trenace
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posted January 16, 2006 05:24 PM
 Edited By: trenace on 16 Jan 2006 18:25
Best Moto-mag issue EVER in my opinion -- current Roadracing World
If you are interested in MotoGP, the current issue of Roadracing World is absolutely astonishingly good. Unbelievable. Five or ten times better than any single issue of anything I've ever seen before. I would recommend buying it (it's at many newsstands)... only $3.99.
Aside from TWO separate articles of journalists riding either (in one case) the Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Ducati MotoGP bikes or (in the other case) the Kawasaki and Ducati, there's an 11 page interview of top technical people and the riders of each team. Unbelievably candid and informative interviews.
Interviewed are Yamaha's YZR-M1 project leader Masahiko Nakajima, Jeremy Burgess, Rossi, Edwards; HRC's managing director Satoru Horiike, Nicky Hayden; Ducati Marlboro Team Director Corrado Cecchinelli, Loris Capirossi; Suzuki crew chief Tom O'Kane, John Hopkins, Kawasaki ZX-RR engineer Ichiro Yoda, and Shinya Nakano.
While where I don't think I'm violating the spirit of the fair use principle I've posted articles or more usually only part of them with links back to the website, thus if anything increasing their traffic, that wouldn't be the case here -- I'd be stealing their intellectual property, cheating them of their $3.99, to provide the entire article.
But as flavor here's the interview with HRC's managing director. Candid or what?
quote:
"Totally, I wasn't satisfied with our 2005 machine. Every area was not so good compared to the Yamaha. Mainly going into corners, our braking wasn't as good as the Yamaha's and our cornering wasn't so good. Also during acceleration, we used to have a big advantage in acceleration but now the Yamaha is almost the same.
"The braking problem isn't geometry, the geometry is correct but maybe the engine-braking system or clutch is the problem, software and hardware. I think the front vagueness problem comes from this problem before the corner. If we can make the bike stable before the corner it will be good into the corner.
"New regulations gave us less fuel in 2005 but horsepower was slightly more than in 2004. All I can say is that power is over 250. I think the Ducati maybe makes more power.
"Although we have good power and torque, we now have no advantage in these areas so we need to work some more. We worked very hard to get a flat torque curve, analyzing every area of the engine -- combustion, combination of exhaust pipes and so on, checking power at each throttle opening angle in detail,that's how we can make it flat. We have known that a flat torque curve is good for 20 years maybe. I clearly remember the NSR500 we developed in 1985 for Freddie Spencer. That machine was so fast with Freddie on it. Then when Wayne Gardner rode it in 1986 he told us it was very difficult to ride. So we analyzed everything, then realized we had to modify the torque curve.
"We always try to design a neutral, balanced bike. That is always our way, it's a basic point of motorcycle design, it's normal for us.
"Electronics are becoming more and more important in MotoGP but it's not true we take engineers from Honda F1 car project to help us in MotoGP. Of course, we exchange information with them, we're always talking with them, but there's no movement of staff. F1 electronics aren't so important to us, because the usage of the engine is completely different from motorcycling, because in F1 power is an on/off switch. With motorcycles we have to make it more precise."
Also, as examples of other kinds of stuff in there, if you want to be faster through hairpins and slow corners, is the correct direction (relative to a typical racebike) to make it more agile, or more stable? Rossi tells you... How do you change the setup in the rain? Again some top riders and crew chiefs tell you... great stuff. More than most of the mags give out in a full year of issues. Definitely recommended reading.
  
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trenace
Needs a job
Posts: 3056
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posted January 17, 2006 10:45 AM
One more excerpt, Shinya Nakano interview:
quote:
"The big step in 2005 was the big-bang engine which improved traction and acceleration. I was happy because I got fifth in the first race in front of some Hondas, so I thought I had a good chance for the rest of the season, but after that everyone getting very fast.
"The problem was that we had no data for most of the tracks with our big-bang engine, so it was difficult to set up because it uses less revs, so you need different gearbox ratios. Also, the engine-braking character of the big-bang was different.
"My results were similar. In 2004 I was 10th in the Championship and in 2005 I was 10th again. But we have improved, because even though the races were much faster in 2005, my race times were much closer to the winners, like at Sachsenring I was only three or four seconds behind the winner.
"We have more speed now. After Brno in August we got a new cylinder head, so we had better top speed, maybe faster than the Suzuki, but while we got more top end, maybe we lost some bottom range. The Honda has better traction and better acceleration. We get more wheelspin because our engine character doesn't have such good torque. [Note, I think he means as good in terms of being a flat curve -- obviously, simply less torque doesn't mean more wheelspin.]
"I'm happy with the chassis, it's good. Our maneuverability is about the same as others but we have a very good front contact feeling. When I rode for Yamaha in 2002 and 2003 it was easy to lose the front, so I crashed many times and lost confidence. Now I feel very confident in the bike and the tires, so I can push hard and really enjoy my riding."
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