Rossi tribute
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Bolt on M1
Words Emma Franklin Photography Mark Manning
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the guys at Yamaha’s prototype
workshop are going to be chuffed with Lyndon Bishop’s two-wheeled Rossi tribute
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Porky pillions make this sort of caper easier
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How does weigHt really affect my bike?Lighter equals quicker, but by how much? We test how bolt-on mods and rider weight really affects outright performance
Words Emma Franklin Photography Mark Manning
f orget airbrushed images of size zero wenches, it’s Honda we
have to thank for all this teenage girl-like obsession with
weight. Whether it’s lusting after slimline subframes,
ditching your lead-acid battery for a lithe lithium-polymer or craving
carbon, we’re all slaves to the scales.
Design genius Tadao Baba kicked it all off with the development of
the FireBlade in 1989. A weight-conscious Baba harangued and
bullied his design engineers into making key components lighter
and lighter. For him a sports bike couldn’t be a sports bike unless it
was lightweight. As a result his revolutionary FireBlade was a
staggering 205kg fully-fuelled, which was 39kg lighter than any of
its competition at the time. With that the great weight race was born
and all the manufacturers eventually reached for the SlimFast.
Now, as the limits of the internal combustion engine are in sight
and the yearly increases in peak power seem to be slowing,
manufacturers have once again shifted their focus to weight.
Advances in materials technology have allowed development teams
to shave off weight with each and every update. Just look at what
Suzuki achieved with the latest GSX-R600. Nowadays a fully fuelled
litre bike can weigh as little as 194kg and 1000cc prototype GP
machinery weighs less than a fully-lagered Johnny Vegas.
Te smallest GP whippet of them all Dani Pedrosa, combined with
his 230bhp 2012 Honda RC213V, weigh an incredible 208kg. 4kg of
this is additional ballast stipulated by DORNA after a last minute
regulation change meant the RC213V came in shy of the minimum
weight limit for this season. Tis means the bike itself weighs just
153kg and Dani a mere 51kg. You don’t need to be Carol Vordeman to
work out the maths here; it’s a simple power-to-weight ratio
calculation. A bike’s weight divided by its power provides the ratio
and the higher the ratio the more power the engine can devote to
acceleration. It’s Newton’s second law of motion – simple high school
physics - or at least it is on paper. It’s only when you start to think
about the practicalities that the weight debate really starts to fry
your noodle… using low fat oil, of course.
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Highly-tuned singles tearing the Cumbrian air apart. Hardcore supermoto fans are still creating mayhem at little-known kart tracks
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The 955/1050 moTor
engineS
“If you want power you need a last generation 955 engine post-2001 – they made the best power with the 2001 Daytona topping the tree. They are completely different to the early 955 (which had a piggy-back alternator rather than one on the end of the crank) and you can get 140bhp out of them fairly easily, even 160bhp with some work. The 1050 is simply a stroked late 955 engine, it is essentially the same motor with a few alterations to cams etc. PB’s project Triumph has an early 955 engine – the wrong one for racing!”
releaSing The 1050’S poWer
“I honestly wouldn’t bother tuning a 1050 motor, just get it set up correctly. The throttle bodies need careful setting up, the close loop/throttle adaption sorting and possibly a race can and they will make good power and torque, around 118bhp. I do take the cats out of the exhaust but it is mainly for show, the gains are only 1-2bhp, nothing like as good as the Daytona 675, and again I don’t use Power Commanders.”
gearing
“Down one tooth on the front for the track, one up for the road – the engine has loads of torque and can easily handle another tooth on the front.”
SuSpenSion
“The R’s suspension is the proper Öhlins stuff, so if you can get your hands on it second hand then it’s top quality, however I wouldn’t recommend buying it new. In my view a better use of your money would be to get the stock
stuff re-valved.”
WaTch ouT For
“As with the 675 motor the 12,000 mile service is crucial, so check the service history, but if the engine sounds healthy and it goes in and out of gear fine then you will be ok. The motor is bullet-proof so check the chassis well. The piston are known to seize in the calipers, I make stainless steel pistons for about £10 each that prevent this happening, and the fork stanctions can become pitted. The suspension linkages seize up like you wouldn’t believe and cost a fortune to sort out – easily £300. The needle race in the linkage gets knackered if it isn’t greased during the 12,000 mile service and by 24,000 it will be screwed. People talk about the centre piston over-heating on triples, this may have happened on the very early carbed bikes but on the injected water-cooled models it isn’t a problem.”
regulaTor/recTiFierS
“The regulator/rectifiers aren’t very good and often have issues and so do the stators. If you buy OE you are looking at £350 for a stator and £250 for the reg/rec. Pattern ones are cheaper but they don’t last as long as OE ones. You can get an OE one re-wound for £150 but personally I’d keep an eye on eBay for a good second hand unit, which will be about £50. I’d rather have a second hand original stator than a pattern or re-wound unit.”
oe or paTTern?
“I’d use genuine fork and brake seals, but bearings from a specialist as Triumph charge a fortune. Always use OE filters.”
955/1050 moTor: Which iS beST?
WhaT engine iS beST?
‘If you want power you need a last-generation (post-2001) 955 engine – they made the best power with the 2001 Daytona topping the tree. They are completely different to the early 955 (which had a piggy-back alternator, rather than one on the end of the crank) and you can get 140bhp out of them fairly easily, even 160bhp with some work. The 1050 is simply a stroked late 955 engine. It is essentially the same motor with a few alterations to cams etc.
Tuning
‘I wouldn’t bother tuning a 1050 motor, just get it set up correctly. The throttle bodies need careful setting up, the close loop/throttle adaption sorting and possibly a race can, and they will make good power and torque, around 118bhp. I take the cats out of the exhaust, but it’s mainly for show, the gains are only 1 to 2bhp, nothing like as good as the 675 and, again, I don’t use Power Commanders.’
Final gearing
‘Go down one tooth on the front for track use, and one up for the road – the engine has loads of torque and can easily handle another tooth on the front sprocket.’
SuSpenSion
“The R’s suspension is the proper Öhlins stuff. It’s top quality, so if you see it for sale secondhand, buy it. However, I wouldn’t recommend buying it new. Getting the stock stuff revalved is the best bet and will cost a lot less than buying new stuff.’
WaTch ouT For...
‘As with the 675 motor the 12,000 mile service is crucial, so check the service history, but if the engine sounds healthy and it goes in and out of gear fine then you will be okay. The motor is bullet-proof so check the chassis well. The pistons are known to seize in the calipers, I make stainless steel pistons for about £10 each that prevent this happening, and the fork stanchions can become pitted. The suspension linkages seize up like you wouldn’t believe and cost a fortune to sort out – easily £300. The needle race in the linkage gets knackered if it isn’t greased during the 12,000 mile service and by 24,000 it will be totally screwed. People talk about the centre piston overheating on triples, this may have happened on the very early carbed bikes but on the fuel-injected water-cooled models it isn’t a problem.’
regulaTor/recTiFierS...
‘The regulator/rectifiers aren’t very good and often suffer problems, and so do the stators. If you buy OE, you’re looking at £350 for a stator and £250 for the reg/rec. Pattern ones are cheaper, but they don’t last as long. You can get an OE one re-wound for £150, but personally I’d keep an eye on eBay for a good secondhand unit, which will be about £50. I’d rather have a secondhand original stator than a pattern or re-wound unit.’
oe or paTTern?
‘I’d use genuine fork and brake seals, but bearings from a specialist, as Triumph charge a fortune. Always use OE filters.’
SeaT loWering
‘If you’re struggling to reach the ground then
drop the forks 15mm through the yokes and
take a bit of preload off the front and rear.
Tat’s simple enough. Te clever bit involves
the suspension bolts. Each bolt has a bit of
play in its mounting hole. When the bike is
assembled it is off the ground, so the play
makes the bike sit higher. I loosen each
suspension bolt and re-torque them with the
bike on the ground. This drops it by around
12 to 15mm. It makes all the difference and
doesn’t effect the handling. This trick works
on most models of Triumph.’
mainTenance
‘During a major 12,000 mile service the
suspension linkages should be stripped,
cleaned and greased. If this hasn’t been
carried out, they can seize. A non-Triumph
dealer won’t be able to balance the throttle
butterflies or use the autoscan properly, so
ensure this has been done. Valve clearances
need to be checked at 12,000 miles and a lot
of bikes are sold at 11,000 or 23,000miles to
avoid the £600+ cost of the big service.
When buying secondhand check the service
history for stamps from official dealers.’
Fuel mapping
‘I hate Power Commanders. I reckon you are
better off using the standard maps from
people like Arrow. I look at the bike’s
parameters, mainly the air/fuel ratio, and
reprogramme the stock ECU to compensate.’
ThroTTle Slack & body balance
‘Triumph say the throttle cable should have
2-3mm slack in it, which I think is a bit too
much. I reduce this but ensure there is
enough free play so that the throttle doesn’t
open at all when the bars are on full-lock –
if it does the throttle adaption system will
make the bike run poorly. Always ensure the
throttle bodies are balanced, this makes a
huge difference to the power delivery.’
engine Tuning
‘If you are racing then skimming the head
and porting will get you into the 125bhp+
area, while a full supersport tune, which
involves cams and so on, is nearer 135bhp.
I’ve heard the BSS Triumphs are putting out
over 143bhp but that’s big money.’
SuSpenSion
‘Te 675’s forks and shock are really good as
standard. I’d recommend nothing more
than a Maxton re-valve on the forks (£250
to £300) and a Maxton shock for about
£500, that’s the most I’d spend. On a Street
Triple, where you have no adjustability on
the forks, I’d get them re-valved. You can fit
Daytona forks, but they will still require
re-valving to suit the naked bike. If you swap
the forks you will need to use the Daytona
radial calipers but the stock Street wheels
will fit and the discs are the same size. Te
shocks are all interchangeable, it’s only the
springs that are different between Street
and Daytona models. Don’t bother messing
around with dropping the forks on the
Daytona or Street Triple, you’ll only end up
making the bike unstable.”
Final gearing
‘For track use, go down one tooth on the
front sprocket, which is simple as it doesn’t
require the chain being split.’
Right: Suspension linkages can seize knackering the needle bearing (in Clive’s right hand) if not greased at 12,000 miles; Below right: Losing the cat and the exhaust valve can release as much as 10bhp; Bottom right: Stators can be a problem (the one on the left has had it) and OE ones are expensive. Winding won’t last, so eBay is the answer
47
Isle of Man TT Hot shots
Michael’s literally flying through Rhencullen on his way to winning Supersport race 2 – his third TT victory
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I n 2008 the TT press gurus came up
with a publicity campaign to get more
young fans interested in the event.
They developed the idea that a posse of
‘Young Guns’ were coming to beat the
established stars like John McGuinness,
Bruce Anstey and Ian Lougher.
But one rider fell under the radar, too
young even to be a ‘Young Gun’. Michael
Dunlop, son of TT legends Robert and
nephew of Joey, only made his debut on the
Island in 2007 at the tender age of 18.
The wild child of road racing has taken the
event by the scruff of the neck in the half
decade since, winning three TTs on privately
entered machines (and breaking down while
leading twice as many). Michael’s maverick
style hasn’t always impressed those self
same publicity gurus who thought up the
Young Guns campaign. His methods may be
at odds with some of the more shiny
corporateness of the new TT but in a year
when the old guard of McGuinness, Anstey
and Rutter dominated the TT once again,
Dunlop’s third victory in the 2012
Supersport race was a breath of fresh air.
With Martin Finnegan tragically gone
from the original Young Guns line-up and so
many of the rest appearing in the list of the
walking wounded, Dunlop may now be the
only man standing in the way of
McGuinness closing down on his Uncle
Joey’s all-time record of 26 wins. Legendary
TT snapper and news hound Stephen
Davison followed the angry young man’s
trials, tribulations and triumphs at TT 2012,
getting the inside track on what makes the
maverick the fastest kid on the Mountain.
‘John’s getting closer to beating Joey’s record...
but not if I have anything to do with it’
At the tender age of 23, Michael Dunlop already has three TT wins under hisbelt. This is the story behind his most recent victory, where he explains whyhe’s the only man who can stop McGuinness taking his Uncle Joey’s record
Words and photography Stephen Davison
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Isle of Man TT Hot shots
Dark clouDs…
The sun shone throughout practice week but it seemed as if a black cloud was sitting over the Dunlop awning. No matter how hard he tried Michael couldn’t find his rhythm or the speed to run with the fast boys.
‘There’s bits of the Mountain that I am good at and there’s places where I’m shite,’ he explained in his typically forthright manner.
One unique TT moment did offer some light relief though. During the opening riders’ briefing an official explained that one new hazard the racers might encounter on the course was a wallaby. During the winter some of the errant marsupials had escaped from the wildlife park at Quarry Bends!
light on the horizon
Dunlop’s long time sponsor, Gary Ryan, had split from his young protégé during last winter, but having watched Michael struggle for speed with the GSX-R600 at the North West 200 the Dublin businessman felt moved to act.
‘I saw Michael on TV and he was riding far too hard to make up for the lack of power,’ said Gary. ‘I just thought if he rides like that at the TT he won’t be coming home again.’
The cavalry arrived on the Tuesday afternoon ferry from Dublin complete with a new Yamaha R6. That evening Michael was back in the groove at Greeba Castle, eventually lapping at over 124mph.
The GSX-R600 needed to be ridden hard to get the most out of it, but salvation came in the form of a new R6 donated by a sponsor
Michael cranks his new R6 into the sunlight
at Greeba Castle
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By Jon Urry Photography Paul Bryant
New
StuffSilencer
Constructed from titanium, the silencer has the Akrapovic logo lazer-etched on its side and is designed to mimic the WSB team’s exhaust. The Road and Race silencer can’t be fitted to the stock headers, however BMW sell a different slip-on Akrapovic pipe for £700, which looks identical and can be matched to the stock headers.
removeable
baffle
To make it road legal, Akrapovic have fitted the silencer with a removable baffle – or dB eater as they so aptly describe it.
BMW S1000RR Akrapovic Road and Race titanium exhaust systemCost: £2324.54
Contact: BMW UK
www.bmw-motorrad.co.uk
BMW have handed over the duties of making the S1000RR go faster and sound better to exhaust specialist Akrapovic and here are the fruits of the Slovenian firmÕs labours.
Derived from the HP race system, the Road and Race Akrapovic headers and intermediate pipe are made from titanium and weigh 5.7kg less than the stock BMW system, yet still contain all the gubbins to make them road homologated. So, inside the stunning pipework lies a catalytic converter and exhaust control valve, and the system even comes with the necessary control cables to make it all work.
While previously you only had the choice of a road-legal or race exhaust to match your headers, BMW have added a dual-purpose silencer for 2012, which basically means it has a removeable baffle. Leave it in and youÕll keep your neighbours (and track noise monitors) happy, while the bikeÕs power will be unaffected. Remove them and, with the special BMW ECU update, you should gain around 5lb.ft more midrange between 5000 and 9000rpm, as well as a far fruitier racket!
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Tyre launch Continental Race Attack Comp
Conti’s German test facility has 140mph banking... ...a wet handling track (not necessary in the UK)... ...and is surrounded by well-surfaced local twisties
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