While the eight-year veteran of the track, who consistently
placed in the top three, has now retired from competition, his
desires for a race-inspired bike have not waned as evidenced
by his 2002 Honda RC51. "Speed wise, it's not as fast as
an inline-four but it's still very fast," he explained.
"I wanted a V-twin because they sound distinct compared
to an inline-four. I had another V-twin before this one and
I really like them for the street." When Honda Racing Corporation
rolled the RC51 out in 2000, it took direct aim at the Superbike
series. It proved to be a successful strategy when the purpose-built
racing platform captured the World Superbike Championship that
same year. When Honda released the street version, it brought
a lot of its racing heritage along with it.
The 2002 model year, while visibly indistinguishable from
the year prior, included many performance improvements. The
throttle bodies on the 999cc engine were boosted to 62mm from
54mm while the twin injectors feeding each chamber sported
12 laser-drilled jets instead of four for better spray. In
addition to the engine improvements, the real innovations
were found in the frame and the suspension. Honda went through
the bike with a fine-toothed comb in its search to drop weight
and improve performance. A new swingarm and shock dropped
weight while tweaks to the linkage ratio, fork travel and
steering head angle improved handling.
While the track inspiration was a perfect match for Jaeger,
it proved to be just a starting point. Shortly after acquiring
the bike in 2003 from the U.S., he set to making the bike
feel and perform more like his race bikes. Jaeger shaved more
than five per cent off the curb weight by installing a titanium
Akrapovic racing exhaust complete with homemade exhaust hanger
brackets and changing out the chain and sprockets. He then
boosted the output with a Dynojet Power Commander that allows
him to make alterations to the entire fuel system by plugging
it into a laptop. To get that extra power to the ground Jaeger
went with Metzler racing tires with Kevlar brake lines to
help stop them. He explained the relative rigidity Kevlar
lines provide a better feel than rubber hoses that stretch
and expand.
All the work paid dividends on the dyno with Jaeger reporting
130 horsepower at the rear wheels and an estimated top speed
in excess of 270 kilometers per hour. But he is still not
done. Already waiting to be swapped in is a carbon fiber airbox
and high compression pistons.
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