Harrison ‘In classic 90s style it feels lazy but is planted and stable’
125.475mph
TeamSilicone Engineering Racing Rider Dean Harrison Race position 1st
The bike By Dave Collins, Silicone Engineering Racing
It’s very fast now but came to us in boxes. The frame and swingarm are stock 1992 ZXR750. We tried a braced swingarm, but Dean prefers the standard item. We run Maxton internals in ZXR forks and a rear Öhlins shock, because it’s what Deano likes. Wheels are Dymags while the brakes use Ducati 996 calipers. It’s a bit of a mongrel. The engine has a 2mm overbore, which the rules allow, upping capacity to 791cc. It makes between 145 and 150bhp depending on the flat-side carburettor settings. We have to run a Nova race gearbox because as soon as the power pushes up the standard gearbox can’t take it. Once the bike was in the ball-park we just tried to improve fuelling and throttle connection. It’s old-school, all needles and jets. We are running 39mm flat-slides with a bigger airbox and new exhaust, now stainless as Dean put his heal through the carbon end can last year.
We’ve not thrown an endless supply of money at the bike: the gearbox, exhaust and wheels are the pricey items, plus the engine tune. We wouldn’t ever sell it, but you could build something similar for £10,000 to £12,000.
Racing it By Dean Harrison
In classic 90s style it feels lazy with slow steering, making it hard work in fast direction changes but is typically planted and stable, and the power is linear. It will rev to 13,000rpm, but there’s no point and I change up at 12,000rpm. Engine-wise it feels slower than my modern Supersport bike, but it’s actually faster. At this year’s TT my Kawasaki ZX-6R recorded 167mph through the speed trap while the old ZXR goes through at 175mph. I also like the way it’s roomier than my TT bikes with a huge fairing – it’s nice and comfortable.
I don’t miss electronic riding aids as my TT bike runs BSB spec electronics, which means I don’t have any traction control. The throttle connection (to a bank of good old fashioned flat-slides) is mint, too. The ZXR did 127.8mph last year, and if the conditions were perfect, I could do the same again. In fact 129mph or even 130mph could be possible. Not bad for bike that’s nearly as old as me!