MotoAmerica changes for 2018

i think its a little sad that the article is selling this class as a "tuner" class. i cant rem the last time a class that focused heavily on modifications and tuning did well, with good racing and good viewership. all the other racing classes are reducing modifications and going more spec, not adding them.

the comment about this being MA's Moto2 is a little ridiculous, esp since the chassis in Twins is just about the only thing that cant be changed and its the largest distinction for Moto2. Moto2 is great because the spec engine & spec ECU put A LOT of emphasis on the rider and their crew chief. Twins wont be that. theyll be more emphasis on $$ and the builder. a good rider is still going to win, but mostly cuz hes a pro competing against club racers.

the avg fan doesnt give a shit about the state of tune, price, nor speed/laptimes of the bike. none of those things can be seen from the stands or on TV. even laptimes can be discerned within seconds without a direct comparison. avg fans want to see good racing by athletes they can root for and/or against.

 

No you were required to have X amount of expert points to get a license.


Ride safe,
AAron

 

Maybe im thinking there were some 600 ss guys that slid through then.

 

I spent last Saturday being coached by a pro racer, not to mention, another pro was out testing and tuning at the same time. You realize how much you suck when you see those guys ride. They hit all their marks all the time and make it look easy.

This class will be interesting, but I don't see it sticking around.

 

Started with an RZ engine (better trans ratios). Aftermarket crank ÷4mm stroke, Cheetah Cub custom 66mm bore cylinders, Pro Designs Cool Head, V-Force carbon reeds, 38mm Mikuni TMX flat slide carbs, PVL ignition, Hinson billet clutch assembly, custom pipes to fit the engine into the Aprilia frame. 396cc of 2-stroke goodness in a great handling frame. The whole engine costs less to build than a really good head job on a 4-stroke.

 

At the peak of my riding ability, when you think you are untouchable, I was on track at VIR in a practice session with other experts that were also seasoned Pros.
Going thru corners, that I was faster than any of my regular competitors, I get passsed, on the outside, by several pros.
One was scratching his ass while dragging his other elbow. They had 10 seconds a lap on me, in practice...

 

Yup, that's about how it goes lol

 

Scott Russell passed me going into turn one at RRR in the very early 90’s about 25 mph faster than I was going. I thought I was going to die I was going so fast and he turned around and looked at me while hitting the apex. I knew then I never had that kind of talent and speed. Stokes and Opie have done that to me many times over the years as well.

 

I can see the forums next year. So many "professionals" who barely qualified running a 2004 Sv650 clapto-turd is gonna be telling everyone who will listen how he turned "pro" in 2018!

 

With the idea being creative builds, could someone sleeve and/or de-stroke a Panigale or KTM RC8 or other big twin into 800cc of awesome LWT fun

 

No. only homologated models can be raced in MA twins. WERA Formula 2 allows destroked models. There has been a Ducati 749 that has been made a 687 by mixing S model and R model engine parts.

 

I don't think we will see very much of that. Take a look through the Bikes for sale adds here on the Beeb. There are several $4K Sv's that already have GSXR forks, wheels, brakes, Penske shocks, bored throttle bodies, etc. some might have illegal for MA overbores, but are pretty much set up. About the only thing left to do would be some head work, cams and electronics. I don't see 21K there. Even if somebody wanted to start with a brand new homologated bike, I don't see it going to $25K. What does it cost to put a GSXR 1000 or R1 or Panigale on the track even with an SS build? Yet club racers and trackday novices do it all the time.
I think this class makes really good sense for MA, the fans and anybody that wants to give it a go.

 

You can get to $25k quickly starting off with a showroom fresh middleweight or unlimited class motorcycle and building it properly to go SS racing. And, aside from some slight price variances in parts (or things like sheer number of valves and cylinders) and the actual cost of the motorcycle, it costs just about the same to prep a 300 as it does a new 1000. The vast majority of the hard parts cost the same no matter what motorcycle they're for.

 

Anyone know when Dunlop's contract is up?

NVRMND, looks like 2019

 

So what you are saying is a Yamaha concept and just used Yamaha cases to save time? That bikes a damn work of art.

 

You can very easily yank on one wire without anyone seeing as you get off the track and dyno results will be much lower. We are lucky and don’t have to cheat in our classes and would t (ya ya they all say that) but it’s easy to do in some other classes.

 

Pretty much. Yamaha cases and transmission. All else is aftermarket.

 

Will we really need a dyno? I’m hearing this is a tuners class so engine builders will publish hp numbers and dyno graphs to sell thier services. We will all know what kind of hp each bike could have. It’s no secret what an SV can do and the FZ or MT 07 as it’s now known can get in the low to mid 90’s with some work.

How light can an SV get with the MA rules? Any idea or a good guess on the KTM’s weight? How about a Ninja 650? Pretty sure the Yamaha could be down around 325-330 lbs and be legal.