SUPERBIKE riders are being given a helping hand to go even faster by Oxfordshire scientists.

The speed and handling of the 190mph motorcycles has been hindered in previous seasons by friction that causes the suspension to stick, affecting the handling and making high-speed cornering difficult.

This year ten superbike teams are using suspensions systems that have been treated with a new process developed by Harwell-based AEA Technology Race Engineering.

The development involves bombarding the front fork legs of the 750cc bikes with a stream of ions in a process, called IonSlip, that changes the surface property of the material.

An AEA spokesman said: "Tech 2000, which supplies components for these high-powered bikes, asked us to find a way of overcoming the friction problem for its customers.

"The friction has been a problem for riders and manufacturers for many seasons, they have found the suspension sticking as the fork stanchions slide up and down inside the upper fork assembly.

"This problem compromised the handling under heavy braking and when the bikes hit an uneven surface. This forced riders to slow down further at corners because the suspensions tended to stick as they braked."

AEA Technology has more than 50 years experience in industries as diverse as space and the nuclear industry.

It is transferring the expertise it has developed to improve the performance of Formula One cars, GT cars, rally and touring cars as well as motorcycles.

Story date: Monday 12 April

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.