PB mixed issue sampler - updated Jul18
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125s TO VALENCIA: 1800-MILE FLAT-OUT ROAD TRIP ON LEARNER BIKES<br />
SPECIAL<br />
ANSTEY’S<br />
RC213V-S<br />
Under the fairing<br />
of Ulster GP<br />
winning Honda<br />
SUZUKA<br />
RC45<br />
Secrets of HRC’s<br />
ultimate RVF<br />
endurance racer<br />
DUCATI V4<br />
FULL DETAILS OF 2018’S MOST EXCITING NEW BIKE<br />
WAYNE<br />
GARDNER<br />
First Aussie champ<br />
on fighting Lawson<br />
(and his evil NSR500)<br />
JAN 2018 • £4.30 • USA $9.99<br />
DECEMBER ISSUE • DECEMBER 6 - JANUARY 2
THE<br />
BIG<br />
TEST<br />
RACEREPLICAS<br />
REPLACEMENTS<br />
Could these naked middleweights<br />
really evolve into the future<br />
supersport racers?<br />
Words Jon Urry | Photography Simon Lee<br />
‘‘I<br />
CAN’T SAY WHEN, but we will<br />
have a class with naked bikes<br />
instead of World Supersport.”<br />
This recent comment by Dorna’s<br />
ex-WSB executive director Xavier Alonso<br />
seems to be the final nail in the supersport<br />
class’s coffin. Made at a time when worldwide<br />
supersport sales are flopping like a spent<br />
phallus, in the cold light of day it is hard to<br />
argue against Alonso’s vision of the future.<br />
Naked middleweight sales are on the up<br />
and when you look at a brand new Yamaha<br />
YZF-R6 costing a staggering £10,999, why<br />
wouldn’t you buy a naked middleweight for<br />
somewhere in the region of £8000? Far from<br />
the poor relation to supersport bikes they once<br />
were, middleweights now come with<br />
advanced electronics, larger capacity<br />
torque-laden engines and supersport-derived<br />
chassis. What better way to capitalise on their<br />
sales success, as well as demonstrate their<br />
sporting prowess, than through a race series?<br />
After all, isn’t that the whole ethos that<br />
underpinned WSB when it was formed in ’88?<br />
But can this formula actually work in<br />
practice? <strong>PB</strong> gathered together the four<br />
middleweight contenders to see if they have<br />
the potential to offer as much entertainment<br />
to race fans as the supersport class has over<br />
the years. And also to have a damn good<br />
dangerous riding contest on these quite<br />
frankly hysterical machines...<br />
THE TESTERS<br />
Jon Urry, road tester<br />
The cheekiest smile this side of<br />
Tom Cruise. But that’s where the<br />
comparisons end...<br />
Mark White, technician<br />
If you want high-quality tofu or an<br />
X-rated rant about low-quality<br />
engineering, Whitey’s your man.<br />
Kar Lee, forum editor<br />
Any more regular chip shop runs<br />
from Kar and he’s in danger of<br />
losing his ‘middleweight’ status...<br />
James Doherty, road tester<br />
Little Jimmy was once a Yamaha<br />
R6 Cup racer. He’s available for<br />
weddings and bar mitzvahs.<br />
Triumph Street Triple RS<br />
£9900 • 121bhp • 166kg<br />
Houses a triple motor that’s destined<br />
for Moto2, but how does the RS<br />
cope with a hard road ride?<br />
Kawasaki Z900<br />
£8249 • 123.5bhp • 210kg<br />
Shit-all in the way of intrusive<br />
electronics – but can the Zed still<br />
get our winkies rigid?<br />
Suzuki GSX-S750<br />
£7699 • 112bhp • 213kg<br />
Can basic be best? Low level of<br />
adjustability sets the GSX back...<br />
but it is the cheapest bike here.<br />
Yamaha MT-09<br />
£7999 • 113bhp • 193kg<br />
Undercuts the other triple<br />
here by almost £2000. But with<br />
appropriate cuts in parts spec.<br />
62 PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK | NOVEMBER 2017<br />
NOVEMBER 2017 | PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK 63
THE BIG TEST<br />
MIDDLEWIGHT NAKEDS<br />
Oddly enough, this is the<br />
only thing it’s not great at<br />
Any more lean and speed on rippled<br />
tarmac and you’ll soon find its limit<br />
NAKED<br />
MOTO2<br />
FUN<br />
TRIPLE<br />
TREAT, POGO<br />
CHASSIS<br />
SPECIFICATION<br />
TRIUMPH STREET TRIPLE RS<br />
YAMAHA MT-09<br />
SPECIFICATION<br />
ENGINE<br />
Type Liquid-cooled, dohc,<br />
12v inline triple<br />
Capacity 765cc<br />
Bore x stroke 77.99mm x 53.38mm<br />
Fuelling Electronic fuel injection<br />
Power 121.2bhp @ 11,700rpm (claimed)<br />
Torque 56.8lb.ft @ 10,800rpm (claimed)<br />
CHASSIS<br />
Frame Aluminium beam twin-spar<br />
Front suspension 41mm Showa USD<br />
BPF forks, fully adjustable.<br />
Rear suspension Öhlins STX40<br />
monoshock, fully adjustable<br />
Front brakes 2 x 310mm discs,<br />
Brembo M50 radial-mount<br />
monoblock calipers, ABS<br />
Rear brake 220mm disc, Brembo<br />
single-piston caliper, ABS<br />
DIMENSIONS<br />
Wheelbase 1410mm<br />
Rake/trail 23.9°/100mm<br />
Weight 166kg (dry, claimed)<br />
Seat height 825mm<br />
Fuel capacity 17.4 litres<br />
TECHNOLOGY<br />
Rider aids ABS, five engine modes,<br />
five-stage traction control, quickshifter<br />
BUYING<br />
Price £9900<br />
Contact www.triumphmotorcycles.co.uk<br />
W<br />
ITH AN ENGINE that will<br />
power Moto2 bikes from 2019,<br />
the Triumph Street Triple RS<br />
is the obvious peg for the hole<br />
left by the demise of the supersport class.<br />
It has the right motor, a chassis derived<br />
from a supersport bike, and top-quality<br />
running gear – but all this comes at a cost.<br />
If you want the full-fat RS version you<br />
need to fork out nearly £2000 more than<br />
you do for its rivals. But is this value for<br />
money or an unwise investment?<br />
In terms of kerb appeal, you have to<br />
hand it to the Triumph as it is beautifully<br />
finished. From its full colour dash, which<br />
is easy and intuitive to use, to its quality<br />
running gear, it’s light years ahead of its<br />
rivals. Whitey was particularly drawn to<br />
its collector box, commenting on the fact<br />
Triumph have bothered to paint it black<br />
rather than leave a rough metal finish<br />
with exposed welds as on the Yamaha.<br />
The rest of us just oohed and ahhed at the<br />
Brembo brakes, fat Showa forks, and<br />
Öhlins shock, while shaking our heads at<br />
the nasty bar end mirrors.<br />
If you had to give up supersport bikes<br />
and were only allowed to ride a Street<br />
Triple, you wouldn’t be upset. It takes all<br />
that makes supersports so good – track-<br />
Top: Full-colour TFT<br />
dash is satisfyingly<br />
easy to navigate<br />
Middle: Öhlins rear<br />
shock contributes to<br />
sublime chassis feel<br />
Bottom: Monoblocks<br />
provide superior<br />
stopping power<br />
focused chassis, nimble handling and<br />
ferocious stoppers – yet adds a set of flat<br />
bars instead of clip-ons and an over-sized<br />
triple motor. And it works brilliantly.<br />
Hit the bends on the RS and it’s in its<br />
element. As well as feeling really small,<br />
especially in comparison to the Yamaha,<br />
it is every bit a sportsbike in attitude and<br />
agility. It would happily lead a trackday in<br />
its standard form and even comes locked<br />
and loaded with some proper sticky<br />
Pirelli tyres. But it’s not all joyous...<br />
When you brake hard into bends the<br />
Triumph does have an annoying habit of<br />
getting very tail-light, waggling its rear<br />
like an excited dog. This may be due to a<br />
very forward weight bias, but it is a bit of<br />
a nuisance and means you need to be<br />
careful not to fire down too many gears<br />
in one hit. Also, and this is very apparent<br />
when you wheelie it, there is a slight<br />
disconnection between the throttle and<br />
rear wheel. On old, normally-controlled<br />
Street Triples you could bang one up and<br />
hang it there with precision, but despite<br />
its extra grunt the 765 is harder to hold. I<br />
reckon all it would take is a new fuel map<br />
and race can to remove this hesitation. So<br />
while the RS certainly wins the war of the<br />
chassis, its motor isn’t the best triple...<br />
R<br />
IDE A YAMAHA MT-09 and<br />
there is one feature that<br />
dominates the whole<br />
experience – its triple engine.<br />
To be honest, it could look like a dog’s<br />
dinner (which some would argue it does)<br />
and the MT would still win friends as that<br />
powerplant is quite simply staggering.<br />
Which is a very good thing because the<br />
rest of the bike does have a few flaws...<br />
Since its launch, the MT-09 has always<br />
come under fire for its abrupt throttle<br />
response and poor suspension. This year<br />
Yamaha added full adjustability to its<br />
forks, and a new fuel map, but while the<br />
front is now considerably better, the rear<br />
shock is still damped by warm piss and<br />
the initial throttle pick-up is akin to an<br />
on/off switch. The throttle I am prepared<br />
to let off, as selecting B or STD (snigger)<br />
mode does take a bit of the edge off it. But<br />
the shock... Well, as Whitey commented,<br />
the only bike with a worse shock than this<br />
is the Yamaha MT-07...<br />
The <strong>issue</strong> with the MT is partly its<br />
design. It’s not a true naked, it’s a kind of<br />
big supermoto crossed with a naked bike,<br />
and while it’s lovely and tall and roomy to<br />
ride, it comes with longer than normal<br />
travel suspension. The front is OK,<br />
Top: Triple soundtrack<br />
could be beefed up<br />
with new can<br />
Middle: Dash is a bit<br />
more basic but still<br />
does the job<br />
Bottom: Yamaha’s<br />
front end is now fully<br />
adjustable<br />
especially with its full adjustability, but<br />
the rear is a bit of an <strong>issue</strong>.<br />
When you hit bumps the back end just<br />
squats down and then pings back up,<br />
ruining the ride over uneven surfaces and<br />
making it all a bit bouncy. You can attack<br />
bends, but if the surface is uneven it’s not<br />
very good at all and feels in desperate<br />
need of an aftermarket shock, and also<br />
has a bit of a tendency to run wide due to<br />
its long travel suspension. In corners, the<br />
MT-09 lags behind its rivals, but when the<br />
road straightens out it all makes sense.<br />
We all fell for the Yamaha’s motor and<br />
despite its chassis’ failings, when push<br />
came to shove it was the sheer hysterical<br />
naughtiness offered by the motor that<br />
drew us to the MT-09. It is just so fast to<br />
rev, punches so hard in the midrange and<br />
is so bloody easy to wheelie that if you<br />
want to ride like a total twat (and who<br />
doesn’t?) there is no better bike on the<br />
market. When it comes to sheer giggles,<br />
at just £8000 the MT-09 is unbelievable<br />
value for money. Could it take the place<br />
of a supersport bike? Not if corners are<br />
your thing; well, until you throw a few<br />
quid at getting its suspension reworked.<br />
But if you want to practice your<br />
celebration wheelies...<br />
ENGINE<br />
Type Liquid-cooled, dohc,<br />
12v inline triple<br />
Capacity 847cc<br />
Bore x stroke 78.0mm x 59.1mm<br />
Fuelling Electronic fuel injection<br />
Power 113.3bhp @ 10,000rpm (claimed)<br />
Torque 64.6lb.ft @ 8500rpm (claimed)<br />
CHASSIS<br />
Frame Aluminium die-cast diamond<br />
Front suspension 41mm USD forks,<br />
fully adjustable.<br />
Rear suspension Monoshock,<br />
adjustable rebound and spring preload<br />
Front brakes 2 x 298mm discs, fourpiston<br />
radial-mount calipers, ABS<br />
Rear brakes 245mm disc, twin-piston<br />
caliper, ABS<br />
DIMENSIONS<br />
Wheelbase 1440mm<br />
Rake/trail 25°/103mm<br />
Weight 193kg (wet, claimed)<br />
Seat height 820mm<br />
Fuel capacity 14 litres<br />
TECHNOLOGY<br />
Rider aids ABS, three engine modes,<br />
three-stage traction control, quickshifter<br />
BUYING<br />
Price £7999<br />
Contact www.yamaha-motor.eu/uk<br />
64 PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK | NOVEMBER 2017<br />
NOVEMBER 2017 | PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK 65
THE BIG TEST<br />
MIDDLEWIGHT NAKEDS<br />
Its attitude more than makes up<br />
for a lack of outright sportiness<br />
Ride quality simply can’t<br />
compare to the rest<br />
THE<br />
DARK<br />
HORSE<br />
SADLY<br />
FORGETTABLE<br />
SPECIFICATION<br />
KAWASAKI Z900<br />
SUZUKI GSX-S750<br />
SPECIFICATION<br />
ENGINE<br />
Type Liquid-cooled, dohc,<br />
16v inline four<br />
Capacity 948cc<br />
Bore x stroke 73.4mm x 56mm<br />
Fuelling Electronic fuel injection<br />
Power 123.5bhp @ 9500rpm (claimed)<br />
Torque 72.8lb.ft @ 7700rpm (claimed)<br />
CHASSIS<br />
Frame High-tensile steel trellis<br />
Front suspension 41mm USD forks,<br />
fully adjustable.<br />
Rear suspension Monoshock,<br />
adjustable rebound and spring<br />
preload.<br />
Front brakes 2 x 300mm petal discs,<br />
four-piston calipers, ABS<br />
Rear brake 250mm petal disc,<br />
single-piston caliper<br />
DIMENSIONS<br />
Wheelbase 1450mm<br />
Rake/trail 24.5°/103mm<br />
Weight 210kg (wet, claimed)<br />
Seat height 795mm<br />
Fuel capacity 17 litres<br />
TECHNOLOGY<br />
Rider aids ABS<br />
BUYING<br />
Price £8249<br />
Contact www.kawasaki.co.uk<br />
W<br />
HILE THE STREET Triple<br />
instantly impressed <strong>PB</strong>’s test<br />
team visually, the Z900 was<br />
the brunt of their scorn.<br />
Kawasaki always split opinions in terms<br />
of styling, but do riders really like fake<br />
metal plastic frame covers and hideous<br />
carbon inserts on the dash? Or the ‘Z’ tail<br />
light? Aesthetically speaking, it’s<br />
certainly not to <strong>PB</strong>’s liking. And because<br />
we had sniggered at it in the car park, we<br />
weren’t expecting much from the ride.<br />
How wrong we were...<br />
Fair play, Kawasaki have really pulled<br />
a bit of a blinder with the Z900 as they<br />
have eventually made a middleweight<br />
that is packed full of spirit and fun. Aside<br />
from a riding position that only suits<br />
shorter riders due to its high pegs, none of<br />
us could really find anything to criticise<br />
when it came to the Z’s physical<br />
performance.<br />
For a start, there is the fact it has no<br />
fussy electronics aside from ABS (which is<br />
obligatory now anyway). If you want to<br />
wheelie it you just flick the clutch in<br />
second, you don’t have to prod buttons to<br />
deactivate the fun police. And what a<br />
lovely motor. The Z800 that came before<br />
was totally forgettable, another generic<br />
Top: Plush action from<br />
shock, despite lack of<br />
comp adjustment<br />
Middle: We reckon<br />
the Z-shaped tail light<br />
is a bit pony<br />
Bottom: Nothing<br />
wrong with an<br />
old-fashioned dial...<br />
inline four, but the Z900 has so much more<br />
spirit. Yes, it is still an inline four, but it is<br />
one with some real attitude,<br />
a lovely light clutch and a huge amount of<br />
inbuilt fun. And this new element of<br />
attitude even extends to its chassis.<br />
Yamaha could learn a lot from the<br />
Z900’s suspension, as where the MT<br />
‘KAWASAKI HAVE PULLED<br />
A BLINDER, WITH A<br />
MIDDLEWIGHT THAT’S<br />
PACKED WITH SPIRIT’<br />
bounces over bumps, the Zed has a feeling<br />
of plushness, making it a very enjoyable<br />
bike to ride on the road. It’s not the<br />
sportiest in the handling department, nor<br />
the fastest in a straight line, but it is the<br />
one that you can just get on and thrash<br />
and feel totally at one with – and that<br />
means a lot. A real surprise package and<br />
certainly no longer forgettable, just not as<br />
agile as the Triumph or comedic as the MT<br />
when you let it off its leash. Which brings<br />
us to the red bike...<br />
I<br />
FEEL SORRY for the Suzuki<br />
GSX-S750 as there is absolutely<br />
nothing wrong with it and it<br />
does nothing badly – it’s just<br />
not very memorable and a bit bland.<br />
Actually that’s not true, it vibrates<br />
irritatingly and lacks bottom end, but as a<br />
motorcycle it isn’t that bad. The problem<br />
is, it’s also just not that good...<br />
Despite looking quite modern, as soon<br />
as you turn a wheel on the GSX-S it feels<br />
old. Suzuki make a big deal about the fact<br />
it is powered by a re-tuned GSX-R750 K5<br />
motor – but excuse me, that motor is 12<br />
years old! Why are you boasting about<br />
that? Wouldn’t it be better to use a more<br />
modern engine? Like one from this<br />
decade? And the chassis isn’t much better.<br />
In bends, the Suzuki is stable and<br />
secure, but it’s not a patch on the Triumph<br />
in terms of agility. Whitey summed up his<br />
impressions by saying it felt like the<br />
GSX-S has really heavy wheels, which hits<br />
the nail on the head. It turns sweetly<br />
enough and holds a line, but it doesn’t feel<br />
like a sportsbike. It feels, well, it feels old<br />
– and that’s its overriding <strong>issue</strong>.<br />
If you rode the GSX-S in isolation you<br />
may think its motor was OK. After you<br />
battle through its lack of low-end shunt<br />
Top: Like the rest of<br />
the bike, plain dash<br />
just gets the job done<br />
Middle: It’s not bad,<br />
but the 12-year-old<br />
motor isn’t stunning<br />
Bottom: Preload<br />
adjustment only<br />
at the rear end<br />
and get it revving it does drive quite well,<br />
in fact it has quite a pleasing top-end rush<br />
once the revs rise. But with just a claimed<br />
112bhp (<strong>PB</strong> suspects this figure is a bit<br />
optimistic) it isn’t that thrilling, and next<br />
to the gutsy MT, RS and Zed it feels flat<br />
and lethargic. And buzzy.<br />
You may appreciate the secure feeling<br />
you get from the Suzuki’s lovely balanced<br />
chassis, but if you were to sample the<br />
sportsbike-derived RS your eyes would be<br />
opened to a whole new world of agility.<br />
And where is the adjustability in the<br />
suspension if you want to take it on track?<br />
These are all premium middleweights and<br />
as such a decent degree of adjustability<br />
should be standard. And then there are<br />
the electronics...<br />
The Suzuki’s dash, which is the same<br />
unit as the GSX-S1000, is very plain Jane<br />
when compared to the Triumph’s<br />
full-colour unit but at least it is clear to<br />
read and the TC can easily be turned off<br />
while on the move – which is a bonus.<br />
I don’t want to be harsh about the<br />
GSX-S750, but the sad fact is that while it<br />
rides well, it just feels old-hat to ride and<br />
in a class as competitive as that in which<br />
it’s been placed, simply being £300 quid<br />
cheaper doesn’t make it worth buying.<br />
ENGINE<br />
Type Liquid-cooled, dohc,<br />
16v inline four<br />
Capacity 749cc<br />
Bore x stroke 72mm x 46mm<br />
Fuelling Electronic fuel injection<br />
Power 112.4bhp @ 10,500rpm (claimed)<br />
Torque 59.7lb.ft @ 9000rpm (claimed)<br />
CHASSIS<br />
Frame D-section and round<br />
tubular steel<br />
Front suspension 41mm KYB USD<br />
forks, adjustable spring preload<br />
Rear suspension Monoshock,<br />
seven-way adjustable spring preload<br />
Front brakes 2 x 310mm discs,<br />
four-piston Nissin radial-mount<br />
calipers, ABS<br />
Rear brake 240mm disc,<br />
single-piston caliper<br />
DIMENSIONS<br />
Wheelbase 1455mm<br />
Rake/trail 25.2°/104mm<br />
Weight 213kg (wet, claimed)<br />
Seat height 820mm<br />
Fuel capacity 16 litres<br />
TECHNOLOGY<br />
Rider aids ABS, three-stage<br />
traction control<br />
BUYING<br />
Price £7699<br />
Contact www.suzuki-gb.co.uk<br />
66 PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK | NOVEMBER 2017<br />
NOVEMBER 2017 | PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK 67
THE BIG TEST<br />
MIDDLEWIGHT NAKEDS<br />
THE MIDDLEWEIGHT CUP<br />
HEN MIDDLEWEIGHTS inaugural Performance Bikes World<br />
were the poor relation to Middleweight Cup race be?<br />
W supersport bikes, a series<br />
Off the line, the lighter Triumph Street<br />
could easily have been<br />
Triple RS would lead into the first corner,<br />
arranged, as the naked bikes were all easily out-braking and out-cornering its<br />
600cc. But as the supersport class’s rivals and then pulling clear bike lengths<br />
popularity dipped and the<br />
through the bend due to its sporty<br />
middleweights flourished, it led to a chassis. Once it stopped wobbling and<br />
greater diversity within the naked bikes. was upright, the Yamaha MT-09’s instant<br />
How do you regulate a class that includes punch would see it gain back the metres<br />
triples, parallel twins, inline fours and it lost on the Kawasaki under braking as<br />
V-twins that are all of varying capacities? its long-travel suspension was no match<br />
It can’t happen. So what’s the answer? for the Z900’s standard-length units.<br />
You could impose a horsepower cap Powering away, it would be near the RS<br />
and minimum weight limit, but no<br />
by the end of the straight and a few<br />
manufacturer would get behind this with metres ahead of the Z900, only to lose its<br />
factory-supported teams as all the<br />
ground gained come the next bend. A<br />
performance emphasis would be on the pattern that would continue for the lap,<br />
bike’s chassis – and that’s exactly what seeing the Triumph win the race,<br />
caused the spiralling costs, track focus followed by the Yamaha and the<br />
and eventual decline of the supersport Kawasaki, with just a few bike lengths<br />
class. The only viable solution would be a separating them. But what of the Suzuki?<br />
one-make naked bike series, but that’s Last into the first corner due to a lack of<br />
not in the spirit of WSB’s ethos and would low-end drive and underpowered on the<br />
only benefit one manufacturer. However, straights, sadly the GSX-S750’s lack of<br />
putting reality aside for just one cubes sees it trailing home in last spot<br />
second, if we race-prepped these with its rider wishing for a bit more<br />
four middleweights, what performance everywhere to help it close<br />
would the result of the<br />
the gap on its rivals.<br />
SECOND OPINION<br />
REPLACE A SPORTS 600<br />
WITH THIS… REALLY?<br />
LIVING IN A household with<br />
three supersport bikes is a lot of<br />
fun: a decade-old CBR with the<br />
right mods, a Daytona 675R with<br />
trick parts as standard. And my 2017 R6 is a<br />
very capable machine even before getting<br />
the personal touch. But, in a few years time,<br />
what will replace them?<br />
I’ll tell you what won’t: the Suzuki. It has<br />
a cheap-looking frame, awful Transformerstyle<br />
looks and a motor milking a tenuous K5<br />
connection to create the most forgettable<br />
use of a GSX badge. It’s the cheapest on<br />
test by £300 but is still too expensive for<br />
what you get. A clear loser.<br />
The other three are amazing in their own<br />
little ways. The Z900 was a surprisingly good<br />
package and the one to go for if I was to<br />
stick with an inline four. It’s powerful, it<br />
handles, it just about gets away with the<br />
styling and it wheelies like a dream.<br />
Triumph’s 765 Street Triple is an<br />
interesting one. I owned a 675 Street R in<br />
‘I WONDER IF YAMAHA<br />
SHOULD CHANGE THE MT<br />
NAME TO ‘TDR’ INSTEAD’<br />
2009 and had some big laughs. I had high<br />
hopes for the 765RS. 15bhp more with a<br />
similar chassis is surely a no-brainer... but<br />
not quite. The midrange feels flatter, it’s not<br />
as exhilarating to ride and is missing ‘purity’.<br />
A glorious bike, and it would win on track,<br />
but it’s not my favourite.<br />
Expectations of the MT-09 were high, but<br />
I was ready to be disappointed. By the time<br />
I’d pulled away, funky headlights reaching up<br />
to the treetops, I was converted. It was an<br />
absolute blast. The wide bars, perky motor,<br />
upright riding position and on-the-limit<br />
chassis make me wonder if Yamaha should<br />
change the MT moniker to ‘TDR’ instead. It’s<br />
the one for laughs, and the one I could see<br />
filling a supersport void in my garage.<br />
Kar Lee<br />
If R6 owner Kar was<br />
forced to part with it,<br />
he’d take the MT-09<br />
Triumph’s RS is the winner on the<br />
road. It’d be the same story on-track<br />
68<br />
PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK | NOVEMBER 2017
JEREMY<br />
McWILLIAMS<br />
‘ Pulling the front brake at full lean<br />
in the wet takes getting used to’<br />
These panniers may or<br />
may not be full of concrete<br />
Jezza with RC390 R&D<br />
colleagues Thomas Kuttruf<br />
and Wolfgang Welber<br />
I HAVE WHAT SOME bike nuts regard as the<br />
ultimate day job: testing the 1290 Super Duke<br />
R, Super Duke GT, 1190/1290 Adventure and<br />
now the new 790 range. I work with the R&D<br />
team and project leaders at KTM who are<br />
tasked with developing the road bike range<br />
and Customer Racing department where we<br />
develop road bikes, like the RC390, for racing.<br />
Yes, there is a lot of pressure to get it right but<br />
there’s plenty of job satisfaction if the bikes<br />
are well received by the press and owners.<br />
The R&D department does an outstanding<br />
job; every aspect of a bike is evaluated. They<br />
can replicate real road riding on test benches<br />
in their new facility. The department has<br />
grown from about 40 people when I started<br />
to more than 500, with many smaller<br />
departments within it dedicated to data<br />
recording, brakes and wheels, chassis, motor,<br />
electronics, suspension...<br />
Test riders evaluate everything – tyres,<br />
traction control and ABS, chassis, suspension,<br />
handling and brake performance, ergonomics<br />
– usually at different proving grounds<br />
through Europe. We work with the team to<br />
improve the bikes before they’re approved for<br />
production. Tyres, for instance, have to pass<br />
stringent testing in all conditions at every<br />
lean angle on road, track, wet and dry<br />
handling courses. How they perform at tip-in,<br />
how much effort is required, how they react<br />
to rider input, do they have self-steering<br />
tendencies or any lift up under brake and<br />
acceleration? Where one tyre might outperform<br />
another in the dry it won’t make the<br />
final list if it doesn’t perform in all conditions.<br />
The bikes go through a severe shakedown.<br />
KTM know how stiff a chassis needs to be,<br />
and they know how stiff every other chassis<br />
on the market is, but this doesn’t mean if you<br />
make one with same lateral and torsional<br />
stiffness it will react identically to a<br />
competitor’s. We start with something the<br />
team know will be in the ballpark then<br />
change it according to test feedback and data.<br />
Street bikes probably have as much data<br />
acquisition hanging off them as a MotoGP<br />
bike. It takes the engineers days to get<br />
through all the data from a test.<br />
When we started with the 1290 Super<br />
Duke we had about four WP technicians over<br />
the test cycle. We’d have forks and shocks in<br />
different lengths, damping and spring rates,<br />
and we’d ride up to the top of the roughest<br />
roads and mountains in Spain. I’d be<br />
hammering the bikes over those<br />
roads, then back to normal<br />
road riding, motorways, city<br />
centres then back to the<br />
proving ground with dry,<br />
wet, rough and dynamic<br />
handling tracks in one<br />
facility. Then do all the<br />
tests again until we had<br />
covered every angle.<br />
Every time you ride<br />
a bike in a new<br />
environment something else shows up. We’d<br />
ride two-up with concrete in the tank bags<br />
then go to the track and deck the footpegs out<br />
to find the best suspension settings. The<br />
toughest test isn’t opening the throttle to<br />
maximum while dragging your toes on a<br />
soaking wet track to test traction control – it’s<br />
testing lean angle ABS. Squeezing the front<br />
brake to maximum pressure at maximum<br />
lean angle on a wet track takes a bit of getting<br />
used to. We worked with Bosch at their<br />
facilities in Germany and Japan to perfect the<br />
TC and ABS. KTM were the first company to<br />
come up with the idea for lean angle-sensitive<br />
ABS, and I had the pleasure of testing the<br />
early systems. When they first asked me to be<br />
the guinea pig it was a relief to find it worked<br />
first time and just needed minor adjustments.<br />
The test is to see if the bike can hold a line<br />
without crashing with full brake pressure –<br />
you need to squeeze the brake to about 50 bar<br />
pressure. We use no more than 15 bar for an<br />
emergency stop...<br />
Chassis stiffness is complicated, but the<br />
boffins in the design department know where<br />
it needs to be. We have been testing a stiffer<br />
chassis lately for one of the bikes as we<br />
noticed that when we used super-soft slicks<br />
on a track there was room to improve. Flex is<br />
good – we need some at full lean angle to<br />
aleviate chatter. It is easy to produce a chassis<br />
that is too stiff; at maximum lean you feel<br />
every ripple in the surface and the bike is not<br />
pleasant to ride. To find the best solution we<br />
had to beef up one of the current frames to<br />
make it stiffer. We went back and forth a few<br />
times before making a change; the test is<br />
rigorous and it has to work with road tyres in<br />
normal conditions and on the race track.<br />
Every rider in the department, including the<br />
project leaders, then tests the bike, then the<br />
test chassis is measured and a new chassis is<br />
designed to the same lateral and torsional<br />
stiffnesses. And then we repeat the test...<br />
It’s not all high-action;<br />
there’s a fair amount of<br />
sitting around involved...<br />
When<br />
your 9-to-5<br />
involves pushing new<br />
bikes to – and beyond –<br />
the limits of traction, this is<br />
sometimes how your day<br />
ends. Followed by a lengthy sit<br />
down with your boss to<br />
explain the demise of their<br />
priceless pre-production<br />
performance<br />
motorcycle.<br />
WHO IS JEREMY McWILLIAMS?<br />
Ex-250 and 500 GP racer Jezza is also a KTM<br />
development rider, road racer and occasional film star...<br />
KTM<br />
We’ll twat anyone who<br />
questions McWilliams’<br />
commitment<br />
MARCH 2018 | PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK 21
INTERVIEW / RICK ENGLISH<br />
I DO ALL<br />
MY OWN<br />
Main image:<br />
getting some<br />
practice in on an<br />
airfield near Oxford<br />
Left: Rick as<br />
Nicolas Cage’s stunt<br />
double in Ghost<br />
Rider; S1000RR and<br />
disguised dirt bike<br />
on set of MI:5<br />
(AND EVERYBODY ELSE’S, TOO)<br />
Rick English is a Hollwood stunt man, getting paid to do skids,<br />
wheelies (and big highsides) in pursuit of box office success. He<br />
ushered <strong>PB</strong> behind the curtain for a look into a world where riding<br />
elbow-to-elbow with Tom Cruise is part of the day job<br />
Words Chris Newbigging | Photography Simon Lee/Rick English<br />
46 PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK | FEBRUARY 2018<br />
FEBRUARY 2018 | PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK 47
INTERVIEW / RICK ENGLISH<br />
Rick lobs himself up<br />
the road while Tom<br />
Cruise rides the only<br />
S1000RR with a<br />
180-section front tyre...<br />
‘I HIGHSIDED IN MISSION:<br />
IMPOSSIBLE BY ON THE<br />
REAR BRAKE THEN RELEASING IT’<br />
Jenny Tinmouth<br />
was also on the<br />
stunt team of MI:5<br />
There’s only one way to<br />
develop movie-ready<br />
stunt skills<br />
Mirrored visor?<br />
Check. All-black bad<br />
guy leathers? Check...<br />
ONSIDER yourself a bit of a film buff?<br />
Reckon you can see through CGI and<br />
special effect action scenes in movies?<br />
Well, defeating such cynicism and<br />
providing ever more spectacular<br />
footage is what keeps Rick English in<br />
work as a bike-riding stunt man, listed<br />
on the British Stunt Register for<br />
directors and film crews worldwide to hand-pick if he<br />
suits the flick they’re producing.<br />
And he often does: his CV includes Bond films,<br />
Mission: Impossible, Kingsman, Ghost Rider and<br />
more... he’s also appeared on TV, and in commercials,<br />
too – when <strong>PB</strong> caught up with him on a practice day,<br />
he’d just picked up a battered scooter in preparation for<br />
playing a London scooter scally for a major high street<br />
brand. If you need a wheelie, powerslide or a VMAX<br />
ridden through the desert, he’s your man. So how the<br />
hell does an ordinary bloke from the south east wind<br />
up working with Hollywood bigwigs?<br />
“When I was about seven, I watched TV stunt man<br />
series ‘The Fall Guy’ and the Burt Reynolds film<br />
‘Hooper.’ Reynolds in particular was a bit of a hero of<br />
mine. In the opening scene of that film, you see him<br />
pulling on his armour, his leathers, taking a swig of<br />
Rick on the set of<br />
Kingsman with Colin Firth<br />
This is his actual<br />
face, still in one piece...<br />
whiskey and then getting on his bike to shoot a crash<br />
scene. I thought that was the coolest thing, and I knew<br />
right then that’s what I wanted to do.<br />
“I did fall into real life for a short time, and initially<br />
I had a job as a personal trainer. But all the time I was<br />
riding bikes, doing a bit of club racing, and still thinking<br />
about getting into films, but initially through my<br />
interest in martial arts.<br />
“I started to work in a gym in London’s west end and<br />
you’d get a lot of actors and directors coming in – I got<br />
my first foot in the door that way.”<br />
For anyone wanting to make a living as a stunt<br />
double, you need to be part of a recognised body – in<br />
the UK, that’s the British Stunt Register, run by an<br />
actors’ union. You need to train across six different<br />
disciplines of stunt performance, and reach a certain<br />
standard in all. Accredited members are then added to<br />
a directory for directors and stunt team co-ordinators,<br />
which lists height and physical attributes as well as<br />
areas of expertise, to help find close matches where<br />
body doubles are required.<br />
Getting a break<br />
After some early work on the martial arts side, he got<br />
his biking break in 2000. “It was just riding through<br />
traffic in ‘Three Blind Mice’, but it was my first paid<br />
role involving bikes.”<br />
From there, Rick’s stunt roles quickly went up a<br />
notch to some big flicks – over the years, he’s played<br />
a part in Batman movies, Bond films, and one-offs<br />
like ‘The Boat That Rocked’. But when it comes to<br />
bike stunts, two franchises stand out for Rick – one<br />
for obvious reasons, the other more personal...<br />
“My favourite bike scenes were in ‘Ghost Rider<br />
II’, not because it’s the best or most popular film<br />
I’ve worked on, but because there was lots to do<br />
– I like to be busy, and there was a lot of riding in<br />
that film. It’s not about the money for me; I just<br />
love doing cool stuff and going to cool places,<br />
and in that respect it was the best job I’ve had<br />
– lots of riding, and also some ‘wire work’,<br />
which is basically any kind of stunt that<br />
requires you to fly through the air, so you’re<br />
on a thin wire and yanked away!<br />
“Because it was an over-the-top sort of<br />
film, rather than something that had to be<br />
realistic, you can do stuff that’s more fun<br />
and get away with it. The supernatural sort<br />
of scene is great to do – there was lots of<br />
fighting and riding to do, and it was shot<br />
48 PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK | FEBRUARY 2018
INTERVIEW / RICK ENGLISH<br />
in Transylvania and Turkey, which were amazing<br />
places to see.<br />
“Though when they first called, they mentioned<br />
wheelies would be required, and it turned out I’d be<br />
riding a Yamaha VMAX. They’re not very easy to get up,<br />
they just wheelspin!”<br />
If you’re a cinema regular, Rick’s work on ‘Mission<br />
Impossible: Rogue Nation’ is probably the best of his<br />
handiwork, performing in the chase scene involving<br />
S1000RRs – and being the man responsible for the big<br />
highside just behind Tom Cruise that would eventually<br />
go on to be the lead image and scene for the trailers and<br />
promotional material. It’s not fake, either – he really did<br />
flick himself of one of the 20 or so S1000RRs reduced to<br />
scrap in the making of the film...<br />
“I remember when we first arrived, and they’d got all<br />
these RRs – ex-press and demo bikes I think – and I<br />
thought, ‘Great, there’ll be some spares leftover for my<br />
track bike!’ But at the end there was barely enough left<br />
to build a rideable bike – they were crashed, ridden<br />
down steps and all sorts, just about everything got<br />
damaged eventually.”<br />
Crashing on purpose<br />
Humans are born with two natural fears: loud noises,<br />
and falling. So flicking yourself off a perfectly good<br />
motorcycle goes against everything we’re hard wired<br />
to do, before we develop further self-preservation<br />
instincts... How the hell do you prepare to have such<br />
an ugly crash on purpose?<br />
“I tend not to think about it as a crash, I work on the<br />
mechanics and physics of what I have to do, and then<br />
deal with the aftermath as best I can, though it’s<br />
Practice<br />
means freezing<br />
cold airfields. It’s<br />
not all Hollywood<br />
glamour...<br />
Rick was the cop flipped<br />
off the police bike in Skyfall<br />
Wire work and green scene<br />
is often part of the process<br />
different every time. It’s all in the preparation – you and<br />
the team work on making sure there’s nothing to hit<br />
and nobody is going to run you over. You do everything<br />
to avoid injury, because that holds the job up and<br />
prevents you from working.<br />
“I highsided in MI:5 by jumping on the rear brake at<br />
50mph then releasing it – it’s pretty inevitable when<br />
you lock the rear and it steps out, then you release, that<br />
it’s going to flick you up – trying to do it on the throttle<br />
is harder, it might grip and drive, or something else you<br />
don’t expect, and potentially run into someone like Tom<br />
Cruise... And you try to do these stunts in one take,<br />
though sometimes they need it from different angles,<br />
so you do have to repeat it.<br />
“I almost got away with it, but I managed to stretch a<br />
ligament in my knee as I tumbled. Fortunately it was<br />
fairly minor – I strapped it up for another 10 days of<br />
shooting so I could get the job done.<br />
“The lay-down I did for Ghost Rider was actually<br />
relatively straightforward – ride at 60-70mph, lock the<br />
back up, turn the bars and just wait to go down, making<br />
sure you don’t get underneath the bike and trying not to<br />
get hurt, obviously!”<br />
‘GHOST RIDER WAS A GREAT<br />
FILM TO DO. THERE WAS LOTS OF<br />
AND RIDING INVOLVED!’<br />
Beats sitting<br />
behind a<br />
desk all day<br />
The whole family travelled<br />
to the set of Ghost Rider<br />
Cage: “I’m not getting on<br />
that and messing up my face”<br />
RICK’S BIKE ESSENTIAL STUNT MODS<br />
Rick’s practice bike is a heavily modified BMW F800R – these are some of the modifications<br />
that make it perfect for all manner of stand-up, no-handed, monowheeling tomfoolery...<br />
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MULTI BIKE<br />
MODIFIED<br />
SPORTS<br />
CUSTOM<br />
One-finger clutch lever and handlebar-mounted back<br />
brake for stand-up stunts with control over the rear<br />
Slow-action trials throttle gives Rick more control<br />
when undertaking slow-speed riding tricks<br />
CLASSIC<br />
SCOOTER<br />
Call us on:<br />
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50 PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK | FEBRUARY 2018<br />
Big sprocket makes the F800 rev<br />
higher and prevents stalling in<br />
slow-speed manoeuvres<br />
Subframe-mounted BMX-style<br />
stuntpeg gives Rick better balance<br />
and increased trick options<br />
Lever mounted on crash bar holds<br />
high idle to allow no-handed<br />
wheelies without stalling<br />
www.principalinsurance.co.uk<br />
Principal Insurance is authorised and regulated by the<br />
Financial Conduct Authority.<br />
Calls may be recorded for training and monitoring purposes.<br />
*Calls to this number cost no more than a national rate call<br />
to an 01 or 02 number and must count towards any inclusive<br />
minutes in the same way as 01 and 02 calls.
INTERVIEW / RICK ENGLISH<br />
“Tom Cruise is so focused... and fast”<br />
Working on Mission: Impossible meant working closely<br />
with A-lister Tom Cruise. We’ve all heard the gossip and<br />
rumours. So go on... what’s he like?<br />
“He loves to do a lot of action in his films – he’s into<br />
bikes and cars, so he pushes to get them involved.<br />
I remember coaching him at Rockingham one day.<br />
I was riding round, out on to the straight doing over<br />
130mph and thinking, ‘This guy’s an actor!’<br />
“He has to be reined in on set, because he wants to do<br />
everything himself, and push it – he hates having to use<br />
rigs or anything false. He wanted to do a chase scene in<br />
shorts and flip-flops, and he insisted on doing it without<br />
a helmet so you could see it really was him, to make it<br />
worth him doing the riding rather than a stunt double.<br />
He had to do the scene where I highsided with his bike<br />
on a rig from the camera car, as that was the only way<br />
to get everything consistent and correct for one take,<br />
but he was against it. That’s the appeal of the films,<br />
people want to see him doing those things.<br />
“He’s very focused and intense, but cool to work with,<br />
and likes hanging out with the stunt team, because he<br />
enjoys doing it, and generally brings a good energy to<br />
the job. He’s been out to lunch with us when we’re out<br />
practicing somewhere – we’ll be in the pub and he’ll just<br />
be talking bikes like everybody else.<br />
“He’s good to the fans, too – after one scene in a<br />
BMW M3, he drove over to a fence closing the set<br />
where some public had gathered. He signed a load of<br />
autographs, and then did some donuts for them!”<br />
How to be movie-ready<br />
Obviously, you can’t just knock on the door of a<br />
production company, wave a provisional licence and get<br />
‘IT WAS KNEE-DOWN,<br />
ON<br />
MOROCCAN TWISTIES.<br />
BASICALLY RACING!’<br />
Rick has an S1000RR<br />
track bike to help stay sharp<br />
Two wheels are always<br />
better than three. Fact<br />
handed a S1000RR to throw at the scenery. As Rick<br />
does with martial arts, or fencing, or driving (skills he<br />
also offers), he spends a lot of time on two wheels<br />
honing his reflexes and understanding of bike control.<br />
We went to see him on one of his regular practice<br />
days, where he spends time on an airstrip on a stunt<br />
show-spec F800R. Here, he can develop control for<br />
wheelies, skids, stoppies and general on-the-edgeness<br />
that translates to the skills often required. But the<br />
variety of his film work means he has to ride most<br />
things to ensure he stays sharp and can turn his<br />
hand to most things.<br />
“I have a lot of bikes. As well as this BMW, I have an<br />
S1000RR for trackdays, and I used to race 600s at club<br />
level. I also have motocross bikes, trials bikes and<br />
recently got into flat-track, too. Understanding different<br />
bikes and surfaces makes me better at my job, but I also<br />
do it because I enjoy it. You wouldn’t think club racing<br />
would be useful for a film, but MI:5 was knee-down,<br />
elbow-to-elbow on Moroccan twisties: basically racing!<br />
“I train with show stunt riders, but I don’t ever do<br />
shows, and I don’t train quite the same way. I don’t need<br />
to push it to the same extreme – it’s about throttle and<br />
brake control for me, and the balance. They’ll crash 20<br />
times a session trying something new, but if I hurt<br />
myself going too far, I’ll be out of work for a while.<br />
So you need to do these things, and be able to adapt,<br />
too. I don’t do enduro, though – any sport where your<br />
bike needs handles to pull it out of a bog isn’t for me!<br />
“When I chose my six stunt disciplines, I chose things<br />
I was interested in anyway, even if that’s not necessarily<br />
where I want to work – if you’re not into it, you won’t<br />
get to the required standard and maintain it for when<br />
you might need it.”<br />
With the fast-idle<br />
and braking mods to<br />
his F800, Rick can<br />
hold this up all day<br />
52<br />
PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK | FEBRUARY 2018
Desperate<br />
for a shift<br />
Carl puts ‘want’ in front of ‘need’<br />
and treats the R1 to a quickshifter<br />
Photography Chippy Wood<br />
2005 YAMAHA YZF-R1 CARL NEWBIGGING<br />
I SHOULD HAVE focused on the R1’s<br />
suspension next: brakes, engine and<br />
tasteless tat all addressed, the tired<br />
original forks and shock are the logical<br />
final piece in my overhaul of a decadeold<br />
litre bike. Instead, I’ve got sidetracked fulfilling a<br />
long time desire to own... a quickshifter. I remember<br />
the exact moment I wanted one – trackside at a<br />
Thundersport race meet, Phil Crowe’s S1000RR<br />
emitting huge pops and cracks made the sight of a bloke<br />
around the 20-stone mark laying waste to the field all<br />
the more impressive...<br />
In any case, it’s either not been possible to fit them to<br />
my bikes, I’ve been too poor, or it seemed like a waste of<br />
money spending a third of a bike’s value on a frippery.<br />
But the R1 will accept one, and I can afford one.<br />
Besides, I’d spannered my shoulder on a mountain bike,<br />
so moving the R1 or stripping the suspension out to<br />
send it off wasn’t happening. Time to get myself some<br />
snap, crackle and shift.<br />
I asked Whitey what he recommended. “A good one”,<br />
he replied. “The R1 doesn’t have a weak gearbox, but<br />
they don’t like a crude shifter. Get a quality item, like a<br />
Cordona.” So, a Cordona then. I went for the top model,<br />
the PQ8. The strain gauge bit is the same ‘GP Shifter’<br />
they’ve offered for years, but rather than a fairly simple<br />
interruption of the CDI signal, it plugs directly into the<br />
coils. It’s also a standalone part with its own ECU, and<br />
has easily-adjustable kill time, plus a program that<br />
varies the kill based on RPM, so is claimed to be slicker<br />
on short-shifts, for example. And the reintroduction of<br />
the spark is sequential – no big bang as the cylinders<br />
fire, so it should be kinder on an older bike. They claim<br />
it’s measurably better in terms of speed and lap time,<br />
but my priority is a smooth change without throwing<br />
Hello, do you<br />
speak English?<br />
Carl unloads his<br />
bank account on a<br />
childhood dream<br />
If you’re confident you<br />
can get at the coils, you<br />
can fit it yourself<br />
‘Once fitted, trackside parameter<br />
adjustment is simple. Or you can<br />
spend a bit of time on a quiet road...’<br />
STORY SO FAR<br />
Classy ’05 R1 gets<br />
a few rough edges<br />
smoothed out and a<br />
bit more performance<br />
to boot<br />
fourth through the top of the cases...<br />
Importers Moto46 got £382 of my money – decent<br />
value for what’s included. It can all be fitted without the<br />
need for dyno set-up as it’s pre-programmed, but you<br />
need to know how to access the coils off your own back.<br />
If you’re happy changing spark plugs, you’ll be fine.<br />
It’s mostly straightforward plugging in, routing<br />
wiring and fitting the ECU somewhere convenient to<br />
use the set-up controls. Well, clear once you’ve spoken<br />
to Moto46; the Scandinavian manufacturers aren’t<br />
quite so hot on clear, simple instruction manuals in the<br />
English language... Connecting the stick coils in the<br />
correct sequence isn’t outlined, and you have to jump<br />
between the instructions for the two parts of the<br />
system. It’s all there, but it needed the experience of the<br />
importers on the phone to clarify it. It’s probably worth<br />
someone with English as a first language simplifying it<br />
into one sequential document and filling in the gaps.<br />
Once everything is in place, you tell the shifter ECU<br />
where peak power is, the point in the revs you’d like it<br />
to become active (5000rpm is recommended for the<br />
road, 3000rpm on track) your desired peak kill time<br />
(they recommend 65m/s for racing; 80m/s is the base<br />
setting, so I went for 70m/s to begin with) and go<br />
through some simple drills for the shifter to learn about<br />
your bike. That’s it. Once installed, trackside parameter<br />
adjustment is simple, or you can spend a bit of time on a<br />
quiet road going back and forth to find the best setting.<br />
I’ve only managed a short ride between bouts of rain,<br />
but first impressions are good. No big crack, just a brief<br />
pause. It was also the first road run since the ECU was<br />
mapped by BSD – in the eight weeks or so I’ve been<br />
recuperating, I’d almost forgot I’d had it done. It’s<br />
smoother and gruntier, and the shifter on top makes<br />
the gains in power and response feel even greater. The<br />
new silencers sound good without rattling my skull,<br />
too. It’s so good I might have to get back on track and<br />
give it the suspension it deserves now.<br />
Contact: www.moto46.co.uk<br />
Fitting Cordona’s<br />
own quickshifter ECU is<br />
relatively straighforward<br />
Programming your desired<br />
kill time is pretty simple, too<br />
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