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Quick men in quest of the quickest sportbike

DON CANET

TESTING MOTORCYCLES may be a dream job, but it does have its restless nights. Returning to Spain for “Master Bike,” Europe’s most prestigious sportbike comparison test, was an opportunity for me to settle some unfinished business and set the record straight after last year’s poor twist of fate. Readers may recall how last time I limped home from the annual mega-shootout held at the Circuito de Jerez with a leg set in plaster.

When your job description entails flirting with the limits of tire adhesion, accidents are bound to happen. This particular dues installment, however, didn’t result from my right wrist applying more twist than the edge of the rear tread would take, nor pushing a braking point impossibly deep. Nah, after nearly three days of intensive timed laps without incident, I was caught out in a moment of distraction and haste, careening off scaffolding positioned on a narrow service road while rushing back to the pits to address a mechanical problem. Serves me right for looking down at the problem rather than up the road, I’ll admit, but adding insult to injury, I later saw some of the participating Euro mags had distilled it all down to “the American being the only one to crash out of the running.” Damn! I didn’t even hit the ground, managing a big save after ricocheting off the structure. Well, at least I do my my own legwork, so to speak. As with the ’01 event, Master Bike 2002 seemed like an FIM-sanctioned affair, as nearly half of the participating publications enlisted ringers.. .er, professional racer representation, on their behalf. As you might imagine, the competitive air helps squeeze the last ounce of performance from the bikes. And in all honesty, it sure lit a fire under my butt! With the Grand Prix circuit at Jerez undergoing reconstruction, this year’s event moved to the Circuito de Alméria, also located in the south of Spain. The 2.5-mile, 14-tum layout winds its way around and over gently rolling terrain, making for some tricky camber changes and a few blind crested curves. Technical. The first five people I exchanged holas with upon my arrival at the track proceeded to wam me of Alméria’s difficult learning curve. I politely thanked them for their input, but having grown up on tracks like Sears Point Raceway and Laguna Seca, I’m no stranger to such challenge.

Organized (right down to the Coca-Cola umbrella girls) by Motociclismo, Spain’s leading motorcycle magazine, this year’s test was a collaborative effort involving a dozen different nationalities. Think of it as the “Tower of Bable Bike Test.” Cycle World was the only English-language representative... well, there was Australian Motorcycle News, but then I can’t understand half of what Editor Ken Wootton is saying anyway.

“G’day mate!”

Er, it’s raining Ken, hadn’t you noticed?

“Hey, Don, those Coke shielas look half orright, doncha reckon...”

And this from a bloke whose country has given us the likes of Gardner, Doohan, Mladin, Gobert, et al. I had more success understanding my Spanish hosts.

On a serious note, if you’re looking to gain real-world advice on your next streetbike purchase, Master Bike’s hardcore format may not offer much. The whole point of the exercise is to determine the year’s absolute best on-the-edge road-course performer. Comfort, fit-and-finish, fuel mileage, etc. are all out the window; we were after the world’s top repli-racer, the ultimate track-day tool.

Three categories made up the mix: Supersport, consisting of a 748cc V-Twin cast in with a quartet of 600 Fours; Superbike, with a 750 and a pair of lOOOcc Twins; and the Open Class, four liter-class Fours.

Conspicuously absent was last year’s overall runner-up, the Aprilia RSV Mille R. Word had it the Italian firm opted out in a protest of Ducati being allowed to field a limited-production 998R. Some speculated it may have been the organizer’s stricter policing of entries meeting standard performance specification that led to Aprilia’s withdrawal. In jest, one of Ducati’s crew offered his view of the situation, suggesting factory rider Nori Haga needed the “stock” Mille testbike for that weekend’s Sugo, Japan, World Superbike round! In any case, Aprilia’s presence was missed.

Manufacturers were allowed to tend to their machines, but each entry was put through a technical inspection to root out any ringers. Bikes were run on Motociclismo's dyno to insure maximum horsepower didn’t exceed the published homologated figure by more than 3 percent. Sound levels and exhaust-gas emissions were also verified to be within certified norms. To eliminate the possibility of electronic wizardry, each fuel-injected model’s ECU was replaced with a like unit purchased from dealerships selected at random. Bikes were subject to repeat scrutinizing at any time during the event.

Everyone was given equal footing, with Metzeler Sportec M-l radiais fitted to all bikes. Tires were replaced at regular intervals throughout the event in an effort to maintain optimum performance. Given

that it’s a for-real supersport street tire and not a “DOT slick,” I was quite impressed with the M-l’s grip and handling characteristics on the track. A true testament to its street prowess, a cold M-l is amazingly quick-even when spankin’ new and unscuffed-to get a grip on the situation; half a lap will do ya! I’d recommend these tires for any sport rider.

We started off slowly-relatively speaking-with the Supersports. A relief, since a couple dozen laps aboard a GSX-R600 the previous afternoon was all the familiarization time I’d had with the circuit. As luck had it, my first timed session came aboard the same bike. Thereafter, each bike I rode was a quick study, as we were allowed two warm-up laps followed by five timed laps.

Blessed with a chassis that rider surveys rated second in class to the Ducati 748R, the Gixxer 600 proved quickest for the majority of riders, myself included, though it didn’t set the outright best lap time. Engine revs need to remain above 10,000 to get off comers with authority, throttle response drew comments for being too abmpt, and several riders had issues with the front brake. “Too much stroke before the brakes start,” said Christer Lindholm, a three-time German Superbike champ representing Scandinavian magazine Bike. “Even with the lever positioned on 1, fade allowed it to come back very close to the handlebar.”

I rotated onto the Yamaha YZF-R6 next, another bike that drew praise for its nimble handling and excellent feedback. “Most agile of the 600 Supersport bikes,” commented Frenchman Laurent Cochet of Moto Journal. I found the R6 easy to move around on, giving the bike a feeling of being smaller and lighter than the other 600s. I also found shortshifting useful, as the R6 engine lays down a bit above 14,000 rpm. But its 2000 rpm worth of “over-rev” came in handy through a couple sections that required a brief upshift on the other 600s. Speaking of shifting, the R6’s clunky action didn’t slip by anyone unnoticed. “Harsh! Worst gearbox yet!” noted Jörg Schüller, from the German publication PS.

Another World Supersport stalwart, Ducati’s 748R, felt more track-ready than the 600 Fours-a credit to its superb Öhlins suspension. “One of my favorite bikes at Almería,” said Wootton. “It’s possible to maintain high comer speed and ride straight over any bumps.” I also found the Italian Twin extremely tractable driving out of comers and trustworthy when braking deep on entry. While having that distinct V-Twin character, the 748 engine runs much smoother than the liter-class Twins. “Very usable powerband from 9000 to 11,500 rpm,” noted Gerhard Lindner, former German champion and World Endurance competitor, now the chief tester for Motorrad magazine. “Very fast bike. Chassis by far the best of these five for the racetrack.”

Quick Pick

Editors' choice for Best Blaster

GSX-R750’s. -Christer Lindholm, Bike, Sweden

Suzuki 750, because it allows me to exploit my

By contrast, Honda’s CBR600F4Í felt the least track-ready in its standard trim. Limited cornering clearance was the prime issue for fast or heavy riders. All agreed the CBR is an easy bike to ride, but better suited to public road use. Wootton, the tester with the least recent track experience, underscored that. “Very neutral handling,” he remarked after setting his personal best time of the category aboard the CBR.

Clocking-in slightly quicker than the F4i-for most riders-Kawasaki’s ZX-6R allowed full-tilt lean without grounding its exhaust can in the critical right-hander leading onto the long backstraight. With the Euro-market 6R displacing 636cc (is that Supersport-legal?), this Kawi flexed its muscles throughout the rev range on the dyno. Strangely, though, ontrack impressions didn’t leave a single rider raving about the ZX’s motor, while virtually everyone complained of front-end shudder under hard braking.

Noisy shifts aside, the screamin’ Yammie cut fast time among the Supersports, and thus earned a transfer to the final shootout.

Things heated up on Day 2. Not only were Superbike and Open-Class winners to be decided, but only the six quickest men would be suiting up for the third day’s Master Bike Finale

Without any acclimation laps to adjust to an OpenClasser’s higher speed, I was cast from the frying pan straight onto Honda’s Fireblade, known to us as the CBR954RR. Light on its feet and neutral in handling, the ’Blade proved a good remedy for jet lag. “Adrenaline bike!” remarked Claudio Corsetti of Italy’s Moto Sprint. “It seems like a 600, but with a lot of power.” Enough power to demand your full attention as drivelash and a hint of onthrottle abruptness required a steady hand when skirting the limits of tire adhesion.

Morning calisthenics came next aboard Kawasaki’s ZX9R. Physically larger and heavier-handling than its peers, the big Ninja really needs to be wrestled around a busy circuit like Alméria. The ZX had more drivelash than the others and, like its smaller sibling, suffered from front-end shudder under racetrack braking. “Too touristic for racing,” said Schüller, “but maybe the best choice for everyday use.”

My third ride of the morning came aboard last year’s winner, the mighty Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Since tires were subjected to three rider rotations before replacement, I had drawn the short straw in regard to the Big Gixxer’s grip. Getting all 147 horsepower to the asphalt proved a challenge. “Too much power everywhere!” exclaimed Femado Cristóbal, Motociclismo's Road & Racing Tester. “You’re sliding all the time!” With an extensive racing background, including 500cc Grand Prix experience, the likable Spaniard carries distinction as the “man to match” at Master Bike each year.

A quick time aboard the GSX-R1000 would be imperative if I hoped to advance myself to the final, yet I sensed it all slipping away. The rear tire had given its best to the previous two riders, Cristóbal and Barry Veneman, himself a veteran of last year’s 500cc GPs and current World Supersport campaigner, now looking to take a stab at journalism as a freelance tester for Dutch magazine Kicxstart. As noted, Metzeler’s Sportec M-l is impressive, but the ground-pounder GSX-R1000 underscores the fact it’s not a tme race tire.

Following the skatey Suzook, I was hooked up with fresh rubber aboard the Yamaha YZF-R1. Ah, what an improvement over last year’s R1 in both handling and power delivery! Yamaha must have learned from others’ mistakes, because in its first year, the Rl’s fuel-injection is already at the top of the EFI heap. “Very good injection, super-smooth, excellent!” voiced Veneman. Such controllable power delivery without abruptness in response allowed early throttle application exiting comers. The revised R1 chassis showed

its worth too, with solid stability and ample agility that carried me to my personal best time on the day and a berth in the Finale. Thanks, YZF.

In the end, though, all but vo of the 12 riders cut their best times aboard the GSXR1000 and it posted the quickest lap overall, making it the definitive Open-Class winner.

On to the Superbikes. For the high-buck Italian beauty it is, Ducati’s $30,000 998R seriously takes a bath in terms of performance for the dollar, although you do get top-shelf suspension and brake components for your money. “The best front fork of the test,” noted Corsetti. The race-spec Öhlins unit allowed full use of the competition-grade Brembo front stoppers, as well. Several riders noted understeer in comers and a slight difficulty in changing line. While the 999cc engine pulls strongly through the midrange right to its 10,400-rpm rev limit, the electronic rev-limiter

cuts out much too abmptly. I found the mere possibility of bumping the limiter while leaned way over driving off a comer very disconcerting, as it could cause a sudden shift of weight onto the front tire. Even worse, imagine the rear tire stepping out and spinning up into the rev-limiter, the result being the same snapback-whip that comes from chopping the throttle.

I felt more at ease ringing out the Honda VTR1000 SP2, our RC51. Much improved over last year, the VTR still gathered mixed reviews in direct comparison to the 998R.

Some liked its ultra-flat power delivery, but most preferred the meatier Ducknever mind that it costs three times as much (say, maybe Aprilia had a point...). “The brakes are the best part of the bike,” said Alberto Pires of Motociclismo Portugal. “The rear end is the worst part, not secure and tending to slide all the time.” Several riders complained of missed upshifts going into third, and everyone voiced distaste for the Honda’s LCD bar-graph rev counter. And as they say, the transponder doesn’t lie, recording the VTR as slowest in class for all 12 riders.

I’d like to say the best was saved for last, but my final stint of the day aboard the Suzuki GSX-R750 was plagued with mechanical ills. One of the circuit’s trickier comer combinations is a series of three right-handers cresting a blind rise that at speed becomes one triple-apex arc. A delicate downshift from third to second gear is required midway through while the bike is at full lean. Not a good place to catch a false neutral as the Gixxer did nearly every lap with me aboard. Not only that, but the throttle felt unusually stiff. Despite my own shattered confidence with the GSX-R750, it was quickest in class while carrying a vast majority of testers to their personal best times in the category. “The opposite of the Twins, with less power at mid revs, but a fantastic top-end,” said Cochet. “The front end is very good. You can ask a lot from the front tire without being worried.”

Overnight, our three finalists-Yamaha YZF-R6, Suzuki GSX-R750 and GSX-R1000-were prepped and polished for a final day’s flog. After I reported the 750’s problems to Suzuki’s mechanics, they found that the GSX-R’s throttle cable was misrouted and the bolt securing the shift-detent star to the shifting dmm had come loose. Nobody else noticed?

Twelve months is a long wait, but I had earned redemption and a place in the Finale among the fast company of Lindholm, Cristóbal, Lindner, Venemen and Tosiyuki Arakaki, representing Japan’s Big Machine magazine and yet another former 500 GP man. Each rider put in another five timed hot laps on each of the class winners to determine an overall victor for 2002.

Although the Yamaha R6 laid down an impressively quick time with Lindholm at the controls, it came as no surprise that the contest really boiled down to a family feud between the two Gixxers. And it was hair-splittingly close! I was mere hundreths of a second quicker on the 750, while the broadest gap between the Suzukis for any one rider was just four-tenths of a second. Three guys did their quickest lap on the 1000, while three others, myself included, found the 750’s balance of power and agility to be the best tool for carving up Almeria. “My favorite!” exclaimed Lehner. “Very easy to control, not so brutal like the 1000.”

In the end, it was Cristóbal, upholding his mantle of “Master Biker,” who set a blistering pace on the Suzuki GSX-R750, this year’s Master Blaster. □