The International Motorcycling Federation and the Superbike Racing Commission released a number of amendments to the 2013 World Superbike Championship rulebook including pitstops, fake headlights and a revised starting grid alignment.

We’ve already seen the fake headlights with Kawasaki getting a jump on the new regulation earlier this season with headlight decals on Tom Sykes‘ and Loris Baz‘s ZX-10R. Starting in 2013, all superbikes will have fake headlights to resemble their homologated production models. The idea is create a closer visual tie between the race bikes and their street-legal counterparts. Superbikes will switch to 17-inch wheels from the current 16.5-inch wheels, another move to bring them closer to production models. Continue Reading »

American Suzuki has agreed to a number of sanctions including an $885,000 penalty for importing ATVs and off-road motorcycles that do not meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency‘s emission control standards.

The EPA and Suzuki negotiated the monetary penalty as well as other sanctions for the 25,396 units of the 2006-2009 LT-R450 ATV and the 62 units of the 2010 RMX450Z. While the models in question were tested and certified by the EPA, the testing was done on the electronic engine control module’s standard map.

What Suzuki did not disclose in the certification process was the RMX450Z and LT-R450 also had a racing map that would push emissions outside the accepted control standards. These racing map were only accessible from a third-party aftermarket product known as the “Cherry Bomb“, but because the map was pre-programmed into the stock machine, Suzuki was required to disclose the ability to adjust the air-fuel mixture through engine mapping when filing for the certificate of conformity. Continue Reading »

The International Motorcycling Federation announced a number of rule updates for the MotoGP World Championship including mandatory brake lever protection.

Lever protectors would stop the brake lever from being accidentally pressed in the case of a collision with another racer, preventing a sudden braking or lockup of the front wheel.

The new regulation leaves the design of the lever protector open; they may be bolt-on guards or even an extended fairing, so long as the technical director deems it safe.

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