They are hard to spot, but if you look closely at the 2017 Ducati Desmosedici GP (a bevy of photos are after the jump) you will see something very unique going on with the front suspension. This is because Öhlins and Ducati have teamed up to develop new fork technology, namely carbon fiber fork tubes. The Öhlins carbon fiber fork tubes can be seen on the machines of Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo, starting from the season-opener in Qatar, and are noticeable for their matte black tube finish, with gold ends. Öhlins is coy about how much weight savings are involved with the forks tubes, but they are noticeably lighter when they are in your hands, something we have first-hand knowledge of, as we had one to pass around at the Two Enthusiasts Podcast live show at Austin, Texas this year.
Episode 56 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast gets us back into our normal format of talking about motorcycles, and whatever rabbit holes…
On the eve of the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring, the Grand Prix Commission, MotoGP’s rule making body has allowed a system which was first mooted at the same race last year. In Assen, the GPC gathered to discuss various minor tweaks to the MotoGP rules, but among them was a major upgrade: permitting the use of dashboard messages by the teams from 2018. The ability to send messages is piggybacking off the system put in place to aid Race Direction. With spec ECUs and spec dashboards in Moto3 and MotoGP, Race Direction had long wanted the ability to send messages to the bikes on track.
Want to watch the fastest motorcycle run ever up Pikes Peak? At this year’s Race to the Clouds, Chris Fillmore…
Episode 55 of the Paddock Pass Podcast sees David Emmett and Neil Morrison back on the mics, as they cover the Grand Prix racing’s…
For the second time in a week, we have spy photos of the Ducati V4 superbike. Like before, the new superbike model is still in its unfinished state, with testing equipment strapped to its frame and bodywork. Even in its pre-production state though, the new V4 machine reveals some of its secrets, the most notable of which is its frame/chassis design. It also teases us that the V4 model will look very similar to its predecessor. Ducati appears to be continuing its “frameless” chassis design, though with a twist. The headstock noticeably attaches itself to the rear cylinder head on the V4 engine, and presumably does the same on the forward cylinder head as well.
In 140 characters or less, Mat Mladin has signaled that he won’t be jumping to WSBK anytime soon. Linked to…
