How fast motorcycle racing

The supercharged four-cylinder engine in the Ninja H2 produces roughly horsepower and pound-feet of torque, which are mega figures for a motorcycle. Ducati may not have the fastest motorcycle on the market, but the Italian marque makes some of the most exotic bikes available. The Ducati Superleggera V4, according to the brand, is the most powerful and technologically advanced motorcycle from the brand. The cc V4 engine produces horsepower, which is a mighty amount for the carbon-fiber heavy body, which weighs just The word means super light and perfectly describes the V4.

Beneath the carbon fiber bodywork, the motorcycle features a carbon fiber subframe, wheels mainframe, and swingarm. Ducati was so serious about cutting weight that it uses titanium bolts in the V4 Superleggera. Beyond its impressive top speed, the Hypersport Premier impresses because of its high-tech features.

The motorcycle has a degree radar system called CoPilot that helps keep the rider safe by providing alerts on nearby obstacles. Going fast has never been this safe. Power for the Panigale V4 R comes from a cc V4 engine that makes up to horsepower with the available racing kit. With that kind of performance, aerodynamics plays a large role in getting the bike to mph.

The available aerodynamic package brings a design that looks similar to something from Star Wars , but it helps the bike flow through the air. The way to do that includes using a large amount of carbon fiber, having aerodynamic body fairings that come straight from MotoGP, and high-tech riding systems. Of course, Aprilia used a firecracker of an engine. The RSV4 Factory comes with a cc V4 engine that makes roughly horsepower and 90 pound-feet of torque.

With that kind of power and a relatively low wet weight of pounds, the RSV4 Factory goes like an Italian missile in a straight line. Spain, for example, a country not too much bigger in area or population than the state of California, hosts four MotoGP races and has four riders currently in the Top Ten. Ducati, a leading fixture on the world racing stage, is regarded by many — especially its rabid legion of fans known as Ducatisti — as the Ferrari of motorcycles.

Fast, sexy, expensive and mostly red, Ducatis are a lifestyle. For sure, they are a joy to ride, to look at, and to listen to, but perhaps more than their competitors these Italian machines represent an intangible and holistic passion for speed, sport and la dolce vita. And Ducati looms large here at the American GP. Their presence is front and center and involves a huge area known as Ducati Island, which offers free parking for fans arriving on Ducati bikes, a branded stage with concerts and presentations, demo rides for hopeful Ducati owners, hot Ducati girls models scantily dressed in Ducati-logo attire posing for pictures, and a hospitality area for Ducati VIPs.

As a guest of Ducati, I get the ultimate privilege of all-access to this fascinating world of high-dollar, high-powered racing. A post shared by Ducati North America ducatiusa.

The track here is nearly three-and-a-half miles long with 20 turns. Interestingly, it runs counter-clockwise, which means more left-hand turns and supposedly places a greater physical demand on the F1 drivers who compete here, as their necks are more adapted to the lateral G-forces of clockwise tracks.

This fluid is driven by a pump, triggered by the engine itself, circulating the fluid throughout the system. In doing so, a constant temperature is achieved. At high revolutions the coolant flow can exceed litres per minute, which is the equivalent of emptying a one-and-a-half litre bottle every second. During a lap of the Circuit of the Americas the riders can make about 30 gear changes, some of them so fast that it may seem that there is not enough time.

But thanks to the seamless gearbox , the MotoGP bike can make this change in just one hundredth of a second. In total, about gear changes during a race would be almost 15 gear changes per minute. Which is a lot, if we compare it to what we do when we drive down the road, even in an urban environment! Although the ECU does not strictly move, it is subject to the speed of data transfer.

During a GP, the engineers of the team can end up downloading more than 30 GB of data information collected by the switchboard. Some of the sensors of the bike collect up to measurements per second and the ECU is able to adjust the operation of electronic systems in an instant. These are some of the unseen facts about speed during a GP, but those that really make us tingle are the speeds that our riders reach on the track, thanks to the meticulous work of the team.