Gary Johnson
Since my last column I have started to get really busy and I’ve finally got my 2020 BMW S 1000 RR ready to ride with a little help from Peter Hickman and Dazzla over at PHR (Peter Hickman Racing).
I ran the bike in at Cadwell Park and first impressions of the thing were pretty good. There were a few little teething issues but nothing major, so we took it back to Hicky’s place and dropped the oil, stuck new filters and stuff on, made some geometry adjustments and then took it to the dyno to get all the mapping sorted. The fly-by-wire system was quite interesting when I first rode it, so we were able to get that a bit smoother and sort it out. We’ve done some bits and bobs with Maxton too so it should be even better by the time I get to do my first race on it, which happens to be this weekend, at Snetterton for the No Limits Endurance Championship. I did a few of these last year and they are a great way to get loads of laps on your bike so I thought I’d have another go. I’ve teamed up with a few old mates, and fellow Lincolnshire lads Liam Marchant and Phil Crowe, so I think we might just be the heaviest team on the grid – and that’s with Phil at his lightest! I’m the leanest I’ve been in a long time too, but I’ll look even leaner when I’m in a pit garage with them two; it’s a bit like that trick that the girls play, when they surround themselves with ugly girls to make themselves look prettier.
Anyway, it’s a three-hour endurance on the full circuit at Snett, so it’ll be a good test for the bike. We’ll no doubt come away from the weekend having learnt even more about the bike, with a list of jobs to do to make the thing even better.
On another note, I’ve been preparing my little Triumph Daytona 675 for the 2021 North West 200 and Isle of Man TT. I’ve had it all sprayed up and had the clutch modified and a few other little secret bits that I have been working through.
There’s a lot of people I need to thank that have helped me get the Triumph and the BMW ready, people that I couldn’t have done it without, so hopefully I can put in some good performances on both bikes to thank them.
Now everything is ready, I’m really looking forward to getting out on the BMW – from my first few tentative laps on it, I could tell the thing had some real potential and I’m sure the work we have done can only have made it better. If you ever get the opportunity to have a go on one of these new S 1000 RRs, then take it – they really are a special piece of kit that I imagine the Germans are pretty proud of. Anyway, it’s about time I packed my bags and set off to Snetterton, so I’ll leave it there for now, and let you know how we got on next month.
Until then, take it easy.