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Ten Thousand Pounds is a massive amount of anybody’s money. It’s also roughly the price difference between a 2011 litre bike and one from 10 years ago.

Yamaha’s R1, Honda’s Fireblade and Kawasaki’s ZX-9R all come from the turn of the century – one of motorcycling’s golden eras – and each has its own unique story to tell. In Honda’s case, this was Genesis, the beginning of a new era. They had to respond to Yamaha’s sledgehammer blow called the R1. The Blade got its biggest upgrade ever in 2000: in came fuel injection, a bigger engine, titanium exhaust, the smallest dimensions of any Fireblade, and mass centralisation. Out went the 16in front wheel and with it any claims that Honda weren’t aiming the new Blade squarely at the R1. The ZX-9R represents the end of a line, the last of an

Generation Terrorists

2000 Honda CBR900RRThe first fuel-

injected Blade. Sharp handling

Main test Millenium litre bikes

Millennium litre bikes are all about big, useable power and precision road performance. Better still, these days you can bag one for £2500Words Johnny McAvoy Pics Jason Critchell

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Generation Terrorists

2001 Yamaha YZF-R1

The mentalist. The fastest, most

powerful bike here

2002 Kawasaki ZX-9R

The practical sportsbike. Big power, comfort

Millennium litre bikes are all about big, useable power and precision road performance. Better still, these days you can bag one for £2500entire generation of bikes and the best that Kawasaki could give us after eight years of evolution. The ZX-10R was still a few years away and Kawasaki had already started working on it but they did give the ZX-9R one last tickle. It got a new swingarm, rear shock, engine position and a stiffer frame with the most aggressive geometry of all the ZX-9Rs. When ZX-9R production stopped, a whole genre of bikes disappeared with it.

In 2000, the R1 was so much better than the competition in every measurable way that it was like taking a gun to a knife-fight.

Today, these bikes can be picked up for £2500, which makes every single one of them a bargain anyway. If they can feel and perform even half as impressively as their present-day descendants then that would make them a genuine steal. Let’s find out.

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DayWords Emma Franklin Pics Jason Critchell

Project 955i

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Snetterton 300: 26th March 2011 Conditions: Cold and windy Stress levels: high Optimism levels: delusional

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Readers’ specials

CandyBikeGet your bike in Pb. Send pictureS, detailS and bribeS toeditorial@pbmag.co.uk

You build them. We drool over them…

1999 Yamaha R1 Gareth Kibble

What we’ve got here is more than just a lairy-looking r1 with some choice chassis enhancements, it’s also a bike that has a motor dialed right round to eleven to match the in-your-face paint. bought as a standard r1 back in 2004, gareth has spent the last seven years modifying, tweaking, and mutating his 25,000-miler into the beast you see here. He recalls the day he bought it: “it was tucked away in the corner of a garage under a duvet and once i saw it i had to have it. i sold my 748, got the r1 then just kept upgrading – the brakes, electronics, everything,” says gareth. The high point was a visit to tuners ttS, which resulted in the fitment of a rotrex supercharger. “i did it for the grin factor! it took four months to get right, but it has been 100% gold ever since – it just works,” he says proudly. ‘100%

gold’ translates to 209bhp and 96lb.ft of torque. besides a set of Yoshimura downpipes mated to an akrapovic Hex silencer and quick action throttle, the engine is otherwise standard which will aid reliability. but what’s it like when you twist the throttle? “it feels the same as a normal r1, but just more of it. no surprises, it just keeps on going!”

getting the balance of power and handling right was a major goal and it’s no surprise gareth spent plenty of time and money on the chassis as well. ohlins suspension keeps the five-spoke dymags on the ground, with an ap caliper and modified r7 swingarm at the back. Slowing things down at the sharp end are a pair of brembo Hpk calipers biting on galfer discs via an ap master cylinder. renthal clip-ons and gilles rearsets mean

gareth can get comfortable whether he’s commuting to work or on a trackday. all this adds up to a bike that can not only cope with the extra 80bhp over a stock r1 of that vintage, but can also hustle when the going gets twisty. “it handles the power with ease and feels like my old 748 – it’s proper planted when right over on its ear!” There are electrical mods too: a translogic dash, quickshifter, dynacoils, Veypor datalogger, glowshift boost gauge and acumen temperature gauge to keep an eye on the supercharger oil.

So after seven years and around £9000 invested, is the r1 finished? as if… gareth’s got plans for more engine tuning, a big bore kit and a host of stronger engine internals. “i would’ve had a translogic micro dash fitted by now but the other half insisted on a holiday instead.”

w Highly modified chassis components w Near stock engine… except for the 209bhp supercharger

The one thing that people say to Gareth about his R1 is “What’s that on the side?” That’ll be an extra 80bhp, that will…

Words Kar Lee Pics Kar Lee, supplied

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In 2009 Richard went out and bought a CBX1000 with a plan to modernise it. His first stop was Metmachex Engineering for some CBX fabrication.

Six months later he had a new swingarm to take the lighter BST carbon wheels and a step-down yoke for the GSX-R1000 K6 forks with uprated springs. “They made a replica set of dummy fork adjusters that plug into the top of the yokes, hiding the actual fork tops that sit down in the yoke. It’s a neat touch,” he says. The frame was braced and Ohlins shocks fitted.

The engine was treated to new conrods, a gas-flowed head, new valves and cam chains, while the standard downpipes were modified to take the carbon Yoshi cans. “They sound magnificent with a burble at tick-over and a roar as you go up the gearbox! It’s still a long way off modern machinery but there’s definitely an improvement. The weight and position of the engine means it’ll stay a sports tourer ’til later this year.”

Candy1980 Honda CBX1000A Richard Lindoew Cult classic with upgraded suspension w Carbon fibre wheels and one-off Metmachex swingarm w 41,000-mile, 24-valve, six-cylinder

Built to win races over 24 hours of flat-out, non-stop competition, this GSX-R chassis was used in its original guise in 1998 by the Phase One Endurance team and came fourth in the series. In 2000 it came second in the Endurance World Championship. Since then it’s been a non-runner due to a punctured crank-case and display components holding it together.

Phase One quartermaster, Mark Gerrard found an engine under the workbench – a commissioned build featuring Penkle conrods, Suzuki kit pistons, valves and cams. “The best moment was firing it up and feeling the flatslides rattling,” said Mark.

Graced with the finest components – Ohlins suspension, carbonfibre Dymags, six-piston Beringer brakes, 42mm Mikuni flatslides and a WSB-spec Akrapovic system – it’s the two Suzuka homologation stickers on the frame that Mark is most proud of. And the cost? Just 18 months of hard graft.

2000 Suzuki GSX-R750 Phase Onew World Endurance Championship-winning bike in 2000 w Re-commissioned with full endurance-spec engine w See it at Goodwood FoS

Alex Taylor took two crash-damaged Yamahas – a 1990 FZR400 3TJ and a 1994 FZR600 – and doubled the power of the previously fine-handling buzzy 400 with only a minor increase in weight.

“The engine feels similar to a standard FZR600R I had back in 1999 but much more urgent. I’ve also lowered the gearing. The midrange is a welcome change from my old RGV but the top end feels similar!”

A rear shock from a 2007 R6 went in with the help of a lengthening spacer and the 2004 Kawasaki ZX-6R front end wasn’t the first fork swap for the FZR either. Alex had previously used a set from his RGV, which he persuaded to fit with an angle grinder. Fitting the ZX-6R forks wasn’t easy, but he’s happy with the job. “It gives me a feeling of satisfaction every time I ride her. And the forks and brakes are good bling!” Like most projects, their owners are never done: “I’ve read an NC30 swingarm fits without too much trouble…”

1990 Yamaha FZR400RR 3TJ Alex Taylorw R6 rear shock w ZX-6R forks and brakes w FZR600R motor w Have-a-go attitude

If a 21 year-old FZR400 pulls away from your R6 at traffic lights, it might be cheating…

We really, really, really, really,

really want to ride this bike

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First Ride Ducati Monster 1100 Evo

Words Emma Franklin Pics Milagro

Air Force

The new Monster 1100 Evo is Ducati’s most powerful air-cooled bike yet, so how have they managed to extract so many ponies from such a basic engine?

“I took it to Boxhill for the first time this year and had to ask people to move out of the way so I could ride it home – the crowd was four deep. ‘What is it?’ they were asking. They

couldn’t believe it was a 1994 Fireblade.” So recalls Morgan Price – an ex-London taxi driver known to his mates and the biking fraternity as Cabbie.

The reason for their disbelief is clear: head on it looks like any second-generation mid-90s Fireblade, all drilled fairing holes, foxeye lights and even a few anodised bolts. Look closer and the upside-down forks spring into view sporting the unmistakable glint of Öhlins (except they’re actually later 929 items treated to an Öhlins makeover). So far, so good, but the back end is what you’ll remember about this Blade.

The combination of waspish RS125 tail unit, sleek Aprilia RSV-R swingarm and Cabbie’s own subframe transforms the look and drags this Blade kicking and screaming into the 21st century, turning heads as it goes. The changes are few and relatively simple but the impact is as subtle as a frying pan to the face. The side profile says it all: front half is familiar Fireblade, rear half is… wait, what did you say it was again, mate?

It started back in 1994 when Cabbie bought it new, then happily commuted on it for six years in all weathers. With a 945 TTS big bore kit fitted, along with the obligatory Dynojet set-up, gas-flowed head and full Micron system, Cabbie was a happy chappy. Things changed when Yamaha R1s and GSX-R1000s arrived on the scene – the Blade started to look dated and its owner lost interest, leaving the bike in the garage unused for six years. A house move two years ago re-awakened an interest in the bike and prompted a rebuild.

Morgan ‘Cabbie’ Price has owned this Blade since 1994. Kar is the first other man to ride it

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Owning 1994 Honda CBR900RR Fireblade

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Words Kar Lee Pics Rory Game

In the flesh it’s hard to believe this Fireblade is 17 years old

CuttIng edge

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Words Matt Wildee Pics Milagro

First Ride 2011 Aprilia Tuono

With two extra cylinders and a host of electrickery, is Aprilia’s new Tuono V4 still the toughest streetfighter in town?

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Practicing what they preach, Spanish firm Radical Ducati deliver another out-there two-valve Duke

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Words Gary Inman Pics Paul Bryant

Obsession Radical Ducati Pursang

T his is Pursang. It means pure blood, thoroughbred. Pursang is the latest in a long line of specials from

the Madrileno masters, Radical Ducati, and the first bike Radical has built that uses high bars.

“We make bikes the way Ducati made them in the 70s,” explains Radical Ducati’s bossman, Pepo Rousel, a man not short of opinions when it comes to the Bologna firm.

“We still use a race mentality. Even simple maintenance on the new bikes is very difficult. Did you know you have to remove over 20 screws to get to the battery of the new Monster? It’s crazy! The motorcycle industry has arrived at a point of stupidity. Bikes are now so sophisticated they may as well be cars. Soon, when a headlight bulb blows the bike’s safety system will stop the engine. The Multistrada 1200 is very nice, but if the electronics say ‘Goodbye’, you’re fucked. The company don’t listen to what the real Ducatisti want. They’re building fashion bikes. Ducati is a prisoner of its own image.”

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Practicing what they preach, Spanish firm Radical Ducati deliver another out-there two-valve Duke

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hand-beatenTank was handmade and is a Radical design. You can buy one. Painted ‘n’ polished finish was inspired by 1970s Husqvarnas.

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Missile of ManWhen it comes to machine prep, Guy Martin is notoriously tough to please, but his Relentless by TAS Racing Suzuki puts a smile on his face

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Guy admits that having his Martek Turbo GSX-R1100 in his living room is making him even more pedantic about motorcycle preparation than he was before. And before was bordering on pathological. But he’s right to be concerned

about the build quality of the bikes he’s expected to race. A mechanical failure on a MotoGP track might be upsetting and potentially dangerous, but even a small failure on a road circuit could easily be a whole different ball game.

The rider himself would admit he’s had fractious relationships with team bosses and chief mechanics (or foremen, as he calls them) over the way bikes have been put together in the past, but he has been raving to PB’s staff about the preparation of the Relentless Suzukis since before he even signed to join the team. “TAS bikes have won 15 TTs,” Guy explains. “What can I tell them about how to build a TT bike?”

We asked him to give us a guided tour of his GSX-R1000 Superbike to explain just what’s so special. It’s all in the details.

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Relentless by TAS Racing Suzuki

Bodywork“Four Dzus fasteners and it’s off. The bodywork costs around £1400 a set [not including the Factory tank], so the team had the bodywork supplier put extra splits in it, so it’s actually more separate parts than a stock GSX-R1000 fairing. If the fairing is damaged, they can often get away with replacing just one panel.”