PB mixed issue sampler - updated Jul18

125s TO VALENCIA: 1800-MILE FLAT-OUT ROAD TRIP ON LEARNER BIKES 

SPECIAL 

ANSTEY’S 

RC213V-S 

Under the fairing 

of Ulster GP 

winning Honda 

SUZUKA 

RC45 

Secrets of HRC’s 

ultimate RVF 

endurance racer 

DUCATI V4 

FULL DETAILS OF 2018’S MOST EXCITING NEW BIKE 

WAYNE 

GARDNER 

First Aussie champ 

on fighting Lawson 

(and his evil NSR500) 

JAN 2018 • £4.30 • USA $9.99 

DECEMBER ISSUE • DECEMBER 6 - JANUARY 2

THE 

BIG 

TEST 

RACEREPLICAS 

REPLACEMENTS 

Could these naked middleweights 

really evolve into the future 

supersport racers? 

Words Jon Urry | Photography Simon Lee 

‘‘I 

CAN’T SAY WHEN, but we will 

have a class with naked bikes 

instead of World Supersport.” 

This recent comment by Dorna’s 

ex-WSB executive director Xavier Alonso 

seems to be the final nail in the supersport 

class’s coffin. Made at a time when worldwide 

supersport sales are flopping like a spent 

phallus, in the cold light of day it is hard to 

argue against Alonso’s vision of the future. 

Naked middleweight sales are on the up 

and when you look at a brand new Yamaha 

YZF-R6 costing a staggering £10,999, why 

wouldn’t you buy a naked middleweight for 

somewhere in the region of £8000? Far from 

the poor relation to supersport bikes they once 

were, middleweights now come with 

advanced electronics, larger capacity 

torque-laden engines and supersport-derived 

chassis. What better way to capitalise on their 

sales success, as well as demonstrate their 

sporting prowess, than through a race series? 

After all, isn’t that the whole ethos that 

underpinned WSB when it was formed in ’88? 

But can this formula actually work in 

practice? PB gathered together the four 

middleweight contenders to see if they have 

the potential to offer as much entertainment 

to race fans as the supersport class has over 

the years. And also to have a damn good 

dangerous riding contest on these quite 

frankly hysterical machines... 

THE TESTERS 

Jon Urry, road tester 

The cheekiest smile this side of 

Tom Cruise. But that’s where the 

comparisons end... 

Mark White, technician 

If you want high-quality tofu or an 

X-rated rant about low-quality 

engineering, Whitey’s your man. 

Kar Lee, forum editor 

Any more regular chip shop runs 

from Kar and he’s in danger of 

losing his ‘middleweight’ status... 

James Doherty, road tester 

Little Jimmy was once a Yamaha 

R6 Cup racer. He’s available for 

weddings and bar mitzvahs. 

Triumph Street Triple RS 

£9900 • 121bhp • 166kg 

Houses a triple motor that’s destined 

for Moto2, but how does the RS 

cope with a hard road ride? 

Kawasaki Z900 

£8249 • 123.5bhp • 210kg 

Shit-all in the way of intrusive 

electronics – but can the Zed still 

get our winkies rigid? 

Suzuki GSX-S750 

£7699 • 112bhp • 213kg 

Can basic be best? Low level of 

adjustability sets the GSX back... 

but it is the cheapest bike here. 

Yamaha MT-09 

£7999 • 113bhp • 193kg 

Undercuts the other triple 

here by almost £2000. But with 

appropriate cuts in parts spec. 

62 PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK | NOVEMBER 2017 

NOVEMBER 2017 | PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK 63

THE BIG TEST 

MIDDLEWIGHT NAKEDS 

Oddly enough, this is the 

only thing it’s not great at 

Any more lean and speed on rippled 

tarmac and you’ll soon find its limit 

NAKED 

MOTO2 

FUN 

TRIPLE 

TREAT, POGO 

CHASSIS 

SPECIFICATION 

TRIUMPH STREET TRIPLE RS 

YAMAHA MT-09 

SPECIFICATION 

ENGINE 

Type Liquid-cooled, dohc, 

12v inline triple 

Capacity 765cc 

Bore x stroke 77.99mm x 53.38mm 

Fuelling Electronic fuel injection 

Power 121.2bhp @ 11,700rpm (claimed) 

Torque 56.8lb.ft @ 10,800rpm (claimed) 

CHASSIS 

Frame Aluminium beam twin-spar 

Front suspension 41mm Showa USD 

BPF forks, fully adjustable. 

Rear suspension Öhlins STX40 

monoshock, fully adjustable 

Front brakes 2 x 310mm discs, 

Brembo M50 radial-mount 

monoblock calipers, ABS 

Rear brake 220mm disc, Brembo 

single-piston caliper, ABS 

DIMENSIONS 

Wheelbase 1410mm 

Rake/trail 23.9°/100mm 

Weight 166kg (dry, claimed) 

Seat height 825mm 

Fuel capacity 17.4 litres 

TECHNOLOGY 

Rider aids ABS, five engine modes, 

five-stage traction control, quickshifter 

BUYING 

Price £9900 

Contact www.triumphmotorcycles.co.uk 

W 

ITH AN ENGINE that will 

power Moto2 bikes from 2019, 

the Triumph Street Triple RS 

is the obvious peg for the hole 

left by the demise of the supersport class. 

It has the right motor, a chassis derived 

from a supersport bike, and top-quality 

running gear – but all this comes at a cost. 

If you want the full-fat RS version you 

need to fork out nearly £2000 more than 

you do for its rivals. But is this value for 

money or an unwise investment? 

In terms of kerb appeal, you have to 

hand it to the Triumph as it is beautifully 

finished. From its full colour dash, which 

is easy and intuitive to use, to its quality 

running gear, it’s light years ahead of its 

rivals. Whitey was particularly drawn to 

its collector box, commenting on the fact 

Triumph have bothered to paint it black 

rather than leave a rough metal finish 

with exposed welds as on the Yamaha. 

The rest of us just oohed and ahhed at the 

Brembo brakes, fat Showa forks, and 

Öhlins shock, while shaking our heads at 

the nasty bar end mirrors. 

If you had to give up supersport bikes 

and were only allowed to ride a Street 

Triple, you wouldn’t be upset. It takes all 

that makes supersports so good – track- 

Top: Full-colour TFT 

dash is satisfyingly 

easy to navigate 

Middle: Öhlins rear 

shock contributes to 

sublime chassis feel 

Bottom: Monoblocks 

provide superior 

stopping power 

focused chassis, nimble handling and 

ferocious stoppers – yet adds a set of flat 

bars instead of clip-ons and an over-sized 

triple motor. And it works brilliantly. 

Hit the bends on the RS and it’s in its 

element. As well as feeling really small, 

especially in comparison to the Yamaha, 

it is every bit a sportsbike in attitude and 

agility. It would happily lead a trackday in 

its standard form and even comes locked 

and loaded with some proper sticky 

Pirelli tyres. But it’s not all joyous... 

When you brake hard into bends the 

Triumph does have an annoying habit of 

getting very tail-light, waggling its rear 

like an excited dog. This may be due to a 

very forward weight bias, but it is a bit of 

a nuisance and means you need to be 

careful not to fire down too many gears 

in one hit. Also, and this is very apparent 

when you wheelie it, there is a slight 

disconnection between the throttle and 

rear wheel. On old, normally-controlled 

Street Triples you could bang one up and 

hang it there with precision, but despite 

its extra grunt the 765 is harder to hold. I 

reckon all it would take is a new fuel map 

and race can to remove this hesitation. So 

while the RS certainly wins the war of the 

chassis, its motor isn’t the best triple... 

R 

IDE A YAMAHA MT-09 and 

there is one feature that 

dominates the whole 

experience – its triple engine. 

To be honest, it could look like a dog’s 

dinner (which some would argue it does) 

and the MT would still win friends as that 

powerplant is quite simply staggering. 

Which is a very good thing because the 

rest of the bike does have a few flaws... 

Since its launch, the MT-09 has always 

come under fire for its abrupt throttle 

response and poor suspension. This year 

Yamaha added full adjustability to its 

forks, and a new fuel map, but while the 

front is now considerably better, the rear 

shock is still damped by warm piss and 

the initial throttle pick-up is akin to an 

on/off switch. The throttle I am prepared 

to let off, as selecting B or STD (snigger) 

mode does take a bit of the edge off it. But 

the shock... Well, as Whitey commented, 

the only bike with a worse shock than this 

is the Yamaha MT-07... 

The issue with the MT is partly its 

design. It’s not a true naked, it’s a kind of 

big supermoto crossed with a naked bike, 

and while it’s lovely and tall and roomy to 

ride, it comes with longer than normal 

travel suspension. The front is OK, 

Top: Triple soundtrack 

could be beefed up 

with new can 

Middle: Dash is a bit 

more basic but still 

does the job 

Bottom: Yamaha’s 

front end is now fully 

adjustable 

especially with its full adjustability, but 

the rear is a bit of an issue. 

When you hit bumps the back end just 

squats down and then pings back up, 

ruining the ride over uneven surfaces and 

making it all a bit bouncy. You can attack 

bends, but if the surface is uneven it’s not 

very good at all and feels in desperate 

need of an aftermarket shock, and also 

has a bit of a tendency to run wide due to 

its long travel suspension. In corners, the 

MT-09 lags behind its rivals, but when the 

road straightens out it all makes sense. 

We all fell for the Yamaha’s motor and 

despite its chassis’ failings, when push 

came to shove it was the sheer hysterical 

naughtiness offered by the motor that 

drew us to the MT-09. It is just so fast to 

rev, punches so hard in the midrange and 

is so bloody easy to wheelie that if you 

want to ride like a total twat (and who 

doesn’t?) there is no better bike on the 

market. When it comes to sheer giggles, 

at just £8000 the MT-09 is unbelievable 

value for money. Could it take the place 

of a supersport bike? Not if corners are 

your thing; well, until you throw a few 

quid at getting its suspension reworked. 

But if you want to practice your 

celebration wheelies... 

ENGINE 


12v inline triple 


Bore x stroke 78.0mm x 59.1mm 



Torque 64.6lb.ft @ 8500rpm (claimed) 

CHASSIS 

Frame Aluminium die-cast diamond 

Front suspension 41mm USD forks, 

fully adjustable. 

Rear suspension Monoshock, 

adjustable rebound and spring preload 

Front brakes 2 x 298mm discs, fourpiston 

radial-mount calipers, ABS 

Rear brakes 245mm disc, twin-piston 

caliper, ABS 

DIMENSIONS 


Rake/trail 25°/103mm 

Weight 193kg (wet, claimed) 


Fuel capacity 14 litres 

TECHNOLOGY 

Rider aids ABS, three engine modes, 

three-stage traction control, quickshifter 

BUYING 

Price £7999 

Contact www.yamaha-motor.eu/uk 



THE BIG TEST 


Its attitude more than makes up 

for a lack of outright sportiness 

Ride quality simply can’t 

compare to the rest 

THE 

DARK 

HORSE 

SADLY 

FORGETTABLE 

SPECIFICATION 

KAWASAKI Z900 

SUZUKI GSX-S750 

SPECIFICATION 

ENGINE 


16v inline four 


Bore x stroke 73.4mm x 56mm 


Power 123.5bhp @ 9500rpm (claimed) 


CHASSIS 

Frame High-tensile steel trellis 

Front suspension 41mm USD forks, 

fully adjustable. 


adjustable rebound and spring 

preload. 

Front brakes 2 x 300mm petal discs, 

four-piston calipers, ABS 

Rear brake 250mm petal disc, 

single-piston caliper 

DIMENSIONS 






TECHNOLOGY 

Rider aids ABS 

BUYING 

Price £8249 

Contact www.kawasaki.co.uk 

W 

HILE THE STREET Triple 

instantly impressed PB’s test 

team visually, the Z900 was 

the brunt of their scorn. 

Kawasaki always split opinions in terms 

of styling, but do riders really like fake 

metal plastic frame covers and hideous 

carbon inserts on the dash? Or the ‘Z’ tail 

light? Aesthetically speaking, it’s 

certainly not to PB’s liking. And because 

we had sniggered at it in the car park, we 

weren’t expecting much from the ride. 

How wrong we were... 

Fair play, Kawasaki have really pulled 

a bit of a blinder with the Z900 as they 

have eventually made a middleweight 

that is packed full of spirit and fun. Aside 

from a riding position that only suits 

shorter riders due to its high pegs, none of 

us could really find anything to criticise 

when it came to the Z’s physical 

performance. 

For a start, there is the fact it has no 

fussy electronics aside from ABS (which is 

obligatory now anyway). If you want to 

wheelie it you just flick the clutch in 

second, you don’t have to prod buttons to 

deactivate the fun police. And what a 

lovely motor. The Z800 that came before 

was totally forgettable, another generic 

Top: Plush action from 

shock, despite lack of 

comp adjustment 

Middle: We reckon 

the Z-shaped tail light 

is a bit pony 

Bottom: Nothing 

wrong with an 

old-fashioned dial... 

inline four, but the Z900 has so much more 

spirit. Yes, it is still an inline four, but it is 

one with some real attitude, 

a lovely light clutch and a huge amount of 

inbuilt fun. And this new element of 

attitude even extends to its chassis. 

Yamaha could learn a lot from the 

Z900’s suspension, as where the MT 

‘KAWASAKI HAVE PULLED 

A BLINDER, WITH A 

MIDDLEWIGHT THAT’S 

PACKED WITH SPIRIT’ 

bounces over bumps, the Zed has a feeling 

of plushness, making it a very enjoyable 

bike to ride on the road. It’s not the 

sportiest in the handling department, nor 

the fastest in a straight line, but it is the 

one that you can just get on and thrash 

and feel totally at one with – and that 

means a lot. A real surprise package and 

certainly no longer forgettable, just not as 

agile as the Triumph or comedic as the MT 

when you let it off its leash. Which brings 

us to the red bike... 

I 

FEEL SORRY for the Suzuki 

GSX-S750 as there is absolutely 

nothing wrong with it and it 

does nothing badly – it’s just 

not very memorable and a bit bland. 

Actually that’s not true, it vibrates 

irritatingly and lacks bottom end, but as a 

motorcycle it isn’t that bad. The problem 

is, it’s also just not that good... 

Despite looking quite modern, as soon 

as you turn a wheel on the GSX-S it feels 

old. Suzuki make a big deal about the fact 

it is powered by a re-tuned GSX-R750 K5 

motor – but excuse me, that motor is 12 

years old! Why are you boasting about 

that? Wouldn’t it be better to use a more 

modern engine? Like one from this 

decade? And the chassis isn’t much better. 

In bends, the Suzuki is stable and 

secure, but it’s not a patch on the Triumph 

in terms of agility. Whitey summed up his 

impressions by saying it felt like the 

GSX-S has really heavy wheels, which hits 

the nail on the head. It turns sweetly 

enough and holds a line, but it doesn’t feel 

like a sportsbike. It feels, well, it feels old 

– and that’s its overriding issue. 

If you rode the GSX-S in isolation you 

may think its motor was OK. After you 

battle through its lack of low-end shunt 

Top: Like the rest of 

the bike, plain dash 

just gets the job done 

Middle: It’s not bad, 

but the 12-year-old 

motor isn’t stunning 

Bottom: Preload 

adjustment only 

at the rear end 

and get it revving it does drive quite well, 

in fact it has quite a pleasing top-end rush 

once the revs rise. But with just a claimed 

112bhp (PB suspects this figure is a bit 

optimistic) it isn’t that thrilling, and next 

to the gutsy MT, RS and Zed it feels flat 

and lethargic. And buzzy. 

You may appreciate the secure feeling 

you get from the Suzuki’s lovely balanced 

chassis, but if you were to sample the 

sportsbike-derived RS your eyes would be 

opened to a whole new world of agility. 

And where is the adjustability in the 

suspension if you want to take it on track? 

These are all premium middleweights and 

as such a decent degree of adjustability 

should be standard. And then there are 

the electronics... 

The Suzuki’s dash, which is the same 

unit as the GSX-S1000, is very plain Jane 

when compared to the Triumph’s 

full-colour unit but at least it is clear to 

read and the TC can easily be turned off 

while on the move – which is a bonus. 

I don’t want to be harsh about the 

GSX-S750, but the sad fact is that while it 

rides well, it just feels old-hat to ride and 

in a class as competitive as that in which 

it’s been placed, simply being £300 quid 

cheaper doesn’t make it worth buying. 

ENGINE 


16v inline four 


Bore x stroke 72mm x 46mm 




CHASSIS 

Frame D-section and round 

tubular steel 

Front suspension 41mm KYB USD 

forks, adjustable spring preload 


seven-way adjustable spring preload 

Front brakes 2 x 310mm discs, 

four-piston Nissin radial-mount 

calipers, ABS 

Rear brake 240mm disc, 

single-piston caliper 

DIMENSIONS 






TECHNOLOGY 

Rider aids ABS, three-stage 

traction control 

BUYING 

Price £7699 

Contact www.suzuki-gb.co.uk 



THE BIG TEST 


THE MIDDLEWEIGHT CUP 

HEN MIDDLEWEIGHTS inaugural Performance Bikes World 

were the poor relation to Middleweight Cup race be? 

W supersport bikes, a series 

Off the line, the lighter Triumph Street 

could easily have been 

Triple RS would lead into the first corner, 

arranged, as the naked bikes were all easily out-braking and out-cornering its 

600cc. But as the supersport class’s rivals and then pulling clear bike lengths 

popularity dipped and the 

through the bend due to its sporty 

middleweights flourished, it led to a chassis. Once it stopped wobbling and 

greater diversity within the naked bikes. was upright, the Yamaha MT-09’s instant 

How do you regulate a class that includes punch would see it gain back the metres 

triples, parallel twins, inline fours and it lost on the Kawasaki under braking as 

V-twins that are all of varying capacities? its long-travel suspension was no match 

It can’t happen. So what’s the answer? for the Z900’s standard-length units. 

You could impose a horsepower cap Powering away, it would be near the RS 

and minimum weight limit, but no 

by the end of the straight and a few 

manufacturer would get behind this with metres ahead of the Z900, only to lose its 

factory-supported teams as all the 

ground gained come the next bend. A 

performance emphasis would be on the pattern that would continue for the lap, 

bike’s chassis – and that’s exactly what seeing the Triumph win the race, 

caused the spiralling costs, track focus followed by the Yamaha and the 

and eventual decline of the supersport Kawasaki, with just a few bike lengths 

class. The only viable solution would be a separating them. But what of the Suzuki? 

one-make naked bike series, but that’s Last into the first corner due to a lack of 

not in the spirit of WSB’s ethos and would low-end drive and underpowered on the 

only benefit one manufacturer. However, straights, sadly the GSX-S750’s lack of 

putting reality aside for just one cubes sees it trailing home in last spot 

second, if we race-prepped these with its rider wishing for a bit more 

four middleweights, what performance everywhere to help it close 

would the result of the 

the gap on its rivals. 

SECOND OPINION 

REPLACE A SPORTS 600 

WITH THIS… REALLY? 

LIVING IN A household with 

three supersport bikes is a lot of 

fun: a decade-old CBR with the 

right mods, a Daytona 675R with 

trick parts as standard. And my 2017 R6 is a 

very capable machine even before getting 

the personal touch. But, in a few years time, 

what will replace them? 

I’ll tell you what won’t: the Suzuki. It has 

a cheap-looking frame, awful Transformerstyle 

looks and a motor milking a tenuous K5 

connection to create the most forgettable 

use of a GSX badge. It’s the cheapest on 

test by £300 but is still too expensive for 

what you get. A clear loser. 

The other three are amazing in their own 

little ways. The Z900 was a surprisingly good 

package and the one to go for if I was to 

stick with an inline four. It’s powerful, it 

handles, it just about gets away with the 

styling and it wheelies like a dream. 

Triumph’s 765 Street Triple is an 

interesting one. I owned a 675 Street R in 

‘I WONDER IF YAMAHA 

SHOULD CHANGE THE MT 

NAME TO ‘TDR’ INSTEAD’ 

2009 and had some big laughs. I had high 

hopes for the 765RS. 15bhp more with a 

similar chassis is surely a no-brainer... but 

not quite. The midrange feels flatter, it’s not 

as exhilarating to ride and is missing ‘purity’. 

A glorious bike, and it would win on track, 

but it’s not my favourite. 

Expectations of the MT-09 were high, but 

I was ready to be disappointed. By the time 

I’d pulled away, funky headlights reaching up 

to the treetops, I was converted. It was an 

absolute blast. The wide bars, perky motor, 

upright riding position and on-the-limit 

chassis make me wonder if Yamaha should 

change the MT moniker to ‘TDR’ instead. It’s 

the one for laughs, and the one I could see 

filling a supersport void in my garage. 

Kar Lee 

If R6 owner Kar was 

forced to part with it, 

he’d take the MT-09 

Triumph’s RS is the winner on the 

road. It’d be the same story on-track 

68 

PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK | NOVEMBER 2017

JEREMY 

McWILLIAMS 

‘ Pulling the front brake at full lean 

in the wet takes getting used to’ 

These panniers may or 

may not be full of concrete 

Jezza with RC390 R&D 

colleagues Thomas Kuttruf 

and Wolfgang Welber 

I HAVE WHAT SOME bike nuts regard as the 

ultimate day job: testing the 1290 Super Duke 

R, Super Duke GT, 1190/1290 Adventure and 

now the new 790 range. I work with the R&D 

team and project leaders at KTM who are 

tasked with developing the road bike range 

and Customer Racing department where we 

develop road bikes, like the RC390, for racing. 

Yes, there is a lot of pressure to get it right but 

there’s plenty of job satisfaction if the bikes 

are well received by the press and owners. 

The R&D department does an outstanding 

job; every aspect of a bike is evaluated. They 

can replicate real road riding on test benches 

in their new facility. The department has 

grown from about 40 people when I started 

to more than 500, with many smaller 

departments within it dedicated to data 

recording, brakes and wheels, chassis, motor, 

electronics, suspension... 

Test riders evaluate everything – tyres, 

traction control and ABS, chassis, suspension, 

handling and brake performance, ergonomics 

– usually at different proving grounds 

through Europe. We work with the team to 

improve the bikes before they’re approved for 

production. Tyres, for instance, have to pass 

stringent testing in all conditions at every 

lean angle on road, track, wet and dry 

handling courses. How they perform at tip-in, 

how much effort is required, how they react 

to rider input, do they have self-steering 

tendencies or any lift up under brake and 

acceleration? Where one tyre might outperform 

another in the dry it won’t make the 

final list if it doesn’t perform in all conditions. 

The bikes go through a severe shakedown. 

KTM know how stiff a chassis needs to be, 

and they know how stiff every other chassis 

on the market is, but this doesn’t mean if you 

make one with same lateral and torsional 

stiffness it will react identically to a 

competitor’s. We start with something the 

team know will be in the ballpark then 

change it according to test feedback and data. 

Street bikes probably have as much data 

acquisition hanging off them as a MotoGP 

bike. It takes the engineers days to get 

through all the data from a test. 

When we started with the 1290 Super 

Duke we had about four WP technicians over 

the test cycle. We’d have forks and shocks in 

different lengths, damping and spring rates, 

and we’d ride up to the top of the roughest 

roads and mountains in Spain. I’d be 

hammering the bikes over those 

roads, then back to normal 

road riding, motorways, city 

centres then back to the 

proving ground with dry, 

wet, rough and dynamic 

handling tracks in one 

facility. Then do all the 

tests again until we had 

covered every angle. 

Every time you ride 

a bike in a new 

environment something else shows up. We’d 

ride two-up with concrete in the tank bags 

then go to the track and deck the footpegs out 

to find the best suspension settings. The 

toughest test isn’t opening the throttle to 

maximum while dragging your toes on a 

soaking wet track to test traction control – it’s 

testing lean angle ABS. Squeezing the front 

brake to maximum pressure at maximum 

lean angle on a wet track takes a bit of getting 

used to. We worked with Bosch at their 

facilities in Germany and Japan to perfect the 

TC and ABS. KTM were the first company to 

come up with the idea for lean angle-sensitive 

ABS, and I had the pleasure of testing the 

early systems. When they first asked me to be 

the guinea pig it was a relief to find it worked 

first time and just needed minor adjustments. 

The test is to see if the bike can hold a line 

without crashing with full brake pressure – 

you need to squeeze the brake to about 50 bar 

pressure. We use no more than 15 bar for an 

emergency stop... 

Chassis stiffness is complicated, but the 

boffins in the design department know where 

it needs to be. We have been testing a stiffer 

chassis lately for one of the bikes as we 

noticed that when we used super-soft slicks 

on a track there was room to improve. Flex is 

good – we need some at full lean angle to 

aleviate chatter. It is easy to produce a chassis 

that is too stiff; at maximum lean you feel 

every ripple in the surface and the bike is not 

pleasant to ride. To find the best solution we 

had to beef up one of the current frames to 

make it stiffer. We went back and forth a few 

times before making a change; the test is 

rigorous and it has to work with road tyres in 

normal conditions and on the race track. 

Every rider in the department, including the 

project leaders, then tests the bike, then the 

test chassis is measured and a new chassis is 

designed to the same lateral and torsional 

stiffnesses. And then we repeat the test... 

It’s not all high-action; 

there’s a fair amount of 

sitting around involved... 

When 

your 9-to-5 

involves pushing new 

bikes to – and beyond – 

the limits of traction, this is 

sometimes how your day 

ends. Followed by a lengthy sit 

down with your boss to 

explain the demise of their 

priceless pre-production 

performance 

motorcycle. 

WHO IS JEREMY McWILLIAMS? 

Ex-250 and 500 GP racer Jezza is also a KTM 

development rider, road racer and occasional film star... 

KTM 

We’ll twat anyone who 

questions McWilliams’ 

commitment 

MARCH 2018 | PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK 21

INTERVIEW / RICK ENGLISH 

I DO ALL 

MY OWN 

Main image: 

getting some 

practice in on an 

airfield near Oxford 

Left: Rick as 

Nicolas Cage’s stunt 

double in Ghost 

Rider; S1000RR and 

disguised dirt bike 

on set of MI:5 

(AND EVERYBODY ELSE’S, TOO) 

Rick English is a Hollwood stunt man, getting paid to do skids, 

wheelies (and big highsides) in pursuit of box office success. He 

ushered PB behind the curtain for a look into a world where riding 

elbow-to-elbow with Tom Cruise is part of the day job 

Words Chris Newbigging | Photography Simon Lee/Rick English 

46 PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK | FEBRUARY 2018 

FEBRUARY 2018 | PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK 47


Rick lobs himself up 

the road while Tom 

Cruise rides the only 

S1000RR with a 

180-section front tyre... 

‘I HIGHSIDED IN MISSION: 

IMPOSSIBLE BY ON THE 

REAR BRAKE THEN RELEASING IT’ 

Jenny Tinmouth 

was also on the 

stunt team of MI:5 

There’s only one way to 

develop movie-ready 

stunt skills 

Mirrored visor? 

Check. All-black bad 

guy leathers? Check... 

ONSIDER yourself a bit of a film buff? 

Reckon you can see through CGI and 

special effect action scenes in movies? 

Well, defeating such cynicism and 

providing ever more spectacular 

footage is what keeps Rick English in 

work as a bike-riding stunt man, listed 

on the British Stunt Register for 

directors and film crews worldwide to hand-pick if he 

suits the flick they’re producing. 

And he often does: his CV includes Bond films, 

Mission: Impossible, Kingsman, Ghost Rider and 

more... he’s also appeared on TV, and in commercials, 

too – when PB caught up with him on a practice day, 

he’d just picked up a battered scooter in preparation for 

playing a London scooter scally for a major high street 

brand. If you need a wheelie, powerslide or a VMAX 

ridden through the desert, he’s your man. So how the 

hell does an ordinary bloke from the south east wind 

up working with Hollywood bigwigs? 

“When I was about seven, I watched TV stunt man 

series ‘The Fall Guy’ and the Burt Reynolds film 

‘Hooper.’ Reynolds in particular was a bit of a hero of 

mine. In the opening scene of that film, you see him 

pulling on his armour, his leathers, taking a swig of 

Rick on the set of 

Kingsman with Colin Firth 

This is his actual 

face, still in one piece... 

whiskey and then getting on his bike to shoot a crash 

scene. I thought that was the coolest thing, and I knew 

right then that’s what I wanted to do. 

“I did fall into real life for a short time, and initially 

I had a job as a personal trainer. But all the time I was 

riding bikes, doing a bit of club racing, and still thinking 

about getting into films, but initially through my 

interest in martial arts. 

“I started to work in a gym in London’s west end and 

you’d get a lot of actors and directors coming in – I got 

my first foot in the door that way.” 

For anyone wanting to make a living as a stunt 

double, you need to be part of a recognised body – in 

the UK, that’s the British Stunt Register, run by an 

actors’ union. You need to train across six different 

disciplines of stunt performance, and reach a certain 

standard in all. Accredited members are then added to 

a directory for directors and stunt team co-ordinators, 

which lists height and physical attributes as well as 

areas of expertise, to help find close matches where 

body doubles are required. 

Getting a break 

After some early work on the martial arts side, he got 

his biking break in 2000. “It was just riding through 

traffic in ‘Three Blind Mice’, but it was my first paid 

role involving bikes.” 

From there, Rick’s stunt roles quickly went up a 

notch to some big flicks – over the years, he’s played 

a part in Batman movies, Bond films, and one-offs 

like ‘The Boat That Rocked’. But when it comes to 

bike stunts, two franchises stand out for Rick – one 

for obvious reasons, the other more personal... 

“My favourite bike scenes were in ‘Ghost Rider 

II’, not because it’s the best or most popular film 

I’ve worked on, but because there was lots to do 

– I like to be busy, and there was a lot of riding in 

that film. It’s not about the money for me; I just 

love doing cool stuff and going to cool places, 

and in that respect it was the best job I’ve had 

– lots of riding, and also some ‘wire work’, 

which is basically any kind of stunt that 

requires you to fly through the air, so you’re 

on a thin wire and yanked away! 

“Because it was an over-the-top sort of 

film, rather than something that had to be 

realistic, you can do stuff that’s more fun 

and get away with it. The supernatural sort 

of scene is great to do – there was lots of 

fighting and riding to do, and it was shot 

48 PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK | FEBRUARY 2018


in Transylvania and Turkey, which were amazing 

places to see. 

“Though when they first called, they mentioned 

wheelies would be required, and it turned out I’d be 

riding a Yamaha VMAX. They’re not very easy to get up, 

they just wheelspin!” 

If you’re a cinema regular, Rick’s work on ‘Mission 

Impossible: Rogue Nation’ is probably the best of his 

handiwork, performing in the chase scene involving 

S1000RRs – and being the man responsible for the big 

highside just behind Tom Cruise that would eventually 

go on to be the lead image and scene for the trailers and 

promotional material. It’s not fake, either – he really did 

flick himself of one of the 20 or so S1000RRs reduced to 

scrap in the making of the film... 

“I remember when we first arrived, and they’d got all 

these RRs – ex-press and demo bikes I think – and I 

thought, ‘Great, there’ll be some spares leftover for my 

track bike!’ But at the end there was barely enough left 

to build a rideable bike – they were crashed, ridden 

down steps and all sorts, just about everything got 

damaged eventually.” 

Crashing on purpose 

Humans are born with two natural fears: loud noises, 

and falling. So flicking yourself off a perfectly good 

motorcycle goes against everything we’re hard wired 

to do, before we develop further self-preservation 

instincts... How the hell do you prepare to have such 

an ugly crash on purpose? 

“I tend not to think about it as a crash, I work on the 

mechanics and physics of what I have to do, and then 

deal with the aftermath as best I can, though it’s 

Practice 

means freezing 

cold airfields. It’s 

not all Hollywood 

glamour... 

Rick was the cop flipped 

off the police bike in Skyfall 

Wire work and green scene 

is often part of the process 

different every time. It’s all in the preparation – you and 

the team work on making sure there’s nothing to hit 

and nobody is going to run you over. You do everything 

to avoid injury, because that holds the job up and 

prevents you from working. 

“I highsided in MI:5 by jumping on the rear brake at 

50mph then releasing it – it’s pretty inevitable when 

you lock the rear and it steps out, then you release, that 

it’s going to flick you up – trying to do it on the throttle 

is harder, it might grip and drive, or something else you 

don’t expect, and potentially run into someone like Tom 

Cruise... And you try to do these stunts in one take, 

though sometimes they need it from different angles, 

so you do have to repeat it. 

“I almost got away with it, but I managed to stretch a 

ligament in my knee as I tumbled. Fortunately it was 

fairly minor – I strapped it up for another 10 days of 

shooting so I could get the job done. 

“The lay-down I did for Ghost Rider was actually 

relatively straightforward – ride at 60-70mph, lock the 

back up, turn the bars and just wait to go down, making 

sure you don’t get underneath the bike and trying not to 

get hurt, obviously!” 

‘GHOST RIDER WAS A GREAT 

FILM TO DO. THERE WAS LOTS OF 

AND RIDING INVOLVED!’ 

Beats sitting 

behind a 

desk all day 

The whole family travelled 

to the set of Ghost Rider 

Cage: “I’m not getting on 

that and messing up my face” 

RICK’S BIKE ESSENTIAL STUNT MODS 

Rick’s practice bike is a heavily modified BMW F800R – these are some of the modifications 

that make it perfect for all manner of stand-up, no-handed, monowheeling tomfoolery... 

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One-finger clutch lever and handlebar-mounted back 

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Slow-action trials throttle gives Rick more control 

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50 PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK | FEBRUARY 2018 

Big sprocket makes the F800 rev 

higher and prevents stalling in 

slow-speed manoeuvres 

Subframe-mounted BMX-style 

stuntpeg gives Rick better balance 

and increased trick options 

Lever mounted on crash bar holds 

high idle to allow no-handed 

wheelies without stalling 

www.principalinsurance.co.uk 

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“Tom Cruise is so focused... and fast” 

Working on Mission: Impossible meant working closely 

with A-lister Tom Cruise. We’ve all heard the gossip and 

rumours. So go on... what’s he like? 

“He loves to do a lot of action in his films – he’s into 

bikes and cars, so he pushes to get them involved. 

I remember coaching him at Rockingham one day. 

I was riding round, out on to the straight doing over 

130mph and thinking, ‘This guy’s an actor!’ 

“He has to be reined in on set, because he wants to do 

everything himself, and push it – he hates having to use 

rigs or anything false. He wanted to do a chase scene in 

shorts and flip-flops, and he insisted on doing it without 

a helmet so you could see it really was him, to make it 

worth him doing the riding rather than a stunt double. 

He had to do the scene where I highsided with his bike 

on a rig from the camera car, as that was the only way 

to get everything consistent and correct for one take, 

but he was against it. That’s the appeal of the films, 

people want to see him doing those things. 

“He’s very focused and intense, but cool to work with, 

and likes hanging out with the stunt team, because he 

enjoys doing it, and generally brings a good energy to 

the job. He’s been out to lunch with us when we’re out 

practicing somewhere – we’ll be in the pub and he’ll just 

be talking bikes like everybody else. 

“He’s good to the fans, too – after one scene in a 

BMW M3, he drove over to a fence closing the set 

where some public had gathered. He signed a load of 

autographs, and then did some donuts for them!” 

How to be movie-ready 

Obviously, you can’t just knock on the door of a 

production company, wave a provisional licence and get 

‘IT WAS KNEE-DOWN, 

ON 

MOROCCAN TWISTIES. 

BASICALLY RACING!’ 

Rick has an S1000RR 

track bike to help stay sharp 

Two wheels are always 

better than three. Fact 

handed a S1000RR to throw at the scenery. As Rick 

does with martial arts, or fencing, or driving (skills he 

also offers), he spends a lot of time on two wheels 

honing his reflexes and understanding of bike control. 

We went to see him on one of his regular practice 

days, where he spends time on an airstrip on a stunt 

show-spec F800R. Here, he can develop control for 

wheelies, skids, stoppies and general on-the-edgeness 

that translates to the skills often required. But the 

variety of his film work means he has to ride most 

things to ensure he stays sharp and can turn his 

hand to most things. 

“I have a lot of bikes. As well as this BMW, I have an 

S1000RR for trackdays, and I used to race 600s at club 

level. I also have motocross bikes, trials bikes and 

recently got into flat-track, too. Understanding different 

bikes and surfaces makes me better at my job, but I also 

do it because I enjoy it. You wouldn’t think club racing 

would be useful for a film, but MI:5 was knee-down, 

elbow-to-elbow on Moroccan twisties: basically racing! 

“I train with show stunt riders, but I don’t ever do 

shows, and I don’t train quite the same way. I don’t need 

to push it to the same extreme – it’s about throttle and 

brake control for me, and the balance. They’ll crash 20 

times a session trying something new, but if I hurt 

myself going too far, I’ll be out of work for a while. 

So you need to do these things, and be able to adapt, 

too. I don’t do enduro, though – any sport where your 

bike needs handles to pull it out of a bog isn’t for me! 

“When I chose my six stunt disciplines, I chose things 

I was interested in anyway, even if that’s not necessarily 

where I want to work – if you’re not into it, you won’t 

get to the required standard and maintain it for when 

you might need it.” 

With the fast-idle 

and braking mods to 

his F800, Rick can 

hold this up all day 

52 

PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK | FEBRUARY 2018

Desperate 

for a shift 

Carl puts ‘want’ in front of ‘need’ 

and treats the R1 to a quickshifter 

Photography Chippy Wood 

2005 YAMAHA YZF-R1 CARL NEWBIGGING 

I SHOULD HAVE focused on the R1’s 

suspension next: brakes, engine and 

tasteless tat all addressed, the tired 

original forks and shock are the logical 

final piece in my overhaul of a decadeold 

litre bike. Instead, I’ve got sidetracked fulfilling a 

long time desire to own... a quickshifter. I remember 

the exact moment I wanted one – trackside at a 

Thundersport race meet, Phil Crowe’s S1000RR 

emitting huge pops and cracks made the sight of a bloke 

around the 20-stone mark laying waste to the field all 

the more impressive... 

In any case, it’s either not been possible to fit them to 

my bikes, I’ve been too poor, or it seemed like a waste of 

money spending a third of a bike’s value on a frippery. 

But the R1 will accept one, and I can afford one. 

Besides, I’d spannered my shoulder on a mountain bike, 

so moving the R1 or stripping the suspension out to 

send it off wasn’t happening. Time to get myself some 

snap, crackle and shift. 

I asked Whitey what he recommended. “A good one”, 

he replied. “The R1 doesn’t have a weak gearbox, but 

they don’t like a crude shifter. Get a quality item, like a 

Cordona.” So, a Cordona then. I went for the top model, 

the PQ8. The strain gauge bit is the same ‘GP Shifter’ 

they’ve offered for years, but rather than a fairly simple 

interruption of the CDI signal, it plugs directly into the 

coils. It’s also a standalone part with its own ECU, and 

has easily-adjustable kill time, plus a program that 

varies the kill based on RPM, so is claimed to be slicker 

on short-shifts, for example. And the reintroduction of 

the spark is sequential – no big bang as the cylinders 

fire, so it should be kinder on an older bike. They claim 

it’s measurably better in terms of speed and lap time, 

but my priority is a smooth change without throwing 

Hello, do you 

speak English? 

Carl unloads his 

bank account on a 

childhood dream 

If you’re confident you 

can get at the coils, you 

can fit it yourself 

‘Once fitted, trackside parameter 

adjustment is simple. Or you can 

spend a bit of time on a quiet road...’ 

STORY SO FAR 

Classy ’05 R1 gets 

a few rough edges 

smoothed out and a 

bit more performance 

to boot 

fourth through the top of the cases... 

Importers Moto46 got £382 of my money – decent 

value for what’s included. It can all be fitted without the 

need for dyno set-up as it’s pre-programmed, but you 

need to know how to access the coils off your own back. 

If you’re happy changing spark plugs, you’ll be fine. 

It’s mostly straightforward plugging in, routing 

wiring and fitting the ECU somewhere convenient to 

use the set-up controls. Well, clear once you’ve spoken 

to Moto46; the Scandinavian manufacturers aren’t 

quite so hot on clear, simple instruction manuals in the 

English language... Connecting the stick coils in the 

correct sequence isn’t outlined, and you have to jump 

between the instructions for the two parts of the 

system. It’s all there, but it needed the experience of the 

importers on the phone to clarify it. It’s probably worth 

someone with English as a first language simplifying it 

into one sequential document and filling in the gaps. 

Once everything is in place, you tell the shifter ECU 

where peak power is, the point in the revs you’d like it 

to become active (5000rpm is recommended for the 

road, 3000rpm on track) your desired peak kill time 

(they recommend 65m/s for racing; 80m/s is the base 

setting, so I went for 70m/s to begin with) and go 

through some simple drills for the shifter to learn about 

your bike. That’s it. Once installed, trackside parameter 

adjustment is simple, or you can spend a bit of time on a 

quiet road going back and forth to find the best setting. 

I’ve only managed a short ride between bouts of rain, 

but first impressions are good. No big crack, just a brief 

pause. It was also the first road run since the ECU was 

mapped by BSD – in the eight weeks or so I’ve been 

recuperating, I’d almost forgot I’d had it done. It’s 

smoother and gruntier, and the shifter on top makes 

the gains in power and response feel even greater. The 

new silencers sound good without rattling my skull, 

too. It’s so good I might have to get back on track and 

give it the suspension it deserves now. 

Contact: www.moto46.co.uk 

Fitting Cordona’s 

own quickshifter ECU is 

relatively straighforward 

Programming your desired 

kill time is pretty simple, too 

86 PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK | JUNE 2018 JUNE 2018 87

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PB mixed issue sampler - updated Jul18

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