Performance Bikes — March 2018

MARCH 2018|PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK 43

Wheelbase

Moto2 bike wheelbases tend to be in the 1300mm ballpark. The

shorter the distance, the quicker the bike tips into corners, but this

can be at the expense of rear tyre feel.

Trail
Kalex’s Moto2 bike has a trail measurement of
just over 100mm, but which can vary by 2-3mm,
depending on what the rider prefers. An
adjustment to the amount of trail the bike runs
will have a knock-on effect on other areas of
steering geometry.

Centre of mass

Where chassis engineers place the

centre of a race bike’s mass is

dependent on the load demands it

places on the tyres at either end. Its

position affects the transfer of load, and

therefore how well the tyres will grip.

the air, you need a bit more trail... Also, their corner

speed is little a bit less than in Moto2 because the bikes

weighmoreanduseslightlywidertyres.

“Wheelbaseaffectstyregripandcontrol.Ashorter

bikewillhavemoregrip,butwhenitlosesit,itdoesso

moreaggressively.Longerbikesaremorecontrollable.

Centre of mass

Anyone who followed Valentino Rossi’s switch from

HondatoYamahawillknowtheimportanceofcentre

ofmass.Yamaha’sM1didn’tworkwelluntilcrewchief

JeremyBurgesstransformedthebike’sbehaviourby

raising the ride height by a few millimetres.

“Centreofmassaffectshowthebikepitchesand

transfersload;howthebikecreatesorlosesgrip,”says

Baumgaertel.“Youmoveweightforwardorback,

dependingonwhetheryouareoverloadingthefrontor

rear tyre, or not loading them enough. There are

multiplefactorsinvolvedinanygeometrychange,so

whenyouchangeforkoffsettochangethesteering

character,youalsochangethefront/rearweightbias.”

Offset is adjusted to

alter the trail: a larger

angle makes the bike

less sensitive when the

front end dives. Go

steeper and the bike

becomes more flickable

LUKASZ SWIDEREK

BUENOS DIAS