Fast Bikes March 2022 issue - 389

TRIUMPH TIGER SPORT 660

OUR GUIDE TO THIS DREAM BIKE

MA R ISS CH UE 202 389 2

NIPPY, NIMBLE AND NAUGHTY

MV AGUSTA F4 RC

WE’VE NEVER HAD IT SO GOOD! BIKES HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE AWESOME. WE EXPLORE THE REASONS WHY…

GREAT, BUT GONE! CHECKING OUT THR EE OF THE BEST USED BIKES WE WIS H WERE STILL MADE

DRIFT MODE

ENGAGED WE GET STUCK INTO THE FLAT TRACK SCENE…

PLUS

THOSE TOP TRACKDAY QUESTIONS ARE ANSWERED

TRACK SPEC: RSV4 1100 FACTORY

ISSUE 389 MARCH 2022

68 THE KNOWLEDGE

Used Bike Guide .............................62 If you’re struggling to think of ways to spend the stacks of cash under your bed, MV’s F4 RC could be just the answer. Here’s all you need to know before buying one.

James Hillier ...................................84 He’s one of the fastest blokes around the TT and one of the nicest, too. We catch up with Hillier ahead of his return to the Isle of Man.

YOUR LIFE ON BIKES

You and Yours ................................88 All of your adventures

Chatter ...........................................90 A page dedicated to the best readers in the world…

TESTS

Great, but gone! ..............................18 We revisit three of the very best sportsbikes we wish were still in production.

Triumph Tiger Sport 660 .................40

Dom Herbertson ............................. 96

Nippy, nimble and naughty... there’s a lot to like about Triumph’s middleweight sporty adventure.

COLUMNISTS

Christian Iddon ...............................94 Iddon edges closer to sealing a deal.

BUY

Dom’s getting fired up for the road racing season… and warm pints.

Tom Neave ...................................... 97

62

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Steve Parrish................................... 98 Steve’s been playing with puppies.

FEATURES

We’ve never had it so good! .......... 54

GEAR

FASTBIKESMAG.COM

It’s all systems go for Honda’s newest superbike racer.

Alternatively, scan the QR code on this page and order your next copy today. We will send it directly to you!

Ever stopped to take in how far bikes have come in recent years? Well, that’s exactly what we’ve done.

Drift mode engaged........................ 68 Wonder why Rossi and his mates love flat track? We get hands-on and cover the benefits.

Track Spec ...................................... 78 We take a gander at a saucy Aprilia RSV4 Factory.

54

WELCOME

Way back when...

T

here’s a lot to be said for a good old chin-wag, especially over a pint. General pondering has been the source of so many great features over the years, and this issue’s cover test is no exception. It came about simply enough, with Johnny and I bandying around the question of which bikes should never have been discontinued, with the resulting list being as staggering as a politician’s expense claim. In no time whatsoever we’d racked up a hefty selection of all sorts and sizes, spanning about three decades. The funny thing was that we agreed on pretty much every bike mentioned, with Suzuki’s GSX-R 750 K6/7 being about top of that list. How on earth did that ever get pulled from production?

It was and still is an iconic bike, and we decided there and then we needed to get our hands on one. Likewise, Triumph’s beloved Daytona 675R was seen as a worthy sparring partner and, love them or

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BOSSY MAN

BSB SU PER S TA R

dangerous@fastbikes.co.uk

...and Britain’s best builder

MONEY MAN

TRACK RIDING GURU

coakman@fastbikes.co.uk

...and super nice bloke

FA ST M AN

TT WINNER

SUPERSTOCK WINNER

...and karaoke king

...and combine king

MOTOGP SAGE

SUPERBIKE SNAPPER

...and wine connoisseur

...and eBay addict

‘Dangerous’ Bruce Wilson

Charlie ‘The Sheriff’ Oakman

Tim Neave

tneave@mortons.co.uk

OLD MAN

John McAvoy

gramps@fastbikes.co.uk

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then? It’s a big question, and one that’d be great to know your answer to, so drop us a line if you find the time. On that note, thanks to all who have written in of late, telling us about what they’ve been up to over winter, their plans for the New Year, and suggestions of where to go and ride.

That’s the best thing about this time of the season; planning out when and where you want to go. With a bit of luck, life will be a little more normal in 2022 and I, probably like you, intend to make the most of it – especially so if we get some half decent weather. Spring can’t come soon enough!

hate them, KTM’s RC8 R whetted our appetite for a whole mixed bag of reasons. Just like that, we’d shortlisted three special bikes we wished were still going – or, at least, nostalgia was there to fuel that thought process. Were they just flashes in the pan, or the kind of bikes you’d like to take home to meet your mother, even after all this time? Fastforward a few pages and you’ll soon find out, but before you do, take a second to think back over your favourite bike(s).

Chances are they’re no longer in production, which is just the way it goes, but would you be prepared to trade in what you’ve got now for what you had

Christian Iddon

Dean Ellison

Gary Johnson

Jack Fairman

ROAD RACING LEGEND Peter Hickman ...and BSB winner

RACING PUNDIT

Steve Parrish

...and pro at pranks

YOUNG MAN

Carl Stevens

teaboy@fastbikes.co.uk

Tom Neave

Jamie Morris

LEGAL LORE

Andrew Dalton

...and hardcore off-roader

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NE W S & RE VIE W S PL ANET FAST BIKES – NE W ME TA L,

50TH ANNIVERSARY KAWASAKIS

Fast Bikes magazine turned 30 in 2021 but fast bikes themselves are (arguably) 50 years old this year, because it was back in 1972 that Kawasaki launched the Z1 – the first 900cc superbike. Okay, Honda had put out its inline-four CB750 a few years earlier, but the big Kawasaki moved things on to a new level, with its 81bhp motor, twin brake discs and hot styling.

And now Kawasaki is celebrating that anniversary with a series of special edition bikes – four in total, with posh variants of the 2022

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Z650 and Z650 RS twins, and the Z900 and Z900 RS fours.

They’re nothing too extreme. You get unique candy red paint jobs on the RS models that echo the styling on early Z1s, while the Z900 and Z650 get a later GPz1100-style Firecracker Red paint job, for some reason. The RS bikes have wheels finished in gold, there are neat gold tank badges

and a Z50th logo, plus special premium seat materials and stitching. Kawasaki is also supplying a unique 50th anniversary book that won’t be available anywhere else.

There’s about a £500 price premium for the 50th anniversary bikes over standard, which seems decent for the spec. More info from your dealer or at www.kawasaki.co.uk

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

Ducati Moto E

Hate it or despise it, electric bike racing is here to stay, it seems. And the MotoE support series looks to be sharpening up a bit from next year.

The current Energica Ego Corse machines used in the series are impressive (we rode one a couple of years back), but are compromised by being modified road bikes rather than custombuilt track tools.

Ducati’s going to change that for 2023, when it takes over the contract to supply bikes for the series, and it’s showed off its prototype for the first time, wazzing around Misano under test rider Michele Pirro. There’s not too much to see on the fully-faired bike from the pics – although it’s obviously a lot sleeker and sexier than the old

Energicas. The weight is the biggest issue with the current bikes; they tip the scales at 260kg and have to use modified Hayabusa suspension components, which is an obvious handicap. A bespoke race bike should be able to lose a fair chunk of that mass while still keeping the same performance and range – indeed, Ducati reckons that’s the main point of the project.

Pirro was (obviously) raving: “The bike is light and already has a good balance. Furthermore, the throttle connection in the first opening phase and the ergonomics are very similar to those of a MotoGP bike. If it weren’t for the silence and for the fact

that in this test we decided to limit the power output to just 70% of performance, I could easily have imagined that I was riding my bike.”

Even more interesting is Ducati’s comments on the ultimate point of the MotoE bike. “Ducati’s experience in the FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup will be a fundamental support for product R&D,” the firm said. “The goal is to create, as soon as the technology allows it, a Ducati electric vehicle for road use that is sporty, light, exciting and able to satisfy all enthusiasts.”

So, there you have it – this prototype is part of the firm’s road bike R&D and will, presumably, lead to a Panigale E at some point in the future.

Watch this space.

Valentino Rossi – All His Races

Valentino Rossi’s retirement last season was a big blow to MotoGP; his character won’t be easily replaced. But you can soften the blow by picking up this book by legendary MotoGP reporter Mat Oxley, which covers every single race in Grands Prix (and beyond) that Rossi has competed in.

“It’s been a joy watching Valentino’s GP career from the very beginning in 1996, and I’ve really enjoyed reliving so many of his great moments through writing this book,” said Mat. “In fact, I started with his first international campaign in 1995, dissecting and analysing every one of his 400-plus races since then. It’s a career that may never be matched and it’s been an honour to write this book, which I hope becomes the ultimate tribute to Valentino’s brilliance.”

The book is a beefy 336-page coffee table job rammed with ace pics from the top GP snappers, and costs £50 from all good booksellers (and rubbish ones too, no doubt!)

Metzeler new tyres

New Year, new rubber from the German tyre-meisters. This time it’s some off-road fitments: a new fourth-generation Tourance Next 2 aimed at road riding, and some more hardcore Karoo 4 off-road-biased hoops. The Tourance Next 2s promise better grip and mileage on tarmac, with an irregular tread pattern amusingly named the ‘Multi-Pitch Knob Layout’. The idea is to have differentsized tread blocks in contact with the road at

all times for better performance and less road noise. There’s also a multi-compound tread, with softer shoulders for better edge grip.

For the Karoo 4, there’s a new tread pattern that promises good performance on wet asphalt, while still coping well with proper off-road riding on sand mud and clay.

Both tyres are available in almost all adventure touring sizes, including 21in fronts and 18in rears, and are in shops around now.

MARCH 2022 WWW.FASTBIKESMAG.COM 11

L, NEW S & REVIE WS PLAN ET FAST BIKES – NEW META

BMW PAINT-CHANGING TECHNOLOGY A wacky new concept from BMW’s car division, shown off at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show, is this colour-changing paint job. It uses the same technology as the ‘electronic ink’ on a Kindle or e-book to swap the ‘paint’ from white to black in infinitely different patterns. It’s surely only a matter of time before a) it appears on bikes, b) we get more colours, and c) people hack it to say rude words. What a time to be alive!

Yam extended warranty

Good news for Yamaha UK customers. The tuning fork firm has launched an extended factory warranty programme that lets you buy another 12 months of warranty in addition to the standard 24 months. It’s a proper factory warranty rather than an insurance product and covers the bike itself, so it can be passed onto a new owner if you sell on. It costs between £270 and £349, depending on engine capacity.

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World SSP regs go crazy World Supersport looks to be a LOT more interesting from next season, with no less than six new bikes approved for the series. It’s a weird mix: the Suzuki GSX-R750 is on the list, despite not being sold here since 2018 (though it’s still made for the US and other markets), and the Triumph Street Triple 765 is there too, despite being a naked bike. Presumably DORNA will look the other way while you throw some old Daytona fairings on one in a bizarre non-standard homologation atrocity.

The Kawasaki ZX-636R is also now allowed (from 2023), so you’re not stuck with the dull 599cc effort, and the 955cc Ducati Panigale V2 and 800cc MV Agusta triples are also now permitted. All the new bikes have various arcane rev limits and there’s a total minimum weight of bike and rider of 242kg across the series. Don’t be surprised if you see ‘Triumph Rocket 3s with one spark plug removed and 2000rpm redline’ on the list for 2023. Madness, maybe – but we do like the idea of more interesting racing…

ES T PERF ORMA NC E PRODUC TS ALL THE LATEST, CO OL ES T & TRICK

JORGE MARTIN HELMET He might have a rotten nickname (The Martinator...

FFS?), but Jorge Martin is one of MotoGP’s hot young guns and had a pretty special rookie season on the Pramac Ducati last year. His replica helmet is a corker, as well – and here it is. It’s a Shark Race R Pro GP, which is a lot of name, and is the fanciest lid you can buy from the French firm. It’s packed with top features, has stunning aerodynamic design and looks utterly amazing.

Get one now before he goes fully mainstream!

RRP: £870 HTTPS://SHARK-HELMETS.COM

GB RACING BRAKE LEVER PROTECTORS British firm GB Racing has been extending its range of front brake lever guards over the close season and has a heap of new fitments now available for the latest BMW S1000RR, Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade, CBR600RR, Yamaha R1 and R6 models. The new guards fit straight onto the standard bars with no modifications, and all components are also available as spares for cheaper and easier repairs.

RRP: From £62 .86 WWW.GBRACING.EU

KEIS BLUETOOTH HEATER CONTROL Okay, electric heated kit maybe isn’t very sexy. But if you want to keep riding through the winter it’s a proper lifesaver, keeping you toasty without massive layers of thermal kit. An electric vest from the likes of KEIS makes year-round biking a breeze and once you give it a go, you’ll not go back. This little Bluetooth controller makes life even easier, too. It plugs into a KEIS heated jacket or trousers set-up and pairs to a smartphone app – so you can control the heating levels directly from your phone, mounted on your bike’s bars. It’s fully waterproof and also has a manual override button to bypass the Bluetooth functions. Clever stuff.

RRP: £45 HTTPS://KEISAPPAREL.COM

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PRODUCTS

DESERT FOX FUEL CELL It’s aimed at adventure riders and long-distance fans but we can definitely see this folding fuel cell coming in very handy for loads of riders. It’s a tough, canvas-reinforced fuel bladder in three, six or 20-litre capacities that folds down flat into almost nothing when empty.

The outer casing features tough cotton webbing and heavy-duty D-rings, plus a flexible filling spout in its own pocket. Ideal for off-road riders, emergency use, or just as a back-up if you’re touring the Scottish Highlands, or rural France on a Sunday. They’re not cheap at £43, £49 and £55 for the three sizes, but are well-made... tough bits of kit. Essential for Honda Firestorm and new Suzuki Katana owners.

RRP: £43-£55 WWW.NIPPYNORMANS.COM

RAPID BIKE SMART FUELLING MODULE It’s getting harder and harder to tweak the fuelling on the latest Euro 4 and Euro 5 bikes – but this new Rapid Smart unit aims to do just that. It works via the Lambda sensor, altering the signal to fool the stock ECU into changing the fuel/air ratio to suit a new exhaust or other tuning mods. It works with bikes like the latest BMW S1000 RR, which are proving difficult to tune in the normal ways. It’s supplied with a plug-and-play wiring harness for your bike and a downloadable software package, has Bluetooth connectivity, and is easy to disable and remove when you want to put your bike back to stock.

RRP: £315 WWW.PERFORMANCEPARTS-LTD.COM

OXFORD ZERO-G PADDOCK STANDS New Year, new paddock stands from top accessory firm Oxford Products. The Zero-G stands come in lightweight (4kg) aluminium for the garage queens, solid steel for the proper workshop folks, and single-sided options. Choose fork-mount or headstock front stands, and there’s something for everyone.

RRP: £99.99 (steel and single-sided stands); £119.99 (aluminium stands); £139.99 (headstock stand) HTTP://OXFORDZERO-G.COM

TWO TYRES TYRE PRESSURE GAUGE Who better to design a tyre pressure gauge than the folk who run a tyre-fitting shop? That’s what the guys at Two Tyres in London have done. They went to a supplier, told them what they needed in an everyday gauge, and had a batch produced to order. There’s an easy-fit valve, rugged hose and weatherproof construction, and it comes in high precision digital or analogue read-out.

Decent price, too.

RRP: £24 (digital); £20 (analogue) HTTPS://TWOTYRES.CO.UK

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ED AND RE VIE W ED THE VERY BEST KI T – US ED, ABUS

RICHA INFINITY 2 PRO J ACKET, COLORADO 2 PRO PANTS AND ARTIC PRO GORE-TEX GLOVES TESTED BY: TIM NEAVE MILES: 150 TIME: ONE DAY PRICE: JACKET: £329.99

TROUSERS: £289.99 GLOVES: £99.99 WEBSITE:

WWW.NEVIS.UK.COM I’m not the kind of guy to wear textiles, but when its freezing cold and lashing it down outside, you’d be stupid not to.

Leathers just don’t cut in in winter conditions and squeezing into a waterproof jacket just isn’t practical at the best of times. These are my first textiles from Richa, a middle-ground brand that does high-quality gear for a very reasonable price, and I was pleasantly impressed.

The Infinity 2 Pro jacket is now in its second generation and has an improved fit that also enhances the laminated Aquashell Ltd PRO 2L outer layer, keeping you perfectly dry even in torrential rain, and the wind resistance is top-notch. I thought the fit was great; although a little long in the arms for me, it fitted perfectly everywhere else. The Velcro straps on the arms and torso sides are perfect for nipping up the jacket for a snugger fit or loosening for a baggier feel. The pockets are large and well positioned

16 MARCH 2022 WWW.FASTBIKESMAG.COM

with a zip and press button cover, so nothing is going to slip out or get wet.

The detachable thermal lining and in-built zipper-controlled ventilation gives you all the options to control the temperature as the seasons change, and they’re all fully waterproofed to keep the rain out.

D3O® shoulder, elbow and back protection is fitted in the jacket as standard, and the soft-finish neoprene collar and cuffs ensures the jackets is comfortable. Available in sizes S-12XL. It can be connected to the bike trousers with the short zipper at the back, but I rode with mine unzipped so I could take off the jacket easily.

The trousers present the same qualities as the jacket: waterproof, windproof, and zips for ventilation.

The large zip at the back of the legs allows you to widen them for wearing over your boots, and the internal thermal layer is detachable for the warmer weather. Two small pockets at the front of the trousers are made secure with zippers, extra-strong material is positioned across the bottom region for reinforcement and grip on the saddle, and reflective strips are in place for extra visibility during night-time riding. Available in sizes S-6XL. Winter riding gloves never provide the best feel and unfortunately these Richa Artic Gore-Tex gloves didn’t break the mould. On the flipside, I did want extra-warm hands, and yes, I had extra warm hands – so I guess as far are Richa is concerned, it’s a job well done.

They are so comfortable, thick, and padded with a fleece lining but that unfortunately means less feel; I guess that’s just one of life’s compromises.

With D30 knuckle protection, you can trust that your own hands are in safe hands. They are available in sizes S-4XL.

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GREAT BUT GONE...

GREAT, BUT

GONE...

WORDS> J OHNNY MAC PICS> CHAPPO

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E

volution is a wonderful thing and an inevitability of the passing of time.

We human beings, by our very nature, just can’t leave things alone. The result is that in our little world of motorcycles and motorcycling, we live in a virtually constant state of awe and wonder at the levels of progress we benefit from year after year, as motorbikes get faster by being more technically advanced than ever, more powerful than ever, lighter than ever, cleaner than ever, and, pound for pound, cheaper than ever. It’s mind-blowing.

The downside of evolution is that while there are plenty of examples of bikes that really do belong in the past, there are some that prove there is no room for sentiment when it comes to evolution – even if they were brilliant in their day and still brilliant today. We probably could have assembled at least a dozen bikes that we wish were still in production for this trip down memory lane, but there’s only so many hours in the day, so we went for a variety rather than variations of the same theme. We got a KTM RC8R to fly the V-twin flag, a Triumph Daytona 675R for the triples, and a Suzuki GSX-R 750 to represent in-line fours – all bikes that were ruthlessly

canned from their manufacturer’s line-ups for one reason or another, despite being brilliant and, in the case of the Suzuki, an outright icon.

KTM assumed the moral high ground while clutching a pack or Werthers when it killed the RC8R, stating that there was no place for such a powerful sportsbike on the road. It then promptly released the Super Duke R, which was more powerful. In reality, a global decline in sportsbike sales was the reason for the RC8R’s demise, but the PR opportunity to appear purer than the driven snow was too hard to pass.

The Daytona fell victim in 2016 to stricter emission standards and declining sportsbike sales, especially in the smaller capacity sector. The fact that Triumph navigated the same emission standards problem with the Street Triple by making the 675cc engine 765cc suggests the drop in sales is most likely the real reason the Daytona is no more.

Finally, after 35 years of loyal service and a massive contribution to the success of Suzuki on track and in the showroom, in 2020 the GSX-R 750 disappeared from the Suzuki family without so much as a thank-you or

goodbye, as though it was never there. The shift of what little sportsbike sales there are these days towards 1000cc sportsbikes left the 750 unloved and unwanted, despite being the best of both worlds when it comes to power and handling. It was also able to adapt to the stricter emission standards better than the smaller 600cc class, which is in its entirety now nothing more than a memory. If ever there was an example of there being no place for sentiment in the world of business, the GSX-R 750 is it.

The good news is that despite there being plenty to be depressed about, seeing bikes like the KTM, Triumph and Suzuki cut down in their prime, by the miracle of this thing called the used bike market, there are hundreds – if not thousands in the case of the GSX-R – of brilliant examples to enjoy, which is exactly what we did…

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GR EA T, B UT GON E...

TRIUMPH DAYTONA 675R WORDS> T IM NE AV E

B

efore this test, I’d never ridden a first generation Daytona 675R – but if I had been blindfolded and plonked on this bike, I honestly wouldn’t have known it wasn’t a brand new Triumph. They got it right the first time, and it’s a crying shame that the Daytona 675R is no longer in production... I guess that’s what makes this bike even more special and iconic.

We had our hands on a 2012 model, the very last of the gen one models. The Daytona 675 arrived on the scene back in 2006, but the model remained very much the same over a six-year period, bar a few minor tweaks, mainly to the graphics and paintwork. The 675R jumped on the scene in 2011; essentially it was still the same bike, but with a few sweet extras and upgrades.

We had three bikes on test during the day, but I was instantly drawn to the Triumph for 20 MARCH 2022 WWW.FASTBIKESMAG.COM

its looks and, obviously, its reputation, which most certainly goes before it. It’s a beautiful machine that simply looks just right; the fairings fit tight, it’s compact, and there’s nothing out of place. The under-seat Arrow exhaust system is a piece of art and a great design feature in my book. It’s a real shame that the exhaust layout was ditched with the gen two model, but I believe that was all part of meeting emissions legislation, lessening weight, and centralising the mass of the bike.

Looks aside, I was instantly impressed by how it felt to sit on – it was nothing short of spot-on. I’ve had my arse on a good variety of sportsbikes now, and I can safely say this has been my favourite. Everything felt so right and in the perfect position. It’s always nice to be able to touch the ground with both feet, but it’s the slimness of the Daytona that does it for me – I don’t think there’s a skinnier sportsbike on the market? It gave me a feeling of total control, agility and