SHOOTOUT
P68
2013 MIDDLEWEIGHT SPORTBIKE SHOOTOUT
STORY BY ADAM WAHEED
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JUSTIN DAWES
J
ust a few years ago 600
inline fours ruled the Supersport class, flying off
showroom floors with the speed
those
championship-winning
riders Miguel Duhamel and the
Hayden brothers used to set
track records with. Fast forward
to today and the classic 600
formula is under threat from a
fresh breed of larger displacement sportbikes from Europe
and even one traitor from Japan.
Is the tried and true Supersport
format in jeopardy?
To find out we racked up
odometers at Southern California's Chuckwalla Valley Raceway, spinning two days' worth
of laps around the 2.68-mile
desert circuit. To ensure equal
footing we fitted Bridgestone's
ultra-grippy Battlax R10 competition tires. Testing sportbikes in
115-degree temperatures isn't
all fun and games so we assembled an experienced cast of
characters highlighted by former
AMA Champion and STAR Motorcycle School's chief instructor/owner Jason Pridmore along
with veteran AMA Pro and 2008
Formula Xtreme champ Jake
Zemke. We also enlisted Cycle
News editor Paul Carruthers
and proficient riders from Motorcycle-USA. So sit back and find
out which of these sportbikes
come out on top this season.
Changing of the guard? Three
middleweights face off against
the three remaining classic
Japanese 600s. Oh and just
for fun, we include the original,
the Suzuki GSX-750 superbike
that started it all.
BATTLE TO T
SUPERSP
