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Last year's speeds were extraordinary, yet the
hardware which achieved them was remarkably… well, unremarkable. Stephen Quirk peers under the bodywork.
“If it hits the bottom of Bray and it's stable and fast,” John McGuinness said a few weeks before last year's races, “we're in with a shout. If I get over Ago's in a straight line, I'll be grinning.”
Fast forward three weeks to Thursday 3 June, and the man from Morecambe was grinning fit to bust. And that was before he'd even raced.
Somehow 2004's practice week had come together like a dream. Yet, whether you're man or machine, the Island is a very tough ask. According to TAS Suzuki boss Phillip Neill, racing over the Mountain Course is “like trying to set a bike up for Silverstone, Donington, Cadwell and Mondello park, all at the same time.” Then add the inescapable fact that the TT is faster, bumpier, longer and altogether more gruelling than any other race of the year, and you'd expect the bikes to be set up totally differently from their short circuit cousins.
And yet, according to Jim Moodie, mastermind of John McGuinness' 2004 successes, “there's a lot less difference than there used to be. Years ago you used to change lots of things – different rake, fork offset, but that's all changed because the bikes now are so exceptionally well balanced. You could build that bike” – nodding in the direction of McGuinness' R1 – “for twenty grand.”
TT riders are less concerned about extremes of grip through turns, and more about coping with the course's wicked bumps. So the balance between low and high-speed fork damping must be much closer than on the shorts, with less high-speed damping
"The main difference now,” reckons Moodie, “the key thing around here, is a progressive rear linkage rather than rising rate.” He went on to add that the set-up on the R1 on which McGuinness had just demolished the outright lap record was exceptionally linear. “The rear damping should also be linear. Ride heights are similar to BSB – even John's production R1 is similar to my mate's short circuit bike. A little longer wheelbase helps stability. And a high screen's a must.”
Given the inevitable punishment it will take, a TT bike must be built stronger than something tackling 20 laps of Thruxton. “Super-lightweight materials aren't important here,” says Moodie.
Nor are extremes of top-end power crucial. “A broad spread of power makes the bike work better over the bumps, as well as being kinder on the tyres,” reckons Moodie. On the bumpy sections, in particular, riders need to use the highest gear possible, since extremes of revs make the bike react badly. Tony Scott, whose engines have won more TTs than any other man's, takes a slightly different tack and “wouldn't set up an engine any differently [from BSB racing] at all.” However, this is principally because Scott's general approach to tuning seeks exactly the qualities that work best on the Island. “I've never been one to use kit cams which are generally very peaky,” he explains. “I prefer to use my own cams. You've got to make them as user-friendly as you can, with a fairly wide spread of power.”
That's not to say that finding a good set-up is easy. With the best part of 40 miles between practice pit stops, almost every team will run out of time and fall short of the ideal. McGuinness was fortunate last year in hitting on a working set-up almost straight out of the truck. That was partly good luck, and partly the result of an experienced crew working with kit with which they were familiar. By and large the Island is not a place for experimentation, as Ian Lougher found in trying to come to terms with the very latest Öhlins front forks on his Honda Fireblade. Most teams preferred to stick with the known quantity of their 2003 front forks. The newer kit could certainly have been made to work, but there simply wasn't sufficient time in the week.
Mac McDiarmid
ALL THIS AND MORE
IN ISLAND RACER TT05
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