If you feel overpowered by the R1 vs the TRX900, you may try to make the difference with the rider : have him eat / drink something that makes him feel not very well during digestion or apply psychological pressure on him before racing - not very difficult with a father-in-law.
A smear of WD40 on the R1 back tire will lessen the throttle application without causing a bin.....
As for TDM v Sprot bike, one of my favourite anecdotes comes from a mate of the late Ian Bell, RIP. When the Mk 1 came out, Ian took one out of his dealership and rode up to Scotland with his missus on the back. Heading to Knockhill IIRC. His mates were on the sportiest steeds of the day and no doubt typical amateur proddy racers, fangmeisters and a little unhinged.
The story goes that as the group got closer to the border, one by one the sprot bikes started to fall away leaving Ian and his missus to vanish off into the distance.
To quote "he just pissed off and their was nothing we could do about it."
I doubt you would get a TDM motor to reliably keep up with a well ridden R1 on track but I bet you would have more fun trying.
A wee off the shelf turbo with sensible boost, nice cams, plenty of lungs... would certainly make the straights a bit shorter and the motor lends itself to more throttle earlier.
Oh, you could skite about how long you've had a cross plane crank... FZR - Super Tenere - TDM - R1. Incestuous.
But wait, theirs more. Robustness is very high on the list of why TDM 900's are being used by Federales.Typically two well fed Hombres per bike armed to the teeth looking for the next perp and high speed pursuit.
Edited by harvey krumpet, 25 July 2017 - 08:39 am.