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/128610
. , ............... .. ; ... . . -:...~ o r r , Continued from page 3 L C I lira ~ .. - '-- ed on our website? If you'd like to see the truck in person. head to Hungry Valley MX Park near Gorman, Califor- f\ 1 nia, on April 26. as that's when and where the truck will be unveiled. Bring your bike, as there will also be a free- 2 ride day hosted by Jeff Emig. For more '} information, check out galpinmotocross@aol.com . z .~ 4 .~ o CI.. ~ If you're in the market for valuable vintage motorcycles, you'll want to attend the September 16 Sotheby's auction of motorcycles and bicycles in 6 7, Chicago. Among the bikes being offered are three Crockers - two from 1937 and one from 1941. For those not in the know, Crocker was an AmerRONCAdA l~O pTS SELLARds l~O pTS PASTRANA 144 ican manufacturer that hand-built highperformance motorcycles that were very fast for their day. Eventually, the pTS With just one round remaining in the highly competitive 125cc Eastern Regional Supercross Series, three riders are in realistic position to win the title - Yamaha of Troy's Stephane Roncada, FMF Honda's Brock Sellards, and Suzuki's Travis Pastrana, As the graph below shows, all three took very different routes to get where they are. CATHCART • Dutch chassis specialist Chiqane is about to launch an allnew version of its trademark avant-garde hub-center design. It was first unveiled at Intermot '98 powered by a 650cc Vtwin Honda Hawk engine, using an innovative chassis design by Chiqane boss Roel van der Heide and clothed in sharp styling by Bakker Frames' aluminum artist Cees Smit. After tests proved the worth of the aptly named Chiqane format ("It's built to go through them qUickly!" explains SOyear-old former steel worker Roel), van der Heide is in the process of uprating the concept. It had used the company's distinctive twin-swingarm, twin-shock front end and monoshock rear, with both swingarms pivoting in a vestigial chassis consisting of an aluminum twin-spar lower cradle surmounted by a tubular steel upper spaceframe. Van der Heide now plans to use an engine producing eX8ctly twice as much power as the six-valve Honda Y -twin's 65 horsepower in street guise. It will make its intemational debut in race form at Europe's leading race meeting at Assen in August for "alternative" four-strokes - the Sound of Thunder World Series round run by the Ducati Club HoDand • before being launched in street guise at Intermot 2000 in Munich this Sep. tember. The engine van der Heide has chosen for his new maxi· .chlqane is the 943cc Swedish Folan 6O-degree V·twin, aliq- 80 APRIL 26, 2000· cue • e uid·c:oo/ed 8·valve DOHC design producing a claimed 130 horsepower at 11.000 rpm at the rear wheel in race form, and fuelled by an electronic fuel-injection management system being developed jointly by Chlqane and Folan designer Lars Nilsson, with two injectors per cylinder. Fitted with a close· ratio six·speed gearbox and dry clutch, the Folan engine fits perfectly into his design concept, claims Roel: "The whole reason I used an under-powered engine like the Honda Hawk was because of its very compact 52-degree y. twin layout, and tight weight: he says. "The Folan engine is very light and small, especially considering how much power it produces. This will enable us to maintain the Chiqane's agile steering, but with much more performance." Though the narrow-angle Swedish Y-twin has a reputation for vibration, van der Heide claims he hasn't needed to rubber-mount the engine to compensate for this. Dymag carbon wheels including a front one specially made by the British company to incorporate the Chiqane steering mechanism within the large,diameter hub - and 320mm AP front brakes with six· piston calipers will match the three WP shocks used on the design in delivering leading-edge handling to the racer, says Roel - though the carbon wheels will be replaced by metal ones in street form, for homologation purposes. With the potential of increasing capacity on the Folan motor to 1200cc in street guise, Chiqane is already planning a small run of customer bikes, to be built to order in the firm's Ijmuiden workshop in central Holland, and costing around $30,000, depending on specification. These will be clothed in styling chosen from a total of 45 entries submitted by readers of Holland's leading bi -weekly bike magazine, JIIIotor, in a recent competition - but. says van der Heide, though winner Eric Versteegen will have the satisfaction of seeing his drawing become reality, his only fee will be the chance to ride the prototype once construction is completed! material production demands of World War II caused the company's demise. For more information on the auction, check out the website http//www.sothebys.com. at eN