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/128605
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Motorcyclists in Kentucky's Jefferson
County will no longer be forced to
have their motorcycles tested as part of
the county's strict air pollution control
program. the AMA reports. A new state
law. which goes into effect in mid-July.
prohibits all counties and air-pollutioncontrol districts from inspecting motorcycles for emissions. Currently only
Jefferson County tests motorcycles.
The AMA has complained that the emissions standards set by the Jefferson
County Air Pollution Controi District are
more stringent than the standards set
by the federal Environmental Protection
Agency for new motorcycles. As a
result. even new motorcycles many
times failed to meet the county's emissions standards.
the book will include "highway chick
poetry. chopper lyrics. freeway essays.
intriguing biographies. the history of
women motorcyclists and motorcycle
erotica.' Submissions should be short
(no more than 10 pages) by the (lnd of
April. with ideas submitted before that
date. Include a biography. Gering can be
contacted by phone at 604/488-0401. or
bye-mail atmotorchix@hotmail.com.
The Pine Nut Mountains Trail Association
is planning a demonstration at the
Carson City office of the U.S. Forest Service at noon on Saturday. April 22. to
protest new legislation proposing to
restrict public access to public land. The
Carson City Forest Service office is
located at 1536 S. Carson St. (Highway
395) in Carson City. Nevada.
Lesley Gering of Fireweed Productions is looking for female motorcycle
riders to write submissions for a book
she is working on. According to Gering.
take place at 9 a.m. on March 25 in
Rosarito Beach. Mexico. Though not a
race. the event offers an opportunity to
ride some of the most beautiful terrain
east of the city. on a 45-mile ioop through
otherwise inaccessible rancheros and
farming co-ops. For more information. contaci Too Much Fun at tmfpro@telnor.net.
or check
out
its
website
at
http://w.NW.toomuchfun.com.mx.
Speedvision will continue airing the
road race Grand Prix Series. having
signed a new three-year contract with
Tag Sport. owners of North American
rights. The deal. running through 2002.
assures U.S. and Canadian fans of sameday coverage of Kenny Roberts Jr.'s battle to become the first American 500cc
World Champion since Kevin Schwantz in
1993. All 16 rounds of the 500 and 250cc
championships will be seen same-day on
Speedvision. and five races. including the
Too Much Fun's Second Annual Too
Much Fun Off·Road Poker Run will
•
...
How much longer for
the 916 desmo?
Development is well under way for the successor to Ducati's
now seven-year-old 916 desmoquattro family of models
designed by Massimo Tamburini (no longer available to produce its successor, having opted to remain faithful to his
patron Claudio Castiglionj when Cagiva sold Ducati to TPG
three years ago).
Instead, the man charged with the difficult task of reinventing a design icon is design chief Pierre Terblanche, and
as Ducati's team of Carl Fogarty and Ben Bostrum begin
their job of defending the Italian factory's World Superbike
crown against Honda's new RC51/SP-l Y-twin (in what is
expected to be the 916/996's final year of top-level competition) word is beginning to leak out of the Bologna factory
about what comes next. Ducati management has ordered a
clampdown on information, fearful of denting sales (unlike in
the car world or with Japanese bike manufacturers. who even
invite such speculation as a means of stimulating customer
interest). 5till, it's now known that the prototype of the nextgeneration Ducati Superbike engine is already up and running on the factory dyno. But what will it be?
The original plans for a more compact. narrower-angle
75-degree Y-twin motor were scrapped after the TPG
takeover, because of the corporate perception that Ducati
was now wedded commercially to the 90-degree Y-twin format. Work has therefore been directed on an all-new version
of the existing engine layout, but with the cyLinders rotated
rearwards on the crankcase. like on the Suzuki TL or Honda
VTR, to help reduce the wheelbase and obtain a more favorable weight distribution than the current L-twin design. Massimo Bordi will likely insist that the new engine has the same
horizontally-split crankcases as the VTR I 000 and RC51,
probably with the cylinders cast integrally with the upper
crankcase half. as on the Hondas, for greater stiffness. The
new engine will probably also continue to feature the
swingarm pivoting in the crankcases. a feature which Honda
has copied from Ducati in spite of the restrictions this imposes on altering the swingarm-pivot location, a key element in
optimizing handling and enhancing tire life on the race track.
However. it's almost certain that, while retaining the tubularsteel space-frame format of the current 916/996 chassis, the
new bike will have a conventional twin-sided swingarm rather
than the current single-sided monobracci