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/128138
Continued from page 2 ki, - said Roberts. ·We all want to win. Next week, I get my first ride on the new bike - but to be honest I haven't been wondering about what it will be like, or thinking about the four-stroke too much. I'm focused on myself, and on putting in the time and effort to be capable of winning GPs. I want to be in the right frame of mind. - In addition to the switch from the V-four 500cc two-stroke engine to the new Fuel-injected V-four 990cc four-stroke, the team will also be changing from Michelin to Dunlop tires. "The new bike and the new Dunlop tires are a decision by the Suzuki factory, - said Roberts, who is now in his fourth year with the factory Suzuki team. "I go along with whatever decisions they make that will make the bike faster. I've raced with Dunlop tires before, and they feel different, and require a different riding technique. In any case, the new MotoGP machine will have a different power character, and a different power-toweight ratio, so again we have to wait and see. I'm looking on us using different tires as another possible advantage. It's going to be a tough test - Grand Prix racing's pretty cutthroat at the moment. I'm confident that both Dunlop and Suzuki are going into this with the aim of winning." The test is for the Roberts and his teammate Sete Gibemau and Suzuki's regular factory test riders. The IIHS report opens with statistics released last year by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration CNHTSAJ, showing an increase in fatalities among motorcyclists age 40 and older, and yet it fails to note that these statistics reflect a natural and pnedictable demographic trend. The report then uses a three-year increase LJ in motorcycling fatalities - ignoring the preceding 17-year trend of steadily decreasing fatalities - to support its call for mandatory helmet-use laws, according to the AMA. Elsewhere in the report, in a graph comparing states with and without helmet laws, data for a state with a mandatory helmet-use law is erroneously combined with that for a state without such a law to represent "universal coverage," the report's term for a mandatory helmet-use law. "It's no secret that the IIHS is bankrolled entirely by insurance companies, and that its real agenda here is to justify increasing rates," said the AMA's Moreland. "Motorcyclists have battled the IIHS many times in the past, and we've won. We'll win again, and the first step is to expose this opinion paper for what it is. We're concemed, of course, about any increase in motorcycle-related fatalities, but what we have here are questions, not answers. The AMA encourages anyone who's truly interested in reducing motorcycling fatalities, and not simply promoting a political agenda, to join us in calling for a comprehensive nationwide study of motorcycle accident data. - n [) o o 8 8 o 8 o o o Kenneth Summers, 63, died on December 27, 2001 after a short battle with cancer. Summers was a fixture in District 37 desert racing and was one of the original members of the Dusters M.C. in Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California, has announced that Giant R.V. Racing.com will again be the title sponsor of the AMA 125/250 Motocross National at Glen Helen. 8 o u I' r A news item published In Moto Joumal, the respected French weekly magazine, InsiSts thet Rotax, the Austrian engine manufacturer owned by Canada's Bombardier group, is working on an aU-new 72degree V-twin motorcycle engine - for an unknown client, which the magazine presumes to be Aprilie. Hmm. It's hard to conjecture that the Italian company - which is by some way ROlax's largest single customer. not only for the RSV1000 V-twin four-stroke motor, but also for the smali-capaclty two-stroke and four-stroke singles which power Aprllia's PTW products - would commission a successor to the Well-regarded RSV Mille 60-degree V-twin engine, with which Aprilia boss Ivano 8egglo is hoping his new signing Noriyuki Haga will win the World Superbike Championship in 2002, especially as it powers Aprilia's growing, well-established large-<:apacily four-stroke range. However. it's much more likely that the new Rolax engine which MJ's mole uncovered is In fact a 75-degree V-twin which is indeed destined for an Aprilia-owned product - only, one bearing the Moto standings. JANUARY 23, 2002' cue A three-day Pro-style racing camp will be A new Vee for M-G? TD cast YDur vDte, IDg Dn tD 78 For the fourth consecutive year, Yamaha will present the Weekend of Champions during Daytona Bike Week in March. The Weekend of Champions enables fans to meet their favorite racers, receive a limited edition poster, and get autographs from the fastest 18 Yamaha racers of all time. The Weekend of Champions autograph signing for all fans will be on Friday, March 8 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.; Saturday, March 9 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and on Sunday, March 10 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. For 2002, the Weekend of Champions will include road race champions Gia• como Agostini, Eddie Lawson, Thomas Stevens, Jamie James, Rich Oliver, Steve Baker, Randy Mamola, Don Emde, Wayne Rainey, and their dirtier co-champions Jeremy McGrath, Gary Jones, Bob Hannah, Doug Henry, Marty Moates, Broc Glover, Rick Burgett, Pierre Karsmakers, and Mike Bell. • Former 500cc World Champion Kenny Roberts Jr. will test the new Suzuki XREO MotoG P four-stroke for the first time on January 19 in Japan, according to a release issued by Suzuki. "I haven't been speculating about the new bike,Roberts said. "I don't care if we're racing four-strokes, two-strokes, or twins. I don't care if we're all on pink bikes - I just want to get back to beating Max Blaggi and Valentino Rossi. as I've done before - said the Califomian. Since Christmas. Roberts has been intensifying his carefully structured program - spending two hours a day in gymnasium training. and another four or more out riding, concentrating on the oval dirt-track discipline that is a comerstone of GP racing technique. according to the release. "I'm not in racing to finish in the top 10. and the same thing is true of Suzu- o o o o o I] J 1957. Summers is also the father of noted former racer Duane Summers, who earned an ISDE gold medal, a National Hare & Hound Championship, a win in the Baja 1000, and an AFM road racing championship. Kenneth Summers is survived by his five children, Cynthia, Danna, Duane, Trudy and James. Cards and letters can be sent to Duane Summers, c/o of Yamaha of Camp Hill, 1101 Slate Road, Camp Hill, PA 17011, and donations can be made to the BlueRibbon Coalition in Summers' name. I e ne'IIVs held at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California, on April 1-3 with instruction coming from the Women's Motocross School instructors and former National Champion Jeff Emig. The course includes hotel Lodging, trackside lunch and snacks, three days of on-track training and seminars. For more information, call 949/837-2206. WSMX, meanwhile, will host a group motocross school at Glen Helen Raceway on Monday, February 11, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and all riders are welcome. The cost for the school is $125 and Glen Helen will also charge a $15 gate fee per rider. For more information, call WSMX at 949/8372206. Multi-time American Sidecar Champions Rick Murray and John Scott will compete in the Superside Roadracing Sidecar Championship in 2002. The sidecar series runs in conjunction with several rounds of the World Superbike Championship. Mxbet.com is up and running. The motocross sportsbook is currently offering para-mutual betting on both the Supercross and outdoor National Motocross Series events. The site can be found at www.Mxbet.com. Road racer Mike Smith will be teaching at the Ed Bargy School in Jennings, Rorida, on January 20. Smith will also hold a track day in conjunction with Bargy at Uttle Talledega in Alabama, February 3-4. eN GuzzI _ I The prototype Iiquid-cooled fuel Injected Guzzi VA-IO ~-vlllve four-c:amsbIft 75-degree V-tarin Superblke engine. with oIJaet crankplns and sbcIItslIoke 100 x 63.5 mm dimensions (same as Ducatl's new 998 sportblke, and lbe Troy B8yIlss Wortd Superbike champion 996R It is derived from), but retlItnIng Ouzzi's trmsverse layout, wa designed Ilve yeaJS ego by the company's thenchief engineer, AngeJo FelTer\, to Incorporate chain f11Ul1 drive (bat with a shaft-drlve option for towing/custom models), and wah the six-speed gearbox with extradllble duster bolted on to the beck of the very short engine block. This design - whi<:h was projected to dellver 170 bhp at 13,000 rpm to the rear wheel In race guise, with 135 bhp at 11,000 rpm the target for the street version of the Superbike racer - was inherited by Aprllia from the company's former Trident Rowan owners when It lJCquired Moto Guzzi 18 months ago. Therefore It could form the basis of the new engine Aprllia is developing in conjunction with RotlIX, to power the all-new range of Mota Guzzl products whi<:h the company is planning to launch at the 2003 Milan Show. Rather than the 1000cc format of the VA-IO, however. Aprilia insiders reveal the new engine is being developed in two largercapacity versions. with the VA-12 intended to power a six-speed chain-drive sports bike set to replace the current air-cooled V1I Sport and its various spinoffs. and the five-speed shaft-drive VA-14 set ta form the basis of a custom/cruiser femily of bikes, whi<:h will be sold alongside the existing pushrod-engined California range, some models in which wlli be retained for as long as demand exists.