Future Sport
FUTURE SPORT
NEW TECH FOR THE NEXT MILLENNIUM
WHEN CONFRONTED BY MACHINES LIKE THESE "LIGHT is Right" sportbikes-and specifically the new YZFR1-you can be sure some fool will ask, "Where do we go from here? Is this the zenith of sportbike development?" Rest assured, just as with any other time when people started mumbling about the limits of performance-as in, say, 1979 with the introduction of the CBX, or in 1989 with the ZX-1 1-the show has only just begun. Future sportbikes will be better than the '98 models-perhaps in ways that you might not expect.
The R1, for example, is certainly pushing the limits ot power-to-weight ratio. Sportbikes have short wheelbases for maneuverability, and relatively high centers of gravity so they can be rolled into a corner quickly and leaned far over without dragging. The combination means that wheelies, not tire traction, often limit acceleration-and braking, too. Technology has an immediate answer to that problem: active pitch con trol, much like the yaw control systems offered on new Corvettes and Mercedes sedans. Pairs of accelerometers would measure rotation rates in the pitch plane, and when the bike began to come up dur ing a hard launch, the engine-control computer would retard timing to cut power slightly-much as a good drag racer slips the clutch a bit to check an off-the-line wheelie without totally killing a quarter-mile run. Add this tech nology to an anti-lock braking system, and the same thing could be done under deceleration: The ABS computer could relax the brakes when a hard grab at the lever starts to bring the back of the bike off the ground, not just when the front wheel locks. And if the engineers know their customers, they'll fit an on/off switch for both systems that would allow stoppies or wheelies upon demand-the Corvette traction-control system offers such a "mild/wild" switch.
Of course, once you start incorporating electronic con trols, almost anything becomes possible. How about active control of suspension dampers, so they could be set up nice and loose for a good ride, yet quickly damp out those pitch motions that disturb almost all riders? The pitch sensors mentioned above and shocks with quick-responding elec tronically controlled valving could give that result. Or how about active control of engine braking by the fuel-injection computer? That'd allow the elimination of the over-running clutch designs that many sportbikes have been fitted with to help eliminate rear-wheel chatter during braking. By bleed ing controlled amounts of air around the throttle-something done now to a limited extent to control idle speeds in more expensive injection systems such as the one used on Harley dressers-it's possible to design in very low levels of engine braking without the normal need for large amounts of fly wheel. This would allow a zingy inline-Four that responds right now without penalizing less-than-smooth riders every time they chop the throttle entering a decreasing-radius turn. Automotive designs point in other new directions. Shift levers have long since disappeared from F-i cars, replaced by
push-buttons or paddles. Imagine getting rid of the clutch lever, and putting a hand lever for rear brake operation in its place-your hand always offers much better modulation of a brake than your foot. Instead of a shift lever, there'd be thumb buttons on both switch assemblies. Push the right one for upshifts, the left for down. In the first case, the control system would cut engine power slightly and ram a shift through in less than 1/20th of a second-the exhaust-note pitch would barely change. For a downshift, a little goose of the throttle by the computer would smooth the transition. And launches? The computer would respond to how far and how quickly you twist the throttle, giving you anything from a gentle roll to a full-on dragstrip charge, probably better than 99.9 percent of riders could do on their own-which is why the FIA and the NHRA have banned such systems in racing. Honda already has electronic push-button shifting on its new-for-'98 Fourlrax Foreman ES all-terrain vehicle; can bikes be far behind?
Outside the promise of electronic controls, motorcycle aerodynamics are still in a primitive state, and will certain ly be improved. Expect some of the smaller sportbike producersto lead the way here, with ground-breaking low-drag designs. A 20 percent reduction in drag coefficient has the same effect on top speed and highspeed acceleration as does a 20 percent boost in power-and the former is almost free, while the latter would be really hard work.
Similarly, sportbike frontiers may be expanded by thinking outside the cur rent paradigm of maximally powerful engines. Imagine instead, following the Yamaha/Husaberg example of light and compact four-stroke Singles, as used on these companies' Thumper enduros and motocrossers. Double or triple these designs into 1000cc-plus V-Twins or inline-Triples, and you could have a 100horsepower-at-the-rear-wheel powerplant that weighs 90 to 100 pounds. Shave a little weight off the chassis, use slight ly smaller and lighter wheels and tires, and you'd have a 350-pound machine that would flat-out fly on real roads. It would make up for its slight loss in power-to-weight ratio compared to these current Open bikes with the enhanced maneuverability that comes with less weight. Such a machine could make a YZF-R1 feel as gross as the Yamaha does a Suzuki GSX-R1 100. And with a suitably slippery and aerodynamic design, it could rival any current produc tion bike for top speed.
Beyond radical leaps as described above, slightly slower evolutionary changes will also improve the sportbike breed. Better and lighter materials already exist, from titanium for suspension springs-shaving a couple of pounds in one blow-to carbon-fiber-reinforced composites for chassis and wheels. Only economics prevent their use on current bikes, and gradually some of these will become less expensive, particularly as automotive companies embrace radical means to meet future fuel-economy regulations. Current production bikes, after all, use materials that would have been found only on works racers 30 years ago. So, nay-sayers be damned, the sportbikes of a few years from now will be lighter and quicker, and shine brighter than even the brightest of these `98 machines. But we'll still remember a machine like the YZF-R1 for setting new standards, and for leading the way farther into perfor mance heaven.
Steve Anderson
NAY-SAYERS BE DAMNED: THE SPORTBIKES OF A FEW YEARS FROM NOW WILL BE LIGHTER AND QUICKER.
