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Sitting on the opposite side of the spectrum is the Ducati Performance 1098R. Basically as close to a World Superbike as possible for the average consumer, this bike was built by Ducati to showcase just what one can do with an unlimited budget – over $70,000. In fact, it’s so close in looks and external hardware that the bike was used as a Troy Bayliss WSB-replica display bike to travel around with the IMS shows. And since the list of modifications is so long we will focus on the main changes.
The engine remains very close to stock, with the exception of Ducati Performance (DP) cams and intake kit, plus a larger-diameter Termingnoni exhaust and back-torque-limiting clutch. A full Termi system does come with the stock 1098R as an addition, but due to EPA and noise laws it can’t be installed until after purchase and is said to be used for “closed course only.” Right… In our case the system has been updated with bigger 70mm head and mid-pipes for improved flowing of spent gasses. This is mated to a DP chip to properly adjust fuel mapping. And while that rounds out the engine changes, considering how blindingly fast the World Superbike-homologation special is from the factory, the bike hardly needs more power.
The result is an amazing amount of torque, 93.4 lb-ft at 8100 rpm. And this bottom end and mid range of the Ducati allows you to be very relaxed with gear selection. This is shown in the dyno chart, as the bike is already making nearly 80 lb-ft of torque from as low as 4000 rpm, whereas the modified GSX-R makes just over 80 lb-ft at its peak, which isn’t until 10,s00 rpm. On the other hand, the GSX-R’s top end trumps the Ducati by about the same margin – 181.7 hp compared to 172.9 hp. This is why it’s key to fully exploit the Duc’s loads of corner-exit shredding torque to keep pace with the GSX-R.
For the affordable price of $75,000 you too can have a Ducati Superbike (top); A good chunk of that cost is from the to-spec chassis, which includes an Ohlins gas charged fork and Brembo monobloc forged brakes (middle); A Ducati Racing back torque-limiting clutch keeps the rear end in line under heavy braking (bottom),
Want to leave it in third and roll through the corner at 5000 rpm? No worries. Simply twist the throttle early and it pulls like a locomotive, building steam from as low as four-grand. Likewise it allows you to keep it up in the revs, with an amazing tire-spinning top end, especially for a V-Twin.
“The power of the Ducati coming off the corners is just plain awesome!” exclaims Waheed. “It pulls so hard from so low that you can leave it a gear high and still get a ripping drive out of any corner. Heck, you could probably leave it two gears high and still get a good drive – it’s got that much torque. But the crazy thing is that it still pulls hard all the way up top to redline. On yeah, it has to be one of the best sounding bikes on the planet.”
While not quite as potent as the Suzuki, the 1098R is no slouch, as it pulls out of Turn 8 at a healthy 129.5 mph and out of Turn 9 only a tick off the Suzuki at 115.1 mph. That equates to a top speed of 162.7 mph down the front straight, within 5 mph of the Yoshimura-engine Suzuki. But while in the high-speed turns the Ducati trails ever so slightly behind the Suzuki, it excels in the slow speed stuff and pulls everything together to lay down the quickest lap time of the test by nearly a full second. How? The chassis.
And the key to really going fast on the Duc is to find the perfect balance of riding the torque wave just as it leads into top-end pull, as we said, the amazing chassis must be fully exploited to achieve good lap times. That requires extremely high corner speeds and the bike to be at the right rpm mid corner; too high and engine drag holds you back, too low and the drive out is sacrificed.
The chassis is also where the majority of the money was invested with this DP 1098R, aimed to truly turn it into a racetrack weapon. A superbike-spec Ohlins FGR800 gas charged fork graces the front end, while stiffer and larger front triple clamps are needed to keep the massive units in place. An Ohlins TTX rear shock sits out back, mated to a flat-rate linkage, adjustable ride-height bar and massive Ducati Corse World Superbike-developed swingarm, which is far more rigid and allows the use of larger slick tires. The swingarm really is a piece of motorcycle artwork, though at $5,443 I would expect nothing less. Upgraded wheels were also installed, these being of the tasty forged magnesium variety, reducing unsprung mass for improved handling and acceleration.
Editorial Director Hutchison is right at home on the Ducati Superbike as he navigates the uphill side of Willow Springs.
The result is a machine that inspires elbow-draggin levels of confidence. Combined with the fly-paper-sticky Pirelli tires, one could push the Ducati so hard through the center of the corner that I continually scared myself with the roll speeds it is was capable of. Some good 600s would struggle to keep that pace, yet the 1098R continually asked for more.
“I like the Duc as a whole package but where it really shows you who’s boss is mid corner,” adds Waheed. “There is no way 99.9% of riders could come even close to the limits of that motorcycle’s front end. The Ohlins fork was perfectly set-up and the bike's overall balance was spot on. I just kept pushing it harder and harder and I still wasn’t even close to the bike’s limits. It’s also amazing how quickly it steers, yet is still very stable though Turns 8 and 9.”
Ducati Performance 1098R VBox Data @ Willow Springs - Although it's almost 5 mph down on top speed and can't match the Yosh GSX-R in Turns 8 and 9, superior corner speed throughout the rest of the track equates to a lap time nearly a second quicker.
A glance at mid-corner speeds in the slower sections of the track backs this up, as the Ducati is fastest through the apex of Turn 2 at 91.7 mph and Turn 4 at 57.8 mph. This is mirrored throughout the rest of the track, as it trumps the others through all but the mega-fast Turns 8 and 9, where the ultra-stable Suzuki and its monster motor just edge out the Ducati; though this is as much due to the power as the chassis, as we found the Ducati to be equally as stable in the fast sections as we did in the slow stuff.
Braking is handled by a full top-spec Brembo set-up, making for a serious set of stoppers. Forged monobloc 4-piston calipers sit up front and grab 320mm semi-floating discs, fed by steel-braided lines that connect to a fully adjustable Brembo radial master cylinder. Out back is a two-piston forged Brembo caliper with the stock disc, though nothing more is needed.
This equates to true Superbike-spec brakes. Take a look around the AMA paddock and you will see nearly, if not every factory Superbike with exactly the same setup. Why? Because they are downright amazing. Initial bite will send you straight through the windscreen if you aren’t ready for it, while the lever feel and feedback is like grabbing the discs with your bare hands it’s so good (minus your skin getting burned off, that is). By far some of the best brakes made today.
While we absolutely adore the Ducati and its limitless potential on the track, we don’t doubt the same could be achieved at a far lower cost. But this bike is all about excess and, well, we do still love it!
So was there anything we didn’t adore about the Ducati? Besides the price, only one minor area: Wind protection. The small windscreen and slender race bodywork made getting into a tuck nearly impossible, and at a track as fast as Willow Springs this was not only annoying but fatiguing as well. Quite a simple fix though, as $50 will get you a taller windscreen and the problem will be all but solved.
As you can see, we instantly fell in love with the Ducati Performance 1098R. We loved the stock ‘R’, but with the mods Ducati has added this may now be one of the most fun and rewarding machines we have ever ridden. In fact, I’d go as far as saying that for the money, as they both cost about the same, I would seriously consider this bike over a Desmosedici. Okay, maybe not, but you get the picture. This is truly is pure Italian motorcycling bliss. Just don’t tip it over…
Our outing at Willow Springs marked the debut of the MotoUSA Project Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. For Part 1 of our multi-stage story, this proved the perfect place to not only shake down the newly-built machine, but see how it stacked up to the others at the same time. As it also happens, with the cost of parts and labor added, the Yosh Suzuki comes in at nearly the same price as the Aprilia. This gave us a perfect comparison of two very different motorcycles which lighten the wallet equally.
For the first stage of the build we kept things street-legal, aiming to make the ultimate road-going Superbike. It's widely known that if you have a Suzuki and want more power there’s one company to turn to – Yoshimura. It’s hard to dispute a company with the last 10 of 11 AMA Superbike championships to its name, all on Suzuki GSX-Rs. And with the addition of the YRS (Yoshimura Race Shop) program which began late last year, our project GSX-R provided a perfect opportunity for us to see what exactly the Japanese company has available for the performance-seeking consumer.
We started by installing one of Yosh’s engine-swap-program motors. This gave us a full Superbike-spec powerplant quickly and easily. That was mated to Yosh's EM-Pro software system to control fuel delivery and their R-77 exhaust, while a BMC airfilter aided in intake flow. Finally, case guards were added to protect our investment.
The Stage 1 Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 (top) may look close to stock but under that bodywork lurks a monster; Yosh’s power-making and beautifully crafted R-77 exhaust (middle); Showa’s Factory Kit shock (bottom) was added along with a Yosh link to help handle the engine’s additional 30 hp.
To give you an idea of how much value for the money the YRS engine-swap really is, the rental motor is only three to four horsepower down on Tommy Hayden’s factory American Superbike-spec machine. And getting one is as simple as bolting it in your bike, thumbing the starter and racing – then give it back after the weekend. Yoshimura will also replace it with a new unit or perform whatever repairs are needed if anything mechanically goes wrong (as long as it’s not from gross negligence).
And this can be yours for $1500 per weekend of racing. Considering it would cost nearly that to simply maintain a modified race engine for one weekend, let alone use a full-factory unit, that's what we call a smokin' good deal. As for those who want to build their own SBK powerplant for the street or track days, Yoshimura will make you the same extremely-potent motor for roughly $7500.
So just how fast is the engine? Well, to just simply say fast would be the understatement of the century. Despite the fact that we didn’t get proper gearing in time for our test and had to use the ridiculously-high stock setup, the GSX-R would still wheelie under power exiting Turn 9 at 120 mph! Frankly, even with the stock gearing it's an absolutle brain-melting missile.
But its true beauty lies in how easy the power is to use and control. Combined with Yosh's tuning of its EM-Pro ECU, from 2000 rpm all the way up to redline the bike ran like a dream – it just happens to be one of those crazy skydiving-without-a-parachute dreams. But while seamless power delivery did it’s best to mask the beast within, there’s nothing that can truly tame the rush those 999ccs are capable of producing, especially at over 130 mph. And we can't get enough of it.
It’s no wonder, as a look at the dyno charts shows an amazing 181.7 hp and 81.3 lb-ft of torque at the rear tire. This is backed up with the on-track data. The Yoshimura-built Superbike engine propelled the GSX-R to a blistering top speed of 166.61 mph, nearly 5 mph up on the Ducati and over 12 mph faster than the Aprilia. It’s also extremely strong all the way through the faster sections of the track, entering Turn 8 at 146.1 mph, clipping through the apex at 127.2 mph and exiting with a blistering 133.8 mph. One can only imagine what it will do with proper gearing.
But power is also nothing without control, so we focused on basic and affordable chassis modifications to take Suzuki’s already potent GSX-R to the next level of racetrack and canyon-road devouring prowess. In the suspension department we added a Showa Factory Kit shock and Yoshimura linkage along with a massaged stock Showa fork and fork-extender caps. The aim was to match chassis performance to its monster motor’s abilities. Not an easy task, though with the help of some of the race team’s suspension gurus, we were able to make substantial strides without investing too much coin.
High-speed mid-corner stability from the Yoshimura-built Suzuki GSX-R1000 Project Bike was rock solid.
As a result the bike handled far better than the base machine, especially in terms of the rear shock. Where the progressive spring and link used on the OE unit makes it nearly impossible to tune out corner-exit pumping under acceleration, we had no such issues with the Showa unit and Yosh link, despite the fact we were putting over 30 additional horsepower through it. This is the result of better valving, slicker action and the use of a consistent-rate spring and flatter-rate link. This kind of power through the stock shock would have been downright scary, thus if you are going to go big with the engine we highly recommend you invest in suspension that can handle it.
Up front the fork was plush over the small stuff but handled hard braking well and was very balanced with the rear shock. The combination of the two equated to one of, if not the most stable big-bore bike I’ve ever ridden through Big Willow's Turn 8 and 9 section. While most bikes are sensitive to gusts of wind at 140 mph at knee-dragging lean angles, the Yosh Suzuki wouldn't budge no matter what came its way.
“I’m absolutely flabbergasted at how on-rails the Suzuki was through (Turns) 8 and 9,” Waheed says of the Yosh GSX-R. “I could go in there on any line I wanted, at any speed I wanted, and no matter what I did it just shot around those two corners probably faster than I’ve ever been. If only every bike was so easy to get through that scary section of the track then, well, it wouldn’t be so scary anymore.”
Yosh Suzuki GSX-R1000 VBox Data @ Willow Springs - A blistering 166.61 mph down the front straight and a whopping 146.1 mph down the back shoot showed what the Yosh engine was capable of. The comparison-leading Turn 8 and Turn 9 speeds display the chassis' high-speed abilities.
We opted to leave the fork and shock set at the stock height and as such the bike didn’t flick from side to side nearly as quickly as we would have liked. Not that is was sluggish; we just would have liked more urgency when changing direction. As such, this is something we are in the process of changing for Part 2, so be sure to stay tuned as the racing phase of the project begins later this month.
This was visible in the data too, as while the Suzuki was stable and very fast through the Turn 8-9 combo, in the slower Turns 2 and 4 it was at the back of the group. Speed at the apex of Turn 2 was a meager 86.6 mph, almost four down on the others, while in Turn 4 it was also last, though only slightly down on the Aprilia – 54.3 mph verses 54.5 mph – Mirroring our rider impressions. Though with some ride-height adjustment this could easily have been remedied.
Another area where we would have liked more performance was the brakes. We added Galfer pads and steel-braided lines, yet combined with the stock master cylinder and calipers it still produced lackluster results. We’ve never been a big fan of the Suzuki liter-class machine’s binders, especially the feel though the OE master. And although the Galfer parts helped and would be an adequate street set-up, for track work a little more performance is needed.
With Stage 1 in the books, Stage 2 begins. By the time you read this the GSX-R1000 Project will be fully disassembled and in the process of being turned into a full-blown racebike.
Other than some slight gearing, geometry and brake issues, we came away quite surprised with the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. For virtually what you would spend on a mid-level exotic European sportbike, it’s easy to have Yosh turn your Japanese machine into a motorcycle which circulates the track substantially faster while being a downright missile in a straight line. The GSX-R1000 is a potent street bike in stock form, but with this bike the boys from Yosh turned what is already a 9 out of 10 to a 12 – or maybe higher.
If you want to haul the mail around the track and smoke anything on the road at the slightest twist of the right grip, simply pick up the phone and call Yoshimura. It’s no wonder these guys have been so successful at racing. And now it can ALL be yours from YRS at more-than-reasonable prices!
The new Aprilia comes into this test as the only stock motorcycle, but does so for good reason. Touted as one of the top new 1000cc rides for 2010, this served as the perfect OE benchmark for which to compare the other two modified machines. Its $20,999 price also puts in right in the ballpark with the Yoshimura GSX-R, allowing for a direct comparison between a modified Japanese machine and a stock European exotic.
Impossible not to notice by simply glancing at the Italian V-Four, the bike feels very small between one’s legs. And while not much bigger in width than today’s compact 600s, the Aprilia still fit our 6-foot-tall Road Test Editor, Adam Waheed, quite well. This is because the actual on-bike ergos are surprisingly relaxed, with lower-than-expected footpegs and ample room provided by the long solo seat. This allowed the Aprilia to be a comfortable machine for everyone who tested it, sizes ranging from my vertically-challenged 5’6” stature to the aforementioned lanky frame of Waheed.
One would also think by virtue of its small overall size, it would be a featherweight fighter. Not exactly. Our test unit rolled across the scales at 453 lbs full of fluids, making it one of the heavier liter-class bikes currently produced. Where does this girth come from and how does it hide the weight so well? Its V-Four engine, that’s where. Not light by any means, the compact design allows a lot of metal to sit in a small and low place. While this raises the curb weight, due to the engine’s low CG (Center of Gravity) and the under-seat mounted fuel tank, the bike feels as if it were one of the lightest 1000s both at speed and tooling around the parking lot. The Aprilia is truly a sportbike Houdini.
Aprilia’s new 2010 RSV4 Factory really impressed all who rode it (top); The compact V-Four engine (center) keeps the CG low but is on the heavy side; Gauges (bottom) are simple, to the point and easy to read.
And while the V-Four engine may be on the heavy side, the power which it produces, and the way in which it puts it to the ground, greatly impressed all who rode it. With almost the ideal mix of low-end torque from a V-Twin and the high-revving nature of an Inline-Four, it’s nearly impossible not to be drawn in by the Aprilia’s powerplant.
Exit the corner and open the throttle, even as low as 6000 rpm, and the RSV pulls with a strong yet somewhat deceiving ferocity. This push keeps building as the revs rise, and just as one thinks the mid-range will taper off as 10,000 rpm splashes across the dash, it hits what feels like overdrive, surging into the upper revs and keeping on strong all the way up to and slightly past 13,000 rpm. Due to the strong bottom end and mid range, I found myself riding it somewhat like a Twin at first, short-shifting quite often. That was until I experimented at the top of the revs and realized what I had been missing.
The power is downright impressive, especially considering the highly-modified competition we were riding alongside it. Taking a look at the cold, hard numbers, on our dyno the RSV4 pulled a solid 154.6 hp at 12,300 rpm with 75.1 lb-ft of torque at 10,000 rpm – very competitive numbers from a stock machine.
“The engine of the Aprilia is awesome, everything about it,” Road Test Editor Waheed says. “It’s crazy that up against a Yoshimura-built GSX-R1000 and Ducati Performance 1098R that it would still feel as fast as it does. I rode the base ‘R’ model in Mugello at the press intro but today this Factory feels quite a bit faster for some reason, even though there’s not much different between the engines. This Aprilia has one of the best stock engines made today. Not to mention that exhaust note – absolute musical harmony.”
Taking a look at the VBox data shows a competitive top speed of 153.8 mph; less than 10 down on the Ducati and roughly 13 off the Yoshimura Suzuki. And while that may sound like a decent gap, for a bone-stock motorcycle compared to two very fast modified machines, it’s quite a bit closer than we anticipated. But even more telling may be the RSV4’s pace exiting the high-speed Turn 8, where it logs a max of 124.9 mph, less than five mph off that of the Ducati. It doesn’t fare quite as well coming out of Turn 9 as the stock gearing held it back to 109.9 mph, which no doubt also contributed to its outright top speed deficit. With proper gearing we don't doubt this bike would be extremely close to the modified pair.
"The handling of this bike continues to surprise me every time I ride one,” - Road Test Editor Waheed.
Where the Italian steed really shines, however, is its ability to shove that powerful engine inside a motorcycle which feels no bigger than a middleweight and handles nearly on par with one was well. Despite the heavier curb weight, the chassis has a very compact and reassuringly solid feel too it.
The result is a motorcycle that not only changes direction with ease but also is extremely stable no matter the situation. Be it 150 mph sweepers or 50 mph hairpins, the RSV4 seems to find a way to get through each with far less effort than comparable stock liter-bikes, while also inspiring the confidence needed to really push its limits.
As MCUSA Editorial Director Ken Hutchison puts it, “This reminds me of a much smaller and more powerful Aprilia Mille. That bike always had a chassis that was well balanced and easy to exploit. And the RSV4 is very similar. It handled great, and since it was stock the suspension featured a softer set-up than the other two bikes. That made it easier for me to go fast on it as the bike felt familiar and wasn’t jarring and as a result was simply the easiest for me to ride fast.”
“The handling of this bike continues to surprise me every time I ride one,” adds Waheed. “While it’s not quite as flickable as a 600, for a liter-bike it’s right up there with one of the best. Not to mention, one doesn’t sacrifice an ounce of stability for this flickability.”
Aprilia RSV4 Factory VBox Data @ Willow Springs - The RSV hits a top speed of 153.8 mph on the front straight, while the potent stock machine reaches 138.2 mph down the shorter back straight. Also worth nothing is the 90.2 mph Turn 2 apex speed, which is second only to the Ducati, showing just how capable the stock chassis is.
This is backed up by the data. Looking at corner speeds, you can see that the Aprilia is actually quicker than the Yoshimua Suzuki at the apex of Turn 2, with a best speed of 90.5 mph (compared to 86.5 mph for the GSX-R). In fact, even the Ducati’s highly-modified chassis was only a hair faster than the RSV4 at 91.7 mph – and that’s with nearly 20-grand in Superbike-spec suspension and chassis upgrades.
Further contributing to its trackside manners was a substantial set of binders. Gold radial Brembo calipers up front cinch down on 320mm rotors and make for a stopping combination on par with just about anything sold today. They may not quite have the bite of the racing Brembos on the Ducati, but they are definitely far superior to the Tokicos on the Suzuki, giving the rider loads of power while still being very easy to modulate in tricky situations due abundant feedback through the lever.
In the world of motorcycle appearance it's tough not to weigh in without too much of a biased opinion, so our goal is usually to stay as objective as possible, letting the reader be the judge. But in the case of the new RSV4, it’s nearly impossible to keep our mouths shut. As one of the most hyped and widely-anticipated sportbikes in recent memory, it’s also widely agreed that the new Aprilia is one of the best looking bikes made today. And I must say, we have to agree, especially the Factory model. Its black and orange paint, Ohlins fork and carbon fiber sprinkling throughout make it far from an eyesore.
Though we will not be using the Factory model for our upcoming Superbike Smackdown, we will have the base 'R' model and we don't doubt it will be very competitive against the current crop of literbikes.
Coming into the test we all wondered how the only stock machine would fair. The answer was quickly very clear: Extremely well. Despite being down 20-plus horsepower and hitting the track just how it comes out of the crate from Italy (plus the addition of our Pirelli spec tire), Aprilia’s RSV4 Factory was only a second off the Yoshimura Suzuki and roughly two seconds adrift of the super Ducati – not too shabby. We also don’t doubt that with an exhaust, gearing and some time to tune the suspension that it would be right on pace with the other two.
How much better can one really make today’s liter-class sportbikes? Stock machines are now capable of turning the dyno with as much as 180 rear-wheel horsepower and in some cases come standard with trick bits like traction control, Ohlins suspension and carbon fiber bodywork. Even the cheapest of modern big-bore sportbikes make upward of 160 hp and feature parts that put a decade-old factory Superbike to shame. Thus, is it even worth the time and money to modify your literbike for street or track use these days? Let’s find out...
For this three-way motorcycle comparison we added varying levels of performance modifications to three of today’s hottest sportbikes – from totally stock, to modified street bike, to fully-kitted Superbike. As for the bikes, we made sure to include one of each popular sportbike engine type – a traditional Japanese Inline-Four and a pair of Italians Vs – one a V-Twin and the other a V-Four – each class-leading in their respective categories.
Fully-kitted V-Twin Superbike (top); modified Inline-Four street bike (middle); stock Italian V-Four (bottom).
Aprilia’s all-new RSV4 Factory remains untouched, coming in as one of the most anticipated and hyped sportbikes to hit U.S. shores in the past decade. The Suzuki GSX-R1000 gets a host of Yoshimura modifications, while Ducati’s 1098R hits the track with nearly everything Ducati Performance sells – this is the bike for the guy who has everything and wants more. A true track-only Superbike.
As for costs, both the stock Aprilia and modified Suzuki come in at roughly 20-large, while the Ducati tips the scales at an if-you-have-to-ask-you-can’t-afford-it 70-grand. To put them through the paces we took all three to the ultra-fast Willow Springs International Raceway, the perfect place to let these high-horsepower steeds stretch their legs. Our VBox data acquisition system was also fitted to each to bring you as much juicy track-based information as possible. That was followed up with quarter-mile performance and dyno testing, as well as usual weights and measurements.
Now we know that by modifying each to different degrees as well as different price points opens an endless can of worms for criticism and backlash. Why pick one bike to modify over the other? What would happen if the shoe were on the other foot?...etc, etc. It’s for this reason that while we have done more than enough data to pick a winner, due to the massive differences of each bike, this will be a comparison, not a shootout; the winner would be too far to cost-biased. Think of it as three separate full-tests all bunched into one. Then you be the judge and jury as to what best fits your wants and needs, as well as your pocketbook – we’re just showing you the hard data and rider opinions to help you decide.
Thank You...
Pirelli It’s no easy or cheap task to supply tires for a comparison, but the Italian rubber company stepped up with its Diablo Supercorsa Slick race tires, which performed flawlessly. The Pirelli rubber's grip and feel was universally praised and held up to all the abuse our 1000cc Superbikes could throw their way and then some.
CT Racing Providing trackside tire support was the hard-working CT Racing team. Owner Corey Neuer is a knowledgeable tire supplier as well as talented motocross and road racer himself, so when the guy gives advice, we listen. If you want Pirelli’s on the West Coast there’s only one place to buy them: CT Racing.
Yoshimura R&D Want more performance from your sportbike, Suzuki especially? There are several companies one can turn to, but only one with the racing pedigree and tuning history of Yoshimura. They took our Suzuki GSX-R1000 and turned it into one potent street-legal Superbike, and this is only Stage 1. The Japanese tuning giants and MotoUSA have plenty more in store for the project bike, so be sure to stay tuned.
Ducati Performance While the Ducati Performance 1098R Superbike may not ‘technically’ be ours, or was even built for us, just the ability to ride the bike for the time we did was privilege. And the fact that a company like Ducati would make such a high-dollar motorcycle and then let a magazine flog it for a month shows just how passionate and performance-driven the Italian manufacturer is.
Professional-grade speed and an attitude to match, Steve Atlas is the new blood at MotoUSA. Atlas has AMA racing creds that are even more extensive than his driving record.
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One quickly forgets the sheer exhilaration that comes with lining up on the grid next to 20 other racing junkies – red mist in their eyes, blood pressure sky rocketing – all bound to rip-roaring 1000cc Superbike steeds. The sound alone of 3000 horsepower revving as the ‘1’ board goes sideways is enough to make most mortals lose their lunch. And the mad rush that follows when the green flag drops, mist descending, as a group of big-bore bikes all charge and jostle for the same space into Turn 1… Well, there’s just plain nothing like it! I’ve skydived, flown in aerobatic planes, jumped dirt bikes 40-feet in the air, but nothing holds a candle to those first thousand or so feet of a Superbike race. It takes the term ‘adrenaline rush’ to a whole new realm.
Welcome to my world as I sit on the grid for my first Willow Springs Motorcycle Club (WSMC) race, visualizing just what I described to you aboard Stage 2 of the MotoUSA Yoshimura Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 Project Superbike. During the two years since competing in the 2008 Daytona 200, I haven’t raced anything with more than 50 horsepower. This would also my first time taking on Willow Springs Raceway aboard a liter-class bike. The end result was my stomach doing enough back flips to win Olympic gold in ski jumping. And what happened next was, well…
But before we get into the meat of the racing action, let’s back up and look at what went into getting our Suzuki Superbike to that point.
Part 2 of the MotoUSA Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 Project Superbike.
Building the Superbike
In Stage 1, which was fully detailed in our Modified Superbike Comparison, we focused on making the ultimate road-going liter-bike. And while it had a race-spec Yoshimura engine, the bike’s street bodywork, lights, mirrors, etc. were all retained. So, to go racing, these all hit the cutting room floor. Along with it so did more than 20 lbs, something that benefited the GSX-R greatly.
In its place we fitted Catalyst bodywork, including a race trail section with foam seat pad to eliminate the mushy stock saddle. They make top quality stuff and we figured if it’s good enough for the factory race team, then it’s good enough for us. Add to that a Yoshimura-designed paint scheme sprayed by San Diego’s MC Pro Design and the result is the best-looking racebike I’ve ever had the pleasure of riding. It came out absolutely amazing.
(From top down) Modifications for this stage included Yoshimura rearsets; Galfer wave rotors and carbon pads; Brembo radial master cylinder; Renthal gearing and RK chain.
Renthal stepped up with new final-drive gearing, mated to an RK chain, as well as a very trick set of clip-on handlebars and Kevlar-laced soft grips. In the braking department, we added a Brembo radial front master cylinder to get rid of the inconsistent stock unit, while Galfer’s latest wave rotors front and rear, as well as carbon pads and steel-braided lines, were installed.
Yoshimura left the American Superbike-spec engine, R-77 titanium/carbon fiber exhaust, EM-Pro tunable fueling system and BMC air filter in place, all of which we had nothing but praise for in the first stage, but wired in a quick-shifter and added fully-adjustable reverse-shift-pattern rearsets. F.Fabbri gave us a smaller and more race-oriented windscreen, while we continued with the same Showa Factory Kit shock and mildly massaged (i.e. added oil and preload set) stock fork set-up that we used in Part 1.
As for tires, Dunlop has come on board for the remainder of the project, allowing us to get the bike set up on its latest 17-inch AMA racing slicks. Sonoco AMA-spec fuel was poured in the tank, and combined with all new Motorex oils, that rounded out the Stage 2 updates. The only thing left to do was for me to put my money where my mouth is and go racing…
Racing the Superbike
As the Yoshimura box van pulled into the paddock for Saturday morning practice, I was already nervous. It’s been a long time since I’ve raced anything with a decent amount of power and even longer since I’ve raced a fire-breathing 1000. All this time turning laps on street bikes had turned me into a softy and I knew the weekend ahead wouldn’t be easy.
You see, Willow is usually ruled by the local fast guys. With people racing there a dozen times per year, some of them can get around that place extremely well. Home field advantage is big on the 'Fastest Road in the West' and I would be the visiting team. But who doesn’t love an underdog, right?
Practice started off with a couple sessions of merely acclimating myself with a 185-hp Superbike around the high-speed 2.5-mile circuit. I don’t care who you are, it takes time for anyone’s brain to grasp such high speeds and the reaction times needed to cope with them. No matter how many laps I’ve done it, draggin your knee through Turn 8 at 140 mph is still downright daunting. Fun as all get up, sure. But the scary consequences are forever etched in the back of my mind. It's one of those hold-your-breath-and-pray type of corners.
And while the first session out wasn’t too bad, dipping into the 1:25s on only my third lap, from there things kind of went backwards. We struggled to get the bike to not headshake and stay planted mid-corner, while I also took awhile to get my brain up to race pace. But the reality of a ripping-quick Superbike is that spinning the tire and constantly dealing with some headshake are all part of the fun. You may lose a few fillings in the process, but it’s impossible to totally tame them down – at least while still going fast.
Saturday practice was spent trying to get the bike set-up to my liking as well as acclimating myself to the pace that is needed to be competitive. It didn't quite go as easily as we would have liked, but when is racing ever easy?
Once I accepted that I wasn’t going to turn this beast into a docile 600, things started to get better. Combined with some softening of the compression on both the front and rear to get the bike further down in the stroke mid corner, we managed to get into the 24s by the end of the day, though just barely at a 1:24.9. Still, it wasn’t what we needed or what we were hoping for, as the front-runners can turn 1:22s and 1:21s. We definitely had some work ahead of us. Maybe a night’s rest would help…
For race day practice we mounted a new set of Dunlop slicks, opting for the medium compound front rather than the soft we had been on the day before. We came to find out from some of the local Willow fast guys that it works better and lasts longer at the same time. And, just like that, I was instantly into the high 1:23s in final morning practice and things were starting to look up.
We also experimented with the EM-Pro traction control modes. The Yoshimura fueling system replaces the three power modes with three different levels of traction control intervention. While it doesn’t use wheel speed sensors and just measures engine rpm rate-of-change, the A-B-C modes do differ in how much and how severely the TC intervenes. We ended up with B-mode as the optimum setting, the one of the three that we didn’t have time to try on Saturday. Go figure…
Open Modified Production
There's no question there are a lot of little hidden lines that the locals know quite well and finding them is a big part of winning at Willow.
First up was Open Modified Production. Basically an anything-goes-as-long-as-its-production-based class, this would be the first of two races on the day for us. Due to the fact that I did not have any points and signed up at the beginning of the race weekend, our grid spot was somewhat toward the back. Sixteen bikes were on the line and we would be starting 11th. It was time to see if we could shave a couple seconds off the lap times and race with the big kids.
Starting to my right would be AMA regular and consistent top-10 Superbike finisher David Anthony. Aussie Dave, as most know him, would definitely be my biggest competition judging by practice lap times. Truth be told, I didn’t look to have much of a fighting chance as he was two seconds a lap faster in morning warm-up. But we never say die, as it’s the race that truly matters.
The ‘1’ board went up and then quickly sideways, followed almost instantaneously by the green flag. My motocross background kicked in I got off the line blisteringly quick, that Yoshimura engine taking me from the third row to nearly the lead into Turn 1, just barely rolling out as I slot into second spot. We couldn’t have asked for a better start. I knew getting out front quickly would be my best shot against Anthony and I didn’t waste any time, passing early leader Scott Tillery up the inside into the long Turn 2. Time to focus out front and not look back.
While Saturday practice was a struggle, once Sunday rolled around and racing got underway we were on pace right from the first lap, leading Open Mod Prod until it was red flagged on Lap 3.
Leading isn’t easy and though I didn’t look back in the literal sense of the term, I was riding tight and nervous, only just dipping into the 23s as Aussie Dave was quickly glued to my tail section. The fight was on. Or so we thought. A rider going down in Turn 2 brought a red flag halfway through Lap 3, which meant we would have to totally re-grid in our original positions for a shortened 6-lap race.
After an extended break to clean up the wreck, which my brain definitely didn’t need (think icing the kicker), we lined up for a second go at it. Thankfully once again I rocketed off the line, jumping up two rows, and in a nearly identical scenario to the first start I slotted into second through Turn 1 behind Tillery. Only difference was this time I tried the wide line to pass him into Turn 2, as he protected the inside, and I was unable to get around, having to follow him all the way through the long, uphill corner.
With a less-than-spectacular drive out of Turn 2, I still went for him up the inside of Turn 3, only to have Aussie Dave out-brake both of us. It was an impressive move and gave him the early lead. I remained in third and was unable to get around Tillery until our first trip down the front straight. Thank you Yoshimura for a rocket of an engine!
Now it was time to set off after Anthony, who had gained a couple seconds while I was held up behind Tillery. Though I initially thought he may clear off into the distance, I soon found myself reeling him in. The bike felt great and between a major gain in Turn 2 as well as in Turns 8 and 9, I was right on his back tire by Lap 2. Now that I knew I could run his pace, it was time to start putting my racecraft to good use, figuring out a plan to either get by or set him up for a last-lap drafting move.
Lap 3 saw me try the draft, which got me alongside but not in front by the line, so I knew I would have to get around him somewhere else. I also knew that passing him early in the race would be pointless, as there was no way I would be able to make a break away. To school I went, studying where he was strong and weak, using the next two laps to figure out my plan of attack for the final go-round.
An epic battle in Open Mod Prob between "Aussie Dave" Anthony (225) and I waged on like this the entire race.
I knew exactly where I was going to take him – coming out of the ultra-high-speed Turn 8 and up the inside into Turn 9, an area where I had been strong all weekend. But as we crossed the line and got the white flag a serious wrench was through into the equation as we started to encounter lapped traffic.
Both of us dove up the inside of one rider into Turn 1 and then did the same to another in Turn 2. These were fairly uneventful passes, but as we exited Turn 2 a massive group of five or six guys, engaged in their own battle, lay in front of us. This was going to get interesting.
Oh did it ever. Anthony went up the inside of two riders on the brakes for Turn 3 while I stayed glued to his back wheel. We then exited up the hill to Turn 4, him on the inside and me going wide, the two of us splitting another lapper. He nearly sent me off the track in what was a very close call.
Yet another hair-raising moment followed as we caught the leader of the group going down the hill into Turn 5. Aussie Dave rubbed elbows with the guy on his way past and created a gap up the inside just big enough for me to squeeze through, though I had lost a couple tenths in the process. Even so, I was still confident I could get him coming out of Turn 8.
And that’s exactly what I went for. I easily made up the time I had lost on the entrance of 8, only to lose a bit of drive as I got overly aggressive with the throttle exiting, spinning the rear Dunlop slick at well over 140mph while trying to get a run on him. We came into Turn 9 nearly side-by-side, but he still had a slight advantage and unless I wanted to try something really risky, the move just couldn't happen. Anthony was able to stay in front.
This left a front straight drafting move as my last resort, so I hammered it as early as possible coming out of Turn 9 and tucked in nehind the windscreen as tight as possible. Although I nearly made it work, Aussie Dave held on to win by 0.101 seconds. Ever so close. But with lap times now in the 1:22s and an epic battle for the win, it was a satisfying second place. Not to mention Dave is a good, clean racer and it was a blast going wheel to wheel with him for six hard laps. Now it was time for Formula 1, which would be 12 even harder laps…
Formula 1
We nailed the start both times in Open Mod Prod but when it came to the money-paying Forumla-1 final we struggled to get off the line, finishing the first lap just inside the top-10.
Riding a wave of confidence from Open Mod Prod, I was much more optimistic for F-1. While I knew all of the fastest guys in the paddock would be lined up for this, as it’s the premiere race of the weekend and pays cash, I also figured I had a fighting change now that we were running competitive lap times. The key would be the start. I needed to be with the leaders right away.
And that’s exactly what I...didn’t do. While I nailed both starts in my first race, I let the GSX-R wheelie off the line this time around. I did move up from 13th on the grid to inside the top-10 heading into Turn 1, but I needed to be in the top three. This set the tone for the rest of the race.
It was hard to get into a good pace in the opening laps as I was getting held up by the riders in front of me. I was eventually able to work my way up to sixth, but by then the fifth and fourth place duo had over a 3-second gap on me. Not giving up, I put my head down and pushed, setting my fastest lap times of the weekend, consistently breaking into the low-to-mid 1:22s. It took me until the eighth lap but I was able to catch them. Problem was, in the process I had punished my rear Dunlop slick to the point where some serious sideways tire spinning-action ensued, which made getting around the pair through the infield extremely difficult.
Knowing that the lead trio had an insurmountable gap in front of us, I opted to try and salvage my tire life as much as possible from that point on and set the pair in front of me up for some kind of move at the end. This gave me a couple laps to catch my breath and develop a plan. And once again it all came down to Turns 8 and 9. I knew I was stronger than they were in the fast sections and since out-braking them in Turns 1 or 3 was out of the question due to some minor issues I was experiencing with braking performance, this would have to be the spot.
(Above) Chasing down the battle for fourth spot and doing my quickest lap times of the weekend in the process. (Below) We again came away thoroughly impressed by the Yoshimura Suzuki, which propelled us to a pair of solid results and gets better every time out.
The white flag flew and thankfully there were no lappers to deal with this time. I just needed to stay glued to fifth-place runner Chris Duran’s back tire and wait.
My drive off of Turn 7 was solid and going into 8, I was right there and even considered taking Duran up the inside. That didn’t work, but I did get him between 8 and 9, leaving me right on the rear wheel of fourth-place rider Reno Karimian. I ran out of room to get him going into the final corner, so I planned to go for it coming out. But for some reason Karimian heavily checked up just before we reached max-lean, right at the apex, forcing me to roll out to avoid taking us both out. As a result this allowed Duran back by on the outside! Son of a…
This put me in sixth coming onto the straight. Again I tucked in, this time aiming for a double-draft to the line. I slipstreamed the pair, waiting as long as possible to pull out of the draft. The three of us crossed the line side-by-side, the tow then pulling me past them both into Turn 1. But it was too little too late. We all crossed within 0.1 seconds of each other, but I was relegated to sixth spot.
Aussie Dave went on to nearly win the race, finishing second to Shawn Higbee on a Ducati 1198R Superbike by a fraction of a second on the way to setting the fastest lap of the race. This leads me to believe that I could have been right there with a better start, but sometimes that’s just how it goes. After all, this is racing.
In all it was a great weekend. The team and I came away with a near-win and a photo-finish for sixth in our first race outing on the new bike. Plus, I set a new Willow Springs personal best lap time for myself at a 1:22.3. And the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 performed impeccably and was without a doubt capable of winning both races – I just got it in its way ever so slightly.
But this isn’t the end. Oh no. Ohlins suspension front and rear is on the way, along with a host of other American Superbike-legal parts. We’ve got two tests planned and then it’s off to Laguna Seca to race with the big boys! Yep, MotoUSA and Yoshimura will be taking on the AMA Superbike grid for the final stage in our project, so be sure to stay tuned…
Professional-grade speed and an attitude to match, Steve Atlas is the new blood at MotoUSA. Atlas has AMA racing creds that are even more extensive than his driving record.
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Eight weeks ago I sat slumped over in a hospital bed, keeled over in pain with an eight-inch incision in my abdomen. Life sucked. Not only was I in agony from having two feet of my intestines removed due to an obscure digestive tract infection, I was also utterly depressed because racing the Laguna Seca round of AMA Superbike on our project MotoUSA YoshimuraSuzuki GSX-R1000 – something we had planned for months – was now surely out of the question. There was no way I could go from laid up after a major surgery to racing Superbike with the best riders in the county in less than six weeks time. Or could I?
Road to Recovery...
The finished product, our MotoUSA project Yoshimura Suzuki ready to hit the track and go after professional racing glory for a very affordable price.
The realistic chances of it happening were slim to none, at best, but at least I had a goal and reason to try and get well quickly. I’m pretty sure I heard my surgeon say that I “should theoretically be healed by then,” in regards to the AMA race, so down the hammer went.
For the next month I pushed with every bit of strength I had, and some I didn’t even know existed. The first two weeks were really rough, but once I was able to get up and start moving around my relatively-youthful (28 years old isn’t a kid but I’m not ‘old’ yet either) healing capabilities kicked into overdrive and almost overnight I was back to a somewhat normal life. But I was very weak; dropping down to under 120 lbs. Thankfully my girlfriend put the kitchen at our place on overdrive in an effort to fatten me up in as healthy of a way as possible. And it worked...
Now it was time to see if I could ride. A mere four weeks post surgery we headed out to Willow Springs for a hot day of testing with the Yosh team in the high desert. The final verdict: I could go fast, but only for three laps. This meant I had a week and a half to build my endurance from three laps to 23 laps. Talk about under the gun!
Another day of riding on a Suzuki 600 at Buttonwillow in the heat helped to up my endurance quite a bit and before I knew it we were driving up to Laguna Seca, ready to give this major undertaking a go. Even though I had no clue how I was going to do it, so many people had put so much time and effort into this that I had to at least give it a shot. What’s
Some of the updates for the third and final stage of the project Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 included an Ohlins 30mm cartridge fork kit and TTX rear shock.
the worst that can happen, right? Okay, let’s not go there. Anyhow, fingers crossed.
Spinnin' Wrenches...
Since our last installment (Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 Stage 2) Yoshimura’s David Tsai and crew hopped up the ride with full Ohlins suspension – 30mm fork cartridge kit and TTX rear shock – as well as customized the wiring harness to allow the use of new switch assemblies on each clip-on. These made controlling both fuel and traction control maps on the fly much easier and eliminates any unnecessary street functions (headlights, turn signals, etc). An adjustable, shorter-turn Motion Pro throttle assembly was put in place to try and force me to open the gas quicker, while we also reprogrammed the EM-Pro ECU’s traction control settings. We had found the ‘B’ mode to be the best in Stage 2, so we calibrated ‘A’ and ‘C’ to be much closer to that, making for smaller adjustments between the three, aiming to find an ideal setting for Laguna.
New rear-sets were installed, which featured larger heal guards as well as flat pegs with a bit more grip to them. These allowed for more feel and control. I’ve always been a very picky rider when it comes to hand and feet controls (just ask my crew…). If things aren’t just right I tend to focus a lot of my mental effort on it while riding, when I shouldn’t be. This is why it’s always paramount for me to get things just right. These new rear-sets allowed that to happen. Nothing was gained in terms of weight or performance with them; it was 100% rider preference. But in a game that is at least 80% mental, rider preference is paramount.
Brakes have continually been an issue for us on the GSX-R and after testing several set-ups at Willow we ended up reverting back to the stock rotors with Vesrah pads. This proved to be the best solution when it came to power and initial bite, though we weren’t able to do long runs due to my health so we really weren’t sure how they would last. A remote adjuster for the front lever was installed in case I did experience fade, which would come in extremely handy later on. Galfer pads and wave rotor were left in place out back, though we got rid of the steel-braided line we had put on in Stage 2 in favor of going back to the stock rubber unit. This was to reduce stopping power some as the steel-braided set-up was too powerful for my personal preference. I like to be able to stand on the pedal with some force and not worry about the back tire locking up too quickly.
The engine was freshened up to make sure everything was within spec and running in proper order, and in the process Yosh revitalized an additional two ponies from it – always a nice surprise – which put us approaching the 185 hp mark at the rear wheel; only a few down on the factory bikes of Tommy Hayden and Blake Young. Power wise I would have no
I also shaved some weight and received a couple new 'upgrades' so to speak for this final installment, though mine weren't the kinds that enhance performance – quite the opposite actually.
excuses. So with a freshened-up engine and all-new suspension and what we hoped was a better brake set-up, it was time to go racing!
Makin' it Happen...
Due to the MotoGP schedule playing first string and the AMA being the B-team, everything has to be done on the FIM and Dorna’s schedule. For this reason we had to wait until 4:10 p.m. on Friday before ever seeing the track. That meant sitting around for hours, then a manic 50 minutes of practice at the very end of the day. This would be followed by first qualifying Saturday morning, with second qualifying taking place later Saturday afternoon. A short warm-up was given to us Sunday morning and then we would end the event as the final race of the weekend. One practice, two qualifying sessions, a Sunday-morning warm-up and then the race – that was all the time on track that we got. Wham, bam, thank you ma’am. Without question the most limited professional race weekend I’ve even taken part in. Needless to say, we didn’t have much time to get things dialed in.
Friday practice was rough – to say the least. With the bike still set-up for Willow Springs – low in the back, high in the front and soft all around – we basically used the first practice to realize that Laguna is: A, tight and technical and B, not a thing like Willow! Problem was that I wasn’t aware of the Willow set-up still being on the bike, so I spent the entire session fighting this pig of a motorcycle, thinking it was my own physical weakness following surgery that was the limiting factor. I had assumed they put in a baseline Laguna set-up using some of the loads of data from one of their
Muscling a liter-bike around Laguna Seca isn't an easy task – especially a Superbike. Even more so a Superbike with a bit of a set-up issue. I found this out very quickly in first practice.
other riders from years past – something to get us in the ballpark. But you know what they say about assuming; I should have asked. After the session my arms were trembling and I seriously doubted that doing five laps was even possible, let alone 23. I could barely open a bottle of water and it took me 30 minutes to get out of my gear.
Thankfully after a meeting with David and a few of the other Yosh crew members we realized that the Willow setting was still in place and we immediately knew there was a major problem. Adding a large amount of rear pre-load and jacking up the ride height were the name of the game for Saturday, as well as turning fork pre-load in two turns to keep it from bottoming under braking with the additional weight we would be putting on the front end. Despite the radical changes I still went to bed very unsure. Was it really the bike or was I just that weak? Would a simple set-up change make that big of a difference? First qualifying on Saturday morning would quickly give us an answer.
A rough and tumble night in bed (not in a good way, either) set things up for what could have been a terrible Saturday. Was I going to be able to ride 23 laps? Was I going to go fast enough to make the grid? The 107% cut-off for Superbike is far tougher than most think and quite a bit harder than the 110% used in the support races. With the front runners doing 1:24s, to qualify a sub-1:30 would be needed. To put that in perspective, the front runners in the Daytona SportBike race only do 1:28s. On a track like Laguna where the big bikes don’t gain much of an advantage on the 600s, doing a 1:29 isn’t easy. Trust me!
First session on Friday I felt like I was giving it 110% and my best was a 1:32-something. Yikes. I knew I had more in the tank, though, as I’ve been around Laguna on a 600 in the past doing low 29s and even a few high 28s. I had originally set my sights on some 27s, or even a couple 26s, coming into the weekend, but with the limited set-up time and our rough start, just getting into the field and running some consistent 28s would make the weekend a success at this point.
Racing in front of the world at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca: Priceless.
Qualifying Time...
Saturday’s first qualifying was the real moment of truth. My first laps out of the pits quickly showed us how far off the previous set-up had been: 1:30.5, 1:30.1, 1:29.6... Nearly three seconds disappeared right away, all with a great deal more ease. I proceeded to stay out for an additional five laps, all in the 1:29s, barely breaking a sweat. The changes were night and day different – all of the sudden this was starting to look possible. We made a couple more suspension changes, dropping another tenth without pushing very hard. Little did I know it, but I was actually starting to have fun. And typically with fun comes speed.
The pace really picked up the next stint out when Ben Bostrom gave me a great tow. As I exited Turn 2 on my second lap I saw Ben coming out of the pits. I had already messed that lap up going over the crest of Turn 1, so instead of possibly getting in his way I slowed down and let him past. He wasn’t quite up to speed yet so I tucked in behind, actually closing back up on his rear tire. After a couple corners of him glancing back at me glued to his Pat Clark Yamaha’s exhaust, he took a long look over his shoulder and motioned with his head to tuck in and follow. And when Ben Bostrom offers you a lap at speed to follow, in qualifying nonetheless, you damn well better take it. Not sure how many people he’d do that for, though it doesn’t hurt he’s a close friend and wasn’t exactly worried about me knocking him off of pole position.
Hey Ben, thanks for that tow in qualifying!
For the rest of his warm-up lap I stayed glued to his rear Dunlop slick as he was just getting up to speed. But coming out of the final corner I could visually see his body position get more aggressive and his head tuck tightly under the windscreen. I did the same. Time to see how we stacked up to one of the world’s best around his home track; this should be no sweat.
He gapped me ever so slightly over the top of Turn 1, though the gap then surprisingly stayed almost exactly the same though the infield and up to Turn 5. In fact, by the halfway point of the lap he had only gained a three or four bike-length advantage. But this was the best lap I had done all weekend – by a long margin – and I wasn’t letting up.
This was shaping up to be a blistering lap; by my standards especially. My brain and body were on the ragged edged, yet the bike was still very composed and in-line, which made things much easier. He did pull me by a few tenths going through Turn 6 and on the run up to the Corkscrew. I followed that up by making a small mistake coming down Rainey Curve, running a bit wide mid-corner due to my heightened pace, losing a couple additional bike-lengths. But coming out of Turn 10 and into the final corner I realized that he had only pulled me by roughly two seconds over the course of the entire lap, maybe even less. I stayed far closer to him than I had expected. Now all I had to do was nail the last corner and get a good drive onto the front straight and a promising grid position was right there for the taking.
Much of our practice and qualifying time was spent fixing shifting gremlins, which kept us from really getting the bike's set-up dialed in. Thankfully after our major change Friday evening it was relatively close.
Too bad entering the final corner, while trying to downshift into first gear, the Suzuki slipped into a false neutral! Quickly pulling the clutch in and hammering on both brakes, it was everything I could do to keep it on track. Scary – oh yeah. Dangerous – a bit. Pissed off – like you wouldn’t believe! Angrily I continued on, trying to ride away the rage. Problem was, it happened the next two laps in succession, causing real reason of concern. I pulled in and we parked it for the session. We had another round of qualifying in the afternoon, giving us a few hours to try and fix it. Oh yeah, my combined best time from the session, using the first three splits from that lap and my best final split from an earlier lap – 1:27.94! Son of a… Luckily another session in the afternoon gave us time to work on a cure.
We continued to struggle a bit with brake fade as well, so in between sessions they re-bled the front lines and changed one of the inner shift mechanism bolts, which they thought could be causing the false neutral problem. Some additional suspension changes -- adding pre-load in the front to combat bottoming under hard braking and giving it a couple millimeters of additional ride height to quicken the steering up further -- were also implemented for the afternoon qualifying session, which would be our final shot at improving our grid position.
Final qualifying started off well. We went out and by the end of the first six-lap run were at a 1:29.2, without a tow of any kind. The suspension changes helped so we bolted on a new rear slick and set out for a quick time. After a couple warm-up laps in the low 29s, Jason Pridmore came by, passing me going up the hill over Turn 1. Perfect for a tow. So I tucked in and away we went. He gained slightly in the back section where I continued to struggle a bit, but I stayed right on him. It was shaping up to be a good one when it dropped into another false neutral going into Turn 11. Not again!
I stayed out to see what would happen and it continued, this time off and on, for the rest of my stint. I did eight or nine laps and of those it dropped into neutral going into the final corner four more times. Not conducive to doing a fast lap. At that point I knew using first gear was out of the question, so I tired running second out of the final corner for a handful of laps, though it would bog heavily and the drive onto the straight was sacrificed enough that I wasn’t able to improve my time. Not to mention it hit another neutral going into second gear for Turn 5, so we knew it was getting worse. A 1:29.2 ended up being our best lap of the day; not what we were hoping for. At least we were in the field by a healthy margin, ending up 20th on the grid – outside of row five.
But our big problem remained the transmission. If it were to keep falling into false neutrals the bike wouldn’t only be hard to ride, it could be quite dangerous. Last thing we wanted turn this project into was a rolling cannonball, which is what it effectively would be if we were to hit a false neutral in the opening couple laps when the pack was still closely knit. So the boys went back to work trying to find a cure, while I tried to get some rest. At least we had a morning warm-up to find out if we had the problem fixed and it was safe enough to race. Wait, never mind…
We thought we had everything fixed Saturday night and were ready to test it out Sunday morning; until fog caused the session to be cancelled, leaving us with only a very short 10-minute warm-up immediately before the race. Not only did it have us guessing going into the race, but it was very taxing, both mentally and physically.
Dense fog pushed the schedule back and as we approached MotoGP’s practice it was announced our warm-up would be scrapped. They said they would try and give us a couple minutes right before the race, but not to hold our breaths and to plan on just lining up at 3:45 p.m. to race. One of Hayden’s crew members came over to lend a hand and noticed our shift linkage was at a bit of a strange angle, so he gave them an updated upper arm linkage assembly, to give it a more positive angle. I had been fighting against the grain to a degree to get it to shift, something they had issues with last year, which can be hard on the transmission. Our solution no doubt fixed the sifting action, but had any permanent internal transmission damage been done? We no longer had a morning warm-up to find out.
The Race...
As it turns out they were able to give us a quick 10-minute warm-up right before our race. We literally went out for a practice, rolled onto pit lane for five minutes to change the rear tire, then right back out to line up for the race. The bike definitely shifted better during the warm-up, but I could still feel quite a bit of play in the lever when shifting. And I only got three laps, so making a definitive decision was tough. To race or not to race? ‘We’re here and it worked for those three laps, so let’s give it a shot!’ I thought to myself as they make the two-minute call to grid. I figured if it started acting up I would call it a day. But we had come this far and worked so hard and to not even start due to what may or may not go wrong would have been heartbreaking. Off to the starting grid we went. No time to think, just race!
It was then that I realized just how many people were there. They said something like 50,000 that day, but it looked like triple that as I rolled around on the parade lap. Up until this point I had been so focused on track that I hadn’t taken a
Eight weeks ago, laid up in a hospital bed, I never would have thought our Laguna Seca project bike race could have happened. As it turns out we were able to pull it off, just barely, and what an amazing experience it was!
second to look around. Utterly unreal! But as quick as that thought entered my mind it was gone. Down snapped the helmet visor. I didn’t have time to lollygag around. It was time to go racing.
I had told myself to take it easy on the first lap and feel out the transmission. That idea lasted about half the warm-up lap before it was relegated to the sensible half of my brain, the half that I then shut off. Don’t worry; I turned it back on – just not for another 50 minutes or so. Let’s be honest, it’s just not very conducive to 23 laps of bar-to-bar racing.
We all lined up, the marshals walked off and the red starting-light lit up. In roughly eight to 10 seconds the light would go out and a wild pack of 26 Superbikes, making over 5000 horsepower, would jockey for the same 40-foot-wide piece of asphalt in Turn 2 (Turn 1 is basically a wide open kink over the crest of the hill on the front straight – not much of a corner). The start of a Superbike race, especially when the grid is full, is closest thing to controlled explosion on two wheels one could ever experience. But as the engine revs built up and I hunkered down, ready to attack the split-second that light went out, everything got strangely silent. This weird sense of calm came over me, almost as if everything was in slow-motion. So slow, in fact, I thought I botched the start. That was until I realized I had just motored past my entire row and half of the one in front of me. And I hadn’t even shifted into second gear.
Everything then came rushing back into real-time speed as we accelerated over the hill, now stuck directly in the middle of the nearly 30-rider grid, jostling for position with guys on either bar-end. I’ve got to admit, the rush was so intense that I broke sooner than I should have into Turn 2 and dropped back a couple spots as the field bent around the corner in a single-file line – well, for the most part. Eric Bostrom had run wide and nearly gone off track, slotting back in directly in front of me. That was a close call! Everyone thankfully made it though unscathed – if only just. But then that’s what racing is all about. He who rides closes to the ragged edged for the longest typically finishes the highest up the order. If they have competitive equipment, that is.
In the heat of battle with local NorCal fast-guy Hawk Mazzotta at the beginning of the race.
And competitive equipment is exactly what we had. While we struggled some with outright brake power and fading in practice, they held solid for the race. Could have still used a bit more power, but considering it was stock calipers and rotors, they did well. As for the engine, we were right on point. When following Bostrom his Yamaha maybe had a bit of bottom-end on us, but up top I would actually pull some of the gap back. Same was true for other factory and factory-supported Suzukis I got behind. If there was one area I definitely didn’t need improvement it was power – and to say that in a class like Superbike is pretty impressive. Especially considering you can lease that same engine for $1500 a weekend. That’s a steal for any privateer looking to make a showing in Superbike.
Chassis-wise the Ohlins suspension and Dunlop slick tire combination made for some of the biggest lean-angles I’ve ever had the pleasure of exploiting from a 1000cc production-based motorcycle. Considering the suspension outers have to remain OE and the frames are totally stock, to be able to achieve those levels of corner speed was enough that it took awhile to get my head around. Don’t get me wrong – 1000s are still all about slamming on the binders, throwing it on its side, and then picking it up as fast as possible to try and get the throttle open quickly as you can. Easier said than done, though, especially on a 185-horsepower literbike.
That was exactly what I was attempting to do better than those around me as we engaged in wheel-to-wheel battle at the tail end of the top-15. Brian Parriott on an Aprilia RSV4R and Suzuki-mounted riders Chris Siebenhaar and Skip Salenius and myself were quickly part of our own fast-paced, tire-spinning race within a race. I had a feeling this would be the case before we even started as we all had qualified within a couple tenths of each other. And that’s exactly how things panned out from Lap 3 onward as we got into the meat of the race. And it was a blast.
Big thanks to the MotoUSA Yoshimura Suzuki team (from left): Voice of reason/girlfriend/umbrella girl Angela Guerrero; mechanic Kenny Ito; rider/author Atlas; mechanic/truck driver Kory Ellis; and team leader/mechanic/do-it-all guy David Tsai.
For one of the first times in my racing career I actually found myself smiling instead of riding in anger. I knew we had 23 laps of this and if I didn’t make it fun then it would drag on forever. This went on for a handful laps, a massive smile plastered across my face around every corner and down each straight. That is until Parriott passed me back. The red mist came flooding back and the typical racing anger returned. Rather quickly. Brian then got around Skip as well and set off after Chris at the front of our tightly-knit pack. I was now at the back of the group and started to formulate a plan. No one was getting away and I realized that I could easily sit at the back without pounding on my tires very hard.
It was actually quite easy to keep the consistent pace of 28s and 29s that we were doing. This when I told myself that as long as no one at the front of the pack started to get away, that I would hang tight until the last five laps. Brain and Chris were swapping position and making some small mistakes and I could tell they were pushing hard. I had a perfect plan of attack. The problem with perfect plans is that they never turn out perfectly. Most of the time, in fact, they don’t really turn out at all. And this was exactly what happened on Lap 14.
The shifting gremlins returned. I hit a few more false neutrals going into the final corner, causing me to lose touch with the pack. I eventually had to just stop using first gear again to bring it home. At that point it became a game of survival. Go fast enough to maintain my top-20 position but don’t push too hard and risk crashing. Besides a small moment in Turn 5 when I about Pedrosa-ed it, that plan worked out and we brought it home 19th.
Do I think a top-15 would have been possible had things gone a bit smoother? Sure. But that’s all part of the game. We had pulled it off. We put it in the show and finished in a respectable position in my first career Superbike race on a very affordable, production-based Suzuki, all six weeks-and-one-day after major surgery. And to do it in front of 55,000 fans was an experience I will never forget. In fact, it’s an experience I’m already trying to find a way to replicate again next year. Only this time I might skip the whole having my intestines removed part. Despite the weight advantage, I wouldn’t recommend it.
