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/220782
RACER TEST P52 TOM SYKES' KAWASAKI ZX-10R there isn't an excessive amount of your body weight on your arms and shoulders. As with last year's bike, I didn't alter any of the electronic settings. I just rode it as the World Champion does – but since he says he hardly ever plays around with anything once they hit the sweet spot, probably that was the right thing to do. The pad on the left clip-on carries the adjuster buttons, with the The single row of shifter lights flashes at 14,600 rpm as an early warning that you should think about up shifting, though Sykes admits to not paying much attention to them. "My gear changes are generally all done by sound," he says. "I can tell when the engine starts to go flat, and it's just one less thing to do. Normal for me this year would probably be shifting at around 14,800 rpm. We've still " Basically, for this season we put effort into obtaining consistency in performance by improving engine management and handling. " - Ichiro Yoda top red button being plus and the bottom blue minus, with the white button between them allowing you to switch between the two different engine maps carried on board – one the race map, with a softer one in case the track gets slippery and/or the tire is worn. On the right side pad, the upper of the two white buttons is for the pit limiter, the red middle button is the killswitch, and the lower white button is to change between the eight-stage traction control and engine braking programs. So you can flick between the two via that button, then use the controls on the left to make a selection plus or minus. got a fat mid-range." The Marelli dash shows a single rather busy page with a large central gear selected indicator, plus engine temp and other technical data bottom right, then lap time, engine map, and TC setting on the left, plus the firm's usual barely legible digital tach sweep across the top. Kawasaki has also improved the handling in one notable area that I could identify at Jerez, and that's the way it turns in to an apex on the brakes. Last year I found I had to fight the bike hard to make it turn in to a corner while still trail-braking, which it absolutely did not want to do. Instead it insisting on heading straight. But that's been fixed for 2013, presumably as part of the big changes in setup and chassis geometry. So now I could back down the gears from fifth to first while braking hard (well, by my standards, anyway) yet could now steer the Kawasaki into the uphill apex with an ease that was quite unrecognizable from 15 months ago. It still felt secure, planted even, but now it was also responsive. And it didn't insist on being kept driven hard through corners in order to hold a line – it also didn't wash out the front wheel at the Curva Sito Pons, the off-camber right-hander leading on to the back straight that I'll freely admit I took on part-throttle until I was more certain of my line for the blind exit. The Kawasaki stayed glued to the trajectory I'd chosen for it, and didn't have to be tugged back on line, plus it also rode the bump on the exit brilliantly. Yes the Kawasaki is back on top. Twenty years after Russell last won on the green bike. And it may not be venturing far from the top. "Tom and Kawasaki moved the goalposts very far apart this season," said Eugene Laverty, the man who finished second to Sykes in the title chase. "So far, it'd be difficult to gauge it with a tape measure – you'd need something much longer and more accurate. They did a fabulous job, and I congratulate them for it." And that really says it all. CN