We all know somebody that's a bit of a fruitcake. You know, that one person who takes things just that little bit too far. Like the clown that runs around with a lampshade on his (or her) head or gulps down a line of volatile shooters at parties. Well Steve Freeman is one of those people - but on a completely different level. He's arguably living on borrowed time from the Big Fella upstairs.
Steve likes nothing more than to be nailing along on the back of his awesome 820hp per tonne road machine - and popping the odd wheelie at 180 km/h to break up the boredom! With a power-to-weight ratio better than just about any road car, it's hard to imagine what it must be like riding this 2-wheeled rocket. We'll just have to keep trying though, 'coz we - in true pussy style - decided not to take up the opportunity of going for a ride on the back...
Steve first got stuck into mega quick bikes a few years ago when he pieced together a wild 1100cc Yamaha with a turbo slung off it. Sure it went bloody quick, but it consumed pistons at nearly the same rate - so it was time to build up something a little more bulletproof. The answer lies before you in the shape of a 1984 Suzuki EFE 1230cc road bike, which Steve bought about two years ago.
In standard form the big Suzi "was alright", but it missed that obvious turbo kick. Around 100 horses from the factory four cylinder DOHC 16 valve quad carb TSCC (twin swirl combustion chamber) motor wasn't enough to replace the Yamaha. Steve swapped over the Rajay F40 turbocharger - which, he says, everyone uses on bikes - and put it up alongside the Suzi motor using a Redline Exhaust fabricated mild steel exhaust manifold (that's also been HPC'd). With space limited and weight so very important, the intake to the turbo was kept simple. Ultra simple. There's no filter or anything fancy, just a small length of forward facing ram-tube to aid flow.
The compressor outlet pumps directly into the back of one of Steve's own creations - a small volume, mild steel intake plenum with short runners flowing into each intake port. A single 55mm throttle body was seized from a conventional car and bolted to the side. That multi-valve Suzi head was also "tidied up" with the grinder and equipped with 1mm oversized exhaust valves to open it up. But one of the things on the "to do" list is to install a set of different cams to replace the stockies currently being used - but it still hauls just as it is! And this Suzuki sure sounds like nothing else you're likely to hear on the street either. Not only is there the induction roar of the (unfiltered) turbo, but the 3 inch tailpipe (with a homemade muffler) rumbles the ground like a train!
To make damn sure reliability was improved over the old Yamaha, the engine was sent off to Hanlon Race Engines for a full performance rebuild suited to the turbo installation. One of the most important changes was to lower the static compression ratio down to 8.02:1 using MTC dished slugs - which (so far) have proved 100% reliable. The rest of the bottom end got its required attention too. The crank has been welded and the block O-ringed and fully machined.
A standard oil cooler in front of the motor keeps oil temps stable.
Those four stock carbs are a thing of the past. A Microtech Digi 1 programmable fuel injection computer now takes care of fueling and is wired up to four medium-sized Bosch injectors (mounted directly into the intake manifold). Moving to injection also meant a Bosch high pressure pump had to be fitted in conjunction with a rising rate pressure regulator. Steve says one thing that might be seen to shortly is a swirl pot system - a low fuel tank level has caused some occasional hiccups. Ignition is controlled by a Dyna 2000 electronic system with Eagle 8mm leads running to NGK plugs. The driveline is built up using dog gears and straight-cut primary gears with an aftermarket lock-up racing clutch. From there, a 530 DID chain links 17 and 42 toothed sprockets front and rear. And to make sure boost doesn't drop off after gear changes, there's also a speed shifter, which enables Steve to flat shift - yeah!
So how much boost would you run in a turbocharged road bike - 6-10 psi? Not Steve. He sees the needle on the boost gauge swinging all the way around to 15 psi, or up to 20 when on the dyno or at the drags! I guess you have to really use forced induction if you've gone through the hassle of fitting it... Running "only" 15 psi lets Steve get away with filling up with Super fuel, but for anything over this, Avgas is the ticket. On the dizzy 20 psi boost setting, the awesome bike has stamped itself as being tough by pushing out 205hp on the rollers of RPM's chassis dyno! And that's with no intercooling. Torque comes in at about 3500 rpm but the real power arrives at 6500. That same urge is carried on until around 9000 revs, with the limiter set at an even 10,000.
The 250-odd kilogram bike has run a 10.96 quarter mile at 133 mph with a shocker of a launch - we watched it, and oh boy, was it bad. A nine second pass is the goal - and that should be achievable. Steve's also ridden the Suzi along at 250km/h and there was plenty more in reserve - it's just that you can only stare in the face of death for so long... "It's a buzz having the ground go under you that fast," vouches Steve.
The interior - or whatever you'd like to call it - is made up of a standard seat and RGV handle bars, while the "dashboard" houses an Autometer tacho and boost gauge. But certainly one of the biggest features of this vehicle is its excellent ventilation... Whenever Steve wants to ride in comfort at a more sedate pace, he brings out his other mode of transport - an imported Lexus SC400/Soarer V8. It depends on his mood.
A monumental increase in power like this usually necessitates revised suspension and brakes - and the Suzuki hasn't missed out. The bike now rides on a complete RGV250 front end and a big GSXR rear wheel that helps the stampede of horses find their way to the road. Four-spot front calipers were part of the RGV front-end package and the corresponding GSXR 2-spot rear brakes were also bolted on. Steve's not sure what brand of pads he uses though - after all, brakes just slow down excitement! Rubber-wise, there's a pair of sticky Michelin race tyres that are (or were) labeled "not for highway use". But the cunning Steve has carefully ground off the "not for" part so he can run them on the street!
Yep, this psycho machine sure pushes the boundaries of road performance...
Contacts:
Redline Exhaust
+61 8 8277 0311
RPM Performance Centre
+61 8 8277 2266
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