Fast Bikes February 2017 preview

NEW YAM MAHA MT-0 09 YET T MORE MT MAYH HEM

NEW KAWASAKI KI Z650 TEAM GREEN’S EN’S LATEST LA NAKED TWIN

FEBRUARY 2017 ISSUE 323

TAMING TH HE

BEAST T

KTM’S NEW 1290 SUPER DUKE R NOW OFFERS A HIGHER CLASS OF HOOL LIGANISM…

HOLIDAY 2017!

ALPINE ADVENTURES

Europe’s Finest Roads

24 HOUR PARTY

Racing vs Raving

NAKED THRILLS

North West 200 Fest

6,000 miles

of epic action!

Entertainment All The Way

GUIDED MISSILES! KAWASAKI ZZR1400 VS SUZUKI HAYABUSA

LAUNCHES KTM 1290 Super Duke R ................ 18 The Austrians hit back, turning the naked beast into something befitting the name.

Rootsy heads to Qatar to find out more...

Yamaha MT-09 ................................ 24 We like nothing better than a day on any of Yamaha’s MT range. The new MT-09 offers more of the same – we’re up for that!

Kawasaki Z650 ...............................28 Taking a famous old name and blending it with the best bits of an ER-6 sounds like a good plan to us! Pretty Boy tests it in Spain.

TESTS Hypersports ...................................32

There was once a time when the Kawasaki ZZR, be it 12 or 14, and the Suzuki Hayabusa ruled the roads. But those days are long gone now, so are these bikes still relevant? We find out more by unleashing them in the wild

SUBS

26

IBE CR

See page 116 for the best deals

YAMAHA MT-09: YAMAHA’S MENTAL MIDDLEWEIGHT GETS A SMART REVAMP TO HELP IT CHALLENGE NEW RIVALS...

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42

SWISS ALPS: ROOTSY AND DANGEROUS BRUCE GET TO RIDE THE VERY BEST ROADS IN EUROPE. AGAIN AND AGAIN...

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BOL D’OR: IT’S NOT JUST THE RACERS AT THE BOL D’OR WHO END UP KNACKERED – EVERYONE WATCHING DOES TOO!

ISSUE 323 FEBRUARY 2017

IT’S THE NEWS

Upfront..............................................8 Lots of new bikes and exclusive interviews.

GEARED UP

Products.......................................... 16

We round up the best protection you can clothe yourself in, plus lots more new kit.

GET IT FIRST

Subscribe ...................................... 118

Why would you not subscribe? You save money, get to read your favourite mag earlier and it’ll get you laid more often. Probably.

THE KNOWLEDGE

Used Buyer’s Guide.........................80

Triumph’s Daytona 650 was hardly a triumph, but it still makes for an interesting used buy.

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KTM 1290 SUPER DUKE R

MORE POWER, BETTER ELECTRONICS, SHARPER LOOKS. THE BEAST 2.0 ISN’T GOING TO HANG AROUND FOR LONG...

MASTERCLASS

Riding ..............................................92 Keith Code points you in the right direction to become faster and safer on two wheels.

Technical .........................................94 JHS James sorts more bike problems out...

Legal ................................................97 More malaise soothed by our legal eagle...

YOUR LIFE ON BIKES

Chatter ............................................98 The electronic mailbag was full of mirth...

Travel and Tracks.......................... 100 Where to go fast around the planet!

OUR LIFE ON BIKES

Staff Bikes..................................... 102

We say our fond farewells to some of the parting fleet. Sniff, sniff, it’s been emotional!

• •

74

WINTER SKILLS: BRUSH UP YOUR BIKE SKILLS BY GETTING MUDDY

60

ADDICTION: A LESSON IN HOW TO TURN A HUMBLE R1 INTO AN R7

Kawasaki ZX-10R Triumph Speed Triple

• •

Yamaha MT-10 Suzuki GSX-S1000F

RACE SECTION

Pit Pass.......................................... 108 We solve the WSB problem in an instant!

Race Feature ................................. 112 We chat with the winning Mackenzie clan!

COLUMNISTS Dangerous Brod ............................ 120 A tough season sees some home truths

Chaz Davies .................................. 121 Testing, testing, testing! Xmas, Xmas, Xmas!

Steve Parrish................................. 122 Steve of the FB parish pontificates...

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NAKED NORTH WEST: JUST BECAUSE YOU’VE NOT GOT A FAIRING DOESN’T MEAN THAT YOU CAN’T SEE THE WORLD. BEEJ TAKES THE TROOPS TO THE NW200

BUY

GEAR

FASTBIKESMAG.COM FEBRUARY 2017 WWW.FASTBIKESMAG.COM 5

ND RE VIE W S NE W S AN PL ANET FAST BIKES – NE W ME TA L, WORDS: IAN PERRYMENT

Norton, and now Spirit, are keeping the British sportsbike tradition alive. Good on ya!

THAT’S THE SPIRIT! New British brand, Spirit Motorcycles, launched two stunning MotoGP inspired motorcycles last month (plus R versions) – and we went along for the big reveal...

A

n invite to a bike launch at the Bikeshed almost always involves the covers being pulled off some sort of café racer thing, with the assembled ranks of tattooed hipsters stroking their beards in admiration, before heading back to the bar for another gluten free pale ale. But something stirred our loins when we saw the word ‘sportsbike’ on the invitation.

Held tightly under wraps, literally ( they were draped in silk), the covers came off to lay bare the firm’s new GP Sport and GP Street. The former is the fully faired race version, the latter the naughty street naked.

The headline numbers are staggering; 180bhp and 140kg for the R versions, 156bhp, and 150kg for the more civilized road variants. But before you go reaching for your wallet you’ll probably need to head back to the cashpoint for a top up. Bar the shouting, the R versions are £65k and the non-R £45k. Punchy, to say the least.

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So what are you getting for your hard earned? In a nutshell, exclusivity. These are hand built to your spec’ and offer MotoGP levels of performance – all developed by a team with 20 years plus of race experience.

The engines are high compression, blue-printed 750cc inline triples. Yes, triples!

If anybody knows how to eke those levels of performance out a triple it’s Tony Scott, the MD of T3 Racing, one half of the Spirit amalgamation (the other being the iconic custom builders Spirit of the Seventies). You may recognize him as the man responsible for running the Triumph Triple Challenge series. It’s no surprise that the motors are loosely based on the 675 Daytona, which he’s spent a near lifetime fettling, tuning and gaining an unprecedented knowledge of.

The heart of the machine is only the start.

The bikes are dripping with high spec’ tech; fully adjustable K-Tech suspension front and rear, Motec M130 ECU, braze welded frame,

quick release fully adjustable swingarm, carbon Dymags and all wrapped in ultralightweight pre-preg carbon fibre.

The electronics package is state of the art, offering full 4G cloud connectivity. The bikes are constantly uploading data from over 80 sensors to the cloud and Spirit engineers can monitor, review and upload settings to the bike on the fly. Need a new fuel map at a high altitude circuit? No problem! Need the emergency services called when you've crashed? The gyroscope sends a signal to the cloud that you’re down and the boys in blue are dispatched. This is cutting egde stuff.

In the flesh they look incredible. LED side lights, quirky stacked headlights on the Street and stealthy matt grey paintwork. The bespoke software on the dash looks special as does the switchgear and lavish exhausts.

If they go anything like the spec suggests and way they look we’ll be in for a treat.

2017 is shaping up to be an expensive year…

LAUNCH

BEAST IS BACK WORDS: IMAG ES:

R O OTSY S ROMERO MARC O CAMPELLI, S EABAS

THE

Duke R had d by criticism that the 1290 Super Chasttened a cuddly soft set up, the been castrated by electronics and Austrians have hit back – big time…

haven’tt The past three years with the bike ack in 2013, I remember exactly ns, and these ratio frust their out with been where I was when I phoned BJ up mainly revolve around the lack of to see how phenomenal the new aids and integration between KTM’s rider ch. laun the KTM 1290 Super Duke R was at ability to misbehave. The R’s e Duk r Supe the train want to Standing on a platform on Luton’s two are mutually exclusive; you away from off, so TC the station, I was holding the phone turn to got ve wheelie? You’ my ear so as to protect it from the s a few buttons. Then, pres and up pull you ves r, you have to bombardment of shouted superlati on as soon as you stop the moto would soo nt you still wan that t conjoined with swear words that outfi the of s tell the brain about thee he th ts stun to es com to emitted by my phone’s speaker it n to mess about as whe d Dory. Add Beast. None was forthcoming.

KTM is like a scene from Finding c tic teris arac unch an in said style ’s bike ept “It’s good,” BJ conc the of ion dilut to that a mitmentt, a quiet voice that screamed non-com (albeit understandable), a lack of ised.” prom were we t Beas the not it’s “but er and an oppressive rubb so-so fter, kshi quic he to be Expecting to be maimed every time price tag and the only conclusion p med up touched the throttle, the image drea original Super Duke R the that is n draw d,

by KTM’s marketers of this slick-sho came close, but failed to live up the ’t nd it. open-piped, rabid weapon just didn enormous hype KTM built up arou Beast haad resonate on the road now that the ng castratin been given a more sensible name, . plate reg a and s light of set a electronics, , still I didn’t want to believe this narrative The heat got to dreams Rootsy in the end... sold on the Beast concept. But my tly were dashed on my first ride, direc ge in beneath the spectacular Millau Brid ach soon France. The butterflies in my stom when I slumbered back into their cocoon tacular spec a to close here didn’t come anyw s of a ride. accident within the first few mile ed them Switching off the electronics stirr greeted be to was I now for back into life, Super with the full hit of everything the like this Duke possessed. The last time I felt cer’s boun a on den trod lly enta I’d just accid t, and as toes. I didn’t know how he’d reac face I was my eyes rose from his feet to his e. wors the expecting sed the The grin on his face, however, diffu gorgeous situation immediately – as did the mitted floating wheelie the KTM had com had m syste rol cont ion now that the tract e between been turned off, smearing a smil form, it my cheeks too. Now in undiluted ’t the wasn this that m was easy to fatho . Still Beast, but rather a performing bear morally and ed, abus if s erou dang usly vicio capable but d, worl ern mod the deplorable in in the right of entertainment galore if coaxed love. manner – just the sort of bike we

B

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, KTM In addressing these issues for 2017 r Supe the of ion vers t lates the has turned In a Duke R into something sublime. stripped cultured class full of sophisticated very is tion crea t lates ’s KTM es, superbik per, much its own being; looking shar on of extra boasting more tech, adding a friss of e rang wide a g erin deliv and power rior. abilities that belie its extreme exte of my The week before, I'd ridden the last el, my mod oing outg the on s mile 0 6,00 weather. A longtermer, in minus five-degree saw the quick ride around Qatar’s capital peak at dash new zy snaz the on re eratu temp this ch, laun track a y inall Nom 32-degrees. ian toy hour on the bike through an Arab he ve. The town was a chance to see it beha crush to ce chan the h relis ld wou e local polic ng in arriv Cup ld Wor dissent ahead of the

KT KTM T 1290 SUPER DUKE R

The KTM KT T now has its eyes on the prize...

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CORE TEST

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HYPERSPORTS

WORDS: ROOTSY

Remember when these machines ruled the roads? Long since knocked off their thrones, do the Suzuki Hayabusa and Kawasaki ZZR1400 still offer any relevance?

IMAGES: JAMIE MORRIS

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TIM STEWART’S

YAMAHA YZF-R1

IM AGES: JA N GLOVAC

What h t finer fi use off a crash hd damaged d 2000-spec 2000 Yamaha h YZF-R1 1 than th tto tturn it into a tribute of the superbike racer of the time – the magnificent Yamaha YZF-R7

I

relatively late came into possession of the bike nal builder, origi the n in the build. I've know a few years Anthony Hewett (aka Hewie), for ribution cont My nut.

R1 lute abso and he is an . It had never amounts to the icing on the cake rebuild. been ridden, not once, since the age, to the R7. hom a te crea to ted Hewie wan made a limited also had aha Basically, what if Yam SBK spec R1 edition, absolutely no-holds-barred, the R7? The d duce intro they as time e at the sam 2000 model e-off writ e irabl donor bike was a repa and engine and the original frame, swingarm clamp houses remain. The Attack Racing triple

accommodate the the front end of a 2006 model to e are no stock Ther . pers stop bo Brem nt mou l radia ced with repla tly mos e, plac in left nuts or bolts ration gene first stock bog titanium hardware. A . So now that R1 is already an awesome machine ssembled bog stock R1's been completely disa superior with – tch scra from and lovingly rebuilt rt brakes and components, including state-of-the-a race exhaust modern, high end suspension, a 03s – you BT-0 ne gesto Brid of system and a set disposal. In suddenly have a real weapon at your s. Silky smooth, look it like rides it s, term le simp ling. silly fast and with telepathic hand

FEATURE

SY WORDS: VA L EN T INO MOS

IMAGES: ROOTSY

F O R E T N I W E TH OUR CONTENT Bikes needn't take a backseat for the next few months. Head off road and you'll keep bike sharp all the way through to your next trackday...

Sharpen your skills, have a hoot and make winter great!

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RACE SPEC

KAWASAKI ZX-6R

RACE SPEC

Sorting a supersport bike out to within an inch of its life offers you the opportunity to experience a four stroke machine in its purest form. Once you’ve rebuilt it, that is...

WORDS: CARL 'PRETTY BOY' STEVENS

I

f this race prepped Kawasaki ZX-6R looks familiar then it’s because it’s the one we've been following all year with 'Dangerous' Brod Wilson on board. He’s campaigned the nubile Ninja in various series within the No Limits race paddock this season and we thought it about time that we lifted the lid on how he’s got it to the pointy end of the results (when it’s not been barrel rolling through the kitty litter…). So what makes this bike so special?

Now, as you already know by now, the supersport class really is in trouble, with Yamaha being the only real offering on the table for a revamped race machine; the Kawasaki is now an illegal 636cc, Triumph is now a bit coy over whether the Daytona 675 is a current model or not, Honda has pulled production of the CBR600RR (in Europe, it’s still a current model in the States) and the Suzuki GSX-R600 isn't quite on par with its rivals, meaning these bikes are going to be pretty special in ten years time. And thanks to a fairly dramatic off-track excursion at Silverstone earlier in the year, this is one of the newest examples going...

So how does that work? Basically, it's all because of the fact that it comes rolling on a 2016 spec chassis. After Brod's crash earlier in the year the whole bike was an absolute write off, with the original frame cracked beyond repair thanks to an impressive diversion into Silverstone’s surroundings that

IMAGES: ALEX JAMES PHOTOGRAPHY

left little salvageable – besides a lesson in not using old rubber (that applies in every aspect in life). Even the top yoke was absolutely mullered, meaning that bin day couldn’t come quick enough in the Wilson household.

Brod had to source a brand new aluminium frame so that the rest of the bike could be built from the ground up. This also meant new stock wheels and a subframe, which were direct parts from Kawasaki. Standard parts from the manufacturer are not cheap – there’s a reason why people go aftermarket – but when you’re racing in a tightly controlled class going off piste isn’t an option. Once this was all bolted together you can focus on the performance aspects of the bike; starting with the anchorage.

This ZX-6R has been treated well with a Venhill HC-1 master cylinder and brake line kit. The British firm is a brand that’s really on the rise – mainly because the products offer excellent feeling throughout a session no matter how long – as is the case in endurance racing. This is topped off with EBC sintered brake pads for the ultimate feel and stopping power. They offer the great feeling in both the wet and the dry, which is what you need at club racing.

After the accident, even the suspension was ruined, which meant, ahem, forking out for a new Öhlins cartridge kit and TTX shock; although it was a bit of a struggle getting the bike set-up. Given the chance again Brod

reckons he’d probably go with a K-Tech set-up due to an issue of consistently chasing rear grip. K-Tech offer mountains of support, too, which is a bonus if you don’t know your prebound from your depression adjustment.

So now you have a rolling chassis, the next step is an engine... and preferably a fast one.

Having a supersport evo spec powerplant pre-Silverstone smash, the expectations were always high so the crew decided to put an ex-superstock 600 front-running lump in as a replacement – a necessary change as the evo engine was on the verge of going pop anyway.

This was matched with an incredibly snazzy prototype-esque Two Brothers Racing exhaust system and end can, which started off as a stubby exhaust but slowly morphed into a long system, in order to not only reduce the noise for British tracks, but also to extract an extra pony or two. Every little helps when you’re all outputting similar figures.

In typical stock form the bike runs a standard gearbox and clutch (although the springs in the clutch basket are modified slightly to allow it to 'slip' easier), which is always a little reliability niggle for the ZX-6R when racing it. Aside from that, she's sound as a pound. One thing the guys do stick in is an MWR air filter, and in order to keep the engine in tip-top form they use Rock Oil Synthesis 4 Racing, which is spot on for the price and offers peace of mind when lubricating up the metal you’re sitting on.

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MASTERCLASS

A simple crash, but what damage lies beneath?

DEEP DOWN DAMAGE

JHS RACING OWNER/BIG CHEESE James Holland runs JHS Racing in Keynsham, and he is our go to guy whenever we need a bike looking at.

JHS Racing was set up in the mid 1990s and has since expanded as its reputation has grown. The workshop deals with everything, from scooters to superbikes.

Having built and worked on race Suzuki SVs and Triumph 675s James has a wealth of knowledge with these bikes, but elsewhere James’ knowledge is as extensive as it gets. So from tyre fitting to MOTs, from dyno work to suspension, James really does do it all.

And here he is, passing on his years in the business to Fast Bikes readers!

Y ' fi You've fixed d up your fairings after a spill, but what about more serious damage?

W

e had a new R1 in the other day, helping the customer repair it after a trackday stack.

Not a big tumble, but a tumble nonetheless. He picked the bike up thinking everything was fine, carrying on with the rest of his trackday – as 99 per cent of

Some frame damage is more obvious than other knocks...

people probably would having spent a chunk on tracktime.

The bike comes into us, we look at it and find this nasty great big crack in the rear wheel.

Oh. We’ve seen cracks in wheels before, generally on accidentdamaged machines on the road, where they’ve hit something solid, but nothing like this. All these new wheels are very lightweight (particularly new R1 wheels, which are probably the lightest on any mass produced bike) and that crack will only get worse. The thing is, you can’t fix them as they’re magnesium-type wheels. It’s scrap, simple as...

Inside, it’s like a honeycomb so it might be even worse if you look internally. If it does collapse, it doesn’t bear thinking about...

Anyway, the customer decided to buy some (alloy) OZ wheels, so we thought we’d do a bit of weighing. It transpires that the weight difference between the OEM and OZ wheels wasn’t what we expected – the stock Yamaha

QUIRIES@JHSRACING.CO.UK CONTACT JHS RACING: TEL 0117 986 844 EMAIL ENQ 94 FEBRUARY 2017 WWW.FASTBIKESMAG.COM

wheel was lighter, albeit very marginally, and if you take things on face value, you might think £2k was poorly spent. Being forged, the OZ wheel probably couldn’t get to the level of salad eating weight that the cast stock rim could. If you went like-forlike and opted for the magnesium OZ, I think it’ll be a different story. But the stock rims are more expensive if you wanted to order one separately!

Then we looked at where the weight is distributed. The OZ’s weight is much more centrally spread, so it’s unsprung mass all located exactly where you want Time for the bin...

WEB WWW.JHSRACING.CO.UK

KS, RACERS AND TE AMS OC DD PA CE RA ’S LD OR W E TH TO ULTIM AT E AC CESS

WORLD SUPER

CHANGE

Seeing as Dorna is more than willing to throw wacky ideas in WSB’s direction, get your mince pies around FB’s idea for the series. Dorna can thank us later...

WORDS: BENJAMIN J KUBAS CRONIN

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IM AGES: K EL EDGE, PATA YA M A H A

PIT PASS

T

he change to 2017's grid formation for WSB, implemented by Dorna, has been generally well received within the series it seems – but not so much by race fans. To the unaware, the grid for Sunday's second race will comprise of those who finished fourth to sixth starting on the front row, seventh to ninth starting on the second row, and the podium that finishers on row three. It's perceived by fans this is some form of handicap for winning, because there's nothing wrong with the racing currently. The fans are right, pretty much, at least in terms of the racing being bang up there. OK, sal 2016 wasn't a classic when it came to univer s belter some were there gh althou , race action along the way. But in 2015 WSB had more close finishes than MotoGP and BSB combined. And prior to that, the action regularly outpaced most . other series, bar perhaps our domestic series The changes Dorna has made are more there to try and break the Kawasaki and Ducati hegemony on race wins. To say those two manufactures put more effort into their WSB efforts than others is true in some ways, but

We think grid changes will make little would also be seriously underplaying the work nce. Those two teams not only have the differe as and commitment of others in the series, such the best support, but the best riders currently in Ten Kate and Crescent Yamaha. There aren't still be nailing the lion's likely they'll so , series and WSB, in really any genuine factory teams a share of wins. The reverse grid may give others even in recent years it's only been Aprilia that al artifici s remain it but e, chanc g fightin played its hand right out of the factory in Noale. nonetheless and that's what’s driven many fans ean Most 'official' teams are backed by the Europ to distraction over the controversial decision. case arms of the respective Japanese, but in a To be honest, one thing the series could really like Ten Kate, all the actual work is done by the with is a lead figure who wants to push it do is a Yamah HQ. own team themselves at their rds. Yet seeing as it's owned by MotoGP forwa and aki catching up in this regard, but it's Kawas sed Dorna, this could be problematic. The obses Ducati that appear to have the most direct input boss of WSB and Dorna events, Javier ing outgo the g reapin e they'r and – from their paymasters hopefully be replaced by should , Alonso rewards of this. Fair play, we say. role who really does give a the in ne someo In many ways, it's not fair that they get We've heard rumours that Alonso only damn. no effort, aki's Kawas out. all punished for going n, of a turned up to WSB a couple of times a seaso matter how 'factory', still costs about a tenth of his career most spent he that given and top MotoGP's team's annual budget. But tending to MotoGP that's not a completely Kawasaki believes that it gets a lot more in unbelievable assertion. g pourin by e receiv return from WSB than it would In the meantime, Dorna continue to try and it, money freely down the bottomless GP cash-p cap WSB machines to keep their speed down. often for no or little return – see Aprilia's history The latest was to ban split throttle-bodies a for flight top the in (and Kawasaki's last foray) (which would allow the bikes to run on perfect example of this.

FB’S PROVISIONAL WSB ‘WINTER’ CALENDAR

All change for WSB, please!

1 – August (mid) – Donington Park – UK 2 – September – Lausiztring – Germany 3 – September – Misano – Italy 4 – September – Portimao – Portugal 5 – October – Magny Cours – France 6 – October – Jerez – Spain 7 – November – Imola – Italy 8 – November – Welkom – South Africa* 9 – December – Losail – Qatar 10 – January – Yas Marina – Abu Dhabi* 11 – February – Chang – Thailand 12 – February – Phillip Island – Australia 13 – March – Laguna Seca – America 14 – March – Aragon – Spain 15 – April – Assen – Netherlands 16 – April – Monza – Italy *denotes newly added (wishful thinking?) rounds expanding the total from 13 to 16

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