Indholdsfortegnelse for July 2022 i Fast Bikes

R&G PADDOCK STANDS TESTED BY: Bruce MILES: Here, there and everywhere TIME: Two years PRICE: Front (£86.98) / rear single-sided (£132.99) / rear double-sided (£86.98) WEB: www.rg-racing.com Whether you’re a habitual track addict or simply like to service your bike like a pro, paddock stands are essential to the cause. At Fast Bikes, we like a bit of both, which means we have a solid need for decent stands… and luckily for us, we’ve got a fleet of R&G stands that have seen us right for years on tests, up and down the country, as well as on the odd trip abroad. The brand’s Elevation series boasts a couple of rear options, including a double-sided type unit with adjustable hooks to coincide with swingarm-mounted bobbins, and there’s also a solid,…

I wasn’t sure what would hurt most: the physical pain of smashing into the deep, rocky riverbed, or the impact it would have on my pride. To keep on ploughing through was my only option - literally, sledging the crossed-up front tyre with big handfuls of throttle, while licking the dirt from my teeth and sucking up the sting from the sweat that flowed into my eyes like a leaking tap. Some 300km into the day’s ride, my energy levels were on empty and my brain was mush, exhausted from computing the milliard of decisions it had taken to get me this far under a gruelling 30°C. The front-end saves, the relentless decisions to pick the least traumatic-looking lines, the physical strength exerted to hustle a 220kg behemoth around… it’d…

Most of us are wired up to buy the biggest and fastest bikes we can. Why wouldn’t we? More power equals more speed, right, so it’s a no-brainer. It’s inherent in all of us to want more, but does buying a bigger, faster bike actually deliver more pleasure? Does it make you a better rider with more confidence? Some people might say it does, but they should ask themselves if they’re getting the most from their bikes – or whether they’re the ones being taken for a ride every time they twist the throttle. More to the point, how often do they have the chance to twist open a full throttle? On the road, that’s a near impossibility, unless you have a penchant for prison food or only ever choose…

At the risk of sounding like a spoiled brat, I’ll be honest and admit that the KTM Super Duke GT wasn’t my first choice for a long-term test bike this year. I’m acutely aware that at this point, if I wasn’t me, I’d hate me too right now for coming across as ungrateful or put out because I didn’t get my first choice, but bear with me… My logic for wanting a Super Duke R instead of the GT was driven mainly by a plan I have for later this summer which involves Michael Rutter and exclusive access to the biggest, baddest race course in the world – the Isle of Man TT Mountain Course. You see, in my previous life I did a couple of features that, thanks in…

Mark swung his leg over his 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000R in September 2021 after a recommendation by a friend; this Suzuki is now his weapon of choice for racing in the No Limits Metzeler Newcomer 1000 class and at Thundersport GB. Prior to picking up this bike, it was used as a superstock spec ‘wet bike’... a spare, available on a wet set-up just in case it’s needed, for a quick change. With this being the case, Mark picked it up with only 1000 miles on the clock before his first-ever races in Scotland. I caught up with him at Cadwell Park, part of his pre-season testing. He was supposed to be testing in Jerez at the time and had only come back to the UK from Valencia the day before…

LADY IN BLACK Six hundred miles in and I’m done with short shifting and being gentle. On the plus side, I’m amazed – after being led to believe they gobble up petrol, the gorgeous lady has been returning up to 49mpg. Martin Fisher Hey Martin, great to hear you’re done running in your new V4SP. Time to properly unleash the beast. To the best of my knowledge I believe that it was claimed to do 37mpg, so running 49mpg is great. No better time to take advantage of better mileage with fuel prices so high. Indeed, she is a gorgeous lady. Best of luck on any future adventures. A LONG WINTER A chilly first ride out in Cullen after a very long winter to test out the new gearing. Big…

Itook a big knock on the head last time out on the bike at Oulton, so if this article is a load of gibberish, you now know why! I’d say I’m about 90% back to normal (if that’s even possible), but it’s been a real odd couple of weeks or so since round two. I’ve not been racing myself but plenty has been happening in the three-week break from BSB. I say I’ve been busy, the first week after Oulton nothing happened at all! I spent most of my week trying to sleep and rest up from my crash that happened in race three. It was simply a racing incident; when there’s 32 riders on the grid fighting for the same piece of tarmac into turn one, it’s always going…

TRACK DAY 2022 Fast Bikes has teamed up with Michelin Tyres and No Limits this year to bring you a massive Track Day With Benefits on Tuesday, July 19 at the legendary Donington Park circuit. The Fast Bikes team will be present, giving some of Michelin’s finest rubber a proper spanking – and you are invited to come along and do the same. There will be plenty of rubber advice on offer from Michelin technicians, and everyone will get a top-notch goodie bag. There will be top prizes on the day, too. Michelin will reward anyone riding on its tyres that day with a free gift, one of which will include a famed ‘golden ticket’. There will even be a few surprise celebrity guest stars – we’ve got some riders…

Questions: How do you take a bike that not only already has more power than you could ever possibly need, but that delivers it in a smooth and controllable way? How do you take a bike which has a chassis that talks to you with such clarity that you want for nothing? How do you take a bike with rider aids that are so good you don’t know they are there, and make it better? Answer: You make it lighter. “THERE IS LITERALLY NO DOWNSIDE TO REDUCING UNSPRUNG MASS, APART FROM IF YOU WANT TO GO TO EXTREMES TO DO IT.” The Ducati Streetfighter V4 is hardly a bike you could ever describe as being a bit bland or flat, or wanting for anything. It’s also fair to say that…

The problem when you build a reputation around sporting success, as Ducati has most certainly done, is that it encourages buyers to purchase with their heart (or, more precisely, the thing between their legs...) rather than their head. When faced with a range of superbikes, the class-topping model is always the most appealing, and a salesman is highly unlikely to ever try and tempt someone with cash away from the most expensive two-wheeler on the showroom floor. However, if buyers stopped for a second and thought about where and how they ride their bike, to most the firm’s middleweight sportsbikes are far more rewarding to ride and a better purchase for the UK’s roads. And in the used market, none are better than the fabulous 848, especially the early models…

GSX-S1000. That’s taken me a few attempts to say without having to think first when telling people what I have for a few months as a termer. It’s much easier to describe, though. It’s Suzuki`s naked bike that has 150bhp. When collecting the bike from Suzuki, I received a quick tour of the rider aids. There is no anti-wheelie, launch control or cornering ABS, but it does come with three rider modes, five levels of traction control and a quickshifter with an autoblipper. The traction control was set to the highest level (five) and rider mode to B, and to start with, I left it there. I’m sure most new owners would be tempted to switch the latter straight to A but for the first cold month of having this…

WINNER 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…

Hi guys, I wanted to send these in – a couple of pics my wife Debbie took at a wet, windy, sunny day at Donington Park around the Melbourne loop. She supports me big-time with the trackdays but goes through hell and back until we are travelling home safely. Braving all weathers with the camera, making the tea and sandwiches... what more can I say? Ride safe, guys. Ian Hince Hi Ian, wet, wind and sun all in one day sounds like quite the handful but by the looks of the photo you sent, not enough to scare you away, dragging your knee too, and nearly your belly pan all on a wet front tyre. We’re a big fan of the Castrol livery on your Honda VTR, especially with the…

I have never been an elbow-down man. To tell you the truth, I’ve only had it down once in my life and it felt about as natural as a fish out of water. The only other times I’ve had it down is when it’s been closely followed by my arse and then my head. I’d say I’ve got a very distinctive style. It’s certainly not modern, but it’s not quite Mick Doohan, so it’s somewhere in between. I think that having an off-road background and not getting onto tarmac until I was 18 has played a massive part in my upright style, and although it has somewhat developed in recent years, I do still find it incredibly hard, or forced, for want of a better word, to hang off the…

Lee Hardy Racing has become a household team name in the BSB paddock after several successful seasons in the blue ribbon domestic superbike championship – most notably in 2018, taking Jake Dixon to second in the British superbike championship on its RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki. For 2022, Lee Hardy Racing has taken on 2018 British Champion Leon Haslam. The 2022 Lee Hardy Racing Visiontrack Kawasaki has been put together specifically for Leon, starting with Kawasaki’s special limited volume ZX-10RR red top engine, of which only 500 were built. Put together by Jeb at MSS Performance, and making a hefty 228bhp, it’s also spent the best part of two weeks at a dyno in Italy to further develop and map the engine Interestingly, the red top engine still uses conventional…

FB: How did you start working in the bsb paddock? “I started working in BSB in the Superstock 600 class with a kid called Tom Young. We did three years in that class but it eventually came to the point where he didn’t want to carry on with his career anymore... he stopped racing. But from there I’d got the bug for racing and working on the spanners.” FB: So what happened next? “I could only think, ‘What am I going to do now?’ I asked around the paddock. I was good friends with Danny Buchan at the time and asked him if he needed any help on the spanners for next year and he said yeah. I helped Danny out in 2010 and went to work with him in…

IN BRIEF… Rider: Max Silvester Track: Oulton Park Series: BSB Class: National Superstock 600 Fastest lap: 1:45.734 Position: DNF Championship position: Too far back Excuse: Not enough raisins in my Bran Flakes I already knew that my rookie year at a national championship was going to be tough, but I wasn’t expecting to go rolling down a hill at 120mph during the second round of the year... my weekend at Oulton Park turned out to be quite the rollercoaster. Prior to this, it had become apparent that, leading up to the race season, I really hadn’t spent as much time out on my bike as I really wanted to. I only had a play at the No Limits racing round at Silverstone, the official British Superbike test at Snetterton, and…

WIN A FAST BIKES HOODIE! To be in with a chance of winning this most tasteful of tops, just email us (letters@fastbikes.co.uk) or post on our Facebook page with a pic of you, your bike and a few words about it, where you’ve been on it and why you rate it so highly. We’ll then pick our favourite post each month and that lucky person will be the proud owner of their very own Fast Bikes hoodie – which is proven to make you at least 60% faster!* Send yours to letters@fastbikes.co.uk WINNING RIDE Lorenzo Aitkenhead Honda CBR1000RR Couldn’t resist a ride. Graeme Voller Suzuki GSX-R1000 Building a race bike in the dining room. Emma Jane Yamaha MT09 Just enjoying riding my bike. Ian Labram MV Augusta F4 Took the…

Q I was out enjoying my Fireblade on a spirited ride with some friends in Wales. We had booked a place to stay for the night and were on the return leg to London. The trip had become a bit of a standing joke between us all, as we’d had to avoid a sheep, a cow, and a deer during the two-day ride. All was going well until I hit a dog that ran out in front of me. I stacked the bike and broke my collar bone in the process. My friends were luckier than me – they missed the dog when it first ran out into the road. It must have got spooked by the bikes and ran back into my path. I feel terrible as I am…