Time Flies
TIME FLIES
Yesterday's news meets today's headlines
BRIAN CATTERSON
IT’S OFTEN BEEN SAID THAT THE OLDER YOU GET, THE FASTER TIME GOES BY. WELL, that must be true, because it seems like only yesterday Suzuki gave us the 1986 GSX-R1100, yet here’s the all-new-for-2001 GSX-R1000, forcing us to ask, once again, if we’re worthy.
Yep, every time we think sportbikes can’t get any more powerful, lighter, quicker or faster, the OEMs go and do it again. And this,year, they really went and did it!
To find out which of the current crop of Open-elassers is best, we headed to the Streets of Willow Springs handling course. Though slow’by racetrack standards, the Streets is our favorite test track because it packs a wide” variety of corner into its 1.7 miles. Plus, it’s much more real-world than the insanely fast Willow Springs International Raceway next door.
Gentlemen, choose your weapons...
APRILIA RSV MILLER
$17,299
Apps Italian styling, Japanese refinement Twin-cylinder grunt, fourcylinder zing & You feel like a million bucks on it owns V You need a million bucks to afford it (though the stand ard Mule costs $3400 less) V No passenger provisions ` Some disassembly required
APRILIA RSV MILLE R
Aprilia is a relative newcomer to the big-bore sportbike biz, yet in just four years its RSV Mille has become a serious contender in World Superbike racing and on the sales floor. Troy Corser came within a blown engine of winning the title last year, and swept this year’s series opener at Valencia, Spain. And last year, the Mille won Cycle World's 3x3 Twins shootout (“The Power of Two,” July, 2000), unseating the reigning King of the Twins, the Ducati 996, and defeating the upstart Honda RC51 as well.
This year, Aprilia claims to have made some 200 (!) improvements to the Mille, making it the most changed of the “holdover” models in this test. Many of those changes relate to the rider’s interface with the machine. The original Mille was a superb handler, but to go fast on it, you had to scoot back on the seat and crouch down over the fuel tank. This year, the Mille’s resin fuel tank was reshaped, shifting the rider’s weight lower and closer to the front tire. The bodywork was reshaped, too, the windscreen further shielding the rider from the windblast for less aerodynamic lift, the fairing sides and tailpiece sprouting wind-cheating ducts and heat vents.
As for the engine, new mapping in the Denso management system and a number ; of refinements to the intake tract have boosted output by a claimed 2 horsepow er. And the engine itself was raised 5mm in the frame, moving the crankshaft closer to the roll center. :~. Positioning the crank centerline level with the axles was said to be the secret to the Manx Norton's leg endary handling, and this philosophy still holds true today. :~•~ Other chassis changes include .5mm-greater rake and a 3mm-high er swingarm pivot for optimum chain ten sion and thus rear-wheel
traction.
For this test, Aprilia loaned us its flagship model, the single-seat Mille R. Upgrades over the standard model include an Öhlins fork, shock and steering damper, forged-aluminum wheels from automotive-sup-
plier O.L. (which one tire cnanger commented felt 5 pounds lighter than any other production streetbike wheel) and a smattering of carbon-fiber. The ensemble is painted in official factory Superbike colors,
Devil Black with Fluorescent Red striping (it’s also available in yellow/black), the overall look resembling a fighter aircraft. Well, an Italian one, anyway.
As was the case in last year’s 3x3 comparo, the Aprilia was “de-restricted” before testing commenced. As sold, the Mille is choked by airbox inlet and exhaust restrictors, which give it EPApleasing noise levels at the expense of power output. Removing these restrictions-and clipping a wire exiting the CPU to activate an alternate map-boosts power to competitive levels. Owing to legal concerns, an Aprilia
spokesperson told us this will be the last year the company’s bikes are sold in such form.
Our day at Willow started and ended with rain. And although we managed to get in a full day’s testing between showers, track conditions remained sketchy most of the day. As a result, we left the lap timers in the van and focused on the more subjective qualities of these machines.
Once you figure out the Mille’s odd, Euro-style killswitch and thumb the starter button, the Rotax-built 60-degree VTwin fires and settles into an uneven idle. Pull in the clutch lever and you’ll note that it pulsates oddly, a side effect of the Pneumatic Power Clutch (PPC). More on that later.
The beauty of a Twin is that you get the torque of a bigbore Four with little of the high-revving, wheel-spinning
antics. We appreciated this greatly in the morning, when the track still had damp patches. But we also appreciated this later in the day, by which time the Mille’s standard race-compound Pirelli Dragon Corsa
radiais were shagged.
The sensation from the Aprilia’s cockpit is all business, thanks in part to a racer-like seating position that is only slightly more comfortable than a 996. With your head tucked behind
the bubble, the sound is glorious, a mix of highrewing diesel noises and gear whine, like a tractortrailer headed for the runaway truck ramp. The close-ratio six-speed gearbox shifts flawlessly, and the aforementioned pneumatic clutch assist lets you get away with some serious sloppiness on downshifts, acting like the mechanical one-way “sprag” clutches employed on many racing Superbikes. Leave your braking too late and crowd your downshifts too close to the comer, and you can bang a couple in succession then just drop the clutch lever, and the Mille’s rear wheel won’t hop and unsettle the bike.
The scales showed the Aprilia to be the heaviest bike here, but you’d never guess that from the saddle. To the contrary, the Mille reminded us of a 250cc Grand Prix racer-just with a thumping big V-Twin shoehomed between its axles.
SUZUKI GSX-R 1000
$10,399
AlPS A Strongest A Lightest A Quickest A Fastest ownS v For experts only!
HONDA CBR929RR
$9999
4~,ps A Most affordable A Most comfortable A Most refined owns v Least exciting
Overall, the Aprilia was lauded as the easiest machine to ride quickly. It's so relaxing, in fact, that guest-tester Mark Cernicky ran an entire tank of gas through it in one go, checking each lap to see if anyone was flagging him in before gig gling and sneaking in another go-'round.
HONDA CBR929RR
Is it true that if you snooze, you lose?
Winner of last year’s 3x3 Open-class comparison (“Imbalance of Power,” July, 2000), the Honda CBR929RR has received only BNG (Bold New Graphics) for 2001. And frankly, those graphics might be a bit too bold. To a man, all of our testers detested our testbike’s Black/Pearl Yellow paint scheme, especially when the bike was parked in the vicinity of its rakish little brother, the CBR600F4Í. Better to go with the better-looking red/black combo, or spend an additional $ 1000 and spring for the limited-edition Erion Racing paint scheme that pays tribute to Kurds Roberts’ pair of AMA Formula Xtreme Championships.
Looks aside, however, the RR remains a winner. While it was no match for the Aprilia on the racetrack-due in large part to footpegs that drag early and often-its highly communicative “pivotless” chassis (that is, the swingarm pivots in the engine cases rather than the frame) “talks” to the rider, giving him a clear indication of what’s going on where the Bridgestones meet the road. Steering is impossibly light and neutral, the bike doing only what it is asked to, when it is asked to, whether on the brakes, on the gas, or anywhere in between. Yet this ease of handling comes with no tradeoff in terms of stability.
Hondas are routinely praised for their high level of refinement, and this is indeed the case with the 929. Everything from the thumbwheel-adjustable brake lever to the cableactuated clutch to the shift lever just feels right. All of the bikes in this group have exceptional brakes, but the RR’s possess the best feel. The only un-Honda-like qualities we detected were a slightly coarse engine note at low rpm and slightly abrupt throttle response exiting a couple of the
Streets’ tighter hairpins.
On the street, the 929 was everyone’s favorite, thanks to its comfortable, relatively upright seating position, smooth-running engine, superb suspension compliance and “tuned” chassis. Without question, the RR works best on bumpy roads, soaking up mid-corner ripples without chattering or deflecting.
The Honda only starts to pale when you compare it to its mega-motored competition. Then, its higher-revving character makes it feel, as guest-tester Ben Welch put it, “kinda like a 750.” In this group, that’s a death sentence.
SUZUKI GSX-R1000
If ever there were an obvious overdog, Suzuki’s new GSXR1000 is it. Consider this: It weighs just 20 pounds more than its 600cc sibling, yet makes 40 more horsepower, all in what is essentially the same-sized package. As a result of this mind-boggling power-to-weight ratio, the bigger Gixxer won every performance-related contest in this comparison.
In fact, its quarter-mile and top-speed numbers are closer to those of the reigning Speed King, the Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa, than to the other Open-classers here. And in a way, that’s what the GSX-R 1000 is: The first hyperbike that really handles.
In terms of handling, the 1000 is pure GSX-R. Like its smaller brothers, the 600 and 750, it possesses a “just-right” combination of steering effort and stability that makes it feel more solid than its competition. Some of this is no doubt due to the standard steering damper, a feature that both the Honda and Yamaha do without. The GSX-R’s Showa suspension is set firm for optimum sporting handling, which makes for a somewhat rough ride on the street. And the seating position is similarly racetrack-biased, with a fat fuel tank, low bars and high pegs that impede long-range comfort. But the solution is as near as your right wrist: Turn that sucker and you won’t have to spend much time droning in a straight line!
At the Streets, the GSX-R was complete and utter overkill-and we loved it for that! My most lasting memory of the day is accelerating down pit lane, shifting into second and having the front end come up in a lazy power-wheelie at an indicated 91 mph! It was so effortless, it was as though the Suzuki had just rolled out of bed, yawned, and said, “Oh, is it time to wake up now? Okay, then.”
YAMAHA YZF-R1
A Lively handling A Snappy performance `~owns v Abittoo lively handling v Abittoo snappy performance
$10,299
As is the case with a racing Superbike, riding the 1000 around the racetrack was an exercise in balancing absurd entry speed against tire-spinning exits. The only truly fast part of the Streets is going uphill toward Turn 1, and here the Suzuki’s speed was so breathtaking it was nearly impossible to judge your braking distance. If you’ve ever wondered why they use those big, numeric brake markers at Superbike races, this bike will show you the answer.
Having gotten the speed under control, you find that the GSX-R tums-in relatively easily and holds its line without fuss. Which is a good thing, because once you roll on the throttle to commence your comer exit, you’ll need that unruffled platform beneath you.
The most heard comment from our testers concerned their surprise at how low in the rev range the 1000 spins its rear tire, particularly in the lower-gear comers. The braver ones found that, as on a racing Superbike, they could simply point the bike at the curb and use wheelspin to arrive at whatever trajectory they desired. Not surprisingly, the 190mm-wide rear Bridgestone was torched before lunch.
On the street, that torque pays dividends of a different sort, letting you leave the tranny in one gear and just ride, like the lawnmower-engined minibike of your youth. Or more accurately, like a minibike with 40 or so lawnmower engines! That pretty much puts the GSX-R 1000’s performance into perspective, doesn’t it?
YAMAHA YZF-R1
Yamaha’s YZF-R1 set the sportbike world on its ear when it was introduced in 1998, and did so again when it received some 150 changes for 2000. This year, the tired engineers decided to rest on their considerable laurels. As such, the only change to the R1 is an optional Champions Limited Edition paint scheme (as seen on this issue’s test YZF-R6) that adds $500 to the price.
As was the case the last time we tested it, the R1 is the closest thing yet to a four-stroke 500cc GP bike: short, light, quick and explosive. And its angular styling continues to lead the league, at least compared to its Japanese counterparts (sorry, but the Italians just have a more sophisticated sense of style).
By stacking the transmission shafts one atop the other
instead of side by side, Yamaha’s JÊ S1WI.\ enS^neers gave the R1 a short
wheelbase and a long swingarm, both desirable features. Combine these with a steep steering-head angle, and the Rl’s handling is ultra-sharp. It tums-in so quickly, in fact, that you have to balance it with the throttle or risk running off the inside of the corner!
Thing is, when you open the throttle, you’d better be pointed in the right direction, because like a GP bike, the Rl’s front wheel gets light and starts pushing at surprisingly low revs. The obvious solution is to finish the comer by steering with the rear, but that’s not as simple on the R1 as it is on the GSX-R. In spite of its long swingarm, which is meant to optimize rear-tire traction under acceleration, the R1 tends to break its rear Dunlop loose in a succession of short, hard-to-manage slides instead of one continuous one. And without a steering damper to counter this herky-jerkiness, the R1 is prone to disconcerting headshake.
Much of this behavior is due to the Rl’s strong midrange hit, which allows effortless wheelies but makes a rider’s life hectic at a race pace. Yamaha’s own press materials use such phrases as “uncompromising” and “diabolical” to describe the Rl’s power delivery, so who are we to argue?
CONCLUSION
Which Open-class sportbike is best comes down to the familiar caveat, it depends on what you plan to do with it. If your Sunday-morning rides often extend into Sunday night, the Honda is the logical choice. It’s the only bike in this group that is truly comfortable enough for sport-touring, and its rough-road manners are above reproach. It’s a willing friend that is unlikely to turn on you when you get tired and your attention fades.
If you’re a sporty sort who likes a bike to make you feel fast, the Yamaha is the one for you. It’s lively handling and even livelier engine performance will fill your day with deeds of GP derring-do. Or at least visions thereof. Riding the R1 makes you feel like a racing hero.
If you like to go fast but feel like you’re going slow, the Aprilia is your weapon of choice. It’s the four-stroke motocrosser of this group, grunty and tractable yet snappy and relaxing. And it’s Italian, so you know it’s got style, though all that goodness comes at a high price.
But if you insist on the ultimate in sportbike performance, the Suzuki GSX-R 1000 is The One. Never before has the barely restrained ride of a racing Superbike been so available, or so affordable. Assuming your skills are up to the task, there’s no more exciting motorcycle. And probably won’t be until...well, next year, anyway.
