Slow Burn tells how the Superbike racing motorcycle developed out of the roadgoing sports-tourer to become one of the most successful competitions in all forms of motorcycle sport. As well as offering world championship class competition in its own right, Superbike racing has been a highly competitive training ground for grand prix riders, as well as helping manufacturers, distributors and dealers develop and improve their motorcycles.
Superbike racing is to the motorcycle industry what touring car or NASCAR competition is to the car world – race on Sunday, sell on Monday.
All the big names were drawn into the sport during its formative years, and have been there ever since – Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha, Ducati and Aprilia have all used Superbike racing to test their street bike designs. Some of the biggest riders in the sport – Wayne Gardner, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz and Eddie Lawson – all started out on big, unruly Superbikes, learning how to powerslide their way around the world’s toughest tracks. It’s all in Superbike – and it’s all in Slow Burn.
● The story of Superbike racing from its earliest days ● Remembering the mighty trackburners from the ’70s and ’80s ● Recalling the exploits of the stars, from Mike Hailwood to Kenny Roberts ● The rapid growth of technology, from pushrods to twin cams, carburation to fuel injection ● The epic rivalries of the ’80s, from Freddie Spencer v Eddie Lawson to Wayne Rainey v Kevin Schwantz ● From steel to alloy: the evolution of the motorcycle frame ● How to do more with less: the growth of the 750 ● Vive la difference: European endurance racing of the ’80s ● Epic racing on short circuit and open road, from Brands Hatch to Macau ● The four great races: the TT, the Bol d’Or, the Suzuka 8-Hours and the Daytona 200
