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/1521029
VOLUME 61 ISSUE 20 MAY 21, 2024 P127 growing electronic interference killed the wheelspin and rear- wheel steering that made the 990s so spectacular. The title went to Ducati, its first, thanks both to the clever - est electronics (this was pre- standardization) and the riding of Casey Stoner. With huge relief, we went back to 1000cc in 2012. All the while, top speeds increased, and lap times shrank, despite dumbed-down one-size-fits-all electronics. More recently, other changes impinged. Rapid aerodynamic development came first, start - ing with fairing winglets but sprouting out down the flanks, under the belly, and eventually on the seat. Then ride-height adjustments—at first just off the start line—but by 2021 several times per lap, front and rear. Race times dropped still further, lap records tumbled apace, top speed records likewise, year by year. The downside, also increas - ing exponentially, was that reduced braking distances and dirty air made overtaking harder. Apparently, some riders didn't get this message, as fine close battles at several races this year attest. Others found themselves over-occupied, fiddling with ride height and power maps. Meanwhile, front tires were suffering increased loads: more downforce allowing harder brak - ing, until managing temperature and pressure became a matter for fresh regulation and punitive enforcement. Thankfully, the new regs consign ride-height changes to history—a welcome ban—while narrower front wings (from 600mm to 550mm), moved back by 50mm, mean less down-force on the front wheel. It will go some way to reducing the front-end issues. Handing back more to the rider. In theory, anyway. But what about the power loss? The capacity drop from 1000cc to 850 is a 15 percent cut. But the maximum bore size, currently 81mm, is down to 75mm, a reduction of only 7.4 percent. This means the new cylinder size is notably less oversquare, and the piston stroke is only slightly reduced. Piston speeds, and hence the rev ceiling, remain similar. This should avoid the pitfall of the shrieky 800cc genera - tion, preserving a similar torque curve. Power will inevitably be reduced, but there is currently much more than enough, need- ing to be electronically tamed in the lower gears. Top speeds will suffer, but other aspects should not. Will lap times be slower? The consensus of paddock opinion is that they will be, by a second or maybe two at first. Top speed? A little, probably. At least the rate of increase will be cut. Will safety, or the show, be improved? This is a tough one. Corner speeds should remain similar, likewise the need for big gravel traps. This makes one wonder if it would not be easier to ad - dress corner speeds directly by reducing tire grip, using narrow- er rims, and using less grippy compounds. One more concern. Doesn't this risk Superbikes being faster? Well, certainly closer—at comparable tracks last year, lap differences were more than two seconds, and a few approaching 2.5 seconds. Only at Catalunya was Bautista just 1.625 seconds off Bagnaia's pole—on a Mo - toGP-inspired street bike-clone V4 Ducati. Raising fear of the unthinkable: production-based bikes as fast as full-race proto - types. Never fear. FIM chief Jorge Vie- gas was reassuring. "We will slow down the Superbikes, too." CN MOTOGP RIDERS AREN'T GOING FOR THE LAND- SPEED RECORD. THEY ONLY NEED TO GO FASTER THAN THE OTHER BLOKE.