Essentially the WR450F is an all-rounder. In equal parts capable of being an enduro, trail, road and supermoto bike. This bike is kitted out in the latter guise, with genuine Yamaha supermoto accessories. Larger rims and tyres, better front brakes and stronger bars. As an enduro or trail bike the wider rims and tyres would be a hindrance but for road and supermoto race use they're necessary.

Essentially the WR is a means to get to work for a few months and a way of packing in a bit of sport at the weekends. Despite my expectations the hour journey across London has taken on a whole new light each day. The Suzuki may be quicker in a straight line (by about 100mph) but the crushing traffic jam that is greater London is now more of a chuckle than a chore. The Yamaha gets through gaps, turns between vehicles and pops up and over the odd traffic island when asked. The fact that it takes seven quid to fill up the tank and lasts all week is a bonus. The extra height of the riding position helps as well.

The best bit about having the WR has been the opportunity to compete in a couple of the British supermoto championship rounds. Getting the bike ready for racing basically meant complying with club racing rules and lock-wiring the sump plug, any oil pipe unions, oil filler cap as well as creating a catch-tank for all the oil and fuel breather pipes form the engine and carb. If you look closely you might just spot the catch-tank is factory-spec Pepsi cola can.

All the above work was carried out with the help of Yamaha Supemoto team boss Steve Woodhouse (or should I say Steve carried out most the work with a bit of hindrance from me). Steve's responsible for running the WIRE Yamaha-Supermoto team at the British championship events, with his number one rider, Dani Muller, looking like snatching the 450 championship. Steve also loaned me one of his DEP pipes, adding an extra spark of life to the WR's mid-range. Apart from that it was just a matter of removing all the lights and number plate, sticking on some numbers and there I was on the grid. A cheaper and easier way of racing would be hard to find.

After a round at Brands Hatch and the very long trek up to Croft last weekend I'm looking forward to the last round at Lydden Hill, Kent for the pendulum to swing in my favour. Now I'm not making excuses but...both Brands and Croft were very fast track layouts which showed just how standard the WR is. I did my best to fight back an advantage where I'm most confident, on the brakes and any dirt sections, but there's no accounting for horsepower down a straight. But, secretly I'm quite enjoying the fight. The sport itself is a riot of fun if you're interested in racing elbow to elbow, sliding wheel to wheel into corners or simply want the fun of bike racing without such high speeds.

The amount of tracktime you get for the £60 entry fee is another major bonus of both summer and winter series. I've only done one club race before but for £80 I did 15 laps of Cadwell park. Not the most satisfying experience. Every rider is guaranteed practise, a heat, a semi-final and a final. Which final you get in depends on results in the previous races. The bonus is getting inside the top fifteen in the final and you get through to the superfinal and the chance to race against the 650s.

The final round of the British winter supermoto championship is at Lydden Hill circuit, Kent on Feb 28th. I'll post further up dates on just what it took to convert the WR to race-spec soon.

6th October
Nearly a month since my last web entry about the GSX-R, how shit is that?
A couple of weeks back the termer made its racing debut amongst a star-studded entry of BSB racers, GP racers BTCC drivers and WRC driver. The point? I've mentioned it in previous termer reports but the Crescent BSB team organised a face-off between bikes and cars.

Click to enalrge picture
As it turned out the day was more a like one huge corporate day out for a lot of people who apparently don't get out on fast bikes (or cars) enough. Call me an old cynic if you like.

People short on riding experience and adrenaline glands tend not to make the best environment for getting fast laps of a circuit (I didn't benefit from the closed circuit that Mackenzie and all the cars got) but suffice to say my nine grands worth of standard GSX-R1000, not to mention the just above standard rider, whipped round faster than BTCC driver in £120,000,000000 million billion worth of Porsche GT3 (well, almost).

Tyres
Metzeler Rennsports. Like pickled onion Monster Munch, Coke in a glass bottle and cold lager on a hot day, Metzeler Rennsports are one of life's oh-so-simple luxuries that bring oh-so-much reward. No other tyre has given me as much grip as these babies. The superstock spec ones I've fitted are one of three compound variations of the tyre available. They feel a little slow steering from the off and at low speeds but beyond those speeds they feel like, well, glue, if you'll excuse the cliche.
With the pressures set (30psi front, 27psi rear as recommended by Mezteler man and former superstock/supersport racer Paul Chance) the usual delicate throttle hand exiting corners was blown away. I found myself telling Paul that the bike felt like it was on a berm (motocross style). There's no real hint of a slide, unless I really replaced my fist with a ham or when they'd really begun to wear down, just beautiful grip and drive, even on the slowest corners. I found I could get on the gas much earlier than I felt like I ever have on this bike and just dare myself to open the throttle more. The limit shifted from catching slides to keeping the front down enough to keep on steering. Despite two, long track days finishing them off you should try them, they're the best track tyre I've used on a GSX-R1000.

Brake Pads
And another thing. Better brake pads are pretty essential to the GSX-R1000 owner. I slotted in some DP HH+ sintered pads (024 7634 3741) at the same time as the new tyres. The SBS sintered pads Sonsky fitted were good, and a big improvement over standard, but they're not as good as the DP's. On the road there's no difference that I can tell but on the track, they remain consistent for longer. The lever pressure goes off after a while on the SBS pads but the DP's maintain the pressure, or rather seem to disperse the heat consistently well through a ten lap session at a track day. So much so in fact that I've decided to call off fitting the braided hoses as I can't see the need anymore.

12th September

Like it needed any more horsepower. Christ. Depending on which dyno we use (I've got dyno sheets on my desk ranging from 141bhp on a stifling hot day on one dyno to 155bhp on another) from standard to Yoshi RS3 can and Power Commanderness it's gained close on 7bhp. Not bad hey?

The significance of that difference has been to make the bike operate at the all-important 13.2% air/fuel ratio right from 1000rpm to the 11,350rpm peak. For that I just stood around and watched while Mark "the wizard" Brewin at BSD Motorcycles Developments (01733 202300) re-mapped the bike.

Essentially it means throttle and power pick-up, at any point in the revs, is bang-on perfect. This has all sorts of benefits to the rider but the main differences, I find, are massively easy wheelies (as opposed to really easy wheelies before) and powerslides on the gas out of corners quicker than you can say whoooooaaaa there boy, easy, easy.

The GSX-R1000 must be the hardest bike in the world to take it easy on. Bimbling down my road each morning gently warming the engine fresh out the gate is still about as close to being a bimble as I am to being a Fimble.

It is still a long way removed from any sort of BSB-spec race bike but when you start being conscious of only using fractions of a turn on the throttle to maintain tyre traction the GSX-R is getting nearer - even if I'm not.

Still all that extra gas should come in handy next Monday and Tuesday where I'm taking part in a joint feature with EVO car magazine where by I shall mostly be racing cars around Silverstone and Bruntingthorpe Proving ground.

The bike line up is Crescent Suzuki's Rizla "special", as seen in SB centrefold a couple of issues ago, which is pretty tricked-up engine-wise as well as all the Ohlins suspension, OZ wheels, Yoshi system braking wavey discs, etc. I'll be trying to put the fact that it's worth about twenty grand to the back of my mind in the pursuit of car bashing. The rider line up is headed by a certain John Reynolds and Niall Mackenzie with me flapping around like a shirt tail at the rear (I'm hoping they don't give us too many laps - that way there's no chance of me getting lapped!).

The car line up is Radical SR3 1500 Tracksport, Porsche 911 GT3, Lamborghini Murcielago, BMW M3 CSL and a handful from Audi's range (because it's their track day I believe). The rumor has it the Radical is the one to watch out for on the track. Near bike power to weight ratio but with four wheels round the corners it could be close. Drivers for the four wheeled corner are still slightly cagey, even at this late stage, but Colin McRae, Aaron Slight (yep, the very one and I'm hoping he will remember his roots and sabotage the car jonnies efforts) are topping the bill.

My termer is all part of the deal too so in preparation I've got a busy weekend fitting Metzeler Rennsports, some DP HH+ Sport brake pads, oh, and the crash bungs finally. I'll let you know how we faired.

10th September

TYRES

I never grow tired of thinking and spouting on about tyres, though I don't always do it in that order. My first track session on Gixer, along-side the Crescent painted bike heralded a set-up/handling war. It turned out the Crescent bike we borrowed was the same spec as mine, the only difference being different tyres.

In the silver corner was my termer with the freshly fitted Bridgestone BT012SS's. In the blue corner, the Crescent bike shod with its Dunlop sponsored D207RR's. To cut a lot of scribbles in my note book short, on the same suspension settings, with the same tyre pressures, the two bikes handled distinctly differently.

Basically during turn-in, particularly at higher speeds the Dunlop shod bike was unstable. More so the faster I got during the day to the point of being unnerving. I questioned everything - adjusting my riding position, using different lines, braking earlier and powering through the corner, some of which had a minor effect but none cured it.

In all other ways they were pretty equal – under braking, mid-corner grip, drive. My conclusion, therefore (and sorry if I've bored you to sleep by now) is that on those bikes, on that day, the Bridgstones were by far the most stable and confidence inspiring tyre. Which in my book is everything because I'm not racing just enjoying myself.

Next up are some Metzeler Rennsports.

11th August

The GSX-R gets back on the road with a new pipe.

Collecting the GSX-R from Infinity Motorcycles (0208 7635703) was a beautiful moment. The fact that it was a Friday afternoon and I had nothing to do except ride down to Devon for weekend made it even better.
Man I've missed riding the GSX-R. Maybe plenty of you guys know more about waiting for insurance claims but it was a new one on me and fuckin hell it takes a long time doesn't it?! Still all is well that ends well and the ride too and from the South West was a great welcome back to the summer.


I've wasted no time fitting the Yoshimura RS3 tailpipe (Phoenix NW Ltd 01782 569810) that had been burning a whole under my desk (an expensive 900 quid hole at that). Originally the half pipe (not a vert ramp at the X-games but the best way I can
think to describe more than just an end can and less than a full system) seemed like it would be hard to fit but a couple of hours in the SB workshop gave the GSX-R a rich, new exhaust note and claimed 4 more horses on the dyno. I use the word workshop in the loosest possible sense as a room with a loosely hanging door, an assortment of useless spanners scattered around the floor, several sets of used or half used tyres and a pile of damp old SB mags isn't ideal. But hey, it's better than fixing stuff in the carpark.

The RS3 is pretty easy to fit if you follow the basic instructions included in the pack. It eliminates the exhaust valve so a bit of mechanical savvy was needed to disconnect the cables, linked to the throttle, but it's all straight forward. Following the instructions leads you to remove a black wire with a brown stripe from the (larger of the two) ECU wiring plug (s) under the seat. Removing the wire fools the ECU and the FI warning light on the dash into thinking the valve is still there but the problem is there are two such wires. Both are located in the corner of the plug and so it depends which way round your standing as to which one appears the correct one from the Yoshi diagram. You've guessed it, I chose the wrong one first which rendered motor fuel-less when I connected everything back up, I'm just glad I'm not a bomb disposal expert.

A couple of days later I called at BSD motorcycle developments in Peterborough (01733 223377) who adjusted (smoothed) the fuelling to suit the Yoshi pipe and perfected the air/fuel ratio with a wizard's trick box and a few slight of hands magic tricks, invisible to my naked eye. I'd like to give you the dyno figures here but it was such a hot day in the dyno room that all the bikes were measuring way down on the usual output. I'll wait for a cooler day and tell you exactly what's going on. BSD's Mark Brewin also advised fitting a Power Commander to properly sort the engines power curve out.

BSD also gave me a set of crash bungs in time for the SB trackday at Silverstone GP circuit on the 13th of August where I'll have ridden Niall Mackenzie's Rizla Crescent Suzuki along side my termer. I'll let you know the differences next month.
Oh, I've fitted a pair of Bridgestone 012SS for the track too. The old Pirelli Diablo's Big Dave left behind were, well let's just say they'd been Daved to within an inch of their sorry lives.

15th July

Knowing that the damage was all on the left side I took a look at fitting the Yoshi RS-3 pipe this afternoon but, with spanners at the ready, I had to abort the mission. This system cuts out the exhaust valve so while I'm pretty capable of doing the work myself I don't have the tool box for it here at the office.

I'm beginning to question whether DIY is best anyway especially if fuelling needs re-adjusting. With the braided hoses shouting at me from the edge of my desk I'm wondering if professional skills might be in order. I'll let you know what happens.

10th July

The woes of getting crash damage repaired are hitting me. I howled with laughter at the beginning of the week when I played back an answer phone message informing me that 'the other driver had admitted full responsibilty' and to 'get a quote for repairs to his insurance company as soon as possible please'. Given his complete denial at the time and exclamation that, “I was obviously speeding” I'd been expecting more of a fight from him. But I guess it finally dawned on him that hitting me on my side of the road by pulling out without looking was his gaff.

The estimate for the damage was waiting for me this morning from the men at Infinity Motorcycles in Purley. More parts of the bike took a knock in my incident with the Yaris than I'd first noticed on this list in front of me, which totals just over £1,500.

I have to say given the speedo was reading a mere 4mph at the moment of impact this does seem a lot. The down side to it all is the waiting for insurance companies and the bods that deal with such things at the SuperBike ranch to sort stuff out. All I want to do is get on and fix the damn thing so I can ride it again but I can't until I know that an inspector isn't going to come round.

5th July

I should begin by saying hello. I've been road testing and writing for SupeBike for 8 months or so now so you may have seen me lurking in pictures and writing a few of the tests.

I'm no stranger to GSX-R's and their stunning abilities, having done a couple of road tests on this year's model already. I also ran a K2 model for a year back in 2001. But still, and maybe because of the London traffic, getting on the GSX-R fresh again feels like several steps up the ladder from everything else on the road.

The euphoria didn't last mind. On only my third ride home (an hour across the middle of London) some cock pulled out without looking right. And even though I saw it coming, hit the horn, braked and swerved, that purple Toyota Yaris was determined to get me.

A bent footrest hanger and cracked main fairing panel are easily fixed but the weird thing is a fragment of the fairing and some Yaris bumper have penetrated the generator cover! To be honest I'm amazed pieces of plastic pushed through metal so easily but I'm also glad, not to mention fortunate, the cover got punctured and not my leg.

2nd July

Jon's off
I'm only two minutes in the door, and I've already been involved in a fracas. Not my fault actually, I just had the usual London idiot commuter pull out and drive into the side of me. Tosser.

I was very angry at the time, which isn't like me. Damage to the bike is minor but significant – there's a bit of fairing broken and pushed into a hole in the generator cover. There's a slight oil weep, but it's still rideable unil I get a new cover. Insurance forms ahoy!