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/128145
Ten Kate & BKM Honda CBR600 World Supersport - because, like everyone else trackside or watching a TV screen last season, I'd always considered the Dutchtuned Hondas to be the fast but fragile speed kings of the World Supersport pack: three wins, sure, but more than one high-profile engine failure en route to superlative top-end performance, as evidenced by the apparent inability of much of their competition to even draft them in a straight line. Well, talking to Gerrit Ten Kate straightened me out about the various retirements: Only Riba's Monza DNF was engine-related, he says; and riding the bikes at Jerez completely contradicted my preconceived notions about how they'd perform the more so after riding Curtain's peakier, less accelerative BKM Honda. Because far from being as revhungry as the D'Hollander-tuned BKM bik:e with its narrower powerband, the Ten Kate CBR600 proved to have a fat midrange that delivered extremely impressive acceleration by tne standards of the 600cc Supersport class, which was later confirmed by an outing on the Riba machine that also had the benefit of a tach, so I could confirm my seat-ofthe-pants impressions. For even though both TK riders say they change gear by feel rather than looking at the dash, Foret doesn't bother with a tach at all, just with a Brittenstyle series of three smaller lights which flash in sequence, culminating in a big bright one which comes on at 15,000 rpm, when maximum power of 125 hp is delivered to the back wheel. But on the Riba bike, the analogue tach confirmed that the Ten Kate CBR pulls strongly out of a tight tum like the last one before the pits at Jerez from as low as 9000 rpm, in turn delivering really meaty acceleration that has the front wheel reaching for the sky in the bottom three gears. It's precisely because the Dutch Hondas accelerate like this that they appear on the TV screen to be so fast, because while they get a jump on their rivals by driving harder and sooner out of a tum, so they also get to their ultimate top speed faster and the team's PI Telemetry system says Riba was clocked at 185 mph down the front straight at Monza last season, even if the official speed trap figure was "only· 181 mph - still, some going for a modified 600cc street bike. The way the 2001 Honda engine picks up speed so quickly low down makes it feel as if the crank's been lightened compared to last year's bike, which of course it hasn't, as Supersport rules don't permit this. When quizzed about this, Gemt Ten Kate says the Sport version intro- 42 MARcH 13. 2002· DUD I _ duced for this season, on which these bikes are based, has a much lighter flywheel generator than previous CBR600s, which would account for that. The power builds very strongly from 12,000 rpm upward, but again, to save gearshifts, there's no fall-off before the 16,000 rpm rev limiter, even if the riders never spin it that high - though I never once hit it. You don't need to - just shift up at 15 grand and feel that fabulous crisp, strong torquey punch take over again: The closed-up ratios of the kit gearbox mean you're always in the fat part of the powerband if you do this. Nice. Very nice. The same thing applies to the Dutch CBR600's chassis, which ideally complements the engine performance and is a notch above that of amount of turn speed for a bike running on treads, and the rear Pirelli and WP shock package gives great stability accelerating on the angle, resulting in a stronger drive out of the turn, which allowed me to make the most of hitting a true sixth gear down the straight that followed. Riba's bike felt less planted, but only because it had a different choice of fork internals they were testing, which felt softer-sprung, with not enough rebound damping - Pere himself agreed that Fabien's bike was set up better, which I guess is the whole point of going testing. But really, a big element in the performance of the Ten Kate bikes is the compliance of their suspension package - you can feel what started out as volume production street forks just tracking smoothly over bumps in Kate riders are going to be top contenders for the World Supersport title when the 2002 campaign opens in Valencia on March 10. Out of the seven factory-backed bikes I've ridden that took part in the 2001 series, split between four manufacturers, there's no doubt that Fabien Foret's Honda was the one that impressed me most - the engine performance, handling and braking all make jt a seriously good package. The BKM Honda, by contrast, didn't have such potent acceleration, such meaty midrange, or such a wide spread of power, and the handling wasn't as dialed in as the Frenchman's Ten Kate bike - and while Riba's engine felt great, I didn't like his suspension setup as much as his teammate's. That said, I find it pretty amazing that II rider of such proven the already good-handling BKM bike. There are two reasons for this: the Pirelli tires, and the trick hand-made internals for the stock 43mm Showa forks, which Ten Kate has sourced in Britain and got WP to fit for him. I especially liked the way these were set up on Foret's bike, which felt tauter and more precise in its damping than the Riba bike, especially after Pirelli race engineer Giorgio Barberi kindly stuck a new front Dragon Super Corsa with zero-degree bias on Fabien's bike for me. The grip it delivered in conjunction with the fork setup was phenomenal by treadedtire standards, as was evidenced by the way it stuck like glue in the fast • off-camber right sweeper leading on to the back straight at Jerez. The CBR's front-end grip allows you to keep up an improbable n __ • the track surface leaned over at an angle, with no chatter, no pumping when you get back on the gas - just smoothing out the surface so the excellent Pirellis can do their job. Superb. The same thing can be said for the brakes, which again are the petal type now used by most of the top Supersport contenders, only this time made in Spain by Galfer and matched on the Foret bike to Carbon Lorraine pads. Even with his stiffer fork setup, this doesn't deliver any undue instability thanks to excessive weight transfer, but results in the kind of stopping power that anyone who watched the Imola Supersport race will have seen Fabien turn into a race-winning factor. After riding the three Hondas, it's hard not to conclude that the two Ten The D'HoIIeI.....tuneclllKll UHcIIIlcIIeIIn tires that ....... to be unbeldllllle In w....-ther I'lICelI lastyur. Mo _ skill as Kevin Curtain, who was top Honda finisher in the 2001 World series, hasn't been able to cut a deal with any team to remaIn in World Supersport this coming season, and has returned to Australia to race an Rl Yamaha in Formula Xtreme. Wbet a waste. But in his absence, and espe le!Iy with the superior performance of thler Ten Kate-prepared machines, either of the Dutch Honda team's riders heve a great chance to finally give Honda the World Supersport title the Japanese giant has so far unaccountably missed out on. They certainly have the bikes they need to do it with. _