1607 RF final

On the left is the 2016 Pata Yamaha R1
World SBK machine dash along with
all the Playstation buttons, and on the
right is the 2016 Ducati MotoGP
bike dash and buttons.
found in Aprilia RSV4, the V-twin mill
powering the Ducati Panigale R, in-line
fours from Yamaha, Honda and MV Agusta.
Equalisers – Spec ECU and tuning
restrictions
The starkest difference between the two lies
in their ‘great equalisers’. MotoGP keeps
its playing field levelled thanks to its newly
introduced standardised onboard electronics
and software or ‘Spec ECU’ ruling.
Starting this year, all MotoGP bikes
have had their powertrains and
electronics paired with the Magentti
Marelli-supplied ECU and software that
acts as a digital power cap. Together with
the minimum weight ruling, it theoretically
keeps all MotoGP bikes equal in
performance despite the varied engine and
powertrain designs.
WSBK, on the other hand, restricts
the amount of changes or modifications
allowed in the top part of the bike’s stock
engine, and displacement increases are
banned as well. This explains why the
hardware in WSBK race bikes closely mirror
what is already available in their
road-going base bikes
too.
A clear example of this is the Ducati
WSBK machine based on the current Ducati
Panigale R model. When the improved
new Ducati 1299 Panigale road bike was
launched, it succeeded the previous 1199
Panigale model with a new and larger
1,285cc V-twin. Only the Panigale R variant
retained the previous bike’s 1,198cc V-twin
engine, allowing Ducati to use it as the basis
of its WSBK machine.
Never before has MotoGP and WSBK technology featured so prominently in production based
motorcycles that are available to the public. Bikes such as the Ducati Panigale R, Yamaha R1 and R1M
and Aprilia’s 2016 RSV4 R-FW, which is basically a 230hp+ MotoGP Bike, are now available to buy at
ridiculous amounts of money.
RIDEFAST MAGAZINE JULY 2016 37