AGV Backmarker: The Midwest & Flat Tracks

If it’s Wednesday, I must be in Kansas City, which is not as flat as most people expect it to be.

As I write this, I’m preparing to read from Riding Man at the Heartland of America Motorcycle Enthusiasts monthly club meeting. It’s great to be out of the SoCal same-old-story orbit. Every time I come to the Midwest, I’m reminded that while the American motorcycle industry is largely based on the left coast, there’s a vibrant community of enthusiasts in the heartland. I suppose that’s not a surprise, given the way the Red Bull Indianapolis GP round has found its footing in only a couple of years.

Speaking of Indy, my friend (and iconoclastic suspension guru) James Parker sent me an interesting email about Rossi’s rare unforced error. He wrote:

An interesting point came up a couple of weeks ago after Rossi’s crash at Indy. Hard on the brakes, a motorcycle with a fork stores energy in two ways, both of them bad for control if the front tire slides. First, fork springs are compressed in brake dive, and, second, the fork bends back (yes, even Rossi’s $20K Ohlins!) When the tire loses grip as in Rossi’s incident, the fork springs and the flexed fork tubes release their energy. Because of the fork angle, and the tubes straightening, when that energy is released the wheelbase suddenly lengthens by as much as 35mm.

What that means is that, because the fork and front wheel weigh much less than the rest of the bike, the front wheel suddenly speeds up relative to the rest of the bike. This happens at an instance when the last thing the rider wants is for the front tire to speed up. The way that Rossi’s bike seemed to jump away from him was I think partly due to this effect.

With less brake dive and no fork to bend, the effect would be much reduced with the RADD suspension.”

I’ve got stories coming out in a few magazines about my recent test of Parker’s third-generation RADD system, and I’ll embargo my own insights into it until they’ve a chance to publish. I will say, however, that the new four-stroke Moto2 class would be an excellent place for the system to be put to the test. With a control motor and free chassis, it would make for a nearly apples-to-apples comparison between Parker’s hub-center-steered system and a state-of-the-art telescopic fork.

So, within the rules, there’s an advantage to be had, and since a RADD-equipped Moto2 bike would look radically different than most of the other machines, it would accrue lots of media interest, and pay off for sponsors. I certainly hope that some Moto2 team does give the system a try. Team principals reading this can contact me for more details and an introduction.

From flat track…

Another thing I hinted at last week was that both Gene Romero’s West Coast Flat Track Series and the AMA Pro series had scheduled the same end-of-season date at Pomona. Burrito told me that that was about all he knew about the shared date, and that as far as he was concerned the track was his and his alone. Since he runs five classes, it wasn’t obvious how an AMA Pro schedule would be shoehorned into a one-day event.

So I called AMA Pro’s Mike Kidd, who assured me that the final AMA Pro round would take place on October 24, where it will tie in to “California Bike Week,” the Love Ride, and other events.

“It’s not our date or Gene’s date,” Kidd said. “The date belongs to the promoter, Donnie Graves. We’ve got a contract and have paid a deposit. We plan on holding a co-sanctioned event (with WCFTS).”

Kidd—who is a great interview no matter when I talk to him—left me in no doubt that the event will come off. I’m confident he and Romero will figure out a way to accommodate everyone and that the packed schedule will ensure a great show.

While I had Kidd on the phone, I asked him how he felt about the season to date. He said, “I think we’re a little bit ahead of schedule in rebuilding this.” Three events have been televised this year, and while Kidd didn’t have TV audience figures for me, he told me that Chet Burks (who produced the shows) seemed happy. Attendance at most events is up, as is rider participation. And more potential promoters are coming forward.

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