Suspension Penske (610/375-6180) has been making dampers for race cars for years; its motorcycle shock is now the right motorcycle thing to do as well. For starters, its three-way adjustable shock has separate low- and high-speed compression damping adjustments-which means you can tune the rear to absorb bumps and big G-outs. Also, a check valve means adjusting the rebound circuit doesn't also affect compression, as is the case with other shocks. Apart from that, it's a well-machined piece, carved from 7075-T6 aluminum, and you can revalve it yourself (but you need a nitrogen bottle to recharge it to about 200 psi afterward). Our piggyback-reservoir, three-way unit sells for $1125. (You can get a titanium spring for $600 more, and lose a couple of pounds.)
Our big creepy friend Tom Houseworth at Yamaha Factory Racing was going to loan us an unused hlins fork off one of his many R7s, but never quite did. Just as well, since we wouldn't be able to use it for PACE anyway. A little fettling of the stock R1 fork, a couple of R6 race-kit rebound-damping internals, a little Kaz massage-and the stock fork works pretty well.
AirKaz thinks the R1 doesn't get enough, thus the U-boat surplus shnorkel, which picks up air from above the windscreen (Lockhart Phillips) and shoves it into the airbox through a hole in the gas tank. Gas tank? For PACE, we'll have to return to the stock steel one, but for now we have a beautiful and 4.8-pound carbon-Kevlar weave FuelCel from Erospace Technologies Inc. (561/388-0966 or http://members.aol. com/fuelcel). Carbon-Kevlar is what they use in military fighter aircraft, it saves seven pounds, it's much more ergo than the stock tank (more like the R6)-and the nice Erospace man put the four-inch hole right where Kaz wanted it, all for $1360 ($1160 for the standard R1).
And the FuelCel was designed to fit over and seal our Sharkskinz airbox. We've looked at-and crashed-all brands and types of bodywork, and like Sharkskinz best. A combination of fiberglass and resin, this stuff arrives primed and ready for paint after just a little sanding-but mostly it survives crashes better than its competition. Our R1 is currently wearing Sharkskinz' R7 kit, designed to fit R1 mounting points. Cool. The one-piece upper sells for $360, the lower for $240, and the tail for $235. For PACE, of course, we'll have to have R1-pattern bodywork, just to make it a little more difficult. Thanks. (Dial 561/388-9621 or check www.sharkskinz.com.) While we're at it, moto-enthusiast Jim Granger at Granger's Classic Auto Body in Reseda, CA, remains a soft touch for Motorcyclist project paint jobs (818/881-4558).
Chassis Kaz is liking the Mikuni rearsets we got from Yoyodyne because they move Curtis' big-ass feet 31/48-inch or so rearward compared with the competition and make him think the rear spring is softer than it is. Part of the epic struggle we're involved in here is Curtis' soft-in-back, spin-the-tire-out-of-every-corner philosophy vs. Kaz' firm resolve to get him to hook the back end up and accelerate. Every time that tire spins, Kaz is fond of saying, equals one bike length at the end of the straight.... The Mikunis also contain needle bearings, which help the bike's shifting. They're uncheap, at $595. (Yoyodyne is at 973/401-1954 or www.YoyodyneTi.com.)
By Kevin Wing
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