Imagine a motorbike that becomes stuck on the slightest hint of a sidewalk curb because the ground clearance is nearly non-existent. It is impossible to turn to the right because then the footpeg would touch the ground. The smallest speed bump causes pain because the rear wheel has no suspension. There are no brakes and no gearbox. A rather worthless two-wheeler, don’t you think?

But the motorbike in question is a speedway motorbike – a piece of extreme competition equipment for use in speedway racing. It needs only two seconds to accelerate to more than 60 miles an hour. At full acceleration, the single cylinder turns 12,000 rpm and develops a violent energy when the piston, connecting rod, bolt and bearings set the two balance discs in the crankcase in motion. Their weight totals more than 10 kilograms (22 pounds), and the piston travels at 105 to 112 feet per second at full acceleration. Formula One cars might be powerful, but their pistons manage only 82 feet in the same time.

The race itself is straightforward: Four riders start simultaneously, and the first past the finish line after four laps wins.

Speedway emerged as a sport in Australia at the beginning of the 1920s and was imported to the United Kingdom a few years later. Restrictions were imposed early on to dampen the wild speed and reduce the risk of accidents. In 1929, when the first competition series began, all but single-cylinder 500cc engines were prohibited. The mixing of nitromethane or any other explosive additive with the fuel was banned in 1966. In 1978, twin carburetors were banned, while the stud height and the width of the rear tire were reduced in 1981. This has been the trend through the years, but new track records are constantly being set, nonetheless.

In modern speedway racing, engine tuning is almost exclusively about reducing friction. Experiments are being conducted with oils, lighter materials and a more efficient air-compression system. Last, but not least, extensive work is under way on the various bearings in the motorbike, from the wheel hub to the engine coupling.

In 2005, Swede Tony Rickardsson was hailed as world champion in speedway for the sixth time, equalling the world record set by the legendary Ivan Mauger from New Zealand in the 1960s and 1970s. Rickardsson’s bike is cared for by a little-known, small workshop in Orsa, in the Swedish province of Dalarna, where the Vasatech company is based. It is equipped with SKF hybrid bearings (rings of bearing steel and balls of bearing grade silicon nitride).

Rickardsson has announced that 2006 will be his final speedway season. Rickardsson and his team now need to minimize friction so that he can stand out as the only seven-time world champion at the end of the year.