After another shocker of a season in 2008, and under financial pressure after the global economic crisis, it seems Kawasaki have decided it’s not worth $30 million to prove that the green bike is the slowest on the grid. An announcement is expected within a week that the Kawasaki MotoGP team will not show up on the grid for 2009.
Two big rule changes in the last decade (the move to the 990cc and then 800cc four-strokes) have made the prototype class incredibly expensive for factories to participate in, as well as completely decimating non-factory participation. Worse still, the difference between fielding a bike and getting something competitive on the grid is enormous - Randy Mamola mused to us in September of how Kawasaki and Fiat Yamaha both had their crankcases manufactured at the same plant - but Rossi’s unit cost ten times as much as the Kwaka solution. (more…)
Motorcycle geometry, like suspension, is a classic compromise. Extending the rake of the forks delivers additional stability and improved balance under brakes, but it also slows down steering and generally reduces ground clearance. A steeper steering head angle makes for lightning-fast handling but you pay for it with tank-slappers and headshakes in fast bumpy corners, and under hard braking the rear wheel lifts off the ground and you’re forced to back off on the brakes or flip the bike forward.
The premise of Erik Brinkman’s R-Bike is basically to deliver a motorcycle that can change its geometry on the fly to fit what you’re doing with it. Designed around a hinged cross frame, the bike is able to open and close like a pair of scissors, changing the geometry from a comfy, stretched out cruiser format to a squashed-up, quick-steering off-road machine with a trials-bike wheelbase and extra ground clearance. (more…)
(TheBikerGene acknowledges that our female rider buddies may choose to beat up on us for running these photos with this story. Sorry guys, couldn’t help myself!)
According to AMA statistics, 12.6% of motorcycle/scooter riders are now female, a huge proportional increase in recent years. We’ve certainly noticed more and more gals catching bike fever - and it seems the industry has been taken a little by surprise, given what many biker chicks say is a dearth of good women’s bike gear on the market.
But it seems the bike industry is ready to start taking serious notice of women in motorcycling, starting with an upcoming AMA conference in 2009 dedicated to recognising and celebrating female riders, the role women play in the motorcycle world and looking at how the industry can adapt to meet the needs of this growing community. (more…)
Regular BikerGene readers will know I’m a huge fan of funny front-end suspension ideas that look beyond the traditional telescopic fork in search of progressive setups that deal more effectively with the separate issues of bumps, braking, steering and cornering forces - and this one looks fantastic.
Tier Motorsports have come up with a design concept - here pictured as part of a potential R1 prototype - that uses a single-sided front swingarm and four-bar steering system to create a perfectly vertical steering axis, as opposed to the tilted steering axes found on telescopic forks due to their necessary rake. (more…)
