MotoGP – GP of Aragon – Qualifications: Stoner drives the records crazy! –

Posted on by admin

Short test, Yamaha XJR 1200 SP, Yamaha XJR 1200

Yamaha XJR 1200 SP King Replica

Got something on the nose yesterday and a king today: the XJR through the ages.

Splinter-naked, that’s how we wanted her. And that’s how we got them: Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha – they all made the market happy with thick, powerful naked bikes. Applause rushed through the scene: Aaah, technology you can touch again at last. Classic style hardware. Real motorcycles. The XJR is one of them: 253 kilograms of naked power and glory. Four cylinders, 1200 cubic meters, 98 hp and pulling power until you drop – for any occasion, in any gear. But no sooner was the first ecstasy of joy over than the crisis of meaning began: where to put all the power? Wild acceleration orgies, intoxicating top speed inserts – everything is wasted. Who should defend the hurricane? If the speedometer needle of such a machine marches towards top speed, the human body mutates into a cream puff. Long arms, stiff neck, horrible skull, bulging-eyed grimace, shortness of breath. Grumble, grumble, nag, swear. It happened as it had to: The nudist squadron got a lot on the nose. Recently it also hit the Yamaha – and it was hit hard. "Looks like a well-hung Pichler, born in 1978," hissed a concerned observer. The retrofittable XJR half-shell fairing was created in cooperation with the JF company, is not yet a year old and doesn’t look so bad after all. Although formal weaknesses cannot be dismissed out of hand. The world has also seen more graceful fastening techniques. Nonetheless, the unattractive cut top serves its purpose: behind the high pane there is an acceptable calm. However, there can be no question of pleasant rest. From 120 km / h on there is a lot of noise. Yamaha would have done well to commission a storage compartment for earplugs. For a love of detail. But that prevailed elsewhere. XJR 1200 SP King Replica – is the name of the latest declaration of love to muscle bikers: King like Kenny Roberts; yellow-black like the factory racers of the 1970s; SP like everything that is signed under Sport or special model. Exudes the vulgar XJR 1200 (without fairing) already has a certain majestic elegance – the SP is truly a king of big bikes. This motorcycle has charisma. For the 500 Mark surcharge compared to the basic version, there are a few more worldly things. As there are: Ohlins struts, a modified fork with adjustable spring base, adjustable hand levers, a newly designed seat, the gold-colored drive chain and – not to forget – the addition "Limited Edition". Only 500 units of the King Replica are offered for sale in Germany. While the front and rear suspension of the XJR have never been completely convincing to date, the investment of half a giant seems worthwhile, if only because of the new chassis components. But appearances are deceptive. Because, fatally, the high-quality SP works worse than the basic model. The totally overdamped Ohlins components, which do not want to harmonize at all with the rather soft fork, are responsible. On bumpy roads, the insensitive response behavior of the suspension struts causes enormous unrest in the chassis – and not just under the dictates of lightweight people. If a smaller collection of coarser asphalt faults crosses the path, even full-grown quintals get an idea of ​​the term handlebar slap. Like my – click, click, and get rid of the cushioning? It would be nice, but unfortunately not to be done. You will look in vain for corresponding screws. If the King Replica is traveling towards top speed on the motorway, it begins to oscillate around the vertical axis. A pretty nasty move that can also be found on the SP-free XJR, albeit in a weakened form. Earlier test copies revealed no weaknesses in this look, which raises the question of the tires: A year ago, Yamaha still relied on the Dunlop D 202, now the more comfortable Bridgestone BT 54 R has been installed. The better choice in many respects, but not in terms of straight-line stability. The hangman knows why the XJR still rolls around on a useless 130 front sweaters. Such vain costume jewelery really doesn’t fit a bike that wants to celebrate the 70s. And then the disadvantages: more stubborn turning behavior, stronger erection moment. Nobody needs that. Well, let’s hope for the next masquerade ball.

Short test

Yamaha XJR 1200 SP King Replica

–

€ 2.00

Buy now

Related articles

Related articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *