Joined Jul 2006
11K Posts | 291+
Texas
found this on another forum....trying to get the link.. good read.
Schwantz on current day GP bikes
Kevin Schwantz words on the motogps he tested in Valencia, one day after the last 2006 race:
RCV: "The queen"
"I tried both official hondas, Hayden's and Pedrosas'. I found DP's bike very nervous, it's front is very light, i thought the problem was with me, since the position was very bad, as the difference of our bodys is really big. Changing direction with it is very fast and the overall feeling is of lightness. A little bit of weight over the footpegs and it turns gently. For my style it was too soft on the rear and to ride the way i like i would have to have more space, since i couldn't move properly. The main point on that bike is how it reacts fastly, obeying our commands immediately.
Then i moved to Hayden's bike. As soon as i got up on it i felt very comfortable. And an excelent bike that makes exactly what you want it to do. Enters perfectly on the turns, changes direction very easily and its not nervous like the other RCV. The brakes are not immediate, but this is something that varies from rider to rider, each one having its own choice. Hayden prefers a brake that is light at first and strong after that. Different from Kenny Jr for example. Talking about him, his father offered me the proton to test but he wouldn't let me say my opinions so i desisted to try it. Back to Hayden's bike, something that surprised me is that while reducing the gears when braking it seems that there's another bike at your side. This impression is caused by the exhaust position. The suspensions had an excellent setup, anulling the surface imperfections very well. But the best is the throttle. Leaving the slow turns a little touch was enough to make the bike raise the front and speed up like a lightning, a wonderful feeling!"
M1: "The precise"
"Before giving me Rossi's bike the telemetry guys told me that a button on the left handlebar changes the engine mapping in 3 ways: free power (no limit) / wasted tire / race ending (tires are gone). They told me the M1 was exactly the same used the day before by VR. Maybe for that that was the Motogp i liked more. Stable front, transmits confidence, the front-rear weight transfer feeling is better than any of the others motogps. It's very balanced and works very well. Other good point, i and vale have almost the same weight and height and our way to setup is close too. The braking is immediate for example, different from NH, exactly as i always used it. The engine response is fast, but i suppose the honda guys have changed the first 3 gears on the rcv, i noted a big diffefrence in the response from the other gears above, really big. I liked the connection between the throttle and the rear wheel, it's instantaneous, in this point no bike can be compared with the m1 and you have no idea how much this is important. Changing direction is good but it's in the middle of the turns that the M1 has no rivals, it does the trajetory exactly as you want without work. I felt so calm on it that i forgot my own rule (to go at only 80% of my capacity) i was bold with the M1 and without the 2 mistakes i did i could have done my best overall lap on the M1. "
Desmosedici: "The tough"
"I was waiting to seat on Capirossi's bike when they offered me Troy's bike, who is taller than Loris, of course it would have been more comfortable but i was curious to feel the large handlebars of Loris' bike, i believed that i would like it more, but i was wrong...
The first surprise in the ducati came some meters just after leaving the boxes, my hand began to burn, i thought there was fire in my glove, but at the track the hot air was thrown elsewhere. The ducati has an endless power, in every gear and rotation but can't be considered an easy bike, it's tough and it's hot. And when i say tough i say tough in every sense. Turning with it is a sacrifice. It simply doesn't want to do it. it goes straight and you have to change it, it's a fight. it's impossible to turn with open thottle (at least with me). We need to cut the throtte, raise it and throw it to the other side. Transfering the weight from the left to the right means nothing if you don't cut the thottle. Now i understand all those muscles in Capirossi's arms. I couldn't ride it well but i undestood that it needs more than any other bike a perfect setup to be competitive. Capirossi told me that most of the time he spends trying the electronics and the techinicians always praise Loris ability to adapt to the bike as the contrary is impossible. Resuming, the desmo is a tough bike, and this feature is also it's limit. And thinking that Troy and Loris were 1st and 2nd here yesterday... incredible..."
kawasaki: "The rebel"
"Everytime i changed gears on the kawasaki being in the straights i risked to drop from it, so huge is the tendency to raise the front. Even from 4th to 5th gear! Talking with Fiorenzo Fanali he confessed that that was the main problem, the way the power is delivered. Of course Nakano and DePuniet have learnt how to handle it. The chassis and tires are ok. I had a lot of emotions riding the Kawasaki at Valencia, i enjoyed every meter of the track yelling inside my helmet, "how it turns!", "what a powerful bike!". Raging, rude, hard to tame, the ninja passes an excellent feeling at the main aspects of riding: braking and turning. It is very good to turn, like being over rail tracks, going exactly where you want. With the other bikes i used the 1st gear in some turns but not in this one, the minimal was 2nd, because the engine response in low rotations is very good. The problem is the straights while opening the throttle. It's a difficulty, the engine is furious and the front wheel almost never touchs the floor, every change of gear is a scare, wheeling always and always. For sure the others have an electronic system to avoid that, but the Kawasaki doesn't. Some years ago every rider would ask for power but not nowadays, there is enough power, the problem is how to use it."
Suzuki: "The mine"
"The last time i rode a Motogp was the suzuki in 2002. The engineers asked me to try and give my thoughts. At that time I said everything was wrong, except breaking. Many years and the suzuki is still hard entering curves and changing direction. Not as much as the ducatis but it's close. And as i always have been linked with suzuki i was bold, because i crashed so many times on suzukis that nobody would care if i had one more crash. So i rode at 90%. They gave me new tires for that and they were very soft. The best point i found after 4 years was breaking: excellent, very precise, with perfect feeling. Slowly i felt coming to my mind some aspects of my old RGV that i found on this one. Was it a suggestion or a suzuki is always a suzuki? Because of that i could also found some characteristics of my own riding that were absent while at the other bikes, so my times were better."
Conclusion
"if i had to pick a bike for a GP it would be the M1, and then honda, suzuki, kawasaki and ducati in last position. On Rossi's bike i found a setup that i always looked for in my old bikes. And it wasn't "tamed" by the engineers."
Kevin times:
honda: 1.40.74 (Hayden's)
honda: 1.43.12 (Pedrosa's)
yamaha: 1.40.40
suzuki: 1.37.16
kawasaki: 1.41.30
ducati: 1.43.12
top speeds (kmh):
honda: 291.4
yamaha: ? (printing error)
suzuki: 298,7
kawasaki: 292,3
ducati: 295,0
Schwantz on current day GP bikes
Kevin Schwantz words on the motogps he tested in Valencia, one day after the last 2006 race:
RCV: "The queen"
"I tried both official hondas, Hayden's and Pedrosas'. I found DP's bike very nervous, it's front is very light, i thought the problem was with me, since the position was very bad, as the difference of our bodys is really big. Changing direction with it is very fast and the overall feeling is of lightness. A little bit of weight over the footpegs and it turns gently. For my style it was too soft on the rear and to ride the way i like i would have to have more space, since i couldn't move properly. The main point on that bike is how it reacts fastly, obeying our commands immediately.
Then i moved to Hayden's bike. As soon as i got up on it i felt very comfortable. And an excelent bike that makes exactly what you want it to do. Enters perfectly on the turns, changes direction very easily and its not nervous like the other RCV. The brakes are not immediate, but this is something that varies from rider to rider, each one having its own choice. Hayden prefers a brake that is light at first and strong after that. Different from Kenny Jr for example. Talking about him, his father offered me the proton to test but he wouldn't let me say my opinions so i desisted to try it. Back to Hayden's bike, something that surprised me is that while reducing the gears when braking it seems that there's another bike at your side. This impression is caused by the exhaust position. The suspensions had an excellent setup, anulling the surface imperfections very well. But the best is the throttle. Leaving the slow turns a little touch was enough to make the bike raise the front and speed up like a lightning, a wonderful feeling!"
M1: "The precise"
"Before giving me Rossi's bike the telemetry guys told me that a button on the left handlebar changes the engine mapping in 3 ways: free power (no limit) / wasted tire / race ending (tires are gone). They told me the M1 was exactly the same used the day before by VR. Maybe for that that was the Motogp i liked more. Stable front, transmits confidence, the front-rear weight transfer feeling is better than any of the others motogps. It's very balanced and works very well. Other good point, i and vale have almost the same weight and height and our way to setup is close too. The braking is immediate for example, different from NH, exactly as i always used it. The engine response is fast, but i suppose the honda guys have changed the first 3 gears on the rcv, i noted a big diffefrence in the response from the other gears above, really big. I liked the connection between the throttle and the rear wheel, it's instantaneous, in this point no bike can be compared with the m1 and you have no idea how much this is important. Changing direction is good but it's in the middle of the turns that the M1 has no rivals, it does the trajetory exactly as you want without work. I felt so calm on it that i forgot my own rule (to go at only 80% of my capacity) i was bold with the M1 and without the 2 mistakes i did i could have done my best overall lap on the M1. "
Desmosedici: "The tough"
"I was waiting to seat on Capirossi's bike when they offered me Troy's bike, who is taller than Loris, of course it would have been more comfortable but i was curious to feel the large handlebars of Loris' bike, i believed that i would like it more, but i was wrong...
The first surprise in the ducati came some meters just after leaving the boxes, my hand began to burn, i thought there was fire in my glove, but at the track the hot air was thrown elsewhere. The ducati has an endless power, in every gear and rotation but can't be considered an easy bike, it's tough and it's hot. And when i say tough i say tough in every sense. Turning with it is a sacrifice. It simply doesn't want to do it. it goes straight and you have to change it, it's a fight. it's impossible to turn with open thottle (at least with me). We need to cut the throtte, raise it and throw it to the other side. Transfering the weight from the left to the right means nothing if you don't cut the thottle. Now i understand all those muscles in Capirossi's arms. I couldn't ride it well but i undestood that it needs more than any other bike a perfect setup to be competitive. Capirossi told me that most of the time he spends trying the electronics and the techinicians always praise Loris ability to adapt to the bike as the contrary is impossible. Resuming, the desmo is a tough bike, and this feature is also it's limit. And thinking that Troy and Loris were 1st and 2nd here yesterday... incredible..."
kawasaki: "The rebel"
"Everytime i changed gears on the kawasaki being in the straights i risked to drop from it, so huge is the tendency to raise the front. Even from 4th to 5th gear! Talking with Fiorenzo Fanali he confessed that that was the main problem, the way the power is delivered. Of course Nakano and DePuniet have learnt how to handle it. The chassis and tires are ok. I had a lot of emotions riding the Kawasaki at Valencia, i enjoyed every meter of the track yelling inside my helmet, "how it turns!", "what a powerful bike!". Raging, rude, hard to tame, the ninja passes an excellent feeling at the main aspects of riding: braking and turning. It is very good to turn, like being over rail tracks, going exactly where you want. With the other bikes i used the 1st gear in some turns but not in this one, the minimal was 2nd, because the engine response in low rotations is very good. The problem is the straights while opening the throttle. It's a difficulty, the engine is furious and the front wheel almost never touchs the floor, every change of gear is a scare, wheeling always and always. For sure the others have an electronic system to avoid that, but the Kawasaki doesn't. Some years ago every rider would ask for power but not nowadays, there is enough power, the problem is how to use it."
Suzuki: "The mine"
"The last time i rode a Motogp was the suzuki in 2002. The engineers asked me to try and give my thoughts. At that time I said everything was wrong, except breaking. Many years and the suzuki is still hard entering curves and changing direction. Not as much as the ducatis but it's close. And as i always have been linked with suzuki i was bold, because i crashed so many times on suzukis that nobody would care if i had one more crash. So i rode at 90%. They gave me new tires for that and they were very soft. The best point i found after 4 years was breaking: excellent, very precise, with perfect feeling. Slowly i felt coming to my mind some aspects of my old RGV that i found on this one. Was it a suggestion or a suzuki is always a suzuki? Because of that i could also found some characteristics of my own riding that were absent while at the other bikes, so my times were better."
Conclusion
"if i had to pick a bike for a GP it would be the M1, and then honda, suzuki, kawasaki and ducati in last position. On Rossi's bike i found a setup that i always looked for in my old bikes. And it wasn't "tamed" by the engineers."
Kevin times:
honda: 1.40.74 (Hayden's)
honda: 1.43.12 (Pedrosa's)
yamaha: 1.40.40
suzuki: 1.37.16
kawasaki: 1.41.30
ducati: 1.43.12
top speeds (kmh):
honda: 291.4
yamaha: ? (printing error)
suzuki: 298,7
kawasaki: 292,3
ducati: 295,0
