Innehållsförteckning för August 2022 från Fast Bikes

Sometimes in life, it’s good to roll the dice and take a risk – but not when it comes to riding precious, borrowed, exotic machines. We knew going in our Ultimate (Used) Sportsbike test that we wanted to tackle fast roads and even faster track riding, pushing the bikes and ourselves to the limit to get the best picture of what our saucy steeds have to offer. There was only one option for it… we needed Michelin’s Power GPs fitted. We first got a taste of the rubber last year, putting it through its paces on our seven-bike USB shootout, and the performance, feel, and confidence it offered has made it an instant favourite of ours. On road and track, plus down the dragstrip, it proved its worth, especially so…

There are two main ways of testing a motorbike to get to know it and learn about what makes it tick. You can either take it for a long ride on a variety of roads to get to know what its manners are like and how easy or difficult it is to ride, or you can take it on a track to delve deeper into the bike’s reserves of performance… or if you’re very, very lucky, like me, you get the opportunity to do both at the same time. When I say “you”, I don’t mean you (or me), I mean my mate Michael Rutter, because the road/track in question is none other than the iconic Isle of Man TT course, and they don’t let any old hack out on…

The manufacturer battle in the National Junior Superstock and British Supersport classes rages on, with the Yamaha R6 and Kawasaki 636 facing off together. While the older Yamaha models can still tussle at the front of the pack, the newer Kawasakis are starting to dominate the field over their older variant, prompting discussions on whether the newer chassis and engine really benefits over the older 2012 models, though many people simply leave it down to rider preference. Despite any differences, the Kawasaki 636 still proves to be a great choice to provide some great results on track. The number of times I’ve run into riders from a British superbike level at random trackdays is countless; it’s become common place to stumble across people flying up the inside at any opportunity…

STAR LETTER GIVE ME A BRAKE... Hi guys, I’ve got a Triumph Street Triple R. It’s a great bike and I love riding it, but I’ve never really been too happy with the brakes on it. The optional ABS is really quite keen and the feel through the lever isn’t all that great. The question is, how do I make it better? What can I do to get my bike stopping faster and offering me more confidence in the process? Most of my riding is on the road, but I’ve taken the bike on trackdays a couple of times. Is it a simple case of changing the pads, or do I need better discs, or even a new master cylinder? I should say, the hoses are still stock too. Are…

50TH ANNIVERSARY M1000 RR UP until the early 2000s, there was a real conundrum about BMW motorbikes. The German firm had been cranking out mega-powered nutter cars for years – including legendary 1500bhp turbocharged Formula One engines, Le Mans racers, and the mighty M-series of road cars (M standing for ‘Motorsport’). Yet its bikes were, frankly, a bit pants when it came to going fast. Indeed, for the first decade of Fast Bikes’ existence, BMW’s bikes only really appeared on these pages to be mocked for their lardy, underpowered shaft-drive nature. Of course, the K1200S and R put an end to all that in 2004, and the 2009 launch of the S1000 RR further established new BMW as a proper performance motorbike builder. The S1000 R, S1000 XR and even…

It’s funny how some tests come about: The kind of tests that are borne out of necessity but turn out to be amongst the best you’ve ever done. That’s how we’d bracket this year’s Ulitmate Used Sportbike shootout. While it’s fair to say we’re an optimistic bunch here at Fast Bikes, even we came to accept with the arrival of spring 2022 the idea of any fresh, contemporary machinery being uncovered was as likely as Tim winning a beauty pageant… it just wasn’t going to happen. And despite a few tweaks to Honda’s new Fireblade, and the arrival of a shiny new Ducati V4S, we’d have largely had a repeat performance of last year’s USB. Don’t get me wrong, that would have made for a belter of a time for…

Two years after it was launched, people were still coming to terms with the new order established by the BMW S1000RR which reset all previously held understandings of what a modern superbike is. It’s been said 100 times, but the S1000RR was one of those bikes that comes along and blows us away, so it was even more impressive when the first people to make the S1000RR look average were… BMW. The HP4 was introduced in 2012 effectively as a homologation special of the S1000RR that lasted until the third generation Euro4 spec S1000RR came along in 2015 and made it obsolete. The term homologation special is probably a bit strong to use to describe the HP4, certainly in comparison to homologation specials such as the Yamaha R7 or similar.…

IN BRIEF… Rider: Max Silvester Track: Donington Park Series: BSB Class: National Junior Superstock 600 Fastest lap: 1:12.658 Position: 30th Championship position: Somewhere between first and last Excuse: Still sandbagging from testing I’d only ever been to Donington Park twice prior to this round; once on an SV650 that spat out oil on to my rear tyre each outing, and the other on a junior Supersport bike. All things considered, jumping on to a 600 at this historic track was simply amazing. As opposed to at Oulton Park, the other big change was I was now running completely by myself on my dad’s trackday R6… different bike, different suspension, and a whole new setting. I am running alongside my brother Aaron from now on at BSB. It’s been an absolute…

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…

WEMOTO FORK SEAL DRIVER A fork seal driver is one of those tools that most of us will only use every now and again – but it’s a lifesaver when you do. It’s a simple enough piece of kit: fit it around the fork leg and you can tap the seal into place without causing damage to anything. This Sealey tool is adjustable to suit fork seals from 35-55mm, and the sort of thing you only really need to buy once in your lifetime... until you lend it out to a mate and never see it again. £56.53 www.wemoto.com MG BIKETEC TAIL TIDY Austrian firm MG Biketec has launched a smart new range of tail tidies, including this fitment for the Kawasaki ZX-10R/RR.CNC machined from black anodised aluminium, it lets…

The Ducati is the odd one out of this test for a lot of reasons, the most obvious being its engine layout and capacity. It’s also the oldest, and unlike the others, the 1198 is at the end of its development cycle, where the other two bikes are at the beginning of their lives. The 1199 frameless Panigale was just 12 months away with a brand new design philosophy that brought to an end the tubular frame layout used by Ducati since… well… the beginning. It also looks like it’s from a different era to the other two bikes. The 1198 doesn’t have the sharp edges and lines of the other two, and there’s no hint of any attempt at aero manipulation as per the HP4, which sports a couple…

Yamaha has teased us quite a lot over the years with its offering into the supernaked class, only for the final product to ultimately disappoint. First there was the FZS1000 Fazer, which turned out to be a good but wobbly do-it-all rather than the hairy-chested naked R1 we all hoped for. This was updated into the FZ1, which was more on the money but let us down by dull styling, poor suspension, and dodgy fuelling. In 2016 Yamaha promised again to give riders the ‘naked R1’ they craved, and this time it delivered. The MT-10 is far, far more than some cynical naked lash-up. Finally, this is a supernaked from Yamaha that has been considered and thoroughly developed and, as a result, it absolutely hits the nail on the head.…

Q I was out enjoying a ride on my Triumph Daytona 675 a few months ago. I was on my way home when I lost control and fell off. At the time I had no idea what had happened, the bike literally just went from underneath me! I picked myself up, dusted myself down and some other drivers stopped to help. It turned out I had hit a road sign that was face down in the road. The rear of the sign is grey in colour, so it was invisible to me when I ran over it. My bike lost traction, I guess I must have been braking at the time, but it literally happened in a split second. The police turned up and apparently they have some CCTV of…