Back to the oldschool

Did a bit of reading and apparently it just wasn't a good starting base for a race level tune. The engine just wasn't able to be taken to decent level of race power. The Ducatis had less power in road tune but took the extra hp as a race bike.

The bike is also a bit odd and in theory it should be good and nimble but isn't and the solution is using GSXR600 wheels etc. I would still buy one just for visual impact though. A bit like an RC8. Not great as a race bike but good enough for the road and looks different.

Suzuki's attempt to compete with the SP1 which was Honda's (successful) attempt to compete with the 916. It's ok until you get to that hideous tail.

Was the slapping not attributed to the radial damper and the steep rake of the forks?

I only had one proper tankslap too. It was on the Mille. I'd read loads about them and the advice was always to let go of the bars and let it simmer down itself. I managed it but fuck me it went against every instinct

Same here! If I feel tense, I tend to stop for a rest, have a stretch and try to relax myself (no coffee!).


Years ago over the course of one weekend, I went for 2 ride outs, with my wife on the back both times, with two different groups of riders. The first rideout was with someone I had never ridden with before and I can only describe his style as he was "looking for a hedge"! The next day, I was with a bunch of mates whom I had ridden with for a few years and they were quick, but sensible and I was very comfortable. My wife said that the way I was riding was night and day; she could feel through the bike that I was tense on the first day and the next day, I was relaxed, the bike was flowing and I wasn't flustered in the slightest.

I usually ride with the same guy but normally I lead as I've got the faster bike and I'm the faster rider. One day last year though he decided he was going to lead and my helmet cam would capture his glory. It nearly captured his demise. He was taking Terrible lines and nearly had a head on.

When we got back I showed him the footage and he then declared he was 'going to work on his lines'. It was all early apexes and putting your head into the opposite lane. It's easier for me if I lead the way!

It's great when you get a rider like that. I've just booked a long weekend in Wales with a couple of mates who ride in the exact same manner.

The last time that I went to France (2018), two of the friends that were with me didn't like the way that I rode because, "I was riding too fast, it was dangerous and they couldn't keep up!". I asked if I was being smooth; "Yes!". Was my riding predictable; "Yes!". Was I causing other road users to alter course or alter the way that they drove/rode? "No! Except for us because we couldn't keep up and we had to ride outside our comfort zone!". Now, I haven't received any formal advanced rider training, but 33 years of near constant riding experience and riding with advanced riders has meant that I've evolved into a fast, but smooth road rider and I've picked up quite a few "advanced" techniques.

To put their minds at ease, I let my two friends lead for a while, so they could ride at their own pace; they were thrupenny biting everywhere; riding on the middle white line in corners; not positioning themselves correctly on the approach to corners; braking mid-corner because they had rushed in on the wrong line etc Basically, they didn't know how to read the road. That evening, I offered to lead the next day because they had taken a few wrong turns, but I also said that I would do it at a reduced speed so that they could follow my lines. I broached the subject carefully, so as not to upset them (some people are like that, "I've been riding for 30 years, I know what to do!"), and explained to them what I had observed. I told them to concentrate on corner entry position, look through the corner, entry speed and to follow my lines through the corners. By the end of the next day everyone was happy; their confidence had improved, they were smoother in the corners, their pace increased without them rally noticing and as a consequence of them not chopping at the throttle and accelerating like buggery to keep up, their fuel consumption improved, saving them money 

Hmmm....reality.

As luck would have it I parked up at the local spot and across the way was an SV650 with Cagiva style race fairing on and it sort of shattered my illusions.

It looked as actually would expect a cheap, thin, race fairing to look. Up close and personal it just didn't look like anything but a tatty race bike and even if it wasn't tatty it would still not looked like the picture I posted. I guess if you had a very clean SV it would look maybe good but road fairing are designed to hide all the messy bits and race fairings aren't.