Thomas Morsellino is a French freelance journalist and photographer, with keen eye for the technical details of MotoGP bikes. You may have seen some of his work on Twitter, where he runs the @Off_Bikes account. Peter Bom is a world championship winning former crew chief, with a deep and abiding knowledge of every aspect of motorcycle racing. Peter has worked with such riders as Cal Crutchlow, Danny Kent, and Stefan Bradl. After every race, MotoMatters.com will be publishing a selection of Tom's photos of MotoGP bikes, together with extensive technical explanations of the details by Peter Bom. MotoMatters.com subscribers will get access to the full resolution photos, which they can download and study in detail, and all of Peter's technical explanations of the photos. Readers who do not support the site will be limited to the 800x600 resolution photos, and an explanation of two photos.
The nose section of the Ducati fairing
Peter Bom: This is a great view of the inside of the nose section of the fairing. This is the air intake, which channels the air from the point of highest pressure at the nose, then channels it around the steering head and into the airbox, and from there into the engine.
A set of carbon Öhlins forks, as used by Maverick Viñales
Peter Bom: A set of carbon front fork legs for Viñales' Yamaha M1. You can clearly see here that the carbon is protected in the sections where the forks are held in the triple clamps. On the foremost fork leg, at the bottom behind the gas canister, we can see the two wheel speed sensors, and a temperature sensor for the brake disc.
The Suzuki GSX-RR exhaust To see the technical explanation for this photo, sign up to be a site supporter.
The Honda RC213V fuel tank To see the technical explanation for this photo, sign up to be a site supporter.
The right handlebar of the Aprilia RS-GP To see the technical explanation for this photo, sign up to be a site supporter.
The left handlebar of the Yamaha M1 To see the technical explanation for this photo, sign up to be a site supporter.
Brembo front brake calipers To see the technical explanation for this photo, sign up to be a site supporter.
Aero package used by Stefan Bradl on Jorge Lorenzo's Repsol Honda To see the technical explanation for this photo, sign up to be a site supporter.
New aero package on Marc Márquez' Honda RC213V, debuted at the Brno test To see the technical explanation for this photo, sign up to be a site supporter.
Wheel cover and cooling duct on the Ducati Desmosedici GP19 To see the technical explanation for this photo, sign up to be a site supporter.
If you would like access to the full-size versions of these technical photos and all of Peter Bom's explanations, as well as desktop-size versions of the other fantastic photos which appear on the site, you can become a site supporter and take out a subscription. A subscription will also give you access to the many in-depth and exclusive articles we produce for MotoMatters.com site supporters. The more readers who join our growing band of site supporters, the better we can make MotoMatters.com, and the more readers will get out of the website. You can find out more about subscribing to MotoMatters.com here.
If you would like to buy a copy of one of these photos, you can email Thomas Morsellino
Tech porn ...
- in the nicest possible way!
Magicians Suitcase?
Can someone shed light onto what contraption is shown to us in the 213RCV Tank-Photo? Thanksyouverymuch
I'm sorry, but in the first
I'm sorry, but in the first picture, that is a colander, used for draining spaghetti. Everyone knows that is the secret fuel which gives the Ducati's their extra horsepower.
Elegance
Each part is the height of precision and beauty. It's awe inspiring to see under the skin of these incredible machines...elite engineering meets sublime artistry. Thanks for the photos!
In reply to Elegance by Brian
Engineering excellence?
Absolutely.
Elegance? Artistry? Sorry, I’m not feeling it.
Beauty comes from simplification, not complication. These incredible bikes have a purity of purpose, rather than a purity of form. For elegance I’ll take the bikes shown in Mat Oxley’s recent carbon bike article every time.
But function wins races, not form.
In reply to Engineering excellence? by Seven4nineR
Nonsense
If all the artistry takes away from the 'purpose' why do they do it? They do it because it is satisfying to the human spirit to make a thing of beauty and it doesn't take away anything. I find your comment to display an ignorance of aesthetic value that is quite dismaying. A shame, you're missing a lot of beauty in this world when you simply think like a cloistered engineer instead of as a designer. I'm sorry
Cool factor
My coolness factor in the office has gone up significantly since I started using these amazing images as my computer background ;)
seriously tho’ - this is MotoGP bike porn 🤤
Excellent
These photos take MotoGP to the next level. As with all my bikes I need to now what's under everything. Thank you.