|
|
Posted by Clint Dixon on Friday, December 07, 2007 at 13:11:03 :
In Reply to: Small cc..... posted by MoparNorm on Friday, December 07, 2007 at 11:31:56 :
During my Motocross racing years, my Dad was religious about checking lap times. We never saw a noticeable difference in average lap times when comparing 100cc, 125cc, 175cc, 250cc, and open class bikes. Only the 80cc bikes and smaller consistently turned in slower lap times, but that was because most of the riders were young kids.
The only thing that seemed to limit the smaller bikes in lap times was if the rider had outgrown it in the weight it could competitively carry. Typically in Motocross bikes, what you gain by going larger in engine size, you loose somewhere else. Bike weight, handling, tractability, and performance all change. We had several very good riders (top points leaders) who raced 2 or 3 different classes, sometimes crossing the finish line on an open classer and immediately running to the starting line to jump on a 125cc for the next race. They had to drastically change their riding style, but their lap times stayed consistent.
The one time when we really saw a difference was if someone tried to ride a smaller cc bike in the open class. The smaller bikes could maintain a more consistent speed through the turns and straights until the big bikes got in the way in the turns. This tended to slow the little guys down to the point that they could never make up the difference on the straights and the big bore guys would walk away from them.
I was on the verge of outgrowing my 125cc bikes. I was 6’3” and 150 lbs. at the time. What I lost in weight disadvantage, I made up for in shear leverage and the fact that I could squarely plant a boot in our Midwest mud when needed. The race days when it had rained 4 inches the night before were my favorite.
Junior