Innehållsförteckning för Summer 18 från Fast Bikes

The sun’s shining, the birds are jabbering and, as I write this, our man Boothy is blasting his way around the TT course dressed in a fluorescent orange cow hide. Better make that two cow hides; he’s not the sleekest. But details aside, he’s there, mixing it up with the bravest of two-wheeled warriors and doing a great job of breaking his personal best lap times, plus each and every speed limit he can get his filthy mits on. If you couldn’t tell, we’re all very proud of him and I only wish I’d been there to take in the magic (but Pretty Boy bagged that opportunity). For me the TT is the ultimate test of man and machine, being as tough on the body as it is on the…

TRU-TENSION BELT MONKEY If you watch the telly, you may well have seen the Tru-Tension Belt Monkey on Dragon’s Den! Yep, the world’s first tool designed to help you set the tension on your belt driven motorcycle. If you own one, you’ll know that belt driven bikes require the correct tension so your components don’t decide to go bang, so with this revolutionary and patented design all you need to do is follow the included instructions and achieve the correct tension. Easy as! RRP£29.99 www.bikeit.co.uk AVON SPIRIT ST TYRES Dubbed the ‘ultra-high performance hypersport touring tyre’ by Avon, the Spirit ST comes loaded with a bunch of high-end features for a reasonable price. Using state of the art polymer technology for grip in both wet and dry conditions,…

It’s a very fine line between pleasure and pain, and as the RC8R barked an earth shaking 127dB from its unsilenced Jester end can, my cochleas felt like they were getting the kicking of a lifetime. Man, it was loud. Probably louder than any other bike I’d ridden before, with a resonance so deep I could feel my lungs being bounced around my ribs with every blip of its motor. And that noise only got louder, deeper and even more mischievous when the throttle met gears and the booming V-twin launched itself forward with the eagerness of a shoplifter fleeing pursuit with a stolen packet of crisps. Having ridden the Aprilia first I was surprised at how much quicker the KTM sprang to life, as the Mille was no slouch.…

For me, the striking thing about the RC8R is its Marmite looks. It’s as though back in the day KTM got a team of Blue Peter badge winners to design a sportsbike of the future. And they were a little wide of the mark if you ask me. The low pegs gave the KTM a fairly naked-bike-esque riding position but the ‘bars (although fairly wide) didn’t seem to translate the same levels of comfort at their end. From the dash, to the way the bike handles, everything about the R felt more modern than the Millie though. Despite its slightly more upright riding position, it did feel sportier, more confidence inspiring and altogether better at going round corners. This particular example had a naughty exhaust pipe that popped and farted…

To be fair to Aprilia, the second generation of RSV-R (which came in stock R form and higher-spec Factory) did sell very well initially. However when Ducati released the 1098 and then the subsequent 1198 the Aprilia was never in the same ballpark and sales tailed off. The RSV sold on the fact it was cheaper than the Ducati and yet boasted cool bling such as Öhlins suspension, OZ Racing wheels and Brembo brakes and its passionate fan base were prepared to overlook the fact it lacked some of the Duke’s trick bits such as traction control or onboard datalogging when upgrading from the older generation. Well for a while, towards the end of its life the Aprilia’s popularity dipped considerably, hence the need for the all-singing V4. Or were…

Steel Generally used in round tube form, this can give a very stiff, relatively light frame, with different tube thicknesses allowing designers to build in different amounts of flex where needed. Good for prototyping too, where changes can easily be made. A pain (read, expensive) for mass production though: all the short tube sections have to be welded together, either by hand or with a big robot. Tools and jigs need to be made up, and if you’re making tens of thousands, it’s a faff. Can be used in hybrid form too – steel tube sections bolted and/or bonded to aluminium castings at the swingarm or steering head areas. EXAMPLES: Ducati Monster, Kawasaki H2, Honda CB1100RS. Aluminium This is the number one material for making motorcycle frames nowadays (and it…

A mere 50,000 MT-09 sales obviously isn’t enough for Yamaha, who are hell bent on squeezing every little bit of value possible out of their cross-plane crank triple (CP3) motor. And with an engine so versatile, who can blame them? It might sound a little pedestrian to ardent sportsbike fans, but 113bhp teamed up with a seriously strong 87.5Nm of torque makes an engine that will do exactly what you need it to, almost all of the time. And when 22% of Yamaha’s sales in 2017 were in the sports touring segment, it’s no wonder they’re putting so much effort into bikes like the Tracer 900. As well as introducing an updated Tracer 900, priced at £9,249, Yamaha are launching the all new Tracer 900GT. The GT is a spec’d…

You can win a pair of Weise Renegade gloves for simply writing the Fast Bikes Star Letter. Setting the standard for quality & value in motorcycle clothing for 30 years, all Weise products have a two-year no-quibble warranty. These sporty gloves are made from full grain leather with a polyester lining. Reinforced with integrated TPU to knuckles and fingers and twin layered leather to palm, stretch panels to fingers and above knuckles aid fit and flexibility. Find out more at www.thekeycollection.co.uk…

It was early May and a beaut of a day when I received the call to say that my 2018 termer was winging its way to me – happy days! It’d seemed like a long winter, but the weather’s been on the up and I’m now in possession of a new two wheeled toy. As you could imagine, I was chompin’ at the bit to throw on my clobber and head out to tear up some decent B-roads. However that eagerness was soon dulled when I’d got my head out from the clouds to face the reality of the dreaded run-in period. There’s many conflicting opinions on how an engine should be broken in, but each ultimately with the same end goal, but no matter what your opinion, you can’t…

With SBOTY now a fading memory, the Gixer could finally get some miles under her belt. I was pleased to be able to put in some quality riding time, with a day trip of around 400 miles. In fact, it reminded me of something I’d worked out late last year, but had forgotten about – the gearing. On any roads other than motorways it’s just about fine for top-gear cruising, but on motorways or long, boring, straight-line A-roads, especially if you’re in a hurry, for me it’s not right. Even if sticking to the prescribed speed limit, it feels as though it’s revving too much, and while the fuel-gauge is optimistic for a while, as soon as you pass 80 miles covered it plummets faster than Steve Parrish trying to…

As the flag dropped for the final time at 2018’s majestic TT, few could comprehend the thrilling, ballistic and wholly unpredictable spectacle they’d just witnessed. It was Lincolnshire’s Peter Hickman who stole the show in the coveted Senior race, clocking a pace so fast it made you question the physics behind his 135.452mph masterpiece. Riding a bike not dissimilar to the one he’d shone on the previous year, one could only wonder what could’ve helped him shave off the 15-plus seconds needed to become the fastest man ever around the TT course. The answer’s probably threefold, consistency being the first thing to note; keeping with the same bike, team and setup that’s powered him to success on the short circuits has certainly done him no harm. Then you’ve got the…

BSB might not be flowing, but between instructing with James Whitham and trying to train with a broken hand it has been TT fortnight... so I’ve been spending my time in the hyperbaric chamber and enjoying the racing! One day I hope to be sat on the line racing this incredible event, alongside the NW200, the Ulster GP and maybe even a trip to Macau – but the Isle of Man is something special. Of course it’s very easy to be Billy big nuts and say how much I would love to race here but the truth of the matter is that I might set off and by the time I get half way down Bray Hill, realise that my ‘big nuts’ have shrivelled back up inside myself and decide…

Using their top of the range X-Spirit III as a base, Shoei have released a Peter Hickman rep which he used on the way to grabbing two podiums at this year’s Isle of Man TT in the Supersport class. Bestowed with that beautiful ‘Trooper’ graphics recognisable from the premium British beer created by Iron Maiden, it’s fair to say that these lids won’t be hanging around for long. This is because there will be a one-off production run of 666 individually numbered helmets – packaged in an exclusive Trooper limited edition box set. The box will arrive consisting of a limited edition A3 Trooper canvas art print encased in a printed metal presentation tin, pint glass, Trooper Ale bar runner, sticker, key ring, lanyard and retro pin badge – and…

“HOW ON EARTH WAS BOOTHY GOING TO COPE WITH HIS PILES?” FROM £4,500-£10,000 When buying an RC8 you first have the option of the (cheaper) 1148cc RC8 or the more expensive 1195cc R version. The RC8 had a few teething issues (gearbox) and was discontinued in 2010 with only the R remaining. If you buy the stock model, ensure the update to the gearbox has been completed and justify the fact it is underpowered when compared to the R with your financial saving. If you buy an R, the post-2011 model gained the more powerful twin spark head and chassis upgrades while the 2012-generation added a slipper clutch and small chassis mods. There are two main issues with the RC8 R – its water pump seal and its sprag clutch.…

PROJECT LEADER One bloke that knows this bike better than anyone is its creator Christian Gonschor. We sat down for a natter with the man behind the magic… FB: Where did the inspiration come from? CG: We’re incredibly proud of the stock S1000RR, but we were able to learn a lot about the dynamics of the package by racing it in World Superbikes. We were able to make the bike, and in particular its chassis, work better, but we still believed there was more scope for improvement by altering the lateral and torsional stiffness of the frame. But we couldn’t achieve what we wanted to within the rules of the race series, which spawned the idea to reach out into a whole new path with carbon fibre. The results spoke…

Cradle Either one or two tubes curve down from the steering head and back to the swingarm pivot plates, ‘cradling’ the engine. One or more thicker tubes generally run back from the steering head above the engine, and down under the rider to join, with a subframe triangulated off this area too. Simple, cheap, and with a solid-mounted engine, reasonably stiff. Heavy though, especially in steel tube form. Twin beam Two aluminium beams or spars run from the steering head, gently curving round the sides of the (usually inline-four) engine and meeting at the swingarm area. Gives a fairly straight path from steering head to swingarm, and allows good access to the top end of the engine, which can be solidly bolted in place to improve stiffness. Monocoque Dabbled with…

If you were lucky enough to catch any of the Isle of Man TT racing, you’ll have seen that Silicone Engineering’s Dean Harrison has upped his game to an incredible level, concreting himself as a genuine contender in each of the classes he’s entered, whether that be Superbike, Supersport or Superstock. With some blistering competition though it was never going to be easy getting on the box, and after he won his first TT in four years, we elbowed everyone else aside and sat down with the laidback lad from Bradford to see what makes him tick, what he thinks of his rivals and what went through his head as he nailed the first 134mph+ lap of the island... How hard are you pushing? Incredibly hard! We’ve been knocking on…

■ Ride in your own space – a lot of the time if you’re learning a track or trying to improve your times, you have to concentrate lots. So you’ll never achieve those goals if you’re stuck in traffic and scrapping around with other riders, who might be using the wrong lines and encouraging you to use them. Take a breather, hold back and let the others go. ■ Don’t be afraid to ask for help – trackdays are normally really friendly environments and people are often keen to help, be it with sticking your warmers on or helping you learn a track. Don’t be afraid to speak to others to see what gears they’re running or what lines they’re doing. It might not always be right, but you’ll get…

PENAL SERVITUDE PREVENTOR The Fast Bikes Legal Clinic is compiled by Andrew Dalton, and his bike riding barristers and solicitors at White Dalton Motorcycle Solicitors. They deal with personal injury claims and their sister company, Motor Defence Team, deals with all the motoring offences. They know everything about bike law. Andrew is a former London motorbike courier turned barrister and solicitor, and we know he’s good. All the White Dalton lawyers are qualified barristers, or solicitors, or both - and they all have full bike licences, too. They don’t act for insurance companies or the prosecution. They are Britain’s most specialist law practice, and if they don’t know the answer to your question, there probably isn’t one. Don’t rely on the advice from your insurance appointed solicitor, get proper independent…

Firstly, I just wanted to say I’m a big fan of the magazine and I don’t want to cause any disrespect, but does Mike know his leathers look like he’s actually soiled himself? Not that I’ve been looking at his rear, but it is almost impossible to miss. Check it out next time and I bet you’ll all be giggling for days… Jeff S FB: Funnily enough, one of our photographers spotted it on the last shoot. All we can do is apologise I’m afraid, but our Mike does get a tad excited on occasion! Unfortunately, we can confirm that it is real poo.* *May not be 100% true.…

To be in with a chance of winning this most tasteful of tops, just email us (letters@fastbikesmag.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!* *Disclaimer: May not actually make you any faster. Send yours to letters@fastbikes.co.uk…

R&G RACING AERO KNEE SLIDERS If you’re heading out on track and gaining confidence for the first time, you’ll be nailing those knee skids in no time, and if you’re a seasoned veteran you’ll know how important it is to have a spare, or good set of sliders on. We love using these examples from R&G as they offer a fair amount of feel and longevity, for a bargain price. Oh, and they’re nice and easy to get hold of as well! Just remember, a set of knee sliders is cheaper than going through the leather on your knees… £25.99…

1 Since its formation in 1999, R&G has grown to become the world leader in damage protection products for motorcycles. 2 Alongside offering a full range of crash protection and styling accessories, R&G is a UK distributor for world-class brands such as Barkbusters Handguards, BMC Air Filters, Denali Electronics, KAOKO Throttle Stabilizers, Scorpion, WD-40, SpeedAngle Data loggers and Wild Ass seat cushions. 3 R&G is also an Official Supplier to the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, an important platform for R&D on new products. 4 Based in Hampshire, R&G has a global network of importers and distributors – serving over 50 countries! 5 R&G works with a number of well-known brands including the California Superbike School, Sinnis Motorcycles, No Limits Racing and Silverstone Track Days.…

It’s been a busy time for the little Ninja! Just over a month down and the little Kawasaki has been in for its first service at 600 miles which finally means it’s time to get to work. It may have had a hard running in period, but the future is looking pretty bright, meaning that besides the trip along to Team Green, I’ve been pretty busy finding the Ninja’s limitations… and that all started with a dyno run. So what did it make? Well, we won’t talk about torque (or lack of) and you might be pissing yourselves to hear it makes a measly 42 horses at the rear wheel, but for an A2 bike that’s not to be sniggered at; in context, a Ninja 300 built to race spec…

“IF ALL GOES TO PLAN THEN SHAKEY COULD MAKE THE LAST ROUND” There hasn’t been a single Bennetts British Superbike race in the past five weeks, yet even so things have gone absolutely mental. For a summer break it’s had more ups and downs then a whole season of F1, with career-changing injuries, world-level wildcards and factory endurance testing galore. I don’t know why, but it seems like everyone is trying as hard as possible not to make it into the showdown… First and foremost though, we couldn’t talk about BSB without mentioning the reigning champ and our very own ex-road tester, Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne. In case you’ve been living under a rock, Shakey had a monumental crash testing at Snetterton and ended up braking all of his ribs, his…

The World Supersport series is, and has been for decades, an absolutely belting source of truly exciting racing. And now in 2018, even though the series (and Supersport classes the world over) is having something of an identity crisis, it continues to provide regular thrills and spills. The issue, of course, is the lack of new Supersport machines being manufactured. Aside from Yamaha’s ‘new’ R6 and MV Agusta’s upgraded F3 675, there hasn’t been another new Supersport bike since Triumph overhauled the Daytona a few years back. The R6 isn’t actually new per se, even if it looks very different, the bones of the 2006 machine still reside therein. But it is ‘new’ enough that most of the WSS top ten is filled with them. In fact, Luke Stapleford recently…

That’s right, the TT might seem like a distant memory now but there are still some cracking road races yet to come this season. The Ulster Grand Prix was officially billed as the world’s fastest road race, that was until Hicky pulled out the stops at this year’s TT to smash Dean Harrison’s UGP outright lap record of 134.6mph with a barnstorming 135.5mph Mountain course lap. But if the pace of TT 2018 is anything to go by, and with a handful of riders capable of taking the spoils, there is every chance that the UGP’s Dundrod circuit will be reclaiming the title as the world’s fastest road race in August. It’s a probable outcome, but your guess is as good as ours as to who’ll be making history happen.…

1999: UK Junior Challenge - champion 2000: Aprilia RS125 Challenge – N/A 2001: Aprilia RS125 Challenge - champion 2002: British Junior Superstock – 4th 2003: Yamaha R6 Cup – 2nd 2004: British Supersport – 10th 2005: British Supersport – 3rd 2006: British Supersport – Champion 2007: British Superbike – 9th 2008: British Superbike – 3rd 2009: World Supersport – Champion 2010: World Superbike – 5th 2011: MotoGP World Championship – 12th 2012: MotoGP World Championship – 7th 2013: MotoGP World Championship – 5th 2014: MotoGP World Championship – 13th 2015: MotoGP World Championship – 8th 2016: MotoGP World Championship – 7th 2017: MotoGP World Championship – 9th…

Hi everybody, I’m sat in the pit complex at Anglesey circuit right now, mid TT week, at a supercar trackday believe it or not – honestly, the things I have to do! I managed to park Plummet Airways at the Red Arrows HQ, and as I’d had a hand in organising some show tickets for them at the TT I asked if I could land there and they said yes. They’re even going to give us a wee fly-by this afternoon just for the hell of it, they’re all ace fellas. Anyway, it was weird being at the TT and not working seeing as I (and James Whitham) have been doing the ITV show for so many years now. But the production company changed, and they wanted a change, so…

FROM £4,500-£7,000 The Factory uses the second generation of Aprilia’s V-twin motor called the V90RR or ‘Magnesium’ due to its cases. This engine gained larger valves in 2006 (in the eye-bleeding gold framed bike), boosting its power slightly in its only update. With the RSV-R there are lots of small irritations that are easy to fix, but if left unchanged ruin the owning experience. For a start there is the battery, which needs to be upgraded from a 90CCA unit to a 230CCA one to preserve the bike’s sprag clutch. If you use the rear brake a lot, fit rearsets as the stock positioning of the master cylinder (horizontal) allows air into the system, often rendering it useless. Repositioning it vertically sorts this issue. The clutch system also lets air…

You have to feel a bit sorry for the KTM RC8 R and the Aprilia RSV-R Factory as they are trading on sporting success which, let’s be honest, neither bike can back up. When KTM unveiled the RC8 they were adamant that they would soon be in the WSB paddock and tasting champagne rapidly afterwards. In the end the RC8 never made a WSB grid, let alone a podium, and the best it did was some moderate success in the German IDM superbike championship. Whoopydoo… And while Aprilia did compete in WSB, the truth is that the bike that won seven races between the 2000 and 2002 seasons with Troy Corser and Regis Laconi (Haga never won a race) was actually based on the RSV SP, not the road bike,…

Although this is my fourth Suzuki Katana, it’s actually my first ground up build. It all started when I bought a tired frame and bodywork with the intention of creating a ‘modern’ version of my favourite bike, while hoping to stick to a tight budget. We all know how that goes though, and as the build went on I stuck a few fancier bits on, which then made the other parts look rubbish. This meant that the budget got put to one side, and although the build was a little slower it came out much better! There were a few hurdles that happened along the way also which put the build on the back burner but I’m incredibly proud of how the bike turned out, as all work and upgrades…

I started doing trackdays about seven years ago, but I got sick of too many riders in a group, and I just wanted to improve and do my own thing. I was worried to start with as it’s advertised as a bit race-y, but my mate brought me along and I haven’t looked back since. I don’t bother with normal trackdays any more as I feel a lot safer here. I mean, the riding speaks for itself as when I started I was at the bottom of the Inters group, but now I can hold my own in the fast group! I’ve already got a few more Whit days booked, and I can’t get enough of them. I must have done about 25 now……

STAR LETTER MAN WITH A PAN... Dear Fast Bikes, First of all, I hope you guys are well and as always, the mag is awesome! Secondly, I must apologise for my endless bombardment of messages on social media, requesting advice ranging from battery choice, to ECU remapping vs PC V and most recently your opinions on bike choice. And this brings me on to the reason for this letter, to give credit where it’s due and in this case that is you guys at Fast Bikes. I wanted a bike that was still fast but much more usable than my remapped Fireblade! That was phenomenally fast and achieved licence shredding, prison incarcerating speeds in the blink of an eye even though I LOVED IT! This new-found craziness did have a…

As I looked down the pit lane at Navarra, I saw the ambulance pull up and Superbike Italia’s Paulo Rossi limp across the tarmac into the medical centre. My first concern had been answered as the chap riding my YZF-R6 around the SBOTY circuit was on his feet with no major injuries. The next arrival to the pit garages would be my long-termer that I have loved and nurtured since 0 miles on the clock, on the back of a crash wagon having been high-sided by my Italian journalist friend. As it appeared what was immediately apparent was that the R6 had not entered a roll, it had bucked Paulo off, hit the deck and entered a slide into the ample run off at Navarra. Thus only one side had…

“I’M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING HOW ME AND THE KTM PAIR UP OVER SOME BIG DISTANCES” The other day I headed to KTM’s HQ for the bike’s first service. Sounds like a boring essential task but what an eye opener it turned out to be. KTM have plonked themselves in the centre of engineering and industry excellence at Silverstone in Northamptonshire, and for good reason I might add. Ultimately KTM as a brand want their customers to have the best experience owning their products which is evidently the ethos at HQ. Purpose-built in-house dealer training rooms and mechanical workshops along with countless staff boasting impressive CVs and IQs akin to Einstein amounts to an impressive approach to dealer support and ultimately customer satisfaction. First off, the bike was wheeled…

Although it has only been four weeks since we were last here, the MotoGP landscape has once again changed beyond all recognition and gone completely bonkers. Le Mans and Mugello are now but distant memories, but oh what fantastic memories. At Le Mans Marquez smashed it, the previously unflappable Zarco cracked under the weight of an expectant nation and Dovi inexplicably ditched it. And then there was Jakub Kornfeil who showed the world how to ride MX on a Moto3 bike – if only he’d have thrown in a whip for extra style points, right? But despite everyone else’s best efforts, there has only really been one thing and one man that has dominated the headlines in more recent times; the redemption of five times World Champion, Jorge Lorenzo. What…

Donington Park’s WSB meet was both an utterly brilliant round to behold, and a turning point for many. First of all, huge belated print congratulations to Michael van der Mark – wait years for a first win, and then two come along all at once! The way he won both outings was seriously impressive, presenting a maturity he has, thus far, seemed to lack. His double-win came along after a very successful test for he, team-mate Alex Lowes and Yamaha. They’d worked on their package and, crucially, retaining grip towards the end of races and for Michael at least, it worked. It was the first non-Kawasaki or Ducati win since (the always missed) Nicky Hayden’s victory at Sepang on the Ten Kate Honda, in 2016. It’s also finally given Yamaha…

Does the TT Zero do it for you or is it time to unplug? It promised to be a bit of a spectacle at first, with university teams having a go as well as some major outfits throwing big budgets at bizarre looking bikes, but with Mugen still hell-bent on chalking up TT Zero win after TT Zero win, you have to ask what the point is; they aren’t offering a production bike. In 2018 there were 12 electric bikes on the grid; it’s a one lap race, and only six managed to cross the finish line, it has hardly become the epitome of a successful TT category and one has to wonder if the closed road time would be better spent racing something a little more relevant. Like donkeys.…