Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

notto mention that it finished dead last in the street rat,ngs. The Yamaha had hi0hs and lows this year, it performed well atthe track, but not so hot atths draq slrip because of another kied clutch. lt scored third in the street ratings, but was panned atthe trackfor whatever reason sub,sctively. We know the LE would have put up bettsr numbers and we expect a new bike nextyoar, so for now we'll have to wait untilthen. The poor Kawasaki is a brand-new bike that honestly seems to have gone backward a bit. We couldn't believe that it gained 12 pounds of weiqht after a redesign, iust ask Ho.da how hard it was to rebound from that same situation a tew years ago with the CBB600RH and CBHl000RR. The biqgest problem tnal Kawasakifaced is thatthe suspension just is not on par with the other bikes. We struqqled to set it up for Willow, and never found faith in the 1oR's stability or Ieed- back- Sur€ the motor is excellent, but it wasn't enough to recover the points lost at Willow Springs where it finished dead last in scoring. The ZX-l0R is still a great bike, but there are just so many good bikes in this class. As a oroup we col lectively aqree that we all liked the '05 ZX,l0R better So read into this shootout how you want and rnterpret the information for what is important to you individually, but for 2006 the SuzLrki GSX-Bl0D0 is stili the King. There really isn't a single loser in this test; it's justthat some ofthe bikes perform better in ditferent situations than othsrs. Whh allotthe ditferent scorinq categories, we f€elthar Bach bike had an opportunity to excel in diflerent areas. The overall points totals obviously declare the Suzuki as the clear-cut winner, but it also won the combi0ed perform- aoce cateqories and almost won {tied)the subjective street ratings. Wo can sleep easy with the fact that the Suzukiwon this shootout. There are other things to read into howevet such as the street subjective category. The Honda CBRl000ffR may have just beat the GSX'R1tJ00 but it proves how good of a bike the Honda is in the realworld. The Ducati's overall rating surprised us a bit as it didn't score very well on the str€et, on the dyno or at the dragst p. What it did do was impress everyone at Willow Spdnqs with good subjective numbers and a high-perfomance score. Bight on the heels of the Ducati is the other ltalian bike the MV Agusta F4"1000 S. The IVIV dominated the proceedings at Willow Springs, taking the track-pertormance-cateqorV points and finishinq a solid third subjectively. lt wasnt able to score as well at LAC8, as three other bikes iwhich were all redesiqned tor '06) that it beat last year finished in front 0f it CONCLUSION Oucati gXtS Suzuhi GSX-8tl,f, XawasakiZX-|0E ,rlv Agusta H-rmS flooda C8qrAfiAE 1:21 Blake Conner 1:27.1 1:28.99 1:21.71 l:28.02 l l 2 fimas Lar 10.15 @ 136.00 9.79 @ r44.78 (6) 9.75 @ 147.92 (8) 9.88 @ 143.50 La s.7t @ 146.58 1 9.82 @ 144.14 5 o Performance r 29.03 (31 r48.42 (6) 159.02 00 146.97 151.3718) r46.8314) D 36 20 24 3l 34 50 22 38 IRACK POINTS STREET POINTS Imr 2 Honda CBR1000RR 50 {tie} 50 (tie) 48 r a Ducati 9995 6 lGwasokiZX-l0R 4 MV Agusta F+l lDo S DtsPLACEMENT.........................998cc ENGINE TYPE...................1rquid-coolBd L-twin tour stroks BORE x STROKE.............100 x 63.5mm coMPRESStON RAT|O ...........1r.arr cARBURETtON.................EFr w/54mm throttle hodies TRANSMtSSrON....................Srx-speed SIARTING SYSTEM,,,.,,,, .,, E ECITiC FUEL CAPACITY.,,,..,, .,,, ,,,,.,, .,N/A RAKE/TRA|L.................23.5 24.5'/98mm SEAT HEIGHT,,,,,,,,.,,,,.,,,.,-,,,.,,,,,30,7 iN, FRONT TtRE...........................r20,,702Rr7 REAR TtRE .............................. r 90/502R r 7 FBONT.WHEEL TRAVEL.,,,..,., ,9 iN, BEAR-WHEEL TBAVEL 5nin FRONT BRAKE. .,,, ,,,.,.,,, . ,,,OUAI diSC CLAIMED DRY WEIGHT,,.,,,,,,,,,410 b MEASUBED WET WEIGHT 468 h Dlsc IGNITION Eleclronlc Chain LIST PRICE. ...s22,SS5 WHEELBASE ....55.9 in. REAH BRAKE FINAL DRIVE .................... Liquid coo ed, in ine fourcylnder ''.'',.'.',,.'.',,.'.,,,.,,,,,.,.,,,.,',12,2:l ,,,,,,',,,',',,,.,.,,,.,,,,,0Ua1 stage f l ................0 ig ital u 3-o map ,,,.,.,,,',.,,,',.,,,',.,,,23,45"/100mm ,,,,,,,,,.,-,,,.,',,,.,',,,',.,,]20/70.]7 ,,,,,.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,.',,,,.,,]90/50.]7 Eleutnc 75 x 56.5mm Six-speed ....4.8 gal 55.2ln Dualdisc .396 tb. .450 tb. ...Disc .Chain .$r r,299 ...998cc .4.7 in. .5.3 in. .......tiquid-cooled. 16'valve, D0HC inline four-cylinder four-stroke ,,',,,,,-,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,.,,,,]2,7:] ......EF| W/ (4)€mm throitie bodies '', ,.',, ',', .' , .. '',,,,,,,,,.,,,',.,s,('30eed -.'-..-..,,.-..,..-..,..-..,..-..,32.5 in ............................................0ua1 disc --.,,....-,------,,,...,,....,,....,,,ch3in Disc 76 x 55mm ..54 7 in .24.5'/102mm ..$t t,t9s .....9S8cc Electric .4.5 gal. .385 th. .4471b. ,,.'.,,,.'.,,,.'',,Di9ilal ...4.7 in ...4.S in 120110-11 ts0/55 17 ,,,...,,,.,,.,,'.'.,,'.'.,,,.,.,,...,,,,,..,,.$21'795 ,,,,,,,,,,,,,',,,.,.,,,.,Liquid.cooled, inline fouFcylinder ,,.,.,,,.,.,,,,,,,,,,., ',,, ', ',,, '76.2 x 55'88m m ,,,,,,.,',,,.,,,,,,-,,,,,-,,,,,,,,,,,,.,,,,,.,,,.',]3.0:l ,,.,'',,.,.,,.,',',,,',','.'.','.'.weber/I\,4alelli fuelinjection ,,,,,,,',,,,,',,,,,',,.',',,.',.,'Electronic ,', ,,.' ',.. '.''..',''.. '''.. .'',' '',,six-speed ,,.,,,,,,,,,,,.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,',,,',,,,,,',4,6 gal, . .. -. --,---,,,,,.,,,.,.,,55'40 in, ,,',',,,',',,,.,,,,,,,.,,,,,.',,,,'24,5./]036mm ,',,,.',,,''..'',..''''..''..'.',,...,,3].87 in, ',,'.,,,,,,,,,',,,,,,,,,,,',,,,','120/65.!7 . ,,, . ,,, , ,,, , ,,, ,,,,,,, ',, , ,,, ,']90/50.I7 ''.,''.'.''..'',.'''..''',,.''',,',,,,,4.s6 in, ,,,,,',,,',.,,,.,.,,,.0Ua1 disc Elecnic ---4-12 ir -.,,..-.-,,...,,,.,.,,,,.Disc -*-----...Chain ,,,,,,9s6.c ,,EFI EFI ..0isc Digital ..0raldisc 12.5:l .........Six speEd, constEnt-mesh .3r.9 in. sr 1,29s-11,59s ....998cc .55 7 in ,,,.,.,.,.,.'.....',,....''..'',,','',..,55'3 in, 23.45'/S6mm ......................................4.75 g3t ..Electric 24"/96.52mm .32 S rn Liquid-cooled, .,,DC,CDI . ........$r0,s9e ',, ,,, ,',,,,',',,,',',,, ',, '',..988.6cc .. Liquid-cooled, fDUr cylindRr, .Disc .Disc ...Chair 38r lb. ..450 tb. .{.7 in. .5.1in. ,,,.,,,'..,,.,'..,.''....'''.'.''..,.'',.441 lb. ..Chain .365rb. inline fourcylinder ,,', ,,, , ,,,',,,,,', ,,,,,,,,,,'.,77 x 53,6mm .',,,..',,,'.,,,,,,,,',,,,,.',,,,,,.,,,.,,,,,12,4:] ...4.7 in ...5-1in Electric 4.8 gal. tmr0-17 190/50.17 734 x 59nm 120t10 t1 190/50-17 ,,,,,,.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,'si)(-speed YAMAHA YZFRI LE Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know what you're thinkirlg, you re com- plaininq that we didnt rsethe 81 LE as the primary Yamaha in this test. We considered it, but wero under the impressioo faom Yamaha thatwe would oaly b6 able to havo th€ bile forthe day 6l the racetrack, as other mag- azines were champing atthe bh to gst on it as well. We obvious- ly needed to get a hold ofths bike for lol1gerthan a fsw days to get our racelrack, street rid€, drag stnp, dyno aod otfic;a I weigh-in accom- plished. A loOistical0ightmaro to say $s lsast Sothere you h6vs it no conspira- cy theoriss pl0ase. hwasn't a case of not allowing it por s6, as you can sae from our othor s€lections w€ have no scruples aboulthrowrng th6 93,000 0ucati gggs and 92,000 MV Agusta F4-1000 inlo the mix. hs ioo bad thatwe c(ltrldnt includedrB RI LE as the main Yam6ha entry in rh;s tesl as itwould have done very well. Even with the l8ss grappy stock tires the LE was able to ru0 very similar lap limes to the stan- dard Rl. Thal was without making any suspension changes to it and flot run. [ing k lor the official Banzai 1im6s. So what do you get for your extr8 S6701 over $s standard fil?W6ll for starters you get a much superior sus- pension paclage, and remembar what we said abouthandling at Wllow Springs? Up front is a fully adiu$table 0hlinssuspension front and r€a.. Even without messing with the Betinqs at all, the LE feh consid- erably better on the track thanthe stock Rl (whicfi is no slouchl. The bite not only gave the idermuch more feedback but the bike seemed more stable in thefast corners, hold- rng its line much bettet a,so aided by the forged-slumjnum gold Marchesiniwheels. 0ne major iinal pertormance upgrade comes in the lorm o, the slipper clutch. The rest ofthe bike is the same as the standard nl unlers yo! {ountthe 50th Anniversory paint that is standdrd on the LE, but is so optjonalcolor on the stand6rd biks. The bike retails tor $18,000. \ BRIDGESTON€ BT-OOE Allsix ot lfie bikes\rvere mounted with 1!0/55Znt 7 T3 (medium com- poundl tires lf you look at that number thal should tell you that the all ol the rears are sli{htly larq€rthan th6 stock 190/50ZR17 tjrcr that most oI ths bikes coms ftred with 6Gndard lother than the Kawssaki). l.lp lront ws mouoied 120r02R17 T4 {soh compound)rires on Etlsir bikes. The BT-002s h,orked very vyell at Wllow Springq of,ering plenty ol gnp. So,nolim€s ths {ros f€lt s little vague midcorn€r, but griF on the throflle at com€r €xit was excellert- We used two sets per biko, one before lunch and one for the of{icialtines. Th€ lalest 00T approved Supersport tire lrom Bridgeston€ incomorales a fl€w profile dBsigned frcmtfie;r Iat€stMotoGP tne developmefl!s. The ben- efits include a flattea and larqer crowh ridirrs vs the previous qeneration BT'001 PRo l0r b6tt€r turn-in, increassd stability and traction. They also w€re desigmd to improvs the consistenly of qrip. P€RFORMANC€ u \ u tU d, t9 z t o U u SUBJ€CTIV€ 1 Suzuki GSX-RI00o 0ucATt9995 HONDA CBR1OOOBR KAWASAI(I NINJA ZX.IOR MV AGUSTA t4"1000 S suzuKtGsx-81000 YAMAHA YZF,RI u z o t- U tr U u, IL n cYcLE NEVtlS MARCH r 5, 2006 37 t! li ollicial Lap fines Yrnahd YZF-8, l.?7 37 i6l Tom MontenD l:28 6? l6) I 28 9C 15) 1.3n n1 {31 Ln nS lln) 1.1A3? lA\ 1.rc 16 idl Performaflce Tolals 24 28 39 o 24 138 95 Final Standings 5 Yamaha YZF-R1 TOTAT -,',,,' ,,.., ',., .',.,','... .'..., ''....423'3 lb' ,.,',,,'.',,,.'.',,.'.,,.'.,,,., ',, , ,,,., ,,,477 lb

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