How to fix Rossi's Ducati

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Casey can be a prick but he deserves to crow a bit. We all called him a little wussy when he was out for a season with a "mysterious illness" that turned out to be lactos intolerance! Then he wrecked the Desmo on the warmup lap. I think we all were suspect of the guy both on talent and guts. Turns out he may have been the gutsyiest rider out there trying to be competitive on the Ducati. I think the Honda was so superior to anything else on the grid that Jorge, Rossi, or Spies would have won the title had they been on it this year. But Casey proved himself one of the top 2-3 riders in the world last year so good for him.

So I say enjoy a little bit of payback Casey - you earned it!

BTW: I see Ducati changed back to an aluminum delta box frame for the GP12. I hate to see that sort of, I like the odd guy following their own path and beating the technology of the Yam and Honda.

 

[05 Busa LE]

I remember Stoner's illness, but never knew it was lactose intolerance. Must be a pretty serious illness, because he barely had the energy to stand after a race. And if the MSN article is true, then he does deserve to stand on his laurels. Talking smack is cheap, but proving it is another thing. Bottom line is that Honda has been doing their homework, and has proven themselves with a superior machine. I was especially impresses with last season's revolutionary gearbox.

I remember hearing of the aluminum frame, and agree that they should stand alone with their own technology--like the desmodromic valves. Maybe they really should go back to the trellis frame for the GP bike, even though the 1199 Panigale moved away from it. They'll prove it (or not) in WSBK, but GP racing is so far removed in technology, that my decision to buy a Panigale would not be influenced by the form of the GP bike, but, instead, its success. And most of the decision would be influenced by the success of the WSBK program, which won't return until 2013.

 

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Well it's a bit crazy to think these guys ride with broken bones but a dairy allergy brought him down??? Sometimes I think he just didn't want to hop on board that Ducati again!

The Ducati has a twin clutch transmission too and rumor is Yamaha will have something similar too. Riders don't seem to see this as a big deal though and I expect with the torque of the 1000 bikes shifting while leaned over will be even less of an issue. My bet is the biggest issue with the 1000's will fuel economy. I don't think the power will be a problem for these teams and lets hope it makes for some more aggressive racing.

 

[05 Busa LE]

Never knew Ducati had a twin clutch; I assume they took Honda's lead? You're probably right about it being less of an issue with the 1000 cc bikes. I hope Ducati has sorted out the frame issue, and they give Rossi and Hayden a chance.

 

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The twin clutch thing is really big in F1 cars. It showed up on the VFR1200 too. So I guess this is a case of MotoGP following a production bike

No one talks about Hayden but it would be nice to see him get his moment on the podium too.

 

[05 Busa LE]

I recall that MotoGP had banned dual clutches, but that Honda's design did it without a second clutch. Here's the Cycle World article, which I still can't understand after reading it over and over, but it doesn't seem to use a second clutch:http://www.cycleworld.com/2011/04/06/honda’s-secret-motogp-transmission-racing/

Never knew that about the VFR, which is really cool. I guess Honda did develop that street bike for MotoGP use!

 

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Cool. Thanks for that link.

I must admit that transmissions have always confused me and this description is no exception!