Please click on the above image to view it larger.

Dutch Grand Prix 2015: Our third series of photos from MotoGP at Assen begins with this close up of Jack Miller’s Honda RC213V-RS swing arm.

Designing a swing arm for a MotoGP bike is not a simple task. The swing arm plays a large role in the performance of the bike, being part of the suspension when the bike is upright and also affecting the feel of the bike when it is leaned over. Symmetry of construction might be desirable, but it’s not possible due to the fact that the chain passes through the left side of the swing arm. To balance the characteristics of this vital piece of the puzzle, such as how stiff it is, where it flexes and how much, both laterally and vertically and in combinations of stress in all possible directions, pieces of material are welding together in a very specific way. Someone back in the engineering department at Honda could explain why each seam is where it is, if you could get him to do so.

Last time we took a close look at the comic explosion on the back of Aleix Espargaro’s crash hat. Here is the Fighting Irish icon of Eugene Laverty’s. Given that Laverty is one of the friendliest, most easy-going riders I’ve met when off the bike, I’m guessing this comic figure represents his fighting spirit on track.

Speaking of fighting spirit, who has more than Marc Marquez? If he’s behind you on track, he wants your position and will do whatever he must to take it away from you. But again, off the bike, as friendly and easy going as you could ask for in a top level athlete.

Production engines have a thermostat to manage temperature of the cooling system. For MotoGP bikes, we often see tape covering some portion of the radiator – the cooler the ambient temperature, the more tape we’re likely to see. This tape prevents air from passing through the radiator vents and cooling the engine as much as it otherwise would. When reflective tape is used on a bright blue bike like the Suzuki, it even looks cool.

Speaking of looking cool, I went after this image simply because it might be pleasing to look at. Scott Redding’s garage is one of the darker ones in pit lane (Tech3 being the darkest, Ducati being the brightest). The blurred lights in the foreground are those of his Honda RC213V’s dashboard as the bike is warming up. Using a large aperture to turn those lights into color dots, I focused on the 45 of his logo, which is displayed on a panel at the back of the garage.

More on the next page: