Re: [ST] But wait there's more MO

["Denis Liakos" <denoose@xxxxxxx>]

A Mild Man with Strong Opinions: Pete's Pick

With Sean's raving about the ZX10R after he attended the intro and his 
somewhat cautious review of the CBR1000RR I admit I had some preconceived 
notions about both bikes. In the first few minutes of my street stint on the 
Honda I figured I was going to be agreeing with Sean wholeheartedly in his 
view of it. Anything more than a hot breath on the throttle and the front 
end of this new CBR refuses to stay on the ground. Compared to the previous 
1000RR, it was both exciting  and unfamiliar.
I thought, "Honda has finally got on with the rest of the crazy psycho 
engines in this class and they've done it in a big way -- I can't wait to 
wind this thing out!" And indeed, just as Sean had said, it accelerates much 
faster.

Yet Honda hasn't sacrificed their legendary stability, at least as far as 
I'm able to perceive. The wide-set clip-ons offer great steering leverage, 
yet somehow the CBR still felt the slowest turning of the group. Yes, it 
steers quicker than last year but I often had the sensation of having to 
muscle it through the esses on the track. Ultimately, as I told the Honda 
crew that was on site, it has "good ol' Honda stability." And for someone 
riding at my level that is an advantage. Perhaps if I were lapping 15 to 20 
seconds faster I might start to perceive the bike differently. Despite these 
attributes I was never able to get completely comfortable on the 1000RR on 
the track. It seems taller than the other three and that may have 
contributed to my never being able to get it pitched over as far in the 
corners as the others; I was often grinding the foot peg feeler before I 
could get my knee down. That was not the case on the other motorcycles. 
However, my experience shouldn't detract from what is another awesome Honda.

For such an icon of the industry with 50 years of successful history I'm 
surprised that Yamaha didn't celebrate with anything other than the best 
paint scheme I've seen on a motorcycle in years. Hands down, the R1 is the 
looker of the bunch. Unfortunately it takes far more than looks to hang in 
this class. The R1 still has a great screamer of an engine; it's easy to 
ride fast and has the best seat to foot peg relation of the four. And that 
extra leg room carries a lot more weight in the big picture than a quick lap 
time does. Nevertheless, it appears that time has caught up with the Yammie 
in the brake department. What were once class leaders now fall to the bottom 
of the pack for me. The feel at the lever was vague and generally a soft, 
somewhat underpowered sensation. They worked perfectly fine but lacked the 
telepathic sensitivity that the rest here have.

A very thin line separates the GSX-R from the ZX-10R for me. Both have 
superb, effortless brakes, invisible transmissions, ultra responsive 
throttles and ballistic engines. Were it not for the ZX having the plushest 
seat in the crowd, I wouldn't have been as happy with long miles in the 
saddle thanks to an aggressive foot peg/seat relation. After a 100 mile 
freeway stint, I could barely unfold my leg from the peg. No biggie though, 
because this new model is a blast to ride, street or track. A big 
contribution to my good laps on this bike was the fact that it stays calm 
and cool under hard acceleration or heavy, end-of-the-straightaway braking. 
I never got it to complain. Sean's gushing phone call to me after he 
returned from the intro on this bike was completely warranted, in my 
opinion. It's also worth noting that the Kawi has the best cockpit here. The 
seemingly superimposed speedo and vitals indicator that's encircled by the 
tachometer is super easy to see no matter what angle the sun hits it and 
it's ultra bright at night.

Yet for all the new goodness of the ZX-10R, the GSX-R takes the edge for me 
with Hands down, the R1 is the looker of the bunch. Unfortunately it takes 
far more than looks to hang in this class. Everything about the ergonomics 
seems
like they were designed specifically for me; from clip-on placement and 
their relation to the saddle, the foot pegs feeling like they're slightly 
farther back (which helps take the sting out of the compactness that is 
becoming standard for this class) to the shape of the fuel tank. It all adds 
up to a bike that feels smaller and lighter than the others and helps create 
an environment that allows me to attack corners aggressively and with more 
confidence. I also felt like dealing with a front end that rarely seemed in 
contact with the tarmac (thanks to that wicked engine), wasn't an issue. On 
one occasion I choose the wrong place to start applying the brakes heavily 
to set up for a turn. This left me doing my best Aaron Yates impression with 
the rear wheel cleanly off the ground by several inches. Yet, the GSX-R 
never lost its composure (so long as I didn't), and it settled down quickly. 
I can live with the dated looks that the other testers noted if I can have a 
bike that makes going fast way too easy and leaves me with the biggest poo- 
eating grin.
I know MO says no ties but I say that the Kawasaki ZX-10R and the Yamaha R-1 
seemed pretty darn close. Each brings a balanced high-performance rocket to 
the game. A toss of the coin put the Kawasaki ahead. On these two bikes I 
was inclined to exercise more restraint because I didn't feel as "connected" 
as with the  Suzuki. I thought the Yamaha had the best sounding engine in 
the test and looked good in the famous racing colors of my former sworn 
enemy. Credit where it is due, the Yamaha is one nice bike. The Kwacker had 
plenty of that old green-blooded swagger, maybe the best brakes, a good deep 
sound and it looked pretty good, too.

The Honda CBR1000RR was a big, bad, wild-eyed stallion: hold thee on! The 
Honda felt like it was even more powerful than the others to me. It isn't by 
much if it is, though, and that's the good news--and the bad news--to me. 
The good news is that for that sheer "woah, I just grabbed a handful of 
modern 1000cc sportbike at over 100 MPH, in third, and look, there's the 
sky!" thing it ruled. The bad news is with my riding style and my level of 
skill its feel caused me to quickly vote it "Bike Most Likely for Dale to 
Crash On". After a moments thought, I decided that maybe the Honda should be 
my last choice to crash, so I took it easy on the Honda - mostly.

The Honda received by far the most compliments on its paint colors and/or 
design when I was on or near it, but I thought it would have looked better 
in red. The Honda caused me to think about how in some cases less power 
might be better. I ragged on Honda about not giving us what we wanted but 
the more I think about it that's just what they did with the CBR1000RR. 
These bikes all fly and a better rider than you will probably be faster on 
any of them regardless of what either of you are riding, which leads me to 
this conclusion:

Unless you've opened up a modern 1000cc sportbike, `Busa or ZX-12R for a bit 
lately I don't think most could believe how fast these motorcycles are. In 
the '04 test I was overloaded; now I'm just overwhelmed. These motorcycles 
are so fast their power has to be experienced to be understood: words can't 
do it. It takes more skill to use that power than I can imagine.

Sooo... I started thinking... If you took two equal riders and one bought 
any of these bikes and the other bought a used sportbike for half the price 
(giving up 20+ HP) and spent the other half on gear, suspension/chassis, 
schools and track days who would be the better, faster, safer rider? Which 
bike would be faster in the canyons? Which bike would be faster on the 
track? - In the '04 test I was overloaded; now I'm just overwhelmed.

With all that in mind, the Suzuki shined for me on the street or track with 
its superb chassis (I can only think to compare it with a Ducati 749, the 
best handling bike I've ridden), great brakes, strongest (feeling) midrange 
and most linear throttle response. It was easily the most confidence 
inspiring of the hyper-powerful bikes in this test to me. I also thought it 
was the nicest-looking bike in the test. Since they're all so good you 
should get the one that floats your boat the best. Make mine Suzuki!

Let's make one thing clear. If I found $11,000 lying on the ground, I'd be 
inclined to spend it on laser hair removal on my back (which is now 
legendary amongst the  moto-press corps for being the hairiest ever). I love 
the boost to  velocity and ego
that powerful motorcycles give you, but I think I'd enjoy being allowed into 
public swimming pools even more. In any case, who has enough bread to blow 
on such frivolities as a smooth back or a 166 hp motorcycle?

Luckily, through the miracle of consumer financing, most of you reading this 
have access to the astonishing level of performance these four bikes offer. 
Those of you new to riding -- and I mean within the last ten years -- might 
not appreciate it, but 11 grand did not get you anywhere near this kind of 
bike back in the day. A stock Yamaha FZR1000, feared and respected by the 
most wild-eyed moto-journalist in the early Clinton era would now be 
perceived as a slow, heavy sport-tourer for girls by a lot of you. In the 
early `90s a custom bike builder could have provided a modern superbike's 
performance for 50 grand, but you'd have a tuned-to-the-gills racer with 
headlights that would be barely rideable.

That makes $11,000 seem like a pittance, doesn't it? So if I already had the 
laser done, which of the four would I want? It's a tough choice. The CBR 
reminds me of the original CBR900RR/Fireblade: twitchy, uncomfortable and 
challenging to ride fast. I love the way it looks, sounds and feels, and I 
know I could get the laptimes down on it if I really focused and had lots of 
track time, but it's too much for me. It's just not something I'd choose to 
ride every day.

That R1 is a swell piece, too, and I picked it last year as the bike I'd buy 
for street-only use. But that was last year, and if I bought one now I'd 
feel like a dummy when I saw the spy shots of the inevitable new-for-2007 
YZR-R1 that will probably be a great bike, judging by the raving coming from 
those who have ridden the 2006 YZF-R6, whatever it revs to. The 2006 R1 is a 
nice, well-built bike that does everything a liter sportbike should do, but 
now fails to inspire me in this company, especially when you factor in the 
extra $600 it costs.

I do like that ZX-10R. When Dirty first showed me the dyno chart from it I 
almost wet myself. 166 hp! At the back wheel! It's absurd. What the hell is 
that for, One Hundred Sixty-Six HP! At the back wheel! It's absurd.
 It's senseless, but fun, and it gets the same fuel economy and probably has 
the same maintenance costs as my 600 cc Triumph. Amazing. The motor is 
almost as smooth as the CBR's, and it's loaded with nice features. It's also 
remarkably well-finished, has very user-friendly handling and terrific 
brakes.

So why couldn't it topple Mr. Gixxer? The Kawi is really a great bike, but 
it seems to lack the edgy, bad-boy quality of the GSX-R. How the GSX-R pulls 
this off while still being comfortable, smooth, and easy to ride is beyond 
my tiny little mind's power to comprehend, but like I wrote last year, the 
Suzuki's blend of big power (and there's even more of it this year) 
aggressive yet classy styling (did Pete really call it "dated"? Is he 
insane? It's only a year old!) and sublime, forgiving handling make it my 
new object of desire. You get all that for $10,999? I've changed my mind: 
I'll live another few years with a hairy back. I can't see it in the mirror 
anyway.


There you have it

Denis Liakos
'06 Sunset Red ST 


_______________________________________________
Triumph Sprint ST/RS mailing list
Send list posts to ST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Change your list options at www.Triumphnet.com