punch until Rossi’s team manager carlo Fiorani got Biaggi in a headlock and Rossi whacked his rival in the face with his aGV, drawing a fleck of blood. even now, Rossi prefers not to talk about it. ‘what happened wasn’t very big and it isn’t very important,’ he says. ‘it was like being at school: ‘he started it!’ ‘no, he started it!’ Biaggi said that i started this facking shit but it’s necessary to think about what happened before. i started the race from last position and i made a fantastic victory, so why would i want to make all that shit?’ Fair point.
THE FIGHT Have you ever seen a moodier podium threesome? Rossi looks like he’s plotting murder, Biaggi is all ‘come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough’, while Capirossi merely pretends he’s not even there. There’s a very good reason for the three signori’s looks of thunder. Rossi and Biaggi had just been involved in an unseemly brawl in the podium ante-room after finishing first and second in the Catalan GP, midway through their hateful duel for the final 500 world championship. Their feelings of mutual loathing had been festering for several
130 000
summers, ever since the boy Rossi had come dancing into GPs and cheerfully dismantled Biaggi’s carefully constructed persona as the self-styled Roman Emperor. (I mean, honestly, if you were a racer and you came from Rome, would you call yourself the Roman Emperor? Nah, I didn’t think so.) still buzzin’ their nuts off on adrenalin and all hot and bothered in their leathers, things kicked off as they climbed a tight, narrow stairwell on their way to Catalunya’s podium balcony. Biaggi tried to squeeze past Rossi’s dodgy personal manager Gibo Badioli, who didn’t like the Roman’s overtaking move. Badioli (who’s not been