Later in the day the bikes were fitted with Michelin’s Race Pilot’s; scrubbed in by the instructors (did I mention how spoiled we were). A tad more ride height was dialed in too. Some streetbikes do tend to get a little nervous with the sticky hoops installed, not so with the F4i. They still offered the same predictable handling combined with totally bonkers lean angle. After a few 20-minute sessions the new bike really impressed me. However, on inspection by the instructors of our measly attempts to get the Pilots up to race temperature. It was decided that not only were incapable of scrubbing the tires in, but they should really show us how to wear them out too. Freddie suited up and the ensuing war broke out.

Freddie Spencer is Obi Wan Kenobi, to the school instructors Jeff Haney, and Dale Kieffer. The ensuing ding-dong between Freddie and his “students” were breath taking. Doug Toland entered the fray as did Honda’s fast media man Ken Vreeke. This was the first time I’d seen Freddie ride “angry” for over 15 years. He was soon to the front, pulled over, and worked his way back to the front to show who really had the “force”. I was fascinated by the interaction between Freddie and Haney; Spencer gave him the “I taught you well my son” look and handshake. It’s funny how everyone thinks we journo’s have a dream job in motorcycling and I’m standing there looking at Jeff Haney thinking he had a dream job.

All this racing about at speed by these multiple world champions was making me feel rather inadequate. Time to break out the stunt routine. Now I had been told that the new wheels and brakes were substantially lighter. As far as unsprung weight is concerned, this is a good thing for acceleration, turning and handling. A byproduct of this weight loss, is the increased hooligan potential. I persuaded renowned photographer Kevin Wing to “hang around” the straight. I proceeded to bust a series of stand-up and one footed nac, nac wheelies.

So what? You say. Well, ladies and germs, I wasn’t standing on the passenger pegs and I was using 3rd gear with absolutely no clutch. Wicked!

Lastly, one important thing about this bike and something that cannot be over stressed is the handling.

Now handling is pretty subjective. What feels right to someone else doesn’t necessarily feel right for you. A tried and tested formula for me is; how do I feel after logging some performance mileage? Do I feel drained or tired? Do I feel like I’ve just gone twelve rounds with Ali? Heck no! At the end of the day, I felt as fresh as at the start. Apart from a healthy boost in adrenaline, I felt wonderful. This is an important factor to me. If you’re totally comfortable and you’re not wrestling the bike, you will ride better, longer and much more importantly, safer. However, if you lend your new F4i to a friend, you will be wrestling the keys back out of their hands.

Mike Emery