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/1542269
MOTOGP I mind-warp speed. And the Marvel 4 ECU'S traction-control system is much more unobtrusive. and even more effec- tive, than the less sophisticated version in the company's 999 F05 suPerbike. This had audibly announced its arrival earlier in the year with a scattergun fusil- lade as it cut the ignition abruptly when the wheel started to lose 8rip, but the D l6's system is much more subtle - as I discovered for myself one lap, cranked hard over to the left, exiting the last turn on to the Valencia back straight. By now, I'd learned not to be too brutal with the right hand - so as I wound the throftle progressively wide open while still cranked well over I could ,ust sense the rear Bridgestone starting to walk sliShtly, before the traction-control Program cut in without any trace of stutter, iust slow- ing the throttle response long enough to let the tire recover its grip and resume drivin8 a8ain - neat. The first time it haP- pened, lthought I'd imagined it - but no, I hadn't, because next lap ldeliberately went after a repeat Performance, and it happened again. lt's really confidence inspiring when you have a control system like this that allows you to exploit such meSa-performance from the engine to something approaching the maximum. For the first time in the four years that l've been riding the fastest desmo on the planet, Ducati finally allowed me to exPe- rience the difference between two differ- ent engine maps, accessible via that obscure button on the left clip-on. The difference betlveen the two wa5 night and day - | wouldn't like to have to ride the last few laps of a race on worn tires with the first one, while the second map was much softer, more like a streetbike proSram. The Desmosedrcis ridinS position is such that you feel very close to the dash - on the Ducati there's more a feeling of being positioned further forward than on other MotocP bikes, as if desiSner FiliPPo Preziosi was more concerned at loading up the front wheel with the rider's weiSht (perhaps as pan of the forward-weight bias tar8eted for 2005), rather rhan Posi- tioninS the rider's weiSht rearward to help maximize traction. lf the improvement in engine rideabili- ty was noticeable, the difference in the Desmosedici's handling was really notice- able this year's compared to last year's. Even though it's wider than the other MotoGP bikes because of its more volup- tuous streamlininS (another factor besides the raw-enSine Power in that all-cgnquer- ing straight-line speed), the GPS feels lighter and easier-handling than Previous Desmosedicis did. lt lays easily into a turn even under trail braking, where last year's bike needed a more Physical aPproach. You have more conlidence in using the ?OOS MotoGP RacGrs front Bridgestone's griP to keeP uP turn speed more than on any of its Predeces- sors - the bike feels haPPy cranked over hard on the angle to keep up momentum in turns, where you can mzx out the ben- efits of the Bridgestone's superlative side grip. The pickup from a closed throttle is good and controllable, too - though you must be reaq/ for the front wheel to start lightening when you oPen the gas an)'time you exit a turn, Compared to Rossi's Yamaha, the 2005-model Ducati Desmosedici is a muscular-male example of the motorcy_ cle species, a butch bike that isn't afraid to show its pecs. But whereas the Schwarzenegger of the MotoGP grid had seemed mus.le-bound and unpredictable in its behavior in rhe Past, now it's again the Euromaster of the road-racinS uni- verse, ready to take on Asian all-comers in the strugSle for suPremacy. Dont bet against the Ducati becoming the predator of the pack in 2006, hunting down its rivals en route to title victory even if replacing one Spaniard with another will mean a fresh leaming curve for one Ducati rider in understandinS the Bridgestone tires. However, let's see iI going ltalian can finally rum Sete Gibernau into a Wodd Champion - or could it be his teammate CaPrrossi who's got the best chance of going for the title? Either wax the Ducati Desmosedici GP6 will be a contender for top honors in the comin8 season for sure, with the only remaining question mark liket to be how quickly Bridgestone can deliver mce-wn- ning tires suitable for all conditions and not iust hot ones. 2OO5 KAWASAKI ZX-RR NINJA RAC€R T€57 6R€€N GRUNT€R The final step in reversing the rich Yarietl of thrilling-sounding exhaust notes which characterized the early days of MotoGB came this season when Kawasaki became the final manufacturer to follow the MotoGP big-bang herd instinct, and its ZX-RR Ninja in-line four became the green Srunter instead of the small screamie. By adopting the same growler format for its l6-valve motor with gear-driven DOHC, as Yamaha had done one Year earlier, Kawasaki's R&D team was able to improve traction and tire life well enough for Shinya Naleno to finish l0th in the World Championship once again - ahead of two of the seven Honda V-five riders, both Suzukis, and two of the four Yamaha men. lndeed, far from matching his Podi- um finish at lYotesi last season, fifth place for Nakano in the flrst GP of the year at Jerez, was the best result all season for Kawasaki's two full-time riders - although wild-card stand-in Olivier Jacque almost delivered Team Green a fairytale debut MotoGP victory in the Shan8hai swim- ming pool, finishing a close second to Rossi to reco.d Kawasaki's best-yet llnish in MotoGP But back in the real world, generally speaking, Kawasaki's improved lap times with the new big-ban8 motor weren't as big a step forward as Honda's and Yamaha's - and Ducati's - own improve- ment for 2005, and the reason wasn't hard to uncover. iust by lookinS at a traP speed chart. At Mugello this season, for example, the two Kawasakis level-Pegged at a distinctly unimpressive 200 mph down the half-mile long front straiSht - where a year earlier they'd both been clocked at 204 mph in similar conditions. That's around 12 mph slower than a Honda or Ducati. a huge gulf in perform- ance that underlines the excellence of the Kawasaki-plus-BridSestone handling package in allowing the team to haul itself up to a top- l0 slot at season's end. So at a time when other bikes were going faster, the ZX-RR was actually mak- in8 less power from the revised-format engine, and goinS slower - iust that its lap times were better and also sustained for longer, thanks to the imProved traction and greater rideabiliq/ of the new bi8- bang motoi which also treated the rear tire more kindly. lt meant they could lap faster, for lonSer- Just not as long or as fast as the opposition, that's all. The 2005 venion of lhe Kawasaki is effectively an interim model essentially .omprising rhe smaller, liSh(er chassis developed by Eskil Suter's Sr.rter Racing Technology in Switzerland for the 2004 season (when ir rePlaced the previous rather massive so-called "lncredible Hulk" factor/ design), fitted with a reworked big-bang version of the oriSinal sr:perbike-derived Kawasaki''screamer" motor, employinS the same crankcases and a revised version of the same crank- shaft. fu before, this features Sear drive to the double overhead camshafts operating titanium Yalves, which each have two springs, and emPloys the same conventional forward- rotating crankshaft fltted with two- ring slipper pistons as the screamer, according to Yoda. But this was rephased over the winter to ofler a choice of big-ban8 formats - either the 82 version (Bl is the screamer) with each pair of pistons firinS together, 180 degrees of crankshaft rotation apart, or the 83 employing the same concept as the Virgin Yamaha Rl superbike raced in British Superbike this season, with one Pair of pistons firing togethel followed alternately by the other pair. Nakano preferred the 82 version in early testing, which ended uP being used all year long, but does not employ a balance shaft. unlike the bi8- bang fZF-Rl motor which differs from the ZX-RR in runninB backward, with the intermediate shaft located between the crank and clutch to reverse the direction ofcrank rotation conveniently available to be fltted with balance weights so as to act as a counterbalancer and eliminate undue vibration coming from the uneven firing order. Riding Alex Hoffmann s bike with its narrow pointy screen to squat &hind meant I felt more at home on the latest ZX-RR than lhad a year a8o when, in order to provide space for me to squeeze aboard the smaller Nakano's bike, they had to remove both the thick carbon seat squab and the ramP at the back of the quite slim fuel tank-cum-airbox shroud, which togerher wedge Nakano in Place on the bike. Hoffman's bike is rangier to sir aboard, yet compared to Nakano's more balanced setuP aimed at increasing turn speed - an examPle of his 250GP heritage cominS to the fore - is iacked uP higher at the rear to deliver both an increased front-end weiSht bias, and a quicker turning package via more radial effective steering Seometry than the 24- degree rake x l02mm trail the ZX-RR raced with all season long. Hoffman's bike has flatter handlebars than Shinya's dropped 250-style clip-ons to accommodate the lanky German's stature, which made me feel right at home - even if you feel Perched on toP of the Kawasaki rather than sittinS in the bike like you do with its Suzuki and espe- cially with its Ducati rivals. Out on the track the ZX-RR feels like a small, tight, agile package that's more responsive to rider inPut than all its cur- rent rivals excePt for the Yamaha YZR- M l, which the Kawasaki so Sreatly resem- bles in layout and feel, if nor yet in engine performance. The ZX-RR seems quite nimble and light-steerinS, and above all, predictable in turns. lt turns in very well (\.@ \ t 30 JANUARY r 8, 2006 ' CYCLE NEW5 T I 7'1 ,/ \