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Currently there are three engine displacement categories of Grand Prix motorcycles - 125 cc, 250 cc, and the MotoGP (up to 990 cc) class. The premier class of GP motorcycle racing has changed in recent years. From the mid-1970's until 2002 the top class of GP racing was restricted to 500 cc 2-strokes. However in 2002 manufacturers were also allowed to enter 990cc 4-stroke machines. While a 500cc two-stroke machine should (in theory) deliver the same power as a 990cc four-stroke, it rapidly became apparent that the four-stroke machines could outperform the two-strokes in almost every area, and by 2003 there were no two-stroke machines remaining in the field. The 125 cc and 250 cc classes still consist exclusively of two-stroke machines.
The 125 cc machines are restricted to a single cylinder and a minimum weight of 80 kilogram and the 250 cc machines to two cylinders and a minimum of 100 kilograms. The MotoGP bikes are permitted to have from 3-6 cylinders, and have variable weight limits depending on the number of cylinders (to account for the fact that, generally, having more cylinders for a given capacity means more power. ). In 2004 there were motorcycles entered with three, four and five cylinder configurations, but not six.
GP motorcycles, much as with Formula One cars, exist not only to be raced but also to demonstrate the technical prowess of the manufacturers. As a result, the GP motorcycles, particularly the MotoGP machines, are generally made out of lightweight and expensive materials, such as titanium and carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic. Additionally, they regularly feature technology not available to the general public. Examples of this include sophisticated electronics, including telemetry, engine management systems and traction control, and advanced engine technology such as HondaHonda Motor Co. Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha is a Japanese manufacturer of cars, trucks, motorcycles, and scooters. They also make ATVs, electrical generators, marine engines, and lawn and garden equipment. With more than 14 million internal combust's V5V5 may refer to: The V5 interface An engine in V configuration with 5 cylinders, e. as in the Honda RC211V motorcycle The United Kingdom vehicle registration document, as of 2004 being replaced by the V5C EU-compatible vehicle registration certificate. engine configuration and ApriliaAprilia is an Italian motorcycle company, which in recent times bought the historical Moto-Guzzi and Laverda brands. Aprilia started as a scooter manufacturer but has more recently come to be known for its race-winning. It is most recently best known for's RS3 which employs a CosworthLigier JS11 Cosworth is now two companies, Cosworth Racing and Cosworth Technology they split in 1998. The original company was founded as a British racing engine maker, founded in Northampton in 1958 by Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth. Despite being an i-designed pneumatic valveA poppet valve is the type of valve system used in most piston engines, used to seal the intake and exhaust ports. The valve is usually a flat disk of metal with a long rod known as the valve stem out one end. The stem is used to push down on the valve an actuation system, as seen in Formula One racing cars.
One of the main challenges that confronts a MotoGP motorcycle rider and designer is how to translate the enormous powerMechanical power In physics, power (symbol: P is the amount of work W done per unit of time t''. This can be modeled as an energy flow, equivalent to the rate of change of the energy in a system, or the time rate of doing work, as defined by : where P is generated by these engines (rumoured to be around 240 horsepowerThe horsepower hp is the name of several non-metric units of power. In scientific discourse the horsepower is rarely used due to the various definitions and the existence of an SI unit for power, the watt (W). However, the idea of horsepower persists as a) through a single tyre contact patch roughly the size of a human hand. For comparison, Formula 1 cars can make up to 800 bhp from their three- litre engines but have 10 times the tyre contact surface. Because of this difficulty, MotoGP is perhaps unique in modern motor sport in that teams will often deliberately detune their engines to allow their riders a chance to control them, with most not making more than the 180-190 bhp of the front-running two-stroke bikes.
The best riders of each category of machine travel the world to compete in the annual World Championship series, with each category run on a point-scoring basis similar to most other racing championships. The circuit is perhaps most closely followed in Spain and Italy, home of many of the more successful riders at the moment.
Until recently, the 500 cc class was seen as similar to Formula One car racing, given that one man ( Michael Doohan, and later Valentino Rossi) and one team (Repsol Honda) were almost totally dominant. A new generation of riders and the shift to 4-stroke bikes has seen the racing become as exciting as the fairing-bashing antics of the Superbike competition (while WSB began to be seen as dull and uncompetitive as Ducati began to utterly dominate it), and the older formula is now considerably more popular.
Notable riders of the past include:
Some of the more successful of the present riders include:
While the MotoGP motorcycles are raced only at World Championship level, slightly less powerful 125 cc and 250 cc bikes are available at relatively reasonable cost for purchase (the 125 cc bikes are available for about the same as a small car), and are thus raced in national championships around the world.