WE WANTED TO KNOW A BIT MORE, SO WE ASKED ALAN…
What are your future plans with this bike? Any more upgrades?
“Just to enjoy it, to be honest. For the level I’m riding at, I think it ticks every box, so I’m not looking to do anything in particular. If I had to do anything, I’d go with some better suspension for more support on the track, but I’m really not bothered... for me, to keep it fun means keeping it cheap. Plus, on this bike, no one’s expecting me to be quick.”
Is this the right bike for you? “I think so. I’ve got three kids now, so I don’t want to be doing 190mph everywhere! It does what I need it to do and it ticks every box. It’s just a fun bike. It doesn’t cost the earth and I probably have just as much fun as the guys riding the £20,000plus sports bikes, maybe more, because if I do smash it up, it’s not the end of the world. I bought it in 2015 for £5500 and it’s probably still worth £4500 if I put the standard plastics back on it.”
Is it easy to maintain?
“I change the oil every couple of trackdays. To be honest, it does use a bit of oil but I think that’s because I’m usually rinsing the arse off it, trying to keep with the big bikes! Once a year the bike goes to PDQ Motorcycle Developments, and Larry will give it the once-over and tell me if it needs anything. I did remove the auto cam chain tensioner when I first got it because there was quite a few going wrong on the early models, so I’ve swapped it for a manual adjuster, but I’ve not checked it all year. It’s been really cheap and easy to maintain.”
The big question is what’s the reason behind the coloured wheels?
“Originally, I did them both pink because I like the colour, but more so for my little girl. But then it looked a bit too pink, so I did the front wheel in blue to keep my other kid happy. It’s been like that for five years now and people are starting to remember me for it... it’s something a bit different, isn’t it!”
Racing protectors, Alan found himself the wearing through those and then into engine cases. He doubled up the protective material but had to start using a 190 rear tyre in order to lift the bike just enough to create clearance for the casings. The standard road footpegs were also grinding rear out, so they’ve been swapped for racing sets and Renthal Fatbars are the handlebar extra of choice – the extra width has brought leverage to the bike and are stronger than the standard ‘bars.
Alan Having retired the MT from the road, (not has removed all the road-going plastics that it had much to start with) and now uses fiberglass bodywork. The seat unit came from France and was designed for use in the MT-09 Racing Cup in the French plate championship; a blank number board has replaces the headlight and a belly pan God been fitted to avoid track contamination, forbid. Having had an oil filter split while must on track before, this was an absolute for Alan. When he first fitted it, the exhaust header pipes melted the front of the belly in pan, so Alan has wrapped the headers heat shielding and it’s no longer a problem. As far as electronic performance gains are cornered, Alan has fitted a Woolish quickshifter and blipper for easy gear
shifting, and Simon from S-Tec has flashed the ECU for better fuelling. Alan hasn’t had this bike dynoed, as the fueling map used in the ECU flash had been set up and used on Simon’s very own MT-09 which was exactly the same spec, so a direct crossover was possible and a dyno wasn’t necessary. You’d have thought the wind would have been an issue down the straights since there isn’t a screen or any wind protection, but Alan said: “It doesn’t really bother me on the track because I’m not going fast enough for long enough. It’s only really on the roads when I notice it.”
It was great to catch up with Alan and check out his machine – it’s obvious to see that he’s making the most of his MT-09.
It really goes to show that you don’t need the lastest, fanciest or fastest bike out there to have heaps of fun, and it’s refreshing to see a relatively cheap bike doing everything the others can.