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/656086
IN THE WIND P34 HARD TALK ON SOFTWARE T he changes in MotoGP elec- tronics are to software only. Last year, the Magneti Marelli ECU hardware was standard- ized for all. Now, all must use an evolution of last year's control software from the same Italian company, as used by the now defunct Open class. How riders felt about the change depended very much on where they had come from. Former Open riders talked of a major improvement, while some factory riders remarked of a noticeable but not massive drop in performance. Honda factory riders Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa, however, were some- what at sea, because Honda stuck with their own software last year, while Yamaha and Ducati already used Magneti Marelli software. Marquez was making prog- ress after a difficult start to the weekend after a fruitful return to settings used at the pre-season tests. "Today we know why we were having trouble," he said after free practice at the Qatar MotoGP. "We are still not at 100 percent for this race, but better." Teammate Dani explained that he'd also made progress, but it was not only electronics, but also their effect on the whole package. "It is our first time with the electronics, but we also have trouble with the bike," he said. They'd "made a step" during practice, but, as well as, poor engine braking, the aggressive engine response was spoiling exit speed. As a result, "we are losing 10 km/h to the Ducatis on the straight. We need to make the engine smoother." Jack Miller, however, up from an Open Honda, reported a ma- jor improvement. "The traction control is so much nicer…you can't feel it, and it doesn't upset the bike. It's a different system—I think before they were cutting sparks. And the wheelie control has more adjustment." Michael Scott HONDA CB1100 CONCEPT ON SHOW IN OSAKA H onda could be about to produce the CB1100 retro roadster for 2017 in two forms, if the latest rumors out of the Osaka Motorcycle Show are anything to go by. The Big H showed two ver- sions of their retro roadster at the show, a CB1100 Concept and the sportier CB1100 Concept Type II, aimed at bikes like the BMW R nineT and Scrambler, Triumph Boneville and Thruxton and Ducati Scrambler models. Honda has produced the CB1100 for a number of years but the market move to a more concentrated retro lineup has seemingly forced Honda's hand in creating two new variants of the range. The CB1100 Con- cept is aimed squarely at riders who remember the glory days of the '70s CB range and is much more closely styled to the iconic CB750, while the Concept II speaks to the Yamaha XJR1300- style rider with 17-inch cast alloy wheels, a CB1300 gas tank, in- verted Showa forks, radial-mount Brembo brakes and Öhlins twin shocks. Marquez is slowly getting used to the control electronics but Honda is still behind Yamaha and Ducati. Retro, anyone? The CB1100 Concept, shown here at the 2015 Tokyo Show, could be set for production in 2017.