We knew going into this test that
the GSX-RI000 had more power
than the others - and this was before
we even put the bikes on the dyno.
How did we know, you ask? The
power advantage is so obvious that
only a fool or a guy on a cold street
tire wouldn't notice. From a horsepower standpoint, the GSX-R is like
putting Mike Tyson in the ring with
Pee Wee Herman (and it bites just as
hard). It's not a fair fight, but you
kind of want to see the aftermath for
some sick reason.
We wanted to make sure that we
evaluated the bikes both on the street
and at the track. Everyone has different expectations of what they want in
a bike. Some people are just going to
commute and putt around, while others are going to tear up the canyons,
and do the occasional track day on
the weekends. So we have tried to be
as objective as possible, with every
type of riding in mind. The track portion of the test is mandatory, because
it's the only safe place to unleash
bikes this potent. Trying to push
open-class bikes to their limits on the
street is a recipe for disaster - and
besides, we all want to keep our driver's licenses. We chose Willow
Springs International Raceway for the
track portion of the shootout, and it
ended up being the perfect choice.
Willow's combination of ultra-fast
corners and long front and back
straights make it the perfect venue to
unleash our group of 130-plus-horsepower sportbikes. Joining us at the
track was our good buddy Jeff
Haney, former Team /'fonda superbike racer and current riding instructor from the Freddie Spencer High
Performance Riding School. We pretty much always invite Haney along to
be our fast guy (or is that funny guy?
I can never remember).
The street portion consisted of a
couple elements. First, we commuted
on the bikes for over a month, and
then we went on a nice, long ride
through the canyons of Malibu, California. The roads in Malibu are a mixture of tight stuff and fast, sweeping
corners, with the occasional surprise
thrown in (AKA gravel). Of course, to
get to the canyons, we had about 60
miles of freeway riding to deal with as
well, so that experience was added to
our knowledge banks.
CN
(Below) Haney chases associate editor
Scott Rousseau around Willow
Springs. What's wrong with Haney,
and what's wrong with this photo?
DUD'
e
n
e
_:IS
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APRIL 18, 2001
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