ROBERT S FAMILY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BIKES
R I D E R E V I E W
P74
on line, with the engine singing
at high revs but off the end of
the torque curve—use a higher
gear, and this had the effect of
pushing the front wheel wide
and making you back off to
correct.
Under power, the Suzuki was
so finely poised, only shaking
its head once per lap over the
big bump in Turn 12 leading
onto the Gardner Straight past
the pits, though that was prob-
ably down to a rear shock set-
ting a little too soft for my extra
weight compared to Kenny's.
Elsewhere, the XR89 chassis
was ultra-stable—though if you
squeezed the brakes to correct
your entry speed once leaned
over and committed to a turn,
it did sit up and understeer
straight ahead. This meant it
rewarded a clean, precise 250
GP-style of riding that Kenny
excelled in and once I worked
up to it, I could keep up turn
speed by taking lots of angle,
which the extra side grip of the
16.5-inch Michelin rear allowed
me to take advantage of when
driving hard out of the exit.
Pushing, Pushing…
The only time the XR89 chassis
felt nervous was when braking
really hard—especially downhill
into MG Corner—when the extra
weight transfer supplied by
gravity made an already awk-
ward situation even
worse.
Though Kenny
Roberts said he used
the back brake first
to counter this, it re-
ally felt like a handful,
especially compared
to the more balanced
behavior of Valen-
tino's rival Honda
NSR500 I rode the
following month in
Jerez.
Ironically, this was
particularly apparent
at Honda Corner,
where I'd come
sweeping around the
left-hander at what
is now called Stoner Corner
at high revs in fifth gear on the
side of the tire, then have to
brake really, really hard while
still cranked over, for the bottom
gear right-hand Honda hairpin
immediately after.
The fearsome grip of the
carbon brakes, coupled with
the high-speed momentum,
lifted the back wheel in the air
as I was trying to pull the Suzuki
upright, sending it waving around
as the bike snaked under stop-
ping—all of which made it very
hard to pick a line for the turn
and hold to it.
Twice I chickened out of trust-
ing the front Michelin's ability to
make up for all this and take me
through the turn at excessive
speed on the wrong line and
took to the escape road.
Neat and tidy:
This was the
view most had
of Kenny Jr. in
2000, but it didn't
get better for the
American in 2001.
