Nice interview with Paolo Flammini

Shouldn't this be in the WSBK forum?

povol said:

http://cyclenews.cov...s/20120228#pg67

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Alan Cathcart is a legend in motorcylcing. Why doesn't he know the tuning standards? BSB EVO is not Superstock engine regs for 2012, and screwing up the question caused Paolo to give a dodgy answer. AMA and BSB engine tuning are similar to Supersport. Obviously, they can't race Superstock in WSBK, but Supersport is a much more interesting discussion.



Besides electronics, the big ugly problem is the use of titanium. Ducati make it available to private teams and customers. The Japanese do not. The Japanese want to race aluminum internals as they laid out in the original 1000cc rules, but Ducati either need titanium to race or Ducati want titanium and Paolo supports them. The difference is huge. We never get a straight answer b/c people bomb the question.



Oh well, overall it was a decent link. Thanks, Pov

Nice piece, thanks for the link Pov.

povol said:

AMA and BSB are similar to each other, but i think Cathcart is closer to reality than you are when comparing those to Superstock. Supersport machines are highly tuned 600cc engines that go from 110 hp stock, to 150 hp in race trim. That is a 36% increase. BSB and And AMA are lowly tuned engines that start their life in stock form at around 175 Hp and are around 200 hp in race trim. That is a 14% increase in power

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People associate SBK and SS with 1000cc and 600cc, respectively, but the tuning standards are not displacement specific. During the 750cc era, the AMA ran 750 SBK and 750 SS. Today, Superstock tuning is used in Superstock 1000 and Superstock 600. The tuning standard refers to a level of modification.



WSS is stock reciprocating internals. Compression is free (cylinder head decking). Port and polish are free. Cams duration is free, but lift is as homologated. WSS bikes get all of their power from cams. The cams raise cylinder pressure by changing valve over lap, and they move peak power from 14,000rpm to 16,000+rpm. In SBK, the internals are basically free. The crank can be modified (slightly). Compression is free. Port/polish is free (no adding material). Cams are free. The power comes from the cams, but SBK doesn't rev much higher than the stock machine so power improvements are modest.



I could spend all day going into the nitty gritty of the rules b/c these stupid little details make a huge difference, and they basically explain what is going on in the world of production bike racing. Long story short, AMA SBK is basically Supersport with an eligible equipment list. BSB Evo (the 2012 version) is SBK chassis (swingarm and forks are the big mods) and Supersport engine (but with free cam lift) and spec ECU. The 2011 Evo was Superstock engines with spec ECU.



It is a big deal b/c Supersport rules are close to what the Japanese want. The Italians want Superbike and homologation specials. It's not a clear cut situation, though, while the Italians drive up costs, they actually make sure people have access to most parts. The Japanese do not give out parts. Two different philosophies, and in bad economic times, it is the Japanese way is winning out. DMG have their own way. It works in DSB, but no one is terribly impressed.