| Author | Message | ||
     Blake |
Seems minor compared to allowing Ducati to have an extra 100cc's in their 1098R. WSBK never has been much concerned with rules consistency. I think you probably nailed it concerning engine speed. Is it entirely gear driven, or is it a hybrid system like that of the Buell 1125 Helicon engine? | ||
| Vagelis46 |
Ducati was never allowed an extra 100cc , it was 1200cc from day 1 in 2008. The new 2011 minimum weight of 165kg for all bikes , seem to remove an advantage from the Duc which is the only bike that could reach the previous minimum weight of 162kg. The IL4s were running at about 165kg this year , and it was very difficult to go lower. So organisers removed a "strong card" from Ducati for 2011 . I hope Kawasaki does something spectacular for next year. | ||
| Jaimec |
The new Kawasaki looks interesting... but increasing the horsepower doesn't mean a thing... before the S1000RR came along, Kawasaki already had the most powerful production IL4 liter sportbike and it got them nowhere. All that extra horsepower HAS helped the S1000RR in Superstock racing around the world but it hasn't done a thing for them in Superbike (yet). With all the electronic wizardry Kawasaki is hyping for their new ZX-10, I'm interested in seeing at what price point it'll hit the market. Less than the S1000RR? (Message edited by jaimec on October 06, 2010) | ||
| Trojan |
Less than the S1000RR? ONly be a few dolalrs if anything. The Yen is so weak right now that European sportsbikes are relatively cheap in comparison when you compare quality and performance  The new ZX10 has apparently been setting 'competitive' times in testing but that could just be corporate BS of course. It is at the latest tests in France today but the weather has pretty much made all times negligible unfortunately. Good story here about Leon Haslams first outing on the BMW “On my first lap of the day all the lights on the dash were flashing and the message on the dash was TWAT 2LOW. I was laughing as I thought the bike was having a go at me because I wasn’t going fast enough! but when I came in I found out that it’s the message to say the water temperature is too low.” Now that is clever electronics | ||
| Blake |
>>> Ducati was never allowed an extra 100cc , it was 1200cc from day 1 in 2008. When did the 1198R become available for purchase as a street bike? Answer: Long after Ducati were permitted to race an 1198cc version of their "1098R". That had to be one of the biggest jokes in motorcycle rules making history. They maintained the "1098R" name, but fielded an 1198cc machine. The actual 1198R wasn't available for public purchase until when? | ||
| Jaimec |
Blake: The 1098 was the 1100cc street bike. The 1098R was misnamed... it really was a 1200cc bike from the get-go, and they did sell a street 1098R with the 1198 engine. It wasn't until ALL of the bikes used the 1198cc engine that Ducati changed the name. A rose is a rose is a rose... | ||
| Vagelis46 |
The biggest joke in motorcycle racing history was actually the 1125R racing the 600cc IL4s. But this was AMA to blame , not Buell. Everyone around the world, except the Buell fanatics ,agrees on this. | ||
| Jaimec |
And what, exactly, does THAT have to do with World Superbikes??? | ||
| Blake |
Right, Buell should have named it the "625 R", then no one would have cared.  Yet in the end all the critics have been stifled. The joke was on them and their narrow minded ignorance. Buell put competitive racing machines back within reach of the privateer as intended. The racing was very close, and Danny nearly repeated his championship this year on a Japan Inc 600cc machine proving false the lie that the Buell had been an overdog in the class. (Message edited by Blake on October 06, 2010) | ||
| Vagelis46 |
You see , there will always be critics for any set of rules in any series. Apart from the Aprilia bike that everyone complains about , and they are right, the rest are almost even , with Ducs being the slowest bike with the best handling , as expected. WSBK produces great racing. Biaggi would never get the title on any other bike than the Aprilia . | ||
| Blake |
Nor would have Baylis on anything but the Ducati. So What is your point, that it takes a great bike and rider to win? | ||
| Vagelis46 |
My point is that I do not think of Biaggi as the rider that really deserved the 2010 title. But he got it , anyway . Also there is no way that Ducati is favoured by the WSBK rules , as soon as the IL4s got 1000cc. It is the other way round. Bayliss would win the WSBK title on any bike , as Spies did on the R1. (Message edited by vagelis46 on October 07, 2010) | ||
| Jaimec |
The FIM bent over backwards to appease Ducati for YEARS. Suddenly, when the FIM decides NOT to kiss Ducati's ass, Ducati takes their ball and goes home. As for the Aprilia... Camier wasn't exactly setting the world on fire (though he had a couple of good showings). Just as Sykes didn't do much with the R1 last year. | ||
| Trojan |
I agree, The FIM and WSB organisers 'bent' the rules in Ducatis favour for a verylong time just to keep them in the series when the Japanese factories left. Ducati got used to having their own way for too long and didn't like it when the rules were evened up for the other teams. Camier did pretty well on the Aprilia but I think he would have been far better on the Yamaha that he won the BSB title with in 2009. It also appears that Leon didn't exactly get equal status on equipment and treatment at Aprilia this year and was very much the number two rider. His contract for 2011 ensures equal staus allegedly so I think he may prove more competitive with whoever his team mate ends up to be (Biaggi is apprently contemplating retirement). Sykes will be the revelation of 2011 I think | ||
| Vagelis46 |
If Biaggi does what Bayliss did , and retires as the WSBK champion , it sounds like a good idea. He has nothing more to prove and he is 40 years old. | ||
| Jaimec |
Max has done everything except win the MotoGP championship which is now well out of his reach. Best to retire on top; I'm in agreement. Thanks, Max. It's been a fun run. I can't say I was ALWAYS rooting for you but you were always entertaining to watch. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
Unless he is just "playing" Aprilia for more money. Anyway , it would be better for him if he retired and becomes for Aprilia , a very distinctive figure , as Bayliss is for Ducati..... | ||
| Simond |
With the new MotoGP rules allowing modified production engines to be used, that gear driven Aprilia lump must be looking an attractive idea for a privateer entry. They'll get an extra 3 litres of fuel and and double the engine allocation of the "prototype" engined bikes. I guess the Yamaha and new Kawasaki would be interesting too. | ||
| Jaimec |
Looks like the Roman Emperor isn't quite done yet after all: http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/racing/max-biaggi- signs-with-aprilia-for-another-two-years/ | ||
| 46champ |
I'm sure this cost Aprilia plenty, but they need Biaggi to run at least one more year so that bike can be seen with that big #1 on it. | ||
| Jaimec |
Whoops! A&R jumped the gun... Apparently, Biaggi has NOT re-signed with Aprilia after all: http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/racing/biaggi-cont ract-announcement-fails-materialize-noale/ | ||
| Jaimec |
Apparently NOW it is official: http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/racing/official-bi aggi-signs-aprilia-wsbk/ | ||
| Jaimec |
OUCH!! http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/racing/james-tosel and-bmw-satellite-team-wsbk/ | ||
| Trojan |
I think Toseland will probably do a lot better at BMW than he has at Yamaha this year. The engine may suit him better as he has never got on with the crossplane carnk R1 engine and the team will be much smaller and more rider focusse than Yamaha have been. They will have pretty much the same bikes as the factory BMW squad so should have enough power to compete . I hope he can get his act together and show the doubters that his 2 World Superbiek championship wins were hardly due to luck (Message edited by trojan on October 26, 2010) | ||
| Jaimec |
The M1 also has the crossplane crank (it's where it was initially developed after all) so he SHOULD have been able to figure out the power delivery. Two new players on the R1 next year (Yamaha seems to like playing musical chairs with their World Superbike team) so let's see how they make out. Interested in seeing how Marco Melandri gels with the bike. Has he ever raced production-based bikes before?? | ||
| Trojan |
The M1 also has the crossplane crank (it's where it was initially developed after all) so he SHOULD have been able to figure out the power delivery. He never really gelled with the M1 either did he. The big difference though between the M1 and R1 (apparently, not as if I've ridden either!) is that the R1 has loads of bottom end grunt whereas the M1 is almost all top end power despite sharing similar engine firing order etc. This is why the R1 has been so hard on tyres, to keep in the right part of the rev range and hard to ride all year and for both Crutchlow and Toseland since they 'improved' the bike over the winter. Next year Yamaha are really taking a stab in the dark with both Laverty and Melandri (who have 0 superbike experience between them!) on the R1 and hopefully they won't make the mistake they did last year by trying to improve the bike over the winter!! | ||
| Jaimec |
They had to do something because EVERYONE had faster bikes this year. Leaving the bike "alone" would've resulted in Crutchlow and Toseland running with Hayden at the back of the pack with the other Kawasakis, I think. | ||
| Trojan |
I agree that some updates were needed, but they went too far over the winter last year so that it took most of the season to get the bike to work properly this year (and it still doesn't like the new Pirelli tyres!). The fact that the R1 spec ended up closer to the 2009 bike at the end of the year tells me that they should have left it alone to a large degree Maybe Yamaha haven't heard the 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' maxim. | ||
| Trojan |
The official announcement has been made and James Toseland will join Ayton Badovini at BMW Italia for 2011. http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?artic le=42470 They say they will get engines and technical backup from the BMW factory and it will be interesting to see if they get the new 2011 spec bike or the 2010 factory cast offs One thing is for sure. The team certainly know what they are doing and they absolutley dominated th Superstock championship from start to finish this year. The factory bikes haven't looked too impressive in early testing with Corser and Haslam, but you never know what they are testing and how hard they are really trying just yet. (Message edited by trojan on October 29, 2010) | ||
| Vagelis46 |
I have a feeling that Haslam did a bad move for his carreer. The BMW seems worse than the Suzuki at this point. I hope they can improve it. |
