Last Updated: October 26, 2022, 11:10 AM IST
KTM’s factory racing team’s MotoGP bike. (Photo: KTM)
MotoGP bikes are basically prototype (experimental) machines that are custom-made for their class and are not available to the general public
Riding a motorcycle is a skill that has a large section of the population, but only a few take it up professionally. And of those, a very tiny number can make it to Moto Grand Pix. With just 24 slots up for grabs, a rider needs to be among the best in the world to make it to MotoGP. So that leaves us with some questions. Like how does one make it to Moto GP? What’s the difference between the MotoGP, Moto2, and Moto3?
The Motorcycle Grand Prix (MotoGP) features three racing classes where the Moto2 and Moto3 are the leagues before the primer championship of MotoGP. The key difference separating the three from one another is the power of the bikes. The MotoGP bikes are more powerful than the units used in Moto2 which feature a 765 CC three cylinders engine with around 140 horsepower. The bikes used in Moto2 are more powerful than the Moto3 bikes that use 250 CC with a one-cylinder 60 horsepower engine.
The top of the tie, MotoGP bikes use four-cylinder 1000 CC maximum engine capacity that put out around 250 horsepower.
Apart from the engine specification, there’s also a cap on how much a bike can weigh during the race. This also factors in the weight of the rider in some cases.
All Moto2 race machines must weigh more than 478 (217 kg) pounds whereas the Moto3 bikes have to be over 335-pound (152 kg).
In MotoGP, a 446-pound (202 kg) minimum weight (not including the rider) on paper is required, but they’re much more complicated in reality.
To keep the specifications and weight cap, the riders and the companies behind the bikes have to make several changes. This includes adding aerodynamic winglets, carbon braking systems, hole-shot devices, seamless gearboxes, and ride-height devices.
MotoGP bikes are basically prototype (experimental) machines that are custom-made for their class and are not available to the general public.
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