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/128393
World Superbike Tech: Keeping Up With Corser ot only is Troy Corser's Alstare Corona Suzuki GSX-R I000 fast and agile, it appears to cope better than most with the spec Pirelli tires - aided no doubt by a sweet-handling chassis, traction control and one of the smoothest riders in the championship. So where does that leave everyone else? Whereas development in MotoGP and British Superbike seems geared toward giving the riders more flex and therefore better feel from the chassis to make the most of the incredible grip levels afforded by modern racing slick, World Superbike appears to be going off at a tangent. World Superbike riders need exactly the same confidence in their bikes, but with the reduced levels of grip of the Pirelli control tires, the teams are stiffening up their chas- N sis to compliment the flex that's in the tires, while relying more and more on complex electronics to combat the excessive spin of the tires. Is that really the spirit of a onebrand tire rule? Here's what the teams had to say at the recent Brands Hatch round of the World Superbike Series. Aistare Suzuki· Giacomo Guidotti, Troy Corser's crew chief Chassis: We don't run our bike especially rigid. We've modified the steering head to accept an [eccentric] adjuster, and we have a factory swingarm and different linkages. The Pirelli is a totally different concept of tire, but the quality is right for this type of [mass-produced] product. We adjust the steering head and suspension to find the grip - and we can find really good grip - but only for a limited amount of laps. Traction Control: We need this to help with grip. Our system [Motec dash with Suzuki MotoGP-developed Mitsubishi engine management, including traction con- trol software] allows us to alter adjust the ignition timing and fueling. The system is triggered by the computer recognizing the rate of change in acceleration of the engine, taking into account the bike's lean angle [via an onboard gyroscope]. But we are still developing this system. Xerox Ducatl • Paolo Ciabattl, Ducati Corse Superbike director Chassis: We have just changed to a newer, stiffer swingarm. The AMA don't have these yet, but that's only because we haven't had a chance to make them yet. We run Dunlops in the States and Pirellis here, but everything else about our chassis is the same. Traction Control: We have idle control to help with the engine braking, and although we don't call it traction control, we do used advanced electronics to control traction. It always helps [having such a system], especially when you have a bit more tire sliding [like you get with Pirellis]. In the States, we don't run it because the rules forbid using a front-wheel speed sensor, and at the present time, we cannot use 14 our traction control sys- tem without one. K1afli Honda· Klaus Klaffenbock, team owner Chassis: With our technical director Domenico BrigagaJia, we started early in the year to develop our chassis in many different directions: long, short, stiff, not so stiff. We now have a swingarm that looks very big and heavy, but it's actually 3.S kilograms [7.7 pounds] lighter than the standard one. I don't want to reveal details about stiffness, but we have discovered we need more flex in the swingarm that we first thought. The swingarm on Max's [Neukirchner] bike looks standard, but actually it's a kit HRC sWingarm which is it stiffer than stock. Traction Control: We need this as soon as possible. We use an engine-management system from English company RTT which has the capability for traction control, but we've not tested this fully so haven't used it in a race yet. Ten Kate Honda· Ronald ten Kate, team owner/manager Chassis: I would say that 80 percent of our performance in this championship is in the chassis, getting it right for the best grip. If you look at the bikes, though, our biggest problem is with the front tire - more grip would be nice. Pirelli already have a better tire, but they have not brought it to the championship. During testing, we took four different swingarms, and after trying them, we have stayed with just one. We tried different linkages, too. We have a choice of five, but most of the time we just select from two particular ones. Traction Control: We don't have traction control. We adjust the fuel and ignition maps to soften the power delivery if we have a problem. The main thing is that we have told our engine guys to stop chasing top-end. We are looking for more usable power. If we have more grip, then I am sure that we would have another 10 bhp within a month, but for now, we are more interested in power we can use. We have tried some different electronics on one of our Supersport bikes, just for testing, but we use HRC electronics, and until they decide they want to follow this route we will be as we are. PSG· I Kawasaki· Paolo Marchetti, data technician Chassis: We have a Febur swingarm that is many times stiffer tllan stock. The geometry is identical for the shock and linkage AUGUST 31,2005 • CYCLE NEWS Troy Corser's steering head uses an eccentric adjuster. points, but it's longer and wider. Traction Control: If there is a lot of grip, traction control is academic. We have a British-made Pi system, and for sure it helps, but most of the grip is to be found with good suspension. We have two different systems on our bikes. Chris [Walker] has Ohlins, and we have Bitubo on Mauro Sanchini's [ridden by Pere Riba at Brands]. We tested both at the start of the year, and this is what the riders preferred, mainly because this is what they experience with the [relative] systems in the past. Yamaha Italy • Massimo Meregalll, team manager Chassis: We tested a kit swingarm at Monza and in the first practice at Silverstone, but it was too rigid, so we went back to the standard swingarm. We've tried some small modifications to give some flex [removing the plating from the inner walls to reveal the intemal webbing], but the rider cannot detect any difference! We have a new swingarm coming, hopefully for Monza. but I cannot reveal any more than that. Traction Control: We have Magneti Marelli but have no traction control at present, which is one of our problems. At some tracks where there is very little grip. like Misano, Noriyuki [Haga] had a lot of problems with wheel-spin, so he was forced to ride much smoother. Nell Spalding