Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127716
valves as a means o f increasing the d owndraft of the injector stacks: Compa red to the CAD drawing on the CDU screen in one of the photos, the finished version has less d own d raft but will be, easier to mountin the chassis with optimum air box design. Ca giva has d ecl in ed to give any details about tile engine's specifications, but it is known that two versions of the compact, water-cooled, in -line-fourcylinder design exist at present, one measuring 748cc and the other 846cc, but destined in due course to be bored or stroked to a full 900cc (actual ly, most probably 92Occ) to give Honda' s CBR900 a wake-up call. With racing success in the s uper bike class a main priority, developm ent is cu rrentl y concentrated on the 750cc ve rsion, which in st reet fo rm - w ith air-clea ners ' b u t open . exhaus ts - is understood to be de livering just over 130 bhp at 14,000 rpm. , Cagiva Gro up technica l director Riccardo Rosa - a former Ferrari engineer who ironica lly w o r ke d o n the b ik e: engi ne p roject while he was sti ll wi th the car compa ny back in 1989 - says tha t in racing fonn he's hoping for 155 bhp , at the rear whee l, still at 14,000 rpm, in order to be compe titive. Given the fact that the engine is understood to ha ve a large bore and very short stroke (such as - 74.4 x 43mm), it seems likely this may be a diplomatic s mokes cree n: In raci ng form, it's understood that Cagiva is looking a t 15,OOO-p l us-rp m engine speeds, and are aiming for the 160-bhp mark - thou gh they haven't gotten there yet. Cagiva origina lly intended th e F4 engin e to po wer a low-vo lume, expe nsive hypersports bike, a imed at giving the kind o f prestige to the marque' s street prod ucts tha t its GP racers had obtai ned on the track, as the only European mak e to challe nge the Japanese 500cc te a ms. But th e game plan has changed radic ally, and now it' s intended that the F4 concept should sire a family of engines of different capacities and performan ce, incl u din g an ai r / oil cooled carbureted two-valve version to power' a fo u r-cyli n d er Zep h y r-styl e re t ro -ty pe Naked Bik e . The water- cooled fou r-valve version will be used to bui ld a range of Cagiva four-strokes, includi ng a to ure r, sports tourer and Birnota Mantra-style "fas hion" bike, as well as the 750cc superbike and 900cc hyperbike. Meanwhile, the prototype which I . was the first to photograph back in 1992 when I surprised it on a test run on the Bologna autostrada, with its Deltaboxst yle chassis and Mito-esque styling, will bea r little resemblance to the final , ve rsi on of th e F4 Superb ike w he n it's lau nched a t Milan, since Tamburini is believed to ha ve chose n to use a Ducatitype tub ular-steel spaceframe, to retain the " fam ily" style and d ifferen tiate the bike from its Japanese competitors . Corne the opening of the Milan Show in November, we shall see - tho ugh in the meantime, the ru mors that Cagi va plans to debut the bike in the prototyp e class of th e Bol d 'Or 24 Ho urs in Sep tember grow stronger. With success in the World End urance Cha m pions hip Cagiva's top priority for the ne w bike as well as victory in the Suzuka 8-Hou r on Honda's ho me turf, which they feel their D u ca ti 916 Wo rl d Superbike Champion wo uld be unlikely to achie ve - that scenario seems quite probable. But will it have IlCaoallino - the legendary Ferrari pran cing horse emblem on the fue l ta nk next to the Cagiva name, to match the Castiglioni famil y's e lep ha nt emblem on th e cra n kcases? Place your bets.,. . a Wiseco Congratulates... Adelanto Grand Prix Champion Team Green's Ty Davis on his five class wins - all using W ISeCO'S new Pro-Lite pistons. Pro-Ute pistons are available for: HONDA • KAWASAKI. KTM • SUZUKI. YAMAHA Call for FREE! Motorcycle/ATV piston catalog CB-94 WIITECQ 7201 Ind ustria l Park Blvd. , Mentor, OH 44060-5396 In Canada : (519) 537-6281 (216) 951-6600 17