Joined Mar 2005
7K Posts | 20+
Woody Creek
Barbera for sure, they rest are possible. Bradl needs his sponsors to come up with more money if he's going to join LCR. I'm not sure what to make of the Bautista/de Puniet/Suzuki/Honda musical chairs. Bautista had said all along that his priority was to stay with Suzuki. The noise I had heard out of Suzuki was that their second choice was John Hopkins. I think tomorrow will paint a clearer picture as we should see someone on a Gresini Honda, whether it be Bautista or Iannone. That should clear some of this confusion up. As far as Suzuki goes, it would seem to me Bautista has nothing to test so I can understand his absence. I would think de Puniet could be there just as a measuring stick, but what does he get out of it?
Eager to see who's riding what tomorrow.
Joined May 2006
4K Posts | 2+
Mts-7
Go Ducati!!!!
Damn, look at that lowest mounting point on the frame! Talk about low.....tuning flex in all possible places?
Also, I just noticed that they are running a flat radiator, where as most bikes (even on show rooms) run curved....?!!!
Anyone have any more photos of any other testing bits?
Hm. I understand your point, but this design is a completely blank sheet with a lot of room to adjust and develop. What Rossi tested last year was a developed, race-ready (and occasionally, winning!) bike. They don't even have a base set-up!
Tomorrow will much more interesting, but Sepang will tell us much more reliably what we should expect.
Podiumed the GP8 Twice! Melandri couldn't...
Also, I am actually surprised that anyone who watched Moto2 this year can state with a straight face that "Bradl can easily outride Marquez". Bar Marquez's first three or four races on a Moto2 bike (crash, crash, crash), he really dominated Bradl (clawing back almost a 90 point deficit!!!).
Sepang will be more telling on the "oh ...." meter. This is not the bike that's showing up in Qatar.
Joined Oct 2011
307 Posts | 47+
Up ..... Creek
Well based on what Preziosi has said, this is to be expected because they are testing the bike with the same weight distribution and geometry as well. I found this quote from Motomatters. Now, now one has mentioned this but I expect this to be the same destroked motor in order to accomplish their baseline.
http://motomatters.com/analysis/2011/11/07/ducati_s_future_direction_filippo_prezio.html
Joined Jun 2006
2K Posts | 20+
south wales UK
i wish they would also consider trying the screamer config at ducati...........
the bike seemed to be pumping a little from the footage at motogp
i really hope honda dont continue there dominance, hopefully things will change
RDP looks comfy on that zuki
the bike seemed to be pumping a little from the footage at motogp
i really hope honda dont continue there dominance, hopefully things will change
RDP looks comfy on that zuki
Joined Feb 2009
3K Posts | 2+
siebenbürgen süße heimat!
okay, i was being a bit of a johnnyk saying he sucked, riding a duc to a podium means you can do your thing
but its the same as with guys like ianonne (so far), entertaining and unique,at times incredibly fast and exciting to watch but never consistent.
look at where elias (and for that matter also iannone) were in so many races, on a good package
and hey, forgive me if i'm a huge bradl fanboy and exaggurate things,but i firmly believe bradl was and is the better overall rider
Joined Oct 2007
4K Posts | 744+
Tuscany, Italy
After the first day of tests, Rossi said that there has been some improvement, but the old problems are still there. Like many others, I am of the idea that the only way to adjust the weight distribution on the Ducati is to make the L engine become more of a V, narrowing the angle between the cylinders. This has not been done yet and until that is done, I think the Ducati will always behave like the 'old' one, more or less. I believe this new engine will be ready for Sepang.
This said, all these developments do not mean that the Ducati is, or was, a 'shyte bike'. That's a silly thing to say. It's mainly a problem of tires. If they could have tires made ad hoc for the weight distribution of their 'L-shape stressed engine' bike, they could perform competitively without having to change the design.
There is not any intrinsic superiority of the twin spar concept over a frame-less concept imo (both concepts in their modern form are brainchildren of the genius of Antonio Cobas btw); it's only in the context of certain set of rules and constraints that one may become more desirable than the other.
Now Ducati took an inordinate amount of time to react positively to these new circumstances, rules etc., and it took all the combined weight of Valentino Rossi and their main sponsor to make them finally budge, but that's a different matter.
This said, all these developments do not mean that the Ducati is, or was, a 'shyte bike'. That's a silly thing to say. It's mainly a problem of tires. If they could have tires made ad hoc for the weight distribution of their 'L-shape stressed engine' bike, they could perform competitively without having to change the design.
There is not any intrinsic superiority of the twin spar concept over a frame-less concept imo (both concepts in their modern form are brainchildren of the genius of Antonio Cobas btw); it's only in the context of certain set of rules and constraints that one may become more desirable than the other.
Now Ducati took an inordinate amount of time to react positively to these new circumstances, rules etc., and it took all the combined weight of Valentino Rossi and their main sponsor to make them finally budge, but that's a different matter.
Joined Mar 2005
7K Posts | 20+
Woody Creek
Joined Oct 2011
307 Posts | 47+
Up ..... Creek
Well there's a couple of things...they've basically tested the bike with the same geometry and weight distribution only within a twin spar frame. So I don't assume the engine configuration is still the issue here, just how it's positioned.
Now that they've tested and established a baseline, it seems the weight distribution attributes to part of the issue they've had all season. Something you've alluded to. I think there's still space to move things around within the bike; they even can rotate the L engine within the frame to see if it improve things. From there, I believe they will go ahead and make changes.
Then only do I think, if they're left with more questions left unanswered will they resort to changing the angle of the engine.
Dorna is doing everything they can to remove the constraints for Ducati. They have changed the tyres so that Ducati can get more feel, they have changed the testing rules so that Ducati can develop their bike. What other constraints need to be removed for Ducati to get to the front?
I reckon if they removed all that gay yellow from the bike then maybe, just maybe, it would perform better.
Next step is weight penalties for Honda and Yamaha, extra fuel for Ducati (maybe Ducati will be given CRT status) or maybe a ban on little people and Australians.
Or maybe its lead rider has just been broken mentally and needs to go and see a head doctor.
I reckon if they removed all that gay yellow from the bike then maybe, just maybe, it would perform better.
Next step is weight penalties for Honda and Yamaha, extra fuel for Ducati (maybe Ducati will be given CRT status) or maybe a ban on little people and Australians.
Or maybe its lead rider has just been broken mentally and needs to go and see a head doctor.
Bradl really looked vastly inferiror to Marquez for the majority of the season..I don't see how he would have been champ if Marquez didn't go down..Marquez is obviously the better rider and has more talent and speed..the future will tell...I don't see Bradl ever getting a victory in Motogp while Marquez is the new Horhey
Joined Feb 2007
11K Posts | 2K+
Tennessee
i wish they would also consider trying the screamer config at ducati...........
the bike seemed to be pumping a little from the footage at motogp
i really hope honda dont continue there dominance, hopefully things will change
RDP looks comfy on that zuki
Is it Honda or Stoner you hope dont continue to dominate. I mean lets face it, Honda had one title in the last 5 years, thats hardly dominant. Just curious, were you hoping someone would end Honda's dominance when Rossi won 3 titles in a row, or Yamaha's dominance when Rossi won 2 more in a row. Ive got a feeling you were perfectly happy with the state of affairs during that time frame.Go ahead and just say what you mean, you dont want anyone besides Rossi to dominate, it has nothing to do with the make of the machine.
Joined Oct 2011
307 Posts | 47+
Up ..... Creek
That's a good point. It's been known "gay yellow" paint weighs more than regular yellow. Hell, maybe if they just use white it will go way faster, since white paint is even lighter than yellow!
Joined Oct 2006
3K Posts | 197+
Living the dream in Scotland
