Homologation specials sporting extraletters at the end of their names seem allthe rage for2017, but who arethese newbikes cateringto? Racers or road riders?
That’s it, it’s official, the world has gone race mad. With the addition of the new Kawasaki ZX-10RR, Suzuki GSX-R1000R and two Honda Fireblade SP options, almost every manufacturer now has an upgraded version of a superbike to offer to race hungry road riders –or racers who want added pep in their step. Ducati has been at this game for years, offering Sand Rversions of its superbikes. Aprilia, too, has always gone down the two bike route (even if the standard RSV4 isn’t available in the UK). MV has more models that you could shake a stick at, Yamaha has the electronically suspended R1M leaving only BMW with a lonely standard model now that the S 1000 RR has moved so close to the spec of the HP4 that the trick version was dropped – and even then you can spec the living be jesus out of a beemer to get it to special state deserving of a suffix. It’s like it’s the eighties and early nineties are back!
Back then, racing ruled the world and the adage of win Sunday, race Monday was almost true. But to get a bike to win, manufacturers often had to add illegal elements to a machine – then make it legal via the homologation process. Trick suspension, beefed upchassis parts, fancy lightweight material and breathed on engines –these were all game in the quest for race glory, and the added bonus for manufacturers were that the road-legal models made to homologate the race bikes were always highly desired and never stayed in the showroom for long – especially with racers wanting their obvious improvements.
Denne historien er fra December 2016-utgaven av Fast Bikes.
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Denne historien er fra December 2016-utgaven av Fast Bikes.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Steve Parrish
It's been a busy old month but so good being back in the thick of it. Despite the great British weather, it finally feels like summer is here, and I've been all over the place with some really great events since we spoke last month.
Christian Iddon
It's a long time since I had that feeling... 1057 days, to be precise, and if you were to ask if 'that day' was the day it would happen again, then I would have bet all my worldly belongings against it.
BOTH A CRIMINAL AND CIVIL CASE
There’s a time and place to lawyer up to the hills, and this is one them...
LONGTERMER KAWASAKI ZX-6R
Last month, I was gearing up to consign my ZX-6R to the back of my garage while I disappeared for the best part of three weeks to work at the TT with Batham's Racing.
YAMAHA WABASH RT
When you live a life of wheelies, burnouts and fast laps on race tracks, it's hard to spot a midlife crisis... but six months on in the saddle of Yamaha's Wabash e-bike, I daresay that's exactly where I'm at. I'll be honest, cycling isn't for everyone, and quite frankly, Lycra is even more polarising, but for me, life on two wheels, be it powered or pedalled, has formed my staple diet for as long as I can remember.
24 HOURS FLAT-OUT!
Ever fancied a crack at 24-hour endurance racing? You might think again after reading this...
PROJECT 37 A TEST OF TIME
Having got his head around the standard bike at Cadwell, Timmy heads to Powerslide Motorcycles with a wish list of improvements for the Suzuki GSX-8R...
'WHY WE GO RACING...5
Ever wondered why big brands spend big money and put in huge amounts of effort to go racing? Well, we did too, so we didn’t hesitate to ask the man who makes that call for Honda Racing UK...
9 BIKES WE WISH WERE STILL HERE...
No one’s worked out how to bring things back from the dead, but if we had our way, these are the bikes we’d oe see makingareturn.
SENSATIONAL SUZUKI LIVE
Blending decades of motorcycles, racing legends, track time and a beer tent with a cracking band, Suzuki Live’s formula proved a winner for the thousands there.
