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/1456050
FEATURE I STATE OF AMERICAN FLAT TRACK: PART 3 P104 not mad at AFT or any employee of AFT. They think what they're doing is right even though I think what they're doing is wrong. If it plays out like AFT thinks it will, it'll be good for the sport. I get it. I really do. "But as a team owner, and when you put millions of dollars into something and you get hit with this truckload of restric- tions—it knocks you back. It's irritating that you claw your way to the top and you feel like you're automatically going to go back- wards. That's not in my DNA to go backwards. I don't do my business that way, I don't live that way, and I sure as hell don't want to race that way." >MOMENT OF INERTIA REDUX There's no small amount of irony in the fact that, while we've devoted a great deal of space explaining the concept of moment of inertia, and why, as a race-only engine, the FTR750 enjoys a significant advantage over the production- based rivals due to its high-inertia engine internals, those particular differences went unaddressed in the 2022 rules set. While AMA Pro Racing did take another step to counterbal- ance that integral advantage by allowing production bikes greater external MOI via the contrasting rear-wheel assembly weights, the Indians will almost certainly retain more rider-friendly charac- teristics in 2022. "I was surprised I could still go pretty frickin' fast with the restrictors in there," Smith said. "The Indian doesn't make the most horsepow- er, but it has the most grip and gets through the corner the fastest. The restrictor doesn't necessarily hurt the bike in the corners, but it limits the speed on the straightaway and limits the acceleration." However, implementing the necessary changes to elimi- nate the FTR750's internal MOI superiority on such short notice could have related safety and reliability issues, and prove cost prohibitive, particularly for the in- dependent teams already deeply invested in the bike. So rather than corner-by- corner parity, the series is aiming for lap-by-lap parity. And even if lap-time equality is achieved, we'll have to wait to see where that actually puts things race-by-race. Assuming a theoretical per- fect match of ideal performance between brands, smart money is still on Indian in the season ahead, and not only because it still has the superstar rider/ tuner pairings of Jared Mees and Kenny Tolbert, and Briar Bauman and Dave Zanotti in its corner. In a pitched battle, the con- trasting characteristics of race- only and production-based race bikes could allow the likes of Mees to think tactically while another extraordinary talent like