Doohan For A Day
Doohan for a Day
RIDING MICK'S NSR500
DON CANET
AS A TEENAGER LIVING IN THE SIERRA NEVADA mountains, there was a time I fancied myself following in the ski tracks of Olympic gold medalist Franz Klammer, the Austrian downhill racer whose spectacular balls-out performance in the 1976 Winter Games astonished the world. Heroic displays of men at speed have always captivated young imaginations.
These days, my fantasy of Olympic glory has long since melted away, but I still find myself daydreaming of highspeed heroes-and the machines they race. Countless times, Fve sat wondering what would it be like to ride a 500 GP bike. I recently gained a bit of insight about that from the very saddle Mick Doohan occupied in winning the 1994 500cc World Roadracing Championship.
Sure, I'd heard the tales of how fearsome 500s are to ride. Powerful, peaky machines that chew tires and spit luckless riders off the high side without remorse. Still, 1 jumped at the opportunity to finally see for myself, to separate fact from folklore-of course, when I was a kid, 1 once questioned whether the skillet handle was really as hot as Mom would have me believe.
As I embarked for Japan and my date with the NSR at the Honda-owned Suzuka Circuit, I found comfort in the knowledge that even a 500’s throttle works in both directions. My plan was to dial in only as much excitement as I could stand. Besides, since the introduction of Honda’s Big-Bang motor in ’92, in which the closely spaced firing order of its four cylinders delivers tractable power similar to that of a large Single, the NSR has reportedly become a much more manageable ride.
Even so, riding Doohan’s NSR500 was truly a lesson in throttle control. Its light-action, quick-turn twistgrip demands the sort of respect given a hairtriggered automatic rifle. Either of these weapons in shaky hands could unleash a burst of fury with grave consequences.
Having no prior 500 experience or time at Suzuka, attempting to lay down Doohan-like darkies off corners would have been pure foolishness. I did, however, experience an occasional hint of wheelspin, enough to gain an appreciation for how little throttle is required to break the NSR loose on comer exits. I was simply amazed at the amount of time spent at less than half-throttle during a lap of the 3.6-mile circuit. Only on the two long straights was I inclined to give it full-twist and hold it there. Elsewhere I was usually feeding the throttle on, steadily and gently, and grabbing another gear before the throttle ever neared the stops. Staying within the engine’s effective powerband, spanning 8000 to 12,500 rpm, was never a problem. Even so, Honda claims it gets better, as this bike didn’t have the water-injection system used by Doohan at the final GP of ’94. The experimental system is said to provide 10 more horsepower in the midrange, filling in a dip in the power curve. This is done by injecting water into each exhaust pipe just outboard the exhaust port, cooling the pipe and slowing the gases, thus fooling the engine into thinking the pipe is longer.
Yeow, just what I needed, more midrange. As it was, driving off slower corners provided all the wheelie action 1 could cope with. A quick succession of shortshifts helped keep the front wheel near the pavement when exiting the first-gear Hairpin and Chicane. A second-gear exit out of Degner Curve, a tight right feeding under the back-straight bridge, had me kissing the fuel tank as the front violently snapped skyward. Using third the next time around smoothed both the power delivery and my pulse rate.
As you might expect from a works racer, shifting action was tight and precise, although I was surprised by the NSR’s liberal amount of drive-train lash. This was quite noticeable when getting back on the gas in the low gear Hairpin and Chicane. In both sections, cracking the throttle open ever so gently when the bike was heeled over full-tilt felt unsettling due to the sudden hit of power accented by the drive lash. I imagine Doohan’s heavy use of the rear brake effectively dampens the lash and smooths on-power transitions.
The emphasis Doohan puts on the rear brake is underscored by the unorthodox actuation system fitted to his NSR. Complications in the healing of Doohan’s right leg, broken at the '92 Dutch GP, left it severely bowed and without mobility in the ankle. This hampered his ability to effectively operate the brake pedal. The handicap was soon overcome by adopting a clever system in which his left thumb actuates a lever located just below the left handgrip. In actual practice, this method appears to offer certain benefits: A gloved thumb provides better feel and sensitivity than a booted foot; also, operating a conventional foot pedal deep into a right-hand corner can be awkward while hanging off the bike. Not a problem with the “Doohan brake”.
Having my hands full as it was, I kept my thumb clear of the lever after an initial sampling of the system on my warm-up lap. The twin 12.6-inch Brembo carbon rotors and four-piston Brembo calipers up front provided all the stopping I could ask for. Using carbon-carbon brakes was another first for me. I was impressed with the light effort required at the lever to get the job done-true one-finger braking, and without the heat-sensitive servo effect I’d read so much about during the early days of carbon brakes.
Working the NSR500 through Suzuka’s set of mediumspeed double-esses gave a good indication of chassis agility. Although not exactly effortless, side-to-side transitions were quick and precise, with a feeling of rock-solid stability at all times. My most tense moments came under hard acceleration out of the increasing-radius sweeping right leading onto the pit straight. Here, while leaned over at well over 100 mph, the front wheel would tuck, recover, then tuck again as the tire caught air off a couple mild undulations in the track. Even here, the NSR chassis was forgiving, responding with a sharp twitch, but without a reverberant wobble as the cocked front wheel touched down.
Yeah man, who said 500s aren’t fun?
It certainly wasn't Mick Doohan, en route to nine wins in 14 GPs. The Aussie finished on the podium in every grand prix, earning 317 championship points, well clear of nearest rival, Yamaha-mounted Luca Cadalora, with 174. Such results speak for themselves: You don’t need the likes of me to tell you Mick Doohan’s NSR500 is one hell of a ride.
But believe me, the skillet handle was, in fact, very hot.
