www.motorcyclenews.com 14 FOCUS SIMON LEE

Moto2 bikes feel unexciting unless you push them hard, but the Taylormade is friendly, plush and a lot of fun’ Michael Neeves

FIRST RIDE TAYLORMADE FOR MOTO2 The Moto2 racing class rules inspired this imaginative concept race bike. MCN gets the first UK ride

and present: Walker, Haydon, Agostini, Imaginations soared, the sky was the with the bike I’m now sitting on at MICHAEL NEEVES WHAT’S Davies, McGuinness, Hill, Lowes, limit for innovative chassis design and Goodwood, engulfed in a cloud of Senior Road Tester Camier, Laverty, Cluzel, Hutchinson, we fantasised over a grid full of funny two-stroke smoke from the Suzuki [email protected] THE STORY? Miller, Anstey, to name a few – all riding front ends, carbon frames and rim- that Schwantz has just wheelied-off some of the most recognisable racing mounted discs. But it never happened. the line in front of me. ■ In its first ever UK machines in history. Making the biggest In the end everyone went for the Paul Taylor is no stranger to building here’s nothing remotely appearance, we ride the racket is Mamola, warming up Rossi’s safe option and all the Moto2 bikes successful race bikes - his own Saxon- normal about the scene innovative Taylormade Moto2 800cc Desmosedici GP11… that lined up for the first race of the framed 980cc Triumph raced in the at 2.45pm on this Sunday, concept bike up the hill at The machine I’m about to thrash up new dawn in Qatar on April 11, 2010 free-ruled American and European the 14th of July. It’s the Goodwood Festival of Speed. the garden path fits right into these sur- (won by the late Shoya Tomizawa on ‘BEARS’ series in the 90s and even beat Goodwood Festival of We also catch up with the bike’s real surroundings. The American-built a Suter), were boringly conventional, the mighty Britten at Monza in 1995. TSpeed and lining up to creator, Paul Taylor, to see what Taylormade Moto2, swathed in carbon, and still are. In the racing world, teams John Keogh has worked with Roberts’ ride the famous hillclimb inspired its creation. is anything but ordinary. Looking for tend to go with what they know they GP and WCM race teams, as well as be- (basically, Lord March’s garden path) all the world like a two-wheeled stealth can win with, out of the box – it’s too ing on the design team that created the are a stream of current F1 cars. Jackie bomber, it’s not exactly pretty, but it’s risky and expensive not to. Buell Firebolt and Lightning. Stewart’s Elf-sponsored Tyrell Ford Honda NSR500, freshly restored and packed with innovation. Taylormade Racing’s day-to-day dribbles by, inches from my left toe- sent from Honda’s museum in Japan. When the new Moto2 class’ rules Transatlantic dreamers business is creating beautifully-de- slider. Highly-strung engines are To my left there’s Kevin Schwantz on were announced at the end of 2009 it Brit-born Paul Taylor of LA-based signed exhausts and carbon fibre bolt- straining at the leash behind us, ready his ’93 Lucky Strike Suzuki RGV500 got bike designers very excited. Honda Taylormade Racing was one of those ons (www.racetaylormade.com). for their run up the hill. and Kenny Roberts straddling his 600cc ‘control’ racing engines had to people inspired by the new Moto2 Honda engine aside, this bike is noth- Sitting in front of me is Freddie home-built KR3 500cc triple. Behind be used, but they could be bolted into rules. He teamed up with talented ing like a conventional Moto2 racer. It Spencer on his 1984 ‘upside down’ is a who’s who of the racing world, past anything, thanks to ‘free’ chassis rules. UK designer John Keogh to come up has a carbon composite monocoque www.motorcyclenews.com

BUYING & THE WEEK FOCUS COMMENT SELLING EVENTS SPORT 02-07 08-29 30-33 35-71 72-73 74-88 07.08.2013 WEDNESDAY 15

Taylormade Moto2 tech highlights

1.Front end has a hole running through it to Separating braking forces from accommodate the air duct, which the suspension runs from the nose of the bike to INTERVIEW: PAUL TAYLOR Honda CBR600RR USD forks the radiator at the back. with 43mm sliders (up from 41mm) , mounted upside down. 4. Carbon composite ‘Moto2’s rules The bottom ‘yoke’ is connected swingarm to the cylinder head via a carbon Light, strong and flexible captured our composite A-frame. The top ‘yoke’ A 585mm long, carbon composite is fixed to the monocoque and has swingarm, bolted to the back of the imagination’ a controlled joint, which allows engine, is in its fifth evolution, as movement as the forks move they strive to find the right balance “I’ve always been interested through their full arc. The Honda between flex, feel and strength. in building bikes and I have my forks have 25% lighter springs The suspension linkage, shock Tank surround thoughts on what can give you a and are re-damped (by Traxxion set-up and ride height adjuster are (above) is part competitive advantage. The sort Dynamics in Woodstock, Georgia) manufactured in-house. of monocoque of bike I’m interested in is one to suit the reduced weight of the frame. A-frames that I’ve designed, not modifying bike and lack of braking force. 5. Rear-mounted radiator let forks deal something that already exists, like Ultra-light and with bumps, not a production bike. 2. Monocoque chassis efficient cooling braking forces “After the 90s, when there Strong and super-lightweight The radiator is mounted in the were innovative open classes like The one-piece hunk of feather- ‘undertray’ area of the seat unit. BEARS and Sound of Thunder, the light carbon you see as the fuel It’s fed fresh air via the huge air racing world went to production- tank and bodywork is the chassis, duct in the nose of the fairing, based racing and there was no with the Honda CBR600RR engine which runs all the way through avenue to express new ideas. as a stressed member. Bolted the bike. It’s more efficient than “I got into racing in the first place to the monocoque is a self- a standard radiator and a third of to see if my ideas were any good supporting carbon seat unit, top the size. Airflow from a normal rather than doing it for the sake of ‘yokes’, clocks and fairing. radiator is blocked by the front doing it. Racing is the arena to find wheel and forks and is heated by that out because the feedback is 3. Vertical fuel tank the exhaust headers. immediate, on the stopwatch. Keeping the centre of “The Moto2 rules captured our gravity consistent 6. Honda CBR600RR engine imagination. Here was an open The fuel tank is built into the Control Moto2 unit prototype class, at a high level, monocoque (Taylormade’s Control Honda CBR600RR motor, where we could do what we want philosophy is that each part supplied by GEO Technology, is and explore our ideas. should do at least two things). estimated to make around 125bhp. “The plan now is to get a wild It’s positioned vertically so the It’s moved 50mm closer to the card entry in Moto2 in Austin next centre of gravity doesn’t change front of the bike, thanks to the lack year. We’ve done the development as the fuel load goes down. It of front-mounted radiator. of the bike and feel it’s solid. We now want a hot-shot rider on it to give it some stick.” chassis and a funny front end. The radi- the idea of separating braking forces be too heavy for it (ex-Buell test rider ator is mounted to the underside of the from absorbing bumps is the same, Shawn Higbee is the regular develop- seat unit, fed fresh air via a scoop that so the front suspension doesn’t need ment rider) and I squash the rear down runs from the fairing nose and through to be stiff to support the bike under too much on the power. It makes the the middle of its vertically-mounted hard braking. machine go into a gentle weave, prob- fuel tank (see tech highlights, right). ably accentuated by a short 1375mm With a funny front end, all braking Screaming up the hill wheelbase and steep steering geometry. forces are absorbed by an A-frame We’re off and screaming up to the first This is a pure-build Grand Prix mounting, which leaves the forks free right-hander. The CBR600RR motor machine and it’s designed to work to worry only about bumps. The forks is sweet. It’s nothing like a road-spec specifically for its rider, not be a one- won’t stick or bind at full lean, and one, which feels like you’ve got the size-fits-all bike, like a CBR600RR. because they dive in the normal way, back brake jammed on when you hit I’m sure if it was set up for me and we they help you turn into a corner. Well, the throttle. This racing engine revs were on a racetrack, the instability that’s the theory. instantly and delivers a strong, consist- could be dialled out. Now I’m apprehensive as I prepare for ent wave of thrust, belying its capacity. Before I know it I’m at the fastest 3 my run up the hill. I’m on cold Dunlop Being so light (140kg, wet), the feeling and last part of the hillclimb, pinging slicks and the mile-long strip of Tarmac of acceleration is even more vivid. through the gears over the finish line ahead has a pronounced crown, perfect The gearbox is a gem, slicing through for a final adrenalin injection. It all 5 for highsiding, or losing the front. The quickshift-assisted gears. ends too soon and I’m back in fantasy 2 surface is dirty after runs by a dozen Hitting the brakes and turning into land again, propping the Taylormade showboating rally cars. the first of Goodwood’s tight turns is against a wooden post at the top of the Designed to be narrow for minimum the first chance to feel the bike’s front hill, next to GP, WSB and BSB bikes. aerodynamic drag, the Taylormade’s suspension. It feels great. Six-piston Riding the Taylormade at Good- 4 slim proportions make it feel unusu- ISR brakes plus bugger-all weight to wood has left me wanting more. Moto2 6 ally long. You sit low in the bike and the pull up equals GP levels of stopping bikes I’ve ridden before have been so 1 pegs are set further forward than most power. The steering is light, crisp and stiff they’ve felt dead and unexciting race bikes. It’s soft, too, which is a trait there’s lots of feel for a cold, squirmy unless you push them hard, but the of many a ‘funny front end’ machine. front Dunlop. It gets better the faster we Taylormade is friendy, plush and a lot Whether it’s this, the Vyrus Moto2 go and that engine feels so nice I want of fun. I’d love to get it out on a proper The Taylormade is narrow and machine with hub-centre-steering, to unbolt it and take it home with me. track, lean it right over and see how the aerodynamically efficient a Bimota Tesi 3D, or the French Metis The Taylormade is low at the back sum of its very clever parts and ideas World Endurance bike I’ve ridden, compared to a normal racer. I must work at full speed.