Civil War

CIVIL WAR

The importance of being Italian

Testing 13 current sportbikes on a pristine circuit along the Mediterranean coast sounds like paradise. And it is-at least from where I was seated-however, it’s also serious business for the folks fielding the hardware.

Talk around the garage suggested Honda sportbike sales in southern-European countries will suffer due to both CBRs finishing last in their respective Master Bike categories. A shame, really, because not only were they nipping at the others’ heels, but a track-only test doesn’t address what real-world street riders truly need. Another example of the serious nature of this test came when Ducati, suspecting Aprilia’s .7-second-a-lap-quicker RSV was perhaps not entirely standard, requested the organizer impound all four bikes in the Superbike category and have them inspected at an independent technical center. Sort of a strange request, as neither the 999 nor the RSV had a hope of besting the Suzuki GSXR750, but then the Italians are a prideful lot and .7-second is .7-second. Of course, it didn’t look good for Aprilia when it was the only manufacturer to object to the impounding... In the end-after much hand gesturing, then ultimately smiles-a teardown was deemed unnecessary and the results of the timing stood. -Don Canet