Cycle News

IN THE WIND P26 ingly walking the line between the electronic and mechanical worlds, this is an important line of development. "Engine braking is about matching the negative torque so that you create a uniform amount of rear wheel drag into the turn, to help you hook it at the apex, basically," Pike said. "You do that by varying the throttle posi- tion. In really simple terms it is like adjusting the tick-over into the turns. As you roll off the throttle the tick-over is maybe a little bit higher, but as you get to the turn you can almost stall the engine. That helps you make the apex. You have to work out what you need." How much the rider is brak- ing affects how much electron- ics needs to play a part, and over bumps this can get very compli- cated very quickly. "A lot of bikes lift the rear wheel into the corner so you have to have it matched, so that when it drops back down again it does not push. The balance can be quite tricky. You also have a mechanical slipper clutch and you can even generate so much- engine braking that you can open that and that feels like it is going free into the turns. Then the rider can miss his apex." If the clutch is pulled in and the bike just freewheels in, using the back brake to control rear wheel drag, means the rider is unaware of when the back wheel is off the ground and this can lock up the rear end. "The electronics can deter- mine when the rear tire is touch- ing the ground and when it is not," said Pike. "Then there is tire wear, the changing angle of the bike going into the corner – the roll angle - and all that stuff has to be compensated for. This can also be done corner-by-cor- ner, and gear-by-gear. There are many, many parameters." Gordon Ritchie SYKES TO THIRD IN SUPERPOLE I n the Misano round of the World Superbike Cham- pionship two weeks ago, Tom Sykes joined Carl Fogarty as third best on the list of top qualifiers in the history of the series with his 21 st career pole. In Portugal on Saturday, Sykes earned another pole position and demoted Fogarty to fourth. Even Sykes, a man who clearly loves to be fast- est all the time, knew that other things in racing life are more important - despite his pride at reaching another milestone. "One more pole than Carl Fogarty and that is not bad," said Sykes after taking the 22 nd pole of his career at Portimao. "He's a fantastic rider and one of my racing idols when I was younger. Obviously, a massive, massive, talent in World Superbike. So to at least pass him on one thing is not too shabby. We still have a long way to go to catch him in terms of wins and championships, but we will keep try- ing. I try not to compare myself to other riders and I can only do what I can do and we will see how we end up in a few years." With four more pole positions, Sykes will tie Aus- tralian legend Troy Bayliss for second with 26. Gordon Ritchie Tom Sykes earned his 22 nd pole position in Portugal, moving him to third on the all-time list. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE

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