Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1113817
PIKES PEAK 2019: PART 1 P136 PROJECT Setting Up For Pikes Peak back with how it performs. On the rubber side, we'll be, of course, using Pirelli. The Italian rubber brand has been on my wheels since my race debut in 2016, and have been an integral partner in each one of my race attempts. Hanging With Jeremy Toye We spent a day two weeks ago with Jeremy in his shop, getting the titanium Akrapovic exhaust and the Ohlins TTX36 shock fitted. This is a seriously tightly packaged motorcycle, so getting especially the exhaust mounted correctly was a bit of a chal- lenge. From there, we packed the very unfinished bike and headed for Austin, where we'll do a two- day test following the MotoGP race. The bike is currently on its way to AF1 to have the rearsets and bodywork fitted, and we'll fit the forks at the track and play around with various settings until we find one that works. We might have to go up in spring rates for the fork, but I'll wait to see how it performs in Tuono form first (I rode the fork on the new RSV4 1100 at Mugello, and it's an absolute gem). It's going to be a busy couple of months, but we're super excited to team up with Aprilia for a crack at the Heavyweight title. There's a lot of work to do, but the project will be a fun one to document and eventually turn into a proper racer. CN This project would not be possible without a long list of sponsors who have generously helped us out. We'd like to acknowledge Aprilia USA, Akrapovic, Brembo USA, and Race Technologies, Ohlins USA, Pirelli Moto USA, Dainese and AF1 Aprilia in Austin, TX, and Fastrack Riders. One of the big things with Pikes is ensuring the bike doesn't ground out when going over the bumps and G-outs. This was something the KTM never had an issue with, as it's taller than the Aprilia straight out of the box, but it's something we need to check on the Aprilia. Because of this, we'll be running Aprilia RSV4 1100 Fac- tory forks. The forks are 5mm longer than what's found on the Tuono 1100 Factory, and the TTX36 shock is also 8mm longer than standard. That will give us a healthy gain of ground clearance, so hopefully, that's all we'll need because the base bike steers so well I don't want to mess with the geometry too much. Another thing I can't wait to try is the Brembo thumb brake. We've yet to get all the components sorted, but the plan is to run a thumb-and-foot rear brake in the race. I've never run one before, but I'm not a massive user of the rear brake and those riders I've spoken to with a similar style to mine all swear by the thumb brake so, what the heck, it's as good a time to try one as any! I probably won't have this sorted until May but will report