Ducati Monster Forum

Valentino Rossi a Jorge Lorenzo test Brno (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIyPRViLyrQ#)

http://motomatters.com/analysis/2013/08/08/yamaha_s_seamless_gearbox_tested_at_brno.html (http://motomatters.com/analysis/2013/08/08/yamaha_s_seamless_gearbox_tested_at_brno.html)

the potential problem as I see it...I seem to recall the Honda being that much harder to jumpstart after offcourse excursions due to this transmission and Casey Stoner having a conniption fit about the corner workers not doing enough to help him restart it....will Yammyhammer suffer the same injustice now?

"Reports from the track were that the bike made a horrible noise as Rossi was downshifting, just before he ran off track, and that would appear to suggest that the gearbox may have been a problem."

 :-\

I'm betting it won't hit a race 'til next year.

you don't make design decisions based on what might happen when you crash ;)

no..but if you are smart, you consider what others have experienced when you implement new to you technology and hopefully plan for contingency!

http://www.gpone.com/en/2013080811071/Yamaha-cambio-promosso-debuttera-in-gara.html (http://www.gpone.com/en/2013080811071/Yamaha-cambio-promosso-debuttera-in-gara.html)

Google Translate makes it sound like it will not fit engines currently in play, but can be fitted to Rossi's and Lorenzo's single remaining bullets.

Given the points situations for Rossi and JLo, I think it'll be next year before it races.

(comment on the MM article)

...the factories have been forced to make an expensive seamless shift gearbox because the rules don't allow an inexpensive seamless shift gearbox to be used (i.e. existing dual clutch).

..and they're trying to cut costs in MotoGP?  [popcorn]

Fixed it for you.

Fixed that part too.

yes, they decided to make a seamless shift gearbox, but dual clutches have also been banned for the last 2-3 years.

if that's gonna be what it takes to win the championship, they didn't really have much choice since honda definitely already has a well sorted one.

Why the ban in the first place?

No kidding!  It's prototype racing.  Set limits on displacement, weight & fuel capacity.  After that run what you brung.

Makes life a whole lot simpler.

Dual Clutch system is apparently ( as I understand it ) too close to being an automatic transmission and they do not want an automatic transmission machine....though given the way they run those bikes currently with telemetry and everything with the throttle and all the other data programmed in with GPS on the track and how much of the bike is doing this, that, and the other...they are damn close to being there now it seems.

banned since 2010.

I know they don't use GPS...but like I seem to recall Hayden's bike recently "forgot" where it was on the track and was running very wackadoodle wrong at one point...so I know that even though they don't use GPS, they do program the bikes to be at certain powercurves and have certain expectation of charachter at differing corners and program the riders data into the bike to be at the most potent delivery based on a patterned algorythem

The bans don't really seem to work, especially if cost cutting is the goal. Ban dual clutch? No worries, the engineers just build an expensive alternative. Ban GPS? No problem, the engineers just program the bike for each track (probably at a significant cost). And on and on.

here's the thing on MotoGP for me.

two wheels, 1000cc, rider, min weight, spec fuel

pretty much everything else is open to interpretation by the manufacturer.

maybe you see rotary motors, maybe turbines, maybe 2 cyl, maybe 6...

when everyone had money coming out their ass the rules were far more flexible.

yeah.. i know that many of the cost cutting or safety-related changes have resulted in more money being spent.  lots more.

kinda counter intuitive ain't it?

Race teams will spend all the money they can get their hands on.

Those with the biggest pile of cash generally win.

I couldn't find supporting data, but IIRC, the Manufacturers (MSMA) proposed the ban, or at the very least agreed to it in the rules.
Circa 2008...

It's all about winning, if you've got a bigger pile of £££ you'll win, simples.  Until they sort this kind of thing out I think Kwaka and Suzuki will stay away.  Ok Suzook is coming back in the next year or so but they won't have a chance in hell as they'll be playing catch up, I can't see them staying.  If Duke can't sort it out then it's a dead end series.  Which will be the real issue, who'll watch it?

The only real way to help cut costs is base them on road bikes like CRT and bring in rules about being able to purchase a motor for set low(ish) cost.

If you have three classes and road bikes using similar road motors (so for Honda Blade based) with more mods for higher classes  then you'll get some saving, however you'll need to dumb down WSB to BSB levels or lower.

Just the way of the world, that said I love the tech side of it all.

toyota would disagree (regarding their formula 1 program)...

Waiting on Randimus to show up defending Toyo's honor and proselytizing until we all see how futile it is to resist the Borg... 

 ;D

Anyway... could we see the seamless gearbox in the next round?

I maintain my assertion that it won't fit in the current crankcases, so they're f*cked for this year on using it.

On the Eurosport broadcast they reported it will fit in the current cases and was no more difficult to fit than doing a ratio change which can be done to any in service engine.  :-\

The MotoGP crew seem to think that it will be available within the next couple of rounds.