All bikes built to a similar spec. plus spares. Would make the perfect starting point for a new team.

New 2008 models built in March. Engines already refreshed at least once this season with new valves, etc.

When last tested made 185 hp on the Arrow WSB dyno. All suspension maintained by Ohlins Sweden, Ohlins UK or Andreani Group.

Bob Farnham Prepared Engines
Ohlins 25mm Fork Cartridges
Ohlins TTX36 Shock
Leo Vince SBK CORSA Full Titanium Dual Exhaust System
Yoshimura EM-Pro ECU
Yoshimura Wiring Loom
Yoshimura Kit Head Gasket
Yoshimura Quickshifter
Yoshimura Air Intake Tubes
Yoshimura Engine Case Protectors
Yoshimura Lock Stops
Yoshimura Pair Valve Removal Kit
ValterMoto Clip Ons
ValterMoto Axle Protectors
GPR v4 Steering Damper
ProMach Rear Sets
HotBodies Racing Fairings
Active Quick Action Throttle
LighTech (or Active) Remote Adjustable Brake Lever
Fren Tubo Carbon (or Goodridge) Braided Brake Lines
Performance Friction Brake Pads
DNA Air Filters
Tsubaki Chain
Renthal Sprockets
R&G Crash Bobbins
R&G Stand Bobbins
R&G Chain Protector
Stomp Tank Grips

Can remove Yoshimura ECU and wiring loom and replace with standard if required for BSB SuperStock.

Also two full sets of Renthal sprockets plus duplicates.

Spares (currently) include:

Wheels with Discs (x 4 sets)
Stock Forks (x 2 sets)
Frame (x 1)
Swing Arm (x 1)
Leo Vince Titanium End Cans (New) (x 2)
Leo Vince RHS Titanium Link Pipes (x 4)
Throttle Bodies (x 1)
Air Box (x 1)
Yokes (x 1)
Standard Air Intake Tubes (x 4 sets)
Tank (Used) (x 1)
Tank (New) (x 2)
Tank Cowls (New) (x 2)
Clip On Bars (x 4)
Callipers (x 4) Updated
Brake Master Cylinder (x 3)
Clutch Master Cylinder (New) (x 2)
Brake Levers (x 4)
Clutch Levers (New) (x 2)
Screens (New) (x 6)
Rear Subframe (x 1)
Front Subframe (x 4)
Standard Throttle & Cables (x 4)

Plus four standard looms, lock sets, fuel tank caps and pillion seat release locks with matching ECUs.

In fact there are enough parts here to build a fifth bike, all you would need would be an engine.

Also available:

SuperBike Tyre Warmers (x 6 sets) - To be sold with above or separately once above bikes have been sold.

All bikes laser tracked to ensure alignment with regular visits to Maidstone Motoliners to be safe (usually with no alterations required).

£40,000 for everything (including spares, tyre warmers, etc.), or from £7500 to £9500 depending on specification (e.g. standard loom and ECU or Yoshimura parts), spare wheels, etc.

Team is VAT registered so potential sponsors may be able to reclaim the VAT… 

For Almeria we added a new Arrow race exhaust system, new Tsubaki chain and Renthal sprockets, new Stomp Tank Grips, new GPR steering damper, new Robby Moto rear sets, new R&G Crash Bobbins & Paddock Stand Bobbins, new Performance Friction brake pads and one of our spare fairings from 2007.

The bike covered approximately 400 kms at Almeria including an 80km race where the bike led Leon Haslam for 12 of the 14 laps and finished just 0.5s behind at the end. It also received a brand new ECU and idle valve just before we left in accordance with the factory recall for these models.

It may not be the cheapest K7 out there but it has just 400 km from new and never crashed. Most parts were brand new just before the Almeria test and it has not been used since then.

For sale now at £6500.

Also have a selection of other items that can be sold with the bike at extra cost:

- 2007 Ohlins TTX36 Rear Shock (used once since ground up rebuild)
- Andreani 25mm Fork Cartridges, with spare springs (used for four rounds only)
- Fren Tubo Carbon Brake Lines (used for less than six rounds) 
- Spare wheels with brake discs

Payment can be made by credit card if you will pay the additional 2.5% fee we are charged by the credit card company. 

1800 photos taken over the season combine to form the above image.

Our plans for 2008 had begun to come together in the middle of the season when we agreed to run Matt and Chris again in 2008. We were soon joined by another South African, Sheridan Morais, who opted to run with us after a season with the well established Pedercini team. Even Suzuki South Africa were on board with support in the form of supplying bikes and other goods to help our 2008 season.

Everything looked rosy until the final round when we found out that the organisers only wanted teams of two for 2008. Doh! We did persuade them that having two teams of two was a good idea so we set about looking for a fourth rider.

Having spoken with a few candidates we began working out a deal with a rider we thought would fit well with the team. Not easy and a potentially difficult situation, having spent so much money to plug the hole in the 2007 budget, it was looking impossible to do a deal for 2008 despite doing my best to subsidise the cost, probably more than I should have.

I thought we had reached an agreement, or were close to it, as the deadline loomed only to get a phone call from the WSB organisers asking whether all my riders were actually riding for me after all. Rather frustrating to find that at the same time the sponsor that was enabling us to run Chris and Sheridan had pulled out.

In the space of one day our four rider team had been reduced to one rider. At least Matt Bond is still on board and F G Sport have been good enough to confirm MIST Suzuki Racing would be racing in 2008 with a two rider team in the FIM SuperStock 1000 class at World SuperBikes.

The hunt for a second rider is back on and preparations begin in earnest in January to buy, build and set up the bikes, buy and fit out the new race truck and embark on our planned testing schedule.

Oh, and somewhere in amongst that lot we need to keep on with our search for sponsorship as it is vital that we get as much track time as possible before the season starts and during the year.

Fingers crossed!

With contracts signed on time and commitment from Suzuki and Ohlins to deliver us the new for 2007 GSXR1000K7 before they were available to the public along with Ohlins making sure we would have the first 25mm fork internal kits and TTX36 rear shocks we were all set. Or so we thought…

With delays getting the GSXR1000K7 ready due to parts availability plus the World SuperBike organisers opting to add an additional date at Donington Park it meant things would be ready later than we planned and the first round would be much earlier than we planned. The GSXR600K7 had been available for a while but things were delayed waiting for the rider to pay the first installment of the money they owed the team before testing could begin.

The GSXR1000K7 arrived about six weeks before the first round but it was several weeks before the suspension arrived and could be fitted. With no bodywork available we had to heavily modify a fairing from an earlier model bike and adapt a seat unit from our 600 from last season. With less than two weeks remaining before the first round we went testing albeit with the stock exhausts and our temporary fairing.

By some bizarre coincidence our 600 rider was there riding an R6. Curiouser and curiouser. After confronting his Dad we were assured that they had no other plans and that they had been having meetings with sponsors and had one more planned in order to get everything sorted. It was a surprise then to see the same rider appear in the press announcement for the R6 Cup the following day. Mmmm, ten days to go before the first round and no rider. Yikes!

Arrow and the UK importer, B & C Express, did a sterling job of making us an exhaust and shipping it over in time for the first round. Well, it arrived on the Tuesday and we were due to be at the circuit on Thursday morning. The only bodywork we could get was from Sharkskinz in the US and that arrived on Wednesday.

We arrived at Donington Park, unpacked the bike and headed off to pick up the race awnings we had ordered. We managed to get the bike prepared sufficiently to pass scrutineering later that afternoon and then burnt the midnight oil to finish everything else off in preparation for first practice on Friday morning! The GPR Steering Damper was the very first in the country and arrived fresh off the plane on Friday lunchtime.

Hard to believe that it was only 2005 that Matt won the MRO MiniTwins Championship riding a Suzuki SV650 with 72 horse power. 2006 was his first year on a 600 and now we were moving on to a 1000 with 170 plus horse power. Matt has followed the same pattern ever since stepping on to the SV650. Three crashes right at the start of the season while he found his feet followed by a rapid improvement throughout the rest of the season. It happened on the SV650, the GSXR600 and, sure enough, the GSXR1000.

From the first test session through the first two rounds Matt racked up the usual three crashes, including writing off both stock exhausts, a rear wheel and, somehow, the rear shock! Not to mention breaking some small bones in his wrist at Valencia yet still managing to race and finish 23rd despite the pain!

Meanwhile the search for a replacement 600 rider was eventually solved with the signing of South African Chris Leeson. Chris was riding for the official Suzuki team at home and so despite a few rounds where he was required to race for them he was ours for the rest of the season. At the time of writing Chris just needs to finish in the points at the last round in order to win the South African SuperSport 600 Championship! For the rounds where Chris couldn’t make it due to riding in South Africa we gave young Scottish rider Alex Gault the opportunity to ride on the World stage.

Chris joined in time for the Assen round although the bike was still brand new and in the crate on Wednesday morning having just been delivered fresh from Suzuki. It was unpacked, had the road gear removed and the race exhaust system fitted, was run in on the dyno and had the suspension fitted by the end of the day. We arrived at Assen on Thursday lunch time and proceeded to finish building the bike that afternoon. Chris finished in 26th place around 48 hours later!

This may sound like everything was last minute and very disorganised but that is far from the truth. Everything was meticulously planned despite the lack of sponsorship and the large hole in the already miniscule budget left by the withdrawal of the original 600 rider. We really have to thank our sponsors for making the difference between putting together a competitive team and not going racing at all. Without Steve Jordan Motorcycles, S & B Commercials, Teng Tools, B & C Express and numerous other companies there is no way we would have been ready to compete yet alone be as competitive as we have proved to be.

With the team manager making up the shortfall in the budget out of his own pocket it is worth pointing out that MIST Suzuki Racing operated on around one tenth of the budget of the top teams in the SuperStock 1000 championship! The

The key lesson for the year is that not buying or budgeting for certain things is a false economy. For example:

• We had an engine drop a valve at Brno shortly after we had spent three days testing there whilst Matt was sitting in 12th place during first qualifying. Without a spare Matt was forced to sit out the race and the team was forced to purchase a completely new bike just to make sure we had another engine for the next round two weeks later.
• With a brand new bike everyone struggled with suspension set up over the first few rounds and our belated investment in bringing the Andreani Group on board for track side suspension support proved invaluable in speeding up our ability to find a good base setting.
• Not being able to test during some of the longer breaks during the season really hurt us in terms as getting back up to speed at the next round. It would take the first day for the riders to get back in the swing of things which meant other riders were already ahead when we knew they weren’t as good as Matt or didn’t have as good a package behind them.

* Cancelled race from Silverstone held at the Brands Hatch meeting to the benefit of stand in rider Alex Gault.

Now that the season is over and we can look back the consensus of opinion is that we did remarkably well given the problems we had. Matt moving from a 120 horse power bike to a 175 horse power bike was always going to be a big jump and the difficulties at being let down by our other rider really hurt us in both focus and budget.

We also suffered a great deal of bad luck including the engine blow up, electrical problems and a couple of tyres that proved to be very different to others of the same weekend which cost us a lot of development and set up time. I am confident that without some of these incidents Matt would have been a regular points scorer towards the end of the season but that’s racing.

The ups and downs of racing were demonstrated perfectly at the last round at Magny Cours. Chris was inside the top ten by the first corner and was then forced off the track and in to last place by the second turn. He then fought back putting in the same lap times as the podium finishers to finish in 15th place by the end of the race. Thoughts of what might have been are all very well but but our aim is to bring on young riders and watching Chris and Matt improve over the season has made it all worth while.

Perhaps more importantly, both FG Sport (the organisers behind the World SuperBike Championship) and other teams and riders were impressed with our professionalism, machine performance and overall impact as the largest British team in the whole paddock.

This bodes well for 2008 where we have had enquiries from riders capable of being championship contenders who believe we have what it takes to help them win races plus bike and manufacturers of performance parts who are looking to get involved with the team. We are also looking to focus on the SuperStock 1000 class which would allow us to run a larger team with the resources available to us.

An official announcement of our 2008 plans will be coming shortly. Watch this space…

With under a month to go until the first round it was time to start building the bike. The fact that we had no parts didn’t help but at least we could start stripping the bike, fit some decent tyres and prepare for testing.

The suspension is due imminently although when the rest of the parts will arrive is anyone’s guess. With no bodywork we had to improvise. A very battered GSXR1000K6 fairing was abused enough to make it fit and plenty of fibre glass added to make sure it held together. An old seat unit from the GSXR600K6 was also adapted to fit with a little work.

Photos copyright @ MIST Suzuki Racing 2007

With a little over six weeks to go before the first round at Donington Park we have finally received the first of the bikes for the season. Matt and I helped unload seven GSXR1000K7s, including ours, at Steve Jordan Motorcycles the week before the public launch.

The suspension parts are on order, there is no bodywork available and we only have a vague idea when the exhausts are due to arrive. Needless to say we are in a similar position as we were last year! I hope things start moving quickly as Matt has a big learning curve ahead of him to get up to speed on the bike.

In case you were wondering, the lovely black and orange coloured bike is ours. You won’t see them on the roads as Suzuki are only selling those bikes to racers for the moment. So anyone that wants that colour will have to find a racer willing to sell the body kit that they will be removing.

Photos copyright @ MIST Suzuki Racing 2007

It hasn’t been an easy off season for MIST Suzuki Racing. The ongoing search for sponsorship has been slow although with one or two notable successes. Steve Jordan Motorcycles are supporting us again which will be a great help. We are waiting to speak with S&B Commercials about our transport needs. They were a big help last season and we are hoping to work with them again in 2007. Teng Tools also look likely to be coming on board giving us a range of their excellent products which should make things a lot easier, both in the workshop, the paddock and the pit lane.

As a rider update, Matt Bond is now fully signed up although there has been some delay with Daniel Brill due to issues with his personal sponsors. We are still hoping to resolve the situation but are also keeping an eye out for another SuperStock 600 rider in case things don’t work out.

On the positive side we received the first of the new Suzuki GSXR1000K7 bikes for Matt. The official UK launch isn’t until the 24th February so we aren’t allowed to publish any pictures just yet. Needless to say we were very happy to have it early and have already run it in on the dyno and are busy sourcing parts for it. Steve Jordan Motorcycles have a Dyna Pro dyno that measured our stock Suzuki GSXR600K6 last year at 100 hp and in full race trim at 110 hp. The GSXR1000K7 makes 163 hp at the rear wheel out of the box!

Matt even came down to help unpack the bike and we can’t wait to get him out on track so he can start getting up to speed with it. Just need to find somewhere with some race bodywork now.

It appears that there is no longer any chance of a break in the off season simply because there isn’t an off season. The mad rush to get sponsorship before the date the contracts had to be in meant we simply ran out of time to put all our plans in to action. In the end we were only able to enter one SuperStock 1000 ride and one SuperStock 600 for Matt Bond and Daniel Brill, respectively.

The team would still like to have additional riders but without having secured the necessary sponsorship to fund them we are not willing to take the risk that we cannot afford to run them as once contracts are signed and entries are paid there is no way we could back out if the funds weren’t available. We will keep working on the sponsorship angle in the hope we may get a late entry for another rider, or two, and whilst there are a couple of companies that seem interested in working with us we still don’t have anything to announce at this time.

In the meantime Matt went to Jerez in Spain with Racedays.net back in November. Whilst he didn’t have a bike to ride he did get the opportunity of a couple of sessions on Steve Jordan’s GSXR1000K6 and Sarah Jordan’s heavily reworked SV700, an SV650 with a big bore kit, lightweight Dymag wheels and a GSXR600K4 front end. With no previous experience of a 1000cc machine Matt impressed everyone by being almost as quick as Steve on a circuit neither had seen before and only a couple of seconds off the pace of the British SuperStock Cup champion!

We are waiting to hear back about the next step with a major sponsor although it looks like their plans may be to build a working relationship in 2007 whilst we help them with some development ready for a much larger effort for the 2008 season. In the mean time we hope to hear soon how much support we can get from Suzuki and, more importantly, whether we will get the new GSXR1000K7 before they are released to the general public so that we can get some testing done before heading off to Valencia for the first round.

Barely have we had time to get over the end of the season than it is time to start planning for next year. With Matt and Chris both turning 20 this year they will be too old to race SuperStock 600 in Europe in 2007. That means a move up to the 1000s which is quite a daunting task although one I’m sure they are both up to.

With plans to run two SuperStock 1000s and two SuperStock 600s it looks like 2007 is going to be a big year for MIST Suzuki Racing if everything goes to plan!

The search for sponsorship has been going on since August and various companies have shown an interest and a few more haven’t told us to get lost so fingers crossed for 2007.

Benefits of Sponsorship

• Largest all British motorcycle racing team in World SuperBike race paddock
• Competing at ten meetings across Europe and UK, over 750,000 race weekend attendees per season
• Two rounds in UK each year, approximately 180,000 race weekend attendees combined
• Brands Hatch round is regularly the largest one day sporting event in the UK
• Leading Suzuki Privateer team in 2006, awaiting confirmation of official support from Suzuki GB for 2007
• Considerable UK motorcycle press coverage during season across all main publications
• Widespread local press coverage in London and South East of England
• Significant internet presence across general and specialist motorcycle web sites
• Use of hospitality suite at Brands Hatch for World SuperBikes and other racing events
• Dedicated television coverage in UK and Europe (both digital and analogue) plus live internet feed video and live timing information
• Sponsor liveried team truck travelling 15,000 miles around UK and Europe during season
• Opportunity for competitions within one of the largest UK motorcycle magazine for sponsor liveried replica race bikes and other sponsor products

Team contracts with FG Sport are due at the end of the month so hopefully we’ll have a good idea of what we are doing by the middle of December.

Photos copyright @ MIST Suzuki Racing 2006

Photos copyright @ MIST Suzuki Racing 2006