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Will new engine rules hamper Kawasaki’s WSBK effort?

A new set of engine rules that will bring the works Kawasaki engines into line with the rest of the World Superbike grid could make life more difficult for the champions next season.

The Superbike Commission has approved new technical regulations that mean all bikes must run a generator and use balance shafts in the engine if homologated on the standard road bike, to bring them as well as some others, into line with the majority.

Currently, Tom Sykes’ bike has a total-loss ignition which means they have to charge the system on the grid, for example, with a slave unit. The Aprilia also uses this setup, so next year’s bike will also have to change.

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Battery packs above a certain size cannot be shipped by air - they are considered dangerous goods, so the limit set by FIM technical director Scott Smart been set to the limit approved by International Air Transport Association.

From next year, the ZX-10R will have a generator of as-yet-unknown size which adds weight to the crank therefore increasing engine inertia, which Sykes doesn’t like.

Jonathan Rea re-instated a crank with a generator earlier in the year in order to re-instate the engine inertia he lost with the new bike at the start of the year.

Kawasaki also remove their engine’s balance shaft to increase the speed at which their engine picks up revs but that too will be outlawed.

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