The WSS stuff is pretty cool, and the Factory Breil WSS bikes from back in the day shared many components with their big brother Factory FO*/RS bikes. I've mentioned the WSS-spec Falcon dash, and my girl also has the Pierobon alloy fairing brace from the lower spec kit. Some of the other components that ooze WSS cred are the shorter kit/RS velocity stacks, seen below next to the OEM plastic units:
Varying the length of the intake tract moves the torque peak up or down the rev range. The shorter stacks don't increase peak torque, they just move the peak further up the rev range. As we know, torque and hp are linked by rpm, so more torque at higher revs equals more hp. It's not quite as simple as that, the cams and head must also be designed to work at that rpm, but you get the idea. There isn't much point fitting short stacks designed to work at 12000rpm if your cams/ports/valves mean the thing runs out of puff at 10000rpm.
So she's had the once over, has a few WSS bits and bobs, plus a few of The Colonel's secret herbs and spices that would have given the WSS scrutineers conniptions, like the bigger carbon Shift-Tech airbox/runners, Carbon tank, ECU etc.
But how does it go? I have a hard copy dyno chart misplaced somewhere, so this isn't my bike (although exact same exhaust), but the results are very similar to the following clip....and knowing a little bit about the (great, very helpful) guy who posted it and his Factory connections, those "stock" looks belie what will be some seriously trick bits underneath (hint: a stock-ish 749R doesn't make anywhere near this kind of hp):
Handling wise it is chalk and cheese compared to an IL4 GSXR/CBR/R6. The 749R is incredibly slim, like a 130hp bicycle, but with a density to it, a feeling of solidity that the IL4's don't have. The IL4's are a tad lighter, and feel it, but they also feel physically larger. It's difficult to explain but the best likeness I can give is to imagine the IL4 is made from Pine and the 749R is made from Oak, if that makes sense?
That flows through into the way they ride, with the 749R feeling absolutely rock solid, and the IL4's feeling more agile. Not that the R is at all cumbersome in race trim: set the outer headstock steering tube to the steep 23.5deg setting (24.5deg is the road setting) which would ordinarily screw up the trail, but the R is unique in that the trail is restored by rotating the adjustable inner eccentric steering stem. This gives the perfect balance of manoeuvrability vs stability. That said, it is never going to be a "flickable" bike. I guess it depends on the type of circuits you ride as to which is the more beneficial quality: horses for courses.
Another difference that immediately struck me was the brakes. I was used to running good EBC HH or the brilliant Yoshi pads in my superbike and thought braking was perfectly fine, but the 4 pad Brembo's on the 749R were a revelation even on the OEM rotors, and they only got better with the fitment of the Brake-Tech iron rotors and organic pads.
Bottom line, after a bit of tuning and getting to know each other, I found my lap times had barely changed, even with 40hp less at my disposal. The lovely soft first crack of the throttle let me get on the gas earlier, the intrinsically good traction from the twin, the great brakes, close ratio gearbox, all combine to work brilliantly on track. It's that Keith Code "$1 worth of concentration" coming to the fore, with less distraction you have more of the $1 to spend on getting on the gas earlier/harder, braking later, hitting your markers etc, which all translates on the timesheet.
