Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Well. .. let's just say that my respect for Edwards was always considerable - but now I'm convinced he must be one hell of a racer. It's never easy to criticize a works Honda racer, especially from my humble standpoint in terms of riding ability - and probably without having ridden the Italian V-twins so soon beforehand, I couldn't be so sure Honda had fallen behind the eight-ball with the RC51, as indeed I think they have: perhaps this puts Okada's performances last season into perspective, and helps explain why Tamada and Nicky Hayden had to give best on their Hondas to the four-cylinder Suzukis in the Japanese and American Superbike Championships, respectively. But the fact is that, at world level, this is now a less convincing allaround package than either the Ducati 996R or the Aprilia Mille, both of which made significant steps forward between the 2000 and 2001 seasons, and built on that as the season went on, whereas the Honda appears to have marked time. I say 'appears' because I don't know for sure, since my brief spin at Jerez was the first time I'd ridden the fuel-injected V-twin in the dry. So what impressed me about the bike in the wet was that the Honda had a smooth, progressive power delivery, was very fast in a straight line, and as you'd expect from any factory Honda, was smooth and refined to ride. In the wet... Fast forward to a year later, and the main impression I had after a dryweather test at Jerez is that the Honda is now peakier and harder to ride than either of the Italian V-twins, without such a wide spread of usable power. And it's not as muscular and meaty in its power delivery low down, as the Ducati especially is. Whether this is a result of changes in the engine spec to try to stay ahead of the Italians, or if it was always this way, I don't know - but what a year ago seemed almost as linear and progressive as an electric motor in terms of its build of power on a wet track, now feels more highly strung and less torquey - meaning you have to change gears a lot to keep it in the powerband. There isn't the seamless grunt from low revs of either of the Latin Vtwins, and no way is this the twist-'n'go Superscooter that the Ducati 996R especially is - zapping down four gears all at once under braking for the first turn at Jerez was more like riding a peaky two-stroke GP bike than a long-legged, lazy-sounding Vtwin: fun, but frantic. Sure, the Honda is still very smooth and balanced-feeling at all rpm, and it pulls cleanly out of the last turn at Jerez onto the pit straight from as low down as 6500 rpm upward. But then, as the needle on the analog tachometer - which is so much easier to read than the Ducati's digital one - hits the BOOO-rpm mark, there's a strong kick of extra power which lifts the front wheel and sends the bars shaking in your hands. You need to stand on the footpegs and force your body weight over the bars to persuade the front wheel to stay more or Jess in contact with planet earth, and get ready to cope with the wiggles you get as you motor down the next stretch of road without backing off the light-action throttle for an instant. I've noticed before that Edwards doesn't use a lot of steering damper on his bikes, and this only magnifies the loose feeling. Okay - all part of life's rich passion for a defending World Superbike Champi- Colin Edwards finished second in the 2001 World Superblke Championship on the new version of the RCS1. After riding the bike, Alan Cathcart came away with newfound respect for Edwards' talents. on - Troy Bayliss' low-geared Ducati is every bit as eager to reach for the stars· and the RC51 's acceleration is vividly impressive once straightened up and flying right. There's a sense that the engine seems to pick up revs at the top end faster than the Aprilia and especially the Ducati, if not quite so fast lower down. But this means, in turn, that you must use the gearbox more often to keep the needle locked in the fivefigure zone where most power is - the ratios in the Honda gearbox fitted for Jerez (presumably the same as used for the final race at Imola) were much more closed-up than on either the Ducati or Aprilia I'd recently been riding, with around an BOO-rpm gap between each. Still, tapping the RC51 's perfectly set-up smooth-action powershifter to click a gear higher on the race-pattern gearbox as soon as the green shift light on the dash flashes at 11,500 rpm, but before the Honda's revlimiter flutters the engine at exact· Iy 12,000 rpm, will keep it revving above 10,000 rpm and leave you still in the fat part of the powerband. The Japanese bike isn't as potent low down as the Italian V-twins, and Edwards' discovery that the Honda handles best when geared tall would mean he has to use the gearbox harder, so the choice of internal ratios must be even more critical - and for example at Valencia he uses all six gears, whereas Bayliss gears his Ducati to use only four. The Honda's seating position is more rational than on the Ducati • you don't feel you're sitting so high up, and this means you feel more a part of the bike as you do on the Aprilia - not perched atop it, which in turn makes it easier to lift up and "" U "" • • change direction with it than the desmoquattro. Yet, in spite of the Honda engine being slightly bulkier than the Latin V-twin's, it feels narrower than either but yet is quicker steering, plus the broader screen gives better wind protection than on the Ducati. It's almost as good as the more enveloping Aprilia streamlining, and it's possible to tuck right behind it down the Jerez main straight. Yet, when you get to the other end, the instability you feel under acceleration on the Honda is translated to the other end of the bike· though it stops brilliantly, thanks to those fabulous six-piston Nissin brakes, which have so much feel yet deliver sheer outright stopping power when you really need it. Outstanding - good choice, Colin. However, those brakes are so good that they lift the Honda's back wheel in the air every time you use them really hard, and this sends the bike snaking into turns as you desperately - in my case - try to cram off as much speed as necessary to lay it into the apex of the next corner. Sometimes this doesn't matter a whole lot, because you have to get stopped good before you lay it into the turn - but other places, like at the end of the Jerez main straight or braking for the fast right hander leading onto it (where you have to pick an inch-perfect line over the slight hill to make sure you keep up momentum for an early drive down the straight) it does. n • _ S • JANUARY 16, 2002 15

• Cover