MOTOINNO TS3
TEST RIDE
P104
simulations completed early in
2009, then fed to a CNC fabri-
cator who unfortunately made
them lose momentum by doing
nothing at all for twelve months.
"We lost $20,000 in parts and
materials to this man of daily
excuses," says Colin Oddy. "We
finally had to pull the plug on
him after only two finished and
usable components were made
within the space of a year. We
were hemorrhaging money, so
we borrowed a UTE and arrived
at the workshop unannounced,
loaded the engine and left with-
out retrieving any of our raw ma-
terials, which had somehow got
used for other people's jobs."
Still, this meant that Van
Steenwyk was forced to adapt
his film industry talents to
become a self-taught expert in
CNC machining and chrome-
moly welding. "It wasn't a total
loss in the end," says Ray. "My
bullshit meter is now very well
refined, and I got an apprentice-
ship in fabrication, even though
it was an expensive and frustrat-
ing one."
In 2011 the TS3 was finally as-
sembled on behalf of Motorcycle
Innovation by Sydney-based Ar-
thur Spink, whose MecFX com-
pany builds all manner of com-
plex machinery for the Australian
film and TV industry. Initial track
testing got under way in Novem-
ber 2011, with eminent expertise
on hand to dial in the suspen-
sion in the shape of MotoGP
setup guru and former star rider
Warren Willing, who in between
trying to make the factory Ducati
Desmosedici handle properly
for Valentino Rossi, worked with
the duo to produce a compliant
and stable handling bike which
delivered impressive results in a
same-day comparison test with
a Suzuki GSX-R750. This was
conducted by Greg McDonald
using his Track Motion telemetry
system with a sampling rate of
100 times per second (three
times greater than the MoTeC
norm), and analysis of the data
gathered identified the Motoinno
TS3 as having a consistently
higher turn rate than the Suzuki,
for less lean. It was able to enter
a corner faster under brakes,
hold a tighter line through the
turn, and could be picked up
faster on the exit of the corner.
Each test recorded showed
that the Motoinno gained up to
one second per corner over the
GSX-R750 in the hands of the
same rider. That's a lot!
At this stage the Australian
Federal Government stepped
(Above) Aussies Ray Van Steenwyk
(left) and Colin Oddy founded
Motorcycle Innovations Pty Ltc. in
Brisbane to develop their hub-center
prototype Motoinno TS3.
Looks complicated but it works.
