well see, that's the nuance on which we disagree. yes, while they are less than 20wks old... from a genuine engineering perspective (which in essence is what these bikes are an exercise in) i do not think there is evidence of room for "a lot" of improvement... only just marginal amounts.
mainly because, racing 4-strokes have long been in development over in the AMA, BSB and WSBK for years now, and notably... in an even larger displacement to boot (10cc's greater, 990 VS 1000). with the staggering amount of funds ducati's been pumping into their "corse" operation just to retain their "stranglehold" on the title VS the competition, it's my opinion you've basically BEEN LOOKING at a "gp 4-stroke" in action for many years now. it's perhaps just difficult for the uninitiated to see past the WSBK label they've been given.
it's not like they're using any thing radically new... like superconducting magnets, turbine powerplants, or high modulus alloys. outside of that, it's all been done before. you seem to be contending "revolution" at a time in human history when technology (and the rules) only support "evolution" at best. i'm certain if rossi or (even foggy) could jump on one of bayliss' current '02 spec 999 bikes, they could lay down laptimes even faster than those "so called" GP 4-strokes. unlike cars, motorcycles are all the same. cars can have motors... front, rear, or mid engine... be open wheel or closed... be open cockpit or roofed... have 1, 2, 3 or 4 seats. be equipped with fancy down force generating ground effects, or not.
bikes, on the other hand, have a common denominator... they're ALL solely open cockpit, two wheels, motor "a mid-ship" and little to no downforce. from an engineering perspective, "like robinson carusoe.... they're primitive as can be"... LOL i guess they just don't exist as a "mystery" to me as i've observed how they do for many others...??? i'm confident, if i could somehow blindfold a rider and press a "mute button" for the sound, i can take ANY set of bikes and effectively engineer them so the rider could jump from one bike to another to another... back to back... and he wouldn't be able to detect which bike was which, based on his remaining sensory perceptions of power delivery and handling... unless i told him...
