Indholdsfortegnelse for Summer 2017 i Fast Bikes

Ever fancied a crack at the TT? You better read on then… It was that interminable question thrown to every school leaver in my class: ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ I’m not going to pretend I can remember what myself or anyone else retorted, but among all the obligatory vocations of doctors, footballers, hairdressers and porn stars – there was always one – I know with certainty no one stood tall and said they wanted to be a TT racer. It’s not that none of us had ever heard of the world’s greatest road race, but it was considered the reserve of others: an unachievable feat on a par with becoming an astronaut or banging Keira Knightley down the local park. But in someone else’s…

Honda’s CBR600 range was always the sensible supersport, as capable of turning its hand to the race track as it was for popping out to do the shopping on. In 2003 this perception changed as the first all-singing, all-dancing, track-focused CBR arrived – the CBR600RR. With the RR standing for Race Ready. And Honda meant it. Unveiled with lots of images of the RC211V MotoGP bike to accompany it, the RR was a totally new CBR and took the brand in a brave new direction of total track-focus. Which caused a bit of concern to Honda and for that reason the more relaxed CBR600F was kept in the model range. Why were Honda’s top brass slightly worried about the RR? This new CBR was nothing short of a full-on race…

THIS MONTH I HAVE MOSTLY BEEN… “Playing with tech.” If you’ve read the SBOTY test then you’ll know my SP didn’t win. It didn’t even make the podium, but I’m not too bothered about that. Fast laps are one thing but if it’s a pure riding experience you’re after then I reckon the Blade’s a cut above the rest. I lost count of how many laps I clocked on the Honda, but all of them were done with a massive smile because it made me feel good. It wasn’t the fastest bike, or the best handling, but it made you feel like a superstar. The rear end was always wagging on the brakes and sliding on corner exits, and there was always an edge of surprise when it came to…

THIS MONTH I HAVE MOSTLY BEEN… “Attempting to behave but failing miserably!” Right lads and lasses, I want you to picture this for yourselves; close your eyes – in fact, no, scrap that, that’s a bad idea as you won’t get my drift. So, just imagine hitting up some of the finest stretches of asphalt this land has to offer, coupled with some rather uncharacteristically decent weather and some absolutely spectacular landscapes. Add to the mix an utterly mind blowing ballistic missile of the two wheeled variety – one that Kim Jong Un himself would be proud of, and I think you’re probably getting where I’m going with this. If not, don’t worry, I’ve always been shit at telling a story, and all you need to know was that Wales…

THIS MONTH I HAVE MOSTLY BEEN… “Drinking beer in a swimming pool, wearing leathers…” Being dragged over to Portugal in the back of a lorry for eight lads to abuse for a few days, I felt sorry for her. She didn’t whimper though, and was soon lapping up multiple botties for countless laps of Portimao. Although the ZX-10RR didn’t win SBOTY, it proved to be a popular choice of steed: easy-going, comfy and über stable among a pack of lairy bastards. To celebrate surviving another test of mammoth proportions, we sat round the pool and guzzled Super Bock. It was nice... Meanwhile, back in blighty, the weather hasn’t been kind and I haven’t enjoyed as many weekend thrashes or turbo commutes as I should have done. The RR hasn’t disappointed…

We really must doff our cap to Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso – well done dear boy, there were very few people who saw that coming! Dovi won his home Grand Prix at Mugello, an Italian on an Italian bike, matching a feat last achieved when ‘flares were just coming into fashion. And the best part about it was, as mentioned, that there were very few who saw it coming, us included. The variables were stacked up against him too heavily when you look at everything on paper, even though the Ducati is a rocketship down the long Tuscan straight. Rossi was slightly crocked but you knew he’d be there, and his team-mate Maverick Vinales has been doing lots of winning. Marc Marquez has also been pretty handy around the place too,…

DUCATI WSB WORLD SUPERBIKE Hello there, were many of you guys at Donington for WSB? It’s been a bit of a bogey track for me and the Ducati, but things started off fairly well this time around. Practice was good, we made some positive steps and I was looking forward to a far better meeting than we’ve had before especially after qualifying on the front row. Race one was all going so well, and I got in the lead quite quickly. But I squared off the final corner, and came a cropper right where the national circuit joins the International layout we use. I came off the front brake a little fast, loading the front too quickly right on that join, and away she went – how very annoying! That’s…

PLANET FAST BIKES – NEW METAL, NEWS & REVIEWS Want some new tyres and would like to save a bob or three on them? Well those fine purveyors of all thing round and rubbery, Pirelli & Metzeler, are now running a cashback scheme to current and potential customers. We’re quite sure T&Cs will apply here, which doubtless you’ll be able to find on their respective websites (www.pirelli.com orwww.metzeler.comwww.metzeler.com ), but the gist of it boils down to a £30 discount on selected hoops via a pre-paid credit card type thing. Tyres included on the offer are as follows – for Pirelli it’s the Diablo Rosso III, Rosso Corsa, Angel GT and Supercorsa SP V2 plus the Scorpion Trail II. On the Metzeler front, it includes the Roadtec 01, Sportec M7…

ALL THE LATEST, COOLEST & TRICKEST PEERFORMANCE PRODUCTS With fun-police Euro 4 regulations in full swing, new bikes are quieter than ever – and where’s the fun in that? Aftermarket exhaust manufacturers, as usual, come to the rescue. Yes, you can buy better exhausts from bike manufacturers now too, but don’t forget that most will still be beholden to restrictions, so you may not quite get the full sound or power gains from those. Not all, granted, but some. There are always other options, many of which you can see here from those who cater not just for new bikes, but lots of older ones, too, at least in some form or other if it’s a proper old ride. Anyway, there are the usual different types on offer, from cans,…

New bikes are awesome. No doubt about it. I’ve got a 2017 GSX-R1000 outside right now, and it properly facking rocks. Millions of horsepowers, lightning steering, Tron-style electronics, and even the looks are starting to grow on me. But what new bikes are shit at is making money. In fact, they do the opposite, shedding cash like your straight-edge mate on his stag do in a Magaluf strip bar. You might as well be burning £50 notes instead of Optimax for the first 1000 miles, as you cut £2k off the value. Booooh! So what if you could buy a bike that would actually go up in value, as well as giving you a big pile of laughs? And with the banks only handing out a tenth of a per…

STAR LET TER WEIGHT WATCHERS Hi FB, I liked the Trackday Guide with this month’s FB, but a word of ‘caution’ for the ‘heavier’ biker! I bought a Ducati SPS 14 years ago and booked a Ducati trackday through the dealer (using Ducati’s bikes), but when I turned up I was told I couldn’t do the track day and I’d get a refund. But why? As I weighed 18 stone and Ducati’s rider weight limit was 16 stone at the time! Funny thing, the dealer never told me I couldn’t buy the SPS as I was too heavy – pissed off to say the least! But a few years later I bought a new Fireblade, and stupidly I never thought about checking when I booked a Honda trackday with the…

THIS MONTH I HAVE MOSTLY BEEN… “Riding like a nut.” While last month saw me bumbling around like Miss Daisy getting used to the Beamer, this month the bike hasn’t seen any other setting than full on hooligan mode. We’re all led to believe and are constantly having it rammed down our throats that excess and over indulgence is bad for us. What a load of crap! Firstly, I’ll have nothing rammed down my throat thank you very much; secondly, riding like a proper headcase all month couldn’t have made me happier. Ragging the bike for 1400 miles north of the border in the land of haggis and kilts has been awesome. I like to pack light so throwing a tail pack and tank bag on the bike seemed like…

THIS MONTH I HAVE MOSTLY BEEN… “Waiting to ride her…” It’s been a bit of a long wait for the new longtermer this year as, like many bikes, they’ve been coming into the UK in a tardy fashion in 2017. But, finally, the new Suzuki GSX-R1000R is here! For anyone wondering where the Yamaha MT-10 has gone, fret not, I still have her for a little while and you’ll be able to watch the conclusion of our adventure online via our YouTube channel, website and Facebook outlets. But, on to the Suzuki! Can I be just a teeny tiny bit disappointed with the colour scheme on it? Actually it’s pretty fly, just a little bit anonymous as black bikes sometimes can be. I actually adore the MotoGP rep’ colour-ways it…

FB: How crucial are the right weight springs? JW: Fitting the right springs to your bike is crucial. Too soft and the bike will squat, causing it to run wide. Too hard and the bike with feel vague, or chatter. Either way, it won’t be a nice experience. Manufacturers often err on the side of being overly sprung with the standard springs fitted. So chances are you’re not getting the best from your bike, as balancing the bike on the springs is essential. It is the foundation for a good setup. There are standardised charts available which will identify which springs are best suited to your weight. If you want to invest any money in your bike’s handling, start here. FB: If you change your spring rate will it affect…

SUBSCRIBE I must, of course, begin this month by wishing my best to Nicky Hayden’s family following the heart-breaking tragedy. I’m devastated, he really was a favourite among many. However the next thing I’m going to do is to stick two fingers up to some of the cretins in the GP press office, those same ones who for years slagged Nicky off, or more specifically, slagged his title win off. A lot. And often… The issue is many are unabashed Rossi fan boys, who seem unable to separate work and passion, and leave whatever little actual professionalism they possess on the media room floor whenever the Doctor is under discussion. For years I listened to them spouting about Nicky’s ‘gifted’ championship, and now I listen again while they speak about…

PLA NET FAST BIKES – NEW METAL, NEWS & REVIEWS It was all a bit of a surprise to me. I’d seen the HP4 Race being unveiled and I’d read all there was to know about it, but it wasn’t until I was on the Island that some BMW guys came and asked me if I wanted to take it for a spin around the Island. That didn’t take much thinking about. While they were loading it up with cameras I was taking in its spec. It’s no parts bin special. Every inch of the bike was littered with the good stuff, like Brembo GP4 monoblocs and the same spec Öhlins FGR forks that I was racing on at superbikes just last year. And the BMW 6.2 Sbk-spec motor’s really…

IN ASSOCIATION WITH BRIDGESTONE There’s something inherently addictive about sunshine and motorcycles, and beer for that matter. As temperatures rise, manufacturer press fleets begin to blossom and British summertime commences, this can only mean one thing: Fast Bikes’ Sportsbike of the Year. SBOTY really is the most definitive, comprehensive and informative test of current supersports weaponry around. As well as the world’s finest testers – ranging from fast road pilots to fighter pilots – we use a now (sadly) old-school method of scrutinising called ‘honesty’, but mixed with new-fangled technology such as GPS. Other than noise and ergonomics, the truth is that most bikes feel the same when being ridden at 50 per cent of their abilities, so it’s our job to bring you a no-nonsense verdict and cut the peng…

It’s been a long time since any major manufacturers cranked up the production lines and wheeled off a stroker, with Cagiva’s SP 525 hooligan learner bike being one of the last examples to make it into the showrooms. Yamaha were still pumping out their headbanging TZ250 racer until quite recently, but unless you wanted to share a prison cell with a hairy misogamist named ‘Bob’, the race focused weapon was little to no use for Her Majesty’s Highways. If you’re over the age of 30, chances are you grew up riding a two-stroke of one capacity or another, and it’s likely to have left an indelible mark on your biking persona. Be it for their stonking performance or sheer inbility to go for a whole week without breaking down, twostrokes…

If you’ve been a naughty biker, you need some decent legal advice, get it from mail@whitedalton.co.uk Q I was riding with a group of friends, and we do ride quickly. We tend to stick close to 30s and 40s but everywhere else speed limits are advisory and I do not take their advice. I was riding in my group when we passed a blue, pretty standard Yamaha R1. The rider was in leathers, stopped in a lay-by with his helmet on. After about six miles we headed straight into a two car police road block and the blue R1 followed up fairly shortly thereafter, with blue lights displayed. During our ride there was a bit of exuberance on the journey including a couple of wheelies and some overtakes on double white…

MY ROLE THUS FAR HAS REALLY BEEN TO SOURCE REPLACEMENT PARTS & LITTLE ELSE... IN ASSOCIATION WITH BRIDGESTONE If you are a regular visitor to the world of Fast Bikes you may have noticed that I have rather an ambitious project running. Namely, building a racer out of a 30-year-old TZR250 (which has been housed for at least the last five years in numerous boxes around the Fast Bikes workshop), and then racing it at one of the rounds of the Yamaha Past Masters series by the end of this season. My ambitions outweigh my talent by a long way, I hasten to add, so I have employed help from Phoenix Yamaha in Trowbridge on the bike build and regeneration. Then I have to contend with not only riding a TZR…

THIS MONTH I HAVE MOSTLY BEEN… “Having a right laugh.” So I finally have a road bike! Okay it’s not a Panigale, but due to being a baby in the eyes of insurers, I can’t get aboard anything over A2. Bastards! So, my steed? A bright orange Honda CB500F. I literally had no idea what was coming so it was a bit of a shock; but nevertheless having a bike on the road is absolutely incredible – especially when you live in the traffic-infested outskirts of London town. It could be just the ticket. So what’s it like? In all honesty I think it’s great. It turned up with 18 miles on the clock and (sorry Honda) it’s probably had the worst running in period imaginable. I’m slowly getting closer…

THIS MONTH I HAVE MOSTLY BEEN… “Wanting Bruce to give me my Triumph back!” It’s been a frustrating month for Triumph action. Sportsbike of the Year duties kept me out of the country for a week and also necessitated the loan of my RS to Bruce as I swapped in with his Fireblade which needed prepping and packing for the Portugal bound truck. Therefore of the three hundred miles registered this month very few are mine, in fact I think I did more on the R6 round Portimao in a day than I managed in a full month on the trumpet. Fortunately I am still buzzing from my visit to Castle Combe which only reinforced the reports from the launch at Catalunia circuit that this was a proper track weapon.…

Sometimes it just is what it is. I don’t really know where to start with this year’s TT, but any of the guys racing it will be singing from the same song sheet when I say we had naff all track time. That’s no one’s fault, but the weather really did us over and there wasn’t really much the organisers could do about it. I guess it was inevitable, though. I mean, the weather’s been absolutely mint these past few years so there had to come a TT where the rain did a number on us. For those who’d clocked the miles testing and were on the pipe from the off that proved less of a problem, but it caught me out a bit. My whole team’s been through hell…