"It's a typically Buell design, solving a problem that no-one had in the first place."
Mass, and its distribution on a motorcycle, is not a problem that we had in the first place? Making more power without a massive muffler is not a problem we had in the first place? Getting more muffler volume in less space is not a problem for motorcycle manufacturers? Keeping down noise to satisfy regulations while limiting power loss is not a problem? Maybe not on your home planet, but here on Earth, those are real problems.
Try reading the patent application:
"In some constructions, the hollow portion of the swingarm is divided into at least three chambers, and a plurality of pipes is configured to provide at least two flow direction reversals within the swingarm between an inlet and an outlet, with multiple volumetric expansions between the inlet and the outlet."
I guess you think that Buell's use of an inverted fork way back in 1990 was answering a problem that didn't exist, too, right? And the underslung muffler was answering a non-existent problem, also? Then maybe you can explain why the sport bikes from the major players are now all sporting inverted forks and many are tucking the muffler as low as they can under the bike. And I guess the Buell ZTL brake was addressing the non-problem of unsprung mass, right?
Maybe you need to stick to writing news instead of making snarky comments about a subject you don't know much about (sportbike engineering).
Posted: 25/11/2010 at 22:01
