Cycle News

VOL. 50 ISSUE 37 SEPTEMBER 17, 2013 both Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi - but not that you could measure it. In fact the riders had nothing new to say about it that they hadn't said after the Brno test during the summer break, except that they were delighted it had come at last. "When you shift up on the straight it feels like a scooter," Lorenzo said. "The difference is you feel more confident on the bike, especially when you are leaning and you have to shift up. With the old gearbox sometimes the bike would wheelie, or be unstable. We are quite clear that it is better, but we don't know how much. We would need to do back-to-back tests, and both my bikes now have the new gearbox." Rossi concurred. "The new gearbox is fantastic to use, a big help. There is no big improvement about lap time, but you have more stable acceleration, the bike is less demanding, and you can concentrate more on your line. We are losing less in acceleration [compared with the Hondas]. The settings are the same, except the difference is in the electronics. Because there are less wheelies, you need less control." What is the point of a seamless shift – a technically complex way of solving a problem that can much more easily be eliminated with twin-clutch transmissions already available on a handful of production bikes? Simply this… it's a way around the rules. Twinclutch transmissions are banned, as are automatic gearboxes, as part of the ever-increasing rulebook aimed at reducing costs. This particular rule had the opposite effect. Honda has not revealed how much it spent developing a seamless system within the rules, but it was plenty. At Misano, Yamaha racing boss Lin Jarvis introduced Yamaha's version with the lament: "If Honda had not invested a huge amount of money to go seamless, we wouldn't have invested a huge amount of money to do the same." It was, he allowed, the nature of competition, adding: "We're always looking to improve technolcontinued on next page P23 Briefly... Haga To Paul Bird's Team Paul Bird Motorsport (PBM) have signed Japanese star Noriyuki Haga to contest the final three rounds of the 2013 Championship. The former three-time runner-up in the World Superbike Championship will join MCE British Championship leader and defending champion Shane Byrne on board a Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki ZX-10R for all three Showdown rounds, starting at Assen this coming weekend. Glamis Fees On The Rise User fees at Glamis will increase $10 (weekly to $35 for those purchased off site and $50 for those purchased on site) beginning on October 1, according to the Bureau of Land Management. Costs of managing the site, officially known as the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area, have climbed over the past decade, while visitors and revenues have fallen steadily since 2007, officials said. The fee hike will help fund emergency medical services, law enforcement, search and rescue, and facilities maintenance. The new fees will help close a $1.5 million budget gap, said Neil Hamada, the dunes manager. The agency already has cut non-emergency services, including cleanup days, off-highway vehicle registration events, outreach and education events, and safety courses. Records For BMW San Diego BMW Motorcycles captured five records with its BMW S1000 RR at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Wendover, Utah, during the International Motorcycle Speed Trials by BUB event, August 2429. The accomplishment comes on the heels of the record set during the previous SCTA Speedweek event, allowing the BMW S1000 RR to hold on to its title of the world's fastest BMW motorcycle. Both pilots, Erin Hunter and Andy Sills, of Hunter Sills Racing, earned records in FIM and AMA 1000cc categories, according to BMW. J&P To Get Sons Of Anarchy J&P Cycles has announced that its 2014 J&P Cycles Open House Rally will be held June 27-29. J&P has also announced that Sons of Anarchy stars Tommy Flanagan and Mark Boone Jr. have signed up to attend next year's rally. Flanagan (who plays Filip "Chibs" continued on page 27

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