Fast Bikes Magazine December 2024 issue **FREE 20 PAGE PREVIEW**

USB 2024

ARE AFTERMARKET EXHAUST SYSTEMS STILL WORTH THE INVESTMENT? WE BOLT ONE ON TO FIND OUT.

DE C ISS EMB UE ER 422 20 24

RACING ICONS SPECIAL

EXHAUSTING IDEAS…

KAWASAKI ZX-7R

2024

Racing Icons GETTING STUCK-IN ON TRACK WITH FIVE OF THE SAUCIEST SPORTSBIKES FROM THE 1990S AND 2000S...

SUZUKI GSX-R 750 SRAD

DUCATI 996

HONDA VTR1000 SP1 YAMAHA YZF750

A DATE IN THE DESERT GETTING LOST IN THE SAHARA IN 50°C

GOODWOOD REVIVAL OLD BIKES, RACING NEW TRICKS…

ISSUE 422 DECEMBER 2024

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82

THE KNOWLEDGE TESTS

FEATURES

Ultimate Sports Bike 2024.............. 16

Addition: Aprilia RSV4X ..................52

We love a trip down memory lane, and nothing’s quite so nostalgia-inducing than a pack of retro race bikes.

Used Bike Guide..............................58 Triumph Daytonas rank among the most loved sportsbikes to ever hit the market.

Here’s what you need to know before buying one.

COLUMNISTS

Christian Iddon ...............................96 There’s just one round to go, so it’s all to play for.

Steve Parrish...................................98 More madness and wisdom from the man they call Parrish.

We take a good and thorough look at this beautiful piece of Italian exotica.

A date in the desert .......................64 Taking his love for beaches too far, Bruce tells all about his antics in the Sahara.

Goodwood Revival – Retro racing .. 76 Chad rides to acclaim on a bike that’s nearly as old as he is.

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WIN A FREE PAIR OF TICKETS TO MOTORCYCLE LIVE - AMPLIFIED! Enter the competition today to be in with a chance of winning one of the 10 FREE pairs of Motorcycle Live tickets!

Motorcycle Live 2024, in partnership with Bikesure Insurance, returns to the NEC Birmingham from November 16-24 with a new festival vibe and thrilling experiences.

Expect hundreds of exhibitors displaying the latest bikes, gear, and accessories, along with live-action performances, top trials experts, and jaw-dropping tricks.

The Festival Zone will debut, featuring spectacular stunts, entertainment on the Black Horse Stage, and a fresh presenter lineup. Enjoy the festival atmosphere with gourmet street food, live music, and no weather worries.

The Expert Lab, hosted by TV personality Grace Webb, will offer sessions on the latest tech and innovations, joined by expert guests. The Machine Shop team will provide hands-on engineering demos with Q&A opportunities.

Riding opportunities are available for all ages and skill levels, with gear provided by Arai, AGV, and RST, so no need to bring your own.

With more stages, entertainment, and fun, MCL24 is set to be a mustattend event.

HOW TO ENTER

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Try something new And just like that, another season’s come and gone. How’s yours been? What did you get up to? Was there anything you wished you’d done before the early nights kicked in and the roads turned to mud? I’m the fifirst rst to admit that I didn’t do half of what I hoped, but it’s been a cracking year of riding to date, and with the flflow ow of fresh metal heading our way, I’m aiming to clock plenty more miles on launches before 2024 gets chalked off.

It’s true that for most of us, the onset of autumn and the following winter months signals the end of our riding season, which is a shame, no doubt. But one thing I’ve always been an advocate of is looking to ways to keep on two wheels. While track riding in the UK has now come to an abrupt halt, there’s always the scope of a European event, such as the ones our friends at No Limits host plentifully during this bleak time of the year. If you’ve never done one, you really are missing out – they’re awesome, and far more stress-free than you’d imagine.

Another go-to for me is off-road. I love a bit of enduro action, be it on greenlanes or proper courses.

Living in Lincolnshire, we are pretty spoilt for both options. Or, of course, you could always look to someone like Mick Extance or Ady Smith, who both offer bike hire at proper venues for you to get stuck in.

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Moving on, Pete Boasts’ Champions Flat-Track school is another must-do gig that’s a proper fun day out and a popular haunt of top-level BSB riders. Our Timmy is often instructing there – if you get the chance to put a pass on him, I’ll send you a tenner in the post.

Then there’s beach racing, motocross, trials and pit-biking to consider. I’m rubbish at all four of these disciplines, but I’ve given them all a go over the years because they keep me on two wheels and help speed through the doldrums of this wet, cold and pretty rubbish time of year.

Basically, if you’re not ready to sit out the next six months in the hope of a half decent spring day, there’s a raft of awesome antics

to get stuck into. That’s what I’ll be doing, and hopefully so will you… and if you do, make sure to drop us a line with what you’ve been up to. In the meantime, hopefully the thrills and frolics of this issue’s Ultimate Sports Bike special helps fill fill your time – and put a smile on your face.

Enjoy!

EXHAUSTING IDEAS…

ARE AFTERMARKET EXHAUST SYSTEMS STILL WORTH THE INVESTMENT? WE BOLT ONE ON TO FIND OUT.

DEC ISSUEMBE E 42 R 20 2 24

RACING ICONS SPECIAL

KAWASAKI ZX-7R

2024

nd epic wheelie puller

BOSSY MAN

Racing Icons GETTING STUCK-IN ON TRACK WITH FIVE OF THE SAUCIEST SPORTSBIKES FROM THE 1990S AND 2000S...

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DUCATI 996

GOODWOOD REVIVAL OLD BIKES, RACING NEW TRICKS…

No. 422 December 2024

£5.25

YAMAHA YZF750

Tom Lee

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John McAvoy

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Tim Neave

HONDA VTR1000 SP1

A DATE IN THE DESERT GETTING LOST IN THE SAHARA IN 50°C

OLD MAN

Brad Howell

… and proper food and fitness guru fitness

See page 8 for the best deals, or visit classicmagazines.co.uk/ subscription/FB/fast-bikes

Alan Dowds

Steve Parrish

Tom Neave

...and combine king

LEGAL LORE

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...and hardcore off-roader

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IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE EICMA… It says December on the front of this issue, which is (we know) madness on par with Easter Eggs appearing in the shops next week.

But while it’s only early October here as we go to press, there’s a very festive feeling in the air. Not baby Jesus’s birthday (though we’ve already been stocking up on mince pies and

panettone in preparation), but the annual pagan festival of MOAR MOTORBIKES, ready for the EICMA bike show in Milan. Yes, the world might be going to hell in the proverbial handbasket, and we are all essentially doomed, but while the big corporations keep churning out sweet, sweet new machinery,

we’re going to keep our peckers up and smile through the despair.

All of which is a self-indulgent way of saying there are a load of new bikes out for 2025: here’s the early bird specials for y’all! Even more next issue, and plenty of updates on our online channels too…

2025 DUCATI MULTISTRADA V4 RANGE UPDATES There’s definitely an argument that the mighty Multistrada V4 doesn’t need too much in the way of updates (£5k off the asking price would be our favourite 2025 upgrade, but then we are very cheap). The unique V4 Granturismo engine, saucy chassis, heaps of luxury touring kit and incredible performance makes it one of our top adventure touring rocketships.

But the folks from Borgo Panigale don’t rest on their laurels, so there’s a modest update on the whole Multistrada V4 range for 2025. That stunning engine stays much the same, still making 170bhp from 1158cc, but is now Euro5+ compliant, and has an extended cylinder deactivation strategy. Before, the ECU could turn off the rear bank of cylinders when idling to

10 DECEMBER 2024 WWW.FASTBIKESMAG.COM

reduce heat generation and cut both emissions and fuel consumption. Now, it can also do that trick when moving, albeit only on low-load cruising. The result is a 6% drop in both fuel consumption and emissions – not earthshattering, but worth having, we guess.

Away from the engine, the chassis gets minor adjustments to the swingarm pivot – now 1mm higher – while the S model gets the Automatic Lowering mode as standard on the Marzocchi Skyhook semi-active electronic suspension. That means the big Multi drops down automatically when you come to a halt, to make it easier to get a foot down for the stumpy of limb. The working-class standard V4 makes do with non-electronic Marzocchi forks and shock, while

the premium Pikes Peak variant shows off with revised golden Öhlins EC2.0 semi-active sport suspension. That matches the single-sided swingarm and forged superbike-sized Marchesini rims nicely.

The whole Multistrada line-up also gets tweaked bodywork and new graphics for 2025, as well as a general upgrade of the various electronics, from the radar-assisted cruise control and rider modes to the interface on the giant 6.5in LCD dash.

The price for all this loveliness? Well, a base-level V4 starts at £17,695, the V4S comes in at £21,495, and the top-end Pikes Peak machine is a hefty £27,795. Best hope Santa has you on his good list this year!

Keep an eye on our online channels – Facebook, Twitter, and the Fast Bikes website (www.fastbikesmag.com) – for news as it happens.

SCRAMBLERS OF MERCY One for the gothic Ducatisti out there – a brace of new Scrambler 800 models to its line-up for 2025. The new Icon Black and Full Throttle models cater to a perhaps niche sector: goths who like rorty, classy, novice-friendly V-twin roadsters, with both new models available in black only. The Full Throttle does add some classy bronze highlights to the finish, as well as a neat Termignoni end can, sump guard, and an up/down quickshifter. There are no other mods to the basic Scrambler engine or chassis package, so you get the 73bhp 803cc two-valve Desmodue V-twin motor in a 176kg wet set-up, which works really well on the road, as well as looking pretty sweet. No prices as we went to press, but both bikes will be available before Christmas.

KTM RELEASES NEW AUTO GEARBOX TECH DETAILS KTM has finally unveiled its automatic transmission for 2025 and it’s pleasingly different from the three other set-ups we’ve seen this year already from Honda, BMW and Yamaha. KTM’s AMT takes a different route from those systems, opting to use a mechanical centrifugal clutch rather than a computer-controlled electronic clutch actuator unit. That simple set-up takes care of pulling away and stopping, while a ‘normal’ quickshifter set-up takes care of cutting drive when changing gear.

The gearchange itself now has an electromechanical driver in the shift drum, so allowing both fully automatic operation and a manual override mode. In the auto mode, the centrifugal clutch kicks in when you open the throttle, smoothly feeding in drive, and the transmission electronics then take over gear shifting, cutting the ride-by-wire throttle and fuelling when changing up, and auto-blipping when changing down, as on a normal up/down quickshifter. Select manual mode and you can select your own cogs, either with the foot lever, which is still in place, or else with a paddle switch on the left-hand bar. The AMT has a six-speed sequential gearchange sequence, with neutral positioned below first rather than between first and second gear, and there’s an additional P parking position which locks the gearbox like an automatic car.

We’ve ridden MV Agustas with the centrifugal clutch set-up before and they’ve worked well enough, and we assume the electronic gear shift will do the business as well. As ever with systems like this, the proof will be in the pudding – we’ll withhold judgement until we’ve had a proper run on the new set-up.

Expect to see it on the new 1390 Super Adventure first, then on other bikes in the KTM range.

• The Austrian princes of orange have also released info on a new TFT LCD dashboard design being rolled out across the range over the next year or so. The new displays come in two formats, a vertical 8-inch screen and a horizontal 8.8-incher, which is pretty enormous for a bike cockpit. Both are touchscreen units and matched to new switchgear, plus an updated connectivity module. The screens are HD resolution 1280x720 and have 256,000 colours compared with 64k before, with a bonded laminate screen featuring anti-glare, anti-fingerprint and super-high brightness and contrast. It’s basically a Sony Trinitron for the 2020s from the firm and will appear on selected premium models for next season.

KTM Premium Dash - key features: • The new unit allows apps to be streamed to the dashboard.

• Allows future Over-the-Air software updates.

• 32GB storage/ 3GB RAM. • lnternet of Things.

• eSim/GPS/Bluetooth/Wi-Fi connectivity.

• Android automotive operating system.

DECEMBER 2024 WWW.FASTBIKESMAG.COM 11

PLANE T FAST BIKES – NEW METAL

, NEWS & REVIEW S

YAMAHA R1 RACE AND GYTR We knew this was coming – but it still hits hard.

The first Yamaha R1 appeared just six years after Fast Bikes itself hit the streets, so in many ways we grew up together. It was the original rulebook rewriter, the superbike that toppled the mighty Honda FireBlade, the first of the modern breed of 999cc superbikes that led to the likes of the Suzuki GSX-R1000, Kawasaki ZX-10R and BMW S1000 RR. Nothing lasts forever though, and Yamaha’s thrown in the towel on the superbike class in road-going form – for Europe and the UK, at least. It’s reclassified the R1 as a competition machine only, as it did with the R6 a couple of years ago, so it’s like buying a motocross bike.

The 2025 R1 Race isn’t homologated for road

use, comes without road gear or numberplates, and can’t be registered at all.

A massive shame, since it’s the best-looking R1 yet. The firm’s given it a set of carbon fibre aero wings, uprated Brembo Stylema brake calipers and master cylinder, revised KYB forks and a light magnesium rear wheel (we give it about a fortnight before someone hot-glues all this kit onto a 2024 road bike).

Weirdly, it looks like it keeps a road-going exhaust with catalyst, as well as the ABS set-up, sidestand and ignition lock. Why? Well, the R1 will stay as a road bike on sale in the US and other markets where they don’t need to get a Euro 5+ homologation. Click on the Yamaha

Motor USA website and you can see it on sale there, with lights, for just $19,000…

Yamaha’s also offering a fancy GYTR track version of the new R1 which comes with more circuit-focused kit: no stands, an Akrapovic race pipe, race bodywork, Brembo race brake pads, keyless ignition and more. It’s FIM Superstockcompliant in terms of regs and is ready to race (though the 100dB Akra might struggle on some UK tracks).

Both new bikes are on sale now; prices were TBC when we went to press, but the old road R1 was about £18,500 and the R1 GYTR from 2023 cost £26,500, so that will presumably be the ballpark. More info: www.yamaha-motor.eu

MORE GRUNT AND OPTIONAL ELECTRONIC SUSPENSION FOR 2025 HONDA NT1100 Honda specialises in making bikes that go much better than their spec sheet suggests, and that’s true for the 100bhp/238kg NT1100 sport tourer. Based on the Africa Twin engine and frame, it’s been a big hit in Europe and the UK since launching in 2022, selling more than 12,000 units so far. For 2025 it’s getting a moderately comprehensive update, with new, more protective bodywork, extra midrange torque and optional semi-active suspension.

The engine gets a classic top-end tweak for more grunt: altered intake and injector geometry, a bit more compression, different fuel mapping

and bigger intake trumpets, all of which gives an extra 7Nm, with peak torque coming in 750rpm sooner – 112Nm @ 5500rpm. Peak power stays as you were, at 100bhp@7500rpm.

The optional semi-active suspension comes from Japanese firm Showa, dubbed Showa Electronically Equipped Ride Adjustment (Showa-EERA). Specially developed for the NT1100, EERA claims to automatically provide optimum damping relative to stroke speed, adjusting damping based on bike speed (from the ECU), bike stance and attitude (from the IMU),

12 DECEMBER 2024 WWW.FASTBIKESMAG.COM

and fork behaviour (from the stroke sensor) – and it all happens in 15 milliseconds. There are three pre-defined suspension modes – urban, tour and rain, plus a customisable user set-up that’s fully tweakable.

No word on price or availability as we went to press; expect full details at the NEC bike show in November.

Keep an eye on our online channels – Facebook, Twitter, and the Fast Bikes website (www.fastbikesmag.com) – for news as it happens.

2025 KAWASAKI VERSYS 1100 AND NINJA 1100 SX Kawasaki’s got a lot of previous with the 1100cc capacity; its GPz1100 in 1983 was arguably one of the first proper modern superbikes, with half-fairing, fuel injection and monoshock suspension. The ZZ-R1100 in 1990 was the fastest bike in the world for seven years, and it’s had various other ZRX, GPZ and Zephyr 1100s since. So, these two upgraded 1000s have some heritage behind them. The Versys 1000 adventure tourer and Ninja 1000 SX sporty tourer have been doing good work in recent years, offering strong, grunty performance in usable practical packages, and for 2025 they get extra capacity for even more drive.

The engine mods are similar on both bikes: capacity goes up from 1043cc to 1099cc thanks to a 3mm longer stroke and that, plus intake mods, boost

torque. The Versys also gets an extra 14bhp peak power – which it arguably needed, having just 120bhp in 1000 form. The Ninja sticks with 140-odd bhp peak output, with the extra midrange drive.

There are other detail mods on both bikes, but the big story is probably the new SE variant of the Ninja, which comes with Brembo M4.32 calipers, Brembo master cylinder and discs, plus braided steel hoses. It also gets an Öhlins S46 rear monoshock with remote preload adjuster and standard-fit heated grips.

Both new Kawasaki 1100s will be in the shops for Christmas, with the Ninja costing £12,249 for the standard model or £13,999 for the SE. The standard Versys costs £11,899 and the SE (which comes with Showa semi-active suspension) is £15,649.

HUSQVARNA VITPILEN 801 We saw most of this earlier in the summer; the new Husqvarna 801 roadster has already been released in Svartpilen (black arrow) scrambler form and for 2025 we get the other option, the Vitpilen (white arrow). As with the smaller models in the Husqvarna road bike range, both bikes share the basic engine and frame from a KTM Duke – this time, the 790 parallel twin. The Vitpilen 801 has the same 105bhp LC8c engine in a steel tube trellis frame, with WP Apex adjustable suspension, J.Juan brakes, Michelin Road 6 rubber and the firm’s usual electronic riding aids – cornering ABS and traction and Bluetooth phone link. The up/down quickshifter is an extra-cost option though, which is a bit cheap, we reckon.

It is the style that we come here for, though, and the Vitpilen has much classier, quality feel than the slightly garish orange Duke. Details like the slash-cut silencer, angular bodywork, neat belly pan and the bi-LED projector headlamp are all pretty sweet, and the overall café racer design is really appealing – especially if you’re on the hunt for something a bit different. It’ll be in the shops in early 2025, price to be confirmed.

DECEMBER 2024 WWW.FASTBIKESMAG.COM 13

PLA NET FAST BIKES – NEW ME TAL

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IT’S FINALLY HERE… YAMAHA’S ALL-NEW R9 Yamaha gives new triple-powered sportsbike decent spec – but it’s no R1 replacement

A

s we go to press, we’re just receiving the final details on Yamaha’s long-awaited R9 sportsbike. And it’s quite a tempting little proposition on the quiet. Yamaha’s gone above and beyond our expectations in some respects, giving the new uppermiddleweight sportster some classy chassis components and a new lightweight bespoke aluminium frame, as well as modern aerodynamic bodywork with winglets. But with peak power output of 117bhp and a wet weight of 195kg, the bare performance figures fi gures were already attracting criticism on

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social media, with unflattering comparisons to 15-year-old 600 supersports bikes (never change, Facebook!)

This is simplistic stuff, of course. The 890cc CP3 triple motor inside the new R9 is a fabulous powerplant, with strong, torquey delivery (and compliance with the Euro5 rules that killed the old R6). On the road, it’s a very capable unit, with all the modern bells and whistles that come with ride-by-wire throttle and 2024 electronics. It’s been tweaked

from the version in the MT-09, with different fuel injection settings and altered final drive ratios – but the fundamentals of the 890cc inline-three DOHC 12v unit remain the same, with a bore and stroke of 78x62mm and 11.5:1 compression ratio.

The chassis is all-new though, starting with that Deltabox frame, which has been specially designed for the sporty R9, and weighs just 9.7kg, thanks to clever gravitycast production techniques. Hanging off either end is new fully adjustable KYB suspension, with 43mm USD forks and a new monoshock design. The forks feature separate damping circuits in each leg – right

Keep an eye on our online channels – Facebook, Twitter, and the Fast Bikes website (www.fastbikesmag.com) – for news as it happens.

R9 TECH HIGHLIGHTS

for rebound and left for compression – and both forks and shock were developed alongside the new 2025 R1 suspension package.

Perhaps the biggest chassis surprise is the brakes, though, finally Yamaha fi nally dropping the silver/ gold/blue spot four-piston calipers that have graced all its performance bikes in recent decades in favour of fancy Brembo Stylema four-piston radial mount calipers. These are paired up with a Brembo master cylinder, 320mm discs and braided steel hoses to provide ample stopping power, you’d imagine.

Bridgestone is supplying the rubber – sweet RS11 hoops that will do great work on track and road, in classic supersport 120/70 front and 180/55 rear sizes.

The bodywork is familiar R-bike familystyle stuff, with the corporate blue giving a uniform look with the R125, R3 and R7 models. The 9 gets a set of wings though, which claim to reduce front wheel lift by 6-7 per cent at speed, and the overall aerodynamics of the full fairing is claimed to be better than on the old R6, despite having a bigger engine and radiator.

Last but not least, the R9 is packed with up-to-date electronics, with leansensitive traction, ABS (switchable on the rear), anti-wheelie, slide control, engine brake control and power modes. There’s also the latest generation up/ down quickshifter, cruise control and Bluetooth connectivity, all accessed via a full colour five-inch five-inch LCD dashboard. There’s also an optional Y-Trac set-up aimed at track users, which adds full datalogging of all bike functions including lean angle and traction intervention, GPS, throttle position, gear, speed and engine revs, as well as a virtual pit board, that lets your pals in pitlane message ‘Gas it

• All-new lightweight gravity cast aluminium Deltabox frame.

• Brembo front master cylinder and Stylema calipers with 320mm discs and braided steel lines.

• New KYB 43mm front forks with Separate Damping Force design.

• Fully adjustable latest-generation KYB rear shock with remote adjuster.

• 195kg wet weight.

• Award-winning CP3, 890cc, EU5+, 119PS engine.

• Six-axs IMU with full suite of lean-sensitive rider aids.

• Third-generation Quick Shift System (QSS).

• Exclusive track settings with rear ABS off mode and full YRC adjustability.

• CCU and datalogging capability.

• Five-inch full colour TFT display with connectivity features.

• Power delivery, traction control, slide control system, brake control, back slip regulator, engine brake management and front wheel lift control.

• Bridgestone RS11 supersport tyres.

• Adjustable levers.

• Forged aluminium gearshift pedal.

• Optional Y-Trac function offers a ‘Virtual Pitboard’, where the rider’s pit crew can send messages to their dashboard while on track.

W***er!!!’ every 30 seconds while you’re trying to win inters again.

The price for all this? A frankly notunreasonable £12,250, and the new R9 will be available in March 2025.

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2024

Racing Icons WORDS: BIG MAC PICS: JAMIE MORRIS

I

t’s funny, but more often than not, whenever the subject of icons or golden eras comes up, the late 1990s and early 2000s often have the strongest case for being the time when being into bikes, specifically sportsbikes, was the best. Now this might be because it’s well-documented that the average age of a motorcyclist these days is rising, thus it stands to reason that many of today’s active bikers were active then and, like myself, in their prime of youth. Therefore, the majority of bikers today will have rose-tinted glasses for that moment in time.

It seems that to many, the golden era of superbikes was indeed that 10ish-year period when manufacturers seemingly had free reign to pretty much do whatever they wanted with model updates and when racing budgets were apparently virtually limitless. Crowds at the British Superbike races were huge, even by today’s excellent numbers, and when World Superbikes came to the UK and Carl Fogarty mania was at its peak, Brands Hatch would ram in more than 100,000 people trackside on race day alone.

These were heady times that some of us on Fast Bikes (well, me) were lucky enough to not only have lived through, but also to have actually been part of. I was one of those 100,000 people at Brands Hatch; I’d spend my weekends visiting all the local bike dealers in my area just to see an SRAD up close – or a 916 while I made do with my scruffy two-stroke. And I wasn’t alone… this kind of behaviour was completely normal.

Clearly, motorcycles have advanced tremendously since then, and thanks to the miracle that is the internet and YouTube, obsessing over them and the races they compete in is much easier, so maybe the impact a modern-day superbike makes on a generation isn’t quite as profound as it was then, which probably explains why some bikes from that era can conjure feelings strong enough to still refer to them as icons.

So, if the 916, SRAD, ZX-7R, YZF750 and SP-1 are the pick of the bunch from that era, the icons of the icons would have to be those which dominated on home soil: specifically, the Neil Hodgson GSE Ducati, Chris Walker

Suzuki SRAD, Niall McKenzie Cadbury Boost Yamaha, Glen Richards Hawk Kawasaki ZX-7R and Joey Dunlop’s TT winning Honda SP-1. These would be the Ultimate Icons.

We teamed up with our friends at Renaissance Racing, who are acutely aware of the soft spot many of us hold for these bikes and that era of racing. They have assembled a fleet of them for old folk like me to take trips down memory lane and youngsters like Bruce and Tim to glimpse the past and see what all the fuss is about. The bikes are, in fact, well-prepared standard road bikes and not the actual race bikes they mimic, which is a good thing – and not only because the sheer cost of getting all five factory bikes together and running them would be impossible to justify. Instead, using some beautifully prepared road bikes with a sprinkling a trick bits wearing tribute bodywork means that what you have here are road bikes decked out in their most iconic race colours for a truly unique group test, which itself probably hasn’t been done for 20 years – certainly not on track.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

SUPPORTED BY

SPECIAL THANKS… As with all of our big tests, we can’t make them happen without the support we get from some of the best in the business. So, a few brands you’ll see a lot more of over the next few pages are Michelin, R&G, and Shark helmets. When pushing to the limits on track,

we’d be daft not to enlist the help of some top-spec, track-friendly rubber, which Michelin delivered in the form of its new Power GP2 (which we’ve reviewed a few pages on in this issue). As ever, R&G was there to keep the bikes guarded as well as shiny, thanks to

an abundance of products from its awesome Gleam product range. And Shark stepped in with its new Aeron GP helmet, which is a topnotch performance lid if ever we’ve seen one.

Needless to say, a huge thanks goes to all those who got on board and made this test a reality.

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WORDS: BIG MAC

THE ORIGINS

SUZUKI GSX-R750 SRAD T

he SRAD was only around for three years, yet somehow it feels like much longer. Introduced in 1996 and discontinued in 1999, it was unique in many ways, but one of its claims which often gets overlooked is that it was a bike which changed from carburettors to fuel injection without there being a new model or even any other significant updates.

The late 1990s and early 2000s was a period when manufacturers were making the switch to fuel injection, and it usually came when there was a new model. The Fireblade got it on the 929 and the R1 when it was replaced in 2002. Kawasaki never gave the ZX-7R fuel injection and neither did Yamaha with the YZF, preferring to just discontinue them altogether.

Literally all that changed between the ’97 SRAD and the ’98 version was the addition of fuel injection, which might not sound like much, but when you consider that the SRAD was gone just a couple of years later, and thus the all-new 2000 GSX-R750 would have been well down the road in terms of being 18 DECEMBER 2024 WWW.FASTBIKESMAG.COM

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

SUPPORTED BY

SPEC ENGINE:

Type:

developed, I wonder why Suzuki didn’t just save itself the hassle of adapting the SRAD to take fuel injection and just build the new one coming with it. I don’t know the answer, and I’ve never been able to find anyone who does, but for me the most plausible explanation is that it was needed for racing.

Like all the other 750s, the late 1990s was a difficult time on racetracks thanks to the dominance of Ducati, but the SRAD was still there, or thereabouts, grabbing the odd WSB podium in the hands of James Witham in ’97 and ’98, but then in ’99 and 2000, it picked up 12 podiums and five wins, which may or may not have something to do with the arrival of fuel injection, but there was a clear improvement in results after it was added to the bike.

Before the SRAD, the 1995 GSX-R750 has a bloodline that goes all the way back to the original 1985 bike, just as the final GSX-R750 in 2022 can trace its DNA back to the SRAD. Despite there being literally dozens of versions and variations, there are only really two types of GSX-R750: those before the SRAD and those after. The SRAD marked the point when Suzuki left the 1980s behind – even though it was the 1990s by then.

As is typical of Suzuki, it was late to the lightweight, sharp geometry, big power party, but when it finally decided to join in, it went big, more or less just copying its legendary RGV500 Grand Prix bike’s chassis geometry and concept and giving it 128bhp, which was massive for a 750. It was also

20kg lighter than the ’95 GSX-R, and just like that Suzuki went from having the bike nobody wanted because by 1995 it was massively overweight and underpowered compared to, well, everything else out there to having a bike that everyone wanted and was the default option as an alternative to the Fireblade.

It’s safe to say that the SRAD was never really immortalised on the racetrack in the same way the other bikes on this test were, but there was one which at least here in the UK did win the hearts and minds of race fans – the one Chris Walker campaigned in the 2000 British Superbike championship.

In a classic David and Goliath encounter, Walker, on the plucky SRAD, took the fight to Hodgson on the superior Ducati and very nearly pulled off a miracle but for an engine failure within a few laps of the end of the final race while sitting in a championship-winning position. The sight of Walker in tears as he trudged back to the pits, his SRAD leaning against the wall still smoking, remains one of the most human sights of bike racing anyone who saw it can probably ever recall.

In a sport where everything is so corporate and so immaculate, the sight of Walker’s SRAD clearly failing beneath him, having given its all, and then later Walker’s tears of despair, are as much a part of the reason why this bike has to be those colours – as well as, of course, all the epic battles and many race wins it took that year.

Bore x stroke: Compression: Fuelling: Claimed power: Claimed torque:

749cc, liquid-cooled, 16v, inline-four 72mm x 46mm 12:1 Electronic fuel injection 128bhp @ 12,000rpm 82Nm @ 10,000rpm

ELECTRONICS:

RBW/riding modes: Traction control: ABS: Quickshifter: Wheelie control: Launch control:

No/none No No No No No

CHASSIS:

Frame: F Suspension: R suspension: Front brakes: Rear brake:

Aluminium twin spar 43mm Showa forks, fully adjustable Monoshock, fully adjustable Six-piston calipers, 2 x320mm discs Two-piston caliper, 220mm disc

DIMENSIONS:

Wheelbase: Seat height: Dry weight: Fuel capacity:

1395mm 830mm 178kg 18.5 litres

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WORDS: BIG MAC

ON TRACK

SUZUKI GSX-R 750 SRAD I

’ll cut straight to the chase and say that everything I wanted the SRAD to be on track, it was. It did not disappoint one bit, which I was very relieved about. I can’t believe I’ve never ridden an SRAD on track before, but I must have ridden dozens on the road over the years, and if I’m honest, and at the risk of getting berated by readers, I never ‘got’ what the fuss was all about. I was always left feeling underwhelmed by the experience of riding a recognised gamechanging motorbike and just put it down to me being in the wrong head space every time I had the chance. Until now…

It’s amazing how after all those years, all it took to get the SRAD was one lap of Cadwell Park, and now I realise where I was going wrong. The SRAD is a very, very simple bike – and I mean that in a 20 DECEMBER 2024 WWW.FASTBIKESMAG.COM

complimentary way. Maybe a better way of putting it is that it is uncomplicated, in so much as all it wants is to be thrashed, that’s all. The whole package is there, just to be grabbed hold of and dragged round a lap as fast as you dare without any quirks or soft limits put on you by it.

It’s the bike which took the least amount of time to figure out; there isn’t anything to figure out, because it just does what you want and goes wherever you look. You don’t have to adapt to any part of its dynamic – it almost seems like it adapts to you. The engine is fast, like really fast, and it spins up really quickly, feeling thoroughly modern as it does. I don’t know what power each of the bikes make, but the SRAD must be the most powerful; if not, it certainly feels like it is because of how aggressively it revs – it just wants to go.

The gearbox is smooth, and small details like how short and positive the throw is on the gear lever, which makes swopping cogs a really snappy process, add to the modern feel.

It still needs a spaced-out approach to downshifting, but thanks to the flexibility and responsiveness of the engine, you never need to go to first gear because the motor can pull second gear off the slower corners. Being able to not use first gear makes a massive difference to how much you can really attack the final part of the braking phase/turn into a corner. It means you can trail brake with much more confidence, knowing that you don’t have to drop it into first gear and invite unwanted hopping or locking from the rear wheel.

It’s a great example of how the positive effect on corner exit can also have the added side effect of smoothing out the corner entry.

Of course, these sort of spin-off benefits don’t