Has Speedway Reached/over-reached Its Top Speed?

[ruffdiamond 6,115]

Just look at the Track Record Section on here RD. Times are getting faster.

a know times are getting quicker, but are they getting quicker as much as the bikes are,,, do you get what I mean ??? :-)

[The White Knight 9,039]

a know times are getting quicker, but are they getting quicker as much as the bikes are,,, do you get what I mean ??? :-)

I believe that to be so - yes.

[ruffdiamond 6,115]

I believe that to be so - yes.

a suppose that body weight and strength have to be factored in also,,, and being able to handle the power produced,,,

a mean, a 1.1 fiesta with 5 dolly birds in should go faster than 1 with 5 salad dodgers in, but it might depend on who's driving, lol

Edited June 30, 2015 by ruffdiamond

[billybikespeedway 75]

As for Myself I've never been impressed with just sheer speed cant stand F1 , but speedway offered so much more, I'm going back to 64 when I first became addicted ,not the speed but the thrill of the action, some of this has been lost ( for me ) with faster bikes, but I still like to watch TV only these days,frank smart ,stuart robson and the like did it for me .

[Wheelman 13]

I have heard it said ....In Auto racing you race the car beside you...... On a motorcycle you race the Man. ....We dont want to get away from this. I think teams are always going to go with the combination that that allows them to complete the race in the shortest time....... hence the set up..... I dont see this changing. There is apossibility a less radical , developed motor with the correct set up and rider could be very competitive .....Didnt Tai and Darcy get to the highest levels of the sport on feely standard machinery? Maybe the SGP could be given a free hand in their engine wars and the rest pulled back abit...... Rev limiter? ..... your thoughts?

[Vince 9,458]

I'd bet that there are far more accidents caused by engines that have been 'softened' picking up too much grip than there ever are by outright engine power. Very noticeable in the NL when you sometimes see inexperienced riders trying to use the same set up as top riders and struggling to even get the bike turned. Strange as it may seem a novice is generally safer with more power rather than less (too much wheelspin is safer than too much grip).

 

Where I think modern bikes are more difficult is that they are very sensitive to set up because of their lighter flywheels and higher revs and the difference between a fast well set up bike and a complete pig to ride is narrower than ever before. My opinion is that the rev limiter could be the best thing ever by not only making service intervals longer but by making super light flywheels a bit less effective. A minimum stroke would help as well.

[*JJ 512]

I believe that to be so - yes.

I don't know ... no-one at Perry Barr has got near Jason Lyons' track record (56.4 sec.), set with the pre-2010 silencer; the later ones have slowed the bikes down a bit. This includes the top EL riders.

[oldace 1,678]

I'd bet that there are far more accidents caused by engines that have been 'softened' picking up too much grip than there ever are by outright engine power. Very noticeable in the NL when you sometimes see inexperienced riders trying to use the same set up as top riders and struggling to even get the bike turned. Strange as it may seem a novice is generally safer with more power rather than less (too much wheelspin is safer than too much grip).

 

Where I think modern bikes are more difficult is that they are very sensitive to set up because of their lighter flywheels and higher revs and the difference between a fast well set up bike and a complete pig to ride is narrower than ever before. My opinion is that the rev limiter could be the best thing ever by not only making service intervals longer but by making super light flywheels a bit less effective. A minimum stroke would help as well.

 

 

Spot on Vince, virtually mirrors a post I made on another thread back in March

 

 

Up to and including the JAP engine a speedway bike revved at possibly half the revs of a modern engine. The JAP, in particular was good at generating straight line speed but it didn't want to go round corners, the lack of revs gave it a tendency to want to drag you out near the fence, especially on the deeper tracks of the day. It had to be laid very low to get round bends

The advent of the 4 valvers gave riders massively more rpm (not necessarily mph) and were a totally different beast to ride and in the hands of inexperienced riders could cause more accidents.

Those extra revs though make the bike much easier (and therefore safer) to ride.

As times have gone on new short stroke motors with super lightweight flywheels mean the bikes have a very limited power band, it will only work right at the top of its revs and it takes very little in the way of dirt on the track to kill the motor and therefore point the rider the wrong way.

[Bream 29]

Are bikes any easier to control with new exhausts versus last few years? Havent had a chance to try these new ones.

 

With longer stroke piston speed/velocity becomes a problem. In short stroke engine mean piston speed is lower than in long stroke. Something to do with piston durability and valve timing. Cant remember but I remember a tuner cursing about the topic few years ago.