Innehållsförteckning för April 2018 från Fast Bikes

KTM have issued a worldwide recall on certain models, following a find of potential weakness in the Brembo master cylinder piston, which could in turn crack under heavy braking, causing brake failure. If you have any of these 2015 KTM models: 690 Duke R, 1290 Super Duke R, 1290 Super Duke R Special Edition, the 2016 Super Duke GT, or a post 2016 Husqvarna FS 450 Supermoto then you’re going to need to contact an authorised dealer as soon as possible.…

Now under the ownership of Motorsport Vision, Donington Park has teamed up with local star Leon Haslam for a series of special MSV Trackdays at the Derbyshire circuit. Leon will be hosting nine events at Donington Park throughout the season, offering a British Superbike rider’s insight and tips on the challenging circuit, which will give you guys the opportunity to have up to seven 15-20 minute sessions in small groups. “I’m joining forces with MSVT for some track days at Donington Park this year – a little bit of tuition, a few briefings to try to make you guys a little bit faster and a bit safer so I look forward to seeing you soon,” Leon said while testing in Jerez in Spain for the forthcoming season. The first event…

Us Brits love an underdog, and maybe that’s the reason we’ve warmed so wholeheartedly to the Speed Triple concept over its 24 years. It’s easy to forget just how long it’s been doing the rounds in Triumph’s ever expanding line-up, occasionally taking a few steps forward with an improved iteration, but never truly being able to willy wave as the most high-tech, lightweight or powerful in its tough sector. And, being honest, it still can’t, but that doesn’t make the RS a second-rate option in any way whatsoever. Triumph are smart cookies; they don’t play the game of chasing crazy stats just to make a statement. And it’s no change from that approach with the new RS. When they kicked this project off all of three years back the Hinckley-based…

As well as the Speed Triple RS, Triumph are also launching their new Speed Triple S which we didn’t get a chance to have a blast on. Coming in at £11,350 the S is £1,900 cheaper than the RS but still comes with the same motor, chassis and dash. The Showa suspension on the S is still fully adjustable as is the power delivery, offering road, rain and sport modes. The ABS and traction control are both switchable, but unlike the RS, don’t use an IMU to optimise the systems for cornering. To the naked eye, though, the only real differences between the S and the RS is the standard exhausts and non-carbon fibre bodywork on the S.…

It’s the kind of thing that’d pop-up in conversation down the pub with your mates: how do you build the perfect sports-tourer? Of course, it’d have to be fast; something that pumped out a manly 200(ish) brake horsepower. And then you’d want it to handle like a sportsbike, because how else are you going to get through your year’s supply of knee sliders? Good stowage would also be up there; a couple of beer-crate size panniers wouldn’t go amiss. Oh, and a supercharger just for good measure (because who doesn’t love that jet fighter soundtrack?). You’d think that’s not such a tall order, but unbelievably it’s taken until now for anyone to come up with a tourer that’s less bore and more phwoar! Yes, I’m talking about Kawasaki’s new H2…

Sean Mills at Big CC Racing in Wokingham earns his living by building very highly-tuned turbocharged engines. His motors end up drag racing, breaking land speed records and top-speed wheelie records – and sometimes just doing 350bhp commuting duties. Sean’s engines need to stay together though – so he’s got to think more than most about how he needs to treat a newly-built engine. “The most important thing for us is to make sure the bike is set up correctly before it goes out to a customer. We spend a lot of time on the dyno, making sure the fuelling and ignition timing is spot-on all through the rev range before we let a bike go out. Running slightly lean will overheat pistons, while running rich for ‘safety’ can wash…

PERFORMANCE: • Tyga full system GP race exhaust • Full WireSport wiring loom • Vertex racing pistons • Cougar Red power valves • Cougar Red racing heads • Zeeltronic ignition system • Quick action throttle and Renthal grips • Pipercross air filter HANDLING: • Tyga Rear sets • Andreani adjustable fork cartridge kit • Galfer wavy discs and SBS pads • Blue Roose Motorsport coolant hoses • Venhill brake hoses • Galfer wavy discs and SBS pads • Bridgestone RS10 tyres AESTHETICS: • Tyga road race fairings • Tyga yoke • Tyga quick release fuel cap • Tyga carbon front and rear mudguards…

One of the primary purposes of training is to help a rider ramp up acceptance of the unknown. Any breakthrough in riding has some physical sensation attached to it. It’s the delicious price we pay to approach the unknown. What did it feel like when you let out the clutch that first time? Nervous but thrilling, right? Take that a step farther and imagine what it would feel like to be a stunt rider doing wheelies and stoppies or a MotoGP racer with his knee on the deck? Improvement begins once the rider can embrace those mysterious limits of riding. Each barrier is based on the unknown. What will it feel like to go into that corner 2mph faster; break that much harder; lean that much further; roll on the…

Last month we’d made some real headway with the niggly bits, getting most of the odds and sods that you can’t see with the naked eye out of the way. Thankfully, that meant that this month could be spent on shaping up the exterior and making the big old thou’ into something that resembles a fully functional bike again. Although it’s been hard work getting every last little part of Project Gixer to fall in line at exactly the perfect time, it finally looks like we’ve made some good solid progress in creating a lean, mean, racing machine with the finish line very nearly in sight. And for an added bonus, I also managed to flog the bike’s old fairings on that there interweb, which meant I found myself with…

One by one the last few seats are filled in paddocks around the world, although starting with BSB, Tommy Bridewell has found himself another ride. He’s back with the Halsall Racing outfit, swapping a WD-40 Kawasaki for a Suzuki, a brand he’s always felt a kinship with. In fact, Tommy was one of our Suzuki GSX-R750 European Cup team-mates back in the day, when he was young, full of spunk and never stopped talking! Use of the past tense there is probably erroneous, because if we were to print Tommy’s words on how happy he is to be back with Suzuki and Martin Halsall, we’d have to tag another ten pages onto the remainder of the mag! Jokes aside, and despite him being a great lad, there’s always been something…

Yes, last year may have been a corker of a GP season, but we’re sure that the fireworks, plot twists and generous flow of unsavoury gesticulations are set to continue at an even more ferocious pace. Or at least we bloody hope so. With the curtain raiser Qatar a mere whisker away, we’ve been doing our homework and studying all the new bits of tech, bikes, riders and teams that are set to hit our screens in 2018, to try and work out who’s going to be straddling podiums… and who’ll end up holding the wooden spoon. And believe us; it’s not as black-and-white as you might think. On face value, 2018 has all the ingredients to be another vintage season. The changes that Dorna has implemented over the last…

SEX APPEAL In either Chrystal White or Matt Jet Black, the RS is brightened up with red splashes here and there including red rim tape on both wheels and red stitching in the seat. The glossy ten-spoke wheels and matt aluminium subframe are a subtle nod towards something premium but the healthy spattering of carbon fibre, in the shape of a front mudguard, radiator cowls and heat shields, and the brushed titanium finish on the Arrows Sports Silencers scream at the exclusivity of the RS. With its sporty stance and its sprinkling of Gucci, the RS looks as mean as any gangster but with the decorum of a mafia boss. AUTO PILOT The RS is the most technologically advanced Speed Triple ever. The ride-by-wire system allows customisation of throttle modes…

Having been shocked into submission by the outstanding 2010 BMW S1000RR, and then left reeling after the financial crisis sucker-punch, in the early 2010s the Japanese manufacturers were in a bit of a mess. Desperately trying to convince riders their outdated sportsbikes were a match for the BMW, in a time when money was tight, no one was buying it – or their sportsbikes! Something had to change and it was Kawasaki who responded to the threat from Europe first… The 2011 Ninja ZX-10R marked Kawasaki’s leap feet first into the digital age with their sportsbike, although it has to be said they did add traction control to the previous model, oddly they just hated to admit it! A totally ground-up new Ninja, the 2011 generation was designed to take…

STAR LETTER SNOWY TIMES! A little winter training, in preparation for my trip down the coast from Vancouver, British Columbia, to San Francisco this summer... Dave Page Excellent! Sounds like an awesome trip. Can’t say the same about the weather… NO PAIN NO GAIN! So honoured to have taken part in this, fantastic day and I am sure we all learnt so much. Thank you Fast Bikes magazine and James Ellison for the opportunity – get issue 336 Feb 2018 to see the article. Great lasting images as a reminder of the pain you put us through – but I have evaluated my training and feel more motivated for the 2018 season thanks Brad Howell, Sam Yassin and Carl Stevens. Daniel Drayton No worries dude, glad you had an awesome…

I’m no prude in the workshop, but my skills stop at oil changes and the odd top end rebuild. Thankfully, the same can’t be said for my mates Chaddy and Neil of CC Engineering in Hull, who’ve once more gone to make me feel about as useful as a third wheel. The last time I caught up with the lads wasn’t long after they’d produced a bespoke subframe to carry the minimalist TYGA race fairings we’re fitting to the bike… and it looked fantastic. Fast forward a few more weeks and they’d worked their magic once again. The most blatant addition was the titanium Hawk silencer and the connecting link-pipe, which they had to fabricate from scratch. It looks the nuts and fits the bike’s minuscule profile a treat. Chaddy…

FB: What is a quickshifter? BV: A quickshifter is a little device which is attached to your gear shift that will momentarily cut the ignition (or fuel dependant on the shifter) to allow you to change up a gear while keeping the motorbike under hard load/acceleration – meaning you can keep that throttle pinned! FB: How do they work? BV: There are a couple of ways they work but the best and the most efficient way is to cut the ignition at the source. Our most common plug and play options do this by connecting directly to the plug top coils which sit on top of your spark plugs. To be activated we place our strain gauge sensor on your shift rod which senses when you change up a gear,…

KTM DUKE 790 Who says size matters? We get down and dirty with KTM’s latest mid-capacity bad-ass. LIVING WITH A 2014 MV F3800 Our mate Trev talks us through the highs and lows of owning a four-year-old F3. 2018 YAMAHA MT-07 We take a joyride on Yamaha’s bettered, bonkers budget bruiser. PLUS LOADS MORE: ■ ROAD TO RACE TYRES – HOW DIFFERENT ARE THEY? ■ AERODYNAMICS – KNOW HOW TO FLOW ■ PANIGALE V4: CLOCKING UP THE MILES ON UK ROADS On Sale 3 April, 2018 Buy it from WHSmith, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and all good newsagents. Failing that, try a bad one. Check out the eye-poppingly good digital edition at www.classicmagazines.co.uk…

I’ll never forget the look on my twin brother Tom’s, face when I tried to slot his dislocated shoulder back into place down the gym last week. The only time I have heard him scream the way he did was a few years ago when he managed to get a ticket to One Direction’s farewell concert. Anyway despite my extensive medical training (at Scouts I got the badge for first aid AND rolling bandages up), I couldn’t get it to pop back into place, so we carted him off to A&E where the pros put him to sleep (they probably couldn’t stand listening to him screaming like a girl either) and put his arm back where it belongs. It’s all fine now, he blames it popping out on an old…

Howdy FB’ers, how are we all? For me, this will be the last time you hear from me in these here pages of this fine magazine. I know, I know, wipe away those tears, I’ll probably pop up again but as for the column I’ve had since 2004, this is the last. It did make me think of all you out there who have followed my journey from a ‘nobody’ privateer in 250GP, to AMA, to world Supersport champion, to fighting for the WSB title three seasons on the bounce – I’ve done a lot in those fourteen years! So let’s have a wee gander at what went on, eh? When I was first approached by FB to write a regular column for them, I’d just had a few good…

It wasn’t just the MotoGP GSX-RR colour scheme Suzuki unveiled back at the Sepang tests last month, as they treated us mere mortals to a racing replica paint job for the 2018 GSX-R1000 models. With an eye-catchingly bold colour scheme available on both models in the GSX-R1000 family, you’ll be able to feel just like Iannone and Rins as the road bike inherits the same VVT technology as the MotoGP prototype to ensure it produces strong low-down torque and midrange, without sacrificing top-end power, along with many other elements including a finger-follower valve train and stacked intake funnels. MotoGP technology and knowhow also extends to a full suite of electronics found on the GSX-R1000R, which comprises of a 10-stage, lean angle-sensitive traction control system and launch control, plus cornering ABS…

With the introduction and success of the Supersport 300 classes globally, KTM have joined in and released the homologation special RC390R – a 500 unit run of the uprated RC390 which can be specced with an optional dedicated Supersport 300 kit so it’s ready to race. Developed by Jeremy McWilliams over the last couple of years in the CIV Supersport 300 Championship, the biggest change on the RC390R comes in the shape of fully adjustable WP Suspension front and rear, which is tailor-made for the new model providing huge levels of adjustment. With less focus on general comfort, the RC390R has a new top yoke and handlebar kit for a racier and adjustable riding position, alongside CNC milled, adjustable and foldable brake levers. It also comes equipped with a shorter…

SHARK SPEED R CARBON TESTED BY: Peter MILES: 3,000 TIME: Months PRICE: RRP £269.99 WEB: www.shark-helmets.com The Shark that saved my life! Having an off from your motorbike is never a good thing, and it never happens on the road like it happens on the track where you slide to a stop and get up. I remember seeing the road come towards me as the front wheel slid on a patch of gravel, which made me tuck the front going through a left hander. There was an almighty thud as my helmet struck the road surface, yet the Shark Speed R protected me and even with the huge impact I was fully conscious with no headache. As I lay in the soft grass verge waiting for…

Back when I was lad with scabbed knees and bogeys, the first incarnation of Yamaha’s YZF-R1 hit the showrooms and blew everyone’s minds. Not only was it feted as a thing of beauty, but it also redefined the perception of what a superbike should be. It looked fast, it rode fast, and it sold fast. Now 20 years and 150,000 unit sales later, Yamaha’s flagship model, the R1M has been treated to some special upgrades. Rather than reinvent the wheel and develop a whole new bike, Yamaha have done what any good manufacturer would do by listening to what their customers have asked for and delivering on those demands, which saw a clutchless downshift system added to the arsenal. Another complaint of the old stock was that the lift control…

In a period when manufacturers were undecided between following the controversial litre bike path the FireBlade had forged or sticking to the traditional WSB-rule complying 750cc capacity, Yamaha’s new sportsbike was the determining factor. It came, it saw and conquered our hearts with cutting edge design, mouth-watering power figures and a look like no other that had come before it. Here’s our guide to the R1 clan… 1998-1999 YAMAHA YZF-R1 4XV Rumoured to be a 750, mainly as Yamaha’s WSB riders Scott Russell and Colin Edwards were both spotted testing what was to become known as the inaugural R1, the replacement to the YZF750R arrived in 1998 and cemented the death of the three quarter litre class. Developed alongside the YZF-R6 and YZF-R7 under the watchful eye of project…

Congrats on your ride in BSB! After over ten years on 600s, how difficult is it to adapt to a 1000cc Superbike? In all honestly it wasn’t too difficult at all – it was really enjoyable, although it’s still work in progress! Although I’ve been racing 600s for most of my career I have been able to ride the odd 1000cc over the years, and after I won the European Superstock Championship I even managed to do a few rounds of the Dutch Superbike Championship where I won a round. I’ve also raced the Suzuka 8-Hour which is pretty cool and it’s always been my plan to jump on a Superbike so I’m ready to adapt! You won the European Superstock 600 Championship in blistering form back in ’09. But…

The engine and gearbox get most attention in terms of running-in, and it’s fair to say that the rest of the bike is less important. But there is one big area that needs a bit of care – the brakes and tyres. Tyres are simple enough – when new, the surface is shiny and smooth, and may have some sort of release agent on there from when it was moulded (many tyre firms deny this happens though). If you go flat-out on a brand new tyre, you’re liable to end up in a ditch – 10-25 miles of careful bedding-in will gradually scuff up the tread surface, giving a grippy texture rather than the mirror-smooth finish of the moulding tools. Brakes need similar care. Brand-new discs have a smooth, machined…

BMW S1000RR 2011 Private £6,999 Dealer £7,499 The RR arrived in 2010 and decimated the Japanese litre bikes through its advanced technology. A simply amazing machine, but pricey in the used market. Engine 999cc, l/c, 16v, inline four Power 179bhp @ 13,000rpm Torque 106Nm @ 9,750rpm YAMAHA YZF-R1 2011 Private £6,200 Dealer £6,700 By 2011 the hype surrounding the cross-plane crank has started to dull. A lovely road bike with bags of soul, but a touch heavy for serious track work. Engine 998cc, liquid-cooled, DOHC, 16v, inline four Power 182bhp @ 12,500rpm Torque 115.5Nm @ 10,000rpm HONDA FIREBLADE 2010 Private £5,700 Dealer £6,300 The Blade is a fantastic litre bike with a turbine motor and assured handling, just lacking the BMW and Kawasaki’s wiz-bang technology. Engine 999cc, liquid-cooled, 16v, inline…

Q My mum was suddenly taken very ill with her second serious stroke so when my sister called me I raced to the hospital on my bike to see her. I parked my bike, I admit, badly. I had inadvertently put my bike to the side of an ambulance bay, but luckily the receptionist remembered me and knew who I was visiting so she came up to the ward to tell me to move my bike. I felt a bit flustered and embarrassed. I jogged down to my bike, started it up and rode it for almost 150 yards across the car park to park it properly. I had left my helmet by the side of my mum’s bed. An obviously very bored and officious police officer in casualty was…

1 Brabham Straight Brands’ start-finish straight may be called Brabham Straight, but it’s fair to say you won’t be getting any time to rest. You’ve just exited Clarke Curve which means you’ll be hard on the gas and holding on for dear life as you drift over to the left hand side of the track over all the bumps – just watch the British Superbike riders go through there to get an idea of how bumpy it is. Although you will be constantly turning right, the start-finish straight is nicely cambered in your favour (for the most part) which helps. The track dips away before the rise into turn one, so be aware that the bike can go light just as you are thinking about reaching for the brakes. Here…

It’s true, and has been proven time and again over the years, that one should never take testing results as anything meaningful in relation to how a season pans out. Just using last year as an example, Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales ruled every test, and the first couple of races, before the wheels fell off. Meanwhile, Marc Marquez was nowhere in testing, but we all know who won the title, don’t we? Hint – it wasn’t a Yamaha... You can never be completely sure exactly what a team and rider is striving for at tests either, and quite often the fast times come towards the end when an ego-soothing pecking order on soft tyres is fought out. Teams work on various things, although history shows that those who work…

Now then, this has been a subject many of my peers have, with varying degrees of success and failure, been studiously avoiding over recent weeks. Me, though? Nah, I’ll tackle it head on! I’m referring to the decision of some sports to remove brolly girls, or walk-on girls, or similar, from their sporting activities. Where some lead, many will follow although the word in the MotoGP, WSB and BSB paddocks is that for the moment, they’re staying put. Now, my old man always (and continues to do so...) hammered it into me that before making a decision on anything possibly divisive, deciding what side of the fence I’d land on essentially, I should look at and analyse all the angles, taking all points of view into consideration. With that in…