Performance Bikes — March 2018

18 PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK|MARCH 2018

WOT, NO VALENTINE’S CARDS?

Your wish is our command...

Sealey VSR01:

Whitey’s favourite

thing (after trolling

Bernard Matthews

on Instagram)

Rare shot of

Anthony’s SP-

not overheating

Sorry Michael,

You’re just not

Scotty’s favourite...

STAR LETTER UK READERS WIN £50 WORTH OF PUTOLINE PRODUCTS

Let’s be honest...
...about the Honda SP-1/SP-2. On the
one hand I totally understand why we
love the bike – it’s iconic, booming and
now getting rare. However, as the
years pass, we seem to get more and
more forgiving of the bike and a
couple of major niggles always seem to
go unmentioned.
In the December 2017 edition, you
mentioned a few issues, but you didn’t
mention the cooling. There are
hundreds of forum pages written by
owners frustrated by the side radiators
which are up against the front cylinder
and don’t get any airflow – and the

AS A subscriber to

Performance Bikes - my

better half gets me this for

Christmas (keeper – CN) – I enjoy

the mix of articles in your magazine.

There’s always something in it to

fuel my motorcycle obsession and

loads of good stuff to learn from.

I like the Mod Squad articles and

would like to know if you are going

to do an article on the Honda

CBR600RR. I have a 2011

version of this bike and

would like to see the

experts’ view on it.

I’ve got an

S1000R as well

and enjoyed the

article on that.

Not sure

tiny stock fans that don’t help at all.

I know it’s a homologation special but

what a terrible design for a road

bike... Theonlysolutionformewasan

expensive front-mounted radiator.

Another thing to consider is the

relaxed geometry: to get it to handle

on track youneededtopointthebike

down, but on stock suspension a 180lb

rider with correct sag will be

bottoming-out the forks, so a racing

link or upgraded suspension is the

only solution.

In the end I got rid of my 2005 SP-

as I couldn’t keep it cool on warm days

in slower traffic. That may be less of

Jerez track weekend I was on

recently – what a brilliant laugh,

the guy’s a legend.

Anyway, keep up the good work

and I’ll look forward to next

month’s issue of PB.

Scotty

CN: Coincidentally, your very request

is delivered in this issue. And as you

said nice things about us, you can

have some Putoline lubey things, too.

an issue in cooler climates... Keep it up

folks – I’ve been a PB reader now for

12 years.

Anthony Barron, New Jersey

CN: Unusually candid owner testimony:

but as rain slashes sideways, driven

through air just above freezing outside

PB’s office window, we’re struggling to

find sympathy for bikes struggling in

hot temperatures. Fairly safe to say the

issue is minimal on UK roads...

Where’s your head (parts) at?

On page 85 of your November 2017

edition, there is a picture at the

bottom of a yellow parts holder with

cams, valves, etc stored on it. I can’t

find one on the internet, so I’m hoping

you’ll be able to let me know where

you got it.

Phil Burgess, Cyclone Motorcycles,

Darwin, Australia

MW: Easy – it’s a Sealey VSR01 cylinder

head component organiser. It might

take a bit of digging for an Aussie

vendor (or one prepared to ship), but it’s

a bloody useful bit of kit.

what my favourite article is (it’s all

good stuff) but I do like the Rutter

track tests and the Jeremy McWilliams

columns. Jezza was instructing at a