During the TT, experienced road racer and Performance Bikes road tester Michael Rutter put two of the best stock sportsbikes to the test around the Mountain Course.
Fitted with data loggers, Michael hit the famous course on both the latest BMW S1000RR and all-new Suzuki GSX-R1000R to see which stock bike could put in the fastest lap.
With a raft of upgrades including the new VVT technology, Suzuki’s new Gixxer is right at the sharp end of the market once again and amazingly Michael was able to put in a 121.90mph lap on the standard machine.
What makes this even more astonishing is that he achieved it on a standard road tyre, Metzeler’s Sportec M7RR.
Yes Metzeler claim that the tyre was born out of their experience at events like the TT, but they certainly never expected a rider like Rutter to be pushing it to it’s limits around the Mountain Course.
You can jump on board the Suzuki for the full lap below:
In their August 2017 edition, Rutter said:
“They are what they are – a sporty road tyre, and I have to admit I wasn’t totally sure about using them, and I was worried at the first couple of corners. But I needn’t have been. They were simply brilliant. The way they would spin up was really progressive, you know, not like grip, grip, grip, slide. More like spin a little, then a little more, then a little more. It’s all predictable, controllable, and actually enjoyable.
They’re really stable too, and never stopped providing feedback. I was really surprised at how good they were, and how good a condition they were in afterwards.”
Pick up the latest issue of Performance Bikes for the full article.
You can find out more about the Sportec M7RR here.
