After much deliberation I have decided to start a suspension company. Many thousand dollars later, and following extensive research i have decided that here is a market for a set of 50mm conventional forks that have been specificaly designed for a drum brake EVO bike, I then offer them for sale and they start to turn up on bikes at races around Australia.
Now many EVO competiors, some on this thread, will see red and say that this not in the spirit and protest the use of the forks, yet at the same time we are prepared to accept that a rear shock with all the technology and tuneability avalable today is o/k - WHY?
Lets not even go to the place in time where light switch widow maker engines that could never be "fixed" back in the day are tamed in todays environment with exhausts, carburetion, and ignition ssytems made avalable only because of the materials and technology of recent times.
Shocks & forks have always been tuneable, some easier than others. Larger fork diamaters will improve handling, I believe larger shock shafts mostly increases shock life.
"clickers" are a financial gain not a performance gain as all shocks can be pulled apart to reset valving but at greater expense compared to picking up a screwdriver.
If someone made a replica fox fork their wouldn't be a problem.
Forks I would consider a major part of the bike even though they are often made by other companies for the manufacturer.
The rules will never be foolproof but I wonder why your looking so hard for loopholes.
I have read on this forum that we have too many rules but you want another rule to state the bleeding obvious??
The object of the rules is to create a level playing field of sorts for the various era's, their will always be someone that isn't happy when a line has been drawn.
And the rules allow some modern technology in to make our lives easier, it's about reliving the good old days, not being stuck in a time warp. It's not meant to be a contest about who can find original parts.
If a good ignition & suspension makes your ride enjoyable then this is a good thing for the sport.
While I worry about the engineers that are trying to make something that never was, I also worry about the guy that gets his knickers in a twist about something I deem trivial like modern reed material.
The original rule makers rightly deemed that consumable parts could be replaced.
Ignitions - anything goes. If you can replace your burnt out CDI or dodgy points with something new & reliable so you don't have to push your bike 2 Km's to start it then this is a good thing. Allthough this rule was probably made before programabble ignitions were common I still don't see the problem so long as the bike looks normal from the outside. It may be a minor advantage but you will still have to ride your tits off if you want a trophy.
Exhausts - almost anything goes. Okay, I have vested interest here. Pipes wear out, & they need to be easily replacable in order to keep bums on seats at racetracks. People seem to be getting toey about fat pipes or different headers. I don't consider that these fat pipes are that much bigger than stock & if you go too big it will have a detrimental effect anyway. Pipes came with many diiferent specs from the many brands & models in the day so which spec are you going to enforce? It would be impossible to make a rule that defines what pipe specs you can use so why bother trying.
It may be a minor advantage but you will still have to ride your tits off if you want a trophy.
Reed valves - anything goes as long as the engine remains externally unchanged.
People are fitting modern style reeds, so what. Others are probably fitting cams with modern specs. Will they really be that much of an advantage, I don't believe so. And banning these will mean more protests & engine pulldowns at nationals. Results will be held up for weeks while we await spectro analysis of reed material or we await carbon dating of a cam shaft. Everyone has access to these things so you still have a level playing field.
It may be a minor advantage but you will still have to ride your tits off if you want a trophy.
OEM - strange wording for a rule, but I beleive the intent was to mean that all parts were to be from evo eligible bikes. I can't believe that it was intended that your bike was ineligible for having after market seat bolts.
Modern KTM's with drum bakes & fins aren't allowed as per 18.7.12.2 Modifications converting later equipment to comply are not allowed.
Rule changes.
I recomend we drop the "Bikes will be OEM" wording & replace it with...
All models must have been originally manufactured with all of the following
# Non linkage suspension.
# No disc brakes.
# Air cooled motors.
Can anyone better this proposal???
