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/128003
KTM Wit h no production bike as of yet , these are naturally pure works bikes. But with production envisaged for later this year, too ling is al ready being pr epared . Since the fourth GP of the year in Italy, the bi kes have been 100- percent KTM, as early mac hines borrowed a -few parts from Husaberg. Early-season overheating problems with the KTMs were initially solved with larger-volume (d ou ble thickness) radiator s, but once the summer began -in earn est, it was found that the significant power loss during the course of a race was actually due to ina dequa te oil circula tion . A second oil pump has now been fitted. YAM A H A Yamaha has finally admitted th at its facto ry motor is over 400cc. It is 425cc, w ith me asurem en ts of 95.0m m x 60.1m m . That mean s a 3m m- bigger bo re, w hile the hig h- revving short-stro ke is 1.2mm less than standard. Lubrication is "sernipressurized wet sump," which means there is a pump to keep tha t five-valve head lu bri cated , and the Rinaldi team claims to have increased bottom -end power while making the bike easier to ride with a wider performance spectrum at the higher end . The exhaust va lve has no adj us ter on the head stock this year but manages to chea t very effective ly a t tech noise control by rem aining closed while in neutral. As soon as any gear is engaged, it opens. Rinald i d en ies it, but in Aust ria, Puzar's valve malfu nctioned by staying closed , and he could n' t even get up the sta rt straight. Pu zar' s bike also featu res a bu tton on the left side of th e bars wit h which he can bleed the brakes during the race. VOR VERTEMATI Gert Jan Van Doom said he would n' t rid e the bike until the y bui lt him a new link . He has bee n do ing very we ll since the cha nge. Offici all y, the VOR is 495cc in produ ction trim, and Van Doorn' s facto ry bike is 501cc, but the Vertemati brothe rs ad mit ted to the author yea rs ago th at 'they never rac ed with an engi ne anywhe re near the cla imed capacity. The size vari ed regul arl y but was usu all y aro u nd 575cc back in 1994. Th e bik e is beautifully engineered, wi th the sing le-p iece swi ngarm cu t by co mp u te r-s tee red tooling, a nd th e aluminum fuel tank, w hic h fits sn ug ly o n eit her side of the head , is a work of art. RWJ HO NDA [ocke, Karlsson's bike sim p ly bri stles HRC - clu tch, titanium footpegs and mounts, fro nt brak e, 250 factory frame, tri ple clamps.crank, an d the list goes on, The curv ed rad iat or - which also ru ns late rally with the header tanks on the outside - gives 15 percen t more coola nt capacity for the always-susceptible Hond a, The truth is that the riding style has more infl uence on the overheating in heavy track conditions. Rob Her rin g, with a standard rad iator, has lea rned to ride high er gears like Everts and has had few problems, w hile Karlsson, a revver, is plagued by power loss in longer races. Both the RWJ and the German Sarholz teams were provided with HRC ignitions this year. Virtually no one now races with the CRSOO frame in GPs. I ~ III PAMO KTM As w ith previous models, the 380 (actu ally 363cc) reaches peak performance at 8800 rpm, but while previ ous mod els soon tailed off, Tram pas Parker 's bike m aintains power to ~0,500 rpm. The flower-p etal fro nt di sc look s pr ett y, but the team claims ' that it also clea ns be tter. Th is and man y ot he r parts are du e for inclu sion on the 2000 range, but th e Power Jet carb w ill o nly be on the 250. Th e 2000 sile nce r is yet to leav e the factory, but the U.s . pipe fitted to the Parno bike is one big unit. The swingarm is also not 2000 preproduction and has a "different len gth ." ~ :Iii Q 8l ~ 37