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OK guys, I got this from a few posts on another forum and this is what I beleive will be the true judge of all the new bikes coming out this year... I know that some of the post will be slanted for the "other" manufacturer but I really think they were objective (at least these 2 guys were)
post 1
I've just been down in the south of spain for a week of testing and getting ready for the upcoming season. The test was on a track just south of Valencia where the first WSB event took place this weekend.
First off I race a superstock regulated 1K3 - that means it has full suspension work, exhaust and commander BUT no engine work at all.....
Many of the new 04 bikes was attending the preseason test - i.e ZX10r, R1, gixxer600, 1K4...and they were mostly superstock contenders.
First - the new R1 is one fast bike, its noticeably faster on the straights than the 1k3. Furthermore it turns alot easier without being too nervous and it has awesome traction out of corners. It has clearly beat the 1K3 in both handling and power.
Second - the new zx10r is no major threat to the 1K3. Its slower on the straights and seems to have traction issues coming out off corners...
I believe that the best way to asses the new bikes is how well they perform against each other in the Superstock World Championship - here the bikes are basically stock with the exception of the suspension and are therefore almost identical to the bikes that we all buy at the local dealership.
These observations are underlined by the results from the first WSB round at Valencia. In superstock the first 10 bikes are as follows:
1. Yamaha
2. Yamaha
3. Suzuki
4. Yamahai
6. Kawa
7. Yamaha
8. Kawa
9. Suzuki
10. Suzuki
Ups no Hondas - the best placed honda was 19th.........so in stock form the honda is pathetic..
Last - the new gixxer600 is a bomb especially in standard form. The new suspension is really good out of the box and the frame is also a big improvement on the handling of the bike. The power is only slightly increased, but it revs both faster and higher than the old model.
Just a racers preseason observations.....
post 2....
There are a few things that bother me about the tests done so far. Firstly, there appears to be huge discrepancies with the output of the Kawa. In 2 German mags the ZX10 has 10 hp on the Gix. Even more torque than the Gix. But the MCN and the one ZX10 we have had on a dyno here, there is only 4 hp delta. In addition the ZX10 has been banned from Superstock racing here until production models arrive due to irregularities with the cylinder head and throttle bodies!! Could it be that the pre-prod. units Kawa has sent out have been 'feingearbeitet' as one German magazine noted about the cylinder head. They stated that it is CNC machined and then finely honed by hand !!!??? Smells fishy to me.
As far as the Superstock races are concerned, the top speeds were very similar between the ZX10, R1 and Gix with only 1 or 2 kph difference between the top runners (look at the .pdf files). It does appears as if the R1 was good at Valencia. But I will still wager that the Gix is going to be good on the tight twisty stuff, where grunt is importnant. In South Africa at Kyalami this weekend the Gix gave the R1 a bloody nose. It is a puchy type of track and the R1's really were no match for the Suzukis.
post 1
I've just been down in the south of spain for a week of testing and getting ready for the upcoming season. The test was on a track just south of Valencia where the first WSB event took place this weekend.
First off I race a superstock regulated 1K3 - that means it has full suspension work, exhaust and commander BUT no engine work at all.....
Many of the new 04 bikes was attending the preseason test - i.e ZX10r, R1, gixxer600, 1K4...and they were mostly superstock contenders.
First - the new R1 is one fast bike, its noticeably faster on the straights than the 1k3. Furthermore it turns alot easier without being too nervous and it has awesome traction out of corners. It has clearly beat the 1K3 in both handling and power.
Second - the new zx10r is no major threat to the 1K3. Its slower on the straights and seems to have traction issues coming out off corners...
I believe that the best way to asses the new bikes is how well they perform against each other in the Superstock World Championship - here the bikes are basically stock with the exception of the suspension and are therefore almost identical to the bikes that we all buy at the local dealership.
These observations are underlined by the results from the first WSB round at Valencia. In superstock the first 10 bikes are as follows:
1. Yamaha
2. Yamaha
3. Suzuki
4. Yamahai
6. Kawa
7. Yamaha
8. Kawa
9. Suzuki
10. Suzuki
Ups no Hondas - the best placed honda was 19th.........so in stock form the honda is pathetic..
Last - the new gixxer600 is a bomb especially in standard form. The new suspension is really good out of the box and the frame is also a big improvement on the handling of the bike. The power is only slightly increased, but it revs both faster and higher than the old model.
Just a racers preseason observations.....
post 2....
There are a few things that bother me about the tests done so far. Firstly, there appears to be huge discrepancies with the output of the Kawa. In 2 German mags the ZX10 has 10 hp on the Gix. Even more torque than the Gix. But the MCN and the one ZX10 we have had on a dyno here, there is only 4 hp delta. In addition the ZX10 has been banned from Superstock racing here until production models arrive due to irregularities with the cylinder head and throttle bodies!! Could it be that the pre-prod. units Kawa has sent out have been 'feingearbeitet' as one German magazine noted about the cylinder head. They stated that it is CNC machined and then finely honed by hand !!!??? Smells fishy to me.
As far as the Superstock races are concerned, the top speeds were very similar between the ZX10, R1 and Gix with only 1 or 2 kph difference between the top runners (look at the .pdf files). It does appears as if the R1 was good at Valencia. But I will still wager that the Gix is going to be good on the tight twisty stuff, where grunt is importnant. In South Africa at Kyalami this weekend the Gix gave the R1 a bloody nose. It is a puchy type of track and the R1's really were no match for the Suzukis.
