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/127769
" I watch you in a turn and I see you're having problems - but that's because th e su spe nsion is w rong fo r yo u . You're h ea vier than Colin and you sit furth er b ack, lyin g over the tank, so you need a stiffe r rea r spring, like the 9.4 we use d at Mon za when Colin com plained ab out pushing the fro n t in all th e big, fast tu rns taken hard on the gas, wh ich squats the rear end. We also changed the rear link to a lter the progres sion, so th a t after about 60mm of w heel travel , it goes stiffer, and ma yb e that's w ha t y o u need too - w e better go check th e telem etry under the se at to fin d out! We also need to change the fork settings to suit your style, because you're trying to us e more comer speed than Colin - he's got more of a 500 GP style where he stops and turns and gets real hard on the gas, sp inning the tire hard like on the dirt. The Dun lops we got by the end of the season were much better for letting him do that. Before, we were working all the time to change offsets, alter suspension settings, experiment with chassis geom etry - all to get over a tir e problem. At Laguna Sec a w e tried 12 or 14 differen t front tires, but none of them gave him any confidence. "Bu t at Monza, for example, Colin was really happy w it h wha t Dunlop could provide - but then we couldn't get those same tires again for the next race, and it w asn't till Brands Hatch that Dunlop were able to get over their problems and come up with good products at every race . But soon after that happened, our season ended when we lost Nagai-san.... Up till then , the bike was very powerful, but you couldn't spin it up hard out of a comer, because there wa s no side grip at the rear. We tried everything to get better traction, including stiffening up the chassis still further by welding on some more alloy plates, but it was a tire construction problem that had to be fixed: ' So did that mean the Yamaha team . had to try to get around the tire problems by compromising with suspension and geometry settings? "Sure, we were forced to try to find a least-worst setup for each race. This is a good motorcycle, which is very fast and has the potential to win the championship. But only if ever ything is right. Developing a bike involves a cons tant ga me of leapfrog: You get a good tire that will last the whole race performing well, then you develop the sus pension to suit it, then you go further. So now the tire's no t good enough, so Dunlop need to work some more and then they come up with a better ti re, but now the suspe nsion needs to be im proved to cat ch up . In Italy we call it the Endless Game - you can never be satisfied, because you're always working on improve ment. The trick is to improve ' faste r than your rivals, and in 1996, I' m sure Yamaha will!" . Place your bets now, folks . And while you' re at it, what odds on Yamaha b ea ting Cagiva to bein g the firs t to launch a fuel-injected, slant- block in-line four-cyli nder Superbike for '97? Taka Suzuki has gone on record admitting that Yamaha is working on EFI, but says a combination of costs and a lack of any obvious benefit as ye t in testing are holding them back from adopting it. Given the suave superpower delivered by the fuel -injected RC45 Honda in its latest form - not to mention the Ducati and the fiercer delivery of the current Yamaha, I th ink I could iden tify one potential area of benefit from EFI. But then, maybe Colin wouldn't be able to ride it like the four-stroke GP SOO the YZFdefmitel y is at present. C'i HONDA, YAMAHA, ICAWASAIO, ArK, .rM, & SEA-DOO Sunday February 11th 8:00 9:00 10:00 1.:00 1:00 3:00 Sale Begins Free Dual Sport Ride OEM Parts Sale Begins Drawing second Drawing Grand Prize All sales Are Final, No Other Discounts Apply No Phone Orders, Special Orders Only WHAT: WHERE: WHEN: TIME: • fALK 10 fHE IACfORY RIPS! N t • WI HA1II1996 WAflRCRAnS IN sroCK • COMI'In'I srocK 01 WAIEReRAll' ACCISSORlrs ON SAU AlSO! -E ERYTIINIi IN TIE STORE . lISe ED UP TO 50%! 118 New Cycle News II Athletic Dept . I I design printe d o n front c e nte r chest area on q uality ash grey cotton T-shirt. Available in sizes M. L. XL. and XXL. To order. call us at 310/427·7433 (between 9-5 psn or mail/FAX the Cycle News Product Order Form located below the ad index in the back of this issue. 19