Etc.

ETC.

MEN VS. WOMEN: ACCIDENTS BY THE NUMBERS

A recent study by University of Michigan researchers found that on a per-mile basis, women are 16 percent more likely than men to be involved in reportable accidents, and 26 percent more likely of being in an injury-causing wreck. The study found that woman are involved in 20 percent more rear-enders than men, and 30 percent more angle crashes. On a per-mile basis, however, the study found that men are 50 percent more likely to be involved in fatal accidents. The study also found that women are more likely to be involved in daytime accidents, while men are more likely to crash at night.

COMINGS AND GOINGS

American Suzuki recently announced that Yoshinori Fujii replaced Kenjii Shimizu as president of the company. Shimizu returned to Japan for reassignment. In his new position, Fujii will oversee all American Suzuki’s automotive, motorcycle/ATV and marine business. Fujii, with Suzuki since 1962 and a former American motorcycle division product planning manager, previously was listed as executive vice president of American Suzuki.

CATHCART AND DUCATI GRAB A CHAMPIONSHIP

Alan Cathcart, Cycle World’s European Editor and an enthusiastic club racer, rode his Ducati Supermono to the Dutch Open Sound of Singles championship August 29 in Tolbert, Holland, giving the Supermono its first major title in an international roadrace series. Cathcart won at Tolbert after starting from pole position in weather so cool that he was forced to run a handcut slick front tire. “Ifs a real sense of Mission Accomplished,” reported the delighted Cathcart.

DEATH OF A LEGEND

Motorcycling pioneer Bert Greeves, 87, died this summer in Thundersley, England. Greeves was the mastermind behind the Greeves motorcycle (and later, the Invacar, a vehicle for invalids). His bikes were marked by long-travel leading-link front suspension and by Villiers two-stroke engines suspended in a chassis that used a cast aluminum front downmember. They were mainly 250cc dirtbikes, piloted by riders such as the great Dave Bickers, and for a time they dominated motocross events. Greeves’ bikes also made their mark in club roadracing, though they never made the move into roadracing’s big leagues. Greeves retired from his factory in 1973, but his name is fondly remembered by those who rode his equipment.

FOR THE RECORDS HOW DUGATI’S 888 SP5 REALLY WORKS

In a story last month on the Ducati 888SP5, which has two fuel injectors per cylinder, we said the second injector in each cylinder fires at 6000 rpm, or whenever the throttle is turned full-open. That’s incorrect, as the mapping that controls whether one injector fires per cylinder, or whether two of them do, is much more complicated than that. It’s based on the amount of time, in milliseconds, the system must inject fuel, with that value based on rpm and throttle opening.

If the injection time called for is 8 milliseconds-per-cycle or less, one injector is used. If it’s more than that, both injectors are used, each injecting for half the time called for (so if the time called for is 12 milliseconds, each injector would be open for 6 milliseconds). Understand? Good. As penance, the person who wrote the incorrect material has been sent to work for Motorcyclist.