Quote:
Originally Posted by Sunfighter
Great shot!!!
Question for you, CharlieH, the one thing I noticed this weekend was that the front-ends of the bikes seem to squirm a LOT ... under braking, approaching a corner, coming out of a corner... maybe it was just the condition of the tires at that point in the race or maybe it was the fact that the WSBK bike chassises aren't as stiff as the MotoGP bikes... any insight?
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Phillip Island has traditionally always been very hard on the tires. The corners are fast and long and the track was repaved 3 years ago, which has made it much more abrasive on the tires. I'd guess that the tires probably also behave a little more erratically because the track temperature is subject to sudden changes given that it lies right next to the ocean. I didn't notice the front end squirming too much, aside from corner exits where all the weight is pushed to the back. The rear however was flopping from side to side especially downhill at lukey heights. I think you're right about the chassis stiffness though. Josh Hayes was the AMA Superbike champion at the time he rode as a wildcard for Tech 3 at Valencia and he said the M1 was so damn stiff he didnt even know how to ride it (still came in a respectable 7th place though).