End of an era
By TMX Archives on 12th Nov 09
HAVING clinched the 2007 World MX2 championship before the final GP of the year, Tony Cairoli turned up at the penultimate race of the season, the British GP at Donington Park with a Yamaha YZ450F under the team awning ready to do battle with the sport's big hitters, which had the worlds press licking their lips in anticipation at a possible Cairoli victory. Could he win? Would he be strong enough over two motos? If he wins, will he move to MX1 in 2008?
Of course, if there was no victory then that would have been perfectly acceptable and the press would say that with little or no preparation time on the bigger bike this was just a gauge to see where he and the team were at for when the move to MX1 would eventually come.
If you were there then you will know that Cairoli won the GP with a 2-1 scorecard and was the only person to have ridden in both classes that season, and the only rider therefore to take GP victories in MX1 and MX2 - very impressive indeed!
Perhaps more significantly though is that this one-off ride was perfectly timed which gives us an insight into how thorough the Red Bull De Carli Yamaha Team is and how serious it is about winning.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
WHEELS
Excel rims
Kite hubs, black anodised - overall result lighter and stronger than standard, hub material aluminium.
Michelin Tyres
BRAKES
Standard Nissin, including front lever, reservoir, calliper and cable
270mm front disc (20mm increase); 240mm rear disc (same size as standard) but around 1mm thicker, standard Nissin system
SUSPENSION
Solva forks and rear shock, titanium rear spring
Aluminium yokes and triple clamps (Solva)
HANDLEBARS
Tomaselli (0550) similar shape to a standard Yamaha bend, ProGrip rubbers.
Reikon clutch lever and adjuster
CHASSIS
Standard aluminium frame
Carbon fibre sub-frame and air box, which is larger in size - CRM Compositi
Titanium foot pegs from USA (titanium bracket mounts by De Carli)
Titanium nuts and bolts
Swingarm standard
Lower seat, modified from standard Yamaha seat foam
ENGINE
Athena cylinder and head, different Nikasil plating
GET ignition with two settings: Start mode and Race mode
Internals are all as per standard, apart from modified cams
Exhaust system by Leo Vince, with carbon fibre end cap; overall system matched to suit Athena cylinder
Five-speed gearbox as standard, ratios unchanged
Slightly larger carburettor
Piston same size as standard, though in different material
Aluminium clutch covers (Solva) specially designed to help the flow of oil for more effective clutch use and reliability. Normally oil flows to the front of the case at the bottom, but a modified oil pipe is used to transport the oil to the top of the clutch case for a better more even distribution. The clutch action is nice and light, due to a different shape lever by Reikon
Reikon sprockets and Regina chains.
Standard radiators, different radiator-cap from 1.1psi to 2.0psi
Denicol lubricants
Total cost: 35,000 Euros
FOR FULL TEST SEE T+MX NEWS, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2009
Specification: