Get On Your Bike: Bradley Smith Talks Through His Moto GP Machine

Moto GP comes to Silverstone this month. Top Brit rider Bradley Smith talks through the bike that keeps him alive at 330kph…

Tyres

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There’s actually no rubber in these tyres, they’re made from chemicals that react with the tarmac. Each set costs about ₹1,00,88 and we use about eight sets over a race weekend. When I’m leaning through a corner, the contact patch that the tyre has with the tarmac is the size of a 50p coin.

Dashboard

There’s not much info on the dashboard. I don’t have a speedometer but I have gear info, RPM, lap times and temperature. You only get one chance each lap to look at it.

Helmet

Your helmet is the only way to identify yourself. I’ve worked with an artist for several years and have gone through about 20 designs – I don’t plan on changing it any time soon.

Brake discs

There’s 1,000-degree heat in carbon brake discs, and they’re 340mm thick. When you’re two feet away from someone else who’s also doing 360kph, you need to know you can stop. A standard brake disc would be destroyed in less than one lap.

Leathers

There’s only 4mm of leather that separates my skin from the tarmac, yet I slide along at 100mph and can get back up relatively unscathed.

Seat

I’m actually only sitting on a straight, which at most tracks is about 2% of the time. At Silverstone, where it’s so fast, it’s about 5% of the race – it’s definitely my favourite track.

Sensors

My bike has over 100 sensors, monitoring everything from throttle to brake pressures.

From the September 2014 issue of FHM India.