EXCLUSIVE TRACK TEST OF 2000 500CC WORLD CHAMPION KENNY ROBERTS JNR’S SUZUKI RGV500 XR89, THE LAST SUZUKI TO DATE TO WIN GRAND PRIX RACING’S PREMIER CLASS TITLE
The chance to test the newly crowned 500cc World champion’s bike at Phillip Island two days after the season-ending Australian GP, came almost exactly one year to the day after I’d last ridden the RGV500 Suzuki in XR89 guise at Jerez - a tighter track than the fast, daunting Down Under circuit. In Spain, I’d discovered the bike’s crucial advantage its sweet steering and refined handling. However, the ability to cut inside the opposition and hold a tight line in a slower bend that I discovered at Jerez was one thing - but the fast, flowing Phillip Island track posed a different kind of exam: was the Suzuki’s agility and poise in changing direction in tight turns only obtained at the cost of high speed instability, which might compromise its performance on faster tracks? Twenty-five laps of the Island later, I had my answer - as well as a vivid lesson in the phenomenal levels of skill needed to ride a final evolution 500GP two-stroke round a high speed circuit like this at competitive speeds.
Whereas in the past when testing factory Superbikes at Phillip Island I’d always been able to get on the pace reasonably quickly, and cut a qualifying time for the World Superbike race held at the same circuit, I’ll readily hold my hand up and admit that trying to do the same thing with the lighter, equally powerful and infinitely better braked RGV500 Suzuki presented a much steeper learning curve, that took some time to even attempt to master.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 2020 من Bike SA.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 2020 من Bike SA.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
A Ladies Perspective What a Surprise Kawasaki Ninja 1000SX
I’m sure as everyone knows by now there is little that compares to my BMW K1200S and out of the 13 different bikes I’ve been lucky enough to ride over the 18 months I’ve been riding, I finally came across one that I’m almost certain I’d swap my bike for…
Goodwood's 79th Members Meeting - Hunting, Shooting and - Racing
For that’s what marked the 79th Goodwood Members Meeting aka 79MM, held this year on April 9-10, which this time included two thrilling motorcycle races, each with a blanket finish which in Race 1 saw less than a second covering the first four bikes home.
MIDWEIGHT PUNCH - TRIUMPH TIGER SPORT 660
The Triumph brand seems to be going from strength to strength worldwide. New models are seeing the light of day in various sectors, and here in South Africa there is a carefully planned dealer expansion program in action.
Isle of Man TT-winning ABUS NORTON NRS588 GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
Exclusive track test of the last British bike to win the Isle of Man Senior TT in 1992, after what's widely considered to be the most exciting race ever held in the Island
NORTON ROTARY RACERS HISTORY - Rotary Race Record
For eight successive seasons the world’s first - and so far only - Rotary-engined racebikes swept to serial success on British racetracks. Here’s a timeline on their ebb and flow.
MOTO MORINI'S Alberto Monni - INTERVIEW
Exclusive interview with Moto Morini's CEO Alberto Monni, responsible for directing its ride along the comeback trail since its 2018 takeover by Zhongneng Vehicle Group/ZVG
KAWASAKI NINJA 1000SX - Surprise Package
I’ve recently written in my Editor’s note bemoaning the lack of available Sports-Touring motorcycles nowadays.
DRYSDALE HISTORY PART 4/5: 25 YEARS ON FROM CREATION OF FIRST 750-V8
2002 1000-V8 Bruiser mega-Monster was a Naked roadster with added muscle - the answer to the question of how to out-max a Yamaha V-Max!
GODIER & GENOUD KAWASAKI 1000 - Enquring Excellence
Exclusive track test at France's Carole circuit of what's arguably the first motorcycle of the modern era - the title-winning Kawasaki Endurance racer built in 1975 by Frenchmen Georges Godier and Alain Genoud
Unnecessarily Fast, or Unnecessarily Dangerous?
“The bigger they are, the harder they fall.” This truism comes from boxing, but applies to all walks of life. Innovative MotoGP superstar Marc Marquez, however, adds a new twist.