Photo: Honda Motor Company
Last year, the top class of Grand Prix road racing underwent a shakeup of epic dimensions when the GP rulebook was rewritten to give four-stroke racing motorcycles a nearly 100 percent displacement advantage over their two-stroke counterparts. This rule change made four-stroke motorcycles competitive in Grand Prix racing events for the first time since a very young Ozzy Osborne invented heavy metal with a new rock 'n' roll combo called Black Sabbath. This new rule completely changed the face of Grand Prix racing, and, as we are seeing in showrooms this year, it's also changing the production motorcycles that we ride on the street.
A little history: Back in Ozzy's early days, two-stroke motorcycles ruled the road and track. Two-strokes were light, cheap and faster than stink. Unfortunately, they did stink, spewing too many unburned hydrocarbons for the exhaust sniffers of the world to tolerate. By the mid '80s, two-stroke streetbikes had been outlawed on U.S. highways, though they continued to rule World Championship road racing until just last year.
Photo: Honda Motor Company
As successful as two-strokes were on the racetrack, motorcycle manufacturers decided that it no longer made sense to spend millions upon millions of dollars developing two-stroke race bikes that have absolutely nothing in common with the four-stroke flyers sold on showroom floors. So manufacturers began lobbying for a rules change that would make more production-relevant four-strokes competitive in Grand Prix racing. Because a 500cc two-stroke would hand a 500cc four-stroke its ass on a platter under any conceivable circumstance, the four-strokes were given a 490cc displacement advantage to equalize competition. The premier 500 GP class was renamed MotoGP, and the manufacturers nearly simultaneously abandoned all two-stroke engine development in favor of building new four-stroke prototypes. Two-stroke GP bikes, for all intents and purposes, are obsolete.
For a Super Streetbike rider like yourself, this is classified as a good thing; it means that the technology developed for the world's most advanced race bikes can now trickle down to the bikes you drool over on the showroom floor. In a couple of cases, it already has. Here's a breakdown of what's on the GP track this year and why you should care.
Photo: Honda Motor Company
What It Is: Honda RC211V
Last season, Honda's V5-powered MotoGP racer made the rest of the field look silly. Sure, Yamaha won a race or two, but the Hondas were so dominant that these few wins almost seemed like Honda throwing Yamaha a bone because it was sick of seeing the competition roll over in submission. Damn did those Hondas ever sound good!
Why You Should Care:
Don't expect to buy a road-going RCV anytime soon (though a V5 streetbike of some sort, probably something along the lines of the VFR, seems a sure thing). A street-legal RC211V would cost about as much as a new Porsche 911 Turbo, and it would still be a pale imitation of Valentino Rossi's ride.
Photo: Honda Motor Company
However, at least one piece of technology from this monster has already found its way to the street. The new CBR600RR features a Unit-Pro-Link rear suspension based on that of the RC211V. Other than the fact that the top of the shock is attached to the swingarm instead of the frame, the details of the suspension are too esoteric to be understood by a mouth-breathing liberal arts major like me. What is clear is that it is very effective at keeping the front wheel on the pavement under acceleration. If ultimate lap times get you excited, you might think this is a good thing. If, on the other hand, wheelies are your thing, then you might not think this is so good.
Photo: Yamaha Motor Corp.
What It Is: Yamaha YZR-M1
It's hard to get a handle on Yamaha's MotoGP entry because it was virtually a different bike in every race last year. Even Yamaha is confused, referring to the '03 version alternately as the M1 and the M3, depending on what technician is talking. Whatever the company calls it, it is a surprisingly conventional motorcycle, a carbureted inline-four, just like the first-generation YZF-R1 streetbike. Conventional or not, at least one version of the M-whatever was fast enough to beat the dominant Hondas last year.
Photo: Yamaha Motor Corp.
Why You Should Care:
Recent versions of the M-bike have been spotted sporting dual rear shocks, sort of like a super-trick Harley-Davidson Sportster. Don't look for dual-shock rear suspension on the next generation YZF-R1. More likely to make it to the street is Yamaha's engine compression release system, which prevents engine braking, minimizing rear wheel hop when downshifting. That's great when you're hauling down for a tight hairpin, but less great if you use engine braking to find your balance point while doing wheelies.
What It Is: Ducati Desmosedici
After dominating World Superbike racing, Ducati decided to step up to MotoGP for 2003 with its new V4 Desmosedici. Technologically speaking, the only unique feature of the Desmosedici is its signature desmodromic valve actuation, a design that Ducati has been perfecting since the mid '50s. Expect great things from Ducati in MotoGP. As noted Ducati historian Ian Falloon once said, "Ducati certainly knows how to put together a racing motorbike." The stunning Italian styling can't be beat.
Why You Should Care:
Since a niche manufacturer like Ducati is much more likely to sacrifice practicality to the god of performance than is Honda, you are more likely to see a street-going version of the V4 Desmosedici than the RC211V. If you are in the market for a high-style, high-buck streetbike, this might be the machine for you. Such a machine will likely be the most expensive mass-produced motorcycle ever released to the public, but those well-heeled squidly types who absolutely must be seen on the finest in Italian hardware won't be disappointed.
Photo: Ducati NA | 
Photo: Ducati NA |
Photo: Ducati NA | |
What It Is: Aprilia RS3 Cube
Aprilia chose a difficult and expensive route to MotoGP glory. In an attempt to exploit a loophole in the rules that allows three-cylinder motorcycles a significant weight advantage over other configurations, Aprilia elected to campaign a triple, rather than a four- or five-cylinder machine. For 2003, Aprilia put the Cube on a diet, injected some horsepower and hired reigning World Superbike Champion Colin Edwards in an attempt to rescue its MotoGP team from the backmarker backwater. This bike definitely rocks the coolest name in the paddock.
Why You Should Care:
Borrowing from the Formula 1 parts bin, Aprilia endowed the Cube with a pneumatic valve system that relies on air pressure to close the valves rather than traditional metal springs. Don't look for bikes featuring pneumatic valves at your Aprilia dealer anytime soon, however. Using current technology, the advantages of this design are theoretical and hardly worth the expense or bother. On modern motorcycle engines, it's piston speed, not valve float, that limits revs. More flash than function, says we.
What It Is: Suzuki GSV-R
Suzuki earned the penultimate 500cc two-stroke World Championship in 2000, but both Suzuki and former champ Kenny Roberts, Jr. would prefer to forget the '01 and '02 seasons entirely. Except for a couple of strong performances in the rain, '02 produced nothing to write home about--the result of developing a completely new motorcycle, the V4-powered GSV-R. In other words, it can only get better from here.
Why You Should Care:
At this point, it's difficult to see anything in the GSV-R that will have much of an impact on tomorrow's street bikes. Perhaps the '03 bike will have more racetrack success, but testing so far indicates that the GSV-R is going to engage in a battle of the backmarkers with Kawasaki. Even if Suzuki does manage to build a competitive V4 racer, it's hard to imagine the company bringing a V4 sportbike to the street because it would cannibalize sales from the company's very successful GSX-R inline four-cylinder machines.
Photo: Kawasaki Motor Corp.
What It Is: Kawasaki ZX-RR
If Suzuki's GSV-R was in the early stages of devel-opment last year, the ZX-RR was barely a twinkle in Kawasaki's corporate eye. Test pilots on the early, cobbled-together Kawasaki looked more like rodeo bull riders than motorcycle racers. The freaky-looking bike spit off riders with such gleeful abandon that you almost expected a clown to pop out of a barrel and distract the thing before it mauled a fallen rider. Without doubt, the motor-cycle will be better this year, but like the Suzuki, it will likely be relegated to back-of-the-pack status for 2003.
Photo: Kawasaki Motor Corp.
Why You Should Care:
Even though the ZX-RR is still a rough prototype, Kawasaki has already brought some of its tech-nology to the street. The new ZX-6RR, the 599cc Supersport homologation special, features a slipper clutch much like the one used on Kawasaki's MotoGP entry. A slipper clutch freewheels on hard downshifts to prevent the rear wheel from locking up at inopportune moments. Unlike Yamaha's automatic compression release system, a slipper clutch prevents wheel hop without detract-ing from a bike's W.Q. (wheelie quotient). Cool stuff.
What It Is: Kenny Roberts Proton V5
This machine is the mystery meat on the '03 MotoGP grid. Team Roberts recently announced that its new-for-2003 four-stroke would miss the first race of the year--that's no surprise, really, given that the first running prototypes of the engine were tested just a few months ago. You could almost say that Mr. Roberts is trippin' if he thinks he can build a competitive motorcycle on such short notice, if it weren't for the nagging fact he's done the impossible before. Many times, in fact.
Why You Should Care:
In this case, you probably shouldn't, unless you are a big fan of Kenny Roberts, Jeremy McWilliams or Nobuatsu Aoki. This bike has been designed expressly as a tool to carry McWilliams and Aoki to the racetrack podium, and it has about as much to do with any future streetbikes as a Sauber Petronas F1 car has to do with next year's Honda Civic.