Four-cylinder and three-cylinder machines competing in the 2002 Superbike World Championship will be given minimum weight breaks to make them more competitive with the V-Twins that dominate the series.

The Superbike Commission–which includes Claude Danis of the FIM, Paolo Alberto Flammini of SBK International, Takanao Tsubouchi of the MSMA and team representative Giulio Bardi–has set the rules, effective January 1, 2002, as follows:

Minimum Weights
750cc 4-cylinder, 159 kilograms (350.5 pounds)

900cc 3-cylinder, 162 kilograms (357.1 pounds)

1000cc 2-cylinder, 164 kilograms (361.6 pounds)

Ironically, Twins were originally allowed more displacement and a lower minimum weight early in the history of the Superbike World Championship, to make them more competitive with the then-dominant four-cylinder machines. But times have changed…