'Machine over man?' He's not listening

As MotoGP matures, the concepts and ideas that fuel the class also grow. Some are gone to the wayside, while others prove viable.

At Laguna Seca's USGP, there are a wide variety of engines, from two different types of V5s, V4s, Inline fours, and Desmo V4s (or as the Italians like to say, double L-twins). That's far from F1 car racing where in the past the proverbial "clean sheet of paper" designs from each maker always ended up looking remarkably similar, given a long enough time line.

For a while, Honda's RC211V looked to be unbeatable, but things have changed in the past year and a half.

So what makes a good MotoGP machine? That's a darn good question and one that will always be changing, especially with new regulations on the horizon capping displacement at 800ccs. What's more sure at this point is what doesn't make a good MotoGP bike.

Aprilia's Cube was basically a two-wheeled F1 car, with pneumatic valves, fly-by-wire throttle goodies to augment the three cylinder design. Too bad it never really worked. The Cube's best finish was sixth, and its most memorable event was bursting into flames as Colin Edwards rode the bike in Germany. Aprilia's out of MotoGP now, and the Cube is a bike of the past.

On the other end of the spectrum, Kawasaki's initial ZX-RR MotoGP machine was a Super Superbike -- more of a ZX-7R on steroids than anything else. The bike was rather large, used carbs to provide fuel, and harkened back to Kawasaki's glory days in World Superbike. The results weren't as hoped and the riders struggled to even pick up points the first year the team entered Grand Prix. Since then, Kawasaki has chosen an approach more like their rivals. Taking World Superbike technology and refining it slightly wasn't the answer any more than trying to convert F1 car tech to MotoGP.

What's clear is that you need a bike that makes linear power but still makes good power, in excess of 235 to 240 horsepower (and beyond if you listen to the rumors). A good GP bike must have high-tech elements, but they can't overwhelm the fact that MotoGP bikes are first and foremost tackling the same problems they always have -- handling bumps, steering through the turns, getting the power down, and avoiding chatter. It doesn't really matter how well your launch control works if the bike handles like a pig. And it doesn't help if the traction control system would make Steve Jobs drool if the bike handles like Uncle Mortie's Gold Wing and the rider can't open the throttle when he'd like.

Rossi's domination has shot down the biggest myth, however -- that with higher technology, the machine becomes more important than the man.