Practical Sportsbikes 01.2022

WES COOLEY REMEMBERED

AMA rivals pay tribute to #34, and we ride a 147bhp GS1000 rep

JANUARY 2022 £4.60 ISSUE 135 8 DEC - 11 JAN

ROTARY
RETURNS

Former Norton race engineer
goes it alone with all-new
200bhp Wankel superbike

36-PAGE

GARAGE
SECTION
How to build a fuel tank
Our project bikes

DT125/200R resto guide
Life with a 350LC





JANUARY 2022 ISSUE 135 FEATURES 10
67
PS WORLD 22 EVERY SPEED TRIPLE

8 NEWS All Triumph Speed Triples from the get-go
examined in detail, warts and all
With Trevor McDonald and Sandy Gall
39 SPECIAL BREW
10 SPECIALS WE LIKE
Cooley rep 147bhp GS1000 – that’s more
Generally, yes. And these three in particular power than even Pops squeezed out of one

14 PS MAIL 49 SELECTOR: 750s

Mick Grant’s ‘mate’ comes back to haunt him Yamaha YZF, Suzuki GSX-R SRAD and ZX-7R

16 IN YOUR SHED 60 WES COOLEY TRIBUTE

Not your actual shed, unless you’re featured Friends (of which there were many) and rivals
(who all held him in high regard) pay their
46 SUBSCRIBE TO PS respects to the recently departed Superbike
superstar. RIP Wes
Can’t find PS in the shops? Get it delivered. Easy
67 NEW ROTARY SUPERBIKE
58 POSTER
Brian Crighton’s latest 200bhp track monster,
The best-prepped, best-looking SRAD ever with road-going versions to come. Ready?

95 WIN A BIKE DRYER

£225 of repurposed leaf blower can be yours

49

YZF, SRAD,
AND ZX-7R

Why any of these
three are very clever
buys right now

4 Practical Sportsbikes

84

60

39

BUY IT. FIX IT.

100 112

Practical Sportsbikes: 77 RESTORE A 96 THE REAL
Where aeons of lost time meet
YAMAHA DT125R LONG-TERMERS
vast and irrecoverable expense
How to get the best from this Andy Mathews has been trying
and the 200 version too to destroy his RD350LC for 32
years – without success
82 WHAT’STHE
100 ON OUR BENCH
PROBLEM?
MG pretends to do stuff on his
If you have a problem, and frankly Bandit 12, MF and son move into
who doesn’t, solve it here sumptious workshop facilities,
Medium-G tries to fit a GSX1400
84 HOWTO... swingarm to his GSX11, and
the W650 boat anchor makes a
Make your own fuel tank. Yes welcome reappearance

91 UNFINISHED 112 PROJECTHUNTER

PROJECT ZX990 Gary Hurd applies some welcome
logic and common sense to the
He’s started, so he’ll... process of buying motorcycles

95 WIN! A BLOWER

Yeah, it blows wind and things

77

See page 46

Practical Sportsbikes 5

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SUBSCRIBE ISSUE 135 JANUARY 2022

TO GET YOUR FIX OF

PS EVERY MONTH

See page 46

A British motorcycle for British people. Not really.
Ridiculous notion. For everyone. Only 85 grand

W e Brits like to do things our of John Bloor’s revitalised Triumph, and in the 1980s, and he’s been pursuing
own way, and in a leftfield ahead of its time in giving riders high-spec Wankel excellence ever since. Now
fashion too, despite the ‘stiff components and sports performance in a independent of Norton (mercifully), he’s
upper lip’ stereotype. You naked package. built a new bike. Just for the track for now,
can’t call a nation responsible for the but there’s talk of a few road bikes, too…
hovercraft, the amphibious caravan, and Stuart Wood, the man with a hand in
musical frying pans dull now, can you? That every model from the start was more than Pour a cuppa, feed the Corgi, and treat
applies to British bikes too. We’ve produced happy to talk us through the full story of a yourself to a little bit of gentle flag waving.
some good ’uns with considerable appeal. British success – a rare occurrence to meet
And often (OK, occasionally) bikes more someone with that depth of experience Or, if your tastes are considerably more
useful than things to fry eggs to tunes to. across generations of one model. international, as they should be, let Jim
Moore talk you into buying a 1990s 750
We’d make a strong case for the Speed We spoke to another totem of top Brit superbike (page 49). Or take a quiet
Triple being one of the most important tech for this issue... Brian Crighton moment to remember the late, lamented
British bikes ever made. It was at the core transformed the Norton rotaries from Wes Cooley (page 60).
weirdo tourers to hair-raising race winners Chris Newbigging, Editor

Best (and worst) of British

We are all citizens of the world. Although the world might prefer these were not...

Damian Smith Art Editor Alan Seeley Technical Editor Contributor of the month
Good at art. Our multi- cultural correspondent,
identifies as both Cornish and Scottish, Ian Davies
[email protected] although both regions are formally You may remember Ian fitted the
attempting to dissociate from him. GSX-R 1000motor in the
ZX990’s frame, sometime back
[email protected] in the mid 1800s. Not only is he a
talented welder and fabricator,
Mark Graham Production Editor Gary Hurd Workshop Consultant he’s generous of spirit, and teaches anyone how
MG is your classic British eccentric. Salt of the earth, do anything for anyone, to embark on learning his trade. He’s showing you
That is to say, both his manners and views are upstanding Briton. Unless it’s dinner how to build an alloy fuel tank on page 84.
‘interesting’. Just look at the W650 contraption time or a weekend – in which case you
he’s turning out (page 106). can do one. Practical Sportsbikes 7

[email protected] [email protected]

facebook.com/groups/practicalsportsbikes [email protected]

Words: Trevor McDonald That old Lucky Explorer vibe is still strong,
& Sandy Gall and this is the new MV Agusta version

Ducati DesertX concept. More like the Dakar
race Cagiva, where the MV apes the road Elefant

ELEFANTS RIDE AGAIN
MV Agusta and Ducati reveal rival Cagiva desert racer tributes

ucati are set to launch a production Lucky Explorer Project 5.5 and 9.5. The 9.5 involvement in both firms. He owned and ran
version of their DesertX concept uses a 950cc variant of their three-cylinder Ducati alongside Cagiva from 1985 to 1996
bike this month: a 937cc V-twin motor, with an electronically-actuated (the Elefant first appeared in ’85), until he
adventure bike with a 21-inch front ‘CYBORG’ gearbox a notable option on the switched his focus to reviving MV Agusta
wheel, and styling based on the Ducati- spec sheet. The 5.5 is a 554cc parallel twin within the Cagiva Group.
powered Cagiva Elefant of the last century. developed with Chinese firm Qianjiang and is a
Meanwhile, MV Agusta is also staking its technically more conventional unit. Will the two firms respect each other’s rights
claim to Cagiva history (the brand is part of the to a very similar rival product? Don’t be
MV Agusta company, left dormant) with the The peculiar double-claim is a legacy of surprised if lawyers get involved, the Italians
Cagiva founder Claudio Castiglioni’s can get a bit feisty about this sort of thing…

Yoshimura Pipe-U-Like Throw enough bits at it and a
Z-RS looks pretty tasty

Anyone with a ‘modern’ the lateWes Cooley’s AMA
Kawasaki Z900 would be bike from the late seventies
advised to take a peep at (seeWes tribute page 60).
Yoshimura’s latest exhaust
offering.The Cyclone full It offers a 5.6kg weight
system is a hand-bent 4-1 in saving and a claimed 10%
high-temp black mimicking the increase in both power and
set-up fitted to none other than torque. And the bad news:
£1731. On a more
encouraging note it’s
JMCA-approved, so you
could ride aroundTokyo
without let or hindrance
from the forces of law and
order.Would nearly be
worth a ride to Japan for
that peace of mind.

8 Practical Sportsbikes

Wonder if old Kenny’s joined the club?

Yamaha Racing Heritage Club

Got an ex-race Yamaha of some registered: partly so owners can
note? Or maybe you rode one of access useful information and
their bikes to victory? No, us discounted parts. And also so
neither – we’ll pay up to £3500 Yamaha themselves can keep
for a good YZR500 though. But tabs on their bikes.
for those who are connected to
Yam competition heritage, They also wish to make
there’s an official club. contact with anyone who rode
any of those bikes, so they can
Two-stroke GP bikes (pre-’03), reunite them for classic parades
superbike/endurance from and such like, too. If you, or your
before ’09, pre-’98 MX bikes bike, meet the criteria, you can
and Paris-Dakar bikes up to contact them at yrhc@
2007 are invited to be yamaha-racing.com.

Tweaked
2022 Katana

The Katana is mechanically Looks fit in blue, probably looks OK in red
changed for 2022. Rather too. And a green one would be nice, eh?
than go into tedious detail,
the long and short of it is that
it’s now ride-by-wire, Euro 5
compliant, has more torque,
better electronics, and nicer
suspension.

It has all the same mods
applied to the regular
GSX-S1000, which was a
marked improvement, and
nearly as good as our Gary’s
own modified Katana. It does
still have the small fuel tank,
low screen, and silly rear
fender apparatus, but does
come in red or blue with gold
wheels, which look good.

we like

Japan, Japan again, and then a visit to the old Eastern Bloc

Paintjob’s a masterly use of fades. Love it

Caption wprds in this box of words in
here yah Caption wprds in this box of

words in here yah

MORIWAKI

KAWASAKI Z900RS

Moriwaki Engineering is to Kawasaki what
Yoshimura is to Suzuki – the marque’s spiritual
home of tuning. It’s fitting then that Moriwaki has
worked its magic on Kwak’s much lauded Z900RS,
a modern reimagining of the classic air-cooled
Zeds that brought the two companies joint success
back in the 1970s and ’80s with Graeme Crosby
and Wayne Gardner in particular. The Z900RS is a
capable machine in standard spec, as we know, but
Moriwaki’s intervention lifts an already great bike
to dizzying new heights. Here’s how.

10 Practical Sportsbikes

“The Z900RS is a capable machine in
standard spec, but Moriwaki’s intervention

lifts an already great bike to
dizzying new heights”

Yeah, maybe stop looking at it. You’ll only upset
yourself. It’s just too strong to stare at for too long

EXHAUST (£541); or it’s ¥270,000 SUSPENSION SWINGARM
Striking blue paint (£1760) for the full system. And Moriwaki worked in The deeply braced box-
aside, the most obvious sign that’s before shipping and taxes, conjunction with Anglo-Japanese section aluminium swingarm
that this Z900RS has been natch… firm Nitron to create the bike’s is what you’d expect from
through Moriwaki’s workshop rear shock and uprated fork a company who’ve built GP
is the exquisite ‘Monster AIR INTAKES internals. The shock is based on championship winning chassis:
Racing’ titanium four-into- So subtle you might miss Nitron’s fully adjustable, track the welding and craftsmanship
one system with signature them at first glance, but these focused NTR R3, which has a are exquisite, and the whole
pressed aluminium end can ingeniously positioned air ride height adjuster as standard. thing radiates a subtle trickness
(we know of folk who’d happily intakes (see them either side of The Moriwaki-inspired shock that catches the eye but doesn’t
lose an internal organ just to the radiator) allowed Moriwaki also features a hard wearing detract from the rest of the bike.
own the silencer). Light, fruity to boost the charge entering DLC (Diamond-like Carbon) Other beautifully engineered
sounding and engineered to a the RS’s combustion chambers coating on the damper rod. The touches include the footrests,
pornographic level, the pipe is and spice up the bike’s already shock was developed using front sprocket cover and top
integral to the look, feel and fruity performance. Fuelling is Moriwaki’s race experience with yoke/bar clamps. Let’s not
quality of this build. The silencer remapped to suit the pipe and their Z900RS in the ‘Iron Horse forget that tubular silencer
alone will set you back ¥83,000 improved breathing. Dream Cup’. hanger either.

Practical Sportsbikes 11

we like

WEBIKE! If this is just a taste of Tsukuba, we’d
HONDA CB1000R RACER very much like some more, please

Japan’s Taste of Tsukuba race You will not see another one of MZ
series never disappoints when it these. That’s guaranteed. Great
comes to delivering unusual and execution of a mad idea. Fine GT380
technically interesting specials.
In recent years the rules have Details on this heavily modified
opened up to allow more modern MZ ETZ are patchy, but we’re glad
machinery into the mix (must it exists because to put that much
have a steel frame to be eligible), effort into upgrading an old Eastern
as this CB1000R as entered by Bloc stroker takes some serious
parts shop Webike! shows. dedication. The original 300cc
single has been junked in favour of
With a keen eye on keeping a three-cylinder Suzuki mill – yup,
the bike affordable, rider Koki that’s a GT380 lump now hanging
Shinano has concentrated on from the frame, despite what the
improving the chassis rather homemade crank end covers say. The
than tuning the motor – the accompanying three-into-one pipe is
engine makes 143bhp in stock pure class too.
form anyway. However, a freer
breathing SC Project pipe and Its chassis has been given a make-
remapped ECU have released over too. Early CBR600F alloys
a few more ponies. Handling allow fatter, stickier 17-inch rubber
is taken care of by an Öhlins than the original skinny wire-spoked
shock and upgraded Showa fork wheels; the discs and rear caliper are
internals. Discs are Sunstar, also CBR, while the front now grips
calipers are stock Tokico with its discs with 1980s opposed-piston
Brembo pads. A modified Bandit Brembos. Steering looks sharp but
400 LTD fairing, 2011 Fireblade potentially frisky, twin discs are a
seat unit and a one-off aluminium neat touch too. Mischief with a whiff
tank complete the look. of cheap vodka to it. We like the
sound of that.
12 Practical Sportsbikes



Granty with a 'useless' front brake.
And (below) still with some change
left over from his fifty quid

Write a letter to The PS and if it's Star
Letter material you win a full year's
subscription to the very same. Aye

Mug chuffed Mick at that time (sidecar chassis) and with wife Carol on the
with Granty's was working for Jim back. Happy days. By the way PS is the best
cast-off drum Lee, and he made me a magazine out there by a mile.
lovely tank strap for the Russell Jones
I n the November 2021 issue (page 64) Manx tank I had fitted at
Mick Grant made a remark that the the time. This month’s Star Letter
standard Yamaha TZ four-leading-shoe We exchanged all these goods at Silloth writer wins a PS T-shirt.
front drum brake was useless, and it was Road Races (Cumbria). When he was racing Next month's too. And the
best to get some mug to give you £50 for it. there, he would turn up on a 500 Velocette month after that. Good, eh?
Venom with his racing bike on the float
I was that mug. I fitted it in my Velocette-
engined Norton which I rode for 14 years.
In 1977 I went to Europe and rode around
tracks like Zandvoort, Assen and Spa… but
unfortunately those days have gone.

Sink would normally be in Honest verdict
the kitchen wouldn't it,
Rob? What do we know? Bumped into a back
issue (PS, August
2021) and enjoyed
the Much Too Much
article (p 61, Aprilia
RSV4 v Ducati V4S
Panigale), especially
the summary.

Bearing in mind your
magazine depends on
advertising revenue it
was to your credit that
you gave an honest
final verdict – these
bikes don’t really
belong on the roads.
Jim Cripps

Abandoned man writes... isn’t for me. When I read the Comedy duo spotted Alan and Gary on holiday in Spain recently
latest sportsbikes are too fast
I love sportsbikes. I love (PS, August 2021, p 61), I feel Imagine my surprise on
them to be fast, raw, violent, abandoned. seeing Alan and Gary driving
uncompromising, but can put up in a classic cabriolet car
with them when they are not. I Complaining about the world while holidaying in Spain in
don’t think enough is ever enough; around me is just a symptom September last year.
that’s how things evolve, isn’t it? of my ageing, so I’ll shut up and
I’ve dipped in and out of PS over send you a photo of my random They were both gracious
the years (I’m still dithering over collection of machines to ridicule. enough to smile for my wife’s
the subscription renewal). Rob Munn-Bookless camera as we overtook them
on one of Barcelona’s many
Maintaining and tuning are No need for ridicule. What a fine palm-tree-lined boulevards.
all very enjoyable, but building array of slow bikes you have – MG Send them both our regards.
specials and modifying things Mike and Jenny Stephenson

14 Practical Sportsbikes

PS social club Follow us on instagram:
Practical_sportsbikes

Least capable motorcycle builder in Bikes and goings-on from our Facebook group
the world hides head in ignorance

My first ride out since Picked up a winter project
fitting the JMC 'arm – and 5JJ R1,was too good a
probably the last ride this year. price to say no to. Getting a full
Roll on spring! stripdown over winter, and a
Daniel Williams nut and bolt rebuild to make it
factory finish, and ride how it
Under surveillance Top bike but I rarely got should.
much past 100 miles before Gavin Strang
I'm watching MG’s Bandit filling up. Keep an eye on chain
project closely, having owned tension too. I had a Scottoiler When the Monster S4 you Had an interesting and
one from new ‘back in the day’. which helped chain life no end. were given has a bloody funny couple of hours
Mine was an S. I’d go S every awful chrome plated swingarm, at Mick Abbey Tuning today
time. Much more refined ride. And that Black Widow but thankfully the chrome job with my YSR80, Mick is a
I tried an N but it felt like a system looks nice. I had is so bad that you can pick it off great laugh and is genuinely as
minimoto in comparison. Mind an MHP carbon can and I with a razor blade... interested in the smaller stuff
you, it means more paint… remember standing back Matt Nemo Liddy as the big 2-T specials he has
and just laughing out loud in the workshop. He is going to
150 mile range with no when I fitted it. It felt like I’d put a tune on the bike and make
reserve tap? Dream on. You’ll derestricted the bike. an exhaust to match.
be pushing it for the last Bryan Griffin
20 miles at best. If you get Looking forward to following
enthusiastic with the throttle the story. Best of luck with the
(which you will) it'll be more build – I loved mine.
like the last 40 miles. Pat Trafford

Man (63) agrees with PS with Dunlop Roadsmart 3s, and After seeing the NC500 As a tribute to the late Wes
it’s now the bike I always wanted. article today (PS, Dec Cooley I took my 1000S
As a blackbird owner (my fourth) A keeper? You bet. 2021) I thought it'd be rude not out today. RIP my friend.
a ’05 plate 43,000 mile model Dave Clark to take my KSR out. Weather not Trevor Franklin (not that one)
owned since new, I would agree it’s as good as Scotland, though.
the one to buy now (PS, Nov 2021). Sam Tooth

Mine’s got a few upgrades: the
usual new reg/rec, lithium battery,
’bar risers (I am 63), Corbin gel
seat, and more recently a full fork
upgrade including hard chrome
tubes and custom Maxton rear
shock (ride in/out service). It's shod

Not so funny One's ready for its bed Since you've done a couple
the other is ready for the of pages and started a
I don’t know if a bench. Gives me something to project on the "much molested"
K1200RS counts as do over winter. Bandit, I thought I'd show you
Funny front-ended as in Craigh Allen mine. Owned from new, '99
the Oct 2021 issue. vintage. Apologies for the small
indicators by the way.
But maybe as a Andy Doyle
commuter,tourer, and
occasional classic track Well, it's practical. Let's facebook.com/groups/practicalsportsbikes
day ride it could be a maybe leave it at that,
Practical Sportsbike. shall we?
Thanks for a great mag.
Ross Neasham

Send your pics, and story to: [email protected] for possible inclusion in the mag, at MG's discretion. Be warned, he's starved of human interraction, and will latch on to
any kind of friendly communicae like an Exocet. Be sure to make it clear you are contacting him in a professional capacity only, or you'll never hear the last of him.

Practical Sportsbikes 15

Part way through a restoration?
Just completed a trick special?
Send us your pics, and details

To: [email protected]. Please include clear, high-resolution pictures as well
some info on bike, as you see below. Our top pick wins a year’s sub to The PS

Suzuki GSX-R750 Most likely one of the tidiest slabbies in existence

Builder: Vinny Edwards
Owned for: two months
So far: reliving past glories
What’s next: replace original pipe with Yoshi Cyclone

M y 1985 Gixxer 750 replaces one I had back in
Australia in my youth. I did 100,000 kilometres
on that over eight years and loved it until I had to sell it
to pay some bills. It was the one that got away. I have a
great wife and son who watched this bike on eBay, until
one day she said, ‘Get it’. So I jumped on it. Turns out it
was John Oliver’s bike (featured in PS in May 2012).

I was blown away when I found the mag and turned
over the page and saw the number plate. I’ve been in
touch with John who was made up to see it again. I just
want to keep it original, although I am tempted to find a
period Yoshi cyclone full system. But that would be all I’d
consider changing.

Honda SP-2 “Happy birthday, darling” Yeah, for real

Owner: Wayne Barsby
Owned for: seven months
So far: cans and Power Commander
What’s next: full service and a clean

H aving had a Yamaha YZF-R1 bought by my wife for
my 40th birthday, she had to go some to top that
for my 50th. She didn’t disappoint: 2002 Honda SP-2
complete with Öhlins shock and steering damper.

I recently installed Ladybird carbon and titanium
end-cans then had the fuelling sorted with a Power
Commander 3 set-up and custom map.The bike is a joy
to ride here on the Isle of Man.

I plan to replace the irritating alarm system, perform a
full service including the valve shims as it has just hit the
mileage for them to be checked, and remove all of the
bodywork to give the bike a really good, deep clean.

Kawasaki Zephyr 1100 We’ll say it again, creosote that fence
or watch it rot like a pear next spring
Owner: Les Ross
Owned for: 12 years
So far: strip and transformation
What’s next: move it indoors to clear shed space

H ere’s one to annoy the purists. I bought my Zephyr
1100 12 years ago as a Cat D insurance write-off.
I did a quick fix-up at the time but took advantage of
the lockdown to do a full strip. After seeing the price of
original parts, I decided to rebuild it as a special.

I had the main chassis parts powdercoated, and
prepped and painted the engine because it ran strongly
and quietly so there was no point in taking it apart.
There are only a handful of original nuts/bolts left now,
most are stainless or titanium. I spent hours in the shed
fabricating new parts but the hardest job was fitting
more modern switchgear — a real headache.

16 Practical Sportsbikes

No question this would leave a lasting
impression on any nine-year-old...

Bike Of The Month Above: Finished engine before a workbench
collapse smashed the head. A replacement has
BMW K1 been found and is being vapourblasted as you
read this. Probably done by now, you’d hope
Owner: Kevin Bedford
Owned for: one year breaking a corner off of the cylinder head.
So far: total stripdown Luckily for me, Will Crean, a fellow K1 owner in
What’s next: live that childhood dream Ireland, had a spare head that I bought; it’s off
for vapourblasting at the moment.
Burning 30-year ambition now
tantalisingly close to realisation I had to make a lot of tools as there are
specific BMW items needed for certain jobs
I ’m 41 now, and ever since the K1 was such as stripping the rear bevel drive.
launched when I was nine years old, I’ve
wanted one. I used to see them in my dad’s I’m probably going to be into the bike for
bike magazines that he had in the cab of his more than it will be worth. But it’s not about
truck, and thought that they were straight out that – it’s a childhood dream bike – and I’m
of Battlestar Galactica or something. going to live that dream.

Anyway, I bought a complete if untidy Practical Sportsbikes 17
example last year, and what was originally
going to be a quick paint job and new tyres
became a ground-up restoration. The picture
of the bike in one piece is how it came to me
before work started.

Basically, everything has been stripped
down, vapourblasted, painted, powdercoated,
replated and so on. All was going at a great
pace until the bench I had the engine on
collapsed and the engine hit the ground,

This month’s bike of the
month wins a year's
subscription to The PS.
Next month's wins an
exciting new prize.

Yamaha FZ1N/S Brickwork looks in good nick, no need
for any pointing for a while yet. Yam
Owner: Steven Carbutt looks like a wee winner too – and
Owned for: seven years people said an N to S conversion
So far: N to S conversion and lots more couldn’t be done... people, eh?
What’s next: hanging out down the caffs

Iconverted my 16,000-mile naked 2007
Yamaha FZ1N to a FZ1S for the 2021
Yamaha 60th anniversary in GPs. Plenty of
people told me it wouldn’t be possible to
convert the bike to S spec – but I managed it.
I made a fair few modifications and added a
load of nice extras in the process. I bought the
bike in November 2014 from an eBay auction
for £4600 with 6000 miles on the clock –
nobody wanted to bid for it.

I fitted a full Akrapovic exhaust system,
deleting the cat and the EXUP valve. I fitted
a Power Commander 3 which was mapped
to accommodate the new exhaust system.
For the brakes, I chose Galfer wavy discs
front and rear, HEL braided hoses, a Brembo
master cylinder and a Rizoma brake reservoir.
Calipers are Yamaha gold spots.

Rearsets came from Rizoma too as did
the brake and clutch levers and handlebars.
Forks are Öhlins, shock is Nitron. Other stuff:
K&N air filter in a modified airbox, black
flip-up screen, quick-action fuel filler, tail tidy,
CSC steering damper, crash bobbins, and
a gear-position indicator. I went with a DID
gold X-ring chain and a B&C anodised rear
sprocket. Tyres are trusty Michelin Pilot Road
5. We are regularly to be seen hanging out at
Squires Cafe Bar in Sherburn-in-Elmet and
Seaways Cafe in Fridaythorpe.

Honda CB400 Super Four

Owner: Simon Cooper
Owned for: seven months
So far: one step forward, two steps back
What’s next: new reg/rec, and sort the brakes

Ibought this N-reg Honda CB400 Super Simon’s wife is soon to be a big fan of the CB. We think
Four Version S unseen earlier this year
for £1200, to replace a Super Four Version runner with few minor issues, or a pending Next jobs are to find out why the carbs/
R I had and loved 20 years ago. The seller regulator/rectifier replacement, and then a fuel lines are leaking and why the high-spec,
had carried out some unsympathetic full paint resto to CB400N tribute colours in by mid-1990s standards, brakes aren’t
‘restoration’ and when it arrived it wouldn’t the makings. working so well.
start – my wife loved that.

Then, while putting in some new spark
plugs I snapped the inline fuel filter, and
while replacing that I dropped the fuel tank
leaving a 10cm wide dent on one side.

After this litany of disaster did things get
any better? No. It died on me 20 miles into
my first ride – to work, as it happened – and
I had to get recovered home.

Discussions with Ferret ensued and the
previous owner was called on to add his
opinion. It seems the air feeders at the back
of the tank had got knotted while the filter/
tank dent debacle was going on and that
could be the cause.
So as things stand, I either have a solid

18 Practical Sportsbikes





THE SPEED TRIPLE STORY

SPEEDIESON THE ORIGIN OF

The pioneer of nakeds, a movie star, and the backbone of modern Triumph. The
Speed Triple is Hinckley’s most enduring success. Now the man who put his heart

and soul into every model tells us the full story from 900 to 1200RS

Words: Chris Newbigging | Pictures: Simon Lee/Triumph archive/Bauer archive

f you bought a bike without a Speed Triple took a little while to gather Stuart Wood: there at the very beginning, and
fairing in 1993, what would you significant sales momentum, but it was a still directly involved with the Speed Triples
get? Very little that wasn’t either surprise success for Triumph from the start.
a big, soft retro bike (Zephyr, say) It outlasted every other model line created
or a cheap, worthy commuter, in the early days of Triumph, and has had
like an XJ600N. Only Ducati’s their longest unbroken production run.
Monster – exceedingly popular in Italy, Would Triumph have survived the rebirth
though still treated with scepticism by the without it? Of course, but there’s no denying
UK market to begin with – stood out as the evolving model line lead them in a
anything different. Sporting motorcycling particular direction – and one that still works
had gone fully plastic-clad as the race-replica for them today.
craze swept in during the second half of the
1980s, and it would take something special Stuart Wood was a young engineer in
to change people’s minds. Triumph’s R&D department at the very
The Speed Triple was the naked bike with beginning, helping develop the modular
something special enough to start to tip the design triples and fours the company
balance back towards unfaired yet sporty returned to market with in 1991. And it was
road bikes. Bikes with up to the minute one of his own garage-fettled Trident 900s
components, performance figures and that helped plant the seed for Speed Triple.
handling, but with the unique sensation you Now a Chief Engineer, he still plays a key
get from being sat in the wind with nothing role in Speed Triple development, having
more than tacho/speedo in front of you. The worked on every single model. This is the
Speed Triple story in full.

Practical Sportsbikes 21

Sometimes a parts bin special is special

1994 Daytona, Trident and Trophy – the Speed
Triple was different again. It isn’t Daytona
SPEED TRIPLE 900 suspension, you wouldn’t interchange them,
T309 QUICK AND EASY it’s set up for different use. Geometry is as
sharp as a Daytona, but the pressure centre
is higher up and takes some of the weight
off the front wheel. You have to be very
specific when tuning suspension, even if the
geometry is similar. It suits the bike – it’s
lighter steering and more flickable.

“Gearing was more closely related to
the Trident: the five-speed gearbox had
a relatively tall first and a tight second-
fifth spread, which was more suited to the
sportier ambitions of the Speed Triple,”
Stuart says. Using available componentry
made the R&D job shorter (not to mention
the simpler homologation requirements of
the time). It was showroom ready in 1994.

Expectations were low: fun or not, it got
the green light partly because it was easy to
produce without tooling-up for new parts.
“Nothing in the marketplace indicated it
would be the success that it was,” Stuart
recalls. “Because that market didn’t exist
before the Speed Triple.”

M arket research and customer spec suspension, the brakes including the Owner’s view
feedback plays a big part in the underslung rear caliper. And it was fun.
choices of manufacturers now – not Trevor Wray
surprising, given how pernickety “There had been a moment when I rode 1994 Speed Triple 900
the typical motorcyclist has become an early prototype of the Trident on my
these days. The average age is going up: usual test route, and the bike popped a little “They just got it
we’ve been there, ridden that and won’t be wheelie as flicked the bike around: I thought right first time”
told what we want or need, thank you. But this is seriously good fun, and something I
in the 1990s, you could still get away with could do every day. “This is my third 900 – I’ve
throwing curveballs to blindside the younger had a ’96 and a ’95, this is a
riders sidling into showrooms to buy a “It was what we all agreed was a fun way 1994. There is just something about the
new bike. And that was the Speed Triple: to match that three-cylinder engine with the look of them – the pose, the style and
a concept not born out of focus groups or sport suspension and chassis of the time. It general blackness of it which I think is
a boardroom, but from gut feeling – an was really very engaging, and a complete fantastic. And they’re lovely to ride too.
engineering team building a bike they liked. blast. We had enough confidence, and “It’s an old-fashioned, growly sort of
were young and naïve enough that we had motor with bags of torque. It only has five
“I had one of the very first Trident 900s off complete faith in our judgement of what the gears, but it only needs five. You can leave
the line as my own bike,” says Stuart. “But market would like. Why wouldn’t we make it in top and ride around like it’s automatic,
I built it non-standard. And it was basically it? It was almost a no-brainer for young, which I know is a cliché but it is true.
like this – I loved the performance of the enthusiastic motorcyclists when you’re “ The brakes are decent enough, it keeps
three-cylinder engine, that was brilliant. I getting all that visceral feel of motorcycling up with most things, and it just suits me
loved the way the Daytonas handled, but from an unfaired bike, but with the best down to the ground. The fact it’s a Triumph
you got a much more engaging ride from sports suspension and brakes of the time.” and has a Union Flag on the back is nice,
the roadster, and I basically built the bike as but it’s not what attracted me to it. Even
a Daytona without the fairing, or a Trident Management saw the logic: early customer though it’s a few bits thrown together, they
with the high-performance kit, depending feedback and press tests bolstered their just got it right.”
on how you look at it. It had the top- belief, and in late 1992 work began. The
modular platform made that easy: one
Flag was part of the appeal – for some people frame used across the models, with four
engines and sub-components mixed ’n’
matched with set-ups to suit the models.

Like Stuart’s hotted-up Trident, the
roadster’s engine was married with the
same grade of suspension as the Daytona.
“Set-up was bespoke the Speed Triple, you
always have to do that,” says Stuart. “Weight
balance and pressure centres are different on
an unfaired bike, so you have to tailor those.
In addition we could tune the attitude of the
bike this way to give a different feel, and to
dial them in to the use people had for the

22 Practical Sportsbikes

THE SPEED TRIPLE STORY

White-faced clocks were a quality touch, brushed ally too, while
that hefalump of an engine was another undoubted attraction

“EXPECTATIONS WERE LOW: IT GOT THE GREEN
LIGHT BECAUSE IT WAS EASY TO PRODUCE WITHOUT

TOOLING-UP FOR NEW PARTS”

1994 Speed Triple 900
Power: 98bhp@9000rpm
Torque: 58.6lb.ft@6750rpm
Weight: 209kg dry/225kg wet

It’s a solid piece of work alright, but it works

Practical Sportsbikes 23

THE SPEED TRIPLE STORY

Altogether more of a streetfighter – Triumph had their
fingers firmly on the national pulse of the time

“IT HAD HIGHER PERFORMANCE IN EVERY
RESPECT – IT WAS LIGHTER, MORE AGILE,

AND IT HAD MORE ATTITUDE”

1997 T509 Speed Triple
Power: 108bhp@ 9000rpm
Torque: 62lb.ft@6500rpm
Weight: 196kg dry/222kg wet

24 Practical Sportsbikes

1997 into both the 885/955cc engines early on,
and both were available to us. They were
T509 SPEED TRIPLE the appropriate engines for each bike at the
MISSION: PROBABLE SUCCESS time. The Daytona was a lot more expensive,
which made the Speed Triple really very
Y ou’d think the success of the first flat-barred hooligan bikes. Gary Rothwell attractive. It’s about differentiating the bikes
Speed Triple would make a second- had gone from nuisance to professional and deciding where you want to pitch them.”
gen, based on the clean-sheet design stunt rider. It was good to be bad. It’s often
of the ‘T500’ engine platform, a suggested that Steve Burns’ Spondon Triumph’s conservative expectations were
foregone conclusion. But Triumph ‘Monster’ was the inspiration for the surpassed again: the T509 sold far beyond
– still only a few years old, and a small twin-spotlight look. what it needed to justify its development:
manufacturer by the standards of the time “We thought we’d try it, see if we got the
– weren’t as sure as we can be in hindsight “All of that was in the mix,” Stuart same response we did with the T309 Speed
that it was a good idea. reckons. “Crumbs, you’ve got me Triple: we didn’t, it was even stronger. It had
remembering magazines I read as a youth. higher performance in every respect – it was
“When I reflect on the first discussions Obviously when it comes to building a lighter, more agile, and it had more attitude.”
about building a Speed Triple with the new production streetfighter, you’ve got realistic
motor, it wasn’t that obvious to us that it requirements of things like expected lighting The bike’s French Sagem fuel injection
WAS a success,” says Stuart. “The world performance, and homologation standards wasn’t exactly lauded (though not panned
was still predominantly buying fully-faired too. The notion early on was to make these either) but it signalled a change in attitude.
sportsbikes, and we put all the effort into lights small, which was the streetfighter look Where the modular bikes were conservative,
the Daytona T595 to build it as a fully- at the time, but those considerations made competent, and a safe bet, the T500 bikes
faired sportsbike only: reducing mass, them bigger, and we liked the look. were forward looking: “Homologation
improving geometry, and basically designing requirements meant there’d be a point in the
a completely contemporary sportsbike with “We also wanted to maximise the handling future where we would need fuel injection.”
everything new and repackaged. and performance, so rather than mount
them on the forks we kept that mass off to Owner’s view
“But there was the notion that we could do reduce the steered inertia. That makes the
something similar as we had with the T309 lights sit slightly further forward, but it gives Kev Skipper
Speed Triple: it didn’t take any persuasion, them that aggressive look and character.” 1998 T509 Speed Triple
it was a very easy discussion to have. But
we viewed it as a very different bike to the That intent also saw off the clip-on “It just looks
Daytona. We saw it as a streetfighter rather handlebars fairly early on: first year models right”
than a roadster with sports performance, came with clip-ons in the manner of the
which is very much where the look came T309, but it was soon evident that customers ‘”I’ve only had this one for
from. The whole notion of attitude as well as would prefer higher ’bars, so from 1998 six months – I got it from a
character really came in with this bike.” onwards, that’s what it came with. friend who’d had it in his garage for 11
years. For the past couple of years I’ve
By this time, influences like the fully- Triumph fans have long been curious why been restoring a Mark 1 Speed Triple,
fledged streetfighter scene, evolved from the T509 Speed triple and T595 Daytona, and I wanted something just to put on the
the street special/straightliners scene of the which share overall chassis and engine road, so I picked it up as an easy project. Or
mid-1980s were in the fore – a national design, were released with a different that’s how it was supposed to be…
stunt championship with displays at events capacity in 1997. It’s simple strategy, “It had a couple of electrical gremlins,
and race meets the length of the country according to Stuart. which I’ve sorted now. I really like the
further increased the appeal of in-yer-face look of it, I love the iconic headlights, the
“Getting to the T595’s engine was an stance, the way it sits. It’s a big heavy
evolutionary process. A lot of work went thing, but it looks right.
“I remember seeing the Mark 1 at the
NEC show, and I was riding Japanese
sportsbikes at the time, and it caught my
attention. I always liked it, always wanted
to own one so that’s why I picked up the
project. When the chance to pick up the
later one with a different design came up
I thought ‘why not?’ It’s grassroots British
motorcycling for me – although I’m not a
dyed-in-the-wool Briton.’

Practical Sportsbikes 25

What started out as a low-risk gamble
was now Triumph’s biggest seller

1999-2004 “They weren’t sold with them fitted
to begin with, but a significantly large
SPEED TRIPLE 955 proportion of owners bought them, so many
TRIUMPH’S NUMBER ONE were sold with the extras towards the end of
that production run, as it added desirability.
T he Speedie’s origins as a cost-effective Roulette Green and Nuclear Red… They But for me, the ‘raw’ look was how the bike
spin-off from the anticipated volume- were very bold options, and helped define was intended.
selling Daytona began to be forgotten Triumph’s character – our willingness to
as more riders got turned on to the do something different. And that attracted “We were finding our feet to an extent.
kind of naked Triumph had created. a lot of people to us. It’s also part of the Making it alongside the Daytona had been
The large-capacity naked world was still only streetfighter image it had developed, you something of a constraint, but it was about
occupied by retros (ZRX, XJR) and budget could easily imagine any custom bike this point where Speed Triple started to
all-rounders (Bandit) painted like that.” eclipse the Daytona as the best-selling, most
important model.”
“Bodywork-wise the Speed Triple was The 2002 update for both the Daytona
evolving,” says Stuart. “It still had elements and Speed Triple taught them a valuable That point – to be precise – was the 2000
of the Daytona, as the Speed Triple and lesson about what was expected by owners model year. The Daytona peaked in 1997
Daytona were still designed as a pair. This is – and it wasn’t spec-sheet one-upmanship, (the first year for the new T595, as well as
the point at which there was no reason not as the Japanese manufacturers still found the T509 Speed Triple), selling 5414 globally,
to have the Speed Triple in its right, with themselves involved in. The Speed Triple some 3283 more than the T509. The
performance, style and attitude unique to it. kept the familiar single-sided swingarm: the difference narrowed in 1998 to 1912 bikes,
And in bright colours too.” Daytona had a mechanically successful, but just 287 more Daytonas in 1999, before
commercially unsuccessful, dalliance with a finally the Speed Triple bested the superbike
Roulette Green – as sported by our 2003 twin-sided ’arm. by 159 at the start of the new millenium.
example – came to be something of a
defining colour for Triumph nakeds, and “That was an interesting departure for us Their respective fortunes kept on the same
Nuclear Red (a pinkish hue more likely to be – we were looking for more performance, trajectories from there: a trend that would
found in a Max Factor bottle for fingernails) lighter weight and less unspring mass from inform the Speedie’s next major change…
wasn’t especially popular. But those daring the Daytona, and the twin-sided arm worked
colours could be seen as something as a for that. But people actually valued what Owner’s view
pioneering force – an early win for equality we’d originally specified – high specification
and diversity in motorcycling, perhaps… components, and the visual aspect. So it Greg Boys
didn’t take that long for us to go back to the 2003 Speed Triple 955i
“We were getting involved very closely single-sided arm on the Daytona. But the
with paint manufacturers, and it was an Speed Triple was all about style and attitude, “The colour sold
interesting line of investigation. The guy so we never changed it in the first place.” it to me”
who ran the paintshop at the time had some
interesting ideas for flamboyant colours, Greg Boys’ 2003 model wears the genuine “It was the colour that drew
and it just fitted. We had a bike as much accessories that so many left dealer floors me to it first – I’d had boring
about attitude as anything else: these were with: bikini fairing, bellypan and radiator coloured bikes before, I’d had a dark blue
practically custom colours we felt suited the shrouds. Official accessories weren’t Honda, and I wanted something different –
bike, and we thought it was worth doing. common at the time, but again Triumph got something a bit lairy.
ahead of the curve by offering owners “I was feeling my age a bit at the time,
“As you can see there was no fear of add-ons designed alongside the bike itself. we’d just had a baby and so on. I bought it
anything when you look the history, with in 2006, and have had it ever since – I just
love it. It gets admiring glances wherever
I go, and I like that it’s unlike anything else
on the road – you just know it’s a Speed
Triple, and you know it’s a Triumph.
“I’ve had various Japanese bikes before,
but I like the Britishness of it, the fact
it’s slightly unusual. The single-sided
swingarm was a look I liked too, though
not the massive exhaust, so it usually has
an aftermarket exhaust fitted. I like the
bug-eye look – almost insect-like.”

26 Practical Sportsbikes

THE SPEED TRIPLE STORY

Steady evolution without diluting the essential DNA of the original –
conservative without being in any way staid was the winning formula

“THE SPEED TRIPLE WAS ALL ABOUT STYLE AND
ATTITUDE, SO WE NEVER CHANGED FROM THE

SINGLE-SIDED SWINGARM”

2003 Speed Triple 955i
Power: 120bhp@9100rpm
Torque: 73.8lb.ft@5100rpm
Weight: 196 kg dry/210kg wet

The Triumph paint shop was never afraid to experiment. Good job

Practical Sportsbikes 27

THE SPEED TRIPLE STORY

Every component now a dedicated Speed Triple
item, from clocks to engine to suspension. The
writing was on the wall for sportsbikes, but not
every manufacturer could quite see it yet

2003 Speed Triple 955i
Power: 120bhp@9100rpm
Torque: 73.8lb.ft@5100rpm
Weight: 196 kg dry/210kg wet

“IN 2005 THE NEW 1050 WAS SHIPPED OUT
TO 6773 EXCITED NEW OWNERS, WHILE JUST

1237 BOUGHT THE LAST DAYTONA”

28 Practical Sportsbikes

Twin silencers a necessity, and
they suited the stumpy rear

2005 the look beyond the influences behind it.
One detail that was all the 1050 production
SPEED TRIPLE 1050 bike’s own was the twin silencers – a neat,
TIME TO SHINE complimentary visual touch that side-
stepped a growing problem for anyone
T he most crucial model since the 1994 Now, the Speed Triple had not only the building new bikes.
original: the moment where it stopped bug-eyed look of Steve Burns’ machine
playing second-fiddle to the Daytona really nailed down as the definitive style “Fitting the silencing you increasingly
in Triumph’s R&D programme. When for anything unfaired and attitude laden, needed was different – one silencer to meet
it became a benchmark for the class but also the truncated seat unit. The look the noise regulation needs would have been
as a result of burgeoning interest and more was widespread by this point – Ducati had huge, and ugly. Two silencers gave us the
focused development. invoked a similar style with the Monster, volume we needed, but also suited the short
and shed builders the world over were tail piece look.”
The engine was extensively revised, getting busy with the hacksaw to get the
capacity hiked to 1050cc, the chassis given a look. Sometimes successfully, other times If there were any lingering doubts about
similar nip ’n’ tuck treatment while retaining not so much… prioritising nakeds over sportsbikes, the
the style of the previous model. No longer a numbers sealed the deal. In 2005, the new
sportsbike spin-off, the team around Stuart It was the work of Italians (with hacksaws) 1050 was shipped out to 6773 excited new
were free to style the Speed Triple their way, that inspired the second major restyle for owners, while just 1237 bought the last
and not have to share a tank and seat unit. the Speed Triple. Carlo Talamo founded Daytona 955i worldwide.
Numero Tre as a Triumph importer back in
“This is my favourite historic model – the 1991, selling bikes until 2000 when he sold Admittedly, the Daytona was getting long
moment when it became 100% Speed Triple the business to Triumph, as Triumph Italy. in the tooth when you consider the level
in its own right,” says Stuart. “The engine of the Japanese sportsbikes of the day, but
design, the bodywork… it was conceived That didn’t end his association with them the prevailing change in riders attitudes was
completely as a Speed Triple, as it had though: he created a kit for the Speed Triple evident at Triumph. And way before the
eclipsed the Daytona by this point. The 955i in 2003, penned by Rodolfo Frascoli rest of the industry would come to realise
architecture was an evolution of the 955i, (then at Marabese Design, but who has sportsbikes had peaked, and motorcyclists
but to suit the overall style of the Speed since gone solo and designed many Triumph were ready for something new.
Triple specifically. It’s lighter and shorter. production models) dubbed the Speed S.
One example made it back to Hinckley, and Owner’s view
“We wanted the short back end, so we became a defining influence in where to take
were repackaging it for that as well as the factory streetfighter look next. Dean Tyszka’s
looking at better weight distribution, and 2005 Speed Triple 1050
improving handling, so that’s why it had “To not water that look down, to get it
the upside down forks, the radial brakes. into production looking that way was a “I’ve had it since
We wanted it to evolve, but we didn’t want real challenge,” Stuart recalls. Carlo was new, I’ll never sell”
to throw away its heritage – which is what assisted in making the Speed S a reality, and
it had by now, 11 years in. This frame style in return, Triumph used his idea to inform “I’ve been on Triumphs since
was part of the definition of Speed Triple.” the next generation bike. “It wasn’t so much 1994, I had a Trident, T595, a
customer feedback that pushed us in that Sprint and two 955i Speed Triples before
The Burns Monster (again) was a street direction, but people like Carlo involved in that. I took this out on a test ride and was
special of incalculable influence over that specials building, streetfighter scene.” sold on it. I especially like the colour, and
the scene that would come to be known it was so much more pokey than the 955,
as streetfighters, though calling it such The 1050 wasn’t simply a collection of and a bit firmer too.
undersells the Monster’s performance cred. borrowed ideas: the final execution evolved “ It’s with me until I die – I can’t fault it.
It’s never gone wrong until this morning,
when it blew a headlight bulb… I don’t
ride it as much as I’d like to because I have
other bikes too, but it’s a ready-made
streetfighter with enough poke for today’s
roads – anything more would be a waste.
“I used to modify bikes more, but I’ve got
older now and have just left this alone. It’s
the bike that does everything for me – on a
sunny summer’s day it’s a lovely bike, and it
keeps a smile on my face all day.”

Practical Sportsbikes 29

THE SPEED TRIPLE STORY

MAKING A NAME T he Speed Triple foreshadowed where
FOR ITSELF biking was going – dynamically, but
also rider mindset. That applied
You can’t just build a good bike and expect people to to the buying process too. When
buy it these days. The Speed Triple gained much of its the 900 and T509 came about,
credibility from movie appearances – and some racing you could still build a sportsbike with
the right power, the right spec sheet, and
sell it. If you backed racers well enough,
and it won WSB/BSB/TT/endurance
races, you’d benefit from that, too. Fairly
straightforward – fast motorbikes sold well.

But, to get anything else off the
showroom floor you had to try a bit
harder. How? Exceptional ability helped
– VFR750s, Pan Europeans weren’t
fashionable but were hard to beat for the
task in hand, so they sold. Price is always
good – Suzuki sold many thousands of
technically-average Bandits by selling them
for peanuts. The Speed Triple didn’t have
either of those to trade on – they weren’t
cheap, and in pure practical terms, they
weren’t especially useful, either. You had to
really want it.

An idea like the Speed Triple only needs
a little bit of hard-sell to get moving,
though. Triumph’s public relations
campaign started simply, with a dog:
a Rottweiler. Indeed, three of our five
readers who brought their bikes along for
the photo shoot credited this simple press
picture for planting the Speed Triple seed,
with an all-black 900 chained up alongside
the menacing mutt, having an attitude-off.

The simplistic nature belied its
effectiveness: after all, the very similar
Trident and Daytona rarely sold on the
back of the same sort of lust – they were
good bikes, well styled with a bit of flag-
waving to help move them in the home
market, too. No – the Speed Triple stood
out from its modular cousins by being
tough from the start.

30 Practical Sportsbikes

They also made a move to sell the Rocket Ron did the basic development for the
sporting credentials of a naked in the time- T309 racer. Naturally, crafty mechanics found
honoured traditon of racing them. Problem
was, there wasn’t anywhere it could more from it – tight rule book or not
realistically compete with comparable bikes
– it would have got skinned alive in any Little Tom’s T509 is preserved at the Triumph
kind of open class racing. Factory Visitor Experience: with bullet holes, but
not the magic self-changing knobbly/road tyres...
Ron Haslam was signed up to develop the
bike for the track. The usual changes were Practical Sportsbikes 31
required: a Pro-Flex shock, stiffer springs,
but cornering clearance was the major
problem: the clutch cover was cut and
shut to clear, while TTS Performance in
Towcester modified a Yoshimura 3-1 race
system to sit up and out of the way.

A support race was run at the British
Grand Prix at Donington Park in 1994
– 30 bikes, with Ron joined by John
Reynolds, James Haydon, David and
Nick Jefferies, Ray Stringer, Mike ‘Spike’
Edwards, Brian Morrison. Edwards and
Morrison were at the front, with Spike
taking the win (and a healthy win bonus).
It led to a full-time series for the next two
years with minor tweaks to bike spec, but
a similar formula of dealer-run bikes. Mark
Phillips won in ’95, David Jefferies in ’96.

The T509’s shift from cafe racer vibes
to streetfighter changed its appeal – and
not just to the buying public. Tom Cruise’s
Mission: Impossible movie franchise made
the Speedie a global star in 2000, with the
T509 (and T595) selected for pivotal roles
in the final chase scene of the second film.

Despite the Scientologist nut-job image
the tabloids might want you to believe,
Cruise is a genuine bike enthusiast: he has
long chosen specific bikes for his movies,
as well riding in as many scenes as he can.
The Speed Triple had also appeared in the
first Matrix film, though the M:I2 scene
was more favourable for the bike’s image.
It’s impossible to say what effect that had...
but the appearance with Cruise coincided
with the Speed Triple besting Daytona
sales for the first time.

Cruise would use the 1050RS in 2016’s
Mission: Impossible – Fallout. The same
would also appear in The Hitman’s
Bodyguard in ’17, then as a shape-shifting
transport of evil-doers in Fast and Furious
Presents: Hobbs and Shaw in 2019.

It takes some doing for a bike to
transcend the motorcycling world and
have an image that unfailingly works when
presented to the masses, but Hollywood
luvvies keep coming back to it, and there
are countless other appearances in more
minor flicks, too.

Aside from its big screen prevalence,
there have been other smaller, but no less
well-judged attempts to make the Speed
Triple cool. Kevin Carmichael was part of
the testing team at Triumph around the
time of the 1050: his past-vertical wheelie
on the press launch made it to magazines
across the globe.

Evolution, but vastly accelerated evolution

2012 standard model was the obvious choice. The
split was about 50/50 at this stage.”
SPEED TRIPLE 1050 R
THE MIDAS TOUCH The R gained Öhlins forks and shock,
where the base model got by on Showa.
Higher-spec Brembo monoblock brakes
replaced split calipers, and PVM wheels in
place of cast wheels. “Weight and mass had
been a focus of the design, and by adding
the higher quality parts, it gave it the best
possible handling performance,” Stuart says.

Despite the fancy wheels only lasting a
year as part of the premium package, the
R (and later RS) would eventually grab a
larger share of the market, before rendering
the basic S redundant. The latest 1200 is
only available fully kitted out. For Triumph,
the stalwart of the range remains a useful
barometer for judging what the wider
motorcycling public wants.

“When you look at the Speed Triple,
although it’s a very specific part of the
market, it does show an evolution of
riders’ requirements over the years. In the
beginning, we were all very young, it was all
about attitude and raw performance.

“By the time we get to this model,
we’re really into quite refined sportsbike
performance, with high spec, and lots of
power. It’s a lovely moment – I quite want to
ride this one now!”

Why would you call those giving it more at the top. We were looking Owner’s view
controversial?” is Stuart’s at increasing combustion pressure, and
tongue-in-cheek response what we were allowing the engine to do. Paul Statham’s
when I ask him about 2011’s Top end power is addictive, it’s exciting, but 2012 Speed Triple 1050 R
moderately shocking departure from the you have to maintain the midrange too.
twin-spot look, to… well, this: “It was about That’s the character of the Speed Triple. “I’ve always loved
evolution: still very much a Speed Triple You can always trade torque for power, the look”
with all the attitude, but more performance, but it’s hard to get that balance of both,
and a new look.” and we absolutely didn’t want to lose that “I’ve had the bike since June
That new look came for 2011 strictly part-throttle response. You want it to go of this year – it’s the first
speaking – an all-new chassis, a significant immediately when you twist the throttle, and bike I had after passing my test. I did my
development to the motor (though still that’s always been an attribute of the Speed training on the standard Speed Triple, and
a distant relative of the T595/509’s basic Triple – pull out, twist the throttle and go, I just felt comfortable on it. I like the power
architecture, which is a testament to what you don’t have to think about it. You want and torque that it’s got, and when I bought
they’d created in the first place). It needed excess torque all the time.” one it had to be the R with the extras – the
it – as well-received as the 2005 bike and Öhlins, the Brembos, and the look that it
subsequent updates had been, it now had The R model marked a change. High- has. I bought it from one of the guys who
serious rivals from Aprilia, Ducati, Honda, spec models used to be the minority seller, trained me.
and Yamaha, to name just the major players for any manufacturer, but these days, the “I find it very nimble and controllable,
in sports nakeds. opposite is true. Bikes are perceived as it does everything you ask of it. Being a
That demanded one thing in particular: expensive, though prices have risen below British brand, I’ve always loved the look of
“Power – top end power was what we were the rate of inflation since the 1990s, and the Triumphs – they’re out on their own. It’s
chasing by this point,” Stuart says. “It was specifications are often higher. For those a great machine, and I can’t fault it.”
about keeping the strong midrange, but who don’t think that 10, or 12, or maybe
even 15 grand or more isn’t too much to
spend on a bike probably bought as a leisure
item, a bit more to get the one with the best
kit on it isn’t such a stretch.

“It’s not just about the raw attitude of the
early streetfighters. You’re at a point where
conspicuous specification is important: we’d
dialled the suspension in to really work.
It was a quick Speed Triple in 2011, but
to have Öhlins suspension is a really nice
thing to have: some people wanted a Speed
Triple, and wanted to spend the extra money
for the better equipment. For others, the

32 Practical Sportsbikes

THE SPEED TRIPLE STORY

2012 Speed Triple 1050 R
Power: 133bhp@9400rpm
Torque: 82lb.ft@7750rpm
Weight: 212kg wet

“POWER – TOP END POWER WAS WHAT WE
WERE CHASING BY THIS POINT”

As buying habits changed, so the Speed Triple had to make the change to retain its place as the pre-eminent naked – and spec went through the roof
Practical Sportsbikes 33

2022 astounding mix of a modern, low-inertia,
high-power engine design, but with the
SPEED TRIPLE 1200 RR power characteristics of an old-fashioned
BACK TO ITS ROOTS grunt monster. It’s like a GSX1100EFE that’s
hit the weights. And the treadmill. Power-to-
T he Speed Triple got its biggest update making the new engine – but the 1200 is weight ratio is twice that of the first 900.
since 1997 in 2021. The 1200RS shed again, purpose-built as a naked, following
any vestiges of the T509/955i/1050 the lead of the 2005 model. It is – for us – also something of a problem
engine development, getting all the for it. It’s slightly ill at ease in a bike with
mod-cons: stacked gearbox, bigger It’s another change in focus – more chassis and electronics aimed at road use,
bore, shorter stroke, less weight, new fly-by- hardcore, more intense, though it hasn’t and it doesn’t feel 100% secure when you
wire injection, new electronics, new chassis forgotten its roots, if you ask Stuart: “It’s a try to lay that power down. It’s fine if used
– the whole bit. Once again, the previous road bike, first and foremost, but with the relatively sensibly, but why have it if it’s not
big redesign had dropped behind the times, performance and potential to be used on everyday usable?
as rivals got more and more extreme. track.” It’s driven – in a figurative as well as
The 1050RS was a lovely bike, but very mechanical sense – by the engine. Hand on So: this most recent announcement makes
gentlemanly in comparison to rivals derived heart, not saying it because it suits our Speed sense in our eyes. The double-R Speed Triple
from 200bhp sportsbikes. Triple special – the engine is one of the best has the same frame, engine and most of the
produced by any manufacturer. supporting componentry. But the few key
Triumph don’t do sportsbikes now, so differences will change its feel dramatically.
taking the same path as the competition It’s the triple configuration as its best. It Clip-ons, a fairing, different rearsets for a
wasn’t an option. They do Moto2 engines has the instant grunt and endless flexibility start. Suspension is similar, but uses Öhlins
– R&D insight that didn’t go to waste when you’d expect but where the 1050 peters out EC 2.0 semi-active system to constantly
higher up, the 1200RS keeps pulling. It’s an react to what demands the rider and bike are
placing on the suspenders.

Stuart and his team have done the same
thing they did when they essentially
defrocked a Daytona 900 in 1994, but in
reverse. Suspension spring rates remain
the same, but in order to account for the

Speed Triple’s cafe racer vibe makes a
return on the RR: a bike which is twice

as good on paper, but possibly not
twice as cool as the original

34 Practical Sportsbikes

THE SPEED TRIPLE STORY

different pressure centres (the loads placed intentionally unlike a superbike. So who’s it for? Former race-rep buyers
on the bike by drag over the rider and “We didn’t want it to look like a fully- looking to move away from uncompromising
bodywork), it runs more preload at the front, track focus, but who still want a sporty-ish
and the damping rates within both the semi- faired bike with the lowers missing, we riding position (the clip-ons are mid-level,
active and fixed presets reflect (and partially wanted it to look like a bike that was footpegs tucked up a little but not extreme).
create) the different attitude of the bike. supposed to have a small fairing. We It unlocks a little more of the Speed Triple
considered different looks – twin headlights, 1200’s track performance, without stepping
At this stage, you may still be staring at similar to the RS, for example – but a single away from the ‘road first’ brief. As they
the bike, wondering why not just build a headlight help keeps the frontal area small, see it, there isn’t a bike that meets that
Daytona 1200? That’s easy: if the older and also reduces weight. A slightly retro requirement – the closest are the KTM
Speed Triple/Daytona sales comparisons headlight is not wrong for Triumph and the Super Duke GT, Suzuki GSX-S1000GT and
don’t cover it, ask any major manufacturer brand: and with the colours we’ve chosen, Z1000SX, but they’re sports tourers with the
with a race-rep in the range how many we’ve tried to add some elegance to the bike weight and less dynamic image that entails.
they sell. The RR’s bikini-cowled look is as well as performance.”
The other option is someone who might be
interested in the RS, but simply wants more
wind protection for longer days in the seat.

It looks great in the metal (and little bit of
plastic). The PR images underplay the lines
and quality feel, and our group of Speed
Triple owners largely arrived at the factory
with slightly negative preconceptions, but left
more appreciative after seeing it up clsoe.

Will that be reflected by the wider public
when they see it? Maybe: it’ll be interesting
to see – to us, it’s the Speed Triple come full
circle. Clip-ons, single round headlight, and
sportsbike thrills without the race-focus.
Sound familiar

2022 Speed Triple 1200 RR
Power: 177.6bhp@10,750rpm
Torque: 92lb.ft@9000rpm
Weight: 199kg wet

Practical Sportsbikes 35





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IN ASSOCIATION WITH

YOUR BIKES, YOUR WAY

147bhp and 100lb.ft – and
still more to come. Aye

POWERFUL
IMAGERY

This loose Cooley/Yoshimura tribute bike beats the real thing in one crucial area:
power. This is the fittest 8-valve Suzuki on UK roads (unless you know different).

It’s packing more grunt than even Pops himself could find

Words: Chris Newbigging | Pictures: Simon Lee

Practical Sportsbikes 39

YOUR BIKES, YOUR WAY

From abandoned eBay project to this – a lot of money later

C onvenience is at the core of “I saw it on eBay with a lot of the work
modern society. Why try already done in fairness – the guy before had
harder when you can get what fitted the swingarm, the Bandit forks, AP
you want the easy way? That’s brakes, Metmachex RG500 swingarm and
why we buy drinks in single stuff like that, and it had a Dream Machine
use plastic bottles now, rather paint job. The engine had been tuned too,
than glass bottles you can return to be used and I was hoping to take it to the Biker’s
another day. We’ll use the car to take kids Classic at Spa Francorchamps. But before I
half a mile to school rather than walk. went I took it to Jimmy Doom at Flow-Tech
Racing, and asked him to make sure the
Motorcycles aren’t immune from the motor was OK.
option of cheap and easy convenience. If you
want power in a 1970s/early 1980s “He rung me later that day, and said
steel-framed superbike dinosaur, the ‘f***ing hell, it’s like a grenade with the pin
increasingly frequent response is an pulled’. He reckoned the first time I revved it
oil-cooled Suzuki engine. The smaller, hard it would have blown up. The crank shaft
cheaper, more robust, and highly tuneable had been welded, but it was ten thou out of
lumps go into your GS, GSX, even a Zed or a true.” Stephen gesticulates to demonstrate
CB without too much hassle. 120bhp is the effect it was having – imagine rolling a
attainable without even opening up the bent fork leg along a flat surface, and you get
’cases – and a little fettling will see 150bhp. the idea of what the crank was trying to do
along the length of its main bearing seats
It gets the job done, no doubt, and it has its with every revolution…
place: our own Gary’s drag bike has a Bandit
1200 lump for inexpensive ¼ mile results. The sump was full of sludge, and the valves
For all the benefits, they lack the visual had been touching the pistons. A grim picture
appeal and gruff charm of an air-cooled all told. But while Jimmy had agreed to give
lump, especially the 8V GS series. No real it an eye over, he hadn’t actually tuned or
surprise – the design is the best part of a overhauled a Japanese engine in sometime:
decade newer with the power characteristics in recent years he’d been focusing on other
that 16 valves bring. And when it seems things. But taking pity, and seeing the
another Bandit-powered hybrid emerges potential there, he said ‘leave it with me, I’ve
every week, are they truly ‘special’ still? got some ideas…’

Stephen Thomas’ GS1000 came with the We’ll sidetrack a moment: you may not
correct engine, and much of the exterior have heard of Jimmy Doom – or Jim
changes you see here, actually. But the saying Norman, as his mother would refer to him.
‘a special is never finished’ was very true in We hadn’t: he’s a one-man band in the north-
this instance – you might argue it had barely east who has built engines for Honda Britain,
started… leading Pro-Stock drag bikes and many

40 Practical Sportsbikes

Below left to right: WP internals in the GSF1200 forks. Rearsets of unkown origin are
adjustable and heavy duty. Koso dash. Moto GPWerks pipe and YSS shock absorbers

Practical Sportsbikes 41

1 Oil-cooler an absolute others who tended not to shout about who
must with all that was building their winning motors to
preserve their competitive edge. Stephen
extra power and heat

2 Moto GPWerks big (and others who have learned of him) holds
bore 4-1 system Jimmy’s old-school engineering prowess in
the same regard as the likes of the late Tony
upped power from 140bhp Scott. You get more than simply bolting in a

to 147

3 Stephen prefers a few go-faster bits…
properly naked front Jimmy converted the cylinder head to eight

1 end to the faired version spark plugs, in the same way Pops Yoshimura

4 AP opposed-piston did with his race GS engines. Valves on the
scale he wanted weren’t available (at the time
calipers are – he’s commissioned some to suit now), so he
period-correct and still up modified some Harley-Davidson FTR valves
to the job

(1.580-in x 1.350-in) to fit.

The bottom end has a balanced, welded

crank by a third party (which we’ll come to).

SPECIFICATION Straight-cut primaries eliminate the tendency

SUZUKI of quieter helically-cut gears to force
GS1237 themselves away from each other under

ENGINE duress. A new Suzuki clutch basket built with

GS1000 air-cooled, heavy duty rivets and damping springs beefs
dohc, 8V. Wiseco up the transmission further.
78mm pistons

(1237cc), Falicon Jimmy selected longer Falicon rods (look

rods, welded stock up ‘conrod ratio’ if you have a lot of time to
spare) which require a cylinder spacer to
crank. Kent billet correct the deck height. The cases and barrels

2 cams, Kibblewhite
shim-under-bucket

and high-lift valve were line-bored as one for perfectly aligned
spring conversion. cylinders before the Wiseco 1237cc big-bore
Cam journals

line-honed and piston and liner kit was added. The pistons

blueprinted. have a hemispherical crown design (or
Flow-Tech oversize ‘hemi’ known to fans of ’murican V8s).
valves. Head ported

and flowed by F-T, Jimmy has since switched to an angled

eight-plug piston crown design from Wössner (with
conversion. Cases/ corresponding combustion chamber
cylinders line-bored

for oversize liners. profiling), as seen in more modern engines.

Heavy duty head and Heavy-duty studs hold the top-end firm.
cylinder studs. The real key to the motor’s power is in the
Straight-cut

primaries. Mikuni head: Jimmy uses a flow bench to test and

RS34 flatslides on develop his port designs for maximum
custom inlets. Moto airflow and optimum port velocity, too. He
GPWerks 4-1

exhaust. Dyna S prefers the earlier ‘small port’ GS heads over

3 ignition, F-T advance later big-port castings used on variants fitted
plate. High-output oil with CV carbs as standard rather than
pump. Oil-cooler.

CHASSIS slide-type. “I get better port velocity,” he
says. Then he goes to work changing the size
Frame braced as per and shape of the ports based upon the data,
Yoshimura specs.

GSF1200 yokes and and with the aim of 130% volumetric

43mm RWU forks efficiency: the peak figure achievable with
with WP internals. any naturally-aspirated engine, Jimmy says.
YSS twin-shocks.

GSF1200 wheels Camshaft blanks were ground to Jimmy’s

(17 x 3.5-inch and 17 spec by Kent Cams, and the stock shim-over-
x 5.5-inch). Pirelli bucket design was replaced with Kibblewhite
Supercorsa tyres. 2 x

310mm Galfer discs, shim-under-bucket parts, with titanium valve

AP Racing opposed- retainers too. A critical detail: a particularly
piston calipers. pointy lobe on a hard-revved engine can
Metmachex

underbraced sometimes flick a shim out.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH aluminium swingarm. The bike was run with the 33mm Mikuni
Renthal handlebars. VM Smoothbore round-slide race carbs the
Unknown rearsets.

4 Koso digital dash. bike came with initially, and they worked
well: with the Yoshimura 4-2-1 system also

on the bike, it made 140bhp at the rear the slide/carb body, allowing the slides to YOUR BIKES, YOUR WAY
wheel. But those parts wouldn’t remain fitted rock a little when the throttle was shut and
for different reasons. the engine’s draw on the overrun pulled This necessitated an adaptor plate to suit
them out of line as they dropped. the larger inlet rubbers, plus reworking the
“I had problems with it running-on at a inlet ports to match the carb diameters. And
trackday,” says Stephen. The carbs were “If you’ve got Smoothbores without wear, not just hogged out to 34mm. They’re now
scrutinised in close detail – even subject to an they’re great,” says Jimmy. “The bigger tapered to maintain intake charge velocity.
expensive professional overhaul, which made 34mm Mikuni RS flat-slides we replaced
the bike run poorly and didn’t solve the issue them with flow no better, but they’re brand The Yoshi pipe probably wasn’t intended
either. It was eventually attributed to wear in new so they don’t have the sticking issue.” for a GS, given the amount of space between
the collector and the sump, and it dragged
mid-corner. A Moto GPWerks big-bore 4-1
fits tighter and pushes power even higher: on
John Warrington’s dyno, it made 147bhp and
all but 100lb.ft of torque. Unbelievably, the
figure that would embarrass many 16V GSXs
isn’t the end of it...

“With a bit more time, there’s another
10bhp in the bike as it stands,” says Jimmy.
Further work on the head, as well as
switching to the angled-crown Wössner
pistons he favours now, to maintain the flow
rates already achieved but let it rev 2300rpm
higher could see 180bhp, according to his
calculations. Strewth, as many people are
believed to frequently say Down Under…

The path to power was not without
obstacles. Heavy vibrations plagued the bike
early on, traced to a crank balance issue, so a
crank from a spare engine was sent to
another builder, who didn’t balance it right
either. A third crank (from the man who built

Practical Sportsbikes 43

YOUR BIKES, YOUR WAY

the first) seemed OK at first start, but quickly These things are ancient now, easy-going it is below that massive peak
developed a heavy shuddering while running but they never get old figure. You barely need to spin the Koso
in. When Jimmy stripped the engine he needle around the tacho, it’ll take short-
found the welded crank had sheared at the no lights and only the basic concessions to shifting, small throttle openings, and still get
crankpins around the welds, allowing one daytime-only legality (being over 40 years up the road with urgence. Flatslides aren’t
cylinder to slip well out of alignment. A old, it’s exempt from having to seek VOSA the impractical pigs for set-up they’re cracked
fourth crank, sent to a third builder, held true. approval once a year) gives it some menace: up to be – it’s coping just fine with being
like a good AMA dinosaur should have. ridden gently. The chassis is as good as you
The rest of the bike has been left largely as can hope for – it turns, stops and grips nicely,
purchased, but poor brake performance, the However, this dinosaur will happily walk to the upgrades lending it much-needed
front mudguard fouling the oil cooler and heel, respecting the rider as the Alpha in the roadholding.
other minor issues needed rectifying, so it relationship. Clutch in, gear lever up into first
has all been stripped and redone at one (race pattern shift) and burble off with little Still, I’d be a mug not to poke it with a stick,
point. Stephen also prefers it without the hassle. But it hasn’t been used in anger in a so the quick-action twistgrip is given a longer
GS1000S fairing it had in the beginning. while and there’s a hint of fluffiness in the turn. The noise was relatively sociable until
first few mil’ of throttle travel. now, but the period-style short system and
The project has cost Stephen a fair bit of open carbs suddenly get vocal as Jimmy’s
money: three failed cranks, a full engine Pops’ motors were known for being a bit precisely-calculated flow-rates through the
tune, new carbs, and ironing out other issues knife-edge. The Flow-Tech motor has a motor place demand on them.
means the purchase and build now stand him capacity advantage over those Yoshi lumps,
at £23,000... his wife Wendy is granted, but nonetheless it’s surprising how The front wheel goes light and skips, and
commendably understanding. then lifts on midrange alone – temper the
With 147bhp it needs all those chassis upgrades throttle and it floats. Change up a gear and it
It’s now finished: used on trackdays, but on still floats, letting you live out Cooley
the road too. Despite cranking out more fantasies with utter ease: the B-roads of
power than Cooley’s bike (and the vast Yorkshire become Sears Point. It’s a 1970s
majority of Bandit-powered GSs), Stephen experience an oil-boiling lump just can’t
says it’s perfectly civilised. replicate, no matter what the power or value
advantage might be.
I’m invited to see for myself, not an offer I
need to consider for more than a second. It If you can roll it on gradually enough to get
fires easily, guzzling the crisp autumnal air higher in the revs without giving the front
and snarling, gurgling in the distinct manner axle airtime, there’s a hard surge from
of a 1970s four-pot hotrod. Race numbers, 8000rpm, to beyond 9000rpm, as the motor
delivers the last 10% of its potential.

It’s hard to believe there could be more to
come with some cam and carb fettling, but
Jimmy’s work has achieved so much, I’ll
happily take his word for it.

This is the GS/AMA/Cooley experience
turned up until the dial snaps off. Well worth
all the time and hassle.

Chris doesn’t look happy. No change there, then

Emma Airey, Head of RH Insurance, advises on insuring a special like this Suzuki GS1237
“RH Insurance is happy to quote for modified bikes provided the owner is able to provide a copy of a current MoT
certificate and, if requested, (which would be the case with this Suzuki GS1237 as it’s been modified by the owner)
an engineer’s report, plus photos. Because of its bespoke nature, RH considers requests for insurance on an
individual basis and we’re happy to discuss your unique requirements over the phone.”

Call 0330 912 0017 or visit rhsspecialistinsurance.co.uk

44 Practical Sportsbikes

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BUY IT. BUILD IT. RIDE IT.

Practical Sportsbikes is not for Offer expires 31 December 2021
people who own a bike: it’s for
people who live for them. Riders,
restorers, maintainers and
modifiers. Brought to you by an
experienced team who own, ride
and fettle their own bikes, we’re committed to
inspiring you to buy, ride, maintain, and improve
the best sportsbikes, from the 1970s to the
present day: from tinkering with an air-cooled
classic, to close scrutiny of today’s sportsbike
offerings, you can trust us to tell it straight.
Chris Newbigging, Editor

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1990s 750S: YZF, ZX-7R, SRAD

Mint examples still at half the price of a decent 250 two-stroke, with much reduced running
costs and way more everyday performance. These are the things to buy and ride right now

Words: Jim Moore | Pictures: Bauer archive

W hile the late ’90s superbike were the real deal – race bred to win at the Then a change in superbike rules in the
limelight was stolen by the highest level, with chassis and performance, early 2000s killed the 750 market overnight.
litre class, with Honda’s even in road spec, to prove it. Previous low It’s never recovered as a new bike class, and
FireBlade, Kawasaki ZX- volume, race ready homologation specials that lack of interest has also suppressed the
9R and Yamaha’s YZF-R1 like Honda’s RC30, Yamaha’s OW01 and values of a whole host of hot, used 750s that
at loggerheads to win over a power-hungry Suzuki’s GSX-R750RK were perfect for are now more affordable than many two-
public, the early part of the decade was very competing in superbike level races, but they strokes less than half their size. Bikes like
much about 750s. The Japanese were falling offered little return for the manufacturers in the SRAD Suzuki, YZF750R and ZX-7R are
over themselves to win the World Superbike terms of showroom sales. Bikes like Yam’s now the pre-loved market’s hottest ticket.
Championship with a four-cylinder 750 YZF750R, Kawasaki’s ZX-7R and Suzuki’s Nothing else offers as much performance
against Ducati’s booming 1000cc twins, GSX-R750 SRAD changed that, and showed and handling for such little outlay. If that’s
and this gave us lucky bleeders some truly it was possible to turn track success into road not a good enough reason to go hunting for
memorable machines. registered sales, so by the mid-1990s the 750 a ’90s 750 to stick in your garage, we don’t
class was red hot. know what is.
Unlike 600s or 1000s of that period, 750s

If he’d looked up for a second he’d
surely have seen the hedge.
The bloody idiot

Practical Sportsbikes 49

“YOU BUY ONE FOR RACE-BRED
HANDLING AND SEARINGTOP END –

AND IT DELIVERS ON BOTH”

YAMAHA to ride three-quarter litre superbike that Fantastic motor aside, a YZF’s real
delivered for road riders and racers alike. ace card is the ease with which it can be
YZF750R Even Honda’s 900cc FireBlade wasn’t ridden fast. The steering’s accurate, sharp
entirely safe in the Yamaha’s presence, and stable while the chassis enjoys a
Y amaha cracked the superbike especially with a quick rider on board. togetherness not felt on previous big Yams.
code back in 1993 with the A 1000 EXUP feels like a saggy-arsed bus
YZF750R. Previous attempts by At the heart of the YZF is a 20-valve, in comparison. And because the R and SP
the lads at Iwata hadn’t quite hit slant-blocked inline-four – essentially a models’ chassis are so similar, racers were
the mark: the FZ750 was too road focused development of the previous OW01 motor able to jump straight on superbike-spec
to truly make an impact on the track, and but produced in two specs: the cooking YZFs and go quickly straight out of the
the later TT-F1 inspired FZR750R OW01 model R uses 38mm downdraught Mikuni box – just ask James Whitham and Niall
was too expensive and single-minded to CVs and six widely spread ratios inside the Mackenzie.
work for anyone other than well-heeled gearbox; the track-ready SP variant has a
racers – and even then, it didn’t really have close-ratio ’box, lumpier cams and 39mm That said, the riding position is more
the beating of Honda’s RC30. Keihin FCR flatslides. extreme than an FZR1000; much more
head down, backside up. Over distance a
The YZF changed all that. By combining Yamaha claimed 125bhp, but in the real YZF can get horribly uncomfortable. I rode
what they’d learnt from the OW01 and its world it’s a more modest 110-115bhp mine from Peterborough to Heysham once,
race-winning, full-factory F1 racer – also at the wheel. Still, with a servo operated to catch the Isle of Man ferry, and by the
called the YZF750 – with the brute force EXUP exhaust valve the R in particular time I’d reached the M62 I was in agony.
and stomp of the FZR1000 EXUP, Yamaha enjoys an impressively broad spread of High ’pegs, low ’bars and a spartan seat are
were able to build a blistering fast yet easy power right up to the 13,000rpm redline. not a luxurious combination, especially if
Flat out in top a YZF will top 160mph you’re the wrong side of 50 like me.
– seriously impressive for a 750 back in
1993, and hardly slow now. But then, you don’t buy a YZF to go

PRICE GUIDE TIDY £2400-£3500 MINT £4000-£4750
A tidy YZF will wear complete Must be original – that
HOUND £1500-£2000 OE bodywork – original includes the 6-pot calipers,
Quite a few YZFs were thrown paintwork is a bonus. If you’re sadly, because the fork
up the road, and rather than fix buying an import, particularly bottoms require modification
them, some owners turned them from Europe, make sure you to accept blue-spots. 1993
into streetfighters. Anything know where it was originally pink/blue (pinkies) command a
without a fairing or original registered; some countries, like premium.The dark green ’95
lights, clocks etc is going to cost France, restricted their bikes to models are the least desirable
a lot to get right again. Poorly 100bhp. (but are kinda cool).
maintained, high mileage
engines may well be oil burners.

High footpegs and low clip-ons demand attack

50 Practical Sportsbikes