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NOVEMBER 2016 RSA R30.00<br />
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•2017 SUZUKI GSXR’S<br />
•2017 YAMAHA R6<br />
•2017 HONDA CBR1000RR SP’S<br />
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1002 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
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RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016 1
W E L C O M E THE TEAM:<br />
I type out this column feeling both excited and<br />
exhausted at the same time. Exhausted from<br />
waking up at 3.30am to watch Brad and Darryn<br />
Binder in action at Phillip Island and excited after<br />
the performances both riders put in.<br />
It was yet another action packed Moto3 race,<br />
this class really does not disappoint and both our<br />
SA boys did us proud once again.<br />
Brad dominated pretty much the entire<br />
weekend picking up his 5th pole position of the<br />
year followed by another great victory from start to<br />
finish. That was his 6th victory of what has been an<br />
incredible year for the champ.<br />
Younger brother Darryn picked up his best<br />
qualifying position of 8th on the grid and after a<br />
bad start to part one of the race, where he crashed<br />
heading into turn 2 taking a few riders down with<br />
him, he managed to remount and get his bike back<br />
to the pits and make the restart.<br />
Darryn then put in one of the best rides I have<br />
ever seen from any rider. He battled hard with 13<br />
other hungry young riders for the <strong>final</strong> podium<br />
position. Heading into the <strong>final</strong> 2 laps and Darryn<br />
was down in 12th position but fought his way up<br />
to 3rd on the <strong>final</strong> lap. He was so determined and<br />
some of the passes he made were world class!<br />
In the end he was pushed back to 4th place by<br />
the smallest of margins by Aaron Canet.<br />
Nevertheless it was a heroic ride from Darryn<br />
who on a bike that is only really capable of finishing<br />
10th at best, almost picked up a podium. No<br />
doubt there are bigger and better things to come<br />
from 18 year old Darryn and we are excited to<br />
be part of his journey just as we have been with<br />
Brad’s. Look out for EXCLUSIVE Darryn Binder<br />
merch coming soon!<br />
The MotoGP race once again threw up a few<br />
surprises with Marquez looking comfortable at the<br />
front before crashing out at the Melbourne loop<br />
once again. That put Crutchlow in the lead with<br />
a chasing Rossi behind him. I really did think that<br />
Rossi was going to reel the Brit in but Cal showed<br />
what a true talent he is and pulled away from the<br />
G.O.A.T. Cal went on to pick up his second win of<br />
the season in fine style, while Rossi admitted defeat<br />
and settled for second while Top Gun, Maverick<br />
Vinales, picked up yet another podium in 3rd.<br />
Great to see that MotoGP on such a high and<br />
long may it continue. I am really excited for the<br />
future, where I think we could possibly be seeing<br />
a factory KTM setup of Marc Marquez and Brad<br />
Binder in 2019. Yes, you read right. I really think<br />
Marquez has to make a move away from Honda<br />
at some stage if he is to prove to everyone that he<br />
truly is one of the greatest and I think the Redbull<br />
KTM setup, if they can get the bike competitive<br />
over the next couple of years, which I think they<br />
will, and this will be the perfect move for him as he<br />
has good ties with not only Redbull but also KTM<br />
from his early days in GP125.<br />
As for Brad, well, I think we all agree that he will<br />
be in MotoGP at some stage and I think it will be<br />
in 2019, after two years in Moto2 where me thinks<br />
he will be crowned champ in 2018. Yes it’s a bold<br />
statement but that’s how much I believe in this guy!<br />
Moving on to some local racing and my hopes<br />
of winning the 4, 8 and 12 hour races came to an<br />
end at the recent 12 hour race after a number of<br />
mishaps forced us to retire from the race.<br />
Such a pity as we were really a strong team and<br />
fastest on track most of the time. Oh well, it’s now<br />
time to focus on the 24 hour coming up on the<br />
10th and 11th of December where we are hoping<br />
to win back to back titles.<br />
This issue was very exciting for me to put<br />
together as we showcase all the big releases from<br />
the recent INTERMOT Show from Cologne.<br />
Finally Honda and Suzuki have released new<br />
1000cc sportsbikes, while Yamaha have unveiled a<br />
spectacular looking new R6 machine.<br />
We have all these and so many more releases<br />
featured in this issue - over 20 new models!<br />
2017 is going to be yet another exciting year for<br />
the sportsbike market and I cannot wait to swing<br />
my leg over these new machines.<br />
Let’s just hope Zuma keeps his mouth shut so<br />
that the prices do not skyrocket any higher.<br />
We have a couple of competitions on the go<br />
in this issue so make sure to check out page 29,<br />
where you can win a R3000 shopping voucher<br />
for MotoGP rider apparel from Gear4Speed and<br />
page 34 where it’s your last chance to enter the<br />
Antigravity race battery comp.<br />
Until next<br />
month, ride safe!<br />
EDITOR<br />
Rob Portman<br />
EDITOR & DESIGN:<br />
Rob Portman<br />
rob@ridefast.co.za<br />
082 782 8240<br />
ADVERTISING:<br />
Zenon Birkby<br />
zenon@ridefast.co.za<br />
074 104 1074<br />
ACCOUNTS &<br />
SUBSCRIPTIONS:<br />
Anette<br />
anette.acc@mweb.co.za<br />
011 979 5035<br />
CONTRIBUTORS:<br />
Sheridan Morais<br />
Brad Binder<br />
Darryn Binder<br />
Cam Petersen<br />
Richard Knowles<br />
Gerrit Erasmus<br />
Clive Strugnell<br />
TO SUBSCRIBE<br />
CALL 011 979 5035 OR EMAIL<br />
anette.acc@mweb.co.za<br />
Digital or print copy.<br />
DECALS BY<br />
TEL: CHRIS 082 602 1836<br />
TONY 083 770 2400<br />
2 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
www.kiska.com<br />
BRADICAL!<br />
BRAD BINDER – MOTO3 WORLD CHAMPION 2016<br />
The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider and Red Bull Rookies Cup<br />
graduate has shown the heart of a lion and unrelenting<br />
determination to dominate the 2016 Moto3 FIM World<br />
Championship on his KTM RC 250 GP factory bike.<br />
KTM Group Partner<br />
RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016 3<br />
Please make no attempt to imitate the illustrated riding scenes, always wear protective clothing and observe the applicable provisions of the road traffic regulations!<br />
The illustrated vehicles may vary in selected details from the production models and some illustrations feature optional equipment available at additional cost. Photo: Focus Pollution
Contents NOVEMBER 2016<br />
28: PRODUCTS: CHRISTMAS WISHLIST<br />
6: FIRST LOOK: 2017 BIKES FROM INTERMOT<br />
30: TESTED: DUCATI MULTISTRADA ENDURO<br />
38: COVER STORY: MARC MARQUEZ CHAMPION<br />
62: FEATURE: LAVERTY WORLD SBK<br />
54: ROAD TEST: MV AGUSTA F4R<br />
70: FEATURE: 10 TEN DUCATI SIGNINGS<br />
4 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
OPEN 7<br />
DAYS A<br />
WEEK!!!<br />
E&OE<br />
Arai RX7-V Vinales<br />
R13499-95 inc vat<br />
Arai RX7-V Pedrosa<br />
R13499-95 inc vat<br />
Arai RX7GP Hayden<br />
R13499-95 inc vat<br />
Arai Axces<br />
R6499-95 inc vat<br />
Assault Airflow jackets<br />
R1999-95 inc vat<br />
Arai Tour X4 Adventure<br />
R10999-95 inc vat<br />
Vega AT02 full face helmets<br />
R899-95 inc vat<br />
Limited Edition Brad Binder<br />
world champ shirts<br />
R399-95 inc vat<br />
MT road helmets with fLip down visor<br />
R2099-95 inc vat<br />
NEW Oneal MX helmets<br />
Series 2 R1999-95 inc vat<br />
Series 6 R2399-95 inc vat<br />
SHOP ONLINE:<br />
www.fullthrottle.co.za<br />
FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER & INSTAGRAM<br />
2017 Thor Pulse MX kits<br />
Shirts R599-95 inc vat Pants R1699-95 inc vat<br />
Lots of colours and models not shown please visit in store to view!<br />
2017 Thor Verge helmets<br />
R4699-95 inc vat<br />
WE WILL BEAT ANY CONFIRMED PRICE! PUT US TO THE TEST!<br />
EDENVALE CRESTA PRETORIA<br />
123 VAN RIEBEECK AVE<br />
EDENVALE, JHB<br />
011 452 2397<br />
Tyre Bay 011 452 1285<br />
NEW Stealth<br />
MX helmets<br />
R1299-95 inc vat<br />
NEW Airoh<br />
Twist MX helmets<br />
R4499-95 inc vat<br />
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BLACKHEATH, CRESTA<br />
011 431 1938<br />
011 431 1935<br />
WILLOW WAY SHOPPING<br />
CENTRE CNR LYNNWOOD<br />
RD & POWER AVE,<br />
LYNNWOOD, PTA<br />
012 807 1502
2017<br />
The<br />
NEW BIKES<br />
SPECIAL<br />
last two years have seen an in-flux of awesome<br />
new machines, and 2017 looks set to blow<br />
our minds even more. Whatever your preference<br />
and type of riding there’s a new bike with your<br />
name on it.<br />
From zippy small-capacity beauties to high-tech<br />
sportsbikes, slick adventures to engaging supernaked<br />
- each and every corner of the vibrant<br />
market shimmers with exciting new metal...<br />
HONDA<br />
Finally<br />
we see a new Fireblade model - in fact, Honda have<br />
released two new models with a thrid still on it’s way.<br />
They also go retro with new CB1100RS<br />
2017 Honda CBR1000RR SP<br />
and CBR1000RR SP2<br />
Twenty five years on from the release of the motorcycle that redefined<br />
sportsbikes in 1992, Honda has revealed the latest evolution of the legendary<br />
CBR1000RR Fireblade. For this new model, Honda’s engineers have remained<br />
true to the first principles of the original project – power to weight – with the<br />
focus on cornering, acceleration and braking.<br />
Honda unveiled the new Fireblade<br />
SP’s at the INTERMOT Show and as<br />
expected, the machine is lighter and<br />
more powerful than its predecessor<br />
and also gets a full suite of electronic<br />
rider aids. ‘All 1000cc sportsbikes<br />
are extraordinary examples of high<br />
performance engineering. But for<br />
us, for our new Fireblade, we want<br />
extraordinary to be the pleasure<br />
of handling and controlling such a<br />
machine. Its true purpose - wherever it’s<br />
ridden - is to enjoy something that is not<br />
normally experienced in everyday life,<br />
something that cannot be surpassed,’<br />
said M. Sato, Large Project Leader for<br />
the 2017 Fireblade SP. ‘To go to next<br />
stage Total Control, we have added an<br />
6 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
electronic control system that is there to<br />
support the rider,’ he added.<br />
So, the new Honda CBR1000RR<br />
Fireblade SP gets an all-new 5-axis<br />
Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), which<br />
measures exactly what the machine is<br />
doing, in every plane. It works the Honda<br />
Selectable Torque Control (HSTC) traction<br />
control system, which manages rear wheel<br />
traction via the FI-ECU and ride-by-wire<br />
throttle. The new ABS (also managed<br />
by the IMU) offers rear lift control (RLC)<br />
and the ability for hard, safe trail braking<br />
into corners. Depending on settings, any<br />
difference measured between the front and<br />
rear wheel speeds also triggers the bike’s<br />
wheelie control system.<br />
The new Fireblade SP’s electronics work<br />
in conjunction with its onboard Öhlins<br />
Objective Based Tuning Interface to<br />
adjust both the compression and rebound<br />
damping force of the bike’s semi-active<br />
Öhlins Electronic Control (S-EC) 43mm<br />
NIX30 front fork and TTX36 rear shock.<br />
For the rider this means access to a whole<br />
new level of handling ability. This system<br />
works just as well on the road as it does<br />
on the track and according to Honda,<br />
brings in a whole new standard in terms<br />
of superbike handling. And the Fireblade<br />
SP’s TFT LCD digital instrument display,<br />
which has three modes (Street, Circuit<br />
and Mechanic) provides all the information<br />
required by the rider for his specific usage<br />
and type of riding.<br />
With revised cam timing and updated<br />
internals, the new Fireblade SP’s inlinefour<br />
has been engineered to rev harder<br />
and higher, and has a much<br />
higher compression<br />
ratio as compared to its<br />
predecessor. The Honda<br />
mill now produces 189bhp<br />
at 13,000rpm and 116Nm of<br />
torque at 11,000rpm, which is more<br />
or less in the same league as power<br />
and torque figures quoted by other<br />
manufacturers for their litre-class<br />
superbikes. The ’Blade SP also<br />
comes with a quickshifter fitted as<br />
standard, along with an autoblipper<br />
and slipper clutch. Overall, the bike<br />
is 15 kilos lighter than its immediate<br />
predecessor and has a wet weight<br />
figure of 195kg.<br />
The Fireblade SP’s twin-spar aluminium<br />
chassis has also been tweaked and<br />
optimised for improved rigidity and<br />
balance, and has a stiffer swingarm to<br />
match. With a new, lighter rear subframe,<br />
redesigned wheels and Brembo brakes<br />
with monobloc, radial-mount 4-piston<br />
calipers, the Fireblade SP leaves no<br />
stone unturned in its quest for providing<br />
massively improved high-speed handling<br />
and cornering.<br />
With all-LED headlamps and taillamp,<br />
slimmer and more aggressive bodywork<br />
and beautiful tri-colour paintjob, the new<br />
Fireblade SP amps up its style quotient<br />
and is now easily one of the best looking<br />
superbikes on the planet. With the new<br />
riding modes, ‘fast’ delivers full power<br />
and linear throttle response (with lowest<br />
levels of traction control intervention), ‘fun’<br />
delivers a more moderate response in first<br />
to third gears, and ‘safe’ modulates power<br />
output from first to fourth gears, with<br />
correspondingly higher levels of electronic<br />
intervention.<br />
CBR1000RR SP2<br />
If you thought Honda would stop at new CBR1000RR Fireblade<br />
SP, you’re wrong – there’s also the higher-spec Fireblade SP2,<br />
with which Honda probably intend to take on machines like the<br />
Aprilia RSV4 <strong>RF</strong>, Yamaha R1M, Kawasaki ZX-10RR, Suzuki GSX-<br />
R1000R and Ducati Panigale R etc. The Fireblade SP2 is a road<br />
legal ‘homologation special,’ which uses the Fireblade SP as a<br />
base for a bike that’s closer to a proper, full-on racebike. The SP2<br />
gets revised engine internals (bigger intake and exhaust valves,<br />
more valve overlap) and goodies like gold-painted Marchesini<br />
forged alloy wheels, revised cylinder heads with different<br />
valves, combustion chambers and pistons, and an optional<br />
racing kit. Visually, the bike has carbon pattern insets<br />
and gold striping interwoven into its tri-colour paint to<br />
differentiate it from the SP. Stunningly brilliant, though we’d<br />
be happy even with just the ‘base’ model Fireblade SP.<br />
Pricing and availability details for the 2017 Honda<br />
Fireblade SP and Fireblade SP2, coming soon.<br />
The ‘base’ model blade is set to be launched in November<br />
so we will be sure to feature it in our December issue.<br />
RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016 7
2017<br />
NEW BIKES<br />
SPECIAL<br />
Honda Introduces New CB1100RS<br />
and Updated CB1100EX for 2017<br />
You love retro bikes, but the BMW R nineT and the Triumph Bonneville aren’t<br />
your cup of tea? Maybe Honda’s new CB1100 range is more appealing, with<br />
the new RS being added while the EX is getting upgraded for 2017.<br />
Another new model unveiled by Honda<br />
at INTERMOT was the CB1100RS,<br />
creating a new variation for the existing<br />
CB1100EX which also got updated,<br />
thus making its retro niche even cooler.<br />
The frame and big 1,400 cc inline-four<br />
engine remained the same but comes<br />
with a revised air intake and exhaust<br />
system to make it compatible with Euro<br />
4 emission regulations. Both the RS and<br />
he EX versions are equipped with the<br />
slightly revised power unit.<br />
There’s also a new curvier gas tank<br />
that lacks the seam-welded lips on the<br />
bottom edges while still reminding of<br />
the CB history. The seat is also changed<br />
and sits a bit lower, pushing the rider’s<br />
weight a bit forward.<br />
As the two letters at the back tell,<br />
the CB1100RS is the slightly sportier<br />
version of the base EX. It comes with a<br />
new 43mm Showa dual bending valve<br />
two-piece fork and remote reservoir<br />
shocks at the rear as well as new 17-<br />
inch cast aluminium wheels shod in<br />
sport tyres.<br />
Dual radial-mounted Tokico four-piston<br />
calipers at the front are also part of the<br />
upgrade. The EX, on the other hand,<br />
does with a bit more standard brakes<br />
and rear shocks. The front fork is the<br />
same although finished in a satin gray<br />
instead of gold. The EX also gets 18-<br />
inch stainless steel wired wheels and<br />
LED lights (same LED lights found on<br />
the RS too).<br />
Colour wise, the RS is available in<br />
black or red, while the EX can be had<br />
in yellow or white. Pricing information<br />
hasn’t been revealed yet, but it is<br />
soon to be confirmed along with full<br />
specifications soon.<br />
Upates for BMW S Series models<br />
The 2017 BMW S1000RR gets updated electronics, while the S1000R and S1000XR<br />
get a bit more power and new colours. All engines are now Euro 4-compliant<br />
BMW have unveiled their new, updated<br />
for 2017 S series bikes, including the<br />
S1000RR, S1000R and S1000XR.<br />
Starting with S1000RR, the machine<br />
now gets a Euro 4-compliant engine,<br />
dynamic traction control (DTC) as<br />
standard fitment and ABS Pro as<br />
an optional extra. Single seat (with<br />
cover for the passenger seat) is now<br />
standard, while a ‘passenger package’<br />
is offered as a free option. New colour<br />
schemes are available, which we think<br />
are the best yet from Zie Germans.<br />
The BMW S1000R super-naked/<br />
streetfighter also now conforms to<br />
Euro 4 emissions norms, while power<br />
output has been increased from<br />
160bhp to 165bhp. The S1000R<br />
loses 2kg and now weighs 205 kilos,<br />
while an HP titanium silencer is now<br />
standard and makes the bike sound<br />
better than ever before.The bike’s<br />
multifunction instrument cluster comes<br />
with improved readability and includes<br />
outdoor temperature display, while the<br />
fairing has been further trimmed down<br />
for improved aesthetics. Forged alloy<br />
wheels, 2.4kg lighter than the hoops<br />
used last year, are also now standard,<br />
while the list of optional extras includes<br />
ABS Pro, HP Shift Assistant Pro and<br />
Design Option wheels with red rim lines.<br />
New colour options are available.<br />
The new BMW S1000XR adventure<br />
sports-tourer also gets a Euro<br />
4-compliant engine, with power output<br />
increased to 165bhp at 11,000rpm.<br />
Other new bits include vibration-free<br />
handlebars, an increase in payload by<br />
10 kilos and new colours. Pricing and<br />
availability details coming soon.<br />
8 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
2017<br />
NEW BIKES<br />
SPECIAL<br />
2017 BMW R nineT Racer,<br />
R nineT Pure unveiled<br />
We think the 2017 BMW R nineT Racer (the white one,<br />
with BMW Motorsports red and blue accents) is totally<br />
hot! The R nineT Pure looks a bit dull in comparison<br />
BMW Motorrad have unveiled new versions of the R nineT<br />
at the Intermot - the R nineT Racer, an old school half-faired<br />
1970s-style sportsbike, and the R nineT Pure, the roadster<br />
reduced to just the bare essentials. Of the two, we really love<br />
the R nineT Racer, which gets the retro vibe just right with<br />
its 1970s styling and BMW Motorsport colours of the past.<br />
However, both bikes are powered by the same 1170cc Euro<br />
4-compliant Boxer-twin that produces 110bhp and 119Nm<br />
of torque. Both bikes ride on 17-inch cast alloy wheels (wirespoked<br />
wheels are optional), with twin 320mm brake discs up<br />
front and standard ABS. Other notable bits include stainless<br />
steel 2-in-1 exhaust system, fork bridges and footrests in forged<br />
aluminium and stability control (ASC) as an optional extra.<br />
Both bikes will hit showrooms around March/April next year.<br />
2017 MV Agusta F3 RC 800,<br />
F3 RC 675 - Sex on wheels!<br />
The new MV Agusta F3 RC 800 and F3 RC 675 are quite possibly the<br />
lightest, most powerful, most race-focused and fastest middleweights<br />
that you can buy right now. They’re intense...!<br />
MV Agusta have unveiled the new,<br />
2017-spec F3 RC, a ‘Reparto<br />
Corse’ World Supersport-replica<br />
that will be produced in limited<br />
numbers - just 350 units will be<br />
made available worldwide. The bike<br />
has been thoroughly updated and<br />
is now more intensely performancefocused<br />
than ever before. The<br />
F3 RC 675’s three-cylinder<br />
engine now produces 128bhp at<br />
14,400rpm and 71Nm of torque at<br />
10,900rpm, while the F3 RC 800<br />
boasts 148bhp at 13,000rpm and<br />
88Nm of torque at 10,600 rpm<br />
from its screaming, howling, highrevving<br />
inline-three. Both variants<br />
get MV’s new, updated MVICS<br />
(Motor & Vehicle Integrated Control<br />
System), with ride-by-wire throttle<br />
management, 8-level traction<br />
control and multiple riding modes.<br />
The F3 RC’s composite chassis,<br />
with a lightweight steel tube trellis<br />
section mated to aluminum alloy<br />
side plates and single-sided<br />
swingarm, remains unchanged,<br />
while the bike’s Sachs monoshock<br />
and Marzocchi front forks have<br />
been further tuned and optimised<br />
for high-speed stability. According<br />
to MV, the RC’s high ratio of<br />
swingarm length to wheelbase<br />
(576.5/1380mm) ensures maximum<br />
traction and perfect weight<br />
distribution.<br />
In deference to its racing DNA,<br />
the new MV Agusta F3 RC bikes<br />
carry race-replica graphics that<br />
come straight from the racebikes<br />
ridden by Jules Cluzel and Lorenzo<br />
Zanetti in WSS. Each bike is<br />
also personally signed by the the<br />
riders on the side panels. Official<br />
accessories that come with the<br />
bike include single seat cover, a<br />
paddock stand and a bike cover.<br />
Not too bad, though we’d still<br />
rather wait for the all-new F4,<br />
which we hopeMV will unveil at the<br />
EICMA, in Milan, next month!<br />
10 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
2017 MV Agusta F4 RC gets<br />
new racing kit, WSBK livery<br />
The MV Agusta F4 RC is still stunningly beautiful, and 212bhp (with<br />
the racing kit) should still be enough to blow the exhaust systems off<br />
most other bikes on the street<br />
MV Agusta have unveiled the new, updated,<br />
2017-spec F4 RC, which gets the ‘Reparto<br />
Corse’ livery taken from Leon Camier’s<br />
WSBK racebike. The number ‘37’ on the<br />
fairing is, according to MV, a reminder of<br />
the number of constructors World titles<br />
won by MV Agusta. Production is limited to<br />
250 units only and each bike comes with<br />
a special racing kit that contains an SC-<br />
Project titanium single-exit exhaust system,<br />
dedicated racing ECU, single seat tail unit,<br />
removable mirrors (machined in exotic<br />
7075 ergal aluminium), carbonfibre exhaust<br />
shroud, personalized bike cover and a<br />
certificate of authentication.<br />
Of course, the MV Agusta F4 RC isn’t<br />
about the fancy paintjob and loud exhaust<br />
- it has the muscle, the brute force to back<br />
up its good looks. Its inline-four produces<br />
205 horsepower in street trim and 212bhp<br />
with the racing kit. The TIG-welded chromemolybednum-steel<br />
tube trellis frame, with<br />
aluminium alloy side plates and single-side<br />
aluminium swingarm, is still a piece of art<br />
and is customisable for ride height. The<br />
suspension is top-notch as well, with a<br />
43mm USD Ohlins NIX type 30 fork at front<br />
(with adjustable compression and rebound<br />
damping) and fully adjustable Ohlins TTX<br />
36 monoshock at the rear. Brembo’s<br />
twin 320mm brake discs at front, with<br />
radial-mount 4-piston calipers, and single<br />
210mm steel disc at the back comprise<br />
the braking hardware, while Bosch ABS 9<br />
Plus with Race Mode and rear wheel lift-up<br />
mitigation(RLM) is standard.<br />
The 2017 MV F4 RC is also fitted with MV’s<br />
MVICS 2.0 (Motor & Vehicle Integrated<br />
Control System) electronics suite, which<br />
allows the rider to tweak and optimise every<br />
parameter, including throttle sensitivity,<br />
torque delivery, engine braking, throttle<br />
response and rev limiter intervention. The<br />
switchable 8-level traction control system<br />
uses more gyroscopes, accelerometers and<br />
sensors than we’d care to count, while the<br />
electronic quick shifter makes gear changes<br />
snappier. The new F4 RC rides on 17-inch<br />
alloys, shod with 120/70 (front) and 200/55<br />
(rear) tyres, has a kerb weight of 183<br />
kilos, does 17km to a litre of fuel and has<br />
a top speed of 302kph. It’s still only Euro<br />
3-compliant though, so it won’t be around<br />
for too long. Does that mean MV Agusta<br />
will unveil an all-new F4 at the EICMA Show<br />
in Milan this November...?
2017<br />
NEW BIKES<br />
SPECIAL<br />
SUZUKI<br />
For years Suzuki have been playing<br />
catch-up to their competitors but for<br />
2017 they are coming back stronger than<br />
ever with a host of new models, the most<br />
anticipated by far is the GSXR1000R<br />
The wait is over! 2017<br />
Suzuki GSX-R1000,<br />
GSX-R1000R unveiled<br />
Thirty years have passed since Suzuki released the GSX-R platform,<br />
and with more than 1 million units sold so far, we can say it is quite<br />
a successful model. That’s why the bike maker gave the model an indepth<br />
makeover to keep it in top choices among riders<br />
GSXR1000 red<br />
Ending many years of GSX-R1000<br />
stagnation, Suzuki have, this year, unveiled<br />
not just one but two new big-bore Gixxers<br />
at the Intermot - the GSX-R1000 and the<br />
higher-spec GSX-R1000R, both of which<br />
feature new styling and colours, a new<br />
aluminium beam chassis, new swingarm<br />
and an all-new inline-four engine.<br />
“The 6th-generation GSX-R1000 is<br />
redefining what it means to be The Top<br />
Performer,” the bike maker describes<br />
the new motorcycle. “It embodies the life<br />
work and professional ambition of Suzuki<br />
engineers who are passionate about the<br />
GSX-R1000 and its place in motorcycle<br />
history. Men who love riding and racing,<br />
enthusiasts determined to restore the<br />
GSX-R1000 to its proper title of The King<br />
of Sportbikes.”<br />
Suzuki also says the 2017 GSX-R is “the<br />
most powerful, hardest accelerating,<br />
cleanest running GSX-R ever built,” thanks<br />
to its compact size, tuned aerodynamics,<br />
smoother throttle response and engine<br />
efficiency.<br />
The new engine is said to develop 199 hp<br />
and 13,200 rpm and 116 Nm of twist at<br />
10,000 rpm. That was possible through<br />
a larger bore and a shorter stroke, which<br />
translates into a higher compression (13.2:1<br />
versus the old 12.9:1). A new finger-follower<br />
valve train replaces the shim under bucket<br />
GSXR1000 black/red<br />
12 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
GSXR1000 R on left and GSXR1000 on right. Easiest way to tell the difference is by looking at the front forks<br />
previous type while a new variable valve<br />
timing system improves fuel consumption.<br />
As expected, the new GSX-R is packed<br />
with electronic gizmos, starting with the<br />
Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) that<br />
controls the bike’s 10-level traction control<br />
system and ABS. Next, comes the Drive<br />
Mode Selector, which allows the operator<br />
to switch from different engine mappings<br />
and power delivery characteristics.<br />
Also helping the rider is a new quickshifter<br />
that works both ways (clutchless up- and<br />
down-shift, that is) and a launch control<br />
system, while a new LCD instrument panel<br />
keeps the rider informed on most of the<br />
bike’s parameters.<br />
The chassis is said to be all-new and<br />
weight 3 kg less than the old model.<br />
Attached to it is a new braced swingarm<br />
with better rigidity, while the rear subframe<br />
shed 1 kg off its previous weight.<br />
Love this colour scheme on the GSXR1000 R<br />
Coming in two versions, the GSX-R1000<br />
is fitted with Showa Big Piston forks, while<br />
the GSX-R1000R gets the Balance Free<br />
fork model from the same manufacturer.<br />
The latter also gets a Showa BFRC<br />
(Balance Free Rear Cushion Lite) shock at<br />
the back which is said to give riders more<br />
road feel.<br />
LED headlights, taillights, and turn signals<br />
are offered as standard while the iconic<br />
overall GSX-R design has been retained<br />
and improved to make the bike more<br />
vicious-looking and as aerodynamic as<br />
possible. The blue, white, and lime color<br />
theme has been carried over although with<br />
restyled graphics.<br />
The 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000 will be in<br />
showrooms by early next year, while the<br />
GSX-R1000R will go on sale a few months<br />
later.<br />
Suzuki Unveils Its<br />
Entry-Level 2017<br />
GSX-R125 Sportbike<br />
The new 125cc motorcycle comes with Suzuki’s<br />
easy start feature and ABS as standard, as the<br />
manufacturer is labelling it as the best 125cc bike<br />
on the market. The bike in turn offers the best<br />
power-to-weight ratio, torque-to-weight ratio, and<br />
acceleration currently available, in addition to great<br />
fuel economy and precise handling.<br />
Featuring a noticeably aerodynamic build, the<br />
GSX-R125 then comes equipped with verticallystacked<br />
LED headlights, a low seat, keyless<br />
start, and an LCD dashboard display. All sounds<br />
impressive but at what cost?<br />
The new sportbike from Suzuki additionally<br />
highlights two-piston sliding caliper petal disk<br />
brakes and non-adjustable fork.<br />
Look for Suzuki’s 2017 GSX-R125 to become<br />
available hopefully middle of next year, and let’s<br />
hope at an affordable price. It is a 125cc after all,<br />
but still, nice job Suzuki.<br />
2018 Suzuki GSX-S 750<br />
Suzuki gave us a glimpse of its 2018 lineup,<br />
showing the 2018 Suzuki GSX-S750 and 2018<br />
Suzuki GSX-S750Z street bikes at the INTERMOT.<br />
Adding a better compliment to the Suzuki<br />
GSX-S1000, these 750cc machines build off the<br />
same strategy of taking a track-focused sport bike,<br />
and making an naked street bike out of it. For the<br />
2018 model year, Suzuki is revising the GSX-S750<br />
it debuted in 2014.<br />
This time, Suzuki is adding more to its venerable<br />
open-class machine, the Suzuki GSX-R750, in<br />
order to make the 2018 Suzuki GSX-S750.<br />
Also, two flavors will be available, the Suzuki<br />
GSX-S750 and the 2018 Suzuki GSX-S750Z – the<br />
latter having ABS brakes and a matte black livery.<br />
Unlike the GSX-R they spawn from, the Suzuki<br />
GSX-S750 features a three-level traction<br />
control system, which can also be disabled<br />
and toggled through settings with a simple<br />
switch on the handlebar.<br />
Both the rear shock and forks on the<br />
2018 Suzuki GSX-S750 have pre-load<br />
adjustment only, while radially mounted<br />
four-piston Nissin brake calipers are on<br />
the front wheel. The front and rear brake<br />
discs are of a petal design.<br />
RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016 13
2017<br />
NEW BIKES<br />
SPECIAL<br />
2017 Ducati SuperSport,<br />
SuperSport S unveiled<br />
With 113bhp from its 937cc V-twin, the 2017 Ducati SuperSport<br />
should provide satisfying sportsbike-spec performance and handling,<br />
combined with all-day riding comfort<br />
Ducati have <strong>final</strong>ly unveiled the<br />
much awaited SuperSport,<br />
after teasing us for months.<br />
‘After sharing a sneak peek<br />
with the Ducatista community<br />
at WDW 2016, we’re ready to<br />
present the SuperSport to the<br />
thousands of enthusiasts who<br />
had eagerly awaited a sport bike<br />
capable of ensuring both fun and<br />
comfort, even in everyday riding<br />
situations,’ said Ducati CEO<br />
Claudio Domenicali. ‘Expert riders<br />
will appreciate the true sports<br />
personality of the SuperSport, its<br />
excellent road performance and<br />
evident penchant for journeying and<br />
everyday use. Riders approaching<br />
the Ducati sports world for the first<br />
time will discover versatility, easy<br />
handling and, above all, the very<br />
essence of sports riding as Ducati<br />
sees it,’ he added.<br />
While it takes some styling cues<br />
from the Panigale (including the<br />
very cool single-sided swingarm!),<br />
the newDucati SuperSport is<br />
designed for those who want a<br />
sportsbike, with sportsbike-spec<br />
power delivery and handling, but<br />
without back- and wrist-killing<br />
racetrack-specific ergonomics. The<br />
bike is powered by Ducati’s 937cc<br />
Testastretta V-twin that produces<br />
113bhp. The SuperSport, like all<br />
modern Ducatis, comes with a<br />
full complement of electronics,<br />
including ABS, traction control and<br />
three riding modes (Sport, Touring<br />
and Urban), which optimise power<br />
delivery and the safety electronics’<br />
intervention levels to suit the rider’s<br />
tastes.<br />
With a height-adjustable<br />
windscreen, relatively relaxed<br />
riding position, plush seat for rider<br />
and passenger, and good range<br />
thanks to a 16-litre fuel tank, the<br />
SuperSport is a brilliant middistance<br />
sports-tourer. For those<br />
who want harder-edged thrills,<br />
there’s the SuperSport S with fully<br />
adjustable Öhlins suspension,<br />
Ducati Quick Shift up/down system<br />
and a rear seat cover (the last<br />
two are also available as optional<br />
accessories for the SuperSport).<br />
The 2017 Ducati SuperSport and<br />
SuperSport S will be in showrooms<br />
by March/April. Pricing details will<br />
be made available soon.<br />
Several Ducatis receive<br />
minor upgrades<br />
The Ducati Multistrada<br />
1200 will have a new air<br />
intake for 2017. While<br />
not a major update, this<br />
could have some serious<br />
performance ramifications.<br />
The Multistrada 1200 is<br />
also receiving what Ducati<br />
literature describes as “new<br />
engine settings” intended<br />
to optimize mid-range<br />
performance.<br />
Updated DTC and DWC<br />
are coming to the Ducati<br />
1299 Panigale. The 1299<br />
Panigale is quite the beast,<br />
and Ducati has improved<br />
on initiatives to keep<br />
it in check. The newly<br />
introduced EVO versions<br />
of Ducati Traction Control<br />
and Ducati Wheelie Control<br />
are actually hand-medowns<br />
from the 1299<br />
Panigale S Anniversario<br />
that was recently released<br />
to celebrate the 100th<br />
anniversary of Ducati<br />
as a brand, and the<br />
changes appear to be on a<br />
programming level. Ducati<br />
literature states, “The new<br />
DTC and DWC EVO act<br />
according to a brand new<br />
algorithm which enables<br />
each to intervene faster and<br />
with great precision.” With<br />
greater precision, comes<br />
the potential for safety, so<br />
that’s an important update.<br />
The Monster 821, Diavel,<br />
and Diavel Carbon now<br />
comply with Euro 4<br />
standards. It’s all about<br />
European emissions rules<br />
in 2017, and with all of the<br />
penalties that have been<br />
hitting auto and motorcycle<br />
manufacturers, it comes as<br />
no shock that Ducati want<br />
to make the brand’s Euro 4<br />
compliance widely known.<br />
14 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
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2017<br />
NEW BIKES<br />
SPECIAL<br />
Aprilia updates big twins and<br />
adds new singles for 2017<br />
With 201bhp from its 999cc V4, the 2017 Aprilia RSV4 <strong>RF</strong> is not to be<br />
messed with, while the the 2017 Tuono V4 1100, with 175 horsepower<br />
from its V4 engine and a host of updated electronics, clearly wants to<br />
stay on top in the streetfighter segment. Oh, and don’t forget the cool<br />
new small-capacity sportbikes.<br />
Aprilia showed off four<br />
updated models at the<br />
INTERMOT show,<br />
with the RSV4 and<br />
Tuono V4s getting an<br />
the latest electronic<br />
packages and new<br />
RS125 and Tuono 125<br />
unveiled.<br />
Both the RSV4 and Tuono<br />
get the latest, fourth-generation<br />
APRC electronic controls package<br />
that is a full ride-by-wire system<br />
that saves half a kilogram while the<br />
IMU has been repositioned on the<br />
bike for more accurate detection of<br />
the bike’s movement.<br />
The new generation APRC system<br />
has a “more fine-tuned logic” eightlevel<br />
traction control system that is<br />
now adjustable using a joystick pad<br />
on the left handlebar, and can be<br />
changed on the fly without letting<br />
off the throttle.<br />
Three-level wheelie control is the<br />
same as before while the electronic<br />
quick shifter now does<br />
down and up changes while<br />
cornering ABS is switchable.<br />
There’s also a pitlane speed<br />
limiter for racers and cruise<br />
control for road riders.<br />
The new Tuono 125 is<br />
aimed squarely at the<br />
booming entry-level market<br />
and the chassis design is based<br />
on Aprilia’s experience with die<br />
cast aluminium spars with crossed<br />
reinforcement ribs. The engine is a<br />
modern and technological 125 cc<br />
single-cylinder, four-valve, DOHC<br />
engine that runs on EFI.<br />
The egos of the Tuono 125 were<br />
developed for rider and passenger<br />
comfort while the RS125 is<br />
unashamedly a sportsbike that<br />
this year celebartes 25 years in<br />
production since the first model<br />
released at Intermot 25 years ago.<br />
With the same engine and chassis<br />
as the Tuono 125, the RS 125’s<br />
new look takes its inspiration from<br />
the shapes and colours of its<br />
multiple title winning sibling, the<br />
RSV4 superbike.<br />
16 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
KTM go mad with all-new<br />
2017 adventure bike line-up<br />
1290 R<br />
Between the new KTM 1290 Super Adventure/S/R and the<br />
1050 Adventure/R, there’s a KTM Adventure for everyone in<br />
there somewhere. Only, we’d rather take the 1290 Super Duke.<br />
Where’s that?<br />
For 2017, KTM are expanding<br />
their ‘Adventure’ range of bikes<br />
in a big way and have unveiled<br />
a host of adventurous machines<br />
at the Intermot – the 1290<br />
Super Adventure (S, R and T<br />
versions), the 1090 Adventure<br />
and 1090 Adventure R.<br />
First up, the new, off-roadoriented<br />
KTM 1290 Super<br />
Adventure R, which rides on<br />
18-inch (rear) and 21-inch<br />
(front) wheels, and boasts a<br />
massive 160bhp and 140Nm<br />
from its 1300cc V-twin. With<br />
Continental Trail Attack II or<br />
ContinentalTKC 80 dualpurpose<br />
tyres, fully adjustable<br />
WP fork and shock, and<br />
electronics like lean-anglesensitive<br />
ABS and stability<br />
control, the Super Adventure<br />
R is an unstoppable force and<br />
should be a hit with those who<br />
like to ride big, heavy (217kg<br />
dry weight!) and madly powerful<br />
motorcycles, off road. If you do,<br />
the bike’s 6.5-inch TFT display<br />
will provide all necessary<br />
information at a glance, and its<br />
new LED headlamps will light<br />
up the Sahara desert while<br />
you’re blasting across the sand<br />
dunes in the night.<br />
On those long, hard off-road<br />
rides, you’ll appreciate the<br />
1290 Super Adventure’s onepiece<br />
off-road seat, with its 3D<br />
foam cushions that provide<br />
long range comfort,yet with<br />
great seat of the pants ‘feel’<br />
that riders crave. Crash bars,<br />
coated in orange to match<br />
the R’s steel tube trellis frame,<br />
and handguards round off the<br />
off-road package. Also, for<br />
those who’ll be happy with just<br />
125bhp, there’s the slightly<br />
milder KTM 1090 Adventure R<br />
that you might want to take a<br />
quick look at.<br />
For the more tarmac-oriented<br />
among us, there’s the KTM<br />
1290 Super Adventure S, as<br />
well as its smaller-engined<br />
sibling, the 1090 Adventure.<br />
These still get the R model’s<br />
fully adjustable suspension and<br />
electronic rider aids, but ride<br />
on 19-inch (front) and 17-inch<br />
(rear) wheels, which are more<br />
suited to on-road use. There’s<br />
Bosch adjustable traction<br />
control with C-ABS, while the<br />
three riding modes (sport,<br />
street and rain) optimise power<br />
delivery and levels of electronic<br />
intervention. The bike’s semiactive<br />
WP suspension can<br />
be set to comfort, street or<br />
sport setting, while the rear<br />
shock’s spring rate can also be<br />
electronically adjusted in four<br />
stages.<br />
The 1290 Super<br />
Adventure S’ Pirelli<br />
Scorpion Trail II tyres<br />
(120/70, 170/60 front<br />
and rear) offer high grip<br />
levels for on-road use,<br />
while still retaining modest<br />
off-road capability. A<br />
‘floating’ luggage system<br />
with integrated baggage<br />
is available as an option,<br />
while the optional KTM<br />
‘Travel Pack’ gets you<br />
electronics like hill hold<br />
control, a quickshifter and<br />
hill hold control etc. The<br />
bike weighs 215kg dry,<br />
but at least that should<br />
be more manageable on<br />
the highway as comparing<br />
to dealing with such<br />
heft while riding offroad.<br />
With its 125bhp,<br />
1050cc V-twin, the 1050<br />
Adventure weighs slightly<br />
less, at 205kg dry.<br />
1290 S<br />
1090 R<br />
1290 T<br />
1090 T
2017<br />
NEW BIKES<br />
SPECIAL<br />
KAWASAKI<br />
This is a brand that has been on a high<br />
over the past couple of years and 2017 is<br />
going to be another great year for the big<br />
green brand who are releasing some very<br />
tasty new models as well as welcomed<br />
updates to current models<br />
ZX10R gets another R for<br />
2017 while H2 goes carbon<br />
The 2017 Kawasaki ZX-10RR is hugely powerful and massively<br />
capable while the new limited edition Kawasaki H2 Carbon now<br />
gets an IMU with six levels of machine attitude measurement. Six?<br />
We thought the H2 has only one attitude. A really bad one!<br />
To take on Honda’s all-new Fireblade<br />
SP2 and Suzuki’s all-new GSX-R1000R,<br />
Kawasaki have released the new ZX-<br />
10RR. With production limited to just<br />
500 units, the ZX-10RR features a<br />
modified cylinder head that’s ready<br />
to accept racing camshafts, a new<br />
crankcase arrangement made more<br />
durable for racing and the<br />
kit part accessory option<br />
of adjustable head<br />
pipe and rear pivot<br />
point. There’s<br />
also lightweight<br />
Marchesini forged<br />
aluminium wheels,<br />
Brembo M50<br />
brake calipers and<br />
uprated braking<br />
package, and an<br />
electronic quickshifter<br />
that works<br />
on both upshifts and<br />
downshifts. Lastly,<br />
there’s the ‘RR’ logo on the right side<br />
engine cover and Kawasaki Racing<br />
Team’s black-and-white ‘Winter Test’<br />
livery, which we think looks pretty cool.<br />
Matched to the impressive Showa<br />
balanced free front fork, the horizontal<br />
back-link, BFRC lite gas-charged<br />
shock with piggyback reservoir<br />
offers a<br />
wide range of adjustability to suit any<br />
road or racetrack environment. The<br />
ZX-10RR is also equipped with<br />
an IMU offering six degrees of<br />
machine attitude measurement<br />
and bits like sports traction<br />
control, electronic engine brake<br />
control, launch control, intelligent<br />
anti-lock brakes and Kawasaki’s<br />
KCMF cornering management<br />
function, which according to the<br />
company ensures that riders hit their<br />
chosen apex every time.<br />
2017 Kawasaki H2<br />
For those who want a slice of Kawasaki’s<br />
supercharged exotica, the company has<br />
also launched a limited edition Ninja H2<br />
Carbon, with production being limited to<br />
just 120 units worldwide. The bike features<br />
a carbonfibre upper cowling and sees the<br />
adoption of an IMU that offers six levels<br />
of machine attitude measurement. Using<br />
the IMU at its core, the H2 Carbon’s range<br />
of electronic rider aids is impressive,<br />
with Kawasaki’s cornering management<br />
function also present here as part of an<br />
electronics suite, which includes traction<br />
control, launch control, intelligent anti-lock<br />
brakes and even a bank angle readout as<br />
part of the meter display. Other interesting<br />
bits include KYB AOS-2 front forks,<br />
Brembo M50 brake calipers<br />
and braking package, and a<br />
top-spec Ohlins TTX shock<br />
absorber with remote<br />
adjustment.<br />
Euro 4-compliant and<br />
available with an optional<br />
Akrapovic carbonfibre<br />
silencer, the Ninja H2<br />
Carbon accessories<br />
kit also includes a<br />
Kawasaki Ergo-<br />
Fit reduced angle<br />
handlebar kit<br />
and different size<br />
handlebar weights.<br />
18 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
Lighter, efficient 2017<br />
Kawasaki Ninja 650 revealed<br />
Take a good look at this bike here because it’s said to<br />
replace the ER6-F. Don’t worry; it’s still the same quirky<br />
parallel-two underneath that Ninja-inspired fairing, so this is<br />
just a renaming scheme.<br />
2017 Kawasaki Ninja 650The 2017 Kawasaki Ninja 650 is<br />
said to be all-new, but look it down right into its eyes, and<br />
you’ll see the ER-6 series buried deep down. Although it’s<br />
built on a trellis-type steel frame, the new bike still uses<br />
the same 649cc liquid-cooled parallel-twin, the underbody<br />
exhaust, and that gull-style swingarm.<br />
However, you won’t see the rear side-mounted shock that<br />
drove OCD people mad seeing it. The new one is now<br />
placed in the center while the front gets a conventional<br />
41mm RWU fork with no adjustment whatsoever.<br />
Brakes are provided by new Nissin calipers munching on<br />
9.1M ABS discs from Bosch so beginner riders won’t have<br />
to bite the dust when panicking and grabbing a handfull<br />
stop-lever.<br />
The engine has been tuned for more economy to meet<br />
Euro 4 regulations, thus lost about 3 hp in the process. Still,<br />
Kawasaki claims the Ninja 650 is also lighter than the ER6-F,<br />
so power shouldn’t be a problem. To be precise, the bike is<br />
19 kg (48 lbs) lighter than the previous model and offers a<br />
6.8% improvement in fuel consumption.<br />
There’s also a new assist and slip clutch which reduces the<br />
amount of force the rider has to use on the lever, making the<br />
bike feel more comfortable in heavy city traffic.<br />
Speaking about the rider, he or she will be shielded by a new<br />
height-adjustable screen and will be able to look at a new<br />
instrument cluster. This has an analog rev counter and a black<br />
LCD screen. You also get a gear position indicator as well<br />
as a programmable shift light.<br />
The fairing is inspired by the<br />
Ninja family and comes<br />
in three colors - Lime<br />
Green KRT Edition,<br />
Metallic Spark Black,<br />
and Candy Burnt<br />
Orange.<br />
Updated Z1000SX breaks cover<br />
Along with the 2017 Ninja 650, Kawasaki has showcased the<br />
2017 Ninja Z1000SX. On the 2017 Ninja Z1000SX, the engine has<br />
been updated with a new ECU and software settings to ensure<br />
improved power delivery and lower emissions. Kawasaki says that<br />
despite the remap, the engine continues to deliver a heady rush of<br />
power at high revs. The engine is now Euro-IV compliant.<br />
The 2017 Z1000SX comes equipped with the Kawasaki<br />
Cornering Management Function or KCMF. It offers three modes<br />
of traction control, wheelie control and cornering ABS. It retains<br />
the aluminium twin-tube frame from its predecessor but gets<br />
revised suspension setting. Also, the seat height has been<br />
lowered by 5mm to 815mm.<br />
Other updates on the new Kawasaki Ninja 1000 include a wider<br />
fairing, adjustable screen and new LED headlamps. The seats<br />
have received more padding to improve rider comfort while the<br />
instrument console gets a gearshift indicator.<br />
This is a mchine that does make a lot of sense as a realistic tourer,<br />
and you cannot deny it is one sexy looking machine.<br />
RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016 19
2017<br />
NEW BIKES<br />
SPECIAL<br />
YAMAHA<br />
Another big year for the blue brand who<br />
are set to release new colours for existing<br />
models while also introducing two new<br />
very interesting models - One a supernaked<br />
and the other a all-new Supersport<br />
class conqueror!<br />
2017 Yamaha YZF-R6<br />
Gets ABS, Traction<br />
Control, & More<br />
The redesigned, thoroughly updated, 2017 Yamaha<br />
YZF-R6 takes some styling cues and<br />
technologies from the mighty R1.<br />
The 600cc supersports class<br />
seems to be witnessing more<br />
than its fair share of ups and<br />
downs this year. Whereas<br />
old-timers like the Honda<br />
CBR600RR seem to<br />
be on their way out,<br />
there’s also machines<br />
like the MV Agusta<br />
F3 RC 675, which<br />
are keeping the<br />
excitement alive<br />
in the 600cc<br />
sportsbike<br />
segment. And to<br />
add more fuel to the<br />
fire, there’s the<br />
all-new, 2017-<br />
spec Yamaha YZF-R6, which,<br />
according to Yamaha,<br />
gets new, cuttingedge<br />
electronics<br />
as well as a host<br />
of R1-derived tweaks to its<br />
aluminium twin-spar chassis.<br />
Notable new bits on the 2017<br />
Yamaha R6 include an M1-<br />
type central forced air intake,<br />
twin LED headlights, sharper,<br />
redesigned bodywork, more<br />
efficient aerodynamics, new<br />
front cowl and windscreen and<br />
20 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
new 6-level traction<br />
control system that can<br />
also be switched off completely.<br />
According to Yamaha, the new<br />
R6’s TCS has been optimised<br />
for high-speed performance<br />
and its intelligent software is<br />
designed to work in a subtle<br />
manner that does not intrude<br />
upon the bike’s performance<br />
intent. The system is even able<br />
to automatically compensate<br />
for rear tyre wear for more<br />
consistent performance,<br />
especially on the racetrack.<br />
Other notable bits include a new<br />
quick shift system, which allows<br />
full throttle clutchless upshifts<br />
for outstanding acceleration<br />
through the bike’s close-ratio<br />
6-speed transmission, fully<br />
adjustable 43mm KYB front<br />
forks, fully adjustable<br />
KYB rear monoshock,<br />
twin 320mm brake discs<br />
at front, with 4-piston<br />
radial-mount calipers,<br />
magnesium rear subframe,<br />
redesigned seat and a<br />
lightweight aluminium<br />
fuel tank.<br />
The new Yamaha R6’s<br />
digital instrument panel<br />
features an analoguestyle<br />
tachometer and<br />
digital speedometer, with<br />
a multi-function display that<br />
shows TCS and ABS status.<br />
The R6’s Euro 4-compliant<br />
599cc, 16-valve, DOHC inlinefour<br />
features forged aluminum<br />
pistons, titanium intake and<br />
exhaust valves, and ride-by-wire<br />
throttle management. Strangely<br />
enough, Yamaha have not<br />
quoted any power and torque<br />
figures. What are they hiding?!<br />
Anyway, wet weight (including<br />
oil and fuel etc.) is 190kg, fuel<br />
capacity is 17 litres, the 6-speed<br />
transmission comes with a<br />
slipper clutch as standard and<br />
new colours include ‘race blu’<br />
and ‘tech black.’ There is also<br />
gorgeous white/matte/silver<br />
paintjob available (pictured<br />
above) and while we are not<br />
100% sure if it will make it to<br />
SA, we sure do hope so. The<br />
2017 R6 will be in Yamaha<br />
showrooms by April 2017.<br />
New MT-10SP introduced and<br />
MT-09 updated for 2017.<br />
For 2017, Yamaha have announced the MT-10 SP, which they say<br />
is the ‘speed of darkness,’ the most high-tech machine in Yamaha’s<br />
‘hyper naked’ range. With the ‘SP’ tag comes a bit of R1M-style<br />
bling, with the MT-10 SP getting Öhlins electronic racing suspension<br />
(ERS), which is controlled by a suspension control unit (SCU)<br />
that analyses data from a series of sensors, which monitor riding<br />
conditions in real time. The SCU constantly calculates the optimal<br />
compression and rebound damping settings and the system’s<br />
stepping motors instantly make adjustments to achieve the optimal<br />
suspension set up for any given riding condition.<br />
The MT-10 SP also gets full-colour, thin film transistor (TFT)<br />
instrumentation and a new silver-blue-carbon colour scheme,<br />
featuring blue wheels, black front fender, gold coloured forks and<br />
silver bodywork. Of course, there’s a full complement of electronics,<br />
including an electronic quick shift system (that offers clutchless<br />
upshifts), multi-mode traction control and slipper clutch. With its<br />
lightweight, aluminium ‘Deltabox’ chassis and crossplane crank<br />
inline-four that produces 160 horsepower, the Yamaha MT-10 SP,<br />
with a dry weight of 190 kilos, offers a streetfighter riding experience<br />
that no other Japanese production machine can. The bike will be in<br />
showrooms by April 2017.<br />
The MT-09 also gets a host of updates, including midly revised styling<br />
and reworked suspension. Its 850cc three-cylinder engine produces<br />
enough power to make this a wild ride<br />
For those who like their ‘dark side of Japan’ thrills turned down a<br />
notch or two, there’s also the new, 2017-spec Yamaha MT-09, which<br />
gets updated styling, new twin-eye LED headlights, LED taillamp,<br />
repositioned turn signals and instrument cluster, shortened rear<br />
subframe and more compact tail end, swingarm-mounted rear fender,<br />
and assist and slipper clutch. The MT-09 also gets a redesigned seat<br />
that’s flatter and positioned 5mm higher than before. It has, according<br />
to Yamaha, been specifically shaped to enable the rider to hold their<br />
seating position during hard acceleration, braking and cornering.<br />
As with the MT-10 SP, the MT-09 also gets a host of electronics,<br />
including a quick shift system for clutchless upshifts. The bike’s<br />
850cc, 3-cylinder engine, equipped with forged pistons, offset<br />
cylinders and CP3 crossplane technology is now fully Euro<br />
4-compliant and produces 115bhp and 87Nm<br />
of torque. The 41mm USD fork up front now<br />
features a new compression damping adjuster<br />
in the left fork tube, while the existing rebound<br />
damping function is located in the right tube.<br />
Yamaha say that by placing the compression<br />
and rebound mechanisms in separate forks<br />
tubes, the flow rate of hydraulic oil can be<br />
optimized, giving greater adjustability and<br />
more consistent performance.<br />
Other revised, updated bits on the<br />
2017 MT-09 include a restyled<br />
exhaust muffler and new side fins on<br />
the radiator, with bigger air intakes.<br />
RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016 21
NEWS<br />
Find us on Facebook:<br />
RideFast Sportsbike Magazine<br />
Triumph Reveals Amazing<br />
Bobber for 2017<br />
The neo-retro motorcycle market is a niche more and more bike makers<br />
are tapping into these days. We’re not that crazy about bobbers, but the<br />
Triumph Bonneville Bobber is not too bad.<br />
Triumph have unveiled the new<br />
Bonneville Bobber, a stripped down<br />
factory custom with minimalist styling<br />
and authentic ‘bobber’ features like<br />
a low, single seat, wide flat bars and<br />
hardtail rear end. Interesting bits include<br />
a ‘floating’ aluminium seat pan with<br />
beautifully stitched deep foam pad,<br />
hidden monoshock rear suspension,<br />
wire-spoked black-painted wheels<br />
(shod with Avon Cobra tyres) and a<br />
straightline exhaust system. Triumph<br />
claim that the bike has more torque<br />
and power from its 1200cc paralleltwin<br />
lower down in the rev range as<br />
compared to the Triumph Bonneville<br />
T120, while the Bobber’s stainless<br />
steel exhaust, with slash cut, sawnoff<br />
peashooter silencers, emit a “rich<br />
unique bobber exhaust note.”<br />
Unlike most bobbers, this one comes<br />
with ride-by-wire throttle management,<br />
torque-assist clutch, switchable traction<br />
control and two riding modes. Available<br />
colours include red, green/silver, black<br />
and brown, while the list of official<br />
accessories includes ape hanger bars,<br />
ribbed and quilted comfort seat, heated<br />
grips, cruise control kit, Vance & Hines<br />
exhaust and adjustable<br />
rear suspension from Fox.<br />
The bike boasts 16,000km<br />
service intervals.<br />
Milwaukee Blitz South Africa_A6 Postcard.pdf 1 2016/08/05 11:16 AM<br />
V&V TRAINING - A MUST<br />
FOR ALL COMPANIES.<br />
V&V Training is a company that offers medical,<br />
fire, health and safety training. They also offer<br />
other courses - from operating forklifts to safe<br />
handling of power tools.<br />
Training is offered by dedicated professional<br />
staff, that has the client’s best interest at<br />
heart. Honesty, integrity and an open book<br />
policy is the big factor to their success. They<br />
have a professional and experienced team that<br />
is highly skilled and qualified in their various<br />
fields. Facilitators and assessors are on call<br />
as and when you need them (week end/night<br />
shift). Training is available nationwide. They<br />
provide our customers with a more “Hands<br />
On” requirement.<br />
V&V Training will do all in their power to<br />
ensure as far as is reasonably practicable:<br />
• Advanced Training and development of its<br />
staff to fulfill the company’s vision and mission<br />
• Comprehensive learner guidance and<br />
induction programs<br />
• The provisioning of learner ships to standard<br />
required by SAQA<br />
• Regular revision of material to comply with<br />
Nation and International Standards<br />
• Transparency in internal and external<br />
auditing implement mentorship and broad<br />
based empowerment.<br />
This kind of training and assistance is a must<br />
for all companies. For more info visit www.<br />
vvtraining.co.za.<br />
C<br />
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WIN A MILWAUKEE<br />
BMW S1000RR<br />
WORLD SBK REPLICA<br />
Milwaukee Power Tools is the official<br />
sponsor to the SMR BMW Racing team in<br />
World SBK, and they are now giving you<br />
the chance to win a replica of their 2016<br />
BMW S1000RR machine.<br />
To enter simply go online to<br />
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comp icon, fill out your details and hit<br />
enter - it’s that simple!<br />
Entries for the comp close on the 31st<br />
December 2016.<br />
22 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
27for48 does it again!<br />
Now in it’s 4th chapter, 27for48 once again digs deep to help<br />
those in need. This time, with a mint VW Transporter.<br />
Greg Moloney, otherwise known as the<br />
voice of motorsport here in SA, embarked<br />
on the 4th chapter of his charity capanign -<br />
27for48. At the recent 12 hour endurance<br />
race, held at Redstar raceway, Greg was<br />
at it again helping those in need.<br />
Greg’s mission this year was to raise<br />
enough money to buy a custom made<br />
wheel chair and help with other mounting<br />
cost for a young man by the name of Fred<br />
van Deventer. He managed to do so to<br />
the delight of Fred and his mother.<br />
By getting the wheel chair he never<br />
realized that it would not fit into his moms<br />
Opel Corsa, and so after being given this<br />
awesome opportunity, both Greg and<br />
his wife Michelle headed off on another<br />
whirlwind chapter of 27for48.<br />
They rode hard and worked hard on<br />
sponsors and partners all year long and<br />
tried to find the perfect vehicle. Having<br />
contacts in the motor industry, Greg<br />
called upon all he knew to help but due<br />
to the economy and the down turn it was<br />
not easy. Just as he thought he was not<br />
going to make it, he thought about what<br />
Nicole Meyer once said to him when we<br />
started this thing called 27for48, then only<br />
known as 27for24, where she said “ it’s<br />
amazing how things fall into place when it<br />
comes to these remarkable young people<br />
you are working with.”<br />
And that’s just what happened!<br />
As most of you might know most of his<br />
business is generated via social media<br />
and by chance, and not really checking<br />
on work related stuff, he turned his<br />
phone on and checked FaceBook and<br />
low and behold a friend was selling the<br />
VW Transporter you see in the pics and<br />
well let’s just say he went into top gear in<br />
order to try to raise the funds needed to<br />
buy it, fly down to East London to fetch it<br />
and drive it back.<br />
It went straight to Big Boss Auto, to<br />
have the customer made wheel chair<br />
ramp fitted and then to Sign Wonder<br />
to be wrapped, and both of these jobs<br />
were completed in less then 5 working<br />
days, so a massive thanks to Justin and<br />
Wayne Robertson and Justin Robert for<br />
their valiant effort to ensure Greg could<br />
do what you see in the pics and hand<br />
over a Mint condition VW Transporter to<br />
Louisa van Deventer at the Òdin 12 Hour<br />
powered by Suzuki.<br />
A very special thanks has to go to our<br />
anonymous benefactor, who has paid<br />
upfront for the vehicle and the costs to<br />
get it here, but Greg still needs to pay<br />
him back so if anyone still wants to get<br />
involved please contact him through the<br />
#27for48 or #FAST pages or his personal<br />
page on FaceBook.<br />
Or you can just make a donation into our<br />
account directly and email him a POP so<br />
he can send you a personal thank you on<br />
behalf of the whole team behind 27for48.<br />
27for48<br />
ABSA Cresta<br />
Cheq acc no 4087607706<br />
Reference #27for48 Fred
PADDOCK NEWS<br />
Brought<br />
to you by<br />
ROSSI NEEDS TO WATCH HIS MANNERS<br />
Randy Mamola thinks Rossi’s action on and off track recently have not set a good example<br />
In one of his latest columns for Motorsport.<br />
com, former 500cc star Randy Mamola<br />
casts the spotlight on Valentino Rossi’s<br />
manners, both off track and on - and says<br />
the Italian needs to change his ways:<br />
Last month, we learned that the FIM,<br />
led by the Teams’ Association (IRTA),<br />
contacted the MotoGP teams and gave<br />
them a warning: offensive gestures and<br />
disrespectful behaviours do not benefit<br />
the championship and they need to be<br />
avoided, and that the series bosses<br />
reserve the right to impose fines on<br />
whoever breaks those rules.<br />
As it turns out, that message was<br />
broadcast during the San Marino Grand<br />
Prix, the same weekend during which<br />
Valentino Rossi flipped the finger on Aleix<br />
Espargaro as he was running slowly down<br />
the straight of the Marco Simoncelli circuit,<br />
full of fans from Tavullia.<br />
That gesture probably incited the crowd,<br />
but was also the straw that broke the<br />
camel’s back and caused the FIM to<br />
intervene, and I’m in favour of that.<br />
Sometimes, those of us who are in the<br />
paddock tend to forget about the millions<br />
of people watching the races, but I don’t<br />
think asking the riders to keep it in mind is<br />
asking too much.<br />
That’s not always easy, especially now the<br />
tension among some riders is at an all-time<br />
high, but it’s an effort that I’m sure will<br />
bring positive consequences for all of us<br />
who love the sport.<br />
You have to be careful, because an<br />
image can cause a lot of damage. On the<br />
Saturday, Nicolo Bulega was the first rider<br />
to be fined - 300 euros - for the same<br />
gesture he had seen from his boss at the<br />
VR46 team.<br />
And that image, from such a young kid -<br />
flipping the bird on another rider - is even<br />
more hurtful than Valentino’s on Aleix.<br />
Leading by example<br />
We are coming from a very delicate season<br />
in 2015 that led to series organisers having<br />
to ask the fans who fill the grandstands to<br />
behave in a civilised manner, and to avoid<br />
disrespectful gestures such as booing.<br />
But we can’t expect that if we don’t lead<br />
by example.<br />
Having said that, we can now move on<br />
to the next item which caused a big stir<br />
at San Marino: the war of words between<br />
Rossi and Lorenzo during the press<br />
conference after the race.<br />
What happened there is simply<br />
confirmation of a fact: the impossibility to<br />
continue to share the same garage. That’s<br />
why I think it’s good that they are going<br />
separate ways next year.<br />
In this case, MotoGP faces a different kind<br />
of problem that requires a different type<br />
of action from the organisers. I’m talking<br />
about the riders’ behaviour during their<br />
public appearances on live TV.<br />
At Misano, Lorenzo brought up again<br />
Rossi’s lack of manners, as the Italian<br />
tends to start talking with whoever is<br />
beside him when it’s somebody else’s turn<br />
to answer questions.<br />
That makes the photographers focus their<br />
shots on him, something that logically<br />
annoys whoever is speaking given the<br />
noise that it generates. Stoner once<br />
stopped speaking in the middle of his<br />
answer and stared at Rossi until he shut<br />
up before proceeding.<br />
The problem, like in many other areas of<br />
this championship, is finding someone<br />
willing to confront Valentino and tell him<br />
what children are taught in kindergarten:<br />
when someone is talking, interrupting<br />
them, even if it’s just to chit-chat softly, is<br />
very rude.<br />
Randy Mamola.<br />
24 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
Pic by GP-Fever.de<br />
DEVELOPED<br />
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MICHELIN Power SuperSport<br />
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PADDOCK NEWS<br />
Brought<br />
to you by<br />
ODENDAAL TESTS KTM<br />
SA rider Steven Odendaal tests new KTM Moto2 bike<br />
South Africa’s Steven Odendaal<br />
was invited to participate in a 3-day<br />
test at Valencia with the brand<br />
new WP KTM Moto2 bike that is<br />
due to make a debut start in the<br />
Moto2 World Championship next<br />
season. The newly crowned Moto2<br />
European Champion did not have<br />
the ideal conditions to begin with<br />
as the weather did not allow him<br />
to do more than a couple of laps<br />
during the first two days of the test<br />
(12th and 13th October). It was only<br />
on the last day (14th October) that<br />
Odendaal was able to benefit from<br />
a dry track to adapt to the new WP<br />
machine. He tested two different<br />
bikes with a number of different<br />
modifications. The first bike was the<br />
first prototype and the second one<br />
the more developed WP machine.<br />
They were both very different in<br />
terms of flexibility and the geometry<br />
set-up.<br />
Steven Odendaal :”The new WP<br />
KTM Moto2 machine has a lot of<br />
potential and with a bit of set-up<br />
and time on the bike I was able to<br />
match the times I achieved with my<br />
Kalex Moto2. The test team was<br />
very professional and always able<br />
to appreciate my feedback and<br />
translate it into a positive outcome<br />
to improve the bike. Personally I<br />
think that Brad Binder will be on<br />
a competitive bike for the 2017<br />
season. As we all know, the Moto2<br />
class is very challenging but with<br />
a bit of time and effort I think that<br />
Brad will be very strong. I hope he<br />
enjoys riding the KTM as much as<br />
I did.”<br />
SOFUOGLU<br />
TAKES 5TH<br />
WORLD TITLE<br />
The Turkish rider rewrites the history<br />
books to win his fifth world title<br />
Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was already<br />
the most successful rider to have ever competed in the<br />
Supersport World Championship. He is truly his own<br />
competition, setting the bar even higher by rewriting<br />
his own record today to win his fifth World Supersport<br />
Championship. Only his rookie teammate and main<br />
rival Randy Krummenacher could have prolonged the<br />
inevitable from happening today, but after the Swiss<br />
rider crashed out of the race on lap 5, Sofuoglu only<br />
needed to finish the race to seal the deal. But in typical<br />
style, simply finishing wasn’t enough. Sofuoglu beat all<br />
his challengers to win at Gaerne Spanish Round and<br />
was crowned Champion once again.<br />
2017 will see the Champion compete in World<br />
Supersport once again with Kawasaki Puccetti Racing<br />
as he attempts to trump his own achievement and<br />
defend his title again.<br />
Career Statistics:<br />
Titles: 5<br />
Races: 115<br />
Wins: 38<br />
Podiums: 77<br />
Poles: 30<br />
Fastest laps: 28<br />
26 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
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Christmas<br />
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No more soap on a rope, or Liquorice allsorts, it’s time you put your foot down and<br />
get what you want for Christmas. We gather a few great options which we are sure<br />
you would like to unwrap on that special day.<br />
SPIRIT G2 Gauntlet Gloves<br />
Spirit motorcycle accessories have<br />
firmly established themselves as<br />
a top brand here in SA, loved<br />
and trusted by many. They<br />
have just released their new<br />
range of riding gear, from<br />
jackets to gloves. Featured<br />
here is the Spirit G2 gauntlet<br />
motorcycle gloves - hand<br />
crafted to perfection from cow<br />
hide aniline leather featuring a<br />
new innovative high abrasion<br />
rubber technology making it extra<br />
comfortable over the knuckle area,<br />
not compromising safety.<br />
Great value for money protection!<br />
R849 - www.spiritmotorcycles.co.za<br />
YAMAHA Bags<br />
Yamaha Concept store, situated at<br />
Yamaha World in Sandton, have just<br />
unpacked a new range of official<br />
Yamaha branded backpacks.<br />
R720 / R1350 - Yamaha Concept Store 011 259 7604<br />
SPRINT P08 Filter<br />
The Sprint Filter P08 has completely<br />
reinvented the concept of an aftermarket air<br />
filter. Sprint Filter’s are used by many teams in<br />
MotoGP, Moto3, Superbike, Supersport, and<br />
Superstock.<br />
The Sprint Filter P08 is essentially maintenance<br />
free. Remove the filter and blow it clean with<br />
compressed air, and you’re ready to go. If cared<br />
for properly, the Sprint Filter P08 will last for the<br />
entire time you own your bike.<br />
By optimizing the air/fuel mixture, the Sprint Filter<br />
P08 allows you to consume less fuel all the while<br />
gaining more power!<br />
Sprint have spent a tremendous amount of time<br />
and effort researching the best materials to<br />
use for the production of their air filters.<br />
The innovative polyester Sprint Filter<br />
P08 air filter stands apart from all other<br />
special cotton air filters for its increased air<br />
permeability, more efficient filtration and<br />
easy maintenance.<br />
CALL FOR PRICE -<br />
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LS2 HELMETS<br />
The latest range of premium quality<br />
LS2 Helmets have just landed in SA!<br />
The FF323 Arrow EVO Carbon is<br />
simply breathtaking and the two<br />
replica designs of Moto2 rider Isaac<br />
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Top quality protection at an affordable<br />
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R6800 (Carbon) R6100 (Replicas) - Moto Protezione 076 035 7224<br />
28 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
GEAR4SPEED MotoGP Apparel<br />
Gear4Speed is a new outlet where<br />
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Their range includes VR46, Marquez,<br />
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ENTRIES CLOSE 30TH NOVEMBER 2016.<br />
BOOK REVIEW Guy Martin: My Autobiography<br />
Guy Martin. Motorcycle racer, TV<br />
presenter, record breaker…truck fitter?<br />
Yes, if you had to ask Guy Martin what he<br />
did for a living, that would be his answer.<br />
At least that is the impression you are left<br />
with after you have read this book.<br />
The book is not actually just about a<br />
professional motorcycle racer, which is<br />
not what you would be expecting when<br />
you first pick it up. As you read on, you<br />
begin to learn that there is more to the<br />
Guy Martin story than one may expect.<br />
Guy is passionate about his motorcycles<br />
and his racing, yet it is not what he had<br />
envisioned for himself until later on. He<br />
mentions on a number of occasions, that<br />
he can’t bring himself to stop working on<br />
trucks and be a full time racer. Being a<br />
truck fitter is what he does and he loves it.<br />
The book leads you through the life of<br />
Guy Martin, in his own words. From<br />
his upbringing in Kirmington, England,<br />
where he would watch his Dad work<br />
on his bikes in the converted garden<br />
shed, through his career in racing and<br />
a number of other unexpected journeys<br />
that occurred along the way. Surviving a<br />
170mph crash at the Isle of man TT and<br />
returning to try it all again, is just one of<br />
the thrilling stories Guy tells of. He takes<br />
us on a ride through some of the world<br />
fastest street tracks as he battles for the<br />
wins. Guy also speaks of the highs and<br />
lows of his career, from team to team and<br />
bike to bike, as well as his personal life.<br />
There is most definitely a likability to<br />
Guy Martin that is brought out in the<br />
book. I feel it may be because he<br />
is someone that you can relate to,<br />
because of the way he was brought<br />
up and the way in which he lives<br />
his life. He does not come from<br />
money. He built his career piece by<br />
piece, step by step, working where<br />
and when he could to save enough<br />
money to put a bike together to race.<br />
He has slowly but surely made his<br />
way up the ranks of road racing and<br />
has become a legend of the sport.<br />
Not only that, but he has become a<br />
record breaker and TV presenter, yet<br />
he continues to live the simple life of<br />
a nine to fiver, clocking in each day<br />
and grafting.<br />
All in all, the book is great. I would<br />
recommend it to anyone, fans of<br />
motorcycle racing or not. Everyone can<br />
take something a way from it. I learnt a<br />
lot, and not just about Guy Martin. His<br />
approach to life is one that you will not<br />
come across often. He could decide to<br />
leave it all and be rich, drive fancy cars,<br />
live the life of a ‘rockstar’ motorcycle<br />
racer and TV personality, but he chooses<br />
not to. There is something about the way<br />
he lives that is refreshing. The idea that<br />
you can be more than just one thing, that<br />
what you do as a job does not define<br />
you, and that you can take as much out<br />
of the little things in life than the big.<br />
It’s not your typical, “hey look at me, I’m<br />
famous, these are all the amazing things<br />
I’ve done”, kind of autobiographies.<br />
It’s about a boy that loved to work on<br />
engines, grew to love motorcycles,<br />
worked hard and did some great things,<br />
but never lost touch with who he was and<br />
where he came from.<br />
He still prefers to sleep in his van at race<br />
meetings than in any fancy hotel, and<br />
that’s Guy Martin.<br />
I highly reccomend this as a gift to any<br />
and all motorcycle lovers.<br />
Wayne van Tonder<br />
R167 (currently on sale) - www.loot.co.za<br />
RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016 29
A DIFFERENT KIND OF<br />
SUPERBIKE<br />
After receiving huge praise for the KTM 1290 Adventure article we featured a few months<br />
back, we decided to let The Singh loose on another “Different kind of Superbike”. This time<br />
Ducati’s all-new Multistrada Enduro. Words: The Singh<br />
1994 was a landmark on earth, South<br />
Africa became a democracy and BMW<br />
released a dual purpose, opposed cylinder<br />
twin. The R1100GS which in German<br />
stands for Gelände/Straße - literally<br />
translated, it means “terrain”/”street”.<br />
The bike created a stir in the definition of<br />
purpose built bikes as bikers crept out from<br />
under their shells of conventionality and<br />
explored this new concept.<br />
Suffice to say another rumour about the<br />
abundant success of the GS was related<br />
to a tale of a Jedi Master, NO, not Brian<br />
Muldenhauer from Nelspruit. It was a rather<br />
louche Ewan McGregor and a moody<br />
Charley Boorman’s ambition to ride<br />
across 12 countries and do 20000<br />
miles that catapulted the BMW 1200GS<br />
to the foremost position in the global<br />
adventure market. I hope they fired the<br />
unfortunate sod from KTM who originally<br />
refused the sponsorship deal.<br />
Since then many manufacturers have<br />
tried to capture a larger share of that<br />
elusive market. Another contender that<br />
we at Ride Fast were asked to test is the<br />
Ducati 1200 Multistrada Enduro. A brushed<br />
aluminium behemoth from the Italian<br />
stable of suggestively sexy superbikes and<br />
outlandish scramblers.<br />
With a mouthwatering 160hp on tap<br />
and a ridiculously high riding position (lower<br />
seat available at minimal additional cost)<br />
this bike is intimidating in the same way<br />
that an exotic dancer is when you initially<br />
walk into a strip club. A wide tank, subtly<br />
crafted levers and foot pegs combined<br />
with the precise design associated with<br />
anything exotic makes the Enduro a<br />
thought provoking entry into the dual<br />
purpose market.<br />
The press release, media pack and<br />
website lists a mind-numbing 266 changes.<br />
Every review from Pretoria to Timbuctoo<br />
lists mythical 266 changes. Nobody actually<br />
tabulates what those changes are and what<br />
is different from the previous model. So are<br />
they stating that these changes were made<br />
to update the Multistrada to true “off-road”<br />
capabilities or were these manufacturer<br />
improvements on the previous model?<br />
30 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
“It surges forward with maniacal<br />
glee and threatens to tear you off<br />
the bike as you thump through the<br />
gears. It is immensely tall, furiously<br />
fast and as agile as cat woman<br />
on a heist.”<br />
Hill descent control or vehicle hold<br />
control and any other acronym that<br />
means it will not slide backwards on a<br />
hill combined with a zillion adjustments<br />
from varying degrees of ABS to Power to<br />
the temperature of the sand. Oh, hang<br />
on, not yet. Maybe an auto-inflate/deflate<br />
feature will be next on these ever increasing<br />
technologically superior bikes. I am not<br />
challenged when it comes to figuring out<br />
electronic gadgets but these manufacturers<br />
need to look at a more simplistic approach<br />
to optimizing adjustments.<br />
The latest phase which this machine<br />
possesses is keyless go. Yes it is<br />
advantageous to be able to ignite the bike<br />
while awestruck onlookers ogle you in a<br />
parking lot, but it is slated as an off-road<br />
tourer. So while you are meer-kating your<br />
way through perilous paths of strewn rocks<br />
and devastating dongas, what happens if<br />
you drop your key? Just a thought.<br />
At over 6 feet tall and possessing no<br />
off-road skill whatsoever, this bike was<br />
going to be tested in the most dangerous<br />
environment on earth: The daily commute.<br />
With a 30 liter tank and fanny pack over<br />
the steering column I set off on my daily<br />
grind from Tshwane to Joburg. The rather<br />
exhausted salesman at Ducati had routinely<br />
showed me all the buttons and functions of<br />
this Ducati and as usual my short attention<br />
span had switched off with his bursting<br />
enthusiasm. I left the bike in Sport mode<br />
and two up riding position and entered the<br />
battle ground.<br />
Equipped with the Testastretta DVT<br />
engine configuration, you know from<br />
the onset that this was no slouch in<br />
acceleration and as I joined the N1 drag<br />
strip, the Ducati did not disappoint. It<br />
surges forward with maniacal glee and<br />
threatens to tear you off the bike as you<br />
thump through the gears. It is immensely<br />
tall, furiously fast and as agile as cat<br />
woman on a heist.<br />
In quick riding the Enduro is nippy<br />
and light to turn. Brakes are prodigious<br />
and, in true Brembo fashion can halt<br />
your progress faster than most of us can<br />
caress the brake levers. The suspension<br />
with its revised electronic sky-hook set-up<br />
felt slightly more comfortable than the<br />
standard Multistrada. I do not know how<br />
it would feel off-road, but I am sure uncle<br />
Glen will talk about its agility there.<br />
On the commute the versatility of the<br />
engine was apparent as it easily rampaged<br />
through midafternoon traffic. The following<br />
day was a tad more challenging in the<br />
peak hour rush as I found that the shorter<br />
wheel base coupled with its imposing<br />
height did not make it as effortless to<br />
maneuver at almost stationary speeds.<br />
This was remedied when I stood up<br />
and steered in that format. Not my ideal<br />
riding position, but it worked. I tentatively<br />
scoff at garishly equipped riders who<br />
arrogantly leap upright at the barest hint<br />
of an obstacle in smooth flowing traffic<br />
and here I was looking like King Kong in<br />
Times Square as I frantically navigated<br />
past sweating motorists and portentous<br />
taxi-drivers.<br />
As the biking industry trudges<br />
towards limited options due to a stricter<br />
economy and increased living costs it<br />
becomes increasingly more important for<br />
manufacturers to offer a package that is not<br />
restrained by tarred roads. The adventure<br />
bike category has gained infamy as being<br />
the go to vehicle of choice whether you<br />
are experiencing a mid-life crises or have<br />
grown rather cuddly for a superbike.<br />
With the Enduro, Ducati have<br />
engineered a brilliant, adaptive<br />
and performance orientated<br />
machine that, like the KTM<br />
1290 Super Adventure,<br />
deserves a second look<br />
when perusing this<br />
market segment. For<br />
the next incarnation<br />
I would add heated<br />
seats, a lighter throttle<br />
feel, a lower seat height<br />
and more arm room<br />
for taller riders. But I<br />
am no expert in the dual<br />
bike market and as a first<br />
attempt, it is a well built and aggressive<br />
statement that there is yet another<br />
contender in the fight against the GS.<br />
The marketing campaign for both the<br />
KTM 1290 Super Adventure and the Ducati<br />
Multistrada Enduro needs to be stepped<br />
up a notch as IMHO, these bikes represent<br />
seriously underrated challengers in this ever<br />
increasing arena.<br />
RATINGS: MULTISTRADA ENDURO<br />
Heat 8<br />
Steering 6 (difficult at low speed)<br />
Fuel 10 (30l and 600km)<br />
Acceleration 9 (fasssssst)<br />
Throttle 8 (crazy response)<br />
Traffic 6 (not for me)<br />
Servicing 7 (market related)<br />
Lights 9 (stunning)<br />
Wind 8 (dual purpose protection)<br />
New Rider 6 (if you thought the KTM was high)<br />
Total: 77/100<br />
Remember this rating applies to the bike as a commuter<br />
RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016 31
HELPFUL<br />
TECH TIPS<br />
Get the settings<br />
perfect and you<br />
don’t need your<br />
inside hand on left<br />
hand corners<br />
SUSPENSION SETUP<br />
DIAL IN YOUR BIKE’S SUSPENSION BY UNDERSTANDING WHERE TO START<br />
Words: Dave Moss<br />
The new or new-to-you bike you just<br />
acquired, or the bike you have had<br />
for years that you love and enjoy—<br />
who was it made for? What weight rider?<br />
What height, inseam, spine or arm length?<br />
What data points did the manufacturer use<br />
to construct this motorcycle? Was it built<br />
around their test rider at the time? Who was<br />
that, in what country was the testing done<br />
and on what types of roads?<br />
Now, look at your bike and see what<br />
the suspension offers you in terms of<br />
adjustments. None, a couple of things on<br />
the rear shock only, slightly more between<br />
the shock and forks, or is it fully adjustable?<br />
Not sure what that means or what to<br />
look for? Where is your owner’s manual?<br />
You are going to need it!<br />
Asking those questions, and finding<br />
the answers, can lead one to wonder,<br />
“Why did they do this?” The answer is<br />
simple—pricing. A cheap bike gets cheap<br />
suspension, and as the price increases,<br />
so do suspension choices as well as levels<br />
of sophistication through to push-button<br />
electronic adjustments.<br />
With such a range of variables, it’s time<br />
to roll up your sleeves and answer the key<br />
questions about suspension: “What do I<br />
have? And what do I need?”<br />
Depending on what you<br />
find, there are a number of<br />
adjustments you can make to<br />
improve your setup:<br />
“I HAVE NO ADJUSTMENTS!”<br />
Not the end of the world. You<br />
have many options, starting with<br />
the cheapest first:<br />
• Change fork position to<br />
address steering challenges<br />
• Change fork oil to a thicker<br />
viscosity so the motorcycle<br />
becomes much more stable<br />
• Change to the right springs for<br />
your weight, so the motorcycle<br />
rides evenly front to back<br />
• Change internal components to provide<br />
adjustments<br />
• Change out the components entirely<br />
for high-performance aftermarket<br />
replacement parts<br />
“I HAVE SOME ADJUSTMENTS!??!”<br />
What do you have, preload and rebound?<br />
Those are the most common at the next<br />
level.<br />
• Once spring tension is set, you need<br />
to manage the energy release when the<br />
spring compresses (hitting a bump). The<br />
rebound screw seeks to control that energy<br />
Are you willing to understand how rebound works and<br />
then try different settings to get it right?<br />
release, so you don’t pop out of the seat<br />
and/or the bike doesn’t suddenly stand up.<br />
Therefore, you have the ability to make the<br />
chassis much more stable in corners, and<br />
we all LOVE being on the side of the tire<br />
for as long as possible. Are you willing to<br />
understand how rebound works and then<br />
try different settings to get it right?<br />
“I HAVE TOO MANY ADJUSTMENTS!”<br />
Yes, I hear that all the time and I’m not in<br />
the least bit dismayed by those words. I<br />
relish that statement, as I can turn someone<br />
from fear-based learning to a path of<br />
discovery that brings bursts of joy through<br />
understanding.<br />
32 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
SUSPENSION<br />
SETUP<br />
With the right suspension setup, any<br />
bike will feel good out on track<br />
When should you buy after market parts? When your bike becomes a<br />
track bike (Stock 9R6/MV vs. expensive TTX/GP replacement parts)<br />
• If this is the case, your dusty owner’s<br />
manual will give you factory default settings<br />
and maybe other settings (commuting,<br />
sport, track, etc.). Try them all and see what<br />
you like best.<br />
“I’M READY TO UPGRADE.”<br />
Stock components can only do so much<br />
during braking, cornering and throttle<br />
opening/closing, and the less adjustment<br />
capability you have, the more you simply<br />
receive what the bike can do for you.<br />
IF you invest in time and understanding<br />
to make your motorcycle do what you<br />
want it to, that’s great and kudos to you for<br />
discovering that. If that’s not happening,<br />
then it is time to look at investing in your<br />
bike and upgrading your suspension.<br />
What should you invest in?<br />
• Are the fork and/or shock springs correct<br />
for your weight (settings sag)? If not,<br />
purchase what you need to make sure that<br />
you are using the centralized 70% of the<br />
available travel<br />
• If you have adjustments, can you get<br />
the stability you are looking for? If not, you<br />
need to invest in replacement internal parts<br />
for your OEM forks and shock OR<br />
• If your budget allows, completely<br />
replace the OEM forks and shock from the<br />
aftermarket with high-priced alternatives.<br />
As the sophistication of components<br />
increases, so does your ability to create,<br />
manage and sustain stability for the chassis<br />
in every phase of riding. What does that<br />
mean in seat-of-the-pants terms? You<br />
manage weight transfer very effectively<br />
and the bike moves like a metronome<br />
during braking and acceleration. That level<br />
of management provides very soft/loose<br />
hands in regards to grip, which means you<br />
can ride for a lot longer with a constant<br />
grin. Nice!<br />
For those who have experienced an ‘on<br />
rails’ motorcycle, it encourages you to ride<br />
it each day. But still you must be diligent<br />
and maintain that excellence in handling<br />
via time-sensitive future adjustments. That<br />
means the sleeves stay rolled up for quite a<br />
while longer.<br />
COMPETITION!<br />
Win a Antigravity<br />
SC-1 Lithium ion<br />
race battery worth<br />
R1500<br />
Courtesy of Bike Tyre Warehouse<br />
To enter simply email a pic of yourself at<br />
your best lean angle to rob@ridefast.co.za<br />
Willem Louw’s entry - One of<br />
the hundreds of entries we<br />
have already received.<br />
Entries close 30th November 2016
2017 HONDA CBR1000RR SP2<br />
SPORTBIKE MAGAZINE<br />
<strong>RF</strong> magazine play.indd 1006<br />
2014/12/27 8:44 AM
HIGH<br />
FIVE<br />
Marc Marquez put in a 5 star perfromance at Motegi and<br />
was crowned world champion for the 5th time. Words Dave Emmett<br />
Chasing down a championship<br />
lead can be both liberating<br />
and extremely stressful. On<br />
the one hand, your objective is<br />
simple: beat the rider who is leading the<br />
championship, and try to outscore them by<br />
as much as possible.<br />
On the other hand, you have to take<br />
more risk, as riding conservatively means<br />
you risk not scoring enough points to close<br />
the gap to the leader. Finding the balance<br />
between the two is always difficult.<br />
Defending a championship lead is just<br />
as stressful. The best way to defend it is<br />
to keep trying to win races, and make it as<br />
hard as possible for your rivals to catch you.<br />
But winning races means taking risks,<br />
and a crash can mean throwing away a big<br />
chunk of your lead in a single race. Riding<br />
conservatively is not necessarily an easier<br />
option: it is paradoxically harder to ride<br />
just off the pace than right on the pace,<br />
requiring more focus and concentration to<br />
manage the race.<br />
Giving away points every race can<br />
be like Chinese water torture, your rivals<br />
closing the gap with each drip. Tension<br />
rises every race, and containing it without<br />
bursting is extremely stressful.<br />
The Motegi MotoGP race provided<br />
a perfect example of both of these<br />
situations. Valentino Rossi and Jorge<br />
Lorenzo came into the Japanese Grand<br />
Prix knowing that they had to win the<br />
race if they were to retain any hope of<br />
keeping the 2016 MotoGP title out of Marc<br />
Márquez’ hands.<br />
The job was significantly easier for Rossi<br />
than for Lorenzo. Outscoring an opponent<br />
by 52 points in four races is easier than<br />
trying to make up a deficit of 66 points.<br />
Conversely, that put more pressure on<br />
Rossi: keeping an achievable target within<br />
reach makes winning paramount.<br />
38 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
SPONSORED BY<br />
PROUDLY DISTRIBUTED BY<br />
AMP SA: www.ampsa.co.za<br />
RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016 3 9
SPONSORED BY<br />
PROUDLY DISTRIBUTED BY<br />
AUTOCYCLE CENTRE<br />
www.autocyclecentre.co.za<br />
Mission Impossible<br />
Going into Motegi, the calculations were<br />
simple. Valentino Rossi had to win the<br />
race, and hope for enough competition<br />
behind him to put at least three bikes<br />
between himself and Marc Márquez.<br />
Jorge Lorenzo had to win the race,<br />
and pray for a miracle, or discretely hope<br />
for a problem or DNF. (Riders never want<br />
another rider to crash, but they will take<br />
a mechanical for their rivals any time they<br />
can get it.)<br />
Marc Márquez had to keep Rossi and<br />
Lorenzo in sight, limit the damage, and try<br />
to make lifting the title at Phillip Island as<br />
easy as possible. As far as Márquez was<br />
concerned, winning the title at Motegi was<br />
impossible.<br />
Winning the race, on the other hand,<br />
was not.<br />
Márquez turned out to be half right. Not<br />
only was he able to win the race at Motegi,<br />
but he was also able to lift the 2016<br />
MotoGP title.<br />
The first part is all his own achievement.<br />
The second part, well he had a little help<br />
with that. But he had a hand in that too.<br />
When asked at the special<br />
championship press conference held after<br />
the main press conference, Márquez gave<br />
up the key to 2016, and the key to the<br />
outcome of the Motegi race.<br />
“The others made mistakes, but it’s like<br />
last year,” he said. “If nobody pushes me,<br />
I will not make a mistake. So this year, I<br />
push right on the limit, so the others make<br />
a mistake.”<br />
Márquez started applying pressure<br />
from the start. He made a strong start,<br />
but was beaten to the holeshot by Jorge<br />
Lorenzo, the Movistar Yamaha setting out<br />
his ambition from the off.<br />
Lorenzo pushed hard to make a break,<br />
opening the smallest of gaps to the<br />
chasing horde. Behind him, Marc Márquez<br />
and Valentino Rossi fought a fierce battle<br />
over second for a couple of laps, with<br />
Márquez coming out on top.<br />
With a firm grip on second, Márquez<br />
closed down Lorenzo and sliced<br />
underneath the Yamaha at Turn 9, holding<br />
his line tight enough to ensure he could<br />
defend the lead into Turn 10.<br />
Upping the Pressure<br />
Márquez leading the race left Rossi in<br />
a tough position. He had his teammate<br />
between himself and Márquez, and his<br />
goal, he said after the race, was victory,<br />
nothing less. His problem was that while<br />
“If nobody pushes<br />
me, I will not make a<br />
mistake. So this year,<br />
I push right on the<br />
limit, so the others<br />
make a mistake.”<br />
Lorenzo was fast, he wasn’t fast enough<br />
to stay with Márquez.<br />
Ahead of him, the gap was opening<br />
to the Repsol Honda, and Rossi was<br />
stuck behind the high-speed roadblock of<br />
Lorenzo. He had to get past his teammate,<br />
and then he had to close down Márquez.<br />
Getting past Lorenzo was not easy. The<br />
Mallorcan had dithered over his front tyre<br />
choice, eventually going with the medium,<br />
after a good feeling with it in FP4. He<br />
had preferred the soft, but the warmer<br />
conditions swayed his choice. It proved to<br />
be the wrong one.<br />
After the race, he complained of a lack<br />
of confidence in the front and a vibration<br />
from the tyre. That prevented him from<br />
pushing as hard as he wanted.<br />
40 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
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Getting the Rubber Right<br />
It is not the first time Lorenzo has<br />
complained of a vibration from the front<br />
tyre, especially with harder compounds.<br />
The combination of the Yamaha M1, Jorge<br />
Lorenzo’s high corner speed style, and the<br />
harder Michelins seems to create vibration<br />
at the front end.<br />
Where the fault lies in that matrix is hard<br />
to say. But the fact that neither Lorenzo<br />
nor Valentino Rossi have won a race on<br />
the Yamaha M1 since early June, when the<br />
Italian won at Barcelona, suggests there is<br />
an underlying problem with the Yamaha.<br />
In the first seven races, Yamaha was<br />
victorious five times. In the eight races<br />
since, they have not won once. Five<br />
podiums in eight races, but zero wins.<br />
Yamaha’s front-end vulnerability<br />
would manifest itself with disastrous<br />
consequences once Valentino Rossi<br />
got past his teammate. With the gap to<br />
Márquez nearly a second, Rossi pushed<br />
on to chase Márquez down.<br />
A measure of how hard he<br />
was pushing was that he set<br />
his fastest sector time for the<br />
second sector on Lap 7. Three<br />
corners later, the front end<br />
washed away, and Rossi’s title<br />
challenge ended in the gravel.<br />
He remounted and rode the<br />
bike back to the pits, where<br />
his team looked at his bike.<br />
But Rossi had given up. “Today, I wasn’t<br />
interested in second place,” he told Italian<br />
media.<br />
Rossi had no explanation for his crash.<br />
He had been checking the lap and sector<br />
times on his dash, and they were about the<br />
same as in previous laps. He was trying<br />
to catch Márquez, he said, but he had no<br />
intention of trying to pass him in one lap.<br />
The crash had happened without<br />
warning. He had used the same line, and<br />
the same speed as on previous laps, but<br />
the front was simply gone.<br />
Finding the Limit<br />
The only explanation that Rossi could give<br />
was the front tyre. The medium was a<br />
little too hard for the Yamaha, and he had<br />
been able to find the perfect setting with<br />
the bike.<br />
With that tyre, he was always on the limit,<br />
and in such cases, the smallest mistake is<br />
punished mercilessly. The soft front was too<br />
soft, and therefore not an option.<br />
The reason that Rossi had been on the<br />
limit with the medium front is because the<br />
pace of Márquez left him no choice. Rossi<br />
knew what he had to do, and he gave his<br />
all to try to do it.<br />
“Today, I wasn’t<br />
interested in<br />
second place”<br />
Rossi’s error was small, but it was fatal<br />
to his title hopes. Killed by the combination<br />
of the knife edge Michelins and Yamaha’s<br />
stagnant development of the M1 chassis.<br />
One down, one to go. When Márquez<br />
saw ‘ROSSI OUT’ on his board, he knew it<br />
was time to push for the win. The pace he<br />
had shown in practice translated into the<br />
race, quickly opening a gap over Lorenzo.<br />
That, in turn, spelled trouble for the second<br />
Movistar Yamaha rider.<br />
Rearguard Action<br />
For behind Lorenzo, a chasing trio was<br />
closing. Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso was<br />
leading a brace of Suzukis, with Aleix<br />
Espargaro eventually ceding precedence<br />
to his teammate Maverick Viñales.<br />
The gap hovered around a second<br />
for seven laps, but with two thirds of the<br />
race gone, Lorenzo’s pace began to falter.<br />
Dovizioso closed to within half a second,<br />
and then Lorenzo’s front end folded as well.<br />
The Italian had seen that Lorenzo<br />
was struggling. “I saw Lorenzo riding in<br />
a strange way,” he said afterwards. But<br />
the crash was down to a mistake by the<br />
Spaniard. “He touched the white line with<br />
the front tyre.” That has been something of<br />
a characteristic of the Michelins this year.<br />
“You have to be very careful to avoid the<br />
white line,” he said.<br />
According to Dovizioso, the crashes of<br />
both Yamahas were down to the layout<br />
of the circuit and the need to push. “The<br />
characteristic of the tyre is we have a lot<br />
of grip on the rear, but it is not easy to<br />
manage on the front,” he said.<br />
With all of the hard braking at Motegi,<br />
it was easy to just slightly miss a braking<br />
point and enter a corner a couple of<br />
km/h faster than normal. “They didn’t do<br />
anything very bad,” Dovizioso said the<br />
Movistar Yamaha crashes, “but the limit<br />
is very close and it is difficult to feel when<br />
you go over the limit.”<br />
42 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
Holding It Together<br />
Lorenzo had fallen with five laps to go.<br />
When Márquez crossed the line and<br />
saw ‘LORENZO OUT’ on his pit board,<br />
he nearly lost his head. He had come<br />
to Motegi not expecting to win the title,<br />
telling reporters he wasn’t even sure his<br />
team had brought the celebratory t-shirts,<br />
presuming that he would get his first real<br />
shot at reclaiming the title at Phillip Island.<br />
Seeing the championship there for the<br />
taking, he forgot where he was. “Honestly,<br />
when I saw Lorenzo was out I forgot<br />
everything. I missed a gear three, four, five<br />
times in the lap. I didn’t know which circuit<br />
I was at!”<br />
His confusion showed up in the lap<br />
times. From doing low 1’46s, he was<br />
suddenly lapping six, seven, eight tenths<br />
a lap slower. Eventually he recomposed<br />
himself, put his head down and focused<br />
on finishing the race. His gap to Dovizioso<br />
was big enough to allow him the luxury of<br />
confusion.<br />
The Thrill of Victory<br />
Márquez crossed the line with an explosive<br />
release of joy. In many ways, winning the<br />
title when he hadn’t expected it made for a<br />
purer, more honest reaction.<br />
In most cases, riders arrive at a<br />
particular track with a good idea they will be<br />
champion when they leave. They have spent<br />
the weeks leading up to the race building up<br />
expectations, and confronting the emotions<br />
of the title. They have had time to plan and<br />
prepare celebrations, and run through the<br />
various situations in their minds.<br />
So when they do <strong>final</strong>ly cross the<br />
line, after the initial thrill of winning, the<br />
celebrations can seem a little bit forced.<br />
It all feels very contrived and controlled, a<br />
reenactment of what the riders believed<br />
they would feel, rather than the pure,<br />
unadulterated pleasure at winning.<br />
This is why, quite frankly, so many<br />
championship celebrations are so<br />
thoroughly awful. At best they are bland, at<br />
worst they are painfully awkward, and if we<br />
are lucky, they are at least mildly quirky.<br />
When Marc Márquez <strong>final</strong>ly crossed the<br />
line, he had only raw, undiluted joy. It was<br />
obvious in every fiber of his being, in every<br />
movement, every gesture.<br />
Being a professional motorcycle racer<br />
may be many fans’ dream job, but the<br />
reality is it is a difficult, exhausting, slog.<br />
Hours of physical training every day,<br />
riding motocross, supermoto or flat track<br />
at the very limit, the constant nagging<br />
pain of injuries picked up in the inevitable<br />
crashes, the sheer mind-numbing tedium<br />
of international air travel, hanging around<br />
at airports, hanging around in aircraft,<br />
hanging around in hotels.<br />
Yes, you get to ride the fastest<br />
motorcycles in the world, but only ever<br />
at breakneck speed with the constant<br />
knowledge that you are a millisecond away<br />
from serious injury.<br />
When you ask riders at this level if they<br />
are having fun, they usually hesitate, have to<br />
think, before trying to persuade themselves<br />
that they are. Being a MotoGP rider is<br />
physically damaging and mentally draining.<br />
Joy Unrehearsed<br />
The reason riders put themselves through<br />
that torture is for the few, fleeting moments<br />
of release that come with winning. Valentino<br />
Rossi is most expressive on this front,<br />
speaking of the “taste of victory”, words<br />
44 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
“He learned to be patient,<br />
to surrender the battle<br />
to give himself a better<br />
chance of winning the<br />
war. He learned to pick<br />
his moments, to push<br />
when he had something<br />
to gain, to be more<br />
conservative when he<br />
had something to lose.”<br />
usually accompanied by an involuntary<br />
movement of his hands to his lips.<br />
It is a very visceral, physical thing, this<br />
taste. And it is at its purest when it comes<br />
fully earned, yet unexpected. Valentino<br />
Rossi is famous for his celebrations, be<br />
they for wins or for championships.<br />
But my favorite Rossi celebration came<br />
at Welkom in 2004, after his first race on<br />
the Yamaha when he beat Max Biaggi on<br />
the factory Honda. He had not expected<br />
to win, so he parked the bike at the<br />
side of the track, got off and sat with his<br />
back against the armco, head down, his<br />
shoulders shaking.<br />
He would say later that he was laughing<br />
with joy inside his helmet. To us, it looked<br />
like he was crying with joy. No matter. It<br />
was joy. It was the reason why racers race.<br />
The sweet taste of victory.<br />
Mature Marc?<br />
Where did Márquez’s championship victory<br />
come from? It came from the lessons he<br />
learned in 2015, from the title he threw<br />
away by crashing out of the early part of<br />
the season.<br />
It was the hardest lesson of his life, but it<br />
laid the basis for 2016. Márquez learned to<br />
take risks in practice, not in races, crashing<br />
just as often, but only when it didn’t count.<br />
He learned to be patient, to surrender the<br />
battle to give himself a better chance of<br />
winning the war. He learned to pick his<br />
moments, to push when he had something<br />
to gain, to be more conservative when he<br />
had something to lose.<br />
His patience had been tested from the<br />
start. The bike was not competitive at the<br />
start of the season, but he had told HRC’s<br />
engineers to trust in him in the early part of<br />
the season, and he would trust in them for<br />
the second half.<br />
His trust was rewarded, Honda getting<br />
to grips with the spec electronics, and<br />
modifying swingarms and other parts to<br />
give him enough feeling to overcome the<br />
weaknesses of the RC213V.<br />
There had been several key moments:<br />
switching to the large wings, which he<br />
tested after Brno and used from then on,<br />
which helped in acceleration. Electronics<br />
improvements, that HRC had brought<br />
around the same time. Márquez had<br />
learned a lot from losing to Valentino Rossi,<br />
about managing the front tyre.<br />
“After Montmelo, I started to understand<br />
a little bit,” he said. “I saw a few things<br />
behind Valentino. That was the first race<br />
I followed him for many laps, he knows<br />
the Michelins very well, and I saw a few<br />
things.” Ironic, almost, that Rossi should be<br />
the mentor to the man he hates most.<br />
RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016 45
School of Hard Knocks<br />
The 2016 championship is testament to<br />
the transformation of Marc Márquez. In<br />
2013 and 2014, Márquez proved to the<br />
world his incredible talent and ability. In<br />
2015, he learned to lose, and that added<br />
the maturity that had been missing.<br />
In 2016, Marc Márquez became a very<br />
complete motorcycle racer, capable not<br />
just of winning races, but also of managing<br />
a championship.<br />
That elevated him into an elite group,<br />
becoming the youngest rider to win<br />
three MotoGP titles, and five Grand Prix<br />
championships.<br />
He matched his<br />
teammate Dani<br />
Pedrosa’s total for<br />
MotoGP wins with 29,<br />
and surpassed<br />
Mick Doohan for<br />
total Grand Prix<br />
wins with 55. He<br />
is still only 23 years<br />
and 242 days old.<br />
They say the 2017 Honda<br />
RC213V has a much more userfriendly<br />
engine, which sacrifices nothing<br />
in horsepower. That should be enough<br />
to strike fear into the hearts of the<br />
competition. There could be plenty more<br />
wins and plenty more titles to add to his<br />
name. He is not yet done with the record<br />
books.<br />
Opportunity Squandered<br />
If Márquez earned his 2016 title – which<br />
he unquestionably did – he was helped in<br />
no small part by the failings of the Movistar<br />
Yamaha riders.<br />
Here, too, the roles were reversed:<br />
in 2015, Lorenzo and Rossi fought a<br />
season-long battle which came down to<br />
consistency, while Marc Márquez threw<br />
his championship chances away early. In<br />
2016, Márquez plugged away at scoring<br />
points, while Rossi and Lorenzo found new<br />
ways to throw the championship away.<br />
Valentino Rossi crashed at Austin,<br />
46 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
crashed at Assen, then crashed in Japan.<br />
Sure, he also had an engine blow on him<br />
– a consequence of trying to match the<br />
speed of the Ducatis and Hondas along<br />
Mugello’s long front straight – but it was the<br />
three DNFs which cost him most dearly.<br />
Without them, he would be within a<br />
handful of points of Márquez, and we<br />
would be talking about how Yamaha had<br />
cost him the championship because of the<br />
engine blow up at Mugello. Instead, it is<br />
Rossi who threw this season away, starting<br />
in Austin. That had been his mistake, he<br />
told reporters, when he had tried to force<br />
his M1 to turn to tightly and hit a bump he<br />
knew was there.<br />
Assen had been a mistake with the<br />
tyres, pushing too hard when there wasn’t<br />
enough grip. And Motegi? By then it was<br />
really too late, and he was having to push<br />
beyond his comfort zone just to stay in<br />
with a chance.<br />
When Strength Becomes Weakness<br />
Jorge Lorenzo, on the other hand, has<br />
simply been too erratic. Lorenzo depends<br />
so much on high corner<br />
speed that he needs<br />
tyres that give him<br />
good feedback from<br />
the front and a good<br />
feeling on the edge.<br />
The 2016<br />
Michelins have<br />
changed too much<br />
during the year for Lorenzo to exploit his<br />
millimeter-precise style. When the tyres<br />
have been right, and the temperatures<br />
have been right within the operating<br />
window of the Michelins –<br />
one of the two biggest<br />
weaknesses of the<br />
French tyres, along<br />
with a lack of<br />
feedback from the<br />
front – Lorenzo has<br />
been unbeatable.<br />
When the tyres<br />
haven’t been suited<br />
to the conditions, then<br />
Lorenzo hasn’t been able<br />
to adapt his style enough to<br />
use the potential of the tyres.<br />
That has been most<br />
apparent in the wet. It took<br />
Lorenzo until Silverstone<br />
to truly get his head around<br />
the Michelin wet tyres, a process<br />
which hard started in earnest at Brno.<br />
But by then, he had scored two<br />
shameful results at Assen and the<br />
Sachsenring, and then exacerbated it with<br />
confusion over tyres at Brno. Add in a<br />
crash he caused in Argentina, and being<br />
taken out by Andrea Iannone at Barcelona,<br />
and Lorenzo had given up any chance of<br />
being competitive.<br />
In 2017, Michelin are bringing a new<br />
front tyre that the riders test at Brno, and<br />
raved about. That should solve many of<br />
the problems both Rossi and Lorenzo<br />
complain about. There is hope for a<br />
competitive championship in 2017 yet.<br />
What Matters Most<br />
There is much more to write about Motegi<br />
than just the entwined fates of Marc<br />
Márquez, Valentino Rossi and Jorge<br />
Lorenzo. There is a solid second place<br />
from Andrea Dovizioso on the Ducati.<br />
Another superb podium from Maverick<br />
Viñales, and an excellent ride by Aleix<br />
Espargaro, both Suzuki riders showing just<br />
how much that bike has improved. There<br />
was Cal Crutchlow gambling on the hard<br />
front tyre, and demonstrating that he is the<br />
best non-factory rider on the grid.<br />
There are the Aprilias, both inside the<br />
top ten, and Alvaro Bautista showing that<br />
both he and the bike are really starting to<br />
become competitive.<br />
There is a ridiculously brave ride by<br />
Bradley Smith, who has no business<br />
being on a motorbike with his leg in the<br />
shape its in.<br />
There is a solid ride by Mike Jones, who<br />
finished his first MotoGP race on one of the<br />
most difficult bikes on the grid, the Ducati<br />
GP14.2. Not forgetting Moto2 and Moto3.<br />
All this deserves coverage, and that will<br />
come in the future. But on the day, we saw<br />
history being made, and that deserves to<br />
be at the center of attention.<br />
Marc Márquez became the 2016<br />
MotoGP champion, clinching the title in<br />
the best way imaginable, at a race where<br />
he thought it was impossible. The Honda<br />
RC213V is still not the best bike on the<br />
grid, but it is no longer the ugly duckling<br />
with the vicious nature. Honda have turned<br />
a snarling, unpredictable monster into a<br />
wild beast that can be tamed.<br />
And if ever there were a rider to race to<br />
victory on the back of a bucking dragon, it<br />
is Marc Márquez.<br />
RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016 47
READERS<br />
MOTOGP TRIP<br />
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND<br />
A WORLD CHAMPION<br />
ONE OF OUR READERS TELLS US ABOUT HIS ARAGON MOTOGP EXPERIENCE<br />
Words & Pics: Midge Miles<br />
We arrived at the Aragon circuit<br />
around midday on Friday, after<br />
having driven for about 3 hours<br />
from Tossa de Mar, which is about 80km<br />
North East of Barcelona. We had booked<br />
into the camping area at the circuit, which is<br />
basically a stony gravel area, and opted to<br />
just sleep in the car for the 2 nights. There<br />
was a beer tent and shower facilities with<br />
cold water and plenty of toilets, which were<br />
kept pretty clean the whole weekend.<br />
During Friday practice the grandstands<br />
are open for all to use so we walked around<br />
and had a good look at the circuit. Saturday<br />
and Sunday you have to sit in your<br />
allocated area, we had general admission<br />
tickets, 45 Euro each, which only allowed<br />
one to sit in 2 spots, one in the turn 6 area<br />
on the hill and the other at the end of the<br />
long back straight. We opted for turn 6 as<br />
there was a big screen TV and we could<br />
see quite a bit of the circuit from there.<br />
The Friday and Saturday practice was<br />
really worth watching, with the riders really<br />
going for it, with many crashes ensuing.<br />
We had been following Brad Binder’s<br />
progress the whole season and were really<br />
keen to see him in action. We had booked<br />
our GP tickets 8 months prior and had no<br />
idea then that Brad would have such a<br />
points lead in the championship.<br />
Race day morning started really early, a<br />
quick cup of coffee, packed a cooler box<br />
and headed for turn 6, getting there in time<br />
to watch the sunrise - seating is first come<br />
first served basis.<br />
By 11am it was<br />
already hot, and the<br />
factor 50 sunscreen<br />
and cap was really<br />
necessary. I put up<br />
our KTM banner and<br />
SA flag on the fence<br />
in front of our seating<br />
area in the hope that<br />
Brad would enjoy the<br />
support, but during<br />
warm up on the slow<br />
down lap the riders<br />
all looked at the big<br />
screen opposite us to see the results, so<br />
the chances of Brad seeing our efforts of<br />
support were slim.<br />
Qualifying was hectic and Brad only<br />
managed 7th on the grid, but we knew that<br />
he would be up front in no time. The race<br />
was really hectic and we were going off our<br />
heads cheering Brad on, around us there<br />
was only the occasional shout for Navarro<br />
and after the really close finish we were<br />
48 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
#TrustedByChampions<br />
THE SKILLED ride and partnership<br />
that make the difference!<br />
Congratulations to Brad Binder and the Red Bull KTM Ajo team on winning<br />
the 2016 Moto3 World Championship.<br />
Langston Motorsports<br />
P: 011 805 5559 / info@langstonmotorsports.co.za / www.langstonmotorsports.co.za
READERS<br />
MOTOGP TRIP<br />
jumping around waving our SA flag with<br />
almost everyone around us looking at us as<br />
if we were mental. We realised that most<br />
fans don’t really follow Moto3 and only a<br />
handful recognised the SA flag. I ran down<br />
through the crowd waving my flag and<br />
waited for Bradical to come around on his<br />
slow down lap, but as I thought he looked<br />
up at the big screen and didn’t even look<br />
our way. Bummed is an understatement.<br />
Anyway, we were happy to have an SA<br />
world champion, someone we had never<br />
met but after following his career for the last<br />
few years, we felt as though we were family,<br />
typical Saffas.<br />
The Moto2 and MotoGP races were also<br />
really good to watch, amazing to hear the<br />
sound of the GP bikes and hear the fans<br />
cheering and shouting “ Vamos Vale” or<br />
“Marquez”.<br />
Vinales is going to be someone to look<br />
out for next year, but a mature Marquez is<br />
always going to be hard to beat.<br />
After watching the Redbull Rookies Cup<br />
race we packed up our kit and started the<br />
3.8km trek back to the campsite. Dusty and<br />
hot but with the SA flag in hand and smiles<br />
on our faces, “We” were world champs!!!!<br />
As we passed the pit subway entrance<br />
someone shouted “hey you from SA?”,<br />
turned out to be a Saffa living in Mexico,<br />
and after chatting to him for a while he<br />
promised to organize us pit passes. We<br />
weren’t convinced but 10 minutes later we<br />
had passes around our necks and were<br />
in the pits. We cruised around and had a<br />
look by the KTM truck, but everything was<br />
closed up so our chances of meeting Brad<br />
were really running thin. We took a quick<br />
walk around looking at the professional<br />
layout of the paddock and the trucks.<br />
On our way out we passed the KTM pit<br />
and to our amazement Brad came walking<br />
out wearing his world Champ shirt. We<br />
pretty much mobbed him, shaking his hand<br />
and congratulating him, and got some really<br />
cool pics as well. He is such a humble and<br />
likeable guy and has made us proud as<br />
a biking nation!!!. What a way to end an<br />
incredible weekend!<br />
Well done Brad and we are all looking<br />
forward to watching your progress next<br />
year. Good Luck!!!<br />
The Good: It’s an awesome track with<br />
great facilities and atmosphere, the nearby<br />
town of Alcaniz goes fairly crazy on the<br />
Friday and Saturday night, ala Welkom<br />
back in the day.<br />
You are allowed to take food and drinks<br />
in, plastic bottles only.<br />
The Bad: Not an easy GP to get to, the<br />
nearest town is 20 mins away and there is<br />
no accommodation available within a 100k<br />
radius. Camping is ok, but not easy to bring<br />
all your kit over on the plane. I thought<br />
Saffas were bad, but the Europeans also<br />
like revving their bikes all night.<br />
The beer in the circuit is non alcoholic<br />
and 3 Euro for a small cup - Drink water<br />
instead, it tastes more like beer than the<br />
beer does.<br />
The cheapest race tickets cost R680<br />
each, camping was R1000 for the 3 days,<br />
per site.<br />
Lesson learnt: Hang around the pit<br />
entrance on the Sunday after the MotoGP<br />
race, you might just get lucky and be able<br />
to borrow a Pit pass.<br />
50 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
QUICK TEST<br />
BLUE STEEL<br />
S Y M ’ S E N T R Y L E V E L W O L F 2 5 0<br />
The guys from Sym have just launched the naked Wolf 250 into the<br />
South African Market. We here at RideFast had the opportunity to... well<br />
ride it as fast as we could. Words: Glenn Foley Pics: Zenon<br />
Let’s face it - bikes are not getting<br />
any cheaper - but in the grand<br />
scheme of things, rather spend<br />
your tin on something with a proven<br />
reputation. We happen to own a Sym 300<br />
Evo Scooter and that has given us the<br />
most fantastic service. We only hear good<br />
things about the Sym brand.<br />
What makes it tick:<br />
The Wolf is powered by a 4 valve, fuel<br />
injected liquid cooled 250cc four stroke<br />
engine mated to a 6 speed gearbox. Sym<br />
claims 18.4 KW of power.<br />
It’s a stylish little naked number with<br />
beautifully sculpted bodywork and crafted<br />
mag wheels shod in 17” tyres. A chunky<br />
exhaust takes care of noise and emissions.<br />
The seat is plush and ergonomics are<br />
very cool for day to day riding. MX style<br />
handlebars give a more relaxed seating -<br />
designed for comfort.<br />
The bikes seating height is low - so normal<br />
people wont be on tippy toes all the time.<br />
A really cool, unintimidating bike for the<br />
ladies too.<br />
Up front you’ll find a sexy little wind<br />
deflector housing a very stylish digital<br />
analogue cluster - which includes cool<br />
features like gear position indicator and a<br />
fuel gauge. wwe dont see these on most of<br />
the high end bikes that we test. Things are<br />
brought to a halt by beefy wave discs front<br />
and rear- and a nice touch is the adjustable<br />
front brake lever. Very economical too - We<br />
had the bike for two days and did over 200<br />
kilometres without needing to top up.<br />
On the Road:<br />
This is one very honest motorcycle, not a<br />
track bike by any means - but an awesome<br />
all day long runabout. In our opinion, it<br />
will serve really well in the commercial<br />
motorcycle sector as a tool for delivering<br />
stuff - or even for the lighties to ride to<br />
school and back.<br />
The overall feel is quality - the bike feels<br />
refined and light when it gets rolling, no<br />
rattles or shakes with smooth clutch and<br />
gear actuation. The mirrors are functional,<br />
not like other entry level bikes that vibrate<br />
so much that the images blur. Quite<br />
nippy too - robot to robot you never<br />
get the feeling that you’ll be swallowed<br />
up - there is enough pep to get up front.<br />
In congestion, the bike feels small and<br />
compact for lane splitting.<br />
Handling is very neutral, confidence<br />
inspiring and light and you can whizz<br />
around as fast as she’ll go in comfort.<br />
Out on the freeway its pretty cool - you<br />
cant expect arm wrenching performance<br />
- she accelerates briskly all the way up<br />
to just over the legal 120kph mark, and<br />
she’ll cruise there all day without breaking<br />
a sweat. You’ll loose a bit of oomph with a<br />
passenger out back, but the pillion seat is<br />
well thought out and very comfy.<br />
Conclusions:<br />
Great quality, honest performance, good<br />
parts and service backup by the KMSA<br />
group (Kawasaki SA).<br />
If you are in the market for a bike like this,<br />
get to your dealer and take one for a ride.<br />
(011) 566-0333 for your closest dealer.<br />
52 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2016
K15515<br />
CommerCial fleet<br />
Wa r r a n t y
MV AGUSTA<br />
F4RR<br />
It’s<br />
ROAD TEST<br />
Art is defined as a diverse range<br />
of human activities in creating<br />
visual, auditory or performing<br />
artifacts (artworks), expressing<br />
the author’s imaginative or technical skill,<br />
intended to be appreciated for their beauty<br />
or emotional power.<br />
The MV Agusta F4 RR is probably<br />
what Da Vinci would have envisioned<br />
as art, if bikes had been invented in the<br />
16th century. Flawless lines, exquisite<br />
details and more aftermarket bling then<br />
a Kardashian. The MV epitomizes the<br />
ultimate in bike porn. From the moment I<br />
glimpsed its Tamburini-designed lines and<br />
obsidian coloured Marchesini rims I knew I<br />
was in for a special experience.<br />
A close friend of mine, the local version<br />
of Crash-lowe was privileged to purchase<br />
himself an F3. It loomed dark and<br />
mysterious in another mate’s garage when<br />
we went for the traditional meet and greet.<br />
design and styling has stood the test of time and still to this day it’s<br />
considered one of the best looking motorcycles on the market. Part 5 of<br />
our Sportsbike road test, The Singh tests the stunning MV F4RR. Words: The Singh<br />
Unlike an unattractive women (that is<br />
truly about perception), the MV just keeps<br />
looking better and better with beer. RIDE<br />
FAST does not advocate the use of alcohol<br />
and bikes, the F3 was parked on a trailer<br />
as we extolled her as yet unexplored<br />
virtues over fiery dragon ginger beer. Our<br />
mate who had just barely healed from his<br />
previous track experience squinted at the<br />
bike from under a hooded brow with a<br />
mixture of trepidation and fear. It was like<br />
being at a blind date, after you’ve noticed<br />
that the dame you have been set up with<br />
is actually quite a hotty.<br />
The 2016 MV is shod with electronic<br />
Ohlins, various levels of Traction control<br />
and the usual quick shifters and gizmos<br />
synonymous with today’s steeds. It is<br />
claimed the bike makes a respectable<br />
195hp and tops out in excess of 300km/h.<br />
Claims and reality with the new generation<br />
of modern bikes are often related to the<br />
amount time the marketing team has spent<br />
in judging the proposed audience. In the<br />
MV’s case this is not a first bike or a bike<br />
to be used as a commuter. This is a bike<br />
that must purchased, showcased and<br />
ridden at times when the opportunity for<br />
exposure is at its highest.<br />
The MV is manufactured in small<br />
exclusive numbers at a factory that<br />
probably only has a handful of dedicated<br />
employees that have probably been<br />
on the olive plantation since Mussolini<br />
was ousted. The attention to detail is<br />
meticulous and evident in every painted<br />
line of this piece of motorcycle art.<br />
With an aggressive seating position and<br />
closely placed foot pegs, the MV assures<br />
you of a fast, engaging experience. I<br />
had ridden previous generation MVs and<br />
because of the small numbers produced<br />
what the bikes lacked in performance they<br />
made up for in sheer sex appeal.<br />
54 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2016
Let’s face it, no average shmoe is going<br />
to buy an MV, like a Jaguar or Porsche, the<br />
Agusta makes a statement. It announces<br />
your arrival to the illusionary world of<br />
material success.<br />
The latest incarnation is velocious,<br />
nimble and oh so beautiful. The quickshifter<br />
is smooth but passive, engaging<br />
rapidly under hard acceleration and but<br />
sedately at low rpms. With a Brembo<br />
master cylinder, calipers and brake shoes,<br />
it stops faster than Zuma’s gravy train and<br />
the note of the 4 exhausts is orgasmic.<br />
The TC unit needs some fine tuning<br />
and the digital clocks are invisible in the<br />
daylight boasting a dull black on a harsh<br />
grey LCD, but they transform into a<br />
mesmerizing shade of incandescent blue<br />
at night (odd choice, I would have reversed<br />
that option).<br />
The bikes power curve is fine for fast<br />
track riding but is unpredictable for sharp<br />
corners and bumpy roads. This MV is the<br />
best balanced of all the F4Rs I have ridden<br />
to date and I think although they have<br />
made great strides in the technological<br />
arena, their approach to the market is<br />
skew. Like a Victory Hammer, the MV<br />
F4RR is an experience not a competitor.<br />
It occupies a segment in a market where<br />
individuality is commended and beauty<br />
is admired, it is not there for roll-ons and<br />
fast lap times. The bike will need its fueling<br />
to be smoothed out for our inconsistent<br />
fuel. The suspension has more options<br />
than an IPhone so in standard trim it<br />
feels unsettled. A bit of fiddling with the<br />
electronic Ohlin’s and the bike transforms<br />
considerably.<br />
I was very impressed with this latest<br />
generation of bike from Italy, one must<br />
remember that these are works of art<br />
meant for a connoisseur, if you want an<br />
average bike that everyone has, you will<br />
not purchase an MV. It is unique, eyecatching<br />
and pleasurable. It over-whelms<br />
the senses every time you glimpse it and<br />
never fails to draw a crowd.<br />
There is a marked difference between<br />
Hip Hop and ballet, if you want a culturally<br />
immersive experience this is the bike<br />
for you, otherwise stick to standard<br />
production stuff that everyone owns.<br />
Cayenne, the importers of MV in SA,<br />
have great deals on all F4 models so give<br />
them a call now.<br />
RATINGS: MV AGUSTA F4RR<br />
Heat 6 (traffic bad, open road good)<br />
Steering 9 (it’s a superbike)<br />
Fuel 8 (surprisingly light)<br />
Acceleration 8 (unpredictably quick)<br />
Throttle 6 (fly by wire can be better)<br />
Traffic 8 (nimble enough)<br />
Servicing 7 (market related)<br />
Lights 9 (enchanting)<br />
Wind 6 (got to tuck in deep)<br />
New Rider 4 (NO - go with F3 675 first)<br />
Total: 71/100 (commuter rating)<br />
56 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2016
Words: Kim Birkby Pics: Adrian Bowen<br />
CROSSING<br />
OVER…<br />
TO THE<br />
RIDE SIDE<br />
LEARNING HOW TO RIDE AT RSR<br />
I am a forty something year old mother of 2 teenagers<br />
and have been with Zenon for the last 8 years. In this time I<br />
have been the mom and wife who packs the snacks, runs<br />
around filling jerry cans and washing mx gear, cleaning<br />
helmets and boots, powdering leathers, attending both<br />
race days and outrides, but have always been the just the<br />
spectator or pit crew to my husband and son.<br />
Even though I am a hectic #99 fan and absolutely love<br />
MotoGP and Moto 3, I have never really felt the want or<br />
need to ride a bike, but both my husband and son have<br />
egged me on to try learn, this I am sure was all done in<br />
the hope that I would be bitten by the bug and give in to<br />
buying a bike.<br />
So I eventually agreed to give it a try, but made hubby<br />
promise that he would be nowhere in sight when I was<br />
in training (just in case I was absolutely useless). My<br />
daughter Siobhan Bowen also attended the training as she<br />
had only ever ridden a pee wee 50 and was also very keen<br />
to learn so that she could ride with the boys.<br />
We arrived at Redstar Raceway at 08h30am. It was a<br />
very chilly overcast morning, and I was almost praying that<br />
they would cancel the training. Alas – Aunty Sue was ready<br />
for us and we filled in the necessary registration forms.<br />
We were then invited in to the rider briefing hall, where<br />
all the guys who were riding on the track that day, were<br />
addressed by Jacques (the owner of the facility). The<br />
riders briefing was very in detail and I noticed that there was<br />
a lot of emphasis on paying attention to the flags. I glanced<br />
across at the poster on the wall and thought “how the heck<br />
am I going to remember all of this?”. Jacques was very cool<br />
and welcomed all the lady riders who were there to learn<br />
and assured us that we would be well taken care of.<br />
We were guided through to a classroom and we were<br />
introduced to Davian Barnard and Ruan van Wyngaard,<br />
our instructors for the day.<br />
Davian was thorough and worked through a<br />
comprehensive presentation which dealt with important<br />
information such as what the correct gear is to wear when<br />
riding, the importance of paying close attention to what<br />
both he and Ruan were saying, keeping well hydrated, but<br />
mostly that we were there to learn and have fun.<br />
Good Luck I thought…..I have NEVER ridden a bike -<br />
you guys are going to spend your afternoon either pulling<br />
your hair out, or loading me in the ambulance!<br />
So after we had completed the classroom coaching,<br />
we were taken outside and were told to get onto the<br />
58 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
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stationary Honda motorcycles. Here we<br />
were taught how to pull off (which I must<br />
admit I managed to do without stalling),<br />
how to work the clutch, change gears<br />
and braking. Both Ruan and Davian<br />
were extremely patient with all the ladies,<br />
taking time to work with each one of us<br />
and spend extra time with anyone who<br />
seemed to be battling. Siobhan seemed<br />
to be a little throttle happy, but Davian<br />
calmed her down and spent a little extra<br />
time with her ensuring that she was<br />
getting the balance correct.<br />
Cool I thought – there we go. We’re<br />
almost done. No. We weren’t! We were<br />
then instructed to gear up – boots, gloves<br />
and helmets ladies. Sadly I have rather<br />
large calves and didn’t have the proper<br />
bike boots. No problem for the guys, Ruan<br />
kindly gave me his first pair of boots which<br />
he said were lucky (thank goodness), and<br />
Davian then proceeded to duct tape the<br />
boots to my legs, but have the correct safety<br />
equipment I would! We then hopped onto<br />
what looked like a carnival type roundabout<br />
with the bikes securely fastened to a very<br />
intimidating looking steel bar. Ruan came<br />
over to help me, and I was extremely<br />
impressed to see how this young man kept<br />
his cool and patience with me, as my non<br />
stalling in the first session went on to flying<br />
around the roundabout and stalling the bike<br />
over and over and over. It was really fast,<br />
and really scary. But Ruan ran by my side<br />
the whole time, reassuring me that I was<br />
doing well and that I was getting the hang of<br />
it. A good 15-20 minutes later, I looked over<br />
for Ruan and he had left me alone to work<br />
with Siobhan, and I had not even realized<br />
that I was in fact riding on my own, well<br />
riding with a safety pole, but riding on my<br />
own nonetheless.<br />
Davian and Ruan then advised that it<br />
was time for us to hydrate, and head off<br />
onto our next task. I hadn’t seen any other<br />
bike contraptions in the area where we<br />
were training so I was a little confused.<br />
We were led into a field, with grass, and<br />
fencing, and nothing…..but 4 Honda 125<br />
motocross bikes. Oh crap I thought – they<br />
are kidding, right? But no – they were not.<br />
We were guided onto these bikes and were<br />
given instruction again to put into practice<br />
what we had learnt on the stationery and<br />
roundabout bikes. I could almost not<br />
believe my own eyes when Siobhan simply<br />
glided off on her bike. I can’t do this, I<br />
can’t do this, I thought. I panicked. Davian<br />
came over to me, calmed me down, and<br />
jumped on the bike with me. He slowly<br />
and clearly went through all the processes<br />
again, taking his time to ensure that I was<br />
ok before he let me attempt<br />
to take off into the sunset…<br />
Before I knew it I was riding<br />
around the grassy area like<br />
someone who had simply<br />
forgotten how to ride a<br />
bicycle, not perfectly as<br />
changing gears was still a<br />
little tricky, but I slowly got<br />
the hang of it, and at one<br />
point Davian gave both<br />
Siobhan and I the signal to<br />
slow down. Good Grief – was<br />
I really doing this?<br />
Lunch break – and off<br />
to the Redstar Canteen we<br />
went to have a bite to eat, but<br />
more importantly to hydrate.<br />
I didn’t realize how quickly<br />
you overheat when riding a<br />
bike, and couldn’t believe how<br />
much water Siobhan and I<br />
actually needed.<br />
After lunch, we were taken<br />
onto the track - I mean really,<br />
I have watched the likes of<br />
Sheridan Morais, Brad Binder<br />
and Rob Portman himself<br />
riding on this track! I was<br />
properly petrified! Siobhan on<br />
the other hand was pumped<br />
- and rearing to go! Before<br />
I knew it, Davian was kitted<br />
up, and sitting alongside<br />
us, while we waited for the<br />
green flag. Ruan was at<br />
hand to make sure that<br />
we all pulled off safely. And off we went –<br />
riding on the track –at Redstar Raceway! I<br />
had to concentrate really hard and remind<br />
myself of what I had been taught in class<br />
about Zones 1, 2 & 3. I remained in the<br />
instructor’s line and found myself gaining<br />
more confidence as I rode. I had to check<br />
myself once or twice as I imagined that this<br />
was almost what Jorge Lorenzo felt like<br />
during a race – ok maybe not as slow, but<br />
I was being given an insight to what the<br />
racing guys felt. “Calm yourself woman” I<br />
keep saying, and enjoy every moment. It<br />
was somewhat exhilarating as we came<br />
riding down the straight and under the<br />
legendary Redstar Bridge.<br />
All too soon it was time to exit the track<br />
and into the pits. It was an adrenaline rush<br />
of serious note, and probably best that<br />
they took us off at that moment or none<br />
of us would have wanted to exit the track<br />
for the rest of the day. Davian then took<br />
us down to the skid pan, for us to learn<br />
how to gently maneuver turns and how<br />
to enter and exit “the track”. It was really<br />
a smaller area than the track that we had<br />
ridden on, but I found it very informative<br />
as you really needed to concentrate on<br />
your gears and how you controlled the<br />
bike. Davian called the ladies together, and<br />
congratulated us on being a great team.<br />
I was super impressed with Siobhan who<br />
took to the riding like a duck to water. I was<br />
not worried about her at all throughout the<br />
training because of our super instructors!<br />
We made our way back to the training<br />
center where we were met by Sue Cronje,<br />
who also congratulated us and handed us<br />
our certificates. Wow – we had done it! We<br />
had learnt to ride a motorcycle!<br />
I can only say that any Moms or wives<br />
sitting out there reading this article, need to<br />
get off your bums and go do this training!!!<br />
You won’t have to be the one watching<br />
from the sidelines or being just your hubby’s<br />
brolly dolly anymore – I know I certainly<br />
won’t! Hmmmmm, I wonder what bikes will<br />
be available for my birthday & Christmas<br />
this year? And will the track be open……..?<br />
C<br />
M<br />
Y<br />
CM<br />
MY<br />
CY<br />
CMY<br />
K<br />
60 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
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LAVERTY BACK<br />
TO WORLD SBK<br />
ONE OF THE FINAL PIECES OF THE MOTOGP PUZZLE HAS FINALLY DROPPED. EUGENE LAVERTY<br />
HAS DECIDED THAT HE WILL BE SWITCHING BACK TO WORLDSBK, WHERE HE WILL RIDE A<br />
FACTORY-BACKED APRILIA RSV4-<strong>RF</strong> WITH THE MILWAUKEE RACING SMR SQUAD. IN THIS<br />
ARTICLE WE LOOK AT WHY EUGENE LAVERTY PICKED WORLDSBK OVER MOTOGP<br />
WORDS: DAVID EMMETT<br />
The departure of Laverty means<br />
that Yonny Hernandez will get to<br />
keep his place in the Pull & Bear<br />
Aspar Ducati team, filling the <strong>final</strong><br />
empty slot on the MotoGP grid.<br />
It may seem strange for Laverty to<br />
abandon MotoGP, just as his star has<br />
been rising in the class. Since Aspar<br />
switched from Honda’s RC213V-RS Open<br />
Class machine to the Ducati Desmosedici<br />
GP14.2, the older Ducati working very<br />
well with the Michelin tyres, more rear<br />
grip helping to reduce the understeer the<br />
GP14.2 suffers from.<br />
He is currently eleventh in the<br />
championship, and has a fourth and<br />
a sixth as best finishes, Laverty being<br />
annoyed that early traffic cost him the<br />
chance of a podium at Brno. It took the<br />
factory Ducatis on their brand new GP16s<br />
six races to get ahead of the Irishman in<br />
the championship standings.<br />
So why has Laverty decided to<br />
abandon MotoGP in favour of WorldSBK?<br />
There are a number of reasons, but all of<br />
them boil down to a single issue: Eugene<br />
Laverty is a winner, and he likes to win.<br />
On two-year-old machinery, in a private<br />
team (though with good factory support,<br />
unlike other satellite set ups), Laverty’s only<br />
chance to win in MotoGP would come when<br />
the weather acts as the great neutralizer.<br />
GP15 vs. GP16<br />
Speaking to Neil Morrison of Crash.net,<br />
Eugene Laverty made it clear that the fact<br />
that he would be on a Ducati Desmosedici<br />
GP15, rather than a GP16, was what<br />
tipped the scales for him.<br />
Though the difference between the two<br />
bikes is relatively small, the changes to the<br />
GP16 have helped reduce tyre wear and<br />
make the bike better over race distance.<br />
In terms of a single lap, there is little to<br />
choose between the GP15 and the GP16.<br />
But by the end of race distance, after 25<br />
laps or so, the difference can be measured<br />
in seconds, rather than tenths of a second.<br />
Ducati will expect to make a similar<br />
step between the GP16 and the GP17.<br />
That would effectively double Laverty’s<br />
disadvantage to the factory bikes, putting<br />
the gap over race distance between the<br />
bike he would be on, and the bike Jorge<br />
Lorenzo will be on, in the range of tens of<br />
seconds rather than seconds.<br />
In WorldSBK, Laverty will be aboard<br />
a factory-backed Aprilia. Though <strong>final</strong><br />
confirmation was not not 100% <strong>final</strong> –<br />
paddock gossip suggests that the official<br />
62 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016 6 3
announcement that Shaun Muir’s SMR<br />
Milwaukee outfit is to run the factory Aprilia<br />
team has been kicked down the road two or<br />
three times already this month – it has since<br />
been announced that the SMR Milwaukee<br />
team will run the factory Aprilia effort for<br />
2017, with both Laverty and Salvadori.<br />
Though the Aprilia RSV4-<strong>RF</strong> has not<br />
had many updates in recent years, general<br />
consensus in the WorldSBK paddock is that<br />
the Aprilia is highly competitive, as long as<br />
the team running the bikes has support and<br />
assistance from the factory.<br />
“The Aprilia is the best package on the<br />
grid,” one WorldSBK rider told me off the<br />
record at Misano. “But you have to have<br />
factory support.” Without factory support,<br />
getting the best out of the bike, especially<br />
through its sophisticated electronics<br />
package, is almost impossible.<br />
Beating the Best on Their Own Terms?<br />
So the choice for Laverty is between winning<br />
in WorldSBK and fighting for top tens in<br />
MotoGP. There is no doubt that MotoGP is<br />
currently the better series, though this has<br />
not always been so in the past.<br />
The current top four riders are already<br />
dominating the record books, and have<br />
earned a special place in history. There<br />
are signs that some of the other riders in<br />
the class are on their way to join Valentino<br />
Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Marc Márquez, and<br />
Dani Pedrosa in the MotoGP pantheon.<br />
That is not to underrate the current<br />
field in WorldSBK, however. The cream<br />
of the World Superbike riders could hold<br />
their own in MotoGP, if given the right<br />
machinery. Laverty’s achievements on a<br />
two-year-old Ducati prove what the best<br />
WorldSBK men are capable of.<br />
But Jonathan Rea, Chaz Davies, Tom<br />
Sykes are all too old to be considered for<br />
rides in the factory MotoGP teams, and<br />
even the strongly-supported teams such<br />
as Pramac Ducati are looking more to<br />
young riders in the support classes rather<br />
than riders such as Chaz Davies.<br />
But MotoGP is the big show. Crowds<br />
are triple what WorldSBK brings in, and TV<br />
audiences are similarly much larger. Given<br />
the extra prestige of MotoGP, and the extra<br />
exposure for sponsors, the choice should<br />
be simple? Surely, given the choice, a rider<br />
should choose MotoGP every time?<br />
Not necessarily. Given the freedom<br />
which the engineers have in MotoGP, and<br />
the budgets the factories have to spend,<br />
the machine makes up a bigger part of the<br />
overall performance equation than it does<br />
in World Superbikes.<br />
With more power, better tyres, more<br />
engineering freedom in the technical<br />
regulations, and a bike designed solely for<br />
the race track, with no compromises for<br />
road use, MotoGP is more of a playground<br />
for engineers than WorldSBK is.<br />
Building Down to a Price Point<br />
The limits of a World Superbike machine<br />
are determined much more closely by the<br />
technical rules, by the fact that the bikes<br />
“WITH RIDERS HAVING MORE<br />
OF A CHANCE TO FIND THE<br />
DIFFERENCE IN THEMSELVES,<br />
WORLDSBK GIVES THEM A<br />
BETTER CHANCE OF WINNING,<br />
OR GETTING ON THE PODIUM.<br />
THAT, ABOVE ALL, IS WHY<br />
A RACER WOULD CHOOSE<br />
WORLDSBK OVER MOTOGP.<br />
FOR PERSONAL REASONS,<br />
FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL<br />
REASONS, AND EVEN FOR<br />
FINANCIAL REASONS.”<br />
also have to function well at street-legal<br />
speeds on terrible surfaces on public<br />
roads, and by the fact that the bikes are<br />
designed to be built down to a cost.<br />
The differences are most visible in the<br />
engine: the engines of WorldSBK bikes<br />
use the cases and much of the internals<br />
of the road bike. Cases are vastly over<br />
engineered to last for many years and<br />
hundreds of thousands of kilometres.<br />
The engine cases of most MotoGP<br />
bikes are machined from a single block of<br />
aluminium, keeping just the very minimum<br />
material necessary. A set of MotoGP<br />
engine cases might be expected to last<br />
10,000km, and not 200,000km.<br />
With riders having more of a chance<br />
to find the difference in themselves,<br />
WorldSBK gives them a better chance of<br />
winning, or getting on the podium. That,<br />
above all, is why a racer would choose<br />
WorldSBK over MotoGP. For personal<br />
reasons, for psychological reasons, and<br />
even for financial reasons.<br />
64 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
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Racers = Psychos<br />
The psychological reasons are perhaps the<br />
most interesting. Racers love to win. It is<br />
their very reason for existing. They make<br />
a competition out of everything, and are<br />
determined to win that competition.<br />
Woe is you if you overtake a<br />
professional racer on the motorway. They<br />
will go out of their way – even if it means<br />
missing their exit and adding half an hour<br />
or more to their journey – to get back<br />
in front of you, despite the fact that you<br />
were probably not even thinking of your<br />
commute as a competition. So perhaps,<br />
woe is the motorcycle racer.<br />
Every MotoGP racer turns up at the<br />
start of each weekend firmly believing they<br />
can actually win this thing, though it would<br />
require things to go their way to a greater<br />
or lesser extend, depending on the bike.<br />
They know rationally that they are more<br />
likely to get tenth than first, but the unique<br />
combination of hubris and Panglossian<br />
optimism which lives inside every racer<br />
means they will still give it their best shot.<br />
But in their darker moments, the<br />
knowledge that tenth is the best they<br />
can realistically hope for starts to wear<br />
on them, sucking the motivation and the<br />
positivity out of them.<br />
So sometimes it is better to switch to<br />
a different championship, and get back to<br />
winning ways. On Sunday, the only people<br />
who count are the rivals on the track, and<br />
beating them is an obsession.<br />
In a series where the rider can make<br />
more of the difference, the attraction, the<br />
availability of the drug of winning, is a<br />
difficult temptation to resist.<br />
Money Makes the World Go Round<br />
Switching from MotoGP to World<br />
Superbikes can make a lot of financial<br />
sense as well. Though I am not privy to the<br />
precise details of either Eugene Laverty’s<br />
deal with Aspar, nor with the Irishman’s<br />
new contract with Aprilia, it is clear that the<br />
Aprilia deal will be more lucrative.<br />
Riders are offering themselves for<br />
nothing – or even offering to bring money<br />
– to MotoGP teams with empty seats. The<br />
limited supply and unlimited demand mean<br />
that rider salaries are skewed. The teams<br />
also have more budget for riders, as they<br />
don’t have to spend €2 million plus on<br />
machinery.<br />
For half that, they can field two bikes.<br />
That means the WorldSBK teams have a<br />
lot more money to spend on riders, and<br />
still have budget to spare.<br />
A switch to World Superbikes can<br />
be lucrative from the view of personal<br />
sponsors as well. Leathers manufacturers,<br />
helmet manufacturers and more all have<br />
personal deals with riders which include<br />
bonuses for podiums and wins.<br />
Those podium photos are valuable<br />
marketing for a leather suit manufacturer,<br />
and they are more than willing to reward<br />
their riders for results. Those same<br />
sponsors are less likely to be shelling out<br />
bonuses for tenth places in MotoGP, no<br />
matter how hard fought they were.<br />
More money, more competitive<br />
equipment, and the chance to fulfil a deepseated<br />
psychological need? I see exactly<br />
why Eugene Laverty decided to abandon<br />
the MotoGP paddock for WorldSBK.<br />
Winners like to win.<br />
And winning makes solid financial<br />
sense. Laverty is easily one of the very<br />
best MotoGP satellite riders in the world<br />
at the moment. But the chances of that<br />
appreciated, acknowledged and rewarded<br />
are very slim indeed. Laverty did the right<br />
thing, no matter what it looks like.<br />
“EVERY MOTOGP RACER<br />
TURNS UP AT THE START<br />
OF EACH WEEKEND FIRMLY<br />
BELIEVING THEY CAN<br />
ACTUALLY WIN THIS THING,<br />
THOUGH IT WOULD REQUIRE<br />
THINGS TO GO THEIR WAY TO A<br />
GREATER OR LESSER EXTEND,<br />
DEPENDING ON THE BIKE.”<br />
66 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
Words : Rob Portman Words : Zenon<br />
The <strong>final</strong> round of the Suzuki/Odin 4:8:12<br />
Endurance racing series was held at RSR<br />
on Saturday the 8th October.<br />
For the 2016 series, we decided to<br />
enter a team, hoping to win all three races<br />
as well as the upcoming 24 hour and<br />
become the first team in SA to win all the<br />
endurance races.<br />
To accomplish this, we would need a<br />
good bike so we decided to go out and buy<br />
one of the best in the business - The 2016<br />
Kawasaki ZX10R. With a bit of help from<br />
Kawasaki SA and Fourways Motorcycles,<br />
we were able to get a great deal and after<br />
putting a few kilometres on the bike it was<br />
time to get it ready for racing.<br />
Our charge got off to a good start after<br />
we won the 4 hour race.<br />
We then did not get the result we<br />
wanted at the 8 hour, finishing 2nd overall in<br />
class A behind overall winners RSR Stars.<br />
So heading into the 12 hour we knew<br />
that only a win would do for us to be<br />
crowned 2016 champs.<br />
We got a great start to the race and led<br />
for a good part of the opening hour or so<br />
before we had to make a unplanned rear<br />
tyre change.<br />
The Dunlop D212 Pro3 tyres were<br />
offering so much grip, and we were<br />
comfortably the fastest out on track but all<br />
that grip meant we were tearing through<br />
tyres after around 40 laps, which was<br />
nowhere near the 6 hour mark we were<br />
hoping to do on a set of tyres.<br />
After that came more bad luck as one<br />
of the clamps on the radiator hose broke<br />
off resulting in water pouring out and an<br />
overheating bike.<br />
Ricky Morais worked his magic and we<br />
were soon back out on track again but lost<br />
more time in the pits.<br />
Our team of myself, Ricky Morais,<br />
Brent Harran and Shaun Portman were<br />
on a huge charge and consistently setting<br />
faster times than anyone else on track. We<br />
managed to close down on the leaders<br />
before more tyre troubles.<br />
More time was lost in the pits with<br />
another unplanned tyre change and the<br />
bike was also running really hot due to the<br />
radiator hose problem we had. Obviously<br />
whilst fixing the hose an airlock crept in,<br />
which meant the bike was not getting<br />
enough water to keep it cool.<br />
Just after the halfway mark more<br />
disaster. My brother, Shaun, was on a huge<br />
charge setting fast times but unfortunately<br />
crashed out at the <strong>final</strong> chicane. He<br />
managed to get the bike back to the pits.<br />
Sheldon and Brandan, our makkies for the<br />
day, did a great job in fixing the bike up for<br />
us to head back out on track.<br />
After careful consideration though,<br />
we decided to call it quits. With the bike<br />
overheating, we didn’t want to risk blowing<br />
the motor, which would cost big buks to fix.<br />
So it’s now time to get the bike all<br />
fixed up and ready for the 24 hour race,<br />
which we are hoping to win for the second<br />
year in a row. Make sure you get to<br />
Redstar Raceway on the 10th and 11th of<br />
December for the race.<br />
A big thanks to Kawasaki SA, Fourways<br />
Motorcycles, Dunlop tyres, Galfer brake<br />
pads, Racetec exhausts, ETR and Dynamic<br />
Express Services for all the support.<br />
RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016 67
PRETTY FAST<br />
In this part three of our “Ladies that Race” series, we catch us with a<br />
very busy lady racer - 19 year old Zante Otto, taking on SA and Europe.<br />
Words: Rob Portman and Zante Otto Pics: Eugene Liebenberg & others<br />
It’s getting hard to keep up with the<br />
amount of lady racers we have here<br />
in SA. Long gone are the days where<br />
it’s just Wilmarie van Rensberg,<br />
Nicole van Aswegen and Janine<br />
Mitchell racing, now, in all 2-two wheeled<br />
motorcycle racing categories across SA,<br />
there are a host of talented young, and old,<br />
ladies seeking the thrill factor that one can<br />
only get from racing a two-wheeler.<br />
In this edition, we feature a young lady<br />
by the name of Zante Otto. Now, to be<br />
honest, I had never heard of Zante until<br />
this year, where I have noticed her whilst<br />
commentating on the SuperGP Regional<br />
and National race series.<br />
She started the season off slowly but<br />
has come on in leaps and bounds over the<br />
course of the season, improving her lap<br />
times and track skills at every event. She’s<br />
not hard to spot, riding her bright pink<br />
Kawasaki ZX6R.<br />
It’s been great seeing this talented young<br />
lady progress throughout the year and love<br />
her riding style - looks very pro!<br />
In last months issue, we featured a<br />
host of young SA riders who had been<br />
racing overseas and Zante, who competed<br />
overseas in the EJC (European Junior Cup),<br />
was one of them, however, we did her a<br />
bit of injustice as whilst we did mention<br />
that she picked up 21st place, we failed to<br />
mention that she also picked up 3rd overall<br />
in the ladies category.<br />
So, to make up for this we decided to sit<br />
down and find out a bit more about this 19<br />
year old from George in the Western Cape.<br />
Q: When did the bike bug bite you?<br />
Zante: The bug definitely bit me when I<br />
was at the SAMRA camp at Idube Raceway<br />
in 2014 when I rode for the first time.<br />
Q: What was the first bike you ever<br />
rode?<br />
Zante: In 2000 I rode a pocket bike built by<br />
my dad at Zwartkops Go-Kart track, while<br />
we still stayed in Pretoria.<br />
Q: When and where was your first<br />
ever race?<br />
Zante: My first ever race was at Kyalami<br />
Racetrack in 2014 on a CBR150 in the 150<br />
cup.<br />
Q: Who are your favourite racers both<br />
local and overseas?<br />
Zante: Overseas will definitely have to be<br />
Valentino Rossi, as I have been watching<br />
him very closely my whole life and locally<br />
Steven Odendaal for never letting his<br />
achievements change his personality<br />
and for showing South Africans can be<br />
competitive overseas.<br />
Q: What classes do you currently<br />
compete in and on what bikes?<br />
Zante: I compete in the SuperGP<br />
Champions Trophy Super600 class on my<br />
Otto Racing Kawasaki ZX6R.<br />
Q: You recently raced overseas, tell us<br />
about that?<br />
Zante: My first European race will definitely<br />
be an experience I will never forget. Last<br />
month I competed in the European Junior<br />
Cup race at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz<br />
in Germany at the World Superbikes, in<br />
the same race as the European Junior<br />
Cup where we already have 3 other South<br />
African’s competing. There is the Women’s<br />
European Cup for ladies between the ages<br />
of 14 and 24 years old.<br />
When we arrived at the track on<br />
Thursday afternoon I was so excited just<br />
being in the World Superbike paddock,<br />
we had to prepare the bike and do all the<br />
stickers on the bike on Thursday afternoon,<br />
but at the same time appreciated just being<br />
around some of the world’s best riders and<br />
the people I have only ever been able to see<br />
on TV. I was lucky enough to meet Kenan<br />
Sofouglu and speak for a few minutes on<br />
the SBK paddock show with Michael Hill!<br />
On Friday, after fitting tyres, we had a<br />
single 30 minute practice session where I<br />
finished 21st and 2nd in the Women’s Cup<br />
just trying my best to learn the Honda 650<br />
68 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
ike, which is very different to the 600 I<br />
ride here in South Africa.<br />
On Saturday I finished 23rd and 3rd in<br />
the Women’s Cup and ended qualifying in<br />
the same order. On Sunday it rained during<br />
the day and the EJC organisers declared it a<br />
wet race, for me this was the first time riding<br />
on wet weather tyres and it was definitely<br />
a steep learning curve, fortunately I kept<br />
improving during the race and finished up in<br />
21st place and 3rd in the ladies improving<br />
my laptimes every lap.<br />
The whole European Junior Cup<br />
experience is really amazing and it is very<br />
sad that it won’t be running next year<br />
because it’s a very affordable way to make<br />
your first step to racing in Europe.<br />
Q: What are your plans for 2017?<br />
Zante: I will be competing in the SuperGP<br />
Champions Trophy in the 600 category for<br />
my first full national season.<br />
Q: Favourite track in SA and best lap<br />
time?<br />
Zante: My favourite track will definitely be<br />
Aldo Scribante because it’s the closest<br />
track to home. I achieved my best time<br />
there at the recent SuperGP event with a<br />
time of 1’05.4.<br />
Q: How did you get your race number?<br />
Zante: There is no real reason to the<br />
number other than my brother and I both<br />
wanted consecutive numbers and those<br />
were the first to come to mind. 73 and 74.<br />
Q: Any superstitions before you go out<br />
on track?<br />
Zante: We always pray before going out on<br />
track.<br />
Q: Have you had any big crashes and<br />
injuries?<br />
Zante: Fortunately I haven’t had any<br />
serious injuries except hurting my back in a<br />
crash at Zwartkops Extreme Festival earlier<br />
this year.<br />
Q: Apart from bike racing, what are<br />
your other passions?<br />
Zante: I enjoy cycling and gyming.<br />
Q: Are you still in school or studying<br />
and, apart from being a pro bike racer,<br />
what’s your ultimate job?<br />
Zante: I am currently finishing Matric in<br />
home schooling and planning on studying<br />
business management through UNISA next<br />
year. My ultimate job would be opening up<br />
my own law firm.<br />
RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016 69
TOP TEN<br />
Ducati MotoGP<br />
Signings<br />
Analysing the factory Desmosedici-mounted racers since 2003<br />
The signing of reigning MotoGP World<br />
Champion Jorge Lorenzo to Ducati for<br />
the 2017 season is the latest big-name<br />
signing of the Italian brand within its<br />
factory squad. Despite many difficult<br />
periods with the Desmosedici since its<br />
debut in 2003, Ducati has attracted some<br />
of the biggest names in grand prix racing,<br />
however only few have been able to tame<br />
it. Here are 10 of the finest signings over<br />
the years.<br />
1. Casey Stoner:<br />
There’s no doubt that Australian Casey<br />
Stoner is Ducati’s best-ever grand prix<br />
rider. As the only world champion aboard<br />
the Desmosedici in 2007 – his first<br />
season with the brand – Stoner extracted<br />
performance out of the Ducati like nobody<br />
else could between that year and 2010,<br />
despite experiencing health issues along<br />
the way. In total he claimed 23 wins, 42<br />
podiums, 21 pole positions and 20 fastest<br />
laps! Fittingly, he’s only just reunited with<br />
the team as official test rider in 2016.<br />
2. Loris Capirossi:<br />
Italian veteran Loris Capirossi enjoyed a<br />
successful period with Ducati between<br />
2003 and 2007. He was on the podium<br />
with third in Japan first time out and<br />
then claimed the Bologna brand’s first<br />
win Catalunya’s sixth round. From there<br />
Capirossi scored seven wins in total, 23<br />
podiums, eight poles and eight fastest<br />
laps. His best championship result was<br />
third in 2006.<br />
3. Troy Bayliss:<br />
With one World Superbike crown to his<br />
credit at the time, Aussie hero Troy Bayliss<br />
joined Ducati for its inaugural MotoGP<br />
campaign in 2003 and remained there<br />
for two seasons. He had a reasonable<br />
amount of success in the switch including<br />
four podiums, but ultimately returned to<br />
WorldSBK in 2006 (he spent a season<br />
at Honda in between). TB’s real heroics,<br />
however, came with a stunning with at<br />
Valencia 2006 in a guest appearance – his<br />
lone grand prix victory in 44 attempts.<br />
4. Andrea Dovizioso:<br />
Current factory rider Andrea Dovizioso<br />
has been with Ducati since replacing<br />
Valentino Rossi in 2013 and has played<br />
an integral development role, while also<br />
capturing success in more recent years.<br />
Dovi has eight podiums aboard the<br />
Desmosedici, including one this year at<br />
Qatar, plus a pair of pole positions. Fifth in<br />
the title-chase for 2014 was his high-point<br />
overall, but a win has to be high on the<br />
agenda now.<br />
70 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
5. Andrea Iannone:<br />
Last year was Italian hard-charger Andrea<br />
Iannone’s first with the factory team, but<br />
he spent two seasons at Pramac Racing<br />
learning his craft beforehand. During<br />
that time he’s amassed four podiums (all<br />
with the factory squad), a pole position<br />
and a fastest lap. Typically comfortable<br />
aboard the Desmo, fifth in the standings<br />
last year – two ahead of Dovizioso – was<br />
impressive.<br />
6. Valentino Rossi:<br />
It was one of the biggest announcements<br />
in grand prix racing history when legendary<br />
Italian Valentino Rossi moved to Ducati as<br />
a nine-time world champion in 2011. He<br />
never really did gel with the Desmosedici<br />
and performed well below par with just<br />
three podiums in two seasons, plus there<br />
was also two fastest laps. In the end his<br />
tenure in red resulted in seventh overall in<br />
2011 and sixth in 2012.<br />
8. Carlos Checa:<br />
With just a single season at Ducati’s<br />
factory MotoGP team in 2005, Spanish<br />
veteran Carlos Checa took much<br />
grand prix experience to the team as<br />
replacement of Troy Bayliss. He did land<br />
two podiums in the latter stages of the<br />
year (Sepang and Phillip Island) and took<br />
ninth in the standings, but Checa lost out<br />
on the factory seat to Sete Gibernau the<br />
year afterwards.<br />
for a satellite Honda seat after just one<br />
term. He did manage to finish on the<br />
box at Aragon on his way to 13th in the<br />
championship (the worst result of his GP<br />
career), but that was about as good as<br />
things got.<br />
7. Nicky Hayden:<br />
American Nicky Hayden was with Ducati<br />
during one of its most difficult periods<br />
in grand prix racing, but the 2006 world<br />
champion had some good results in his<br />
time aboard the Desmosedici. Hayden<br />
spent five full seasons with Ducati<br />
between 2009 and 2013, picking up three<br />
podiums (in his first three seasons). His<br />
best series result was seventh in 2010.<br />
His best attribute? Little time was spent<br />
publicly complaining about the difficulties<br />
behind the scenes.<br />
9. Cal Crutchlow:<br />
High-rated Brit Cal Crutchlow was initially<br />
supposed to ride for Ducati in 2014<br />
and 2015, but a difficult first season on<br />
the factory Desmosedici saw him exit<br />
10. Sete Gibernau:<br />
When Sete Gibernau joined Ducati in<br />
2006 to take over from Carlos Checa, he<br />
started the season with some promising<br />
form. Two top fives in the opening six<br />
races, including a stunning pole position<br />
at Mugello, indicated he was adapting<br />
well, however a crash at the following<br />
race at Catalunya and more injuries<br />
following (although he did take three<br />
more top fives) ultimately spelt the end of<br />
his career with a 13th-place finish in the<br />
standings.<br />
RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016 7 1
2017 KTM RC16 MotoGP bike displayed at<br />
the Intermot Show, full tech spec revealed<br />
With 250bhp V4 and steel tube trellis frame, the 2017 KTM RC16 MotoGP bike will take on the big boys next year. We<br />
admire the small Austrian company’s courage...<br />
From 2017, KTM will take one more step<br />
forward with their ‘ready to race’ tagline.<br />
And this time, it will be with the big, bad<br />
boys of MotoGP. Designed and built in<br />
Austria, the KTM RC16 MotoGP bike will<br />
go head to head against Yamaha, Honda,<br />
Suzuki, Ducati and Aprilia next year, in<br />
the merciless world of MotoGP. And for<br />
this, KTM have built their first 1000cc V4-<br />
powered racebike, with a unique tubular<br />
steel trellis frame - the only one of its kind<br />
on the MotoGP grid. The KTM V4 produces<br />
more than 250bhp at 19,000rpm and<br />
features pneumatic valves, a seamless shift<br />
transmission, Akrapovič 4-in-2 titanium<br />
exhaust, Magneti Marelli ECU and full<br />
ride-by-wire throttle management, with<br />
traction control and quickshifter etc. With<br />
an aluminium swingarm and 1400mm<br />
wheelbase, the KTM RC16 is equipped with<br />
fully adjustable WP suspension, Brembo<br />
brakes, carbonfibre bodywork, 22-litre fuel<br />
tank and weighs 157 kilos.<br />
“Sooner or later, some of the MotoGP<br />
innovations, that need to be kept<br />
confidential for now, will also find their way<br />
into series production. Guaranteed,” says a<br />
press note from KTM. We can hardly wait.<br />
72 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016
HELL’S GATE 2016 WINNER<br />
SA RIDER - WADE YOUNG<br />
2016 SPANISH MOTO2 CHAMPION<br />
SA RIDER - STEVEN ODENDAAL<br />
PUSHING BRAKES TO THE LIMIT SINCE 1952<br />
FULL RANGE INCLUDING ROAD, OFF-ROAD AND RACING COMPOUNDS AVAILABLE<br />
ing systems for the automobile, motorcycling, and bicycle<br />
g at the forefront of innovation, quality and organization.<br />
terials and the most advanced management systems. To<br />
w in depth the needs for the<br />
n teams. All our products are strictly tested for quality to<br />
SCOOTER<br />
STREET<br />
STREET<br />
OFF-ROAD SCOOTER<br />
SPORT SP<br />
controls exceed the ECE R-90 standards. GALFER business<br />
OFF-ROAD SPORT SP SPORT SP<br />
STREET<br />
a world leader in braking systems.<br />
STREET<br />
SPORT SP<br />
speed SPORT at SP which we enter the future.<br />
ROAD / OFF-ROAD ORGANIC STREET / SBK WAVE DISCS<br />
rade Enquiries: (011) Trade 672-6599<br />
Enquiries: (011) 672-6599<br />
Email: info@trickbitz.co.za<br />
Email: info@trickbitz.co.za<br />
Enquire at your local Enquire dealer<br />
at your local dealer<br />
Office Hours Mon-Fri Office 8am-5pm<br />
Hours Mon-Fri 8am-5pm<br />
www.trickbitz.co.za www.trickbitz.co.za
K14803