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/128644
Kenny Roberts Jr. S Suzuki RGv500 pletely failed to m atch them, in spi te of an apparent horsepower defic iency on the p ar t of the V-four Su zuk i' s tw in -c ran k engi ne tha t Roberts has been especially vo cal ab out all year long. It just meant he had to work a little harder to succeed his dad as master of the 500cc GP universe, 20 years after his father scored the last of his hat trick of world titles for Yamaha . The chance to test the newl y crowned 500cc World Champion 's machine at Phillip Island two days after the season-ending Australian GP, came almost one year to the day after I'd last ridden the RGv500 Suzu k i in XR89 guise at Jerez - a tighter track very different from the fast, d auntin g Do wn Under circuit. In Spain, 12 months ago, I'd discovered the bike's crucial advan tage - it s sweet steer in g and refined hand ling , in tu rn the p rodu ct of the e ffective three -wa y collaboration b etw een r i d er Ro berts, the Suzuki design staff back hom e in Hamamatsu, and race engineer Warren Willing , which endowed the XR89 chassis with a level of balance and refinement that set it apart from its rivals. By ALAN C ATH CART PHOTOS BY P AU L BARSHON • • ission accomplished . After wi n, . . . nin g four Grand Prix rac es and fi ni shi ng second in the 500cc World Championship with a bike that was the surprise package of the 1999 sea son, K enny Roberts Jr. and the RGv500 Suzuki XR89 went one better in 2000, clinching the world title with two races remaining after again winning four races over the course of the year - one more than anyone else and scoring more points in more races than any other rider. The only D N F came at Assen when it seized after Roberts grabbed the lea d off the li ne, and was seem in gly set for a fi fth victory. A total of four pole po sitions, nine rostrum fi nis hes and three fastest laps sta mped K ing Ke nny II and the Suzuk i as the domin ant force in this y ear's 500cc World Cha m pions hi p, after th e duo to ok the cha m p ionshi p lea d in the thi rd race of the season at Suzuka and he ld it for the rest of the year. It 's a mark of how much the Roberts/Suzuki pairing has matured th is season that their rivals so com - 14 JANUARY 3 , 2001 • c u e • e n eVIl's Howev er, the ab ili t y t o cut inside th e oppositio n and hol d a tight line in a slo we r be nd t h at I d i sc o ver ed at Jerez is one th ing - but the fast, fl ow ing Phill ip Islan d track posed a different kind of exam: was the Su zuk i' s agility and poise in changing direction in tight turns only obta ined at the cost of high-speed instability that compro mised i t s performance on faster tracks? Twenty-five laps of the Island later, I had my answer - as well as a vivid lesson in the phenomenal levels of sk ill needed to ride a modern 500cc GP bike around a high -speed circu it like t his one , at competitive speeds. Becau se, wh il e in the past wh en testing factory Su pe rbikes at Phill ip Island I've always been able to get on the pace reasonabl y quickly and cut a qualifying time for the World Super bik e race hel d at the sam e circuit, I'll readil y hold m y hand up and admit th at tryi ng to do th e same thing with the lighter, equally powerful and infi ni tely better braked RGv500 Suzuki presented a steep learning curve that took some tim e to even attempt to master. And I was in good company: alongside form er Suzuki World Cham pion m aestro Kev in Sc hwantz, having h is first outing on a 500 of an y kind for five yea rs and lap p ing a "mere " seven seco nds off the lap ti mes being carved out by Roberts and his new Span ish te am mate Sete G ib ern au (having his first-ever ride on the Suzuki) , were two other journalist s, each with prestigious recent for m as racers in their own right. Gerhard Lindner was German 600cc Supersport Cha mpion a couple of seasons ag o and is a top World Enduranc e racer today, while American Nick lenatsch is a lea ding 250cc AMA conte nder even in semi-retirement, as well as an inst ructor at Freddie Sp ence r' s Las Veg as raci ng sc ho ol. All three of us lapped within two -ten ths of a second of each oth er , but even slower than out- of-p ra ct ice ex-King Kevin - and way off the pace of the reignin g King Kenny. Ou ch ! It wasn 't for want of trying , though - and coming to our aid in redressing the balan ce slightly were the Suzuki's esta blished attrib utes of its balanced chassis setup , prec ise steering and high comer speed - well , once you 've