Yooperbikemike's 2013 MotoGP Thread

Thats cool RDP really needs a factory ride of some flavor, he is too good to be fucking around with CRTs.

....for that matter, I wouldn't mind seeing Ben on a Zuki.....can't be worse than a satellite Ducati

just coz he's testing don't mean he'll be racing

careful what you wish for ...

Nah, Crashy DePunier has balled up enough prototypes already.

:eek1

*****

I just heard a recent interview with Ben where he said he is very happy being with Ducati and is excited to see what they come up with, bike wise, by the end of the year.

I think the clock is ticking faster for Ben than it is for Ducati.

I have a different question: If they have started on the 3rd of 5 engines, how would that affect the introduction of a Yamaha seamless gearbox? Since motorcycles use a "combined" engine/gearbox case are 3 of those out the window? Or would the cassette gearbox lend itself to the conversion? Or is the whole enchilada considered sealed?

I'm with you on that. Bautista was doing well on that bike.

I don't disagree. It will be easier to judge once he is healthy.

I believe they are allowed to change the gearbox. If that translates into a seamless gearbox slipping right in or not is a different story.

Ducati ran into engine allotment issues last year when they wanted to try a spar type frame and none of their allocated engines had the necessary attachment lugs in the castings.

Honda testing the production Moto GP racer at Motegi. It looks fast. They claim it is faster than expected. I hope that doesn't mean they will try to make it slower.



http://www.roadracingworld.com/news...ogp-racebike-at-motegi/#.UaN_HCv5kMk.facebook

Yes, that seems like a whole lot of money for a motorcycle, but Honda will unveil a whole new production model by the end of 2013. It's an over-the-counter MotoGP racer with a target price of €1 million (US$1.3 million), and a level of power that will make it competitive in the CRT class of MotoGP in 2014. Oh, and the bike is designed to save money.
Honda Racing Corporation is currently testing the RC213V 1000 cc V4 production bike and will release the bike late this year so teams can prepare for the 2014 FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix MotoGP class. The new model will enable entrants to race competitively in MotoGP at significantly lower cost than is currently the case.

The as-yet-unnamed production bike will be very similar to the RC213V bikes currently ridden by Dani Pedrosa, Marc Marquez, Stefan Bradl and Alvaro Bautista though it will have conventional valve springs (as opposed to pneumatic valve actuation), a conventional gearbox (not a seamless quickshift gearbox), Nissin brakes (not Brembo units) and Showa suspension (not Öhlins).

We're not sure what other changes will be made to differentiate the machine, but the price is substantially reduced in comparison to the bike it's based upon. While the target price of the CRT machine is expected to come in under $1.3 million, the cost of the current bikes made available to satellite teams is $4.5 million a season, and the biggest difference is that at the end of the season, you have to give them back. That price is simply the leasing fee. At least with these production machines you'll have something to show for your money at the end of the season because you actually get to keep them.

"Development of the model is currently a little behind schedule but the test results showed more than what we had expected, in particular, with its running performance," Shuhei Nakamoto, Executive Vice President of Honda Racing Corporation, said over the weekend.

"We can't announce its name or the specification at this stage but we will have an opportunity of announcing the details in the not too distant future. We will keep on developing the machine to meet the 2014 MotoGP technical and sporting regulations, and will introduce the model by the end of this year."

The bike hit the track for the first time last Thursday and Friday at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit in Japan. Honda has stated it is geared up to meet demand regardless, and there will be no limit on the number of the RC213V production machines available for sale.

Interestingly, it is 12 years since Honda sold a production machine designed to race at the highest level. The NSR500V was V-twin 500 cc two-stroke and was ridden successfully by quite a few privateers. In all, Honda sold 22 of the bikes, which scored seven top five placings and a best result of second place.

If you're not the author of the article, you should at least post the link: http://www.gizmag.com/honda-million-dollar-motorcycle/27670/

It's okay if they have cracked open the use of their 3rd engine. They rotate through the engines to give them even wear. Like what they used for one race would be used for practice the next. And vice versa and so with practices, qualifying, race.

I'd bet that the motors aren't the same. Were it me, I'd have them tuned different to match track requirements. Use the ones appropriate where needed.

I wonder if maybe they are spread across at least 2 generations of chassis?

Engine mounting points are the same on all chassis. Flex controlled by material thickness.

I meant that might be the reason for having 3 engines in rotation; 2 in one gen chassis and 1 on another gen. I do believe Jorge and Vale have been switching back and forth a lot, unsure of which works best.

I think you mentioned they each prefer a different chassis.

for the most part, tuning can all be done with electronics, so the basic engines can be made the same. when you have 260+ HP, it's ALL about how the electronics control the engine.

From what I understand they use GPS or some tech so that the electroncis know where the bike is on the track. The electronics control the bike not only for the track but for a specific corner. I think there was a racer last year who's bike 'got lost' and they had a difficult time riding after that.