The CBR1000RR MACHINE
Stotz Racing has achieved what few teams have accomplished in
their lifetimes;
winning four AMA/Prostar championships in 10 years, two of them
back to back in 2001 and 2002. It is a tribute to team founder
Kent Stotz, the acknowledged dean of street-tire motorcycle drag
racing, that he has been able to accomplish so much with essentially
a
two-man team: himself as the developer, tuner and rider, and Mark
Harrell as crew chief. All of the championships, wins, and records
to date have come on the CBR1100XX. Now for 2007 after only a
half season of development the CBR1000RR is ready to mark it’s
place in the win, record and championships column.
Photo by Matt Polito, www.dragbikephotos.com
With 463 Horsepower and only 395 lbs the RR’s power to weight
ratio will be Kent’s biggest advantage to take down the
1360cc machines he has to compete against. Using many stock Genuine
Honda Parts (stock crank, cases, clutches, trans, brakes, gaskets,
etc) has helped keep the costs in control with reliability equal
to the 1100XX. Stotz with his many years of experience and product
knowledge relied on Star Racing to do the head work necessary
along with Velocity Racing’s turbo system to flow the air
and fuel that created the 463 H P. JE Pistons and Falicon Knife
rods and clutch basket completed the bottom end. Hooking that
power to the track are the BST carbon fiber wheels, suspended
by a Hyperpro shock and spun on World Wide Cermic Bearings. To
keep things flowing Stotz uses Honda Oils and filters for the
motor and Airtech body work to flow the air around him.
At the core of Stotz's newest racing platform is Honda's latest
thinking in high-performance design. The stock engine is a lightweight
aluminum 998cc liquid-cooled four-cylinder engine with one-piece
upper crankcase and cylinder block. A side-mounted cam chain and
ultra-narrow cylinder-sleeve spacing reduced engine width for
a narrow aerodynamic profile. Double overhead camshafts actuated
four valves per cylinder using a direct cam-over-bucket design.
The cylinder head featured a compact combustion chamber, and straight
intake ports meant no power-robbing turns for the intake charge.
If any engine is suitable for extreme tuning, this is it. Controlling
the EFI, ignition and turbo boost is a Magneti Marelli passive
electronic control unit (ECU)--the same component found on Formula
1 cars and MotoGP race bikes. The sophisticated ECU can monitor
up to 36 channels. Currently Stotz datalogs about 18, including
engine rpm, wheel speed, throttle position, g-force, turbo boost
level and the boost-control duty-cycle (increases and decreased
in waste-gate solenoid pressure).
Photo by Matt Polito, www.dragbikephotos.com
AMA/Prostar's ProStreet class is the ideal platform to launch
the CBR1000RR title chase because the rules do not stray far from
stock production models. The rules permit the use of turbocharging
or nitrous oxide, allow a maximum wheelbase of 68 inches, at least
three inches of ground clearance, a working headlight and taillight,
a fully functional charging system and DOT-approved tires. Wheelie
bars can not be used. It is a class that Stotz has helped AMA/Prostar
define; to ensure compliance, he helped the organization develop
a random 12-mile road test that must be completed by all race
bikes, whereupon completion the bike must be shut off and restarted
within one minute. The little Honda CBR1000RR does this with ease
and the record books may need to add another page.
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