Indholdsfortegnelse for July 2021 i Fast Bikes

Let’s be honest, Kawasaki’s unveil of its 2021 ZX-10R (and RR) caught a few of us off guard. It wasn’t just the unique – or should that be questionable – styling that prompted a wave of harsh feedback online; the spec also got a hammering, with a common thought being that Kawasaki had taken the easy route to market without putting in the graft associated with a wholly new proposition. I guess the feeling was that Kawasaki had simply upcycled their flagship litre bike (again) with little more than a nip, tuck and a botched facelift, while focussing on the changes necessary to gratify the legislative fun-police demanding that the ZX-10R became Euro5 compliant. The cynic in me thought exactly this – and it was only on arrival at the…

Life lesson #1 – Always listen and pay attention to what’s going on around you and the people you’re with. You never know what you might pick up on. As I catch myself repeating those same words to my kids that my dad once said to me, I chuckle at the unavoidable truth that, eventually, we all turn into our parents – whether we like it or not. As it turns out, among the hundreds of other pearls of wisdom that Dad passed on, keeping my mouth shut and ears open was one of his better. During the road ride on the new Triumph Speed Triple 1200RS, I happened to be passing pleasantries with the bloke from Triumph who earlier in the day had delivered the technical presentation to the…

KTM’s 690 SMC-R has been in production since the late Noughties, but it’s now better, smarter and faster than ever. Unlike some models, the SMC-R made the cut to go under the knife and come back to life as Euro5 compliant, which was largely mastered by anew exhaust system and a whopping catalytic converter. While we’re not too excited about the strangulation of the motor, the upgraded Brembo M 4.30 monobloc four-piston caliper gave us something to cheer about; not that it suffered with stopping power in recent years, but now one finger braking is an absolute breeze, and endos are so easy even Bruce could manage one (maybe). It has an all-new colour scheme which I absolutely love, and tweaked bodywork means the SMC-R looks leaner, meaner and ready…

Twenty years ago it was dead easy to spot a fast bike. Chances are it would have had those bright coloured valve caps that were guaranteed to add 10mph to your top end (…something to do with rolling inertia). And if you wanted your bike to be hellishly quick, you needed one of those flamed exhausts – obviously. And when it came to weight saving, what better bolt-on was there than a faux carbon tank pad? Those were the days, eh, back when each and every one of us were home-tuners, equipped with little more than a monthly allowance and a mail order catalogue. But times have changed, bikes have moved on and the ways in which we make them speedier and saucier are different too. But it still begs…

IN BRIEF… Rider: Farmer Brod Track: Donington/Oulton Park Series: No Limits Class: Pirelli Super Series 600 Bike: 2018 Yamaha R6 Fastest Lap: 1.12.4/1:44.354 Position(s): 10th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th Championship Position: A long way back Excuse: Just warming up After a winter that’s just dragged on with not much to look forward to, the time’s finally come to get back out on a bike. The plan this year is to race in the newly updated Pirelli Super Series/Premier 600 class, which is the top 600 grid with No Limits Racing for. The goal for any racer who wants to be competitive is always to win the championship and that’s very much my goal, but the depth of field is making it harder work than ever before. The top 10 riders…

Here at Fast Bikes magazine, we love trackdays. So much so, we wanted to give something back to you, the reader! We’ve teamed up with the lovely lot over at No Limits Trackdays to offer a free trackday every month! All you have to do is send us a picture of yourself at your last trackday for a chance to win. If you’re the lucky person highlighted on these pages, you’ve won a trackday of your choice! If it’s you, get in touch with us and we’ll look after the rest, and if you haven’t won this time, there’s always next month. There are no cash alternatives available. The winning image is drawn at random. Terms and conditions apply. To view the privacy policy of MMG Ltd (publisher of Fast…

ULTIMATE SPORTSBlKE 2021 in association with Christmas comes but once a year, and the same has to be said for the world’s biggest and broadest sportsbike test. Yes, it’s that time again, when we pitch the latest and greatest bullets against one another on road, on track, on proving ground, and on the dyno. There can only be one winner, but who’s your money on? ■ Ducati Panigale V4SP ■ Honda CBR 1000RR-R SP ■ Suzuki GSX-R1000R ■ Kawasaki ZX-10R ■ Aprilia RSV4 Factory ■ BMW S1000RR M-Sport ■ Yamaha R1M…

Hi there guys. There’s a hell of a lot going on in my life at the moment. Things are starting to take shape at the shop, and we’ve been getting deliveries of bikes and the eBikes as well as getting the website running (www.northlincolnshiremotorcycles.co.uk). Away from work, my house is now fully destroyed and un-liveable in, so me and the missis have moved into my friend’s house for a while. And not without a few incidents, as usual… The first night he came home, I over-filled the bath and water was coming down walls in the kitchen. Then the next day, his mum came round and I’d left the gas on. They’re dodgy things, them cookers, which is why I never touch them. The end result is my mate’s taking…

As per the last two generations of the Japanese brand’s homologation special, the 2021 spec Ninja RR has been kitted with top-draw performance parts including Pankl titanium con-rods, lightweight pistons, DLC coated piston pins and special valve springs to cope with the RR’s staggeringly high 14,700rpm rev limit. The inlet cam shaft is also more aggressive, and other differences over the base model include the scope for adjustability of the swingarm position, plus the fitment of lightweight Marchesini forged wheels. Surprisingly, in stock trim, it only makes one horsepower more than the standard model, but once you’ve junked all the road gear off, the true potential of this masterpiece can be capitalised on. Having left my tools at home, there was no such scope to bin off the bits that…

What is it? Dunlop’s SportSmart TT offers its users the best of both worlds: it’s a fast and long-lasting road-legal tyre that also possesses all the features and spec to you’d expect form a grippy trackday tyre. It was designed to be that halfway house among Dunlop’s impressive range of sports tyres and boasts key track technologies, such as the brand’s NTEC carcass at the rear that allows for pressures to be run lower for a broader footprint and higher levels of adhesion. It also comes with a patented SV (Speed Vent) tread pattern that helps to stop the rubber from overheating, while its front and rear profiles are inclined for fast turning, as well as added support and stability at lean. Another key feature is the compound, which has…

In the heart of Lincolnshire sits a ¼-mile oval and TT flat track, a minibike oval, minibike supercross track, and a near full-sized motocross track. Greenfield is now the UK’s favourite flat track venue, and in a non-Covid year would feature twice in the DTRA’s race calendar. The track, built and owned by George Pickering, is blessed with some of the best dirt the UK flat track scene has to offer, which helps make this place so special. Its heaven on earth if you ask me, and was the perfect place to take our KTM 690 SMC-R for a rip. If this place takes your fancy, check out www.greenfielddirttrack.bigcartel. com for the latest practice dates, or follow Greenfield Dirt Track on Instagram or Facebook.…

He’s the star of the show, and he’s also the one who’ll be pushing this bike to its limit. Here’s what Taz makes of this month’s progress… “It’s unreal how different a road bike is from my race bike; not just in power, but feel, handling and character. It was great to spin some laps on the R1 in a completely stock trim before we started working on ways to improve it. For me, the worst part of the base bike is the ABS. We tried to improve the R1’s braking throughout the day, but even with new pads, a firmer set-up and the system set to the track appropriate setting, it was still wasn’t having it. On my race bike the stopping power is unreal, and the performance is…

Steady might have been a latecomer to motorcycles, only making his track debut back in 2009 at the grand age of 40, but he’s made the most of the past decade, competing at events such as the 2011 Manx GP, the Spafrancorchamps classic and World Endurance and has clocked up many years in the British Supersport 600 championship. The point is, he knows his way around a track and he knows what he wants from a bike. He built this GSX-R to a full superstock spec, which makes a lot of sense. You only have to look at what the Hawk Suzuki team have achieved m Superstock 1000 since this model was released in 2017 and you’ll see what an awesome package this is. The real appeal for Steady was…

The folks at the MV Agusta factory have been flat-out (between the espressos and Chianti) tweaking their engines to meet Euro 5 emissions rules for 2021. And while they were at it, they’ve sharpened up the sweet Super Veloce and Turismo Veloce 800 ranges. The Super Veloce retro racer gets an updated version of the firm’s 798cc triple engine, which makes the same 147bhp as before but with a stack more mid-range grunt. The electronics package is upgraded with a new IMU ECU and a larger colour LCD dash, while the chassis gets a stiffer frame design. There’s also a posh new S version with gold spoked wheels and Alcantara seat. For the Turismo Veloce tourer, the new engine updates give 110bhp with more mid-range grunt, a lower seat height,…

How hard can it be to just push a button? The track has almost completely dried out, and I’m trying to turn down the amount of traction control so I can make better use of the extra grip that the tarmac has to offer. The traction control up/down button is on the left switchgear, just at the tip of my thumb, but feeling for the rocker switch, pressing the lower half of it a couple of times and glancing at the dashboard to check the new setting, is proving impossible in the time available on each of Donington Park’s three longest straights. The physical effort to just hold on to the bike and the amount of my brain space it takes to process and react to all the bike’s movements,…

You know the drill by now. A new bike comes along with more power and less weight, and is therefore better than the outgoing model. More often than not, the reality is that while technically correct and a true statement of fact, the gains often presented on new models as significant are, in fact, utterly inconsequential and make no difference where it really matters – on the road or track. Enter the fourth generation Triumph Speed Triple 1200RS, complete with obligatory “More Power, Less weight” claims, except this time it’s different. While not packing the sort of numbers the spiciest offerings in the current crop of supernakeds are pumping out, the outgoing 1050RS was hardly what you’d call slow or lardy. However, the 1200RS has 29bhp more power and 10Kg…

PRICE GUIDE: £6499 - £8000 Cheapest private: £6499 4000 miles, absolutely immaculate bike with an Akrapovic end can fitted. Our choice private: £7295 8145 miles, just serviced and very clean 2013 ABS model. Cheapest dealer: £6599 17206 miles, nice standard bike with a good service history. Our choice dealer: £6999 12146 miles, black bike with a few extras, good history and ABS. Ex-demo: n/a After the financial crisis of 2008, the early 2010s were a tricky period for motorcycle manufacturers. With sales slumped and budgets tight, they had to look at maximising their available cash, and that meant cutting back on the R&D department’s expenditure. However, motorcycles sell on sex appeal and none more so than ‘halo’ products such as litre sportsbikes. So, what do you do to keep your…

TIME ON TEST: 3 WEEKS ODOMETER MILES BHP: 187 GAIN: 0 NEXT AIM: DYNO, THEN DRAG RACE I’m not going to lie, the Hayabusa wouldn’t have been my first choice for a long-termer for my first season on Fast Bikes. I generally like my bikes to be more playful and, frankly, easier to move about in my garage. That said, there is a part of me that is genuinely keen to live with one for a few months, if for no other reason than I’ve never spent a great deal of time with a Hayabusa or any of the bikes from the genre, and it would be good to know if I’ve been missing out. I’ve done plenty of miles on Hayabusas over the years, and done some daft things…

LEARN FROM THE BEST. For the ultimate one-to-one instruction which includes everything from initial bike checks to video playback and on/off track tuition tailored to suit all abilities from a former WSBK racer, check out Dean Ellison Rider Coaching at www.Ellison42.co.uk Most passes that are made in a BSB, WSBK, MotoGP or any of their support classes are planned in advance. Very few decisions are made on the spot, unless the rider in front has made a mistake; each move has been carefully planned. No Limits have a fair policy for overtaking on a trackday; you can overtake however you see fit, as long as it’s with respect to the other rider and that you give them plenty of room. Each group will host a range of different paced riders…

Q I was involved in a sideswipe collision with a fairly elderly Ford Focus. I was overtaking an Ocado delivery van, and as I came alongside the van I could see the Ford in front of me, turning right into a children’s clothes shop. I managed to steer away but still thumped into the rear door, putting, I admit, a pretty hefty dent into it. The Ocado driver was perfectly polite but said the car had been indicating for a while, so I said to the lady in the car that if the damage was less than a grand, I would pay for it without going through insurers. I was vaguely aware that her front seat passenger was fiddling with her phone, and it turns out she had filmed me…

Where to start for this month? The last few weeks have been hectic and it feels like I haven’t stopped! The big news this month was finally unveiling the FHO Racing BMW livery and getting our first test underway at Silverstone. The feedback on the livery has been mega. I think a lot of people knew what the colours would be but no one knew the design, so it’s great to finally get it out there. The test itself was really positive for the whole team and despite having four bikes out there, we had no technical issues between us, which, for a brand new bike, is really encouraging and a credit to Darren and James back at base. It was only our first test, so we weren’t pushing for…