SportBiKeZ

Australian rider Russell Holland has proved to be fast and competitive since the start of his new experience in World Supersport, despite having to learn a new track every weekend in his rookie season. After three races and one test session in Vallelunga with the experienced HANNspree Honda Althea team, Russell Holland illustrates his season so far and what the future holds for this promising young Australian rider.

"This year is certainly an initiation for me... new tracks and a new lifestyle in living in Europe by myself on top of World Championship competition has been a real challenge but I'm trying to appreciate this experience as I know everyone here has had to go through it and in the future I'll be laughing about the challenges along the way".

Tell us about the latest round at Brands Hatch, England..

"Well, this was a weekend to forget in many ways. For our team it is incredible the bad luck we had. But the circuit was amazing and I can say I really enjoyed riding it although it's a track that takes some time to link the turns together and get a flow going. On Saturday afternoon we caught the worst of a small rain shower that interrupted qualifying. I was on my best lap when the rain came and then in the final 5 minutes when the track had dried we just couldn't find a gap in the traffic and couldn't improve. So on Sunday we were set to start from 15th but on the warm-up lap I had a clutch failure, just pure bad luck. This forced us to start from the spare bike and from the back of the grid in 37th place. We got a great start in the race but from the third lap it began to rain and got heavier in the next 5 laps. On the 8th lap the race leader Robbin Harms crashed then I crashed on the same turn whilst in 15th place... The race was red-flagged immediately after this, my bike was too badly damaged to return to the pits as the rule says you must. Because of this I could not restart even on my spare bike. A frustrating end really".

About the loss of Craig Jones

"After retiring from the race in Brands I witnessed Craig's crash and you cannot imagine a crash like that happening, it was very strange. I knew him reasonably well and he was one of the boys and a nice guy. It is sobering when something like this hits someone you know. My heart goes out for the family and close friends of Craig".

Back to business, how did the partnership with HANNspree Honda Althea come about?

"I started the year in the Superbike class and we achieved some promising results early on when we had a chance to test on the circuits. I'm proud that we finished in the top ten (9th) at the 2nd round, my home race in Australia. It was not so easy as the championship moved back to Europe but we did manage three more point scoring finishes before the mid-season (13th Valencia, 13th Monza, 15th Utah). I'm now really happy to be competing in the Supersport class with HANNspree Honda Althea. It was strange to change classes mid season but my superbike team's future was not clear and the Althea team needed a rider after Tommy Hill was injured. This change was a positive one for sure because I can continue with Honda and the Althea team has experience running at the front in Supersport".

What was your debut like? How did you feel about the new experience?

"I think the debut at Misano was a good lesson in Supersport. Launching straight into a race meet and learning a new bike is pretty exciting. I was riding with too much of a superbike style initially. We just kept chipping away and by the finish of qualifying we were 7th... ok for the first go. Unfortunately in the race I crashed out being too eager to catch the leaders after a bad start. I lost the front end on a turn we'd had trouble with all weekend. Had I been more patient we probably could have made a great result there as the race pace was not so fast".

What about the Vallelunga Test, how much did it help?

"Obviously every track this year is new to me and Vallelunga was a very challenging circuit so I'm glad we could test there. The first part of the track reminds me of Assen a little with fast change of directions. We achieved a lot there with me adjusting to the bike better and just general set-up too".

Let's talk about Brno, your best finish so far this season...

"This year has been full of 'frustrating Fridays' for me as I learn a new track every weekend whilst trying to give constructive feedback to the team. Brno was just like this so it was really good to finish the race and get a good result for the team and myself (7th place). I didn't really get a good feeling with the front there but we made a fairly smooth race and moved forward in the final laps, to finish 7th in the second race with HANNspree Honda Althea was fairly satisfying and I feel it has set us up to finish the year well".

What are your expectations for next year and the rest of this season?

"This year was always going to be a learning curve. The rest of the year will be no different but I believe I can continue to improve my performances and I will be working hard to get on the podium this year! I know I can make a strong championship next year whether in Supersport or Superbike. I have not made plans for next season yet. I have a great team right now and I'll do my best to use that to my advantage".

Valentino Rossi has warned Dani Pedrosa not to expect Bridgestone tyres to instantly transform his fortunes as the Yamaha star expressed his surprise at the Spaniard’s shock switch.

Rossi needed three months of winter testing and the early part of the season to fine-tune his factory Yamaha YZR-M1 to Bridgestone tyres, and said Pedrosa shouldn’t be banking on the Japanese rubber to be a miracle cure.

Rossi, who also orchestrated his own switch to Bridgestone after a torrid 2007 campaign with Michelin, said: “I was in exactly the same position last year but sincerely I didn’t think to try the tyre during the season.

"The potential of Bridgestone is very high but it is not like you put a Bridgestone sticker on the bike and like magic you go faster. You have to work a lot and you have a lot of pressure because at he beginning my performance was not much faster than Michelin and people were questioning my decision.

"It is a risky move for Dani, and a move like this at this time is quite strange I think.”

With Dani Pedrosa joining him on a Bridgestone-shod factory Honda RC212V on Monday Shinya Nakano was surprised but positive about the news from the Repsol Honda team.

Shinya Nakano was the second fastest participant in Monday afternoon´s post-Misano testing session, lapping 0.794s behind Dani Pedrosa as the factory Honda rider undertook his first laps with new tyre suppliers Bridgestone.

Although the Japanese rider was not 100% sure about what effect Pedrosa´s sensational change will have on him, in the short term, he remains optimistic about the current situation.

The two riders now have a similar factory Honda RC212V package, but whilst Nakano believes they can help each other he is insistent that he will dictate the set-up of his bike, while accepting guidance from HRC.

Having completed 53 test laps at Misano in preparation for Indianapolis and Motegi, Nakano declared, `Dani´s switch to Bridgestone is a big surprise for us because you don´t see people changing tyres in the middle of the season very often. I don´t know exactly what is happening but the good thing is we can share information. They are a factory team and they get much more help with the bike and the tyres and as I have a similar bike I think this is a good point. On the other hand we have to give over information so I don´t know yet if it is definitely good for us or not.´

As he continues developing 2009 satellite RC212V, a similar spec to Pedrosa´s current 2008 spring valve factory model, Nakano believes the development of his prototype machinery is firmly within his own control.

The 30 year-old Japanese competitor stated, `We have a factory bike but we adjust everything by ourselves. Of course we ask for advice from HRC but anyway we have to build the bike ourselves and of course it is up to me. We are a satellite team and they are a factory team so I don´t think it will affect things too much. Maybe in the near future if they find something very good (the factory team), like a frame or something, I would like to try it too.´

For the time being it is expected that Bridgestone technician Klaus Nohles, who has worked with Nakano throughout the 2008 campaign to date, will split his time between the Repsol Honda and San Carlo Honda Gresini boxes at the next round at Indianapolis, working with both riders on behalf of the Japanese suppliers – just as he did during Monday´s test session.

Moto Morini 1200 Sport now available UK


Based upon the Moto Morini 9½ roadster, at the heart of the 1200 Sport is the Franco Lambertini designed 1187cc 87° V-twin engine, tuned to develop 117 hp at 8500 rpm with a high torque (102 Nm 6700 rpm) that is well-distributed over the entire rev range. The engine is carried in a Verlicchi-designed trellis frame, with 50mm Marzocchi forks at the front and adjustable Paioli rear shock for sure-footed road holding even at high speeds. Other technological features include a powerful and responsive 320mm Brembo semi floating braking system and double-sided swing arm that is produced by hydro forming, without the need for welding, making it lighter and stiffer than conventional items.

However it is the appearance of the 1200 Sport that has the most immediate effect. Its single round headlight with mini fairing and impressive 21-litre tank with generous indents for the knees give this bike an impressive presence. The double tapered exhaust pipe exudes power and creates a potent exhaust note. Meanwhile the narrow bars and single seat unit are designed to work with the footrests to incline the rider forward into a sportier riding position.

The Moto Morini 1200 Sport sells for £7,999 OTR, just £500 more than the entry level 9 ½ model, and is available in White/Blue/Red or British Racing Green/Yellow.

visit www.motomorini.com

Rake and trail are terms often used when discussing sportbike handling. Manufacturers sometimes highly tout these numbers in their brochures, and we often refer to them in testing. Trail especially affects how a bike feels, and can determine its stability, steering quickness, and in general, a large portion of the bike's handling characteristics.

Rake is the angle of the steering head with respect to a vertical axis. Trail is the horizontal distance from the front axle to where a line drawn through the steering axis meets the ground.

Trail can be calculated from triple-clamp offset (0), tire radius (R) and rake (ø). Changing any of these three variables will alter trail, but each also has other-and sometimes unfavorable-effects.

Rake is defined as the angle of the steering head with respect to a line drawn perpendicular to the ground (left). A smaller angle, or less rake, is sometimes referred to as being steeper, and production sportbikes are currently in the neighborhood of 23 degrees of rake. Trail is the horizontal measurement from the front axle to the point at which a line drawn through the steering head intersects the ground (figure 1). Current sportbikes have 90-95mm of trail. While the two dimensions are interrelated, trail is the number that mostly changes the steering feel of a motorcycle. Trail gives a motorcycle stability because of the self-centering effect caused by the front wheel being behind (or trailing) the steering axis. Too little trail, and this self-centering effect is decreased to the point of instability. Too much trail, and the effect is so great that steering becomes heavy. There is a lot more to trail than this (and for more detail, you can refer to the resources listed here), but these are the basics for the purposes of this discussion. At first glance, most sportbikes appear to have a set rake and trail that cannot be changed, but that is not necessarily the case. Given a motorcycle's basic dimensions, we can calculate trail as follows (right): (equation 1) Trail=RSinø-0/cosø R=tire radius 0=triple-clamp offset ø=rake

As an example, a bike with a front tire having a circumference of 1890mm, a 23-degree rake and 27mm of offset will have 98.5mm of trail. Note that in the range of variables we are dealing with, using a tire with a smaller radius, increasing offset or decreasing rake can decrease trail. On most stock sportbikes, you cannot change two of the three variables (tire diameter and offset) without resorting to modifications, but the third variable, rake, we can change slightly by raising or lowering the fork tubes in the triple clamps.

An expert-level roadracer can notice a change in the order of 1mm in trail, and working equation 1 backward, we can calculate the change in rake required as just less than 0.2 degrees. Using an approximation based on the arc length from the rear axle to the steering head, we can further calculate that a fork-height change of just 4mm is enough to effect this angle change.

Many riders refer to fork height or rear-ride height change as "putting more (or less) weight on the front end," but we can calculate the change in weight bias brought about by this 4mm change. A typical sportbike and rider combination weighing 600 pounds has approximately a 50/50 weight bias, with its center of gravity (CG) at a height 1_2 of its 1400mm wheelbase (figure 3). Front-end weight is calculated as: Wf=Wt(L-x)/L Wf=front-end weight Wt=total weight x=distance from front axle to CG L=wheelbase

In this case, the bike's weight is evenly distributed, with 300 pounds on each wheel. Raising the fork tubes in the triple clamp and changing rake by 0.2 degrees will move the CG forward by approximately 3.5mm (you can use trigonometry to calculate this), resulting in a front-end weight of 301.5 pounds. This is practically insignificant compared to the change in trail resulting from the adjustment-you would have far more of an effect on weight bias by simply moving your body a little bit forward. Raising or lowering the front end of your bike changes much more than just rake and trail, however. It also changes the angle of the swingarm, which can play a big part in handling, especially on more powerful bikes. We will cover more rear-end geometry in a later issue, but you should know that adjustments in trail are by far the most apparent change a rider will feel when raising/lowering the bike's front end.

Tire diameter is one of the other variables affecting geometry, and we can calculate the change in trail resulting in a switch between two brands of tires. In our last tire test ("DOT Race Tire Test," Feb. '03), the tallest front tire was the Michelin Pilot Race 2, at 1910mm in circumference. The smallest tire was the Metzeler Rennsport/Pirelli Supercorsa, at 1878mm. We always measure tire circumference and change ride heights to make the overall chassis attitude (and rake) the same (see Ask the Geek, Feb. '02), and in this case, the fork tube height would need to be changed by 5mm just to level the chassis. Even taking that into account, however, the change in trail due only to the change in tire size is 2mm. Add in the different tire's profile (that changes trail at various lean angles), and you can see why adjusting only to keep the bike's attitude the same when changing tire brands is sometimes not enough. The last way we can adjust trail is by changing the triple-clamp offset, and you will see that racebikes often have this adjustment. In this case, a 1mm change makes approximately the same change in trail (but opposite-more offset gives less trail, and vice versa) with very little effect on ride height and rake angle.