Innehållsförteckning för April 2020 från Fast Bikes

I guess there’s only one way to kick this column off and that’s by talking about the Blade. Whether you’re a fan or not, it’s so much more than ‘just a new motorcycle’. It’s a statement, a lifeline; another big manufacturer saying that despite the dwindling sales figures and the wittering of keyboard warriors on forums, the sportsbike market is still alive and kicking, and thanks to bikes like this, it’s set to carry on for a good while yet. I’m an optimist, and I’m hopeful that despite manufacturers such as Triumph, Suzuki, Honda and Kawasaki (who are now back) culling their supersport segments a few years back, there’s still chance of a credible revival… because quite simply there has to be. I’m a fan of all kinds of bikes…

HJC RPHA 70 SAMPRA HJC seem to be constantly expanding their operations with new helmets every month, and it looks like 2020 isn’t going to be much different. This time, it’s their all new for 2020 RPHA 70 Sampra lid, a full-face job which comes in slightly cheaper than their range-topping model. Don’t fret though, as it still comes equipped with a lightweight and shock-resistant shell, thanks to its Carbon and Carbon-Glass Hybrid fabrics, while a dual-purpose top vent takes care of cooling. The RPHA 70 Sampra also comes with a Multicool interior that helps to dry out sweat and get rid of bacteria, alongside an integrated drop down visor. RRP£359.99 www.oxfordproducts.com TW STEEL YAMAHA RACING WRIST WATCH If you’ve got a Yamaha and fancy matching up with a fairly…

Whilst at the international Press launch for the new Super Duke R, we caught up with the guy who has been in charge of the model’s development – ever since the first 990 Super Duke. FB: We loved the last Super Duke; it was a hell of a bike, bursting with character. The new bike is obviously a lot different, so how do you go about developing a bike for the better, without losing the qualities that people love about it? HS: When we started work on this model in 2017 we had meetings about the behaviour of Super Duke to try to decide what it was that we wanted to achieve with the new model. We found that there were a few things that people really liked about the…

FB: A lot of people see wings, and success, and link the two. What do you think? SM: Well, yes of course they’re linked – every part of the race bike has value, and aero as a whole is massively important on race bikes. Don’t forget though, with machines being so tight it’s no coincidence that every manufacturer goes within half a second of each other; there’s so much power, it’s just how fast we can push them through the air, and that’s why aero is important. To be honest, for us it’s not so much downforce, but getting it to go through the air! The whole front of the fairing helps to push the bike down – the wings on the side emphasise that. But then again, a lot…

As mentioned earlier, there will be games for your smartphone to help improve your reaction time and hand-to-eye co-ordination and they certainly won’t do any harm, but I can’t guarantee that you’ll automatically find 0.5s per lap. Just remember, it’s all about making personal improvements that will then lead on to an overall better performance. Other games such as golf are also good for improving your co-ordination, as it’s one thing smashing a 300-yard hit at the driving range (or attempt 59 out of 60 balls), but playing the game by the rules will make you a better decision maker and help you plan ahead because you don’t want to waste a shot.…

Hi, Fast Bikes Team. It's not every day that you’re in hospital, awaiting your first-born daughter to come along. but what a way to pass the time than reading a great magazine with pics of yourself. lol. Not sure how many hours Bruce spent looking for a pic where he was at the front. lol! Good read lads. well done. FB: This made us laugh in the office! Pictures of Bruce at the front don’t appear often, so he uses ‘em when he can. And by the way, congrats! WIN You can win a Premier Vyrus helmet for simply writing the Fast Bikes Star Letter. Cutting-edge design offers maximum aerodynamic performance, while the internal sun shield and three adjustable air vents make life more comfortable. Find out more at www.thekeycollection.co.uk…

QI fully expect you to call me a bit of a bellend, but this is what happened. I was going too fast and crashed my bike. I slid along the carriageway, without doing myself any real harm and then, a bit stunned, I lay in the road for a couple of seconds before starting to get up. Coming in the opposite direction were five lads in a Transit van, two loose in the back, three squashed into the front, and as I was picking myself up from the middle of the road this van scooped me up and carried me for about 15 metres. As the van decelerated with me on the front, I rolled off it, but the van was still going forward and managed to drive over my…

Exciting times, readers. It’s almost back. No, not the hotly anticipated fourth series of This is England, no, not the McDonalds Supersize Meal, not even the Return of the Mack. So what’s almost back I hear you ask? Yep. You guessed it. MotoGP 2020 – the biggest season yet, with a belly-busting 20 rounds. If you spend much time stalking the MotoGP social media profiles you’d easily be forgiven for thinking the winter has been all about holidays in the Alps and the Maldives with supermodels and rock stars. That’s true to a certain extent, but the teams and riders have been hard at it over the close season with their development programmes and the traditional pre-season tests. It’s always a bit risky drawing too many conclusions from testing. You…

Whilst the weather’s been crap, I’ve been busy renovating a property on the farm, which has been fun and something a bit different to the usual jobs, but I’ve not been able to stop thinking about when I can next get out on a bike. I’ve been doing a bit of trials riding, including a school at Inch Perfect Trials in Clitheroe, which was ace, and some Flat Tracking on the minibike over at the Champions Flattrack School. I’ve wanted to get out on the MX bike too, but everywhere is too wet! But the time has finally come, and I’m writing this on the way down to Cartagena for three days of testing with No Limits Racing. I won’t be riding the actual Hawk Racing Suzuki that I’ll be…

I’m not sure how you lot are getting on, but I’m sitting here writing this from a beach in Cape Town, where its 28 degrees, there’s a nice cool breeze and I’ve got a gin and tonic sitting in my hand. That’s not all bad, is it? Mind you, I’m coming back for the London Bike Show, so I can’t wait to get back to all the dodgy cold and stormy weather… I’ve got to say though, I do the pilgrimage to South Africa every year and I absolutely love the place. I can’t recommend it highly enough; alright, the flights will cost you a few quid, but when you’re actually out here, everything is so cheap (the best steak you’ll ever eat will set you back about a tenner).…

Technically, it could be the most effective place to have additional downforce through wings, but then again, it could actually hold things back as well. The theory would be, that you’d need to look at where speed is limited by grip; so every single part of the track that the rider isn’t at full throttle (if the rider did have enough grip, he/she would be flat out). This is where it could help; giving extra downforce, and even at added stability and weight on the front, to assist when jumping on the brakes at the end of long sections, but this would be offset against increased drag, which would, in turn, slow the top speed. It would take testing, and that’s something that the road racing jockeys don’t have in…

2008 YAMAHA YZF-R1 Private: £4000 Dealer: £4500 With its new four-valve head delivering some fierce top-end spirit, this generation of R1 is a bit of a live wire compared to the cross-plane models that followed. Engine: 998cc, l/c, DOHC, Inline four Power: 155bhp @ 12,200rpm Torque: 102Nm @ 9,400rpm 2008 SUZUKI GSX-R1000 Private: £3800 Dealer: £4700 Typical GSX-R, a lovely bike to ride on the road, but it feels a generation behind the competition when pushed hard. Which it is. That’ll be why! Engine: 999cc, l/c, DOHC, Inline 4 Power: 159bhp @ 12,000rpm Torque: 103Nm @ 9,500rpm 2008 KAWASAKI ZX-10R Private: £4000 Dealer: £4700 A proper old-school Ninja that has enough spunk to thrill, but manages to do so without scaring you too much. A good step up from the…

If I got a pound for every time someone came to me complaining of cold tear on a race tyre, then I'd be a very rich man. Most cold tear we see is tyre temperature related, but incorrect compound selection also plays a factor in a cold tear occurring as well. Let’s look at correct compound choice first.... All proper race tyres are compounded. In some brands we have as many as four fronts and five rears to choose from! The reason for this, is we need a tyre that suits different track surface severity and track temperatures depending on the grip level and longevity we desire. Be aware, circuit conditions can change by the hour, never mind by the day, so what works in the morning, may not work…

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!* Send yours to letters@fastbikes.co.uk *Disclaimer: May not actually make you any faster.…

Fast Bikes magazine: Jorge Lorenzo signs with Yamaha, as their official Test Rider. Could this be the vital step they need to get them back to their winning ways? Rob Bellingham Given that he always takes at least a season to get used to a bike, will he be a good test rider? Simon Gunton This is only going to be a good thing. Lorenzo was strong on the Yamaha when he was there. Should have never left for Ducati imo but his riding style suits the Yamaha and it will be good to see what he can do. Waste of a decent rider if he chose not to come back for one reason or another. Dave de Vries For sure that Lorenzo can help. Since he left Yamaha the…

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…

World Superbike 2020 is just a couple of weeks away and with all pre-season testing, team launches and rider announcements out of the way, anticipation is building. Many people have said this looks to be the most exciting season for years (don’t they say that every year?) and with big efforts from the main factories in terms of machinery and rider quality, it has all the ingredients to deliver. Kawasaki obviously have to start as favourites again with Rea and Lowes, but Ducati and Yamaha have both looked very strong in testing. Both Redding and Razgatlioglu have been blisteringly fast at both Jerez and Portimao. Honda and the new Fireblade looks to have hit the ground running with Haslam outpacing Bautista in both tests, as well as Laverty and Sykes…

DAINESE MISANO 2 D-AIR SUIT TESTED BY: Carlos MILES: 5,000+ TIME: 1 year PRICE: £1979.95 WEB: www.dainese.com When doing silly things at silly speeds, it’s absolutely vital to be wearing the best kit – and after using, and indeed abusing, Dainese’s Misano 2 suit, I can safely say that it really has (and still does) look after me well. I’m a bog standard off-the-peg size, but from the very instant it felt incredibly comfortable and snug; I could barely even feel the airbag as it’s incredibly light, and the suit is an absolute doddle to get on and off as well. It has some great little features, like grippy pads on the inside of the knees to help hold on to the tank, and a drinks bottle included that you…

Technically speaking, they just did what they could within the rules, but they only did that thanks to an aggressive approach. But what is this aggressive approach, I hear you ask? Well, as our expert aerodynamicist points out, it’s basically about attacking the rulebook as savagely as possible – which has been happening in Formula One for decades. By employing ex-F1 personnel, the Ducati squad eyed every loophole and looked into every nook and cranny – with the most obvious being how they bypassed the necessity to homologate two sets of fairings for wings, to use throughout the entire year in 2016. Danny Aldridge, MotoGP Technical Director, employed this rule so teams couldn’t have different sets of wings at every track, and in turn help to keep costs down. Yet…

Unless you’re doing licence losing speeds, our aero man says absolutely not, and compares it to having 2% more grip on a tyre. Take the V4R for example. Its wings produce just over 7kg of downforce at just over 40mph, so you’d really struggle to feel any tangible benefits. And that figure is probably taken into account with perfect air, so with a rider hanging off the side, or out the bubble, it’s going to be worse. Stick your hand out the window at 40mph, and the force pushing it down won’t even be as much as what the wings produce……

At the time when I put the deposit down (along with 200 others) I felt like it was a cool bike; and that it would be somewhere near the forefront of technology and exclusivity at the time. It was, but it isn’t so much now. To be honest, it goes well with the Domiracer I had and I thought it would look cool… and it does! From a financial perspective, it was less than a Ducati Superleggera at the time and a bit more special; not to mention the fact that it was both chrome, and loud. I never had any anticipation that it would be the nicest bike to ride, but the story was good, the design was good – it just reeled me in. There was always something…

2002 SUZUKI GSX-R1000 Private: £2,300 Dealer: £2,800 The bike to beat in 2002, the K2 is identical to the K1 aside from paint. Roomy and packing a monster engine, it’s a wild and unrefined, but fun, ride. Engine: 988cc,, l/c, 16v inline four Power: 144bhp @ 10,800rpm Torque: 99.5Nm @ 8,650prm 2002 KAWASAKI ZX-9R Private: £1,600 Dealer: £2,100 The ZX-9R was the whipping-boy of the litre bike class. Outgunned in the day, nowadays it is best thought of as a fast, comfortable and quite sporty sports tourer. Engine: 899cc, l/c, 16v inline four Power: 127bhp @ 11,000rpm Torque: 86Nm @ 9,400 2002 HONDA FIREBLADE Private: £2,999 Dealer: £3,600 The ‘954’ Blade is a great all-rounder that makes for a superb road sportsbike, thanks to its super-smooth motor and sorted chassis.…

DREAMS Hey there, been reading Fast Bikes for as long as I can remember and recently found myself in the fortunate position to buy my brand new dream bike! An Aprilia RSV4 RF. Got to say your magazine defo helped me make the choice and damn what a bike! Also had to include my favourite picture of the best trackday ever at Snetterton last year! Can’t wait to go back there. Many thanks and keep up the good work! Antonio Landolfi FB: What a bike… we absolutely love the RSV4 – good choice! Glad you’re enjoying the mag, and I’m sure we’ll see you out on a trackday soon enough… NIPPY? Hi FB Folks. Here’s my new toy, Gixxer 750 out on its maiden ride (for me anyway). A nice…

THE UK might have left the EU, but we still love all our European chums from ‘the Continent’. Especially the legendary racers who’ve come from Italy down the years. Valentino Rossi is top of the Euro-pops of course, but guys like Giacomo Agostini, Giancarlo Falappa and the sadly missed Marco Simoncelli have all grabbed the imagination of Brit race fans. Pierfrancesco ‘Frankie’ Chili is definitely another man on that Italian hit list. He first appeared on the world scene in the late 1980s, dabbling in the three GP classes – 125, 250 and 500 (the 80cc class ended in 1989). But it was later on in the mid-1990s that he found his spiritual home – production-based superbike racing. Chili had some fiery tussles with Brit legend Carl Fogarty on Ducati…

If you’re a fan of the British Superbike Championship, then you’re going to want to get down to a round and take in the atmosphere. And if you’re making the effort to get down to a round, then you’re going to want to enjoy the whole programme, rather than just waiting for the flagship superbikes; you might even find that some of the best racing comes from the lower echelons of the paddock. See, it’s not about the capacity of the engine, it’s about the capacity of the racing, and whether it’s the noisy little 250cc Moto3 machines or the whopping 1000cc ‘stockers, there’s always a corker of a race to be had… so what are you missing out on? BRITISH SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP & BRITISH GP2 Who doesn’t love a…

It's the time of year when us racers use our 'need to train' mentality as an excuse to ship out to warmer climates. This year my plans have needed a kind of military precision that would put the most acclaimed travel agents to shame. In fact, once I'm done with my racing I think I may have found my second calling. So, it all starts at the beginning of February. Step 1: get a van, fill it with a Panigale, some tyres, some tools (for someone else to use), my bicycle, two kit bags and a handful of pairs of pants. Step 2: set off in search of somewhere warm and get set for the season ahead. At the time of writing, Step 1 is fully box ticked. The little…