{"id":19074,"date":"2016-08-23T16:35:19","date_gmt":"2016-08-23T09:35:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thai.webike.net\/news\/?p=19074"},"modified":"2016-08-24T16:34:15","modified_gmt":"2016-08-24T09:34:15","slug":"suzuka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thai.webike.net\/news\/en\/suzuka.html","title":{"rendered":"The hottest bikes from Suzuka"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is no other motorcycle race like the Suzuka 8-Hour. Like the Isle of Man TT, the Bol d\u2019Or and the Daytona 200 it is one of bike racing\u2019s classics, a standout event that has a flavour and an atmosphere all of its own.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The bikes are more special than anything you\u2019ve ever seen, wherever you\u2019ve been. The Japanese factories put more effort into this one race than they put into any other single race, even a MotoGP round. This is the one event they want to win more than any other, not only because it has a major impact on Japanese bike sales but because it\u2019s a huge matter of pride. Win Suzuka and you\u2019ve made the other factories look silly.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Consider the case of this year\u2019s winner. Yamaha\u2019s 8-Hour R1 is<\/span> jaw-dropping trick, a no-expense-spared special,<\/span>\u00a0created with ultimate love and care by Yamaha\u2019s race department. Bradley Smith, who rode it to victory last year, said it felt just like his M1 MotoGP bike. It was certainly much, much more special than the R1 Yamaha run in World Superbikes, because the WSB crown sits way, way below the 8-Hour in the factories\u2019 list of priorities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t believe it? Take a closer look at the big factory contenders and you may change your mind. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

MuSASHi HARC-PRO Racing Honda Fireblade<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Riders: <\/b>Nicky Hayden, Michael van der Mark, Takumi Takahashi <\/span><\/p>\n

Grid position:<\/b> 5th\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Race position: <\/b>DNF\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The mood was as low as you can imagine in the HARC-PRO garage when Nicky Hayden pulled out of Honda\u2019s home race with engine problems. This may well be the best Blade in the world but that doesn\u2019t mean the team aren\u2019t eagerly awaiting the chance to fight back next year with a hot new Blade.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fuel tank <\/b><\/p>\n

The tank was the biggest difference to the Honda WSB machine according to Nicky Hayden. The former MotoGP champion admitted that it took him a long time to get used to the higher and heavier tank.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brakes <\/b><\/p>\n

Built and prepared by Nissin, the system includes quick release calipers that allow the team to simply replace the entire unit instead of having to replace pads during the race.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fairing ventilation <\/b><\/p>\n

Echoing the original FireBlade, the Honda\u2019s fairing is drilled to aid ventilation in the fearsome heat of Suzuka. Not as hot as past races this year, air and track temperatures nonetheless peaked at 38\u02daC and 60\u02daC at their hottest.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Team Green Kawasaki ZX-10R<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Riders:<\/b> Leon Haslam, Akira Yanagawa, Kazumi Watanabe <\/span><\/p>\n

Grid position: <\/b>3rd<\/span><\/p>\n

Race position:<\/b> 2nd<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Back with a full-factory affair in 2016 to celebrate the launch of a new ZX-10R, Kawasaki proved just how competitive the new bike is by taking the fight to old hands Yoshimura Suzuki and winning. Still with a lot of potential, according to Leon Haslam, they\u2019ll be back next year and will be looking to steal Yamaha\u2019s crown.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tyres<\/b><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a common admission that you need to be on Bridgestones to win at Suzuka, with the Japanese firm pulling out all the stops for their home race. Tyres are basically the same spec as last year\u2019s MotoGP rubber, with soft-as-butter specials for Superpole.<\/span><\/p>\n

Exhaust <\/b><\/p>\n

A beautiful custom piece built specifically for the project by Kawasaki Racing and not available anywhere else, it\u2019s as much work of art as functional piece of equipment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Engine <\/b><\/p>\n

Still far from a finished article according to Haslam, the engine spec was fast enough for the Brit to set the third fastest time of the week and take second in the race. An impressive performance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Riders:<\/b> Josh Brookes, Nori Haga, Takuya Tsuda <\/span><\/p>\n

Grid position:<\/b> 2nd<\/span><\/p>\n

Race position:<\/b> 3rd<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lining up a strong squad on a bike run by the most iconic of the Japanese tuning houses, Yoshimura once again proved that despite the age of the GSX-R, it\u2019s not all about top speed at Suzuka. Running a slick operation that saw them <\/span>not put a foot wrong all race <\/span>, they added yet another <\/span>podium finish <\/span>to their impressive record at the 8-Hour.<\/span><\/p>\n

Smoking pipe<\/b><\/p>\n

The Suzuki is basically a rolling aftermarket catalogue for Yoshimura, and as a result you can buy a very similar exhaust system for your own road bike.<\/span><\/p>\n

Carbon frenzy<\/b><\/p>\n

Standard on most race bikes these days, the Yoshi machine is nonetheless dripping in carbon fibre for weight saving. Everything from fairings to crash protection adds up to kilos saved.<\/span><\/p>\n

Super slipper<\/b><\/p>\n

As a non-factory team, Yoshimura are in a position to use what they want \u2013 and they\u2019ve chosen a slipper clutch from Honda rivals FCC TSR to replace the standard part.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cool and calculated<\/b><\/p>\n

Much bigger than standard, and absolutely crucial to keep engine temperatures from going through the roof in 50\u02daC air and 90% humidity.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Monster Yamaha Factory Racing YZF-R1M<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Riders:<\/b> Pol Espargar\u00f3, Katsuyuki Nakasuga, Alex Lowes <\/span><\/p>\n

Grid position:<\/b> 1st <\/span><\/p>\n

Race position:<\/b> 1st<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The bike to beat going into this year\u2019s event \u2013 and looking unstoppable from the first day of practice \u2013 the race-winning machine is closer to a MotoGP machine than a WSB bike. With World Superbike rider Alex Lowes joining last year\u2019s winners Pol Espargar\u00f3 and Katsuyuki Nakasuga, the Yamaha squad did exactly what they threatened to do before the race and romped to an emphatic win.<\/span><\/p>\n

Top suspension team<\/b><\/p>\n

Built by KYB, probably the most famous suspension builder you\u2019ve never heard of (and supplier of OEM parts to many Japanese manufacturers). They might not be well known for their racing, but there\u2019s more suspension techs on hand than some teams have mechanics for Suzuka.<\/span><\/p>\n

Switched on<\/b><\/p>\n

Famously described by Bradley Smith in 2015 as closer to his M1 MotoGP machine than that of any R1 he\u2019d ridden, the team still made significant improvements for 2016, including an extra 10% fuel efficiency that handed them a huge advantage.<\/span><\/p>\n

Light show <\/b><\/p>\n

The R1 might have attracted abuse for its bug-eyed look \u2013 but the headlight positioning came into its own during the race, with the offset lights doing an excellent job of throwing light around a bend.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cover story<\/b><\/p>\n

Putting their faith in the British, Yamaha went to Hertfordshire-based GB Racing for their crash protection equipment \u2013 which thankfully for them, didn\u2019t get tested out in the race.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Credit: MCN<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u0e42\u0e1b\u0e23\u0e42\u0e21\u0e0a\u0e31\u0e48\u0e19\u0e2a\u0e34\u0e19\u0e04\u0e49\u0e32\u0e23\u0e32\u0e04\u0e32\u0e1e\u0e34\u0e40\u0e28\u0e29\u0e1b\u0e23\u0e30\u0e08\u0e33\u0e2a\u0e31\u0e1b\u0e14\u0e32\u0e2b\u0e4c\u00a0<\/span><\/h1>\n

\"Weekly<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There is no other motorcycle race like the Suzuka 8-Hour. Like the Isle of Man TT, the Bol d\u2019Or and the Daytona 200 it is one of bike racing\u2019s classics, a standout event that has a flavour and an atmosphere all of its own.   The bikes are more special than anything you\u2019ve ever seen, […]","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":19075,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[],"acf":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thai.webike.net\/news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19074"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thai.webike.net\/news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thai.webike.net\/news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thai.webike.net\/news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thai.webike.net\/news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thai.webike.net\/news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thai.webike.net\/news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thai.webike.net\/news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thai.webike.net\/news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thai.webike.net\/news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}