Angel Nieto on the Spanish single-cylinder two-stroke Derbi
positive link between what happens on
the track ends up on the road, it is also
undoubtedly the case with the German
Kreidler factory which also specialised in
50cc models for the road. Suzuki and Honda
were also busy making small capacity
machines for thriving 1950s and 60s
European and Asian markets. This, however,
was to be the opening chapter in a gradual
increase in cubic capacity that would lead
to 250cc being replaced by 600cc Moto2
in 2010, and 125cc giving way to 250cc in
Moto3 in 2012, and the premium 500cc
class to double in capacity to 1000cc. If you
watch a television broadcast of a current
MotoGP, or what used to be a Grand
Prix, you will be lucky to hear the cubic
capacity of the machines even mentioned.
So, we must conclude that engines have
been getting progressively bigger, but
commentators don’t want to talk about it.
Anyway, back to the 50cc machines. What
remarkable feats of engineering they were.
The 1962 Honda CR110 was an air-cooled
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