Fast Bikes - July 2020

DOUBLE THE FUN R1

TALL-ROUNDED HOOLIGAN

JU LY 2

02

0 IS SU E3 67

BUILDING A ROAD BIKE THAT CAN HACK IT ON TRACK

TRIUMPH SCRAMBLER 1200

LISH: RETRO RE

APRMILILILAE RSV

AST HOOL F OLD SC ITS BEST T A S E BIK

?

E G R LA R O E L T T - LI

ROTHER BORE B IG I B S INST IT V2 AGA S I’ T A G DUC PITCHIN

TH HE SRA AD STOR RY

R750 GSX-R ICONIC YING ONE E H T U LT KI BUIL BOUT B Y SUZU TO KNOW A H W TESTED D N D D AND EARING IE R HOW A ALL YOU NEE T IT RG ❯❯ K SED …AND W YOU ❯❯ KNO M RC16 EXPO ❯❯ KT

PLUS

TESTS The Perfect Panigale ...................... 16

After riding both the 2020 Ducati V4S and V2 Panigales on their respective launches, Frodo has taken the two new Bologna bullets for a UK road test to find the perfect Panigale.

2010 Day Rider R1 .........................26 Paul from B&W Bikes shows us why he loves his ‘daytime MOT’ YZF-R1.

Triumph Scrambler 1200xe ...........34 Off-road or on-road, the Scrambler might not be your go-to bike, but Boothy’s found out just how much they can make you smile.

FEATURES

A Gixxer history lesson .................56 We celebrate the seven-fiddy by taking a trip down memory lane.

1998 Aprilia Mille ...........................46 We’ve delved into our archives to find out what we said about the Italian Stallion when it first hit the scene back in 98..

26

34

ISSUE 367 JULY 2020

IT’S THE NEWS

Upfront............................................ 10 All the latest gossip from the world of motorcycling.

GEARED UP

Products.......................................... 11 All the latest, coolest and trickest products.

THE KNOWLEDGE

Used Buyer’s Guide.........................62

Everything you need to know when buying a 1996-1999 Suzuki GSX-R750.

Legal ................................................ 74

FBs Legal Clinic with Andrew Dalton.

YOUR LIFE ON BIKES

Addiction.........................................40 The centrefold model this month; Red Bull KTM’s MotoGP weapon.

You & Yours..................................... 70

All of your latest adventures!

16

Chatter ............................................ 72 It’s only fair we give the best readers in the world a page of their own!

WORKSHOP

Know Your.......................................90

Final Drive Gearing: When do you need to change your chain and sprockets, and what difference can altering the ratio make? We find out.

RACE SECTION

Pit Pass............................................ 76

All the latest from the BSB, WSBK and MotoGP paddocks.

COLUMNISTS

Christian Iddon ............................... 79

Iddon’s been gardening and cycling, cycling and gardening. Oh, and upsetting Ex-MotoGP champs.

Neave Twins....................................80 Tom’s been busy, but his Superstock Fireblade hasn’t turned a wheel since testing.

Gary Johnson .................................. 81 More jobs around the house. More YouTube yoga. No bike racing.

Steve Parrish...................................82 Stavros puts the world to rights.

See page 8 for the best deals

SU

H: RETRO RELIS

DOWN AND DIRTY

PIPIN’ HOT

AFTERMARKET EXHAUSTS AND WHY THEY’RE SO COOL

A HOND -66FS CBR

OOL FAST BEST OLD SCHO AT ITS BIKES

2020

ISS UE

366

MAKING A SPLASH ON THE NEW AFRICA TWIN

JUNE

£4.50

TI’S DUCATI

205BHP ALL-NEWHTER V4SS STREETFIG

No.366 June 2020

56

CRIB S E B FIGHT

FLIGHT

FEATURE

THE PERF WORDS:

FRODO

IMAGES:

JAMIE 'DO RRIS' MOR RIS

PANIGAL Are size and h orsepower rea lly a to conquering the roads? Som ll that crucial when it comes e would argue but we wanted that is the cas to know for su e, re... so we pitc pimped V4S ag hed Ducati's ainst its new li ttle brother, th e V2.

16 JULY 2020 WWW.FASTBIKESMAG.COM

FECT

ALE?

DUCATI V4 VS. V2

W

hen Ducati unveiled their all-new Panigale way back in 2011, it’s fair to say that every man and his dog got excited; not only did it look the absolute dog’s gonads, but it came with some serious spec to back it up – not to mention a seriously exhilarating personality thrown in for good measure. And the thing is, it’s always been an animal on track, but whether the Italians stuffed the minimal chassis with their V-twin or V4 powerplants it’s not always been the easiest, nor most pleasant machine to ride on the road.

But then again, fast forward nigh on 10 years, and the Panigale has been through a raft of improvements, making it sexier, smarter and now for 2020, softer and easier to ride. In last year’s Ultimate Sports Bike test, the big Panigale really did suffer on the roads, but after spanking the new one on circuit at the launch earlier this year, it really did feel like a much calmer animal.

But then again, it needs to be, as the updated V4 and V4S aren’t the only new kids on the block, with Ducati ditching their entry-level (per se) 959 in favour of the updated V2. See, although the little Pani can quite easily be seen as the middleweight, or the runt of the litter in Ducati’s sporting line-up, it’s actually anything but.

Think about it this way, it packs more power than the original 999R, and very nearly the same amount of torque… and that was a world championship winning superbike just 15 years ago. It’s no slouch then, and for this year Ducati have really ramped it up a notch; it’s been given some seriously saucy cosmetic surgery, a chunk of extra beef in the engine and somehow, the V2 has even managed to nick the top-spec, and utterly spellbindingly good electronics package from the range-topping V4R. Couple that with a softer seat and suspension set up, and it sounds like a seriously sensual recipe for a decent road bike.

So how would the two measure up together? As far as specs go, there’s a whopping 20Nm of difference where torque is concerned and a monumental 59 horsepower difference, which is massive when they weigh about the same-ish. But the biggest gulf? Well, there’s also an absolutely gigantic difference on price tag – think a few quid short of the £10k mark. So the question is, is the V4S really worth an extra 10 grand? Or is the more modest (yet still fairly pricey) V2 enough for the job? Well we wrapped up and racked up some serious road mileage in typically grim Blighty weather before self-isolation to find out…

WWW FASTBIKESMAG COM WWW.FASTBIKESMAG.COM

ENJOYED THIS PREVIEW? THE BEST ACTION IN TRIALS AND MOTOCROSS

DIRTb bike ke

VELO MAC MA S SPECIAL PECIAL NORTON RT RTON INTER AJS SCEPTRE SCEP E SPORTS! SCEPTR SPORTS POR !

PORTS

CLASSIC

#48

ISSUE

Forty-eight Autumn 2018

OCTOBER 2018

No. 330 October 2018 £4.30 UK Off-sale date 31/10/2018

MOTO MEMORIES // TECH TALK // MONTESA COTA 200 // BULTACO MATADOR

3.60

Running, Riding & Rebuilding Running, Rebuilding Real RealClassi RealC Classic C lassi Motorcycles

BOXER CKS TRIC

HOW THE LEGEEND BEGAN

SUPERMAC’S TRIUMPH DRAYTON

PRINTED IN THE UK

PLUS MOTO MEMORIES TECH TALK MONTESA COTA 200 BULTACO MATADOR AN HOUR WITH: GERRIT WOLSINK

£3.60 US$9.99 C$10.99 Aus$8.50 NZ$9.99 PRINTED IN THE UK

HOME, JAMES!

UNIVERSITY GRADUATE

#48

001 Cover_OCT.indd 1

AT THE CASTLE

DRUMLANRIG 2018 D 20

WINNER

SUPER PROFILE: ARIEL’S HT3

GREEVES ESSEX TWIN BUYING GUIDE // STRIP YOUR TWOSTROKE // BSA B31 RESTORATION // MALLE MILE // CAFE RACER CUP // SHETLAND CLASSIC // THE CLASSIC TT // MIKE HAILWOOD REPLICA

CLASSICS

65 PRE65 PRE

PRINTED IN THE UK

R 2018 ISSUE 174 OCTOBER

N48 2018 US$15.99 Aus$14.99 NZ$18.99 UK£5.50 UK Off-sale date 15/11/18

BUY  SELL  RIDE  RESTORE

13/09/2018 10:34:50

001 CDB Cover_048.indd 1

02/08/2018 14:53:55

001 Cover_174.indd 1

03/09/2018 10:18:26

•SINGLE ISSUES •SUBSCRIPTIONS

CLICK HERE

www.classicmagazines.co.uk

ENDOFPREVI EW

I fy oul i k ewhaty ou’ v e r eads of ar ,whynot s ubs c r i be,ort r ya s i ngl ei s s uef r om:

www. c l as s i c magaz i nes . c o. uk