Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Niggling problems, most often a sticking power valve, have attacked the team during the season, and then of course Roche missed the British and Swedish GPs because he forgot that in Britain we drive on the right (as in correct) side of the road, meaning the left ... I But fifth place in Yugoslavia for Roche (Cagiva's highest GP placing to date) , plus sixth for Didier at Donington in the British round, confirmed that the Cagiva V587 has come from nowhere in the space of just three months up to the day after the San Marino GP at Misano when I tested it, to become a serio us and poten t rival to the established Japanese factory team's machinery. Looks like the brothers' double-up bet might be paying 0(( . •. A year ago, almost to the day , I sampled the V587's predecessor, the wide-angle ClO /V , and headlined my test with the conclusion: design similarities apart, it was not quite ' a Yamaha - but very, very close, a view shared by none other than Kenny Roberts, whose wellremembered test rides on the CIOI V left him convinced the team was on the point of becoming competitive. Well, if he had any doubts after seeing them in action, I can tell Kenny that there's a viable European alternative right here, ready and waiting, in case he runs into contract difficulties with Yamaha for his Lucky Strike team in 1988. The .V587 Cagiva is every bit on a par with the Yamaha, maybe in so me areas even a liule better while in others not quite as good. And for sure it's a big improvement over its predecessor, whose incurable hole in the powerband around 10,000 rpm and rather uncertain handling when pressed to the limit have ' disappeared. Instead, what we have is a bike that is for sure much more powerful (153 bhp at the gearbox at 11,800 rpm,translating to 145 bhp at the wheel, compared to 140 bhp last year), is as crisp and responsive to ride as you could hope for without the Yamaha's deceptively 'soft' feel, has a wide powerband but with a noticeably sharper power deli very up towards 11 ,000 rpm, and literally effortless handling that to me seemed to me th e benchmark set in this area ~ in the recent past by its Yamaha rival. Not having yet ridden th e '87 version of the Honda NSR, I can 't tell you how the Cagiva compare s to that, but for sure there's practically nothing to choose now between it and the Yamaha: it's that good. Having said that, I should own up and say that I was riding the Cagiva at Misano only a week after having three pins stuck in my left hip, so I wasn't really auacking left-hand turns with quite the normal gusto. However, there are enough righthanders at the Adriatic track to make a valid comparison, and especially the tricky one after the start line, scene of many a big get-off in the GP. Because you must take a very ' narrow and precise line here to turn what on the map are three corners (a left followed by a double-apex right) into a single diminishing radius right-hander, a good steering , chassis that won't tip suddenly into a turn (as last year's Cagiva did, with its 16-inch front wheel and steep head angle) is vital, as well as one with good traction that will allow , you to get started on , feeding th e power in gradually all the time you're cranked over. The V587 has a little less front end weight bias than last year, at 52148%, and the combination of the 17-inch Michelin radials fitted front and rear and the conservative steering geometry gives a bike that is acceptably light and fast-steering, yet does so WIth precision -r-r- not an easy compromise to achieve, but one' apparently dialed into the Cagiva from day one, according to Raymond Roche. This is all the more surprising since the chassis, fabricated in Peraluman aircraft alloy, was designed and built in the team's Varese workshops by Milani's team of mechanics in less The ultra-trick Cagiva V587 breaths through forward-mounted 222x35mm twin-choke Mikuni carburetors. than 30 days before the Monza GP - a remarkable feat. Since then, all that's required is further refinement. "With the more compact engine, our aim' was to lower the center of ' gravity for quicker handling, and reduce weight and overall width and height so as to present a smaller frontal area," says Milani. Front end weight bias is less than last year 152/48%); the bike sports Michelin radials front and rear. They didn't economize on the chunky fabricated alloy swingarm, though, which together with the twin-spar frame give remarkable stiffness: unlike every single Cagiva I've tried before (and especially the square-four "Flexigherril "), the V587 gave absolutely no trace of lack of stiffness under hard acceleration: no wobbles, no weaves, just a noticeable but progressive squat from the single Ohlins rear unit (mounted almost horizontally to offer more space for the exhaust pipes and therefore reduce the overall height . still -fu r th er ), and an impressive degree of acceleration towards the next corner. With a relatively short wheelbase for a four-cylinder 500 of 1380mm, it does like to wheelie in the lower gears, though, so correct positioning of the rider's weight is vital 'if you're not to lose vital milliseconds with the front wheel pawing the air. At ,the other end of the straight, only one word for the Brembo brakes - excellent. Yet these are the same stoppers that the Agostini Yamaha team are ditching in favor of APLockheeds. Just shows the difference between an eight-tenths test rider and a l O-tenths GP racer. ' Okay, the chassis handles sweetly enough - but what about the main . item in the equation; that new 56° narrow-angle crankcase reed-valve engine? For me, this is where the decision to reorganize the team's operation has paid 0((, because it's allowed Mascheroni Be Co. to concentrate on keeping up with the Japanese in terms of power output and delivery, and almost in terms of reliability. "Each race, there 've been new parts to fit which make 'the bike better," says Roche. "New cylinders at one race, new pipes the next, just like the Japanese except in this team we don't have to worry about whether we're on the list of favored ,riders who are fortunate e~ough to 15

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