VOL. 53 ISSUE 11 MARCH 22, 2016 P33
BLACK ROUND THINGS
T
he reception for the new Michelin Mo-
toGP tires in Qatar was generally more
positive, with the French company's prog-
ress since last year's tests earning praise all
around and Lorenzo's pole time of 1:54.543
marginally slower than Dovizioso's 2015
Bridgestone pole at 1:54.113.
Praise also came from the fans with the return
of tire-smoking wheelspin from rear tires with quite
different characteristics from the Japanese rub-
ber.
One of the more spectacular exponents dur-
ing practice was Scott Redding, glowing with the
enjoyment of it all. "With the Bridgestone, it would
grip, and then it was gone. With the Michelin, you
can spin it."
Jack Miller explained further. "With Bridges-
tone, you could spin then pick it up and it would
regain grip. The Michelin would spin it all day
without wearing it, which is great, but it spoils your
speed. You have to have a gentle wrist."
Criticism of the queasy front has all but dis-
sipated after a new construction that arrived
during pre-season testing, but with riders used
to Bridgestone's much firmer front they were still
making adjustments, and almost all of the crashes
in practice were low-siders after losing the front.
"In braking, there is quite a lot of skidding, and
it feels a lot different from the Bridgestone. But it's
not bad…it's about understanding it," said Red-
ding.
Photographers gathered at the end of the long
straight looking for red-hot glowing-disc pictures
were disappointed, suggesting that the Michelin
fronts can't brake as hard as the Bridgestone. But
there was another factor, according to Brembo
staff—the all-but universal switch to the bigger and
cooler-running 340mm discs.
Michael Scott
Michelin is slowly
winning riders over
with the new MotoGP
control tire, but the
front still has a little
way to go.
SAMSUNG DEVELOPS SMART WINDSHIELD
E
lectronics giant Samsung has partnered with
Italian motocross rider Edo Mossi and YouTu-
ber Can Secco to develop what it calls the world's
first "Smart Windshield" for motorcycles.
The windshield has been devel-
oped and fitted to a Yamaha Tricity 125
scooter, and allows the rider to see who
is calling/messaging/emailing through
a connected app and display mounted
behind the bike's factory fitted screen.
The rider can then send reply messages
including a special one that tells the
calling person "I'm riding," which is most
likely the one we'd be setting to default,
because if we're riding at Cycle News,
we're riding, not sending messages.
Regardless, this is another example of our
never-ending quest for constant web connection
filtering ever further into our riding lives. Check out
the video for a closer look.
