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/127812
RACE~ TE~l MuZ RennSkorpion RS3 EngIne .Water-cooled, SOHC, five-valve, single-cylinder four-stroke with chain camshaft drive and Single-gear driven counterbalancer Bore" 102 x 84mm Capacity .. . .. , _.. . 686cc Output . 77 bhp at 8,200 rpm COmp ion ratio .11.5:1 Carburatlon .,. . .(2) 3gmm Keihin FCR Aatslide ignition . Yamaha XTZ COl with 12-volt battery Transmission 5-speed RC close-ratio with gear primary Clutch. . . . . . . Multi-plate oiibath with heavyweight springs C is . ............ . Tubular steel twin·spar Suspension ... 41 mm WP inverted telescopic fork Fabricated aluminum sWlngarm with rislng·rate linkage and Single WP shock Head angle , ..•............ 23 degrees Trail ,... ......... . .gOmm Whealbase . .... 54.8 inches Weight ... . 279.4 pounds with oil/water, no fuel Weight distribution . 54/47% . Front Rear Brakes Front bot:)l ridable and reliable: MuZ keeps a close track of component mileage and makes sure parts are replaced well ahead of the end of their service life, which means the piston, conrod and crankcases are changed every 930 miles or so. The result has been no engine failures in any race this season apart from that broken camchain atMonza. MuZ does vary the power characteristics from one circuit to another by altering some details, though, so for example at Assen they were using a different combination of carb stubs and venturis to shift power up or down the rev scale, coupled with a narrower 38mm diameter exhaust system on Rigo's bike to increase torque, compared to 39mm on Eill's RS3, which I also rode for a dozen laps. Frankly, this was a much less impressive package than Richter's bike, though some of this may be a consequence of her lighter weight, making the rear shock setting much too soft for me. But the bike felt like a collection of parts rather than a refined whole, without as much midrange punch as the other MuZ, either, and it was also one stage behind in engine development, too, delivering 3 bh.p less than the Richter machine. Acceleration wasn't quite as good as the other bike's, either, and setup on the front suspension was poor, with the front Dunlop chattering badly through Assen's fast turns. Also, the setting on the MF speed shifter was far too sensitive for my tastes; after trying vainly to change gears without cutting the engine and snatching the transmission, I gave up and switched it off. Bit of a disappointment - except, Eill had finished one place higher than me on the same bike with the same setup ·the day before. I guess that proves something. Well - yes, it does, and that is that every race bike is only as good as the way it's set up, and perhaps with more experience of how to dial in suspension settings, as well as firsthand experience of all the tracks in the series, Eill will be a threat for the title next season. But more to the point, riding the Richter MuZ revealed what a perfect package the MuZ RennSkorpion RS3 can be honed and refined into being. With MuZ boss Petr-Karel Korous offering five RRR (Rigo Richter Replica) bikes for sale next season, fitted with standard XTZ Yamaha engines which the customer can then have tuned by Martin Sweet to the same specification as the '96 works bike, MuZ now offers privateer Supermono riders the spinoff benefits of all the battles they won this year. Personally speaking, if Ducati donesn't get its act together and start developing the desmoquattro again quickly, I know which bike I'd like to go to war on next season. 1."N The rear linkage is straight off a Kawasaki ZXR750, modified to use 8 White Power shock. Elli Bindrum: Fast Fraulein J otm Kocinski couldn't contain his mirth: "You got beaten by a GIRL???!!" he exploded in a iit of laughter. "Bet when we meet up in 10 years and 1 say, IAlan, remember that time a girl beat you?', you're gonna feel just as embarassed as now. You beller make sure it doesn't happen again!" Well, actuaUy, J.K. - it already did: fast £raulein Elli Bindrum beat me three times in all on her works MuZ RennSkorpion during the 1996 European Supermono Cup, even if I did manage to salvage some male honor by edging her in t!'e final points table. But I was in good company: with entries averaging more than 50 bikes from aU over the world for each round of the World Superbike support series, 27-year old Elli had literaUy dozens of men eating her dust aU season long. She even came within a fraction of a second of beating 500cc GP racer Michael Rudroff to win her German home round at Hockenheim - and this is the guy the Suzuki factory gave one of its works RGVSOOs to ride in the German GP at the urburgring this year. With a total of three rostrum finishes to her credit this season, Elli has nothing left to prove. The fact that she's also the darling of the Supermono paddock, for whom her rivals feel respect, affection and pride in roughly equal quantities (all right - just a hint of lechery as well!) only adds to her uniqueness. Here is a woman rider capable of mixing it on equal terms with her male competitors, yet who inspires their admiration and ardor even when she beats them. No wonder the World Supersport teams are sizing her up for next season. Apart from the handy power-to-weight ratio a slim, svelte, 12Q-pound rider delivers to a class which has a strict weight limit coupled with limitations on tuning, if that rider is a fast female with a sunny personality who speaks good English as well as German and knows how to, er, flirt with an interviewer without crossing any demarcation lines - well, it's a PR person's dream, isn't it? And when Elli's boyfriend happens to be reigning German Supersport Champion Bernhard Schick - well, maybe her multi-eylinder learning curve might be a bit steeper than other people's. On the other hand, there's not a lot left for Ms. Bindrurn to learn about racing four-eylinder bikes filled with !readed tires, as her roU caU of racing success to date proves. One of five kids, whose two sisters were both avid bikers while her two brothers never once rode a motorcycle - must be a moral there, somewhere' - Elli first threw a leg over one at age 16, before graduating to heavier metal as soon as her 18th birthday arrived and she could get a big-bike license. "My lillie BOcc learner bike taught.me a lot about engines, because it was always breaking down and without any money, I had to fix it . ....2 x 280mm Brembo cast·iron discs with four-piston Brembo calipers Rear 1 x 1gOmm PFM steel disc with two-piston PVM caliper Wheels/ti s F _ . .2.10/4.80-17 Dunlop radial on 3.5Q-inch Marchesini wheel Rear .... . 160/55- 17 Dunlop radial on 5.25-inch Marchesini wheel Top apeecI 148 mph V_ of -.tructlon 1996 Owner , MuZ GmbH, Zschopau, Gem;any myself," she says. "But as soon as I could [ moved up to a 750 Honda, a 900 Kawasaki and finaUy a Yamaha EXUP. I liked racing on the street, but even though I never once got ticketed by the police - [ have a good eye - I realized it was only a matter of time before [ lost my license, 50 1decided to go to road racing school. And that's how it started." That was 1991, by which lime Elli had graduated from the wiiversity with an economics degree, en route to her present occupation as a seU-enployed tax consultant and computer software specialist - well, when she can spare the time from earning a living as a professional motorcycle racer with a factory ride. Graduating at the top of her class in racing school earned her a sponsored ride in her first-ever race, a four-hour endurance event at Belgium's Zolder circuit. Teamed with her instructor aboard a Yamaha FZR1000, she won. "This opened a lot of doors," Elli admits. "Because everyone was surprised that a girl could go so fast in a long race on such a big bike, 1 had lots of sponsorship offers, some of which, like Hein Gericke clothing, I still have today." One such offer was from a German Yamaha dealer, who set her up with a bike for the seven-race FZR1000 spec series in 1992, in which EUi finished third, improving to second place in the fmal points table the foUowing year. In 1994, Elli branched out on her own to compete in the Yamaha Arai Cup, a more high-profile professional-level series run aU over Europe, stiU with the stock EXUP. "I had not enough money to do the series properly with all the trave!ing," she admits. "So I had to be my own mechanic, and it was quite difficult being all alone. After finishing 14th in the series, I realized I had to get organized properly, so for 1995 I formed a team with a dealer, and finished sixth in the championship. [ got a lot of pubicity, because it was the first time a girl did SO well, and that set me up for this year." Was that when MuZ spotted her? "No, it was the year before in 1994, when I had so many problems. I blew an engine in quaIifying at Bma, so I had to change it myseli for the race. Mr. Steiner, the MuZ team manager, was there and he kept walking past my g'!-"'ge watching what 1 was doing, working on the bike. Two weeks later he asked me to start riding the single - only he said I wasn't to touch a spanner, only to ride the bike. I finished second behind Tommy Komer in the rain at Hockenbeim in my first proper race on the MuZ midway through 1995, so after that they gave me a contract for this season. Finishing third in the championslUp has been very satisfying, because each race I'm learning all the time. You're much older than I am, so that's my excuse for not beating you in every race, because you've had more years to learn in!" So what's next for the Fast Fraulein? Where does Elli Bindrurn go from here? "l want to go on having fun and to enjoy my racing, so for sure "U race for the MuZ factory again next season because I like the single - it suits my build, and llike the torque from a relatively low-reVVing engine. I train quite hard - lots of aerobics and mountain bike riding but if I do weight training to build up strength, I put a lot of weight on so I don't want to ride bikes I have to put muscle on to ride properly. 600 Supersport should be okay, though, so for sure I'U race in the German Supersport series next season, maybe on a Ducati like Bernhard's but only if it doesn't clash with the European Supermano series. Tha~s my main priority for 1997 • so watch out. I'm coming after you, to reverse the finishing order!" Wow - a new experience - being chased by a girl. John Kocinski, eat your heart out... then