SP review
Här är en kille som gjort en review på SPn, hämtat från "Source Performance Bikes 1994".
Stämmer ganska bra enligt mig och förklarar saken med gasen. Hojen går jävligt bra om man
håller gasen uppe mer via lägre växlar. Gjorde det på körningen i Tisdags.
Inga problem med bestyckningen då alltså. Kul att få en förklaring på saker och ting.
Tycker dock inte den drar sååå mycket soppa som de vill ha det till, 0,65 liter/milen har
jag den på efter cirka 150 mils körning. Min VMAX drack nästan litern med samma typ av
körning, dvs lite åt det aggresiva hållet.
Vad säger ni andra om denna review som har/har haft en SP?
At first glance the SP looks just like the standard R — the same understated paint and
exactly the same profile. You have to look closer to See that the single seat is a genuine
mono-person device and the suspension has sprouted adjusters where none grew before.
Engine-wise, there are big slide carbs, slightly different cams and valve gear and a
close ratio box.
None of which explains why it feels like a completely different bike. Ride it blindfold and,
well, you'd crash. But before you did, you might notice that the only bit recognisable from
the standard bike is the riding position. The SP has a harder edge to it — it feels more like
a ZXR-R, in fact than the R's softly-sprung, softly damped, CV-carbed practicality.
That doesn't mean it's a complete pig in normal traffic — true, you have to concentrate and
keep on top of it all the time or you'll get caught out by the high first gear or the enormous
flat spot in the carburation, but it's not quite as extreme as the ZXR750M in that respect.
Simon rode it and pronounced it 'pretty civilised really'. His one complaint was that it
wouldn't pull wheelies off the throttle. Stupid boy — what does he expect from something
with an 85mph bottom gear?
Most of the ZXR-type feel comes from the suspension, which is far firmer than the cooking
model's. It's fully adjustable too, but, as usual, it's the extra quality of damping, rather
than quantity of adjustment, which makes the difference — the SP transmits every snippet of
road surface information to the rider without getting upset over bumps and ripples, and without
the standard bike's compromise springing and damping which can get you into trouble if you push
it hard. The stiffer rear spring also means it isn't as prone to squat its rear end and drag
its pegs and exhaust on the deck when you make a quick direction change and put the power down
early — the standard bike can easily dig its can in so hard it lifts the rear wheel off the ground,
as Trev found out at Knockhill last February.
As it happens, this one went to Knockhill too, for the Scottish Frenzy in August. Predictably,
it was more or less perfect for thrashing round a track — total stability, excellent tyres
(Hi-Sports, yummy) and strong brakes. The high first gear made sense for the first time at the
hairpin, and the flat spot? Well, you don't spend much time out of the powerband on the track,
so you don't notice it. The only complaint was a slight tendency to run wide on the exit of fairly
tight bends, once the power was back on. We reduced the front compression damping by a click
(to make it dive a touch more and turn a bit quicker) and upped the front rebound a click
(to stop the forks extending so quickly and altering the steering geometry on the way out of the turn).
I learnt all this stuff from MacKenzie, you know — if only he'd teach me how to ride, too...
The SP was at its best on the way into Knockhill's hairpin approached via a very fast, slightly
bumpy left hand sweep. The SP's six-pot brake's are astounding — retina-detachingly powerful,
but sensitive enough to stay right on the limit of front tyre grip even whilst the rear end is
waving about in the air. The standard bike has the same brakes but its forks bottom out earlier,
letting the wheel skip and lock over small bumps that the SP doesn't even notice.
The motor's not pumping out any more than a standard YZF, which is hardly surprising considering
the few differences. In fact, the differences are for the worse in standard form. The trouble is,
it's not designed to be left standard, it's designed to have the nuts tuned off it. Buy a race kit
and it'll really start to make sense.
The 39mm Keihins have electronically-controlled accelerator pumps to remove the usual slide carb
glitch of a huge flat spot if you open the throttle too quickly. Well, that's what it says in the
press anyway. All they really seem to do is pump vast amounts of fuel into the engine for no
appreciable gain. Ridden sensibly, fuel consumption was about the same as a standard bike, but
used hard, it dipped right down to the low twenties, where you have to try bloody hard to get the
R down below 30mpg. On the road, it feels just like any other slide-carbed beasty — stay completely
in control of the throttle, balancing throttle position and engine revs to perfection, and you're fine.
But try to get on the gas too hard, too soon, and the motor dies. You'll notice this most at low
speed — it has the same effect as stalling the engine just when you need a few more revs to stop
you toppling over sideways.
On the road, there's a flat spot in the handling as well. Peeling into smooth 40-50mph bends, the SP
turns halfway, pauses, then turns the rest of the way to full lean. The first couple of times it
happens you run wide and miss the apex by a few feet. Ride it more like a racer, though — brake,
turn hard, point, squirt — and the SP is vice-free. You just have to work at it, that's all.
But ease of use and practicality isn't what it's all about with the SP — it hasn't even got a tool
kit. Most big, modern sports bikes are pretty much useless for 75% of the time on our choked and
bumpy roads, but the other 25% more than makes up for it. The SP extends that level of
user-unfriendliness up to the 90% mark, but generates enough excitement in the remaining 10% to
saute your brain in adrenalin and leave you a dribbling wreck at the end of every ride.
Whitham's bike it ain't — bloody good fun it is.
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