Interviewed on the starting grid just before race 2, Neil Hodgson was asked if they did anything different to the bike’s setup for Sunday’s race. He replied, “Yeah, we bored it out to 1200cc.” I like that guy. Great sense of humor in the face of a rather difficult situation and an indication that the factories are well aware of what they are up against from the Suzuki’s.
Nothing against Aaron Yates or Ben Spies, but they are not that good compared to Hodgson, DuHammel, Zemke, etc. Their bikes maximize their talent.
Will the rules have to be changed to even things out next year? If one type of engine dominates you change the displacement or weight requirements, but how do you rule to adjust for one brand of motorcycle?
Unfortunate side effect: How many buyers will walk into a showroom and buy a GSX-R1000 because of this domination at the track? Is there a bike less well suited to daily commutes or casual weekend rides? Of course the same thing could be said about many of today’s bikes but because the factories are so competitive on the track, the liter bikes that appear in the showrooms are extremely close to the edge of what is even remotely practical. Some of you will defend the big Gixxers because you are an aggressive rider that can make use of the performance. Really? There aren’t many who can do that on the track. I’m not saying people shouldn’t buy them, just that they would be far better suited by something less tuned for racing. Next time you’re out riding, look at the rear tires of the liter bikes you see, how many are squared off to the point where they would be dangerous if someone actually tried to push it hard? Again, it’s a great sales tool for Suzuki to see Mat Mladin cleaning up but most riders would do far better with something else.
This isn’t confined to Suzuki. More riders could have a great ride on a Monster than a 999, or a ZRX1200 than a ZX10R and the performance of those on the street is still enough that you’ll probably not get close to their limits. But, maybe it’s just me.
aaron says
the big bikes are not a good street ride unless you live in flat, straight road country. my old gixxer 1100 made highway miles easy, but the excess of power made you ride at four tenths when you wanted to go fast but the corners were tight and the traction varied from corner to corner. and this was a 19 year old bike! not a problem, except i consider myself experienced enough to use restraint where necessary. i dislike the concept of an inexperienced rider waltzing off on one of these and endangering me and raising my insurance. unless he gets it on film, cause i’m not above laughing at others misfortune. see http://www.ebaumsworld.com/dumbassbiker.html
if he was on a zx-10 he may have lost it faster!
hoyt says
Big torque down low in the rev range is fun riding in the curves…
ducatis, buells, & guzzis, oh yeah! A Triumph triple will work.
I saw a beautiful Ducati 900FE with a description that read something like, “…..amazing what 76 hp can do…”
Kevin White says
What a coincidence, my father just bought a leftover ’04 red ZRX1200R and I tried it out this weekend. Very nice. Great in-command riding position, great leverage makes it feel light but stable, power delivery is completely un-intimidating unless you really want to tap into it. You can’t approach this user-friendliness and practicality in a liter race rep. I like it better than my ’05 ZZR600 already.
Stephen Waits says
Why do you care if people buy GSXR1000’s? Even if they aren’t suited to them – so what?
You, despite what you say in this article, do not know what’s best for everyone. Get over yourself.
kneeslider says
Stephen,
So what year is your GSX-R? But seriously, I certainly don’t know what’s best for anyone, however, when you can measure riding time in decades instead of years, and you’ve had your butt on more than a few bikes, some observations might be worth considering.
If you’ve read much of what I’ve written, you know I like horsepower and lots of it, so the power of a GSX-R isn’t an issue, I think it’s great. But ergonomics put it into a compromising position on the street, rider weight biased forward over the front wheel helps control and feel at high speeds but gets really tiring in the real world of stop and go traffic or highway cruising. Even the Hayabusa is more relaxed and the Bandit sits you up with with very little performance sacrifice.
The classic “tuned for midrange” line that used to get me all fired up as unnecessary, actually makes sense when you have more torque available down lower where street rides take place. I seldom find myself cruising around in the 8,000+rpm range and in the low revs the big bikes have little if any advantage over the more street oriented models.
This topic needs lots of room but I’ll cut it short. Buy what you want and enjoy it but there are some kids on big Gixxers who might be embarassed by some older riders on ZRX’s and the like in a good set of twisties.
Stephen Waits says
Sorry to disappoint you… but I don’t own a Gixxer. I, personally, don’t care for them. I do respect what Suzuki’s done with them though.
Anyway, back to the topic.. sure I’ve seen plenty of kids on new Gixxer’s, RC51’s, R1’s, 600RR’s, 1000RR’s, ZX9’s, whatever; who can’t corner very well and ride around with their turn signal on. Some are newbies.. others are just plain squids.
That said, who cares.. It’s their money, their life. They can do whatever they want. Bad ergonomics or otherwise.
FWIW, I own an ’01 Ducati ST4. Before that I had a ’95 Honda VFR.
–Steve