Luggage fitted, touring tips follow
October 6
OK, it's time to confess. I'm not a mad speedfreak who rides flat-out everywhere all the time. In fact I don't ride like that any of the time if I'm being honest. I'm going on the record with this because I've been thinking about luggage and wonder if I am revealing my true colours in some kind of subconscious way. What I am saying is that for the first time in my life I succumbed to the lure of some bike luggage. Yes, the R6 had an Italian-made Kappa tank bag on it recently. What can I say? Well I can that it meant more wind blast to deal with on the motorway and no way of tucking behind the Ermax screen but other than that it didn't affect the handling in any major way. And I had clean and fragrant-smelling clothes and normal shoes to last for days. Bonus!
It comes with all manner of additional straps, a plastic rain-mate waterproof cover and a plastic zip compartment at the top for map, phone and wallet. Friends, I was impressed. OK, so I'm easily impressed...

Top tip from a regular user? As soon as you whisk the bag off, fold the magnets in on each other which means they don't attract fragments of metal to scratch fuck out of your tank's paintwork. Double bonus...

Kappa: 01782 569800 http://www.kappamoto.com

All hail the Serpent
23 September

No, not some new snake-worshiping cult but rather my enthusiasm for the Micron Serpent full system which is now bolted on to the R6. Not only that but it's been 'tuned in' via the miracle of the Power Commander web site from where I downloaded a fuel map. From there it was a quick step via Al's mastery of the laptop PC to perfect fuelling bliss.

As regulars know, my mechanical skills are some way short of a full set of spanners, so Nathan Colombi stepped up to help me out.
Nathan was John Crockford's mechanic when 'Crocky' was with Crescent Suzuki and he's an experienced mechanic who fine-tuned his skills with Roger Simmons at Suzuki GB before going racing. Anyway...

Nathan's assessment of the system was fairly positive from a mechanic's point of view. "The finish is a hell of a lot better than it was on the old Micron systems I fitted three years ago, although the springs could be a better length and quality, but, overall, it's pretty much up there with the best of them. At least you don't need some heat and a hammer to get everything fitted...".

And, while we had our hands dirty, we (really, 'we') replaced the rather too racy Performance Friction pads (great on track, less so on wet roads) for some Carbon Lorraine pads which work better on the road. How do they fare on the track? I'll tell you after tomorrow's track day at Silverstone. And did the Serpent produce more power? I'll say 'Yes' I reckon another three bhp, but I'll put my gut feeling to the test on the Carbontek dyno next week too.

Micron: 01773 876337 http://www.micronexhausts.com
Carbone Lorraine: 0845 6094949
Nathan Colombi: 07855 450199
Power Commander: 01995 600500 http://www.powercommander.com

5 September

Praise be to the twins powers of the internet and the laptop computer. Yes friends, with these devices you can pretend you are a Grand Prix engine-tuning technician. All you need is a Power Commander, a PC laptop, a downloaded fuel map from http://www.powercommander.com and someone who knows more or less what they are doing (in this case, Big Al).

After I had wired in the Power Commander (with a bit of help from Andy Fern, more used to dealing with Shoei visors than six-pin plugs), Al came along with a downloaded map for a Micron end can on a 2003 R6, plugged it in, hit a few buttons and there you go, sweet as a nut. A quick ride suggests a snappier throttle response at lower revs as well as less of a power step between 9,000 and 10,000 revs. A trip to the dyno is needed to verify the Pryde ars-o-meter. But, in the meantime – it's all gravy!

September 3

A while back I fitted a pair of Performance Friction brake pads which, I was told, were fantastic when they had a bit of heat in them. To and from work in the dry? All fine and dandy. A track day at Silverstone?
Faultless throughout the day with no fade. A long ride on the motorway without touching the brakes for 90 miles? Not so good when you come to a roundabout at the end of an exit sliproad. And then, riding in the rain on the daily commute? In light of recent experience I would have to say that you can't recommend them. For a track bike? Fantastic. For an all-day, all weather bike? If I'm honest I'd say no.

August 27
Those track suspension settings in full...
Apologies for the delay in posting this stuff but I lost my notes from the suspension chat I had with Yamaha race team chap (and ex GP race winner) Wilco Zeelenberg. I found the notebook again so, for anyone interested, here are the suspension settings for a 2003 Yamaha R6 fitted with Pirelli Supercorsas being ridden around Almeria on a day when the mercury touched 30 degrees. The point I'm trying to make here is that these suspension settings may (or may not) be track, tyre and temperature specific.

However, for those of a curious nature, here are Wilco's magic numbers.
Track settings
Front:
Preload – four rings showing
Compression – three out from fully in
Rebound – two out from fully in
Rear
Preload - fourth from maximum
Compression – two out from fully in
Rebound – one out from fully inIt should be pointed out that Wilco was at great pains to stress that these settings were fine on such a warm day with such track-oriented tyres but they might not work so well on a cool day on a British track. Speaking of which at our Silverstone track day recently I rode the bike on stock suspension settings (I still hadn't found my notebook at that point) but increased the rebound from the stock nine clicks out to only two out from fully in. Seemed to help calm the fork after heavy braking at the end of the two straights.

August 6
With humble apologies to Scandanavian Braking Services – that's SBS to you and me – I would like to point out that it is SBS pads which stop the mighty quick Suzuki GSX-R1000 Rizla race bikes and not that other brand I mentioned. Adrian at Madison has been on at me for an age to try them out, so I will, soon, having first apologised to him. Anyone fancy using the same pads as the Rizla Suzuki team should contact SBS distributors Madison on 0208 385 3385.

23rd July

It's a dirty job
There was some hard core spannering action at SuperBike car park today with the Performance Friction brake pads getting pressed into action. Needless to say I asked Simon to oversee the whole process since, as perhaps the most spoiled journalist on the planet, I rarely have to get my hands dirty.

Anyway, after 2000 miles and three track days you wouldn't have thought that there would be too much wear in the OE pads and, sure enough, there wasn't, they would have been good for a while yet.
However, in the interests of product testing and so on, I felt compelled to get my hands dirty for you, dear reader. Unlike the OE Yamaha pads, the US Performance Friction replacements comprise one rectangular slab of carbon metallic braking surface rather than two separate squares. It seems to me that this means there is larger braking surface on the Performance Friction pads but I'm sure the boys from Iwata have their reasons for that design.

Anyway, after more tongue sticking out than you would see at a five year old's birthday party, the pads were all slotted in and I got out on the road. I had been warned that they were great on the track "once they had a bit of heat in them" but after a bit of nervous stroking of the lever, they felt really good, with a strong initial bite. Mind you, since everyone likes a slightly different feel from their brakes, this might not be to your taste. Me? I love it. In the UK you can get dealer info from Performance Techniques on 01462 673030 or check out the rest of the Perf Tech stuff on http://www.performancetechniques.co.uk
Oh yes and don't forget to pump the lever to get the pressure back up in the hoses once you have changed the pads and bolted the calipers on the fork legs. I mean, how embarrassing could that be? To roll out of the car park and pull the lever back to the bar in full view of your peers, panic and stomp on the back brake, stopping in an undignified state. Not that anything like happened you understand, noooooo....

23rd July

Right, that's it. I accompanied Big Al to the Carbontek Fuchs dyno for a monster shoot-out yesterday and, cut a long story short, I was humiliated by his crap Honda. True, he's got an Akrapovic end can on it but that's still not going to explain the five – 5 – horses he's got in hand over the stock R6 which managed 100.6bhp. Clearly drastic action is called for. There was no way I could bribe Nigel at Carbontek to fiddle the results – he's running Mark Burr in the British supersport championship on an R6, so he knew I was in for a shock. "I reckon the stock Yamaha is, on average, three horse down on the stock Honda." Time to try to close the gap. If you live in Surrey why not go and see Nigel at Carbontek on 01737 789878 or click on http://www.carbontek.com

Braking wavy discs. Similar but different to
Van der Goorbergh's. Lighter? More or less
consistent? Kinder on brake pads? We'll find out...


Rear sets. Pro-Mach. Do you really need more
ground clearance for your road bike? Maybe.
But they look super. Smashing. Great. 27th June

And there's (always) more
So, after my enthusiastic drooling over Jurgen Van den Goorbergh's Belgarda Yamaha R6, here's another one, rather closer to home, with some interesting bits. It belongs to Simon Andrews of the Red Pirahana - Joe Grooming team, currently third in the British supersport championship.

He's got another version of the Braking Italia discs and opted for Pro-Mach rear-sets. Plus young Andrews has what looks like an Ohlins rear shock set up by K-Tech suspension, fettlers to the British superbike stars. Now there's food for thought.

Oh and I've just been invited to have a spin on Dutch maestro Jurgen's bike at Almeria next week, which, I swear, is pure coincidence. Tune in next week for an insight into a world class wobbler riding a world class supersport bike.

23rd June

Mr Sparkle
There are many perks of this job. In fact there are so many perks there's not even enough space on the internet to list them all. Take this one though. At Brands Hatch for the British superbike round, I took my rather grubby Shoei Z-One along to Shoei race technician and Feridax marketing chap Andy Fern.
Andy is the source of all the best gossip in the paddock and always worth visiting, racers are always hanging about inside plus he's usually got a brew on. Anyway, I'm not saying my lid was, uh, 'tarnished' but Andy could hardly bear to hold it far less look at it. Leave it with me he said.

At the end of the race I was handed back a pristine lid with a race tear-off, which is just what you need on a daily commute through suburban London traffic...

What's the secret oh Shoei one? "You need a toothbrush to scrub the airvents, a spray-on water to get the bugs off, a helmet freshener – if you don't have time to wash and dry the padding – you need to put some silicon solution on the rubber seal to make sure it stays supple and has a rain-proof seal and some polish for the shell to make it sparkle."

And what about the tear-off, that's a bit over the top isn't it? "Yeah, I forgot it was your lid, just force of habit, 'cause you don't go fast enough do you? Yours is the only lid I've seen with bugs splattered on the back." Ooooh, bitch.


Before


After 17th June

Well, it's not exactly rocket science is it – although there are some aerodynamic principals involved. The higher Ermax Aeromax screen should offer me a bit more protection from the wind on those motorway rides. I took a 'before' and 'after' snap of the front of the bike and it looks obvious which one is going to offer more protection.
It didn't take long to fix, I didn't lose any bolts and the fit was outstanding. It was so good there were even a couple of little teeth which slotted into a groove which I didn't even notice on the original to make sure everything fitted just right. No bending, no bucking and no twisting was required and the screws all aligned too. Which is not the case with every piece of aftermarket plastic you buy. Ermax is good enough for GP johnnies Olivier Jacque and Alex Barros on the Gauloises Yamaha team so, here's the big sell, it's probably OK for me as well. Call Ermax in the UK on 01522 97007 or check out http://www.ermax.fr

Next day I rode up to Birmingham and, guess what? The wind was deflected higher up onto my shoulders rather than onto my scrawny chest. Plus, for those banzai 140mph pretend-you're-a-racer moments, it was a hell of a lot easier to get right out of the breeze, chin bar on the tank. Smooth. Recommended. Although I'm not sure about that pink graphic though...

14th June

The plan
Yes, there's been a few changes since the last time I posted a snap of the long-term wagon. As you can see it has been tweaked a little, close in the style to Jurgen Van den Goorbergh's Belgarda Yamaha, down to the number four and…
…OK, I'm getting ahead of myself. While I was reporting on the world superbike event at Silverstone I wandered into the Belgarda Yamaha garage in search of ideas. I proceeded to photograph all the tasty bits on the Dutchman's bike to use as a template for the commuter mobile.

The Tecnosel gel seat looks like the most comfy padded race seat I've ever seen and it was on Christian Kellner's Yamaha Germany R6 as well, so I'll be trying to track one of those down. I reckon it's Italian.

There were WP suspension stickers all over the place, the original fork internals have been changed for WP kit and an aftermarket one from the Dutch outfit has replaced the stock rear shock. Braking Italia had some mad new discs, there's Ferodo pads and Pirelli Supercorsa tyres (hmm..maybe not ideal everyday hoops), braided hoses and a super trick looking Walter Moto brake lever to complete the look. So, that's the template, how close can I get the reality?
If anyone has got any info on UK stockists of any of that kit, get in touch with me at kenny_pryde@ipcmedia.com or through the magazine and we'll see what we can sort out.

And, just for the record, joker Jurgen managed to top the timing sheets in Saturday's supersport qualifying around Silverstone, claiming pole with a 1-56.096 and was timed through the speed trap at 163mph. I might get close to the look of the bike but I can't see me getting within shouting-through-a-megaphone distance of that lap time no matter what bike I'm on. Still, when we go on our track day this August, at least I'll have a world-class time to show me how shit I am.


I don't reckon that I need more ground clearance but if I did, these look a bit tasty New brake disc designs from Braking Italia and mystery Ferodo pads. All of which must be worth investigating There was no sticker on the steering damper, so are we to assume it's a WP unit? WP fork internals, no need for a speedo and a three-way adjustable engine fuel map dial for Jurgen Termignoni? On a Japanese four-cylinder bike? Outrageous! Outrageously quick is what it is

13th June

OK, so, technically speaking, it's got nothing to do with the bike, but I was stopped by the police on my ride home the other night, about 7pm in Croydon's underpass. With a dry clear dual-carriageway in front of me I may have been a bit too enthusiastic away from the lights.
Anyway, as I pulled up at the lights, I heard a horn, looked in the mirror and saw a flashing blue light on a roof of a maroon (sort of) BMW estate car. "Just because we are in an unmarked car doesn't mean we can't catch you," said the plain clothes officer of the Met. And that was it.
My point? If you are in the Croydon area keep your eyes out for that Beemer and, yes, not all cops are pigs.
kenny_pryde@ipcmedia.com

12 June

I am reluctant to say this but, in the interest of honesty, journalistic integrity and all that sort of stuff, I'm going to have to come clean. I've been riding the R6 for over a month now and have come to the conclusion that there's not much that I want to change about it. When Al jumped on it recently he was gutted at the grunt of the engine in comparison to the sexier-looking CBR600RR he been lumbered with. Arf!
I don't want after-market rear-sets because I don't need less leg room or more ground clearance and I don't want to change the brake hoses or the OE pads because, after a recent trip to Brands Hatch, they still seemed to work
fine.
I can't even motivate myself to rip off the original end can because previous experience has told me that such action will almost inevitably ruin the low-end fuelling for some dubious and none too useful top-end power gains. A full system - or even just an end can - makes a Power Commander indispensable if you are to get power and usability throughout the rev range.
The YEC crash bungs are on and I have just taken delivery of an Ermax screen which should improve comfort on the inevitable motorway dash. Now I'm thinking about a tank bag as well. Should I see a psychiatrist?