How does Kenny Roberts, Sr. keep going? After half a decade trying to make a three-cylinder, two-stroke competitive (and, basically, failing), MotoGP is born and the rules are changed to favor four-strokes.
You would think Roberts is tired of trying to compete with the big factories, but now he is building his own four-stroke MotoGP machine. Apparently, Roberts has learned that, if your bike can do anything, it better run down the straightaway with competitive acceleration and top speed (something his three-cylinder never really had). So Roberts is building a V-5, utilizing the maximum number of cylinders for the weight category (like Honda). No, he doesn’t want to give away any horsepower this time.
Roberts is either a fool or a stubborn genius. Either way, he manages to find the financial resources to take on the goliaths of racing. Time will tell, but we’re betting Roberts learned some valuable lessons with his three-cylinder, two-stroke project that might bear fruit with the new four-stroke machine.
