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/128225
on the stocker I had to momentarily back off to let the chassis catch up. Not only is the chassis amazing at handling the bumps under acceleration and midcorner, the bike is so composed under braking it's amazing. Let's put it this way, I got into the chicane pretty hot considering I didn't know the track, only to realize that I could have gone in considerably deeper. The feedback from the front end and the compliance from the fork are the best I've ever experienced, and those brakes, damn! The radialmount Brembo monoblock calipers, the same as any Brembo-supplied MotoGP or Superbike team use, are amazing. There just isn't anything better, period. I Okay, so I'm two laps in, and the !bike feels fast, but it is far from scary, ,so I decided to give it some stick. I started hammering onto the banking, lightly tapping the quick shifter with the throttle wide open (I later found out that over the course of my best lap I was only WFO for 2.7 percent of the time), shifting at around 10,500 rpm, which made the bike growl with approval. I was finally starting to get a feel for the bike, or so I thought. I later learned that I could have been reving the thing to 13,300, but because of my mechanical sympathy and the fact that I'm a total wimp, I shorted myself a solid 3000 rpm, and I have a feeling those were the "ohshit" rpms. According to Graves it really wakes up at 9500 rpm, but if Buckmaster chucks it down the road it's no big deal, but if I tossed it, I think my job might have been in jeopardy. Either way the motor is incredibly fast, offering acceleration like nothing I've ridden before. The nature of engine builder Barry McMahon's motor is electric. The motor is incredibly smooth, linear and controllable with the power building seamlessly toward the redline (that I never saw) without a hie-up. The team switches back and forth between carbs and injection on a regular basis depending on the track. We were riding it in the carburetor configuration with the bank of 41 mm Keihin fiat-slide units in place. The other option is a bank of 40mm throttle bodies. I can't even begin to tell you how smooth the fuel delivery was, just perfect. The entire power package, from the engine's smooth power curve to the immaculate fuel delivery, almost makes the bike feel like a pussycat. The motor is flexible enough to be a street motor without question, and what a streetbike that would be. The motor has hardly a hint of vibration at speed, and the sound from the Graves exhaust is pure symphony. It makes you understand how Bucky is capable of riding the thing to the limit. Of course I'm sure that he is running at least 5000 more rpm midcorner than I was, but that's why he gets paid to race, and I get paid to pose. The bike handles like a dream, diving down onto the intended line with ease. The combination of the 16.5-inch front rim and smallish 305mm rotors and total lack of weight from the magnesium front wheel make the bike carve like a scalpel. The thing that impressed me the most at the end of the day was how well mannered the bike was. The bike never protested any sort of rider Damon Buckmaster has put the Graves R1 on the podium four times this season with wins at Pikes Peak and Elkhart Lake to his crediL He cUrTently sits second in the Formula Xtreme championship standings behind Ben Spies, just seven points adrift. input, it never tied itself into knots, it never shook its head !'lnd was probably never as bored in its life as on this day. It was nice to see the bike get loaded into the transporter at the end of the day without a scratch, so it can head out to Mid-Ohio and hopefully provide Bucky with the ammunition he needs to take the points lead away from teenager Ben Spies. eN Because Once a Month is NOT Enough. • • cue I e n e _ S • JULY 30, 2003 39