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/128370
Kawasaki Four-Stroke Miers Revealed Briefly... On Monday, March 7, Pasadena Superior Court judge janice C. Croft rejected a "motion to dismiss" (Califomia Section 995) presented by Michael Goodwin's defense. A section 995 is sought if the defense feels there is not enough evidence to go to trial. judge Croft, having reviewed the transcript of Goodwin's preliminary hearing, determined that there was sufficient evidence to hold Goodwin for the crime. Goodwin has a March 17 hearing on another motion to dismiss the case. Troy Corser's British tabloid war of words with his old employer, Can Fogarty, could not continue in the public domain of Valen- cia, for the simple reason that Fogarty was in Malaysia for talks with Petronas about the future of the entire FPR project, or at least its future beyond its current five-year timescale of operations. The Foggy Petronas World Superbike engine will soon enjoy a IO-percent hike in horsepower, after a new engine spec comes on stream, according to the team. "I Vawasaki released photos, but unfortunately no details, about its forthcoming KX450F four-stroke motocrosser and all-new 1'Kx250F. The photos were taken in japan, where the bikes will soon be raced in the upcoming All-japan National MX Series. It is, however, obvious that the bikes have aluminum twin-spar frames. would like to hope we can have it here at Valencia for the race," said new-for-200S team boss jack Valentine, who expects the engines to be race-ready toward the end of April in any case. The engines themselves appear to be ready, and have been tested, but the complicated exhaust system, demanded by the back-to-front FP-I engine configuration, has delayed an earlier intro- duction. Still working on an optimum design (before the laborious manufacture of such a tortuously curved overall system can be produced in volume), team supplier Micron has the additional problem of intense under-the-seat heat issues to deal with. The new engine spec is not expected to bring the 900cc triple quite on par with the best of the 1000cc fours, but it should not be too far off anymore. The Ten Kate Honda squad could have been forgiven for making wholesale changes after a horrid start to the World Superbike season in Qatar, but according to team manager Ronald Ten Kate, panic was Hodgson: MotoGP Ain't Easy Daytona, finishing second in the AMA Superbike race on Saturday, March 12, and showing that he's already a factor in the championship. "When you're back there battling for 15th place and riding just the same, it's no fun. I'll give you an example of john Hopkins, who is riding so well. Everybody out there in MotoGp' you don't realize how fast they are going. It's a little bit like Formula One: Depending what bike you Brit Neil Hodgson had a horrible season of MotoGP racing last season on the d'Antin Ducati team, but Hodgson was back on form at not on the agenda. "We left Qatar saying, 'Okay, let's not panic ourselves. just take a look and see what is happening first.' So we have come here [to the test in Spain] with the luxury of a test and not a race to get the bikes dialed in. We have a little better engine response than in Qatar and, of course, both the riders are fit and healthy." The Ten Kate bikes still have standard roadgoing swinganns on their rear ends, and that's the way they may stay for the foreseeable future. Tests and personal experience of the riders have shown that the standard arm is easier on the tires than the stiffer race item, without any appreciable The Brit wanted to let everyone know that are on or what car you're driving determines MotoGP isn't an easy thing to tackle, especially if where you finish. So, next time you see some- you're not on the right team - or the right bike. one like john Hopkins - and I'm using john as an loss of performance in any other area. The "I had a crap year last year, as everybody example because he's an American - just remember that guy is riding so hard and going full HRC-supported machines of Michael Rutter and Ryuichi Kiyonari in the British Championship have also reverted to the standard swingarms, which allow much Conlinued on page J 3 knows, so it's nice to get back to where you're battling for the lead and enjoy your racing," really, really fast. He isn't messing around. He Hodgson said in the postrace press conference. isn't oU[ there on holiday_" CYCLE NEWS • MARCH 23, 2005 11