FNTPuck
Well-Known Member
- Local time
- 11:21 PM
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2018
- Messages
- 855
Who determines what has no business being on a bicycle? I think his rules are the best for encouraging progress and development with these bikes. All the strict rules and limits do is discourage the people who push the envelope from even bothering to compete, lowers interest for fans, and makes the races boring with no stand-outs to cheer for. 150cc may be considered a "motorcycle" in the eyes of the law in Cali but lets be honest, not many "real" motorcycles from the big brands are under 150cc in the states - basically its just the Grom and the Z125...which are both geared towards inner city grocery getters/commuters for new riders with only like ~8-9hp.I learned years ago not to rely on Neil and his haphazard organization of race classes. It's just a charlie foxtrot, and it's not all his fault, really. He just doesn't exactly do a very good job of discouraging setups that theoretically have no business being on a bicycle. Midrange being HF212s is a perfect example. 150CC or higher is considered a motorcycle in Cali, no ifs ands or buts. IMHO, 212s should have never been allowed on the track in the first place, it's ghetto scooter racing at that point. When it comes to modifying engines, it's displacement that dictates ultimate power level. One can only make so much HP per cubic inch.
With the low price, ease of modification, and newer more capable parts available it only makes sense to have a 212 category. Some people use these for more than just racing and fun, and if they can get a nice 10hp mildly modded 212 for less money then a 6hp high strung unreliable chinagirl for their daily commuter its really a no-brainer. Hard to spend $500 for less performance, less reliability, more maintenance, and a less street friendly powerband than a $250 bolt-on 212 build.
Not to mention that while I agree displacement trumps all, there are two big equalizers: RPM, and Boost. Don't see many boosted bikes so that's not really a factor, but if you spin a smaller engine high enough it will make more power than a larger one...just harder to gear it effectively.
If you thought a 212 has no place on a bike and shouldn't be allowed, you might have a stroke if you saw my current project .