AUS - Australian Motorcycle News - Luglio 2006 

TEST ALAN CATHCART PHOTOGRAPHY KYOICHI NAKAMURA
Fledgling motorcycle manufacturer CR&S is now offering a tailor-made GP-derived bike that might just fit you like an italian suit Some kind of VUNDERBAR

The Vun is a single-cylinder nakedbike that's the * creation of new Italian manufacturer CR&S [Cafe Racer & Superbike). Launched in 2004 as a concepì, the first customer bike is ready now. Its idtosyncratic name -ìot only tells you what it is, but where it comes from — Vun is the Italian word for one as pronounced in the ultra-distinctive Milanese dialect. That's because CR&S is a company formed by three wealthy individuals from Milan who are ali ardent bikers — as indeed are the company's lawyer and itsaccountant. There's no such thrng as a Vun series production model, simply a base-level starter version retailing for d 0,700 ($18,400)- The customer is invited to customise the bike on the company's website using the motorcycle configurator — with any of the numerous options CR&S offers — before pressing a key to price the result, and place an order. And that is the way the Vun is being marketed. "We intend the Vun to be a counterpoint to today's superbike performance missiles, which are quite intimidating even for experienced riders like us," says CR&S engineer Giorgio Sarti. "We decided to make something sporty, but stili practical, with a lower seat than an enduro or supermotard, that would just be fun to ride without thinking you must be Valentino Rossi to control it." President of CR&S, Roberto Crepaldi, says each Vun will be madetofitthe rider. "Each Vun is a totally tailor-made motorcycle," he says. "We won't be customising the Vun like Harley does its bikes — with a chrome eagle badge and fringed leather luggage. We'll be doing it technically, like a suit that's made to measure. » "You can nave a standard 40kW motor, or a soft engine with 26kW [for European learner riders], on which you can remove the throttle stop and remap the ECU to restore to full power when you're ready, or even a tuned version with A9kW. "We can tailor each bike to suit the customer, whether by changing the handlebar, the footrest location, the spring on the shock, the wheels, the tyres, the engine tune and, of course, thecolour." No matter which specification a customer chooses, each Vun will be powered by the same 652cc, water-cooled, DOHC, four-valve, 100 x 83mm, five-speed Rotax engine as supplied to BMW for the F 650 range. This replaces the air-cooled Rotax óOOcc motor which powered the Vun concept bike. The chassis is a chrome-moly tubular spaceframe which essentially comprises twin braced spars. These are bolted to four aluminium engine plates front and rear, each machined from a solid billet of aircraft alloy and wrapping around the four-valve motor. For extra front-wheel grip, the Rotax engine is located as far forward in the frame as possible, which in turn dictated against locating the coolant radiator in front of it. Instead, two smaller radiators have been placed either side of the cylinder. Chassis geometry is as radicai as a 250GP bike, witha 1380mm wheelbase, 21.5° head angle and just 94mm of trail. The rear engine plates contain the pivot for the stender box-section steel cantilever swingarm. Its upper brace also directly operates the fully adjustable Paioli shock that's located near-horizontally above the gearbox without a link. offering 128mm of rear-wheel travet. Up front the 46mm Ceriani cartridge forks give 120mm of travel, and are also fully adjustable. The Vun scales a claimed 135kg dry, with an exceptional forward weight bias of 55/45 percent — thanks mainly to the oil tank's position in front of the engine. In base-model guise the Rotax engine produces a claimed 40kW at 7200rpm as compared to 37kW in the BMW range. This extra power comes thanks to the revised exhaust and all-new engine management system. There is a dedicated Walbro ECU complete with dual injectors and a 54mm Dell'Orto throttle body — sourced from a Ski-doo snowmobile motor built by Rotax. The engine accelerates notably more briskly than in BMW guise, with an even broader spread of power from little more than the 1000rpm idle speed up to the 7800rpm fierce-action rev-limiter, which in normal road riding most Vun riders will never hit. Overall the Vun is a relaxing, lazy and torquey thump of a sporting single, with good pick-up and a smooth ride when you're carving through traffic. This is aided by the light action of the oil-bath clutch. There's a really nice, zestful pick-up from part throttle anywhere more than 3000rpm, making this a satisfying ride along winding country lanes or between traffic jams. And ali that's before you start tuning up the motor as CR&S had done — in conjunction with the king of BMW Supermono race tuning, Gottfried Michels Pami — with one bike I rode. ÒR&S has astutely linked with Pami to provide power- up parts forthe Vun. The bike I sampled on the Castelletto Supermoto circuit's tarmac section delivered 9kW more than the base-level bike, as wellasweighing 12kg less. This was achieved thanks to catatuser-free pipes, combined with an Omega race piston (delivering 12.5:1 compression compared with the stocker unit's 9.7:1). The Pami camshafts with 1 mm more lift and extra duration, up-rated valve springs with titanium collars, plus a remapped ECU, allow the motor to rev to 9500rpm. The result was sparkling performance by big single standards, but the power delivery stili wasn't as aggressive as I might have expected on such a potent package. The extra revs make a big difference to top-end power, but not at the expense of rideability. You don't have to slip the clutch out of slower turns to coax it back in the powerband. Nor must you work the crisp gearbox unduly to keep the motor in the powerband. Same thing goes for the Paton-designed chassis. Its fast but not excessively nervous handling makes the Vun just great to scoot along the twisty bits or through city streets. It has razor-sharp steering, so that you practically feel you're holding the front axle in your hands, instead of the relatively upright one-piece Ducati Monster handlebar. The bar is pulled back just enough to deliver a straight-backed stance that's both comfortable and relaxing, and gives a good sense of controllability. Aiding that agility is the optional single front 320mm Braking petal disc that any Vun owner ought to spring for, wilh its reduced gyroscopic weight an important element in speeding up the steering. It also looks good and, gripped by the single four-piston Brembo radiai brake, stops the Vun very well, too. If you do get the rear wheel chattering, however, it will start Street -sweeping in the air. That's the only time I encountered any hang-ups with the quite extreme GP-derived chassis geometry ot the Vun, which otherwise was super-stable through fast, sweeping turns, even those with a bump in the middle. The Vun is generally pretty stable and it's not a nervous bike in spite of that quite radicai chassis geometry. Indeed, the soft suspension settings were a big aid to riding enjoyment, delivering good ride quality for such a light bike, soaking up road shock over the rough surfaces without undue front-end dive. The Vun's riding position helps you feel a part of the bike, with your knees tucking in tightly to the shaped flanks of the 14-litre fuel tank. In fact it seems more like a 250 than a 650 because it feels so short and manoeuvrable. Deliverie5 of the first batch of 25 Vuns has just started. The chances must be high that Crepaldi and his cohorts will find lots more equally free-thinking customers who just want a well-made motorcycle that's fun to ride without being over-demanding of your time.