Rtv1200 Black Widow
RTV1200 BLACK WIDOW
Quick Ride
New Vincent for sale
IF YOU HAD TO CHOOSE A vintage motorcycle on which to base a modern sportbike, it would be no contest. The Vincent was the benchmark superbike of its era, the post-war equivalent of a Ducati 916. And although built in England, the Vincent's glorious 50-degree V-Twin engine was designed by an Australian emigrant named Phil Irving. So it's appropriate that, 40-odd years later, an updated version should be developed Down Under.
Terry Prince became a Vin cent devotee at age 12, when he watched George Brown's "Nero" sprinter at the Brighton Speed Trials. Later, he went to work for legendary Swiss chas sis-builder Fritz Egli, before moving to Australia and estab lishing the world's leading Vin cent-restoration business.
While the latter venture saw Prince market Egli-Vincent replica cafe-racers fitted with remanufactured engines, his ul timate goal was to build Vin cents from scratch. "That had been my dream for 30 years, but Ihadno money to do it with," he laments.
That changed when he met Ron Slender, who financed startup of the pair's new enter prise, RTV (for "Ron and Terry's Vincent"). First fruit is the Black Widow, a half-faired sportbike with an all-new 1200cc Vincent V-Twin engine.
As a former Rapide owner myself, the best compliment I can pay the Black Widow is to say that I completely forgot I was riding a modern Vincent, and in stead found myself relishing the unique personality of a bike I would say has met the goals of its creators. For starters, forget about kickstarting: Just thumb the button and let Bosch do the business for you, then listen to the offbeat exhaust note and me chanical clatter that can only em anate from an air-cooled, pushrod V-Twin.
Equally distinctive is the rid ing position, which seems much lower than comparable motorcy cles today. The resultant low cen ter of gravity makes the RTV unexpectedly nimble, but it's also pretty stable in fast turns, where the Paioli fork and Ohlins shock give good response, if a hard ride. The Metzeler radials mount ed on 17-inch Dymag wheels af ford lots of grip, while the big Brembo brakes, combined with effective engine braking, deliver power-up stopping potential.
The prototype I rode differed from future production versions in that it was fitted with 34mm Mikuni CV carbs, rather than the 38mm flat-slides (or option al EFI) that will appear on the $25,000 customer bikes. But even with the "wrong" carbure tors, the RTV really motors! The engine picks up revs fairly leisurely, but it has enormous punch, which coupled with the well-spaced five-speed trans mission gives an impression of muscular urgency. This is a long-legged bike with an ap petite for speed.
There isn't much engine vi bration, either. It does shake a bit at rest, but as soon as the revs rise, everything smooths dramatically. Strangely, the only places you notice any undue vi bration are through your knees and the seat of your pants.
While the Black Widow still has some rough edges, it's hard not to admire what RTV has achieved. The ghost of Phil Irving can lie still: The Black Widow is indeed a born-again Vincent.
Alan Cathcart
