2 the Holy Grail
2 THE HOLY GRAIL
FUN FACTOR
SPORTBIKES ON TRACK ARE AWESOME, BUT FACTORY SUPERBIKES ARE TO DIE FOR
Blake Conner
IS THERE ANYTHING BETTER than riding a motorcycle flat-out on a racetrack? For me, that is exactly the activity that got me into this business in the first place. Too many tickets, too many crashes, out-of-hand insurance premiums, and a driver’s license with an APB out on it had me looking to the confines of a racetrack in my 20s. The problem was that 25 years ago there weren’t many trackdays. You either raced (which I couldn’t afford) or found another hobby. My solution was to pursue a career testing motorcycles.
Not much has changed: By far my favorite motorcycle-related activity is circulating a roadrace track in anger. In my 20 years working at motorcycle mags, I’ve had the opportunity to ride just about every production sportbike ever made in that era, on track. But the holy-freakin’ grail of motorcycle journalism has always been the “factory-racebike” ride. Every great once in a while my inbox has pinged with one of these coveted invites. Skipping some of life’s important events can be justified for these rare opportunities. It goes something like this: Invitation to ride a MotoCP bike, you can skip the birth of a first child; World Superbike ride, you can skip a 10-year wedding anniversary; MotoAmerica Superbike test, you can miss your kid’s first birthday. Luckily I’ve never had to test those waters for those opportunities and remain married.
In 2015,1 was fortunate enough to ride Chaz Davies’ factory Ducati World Superbike at Imola, in Italy, and then just a few months later I was invited to ride the MotoAmerica-championship-winning machine of either Cameron Beaubier or Josh Hayes at the season-ending race at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
The morning after Beaubier narrowly wrapped up the title against Hayes (by just four points), I found myself suiting up for my 20-minute session on the title-winning Monster Energy Craves Yamaha YZF-R1 Superbike. Did I mention I’d never turned a lap at NJMP? Yeah, I was sweating bullets from a full mag.
After warming up on JD Beach’s title-winning YZF-R6 and getting some advice from Beaubier and Hayes, I headed out on the track. After a warm-up lap, the first thing that popped into my head was how balanced, forgiving, and predictable Beaubier’s R1 felt. Despite the impressive power, the machine was far less intimidating than I had anticipated. MotoAmerica Superbike rules of the time allowed fewer modifications than those in World Superbike. Whereas Davies’ Panigale was completely mental and trying to kill me with its raw power, Beaubier’s R1 was composed, stable, and confidence inspiring. A lot of this feeling was due to an impeccable chassis with seemingly endless grip from the Dunlop slicks and top-shelf Öhlins suspension that felt like a magic-carpet ride. Another area that impressed me was the refinement of the electronics. The R1 is as good as it gets in stock form, but this electronics package is near perfection, allowing Beaubier and Hayes to walk the razor’s edge.
Of all the bikes I’ve ridden on a track, this one stands out as my favorite. It offered a level of performance that only a lucky few will ever have access to yet was so refined, composed, and fun that I began to wonder if I should renew my racing license. Then the checkered flag flew. I was relieved that I didn’t cartwheel the bike into the Armco but bummed that I was back to reality and just another average Joe like me or you.
