Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Michael Doohan'sHonda NSR500 46 season. As soon as we changed the suspen sion inter nally, it was better." Well - let's just say that when Doohan got the suspension setup he wanted all along, hi s lap times came right down, the front tire started wearing better, and the bike handled far better over bumps, without the front wheel especially, freezing on a rough sec tio n of track. This enabled Doohan to run the notable softer suspension settings that he notably compared to other Honda riders, settings you notice even on the new, smoother Suzuka surfa ce when you hit the bump before-the Spoon Curve flat out in fifth gear. Another bike I was rid ing tha t da y shook the fro nt end so badly I had to back off the throttle to let it all recover, bu t a t even fas ter speeds the NSR500 rode ou t the bump lap after lap as if it didn't exist. Yet it didn' t do this becau se the steering geometry is about as radical as a Harley cruise r: with 22.5 degrees of head ang le and 95mm trail, the Hon da s tee rs as ligh t and easily arou nd tigh t turns as you could hope. Though it seems quite big when you try it on for size at rest in pit lane, out on the track eve ryth ing ma gically seems to shrink: it feels small and maneu verable, relatively easy to flick from side to side thr ough the series of ben ds climbing the hill beh ind the Suzuka pits, requ iri ng only a little muscle to make it head mos tly where you wa nt it to go under power. That in itself is so me feat of design, because the bike is awesomely potent, and said muscle is best devoted to holding on tight to the bars when you twist the wrist and fast-forward the surrounding scenery. There are few things in life as thrilling and mind -altering as gassi ng up a factory V-four Honda 500 down Suzuka ' s front s tra ig h t. That's when you remember that this motorcycle is almost tw ice as pow erfu l as the ju m ped- up 250cc GP racer it seems to be, coasti ng around tight tu rn s or the Suz uka hairpin. Yet the hand ling is immensely capable: It encou rages you to try to forget for an instant the value of this bike in cash as well as in sporting term s and to go for it, chucking it on its side in tu rns, scraping boot and knee pads both sides as you maximize corner spee ds to what seems like unlikely personal extremes, trusting in the confident grip from tha t front Michelin while remembering to pull the bike upright as mu ch as possible before you gas 'er up out of tu rns. Unlike some o ther riders who use hard suspension settings so they can stand the bike on its nose on the way into turns and powerslide it on the way out, Doohan' s approved technique is more subtle: He likes soft su spension settings that give the tires an easier time, and he feeds in the power more gradually, if no less stro ngly, out of turns, riding the torque curve to make the bike work in more controlled fashion . For us lesser mortals trying to do a passab le imitation of the Aussie maestro, such a riding style is much more ration al, eve n if we can't pull the trigge r as h a rd or as fas t as Mick-san can. But the result is that the NSRSOO set up in Doohan mode is a far more rida ble piece of kit than any other curr ent works 500 I've had the chance to grapple with. More spee d, more power - bu t also more confidence-inspiring: the more-of-everything bike. It ' s a bike that s tops as welI as it goes, too, than ks to Brembo's latest carbon brakes, here employe d in the smaller 290 m m di amete r tha t Do o ha n p refer s, rather than the bigger' 320mm bla ck rotors fitted to so me othe r bikes. Used without shroud s eve n on a coo l November day on a track with two long s traigh ts - presumabl y thanks to the reduced thickness of th e di sc s compared to other Brembos I've seen and used, so that the thinner rotors stay hotter longer - these give magical braking power which takes a while to bui ld up to, especially at the speed the Honda flies at. (Right) Massi ve air shrouds feed oxygen to the NSR's carbs and Brembo brakes bring Doohan 10 a stop. (Below ) The NSR500 V-four Big Bang motor, Ihe heart and soul of the World Champion. (Left) Electronic gadgetry sits In fronl 01 Doohan's cockplL Cathcart experimented with the World Champion's one-ol ·a-klncl Jet Ski· type rear brake lever - but he d idn 't Iike lL Rid in g the NS R500 was actually de pressing, really - as well as humbling. Humbling, beca use I have to admit it's beyond my powers to criticize th is motorcycle. Mr . Dooha n mig ht wan t to trade a litt le more acceleration for a little less top speed, bu t for me this is the perfect bike: Nothing else I've ever ridd en is as fast ye t as user-friendl y as Honda's finest. But depressing? Well, yes - look at it like this: Suz uk i's ' 94 bike wasn' t as good as their '93 Wodd Cha m pio n, Yamaha have been racing a '91 bike with so u ped m o tor a nd Cagiva lo o k like they' re pu l1ing out of racing. Is the 1995 SOOcc GP seaso n already a foregone conclusion . Could be... l:li I fid d led with th e famous Doo ha n thumb brake which they left fitted , as well as adding a foot brake for journalist s, bu t I ca n't say I'd eve r really ge t used to this, and anyway I don' t use the back brake at all on a modern racer . But it is a mark of Doohan's distinctive riding style that he uses the rear brake so much more than an y other rider in the 500cc GP class. On the other hand, he mu st be the onl y one who doesn 't use a speed-shifter: one was fitted to the bike for the first time in 1994 - Honda were the last to adopt such a gizmo on their 500, repu ted ly because of the in trica te design of their gearbox and their singlecrank H2-degree V-four engine layo ut. It wasn' t connected on this one, because Dooha n doesn't see the need to use it. Wow! a t las t a poin t of disagreeme nt with the great marioAfter a seaso n racing a bike with a speed-shifter fitte d, I h a ve to say I be li e ve in th em, not because you save a lot of time on gea r chan ges, but because it' s easier to con t ro l th e bike in m an y circums tan ces wi thout having to flap your righ t wrist to change gea r. Go on, Mick - give it a try. At least this year the Hond a's gea r chang e is no tably smoother a nd less not chy th an before, perhap s den oting so me internal m od s; d efi nitel y a n improvement over last year's bike. H ondaN SR500 ~_ _.....,_:_:~ SpecilicalioIlS _._ Water-cooled 112-

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