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/128307
ing second-hand Dainese leathers, and they just split, so it was skin against asphalt. "ln terms of GP bikes, it's no secret that the 1989 NSRSOO Honda was the scariest thing I ever rode in that class. I'd previously tested a YZRSOO Yamaha at their test track, and that wasn't so bad. It did everything I wanted it to do , and I went faster and faster and faster until I crashed, basically to see how far I could push it. Finally, I ended up signing for Honda instead, and when I tested the '88 bike, I wondered if I'd done the right thing. Then I rode the 1989 bike, and it didn't feel too different, except it didn't rev as much. "One thing was that Honda made the ir own calipers and discs at that time, and the bike would shake its head really bad, and that wou ld spread the pads, so when you hit the brakes , they'd come back to the bar. You had to pump them up. It didn't have a great dea l of feel, and I didn't have a great deal of experience. It was set up like a speedway bike, with the wrong head and castor angle and swing-arm pivot point. You'd lean it over, and that's all it would do lean over, but not actually tum. And it wasn't stiffenough . "The result was, it gave you no warning that the front tire had let go until it was well and truly past it. I crashed that bike more than any other. It was frightening, and with my lack of experience I was thinking that if this is what GP bikes are like, maybe I should think of doing something else. Looking back, it was a good introduction to GP racing. After that , th ings could only get better. " GARRY MCCOY 2003 KAWASAKI NINJA ZX-RR Three times a 500cc winner, ex-125 ace Garry McCoy's career hit a big hiccup when his Red Bull WCM team ran out of sponsorship. Instead of the Moriwaki Honda MotoGP bike he'd been expecting, McCoy considered himself lucky to get a ride for the new Kawasaki team on the 990cc in-line four ZX-RR. But not for long. One clear problem was the Dunlop tires, though as McCoy said, they improved a lot during the year. The other was the bike, which didn't. Power wasn't the problem ; using it was, and McCoy spent yet another year entertaining the fans by racing sideways. Now, however, it was a lap adrift of the leaders . "During preseason testing, the bike didn't feel comfortable, and we gave them some ideas or options on what to change," McCoysaid. "But it took a long time before we saw anything, and then they were only really small changes. Basically the bike has been the same all year. The engine has been improved a bit, but the chassis is not built for that engine. Some say the engine is too powerful, but I don't think that . The engine is good, but the chassis's not right for it. "The Dunlops have their problems, but we've seen some big improve ments during the year. And the team [Eckl's ex-Superbike squad], compared with what I was used to , is a bit unprofessiona l, a bit disorganized and a bit lost in how to keep things moving smoothly. They're like a private team , with the factory in the backgrou nd. But they were also learning. The biggest disappointment is that we don't seem to get anything that we want from the factory. We have meetings every day, and they take a lot of not es, but we don't see any new parts . They must have a big she lf fullof notes , tho ugh. It seems Kawasaki don't want to make anything that might not work or that might make it worse. Which seems pretty wro ng to me. Y have to experiment ou to find the right direction. "The biggest problem is that the bike doesn't want to turn , and it's real heavy to change direction, especially with the thrott le open. When you're on the gas, it just wants to go straight. For example here at Motegi the Hondas go through the first chicane on the gas. We can't. It's worse than that. I can't even use the same line as them 'round there when I'm off the gas. All year, I've had to watch people driving away from me that I know I should be beating. " 01 2004 W R DCHAMPIONSHIP ICE SPEEDWAY SERIES OL 28 YEARS OF VIVA LAS VEGAS! Th is Winter I.C.E.EXTREME EXCELLENCE Goes Beyond X-TREME! WORLD CHAMPIONSH IP OPEN -. FEBRUARY 6TH & 7T H 1, ( ' Bud\Nelae r Events Center -. . tme.nd . CO (817) 54,·nXX .. Key Yeager Coli seum Wochita Fans. TX (940) " 6-5555 A • •NA LAS VEG AS 4500 W Tropicana Avenue , $25,000 Purse! A Cool $5,000 To Winl Ticket & Room Info: 888·365·71 11 "The Grea test Spectacle On Ice Meets the Wor ld's Most Fam ous Cltyl" www.icespeedway.com www.cycieneW5.com For Additional Se ries Info: 843-234·2777 ' ©2004 l.e .E. C YC LE N EWS • JANUARY 2 1, 200 4 39