The author gets a bit of advice from NoriyukJ Haga before heading out aboard
the high-revving, V-twin-beating beast.
as well as, so nearly, the best bike all
around. It's the Suzuki RGv500 of the
Superbike category - a bike that
steers so beautifully it makes its competitors seem like trucks, and which
has a forgiving power delivery that
will let you back off slightly when you
make a mistake and go too deep into
a turn, then get back on the throttle
again, all without a hiccup - or without losing momentum. Because it
appears so slim and small when
you're riding it, the R7 seems to
change direction at least as well as a
twin, in spite of its inevitably greater
bulk and what I'd expect must be a
higher center of mass.
The 31-degree slant-block engine
design not only gives 20 degrees of
vertical downdraught to the 46mm
throttle bodies, it also lowers the
Yamaha's center of gravity quite a
bit, easing the way it flicks from one
side to another in a chicane. That's in
spite of the thick seat pad that gives
you the impression of sitting very
high up, and making the bike feel
rather tall. And even with the extra
power of a factory Superbike motor,
the R7 hooks up really well out of
turns, thanks to the great grip delivered by the ultra-long swingarm permitted by Miwa-san's trademark
triple-stack gearbox layout, courtesy
of the Ohlins rear shock and the
16.5-inch rear Dunlop. That cocktail
of compliant chassis setup and forgiving tire choice that Haga spent last
season dialing in at each meeting was
crucial to his success.
The Yamaha stops brilliantly,
thanks to those benchmark six-pot
Nissin calipers and the big 320mm
discs from the factory race kit. Thes
haul the R7 down brilliantly from high I,:
speed, helped by some useful engine ~'
braking for slower turns cour
f "
the slipper clutch
no
of
~~~~~2t
e rpm idle s
chat
fE!
