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Kenny Roberts

Sumber: Itsbrucemclaren @ Pinterest

Bagi generasi baharu, nama MODENAS mungkin dianggap sebagai jaguh kampung tetapi bagi mereka yang tahu, MODENAS pernah melakar nama buat sementara waktu di arena MotoGP.

Jentera yang dicanang itu bernama Modenas KR3 – sebelum bertukar nama ke Proton KR3.

Bagaimana segalanya bermula?

Pada 1997, Kenny Roberts – bekas juara tiga kali MotoGP – meninggalkan Malboro Yamaha Racing Team selaku pengurus pasukan dan mula mengusahakan jentera sendiri, sebuah motosikal V3 (tiga silinder) yang memiliki saiz umpama sebuah jentera 250cc.

Kenny Roberts memulakan saingan di MotoGP bersama pasukan Team KR namun bergelut tatkala pasukan lain menggunakan enjin 4 silinder sebaris, Team KR menaruh harapan terhadap enjin 2 lejang 4 silinder.

Bagaimanapun, King Kenny mengekalkan keyakinan bahawa kejuruteraan yang diguna pakai mampu memberi saingan namun dia kemudiannya berdepan masalah kewangan.

Masalah tersebut membawa kepada penjodohan di antara King Kenny dan Modenas, sebuah syarikat motosikal berpangkalan di Gurun, Kedah.

Meskipun dianggap ‘mentah’ namun Modenas mampu menawarkan bantuan kewangan dan fasiliti penyelidikan menerusi seliaan Kawasaki, dua faktor yang dicari-cari King Kenny.

Enjin V3 498cc Taruhan Modenas – Team KR

Kisah dua dunia berbeza bermula, dan hasilnya gabungan ini menghasilkan enjin 2 lejang tiga silinder 498cc.

Sumber: Itsbrucemclaren @ Pinterest

Sepelik gabungan Kenny Roberts dan Modenas, pelik lagi pilihan enjin yang digunakan. Namun dengan segala pengalaman dimiliki, Kenny yakin enjin ‘pelik’ itu mampu mencabar dominasi jentera Jepun yang mengguna pakai enjin 500cc 4 silinder.

Meskipun atas kertas enjin pasukan Modenas – Team KR dilihat kurang bisa – 160hp – Kenny turut mempertaruhkan aerodinamik dan casis yang ringan.

Kerjasama Dengan Lotus Dan TWR

Selain daripada Modenas, Team KR turut mendapat suntikan kepakaran daripada Lotus yang menawarkan bantuan casis dan Prancis Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR).

Sumber: Itsbrucemclaren @ Pinterest

Percaya atau tidak disebabkan enjin diguna pakai adalah kecil, Modenas-Team KR berjaya menghasilkan casis yang ringan dan nipis sekaligus membawa kepada penampilan pertama di saingan MotoGP dengan dua pelumba, Kenny Robert Jr dan Jean Michel Bayle.

Modenas Undur Diri

Nasib tidak menyebelahi Modenas-Team KR apabila mereka gagal merekodkan sebarang keputusan memberangsangkan dan menjelang tahun 2000, Modenas membuat keputusan untuk undur diri.

Proton Team KR

Pada 2001, sewaktu Team KR tinggal nyawa-nyawa ikan, Proton – pengeluar kereta nasional yang tidak pernah menghasilkan sebarang kenderaan dua roda sehingga kini – ambil alih Team KR.

Sumber: blog.motorcycle.com

Bagaimanapun, projek KR3 hanya bertahan hingga 2002 apabila kelas premier 500cc beralih ke penggunaan jentera 1000cc 4 silinder tetapi FIM membenarkan motosikal dua lejang untuk bertanding buat kali terakhir dan Proton KR3 yang ditunggangi Jeremy McWilliams berjaya menempah petak pertama di GP Australia ketika sesi kelayakan sebelum menamatkan perlumbaan di kedudukan ke-10.

Meskipun Modenas KR3 gagal merekodkan sebarang kemenangan namun jenama motosikal nasional itu berjaya diukir dalam sejarah MotoGP.

Apa pun, diharapkan nama Modenas akan kembali menyinari sukan permotoran antarabangsa.

Modenas Tarik Nafas Baharu

Sejak meninggalkan arena MotoGP, Modenas memberikan fokus sepenuhnya terhadap pembinaan motosikal kapcai mampu milik antaranya Kriss, Dinamik, X-Cite, CT110 dan sebagainya.

Namun Modenas seakan mendapat suntikan baharu apabila kembali bangkit dengan beberapa jentera yang lebih besar antaranya Pulsar NS200, RS200 dan Dominar D400.

Meskipun dijenamakan semula daripada Bajaj namun ia sedikit sebanyak menandakan langkah baharu bagi pengeluar motosikal nasional itu.

Apatah lagi dengan pelancaran Power Store MODENAS pertama di Sunsuria Avenue, Kota Damansara baru-baru ini yang juga merupakan kedai konsep pertama seumpamanya di Asia Tenggara.

Mungkinlah ada projek yang lebih besar berlaku hasil daripada kerjasama Modenas-Bajaj ini di masa akan datang?

Tiada yang menjangkakan kerjasama Modenas dan Team KR akan membawa kepada penyertaan pertama Modenas di arena MotoGP jadi tidak hairan jika kerjasama Modenas dan Bajaj mampu membawa kepada senario yang sama impaknya.

  • The MODENAS KR3 500cc GP racer graced the world’s racetracks from 1997 to 2002.

  • It was mean to revolutionize GP bikes.

  • MODENAS stood to learn from the project.

Do you remember the MODENAS KR3 500cc GP racer?

The bike had a very interesting story: It was meant to revolutionize 500cc Grand Prix racing and remains well-loved for its spirit among many long-time Malaysian and worldwide GP fans.

The name “KR” stemmed from a legendary name, Kenny Roberts. As in Kenny Roberts Sr., the three-time 500 GP World Champion, the man who popularized the knee-down cornering technique and all-around cowboy (read: rebel).

On the other hand, the number “3” stood for three-cylinders.

CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – APRIL 14: Kenny Roberts during the Americas GP at Circuit of the Americas on April 14, 2019 in Circuit of the Americas, United States of America. (Photo by Gold and Goose / LAT Images)

How did it come to this?

KR managed GP teams, all of them on Yamahas, from 1984. But his ventures in the premier class started showing promising results when he signed Wayne Rainey in 1988.

It was in 1990 that KR secured Marlboro’s sponsorship and his team became the factory Yamaha squad in both 500cc and 250cc categories. Also in that year, Rainey won his first 500cc GP title and John Kocinski won the 250cc title.

Rainey would deliver another two titles in 1991 and 1992. He was on his way to fourth championship in 1993 but a crash at the Italian GP paralyzed him from the chest down. His bitter rival Kevin Schwantz of Lucky Strike Suzuki was crowned champion instead.

As the years ticked by without Rainey, a plucky Aussie by the name of Mick Doohan took over the reins.

KR stuck it out with Yamaha, but he was constantly unhappy with the progress of their bikes. He even complained many times publicly that the factory took no heed to his feedback on improving their bikes.

So, in 1996, KR made an announcement that surprised everyone – he was breaking away from Yamaha after 25 years in the 1997 season (like how Herve Poncharal would do in 2019). But he wasn’t moving to another manufacture. No, not “King” Kenny. He was going to build his own bikes.

Enter the MODENAS KR3

It was during this time that our very own fledgling (it started in 1995) Motosikal dan Enjin Nasional Sdn. Bhd. (MODENAS) decided to step in and work together on the project. It was hoped that some of the technology would eventually make their way into MODENAS’s future models, besides placing the brand in the pinnacle of motorcycle racing.

KR decided to move base to the “Motorsport Valley” in England where the Formula 1 and race car teams are based and began working together with Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR).

They decided on a three-cylinder, two-stroke, 500cc machine as the rules gave three-cylinder machines a 10kg weight advantage over four-cylinder bikes. The lower weight allowed the bike to be more agile and carry more midcorner speeds, like what KR saw with Freddie Spencer’s Honda NS500 in 1982 to 1983. This was also deemed as an advantage as the racetracks during the time had more corners than long straights for the four-cylinder machines to utilize.

But they knew that a three-cylinder would make less horsepower compared to a four-cylinder one. So, the team focused on improving volumetric efficiency (how much fuel-air mixture the engine could induct).

Engine design was supervised by Bud Askland, the father of the team’s manager Chuck Askland. They ended up with a 498cc powerplant with “square” dimensions i.e. same bore and stroke figures of 59.6 mm x 59.6 mm. The Vee-angle between the cylinders was set at nearly 180with two cylinders down below and one up top.

Anyway, the frame was designed to give the bike better handling characteristics. KR worked with TWR and French chassis maker FTR to result in an aluminium twin-spar “deltabox” that’s smaller and lighter than the Japanese. The headstock featured eccentric carriers to allow adjustments of the steering’s rake angle and trail. There were also eccentric carriers in the swingarm mount to adjust the height of the swingarm pivot. These were unheard of at the time.

Even fueling was ahead of its time. The KR team adopted electronic carburetors without float bowls which used ducted air to atomize the fuel, much like a fuel-injection system. Such a setup avoided the fuel from emulsifying from intense vibrations. Arrow custom made an exhaust system for the engine.

This first engine produced 160 hp and went on to develop 180 hp in 2002.

The bodywork, it was designed to wrap tightly around the frame for a smaller frontal profile. Consequently, the radiator was moved to under the seat where ducts supplied cooling air to it.

Kenny Roberts Jr. on the MODENAS KR3. He would go to Suzuki and win the 2000 500cc GP title.

The MODENAS-KR team found an uphill (more like up-mountain) task ahead of them in the 1997 season.

It was initially thought that the engine’s layout gave the engine good self-balancing inertial forces (of the pistons going up and down and the rotating crankshaft), so it was sans a balancer shaft. However, the engine suffered many breakdowns due to crankshaft cracking.

Additionally, there was no controlled-tyre ruling back then, thus the tryes were manufactured to each specific bike in the paddock. The new and small team had to use old tyres or those designed for other bikes. Sometimes both. It meant that they could not capitalize on their handling.

But the KR3 was supremely fast in midcorner and there were other riders who commented that they were led into entering corners too fast behind it. But when the situation was reversed, the KR3 riders found themselves blocked by the slower four-cylinder machines and then outgunned at the corner exits.

The KR3 project persisted until 2002 when the two-stroke 500cc GP formula gave way to four-stroke 1000cc machines. The FIM allowed two stroke bikes a grace period during that year and they could race together. Jeremey McWilliams qualified the MODENAS KR3 on pole at the 2002 Australian GP.

With the new formula, the KR3 project built a four-stroke, V-5, 1000cc bike called the KR5. Now Malaysian car maker Proton funded the project until the end of 2004.

Legacy of MODENAS KR3

While the MODENAS KR3 didn’t win races, it left a lasting legacy in MotoGP. Later, Aprilia would attempt with their own three-cylinder Cube racer. BMW had actually worked on a MotoGP prototype which also had – you guessed it – three cylinders. BMW’s stillborn project would eventually end up gaining one more cylinder and became the S 1000 RR.

In any case, we would love to see a MODENAS KR3 up close again.

Kenny Roberts, or King Kenny, needs no introduction. The three time 500cc world champion is also the the first ever American to win a MotoGP race, and his riding style changed the way GP bikes are ridden.

In the year 2000, King Kenny was named a Grand Prix legend by the FIM.

So when King Kenny speaks, the world listens.

In a recent interview with crash.net (the excerpts of which are below) at the American MotoGP round in Circuit of the Americas, King Kenny was quoted as saying that MotoGP racing has never been better.

“Unbelievable. It’s never been better. I mean the talent of the riders, the equipment… MotoGP’s obviously the best show in the world now.”

Kenny, who turned to rider development and then team owner, is still intrigued by the technical side of MotoGP.

He says he loves the new aerodynamics packages on modern MotoGP bikes, “I was ahead of my time [with investing resources in aerodynamics] but we didn’t have enough money to make it all work.

“We had one of the three-cylinders designed by Lotus and it was ten miles an hour quicker at Barcelona down the straight, but it wouldn’t stop. And we didn’t have the budget with Lotus to find out why it wouldn’t stop.”

“It was a funny thing because you’d sit there and look at it going ‘why is the back end coming off the ground?’ No-one knew. There’s a lot to it. They’ve just scratched the surface, in my opinion.”

In the interview, Kenny also mentioned that any of the current top six bikes can be easily adapted to any riding style by a top rider.

“You can make the bike, whatever you need it to be,” he said. “It’s just work and setting the bike up.

“From the little bit I know, the Japanese could not ride my motorcycles because the steering head was too steep. They just couldn’t ride it. It would shake too much and if it shook, they didn’t like it. Eddie couldn’t ride it.

“I think that with any of the [current] motorcycles, with a little bit of work on it, you’d have the same thing. It’s a lot harder to ride. It’s a lot harder on your body. But you are faster. So I think any of them would do that.”

Kenny was legendary for his dirt-track riding style, so crash.net asked him if anyone on track reminds him of himself?

“No, you could never ride as hard as they ride now with my equipment,” he replied.

“If my ’80 bike, the first with aluminium, had the grip these bikes had it would go ‘boing’ and away it would go. Which it actually did with me a couple of times. If you had too much grip, the flex would be so much it would spring back. So with these [modern] tyres you couldn’t ride that motorcycle.

“I think, from my standpoint, Marquez probably comes closest to throwing the bike in. Making it turn. And exiting. Which is what I tried to do… I wasn’t quite as good at it!”

And does he think Marquez can be beaten?

“Yes [Marquez can be beaten] but it’s going to be him beating himself, it looks like to me. Somebody is going to have to really step up and put the pressure on him that he needs to make a mistake and right now I don’t see that happening…”

Click here to read the original interview where Kenny speaks about his surprise that Rossi is still racing at 40!

The ever popular and acclaimed Yamaha MT-09 has gone under the knife with Roland Sands Design (RSD), resulting in this special one-off Faster Wasp custom concept.

With the reveal, Yamaha further added that this custom is hinting at its newest model based on the MT-09 that will debut at EICMA 2015 this month.

Back to this RSD special, it joins the Yamaha brand’s range of Yard Built custom machineries that are usually followed closely by production model. This RSD-built special follows the footsteps of Shinya Kimura’s Faster Son custom concept (the XSR700 preview) and the Deus Eau Rouge (XJR1300 Racer preview), and it now charts a new chapter in the Yamaha Faster Sons trilogy.

RSDWasp3

It is plain to see that the Roland Sands Yamaha MT-09 Faster Wasp is more than just a tribute to the famed black and yellow speed-block donned on Kenny Roberts Senior’s legendary TZ750 race bike. Underneath the bespoke aluminium bodywork and is the MT-09’s acclaimed 847cc in-line triple and lightweight aluminium frame. Also exclusive to the Wasp are a whole host of cycle-part updates that are not found on any production model.

RSDWasp10

Being an RSD creation, it sports plenty of the design firm’s signature elements and traits. These include the hand-fabricated aluminium petrol tank, tail section, intake scoops, radiator covers, front number board and front mudguard fender. The custom also sports a prototype Clarity timing cover, rearsets, rear brake reservoir and case guards, plus chain guard, timing plug, axle sliders and fuel cap.

RSDWasp11

Sources believe most of these will likely be available as official, or RSD, accessories for the incoming new Yamaha model. Other notable bits and pieces include the Wasp’s forged aluminium wheels, Two Bros Racing stainless steel header with an RSD Slant muffler, Renthal sprockets, Performance Machine radial brake calipers, an RSD radial brake master cylinder and Spiegler brake lines, as well as a custom leather seat is made by the Bitchin Seat Co.

RSDWasp8

Also primed are a set of RSD Nostalgia handlebar risers plus Renthal Fatbar handlebars with RSD Traction grips. The chassis is further enhanced too thanks to Öhlins fork cartridge kit and rear shock tasked at providing better bike control.

RSDWasp13

You can check out more of the Roland Sands Yamaha MT-09 Faster Wasp in the video we’ve attached at the top or by browsing the extensive gallery we’ve prepared below.

Roland Sands Design Yamaha MT-09 Faster Wasp

Sources: YouTube, MCN and Visordown

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