Posts
8763
Joined
3/21/2007
Location
HAIKU, HI
US
Edited Date/Time
1/21/2015 3:24pm
Watching the 250 main two things stood out for me, the flowing style of Justin Hill and how much time Webb gained by his bike having better traction than the competition. So many factors go into getting that power to the ground better than the next person and the difference it makes is clear to see after the gate drops. I definitely vote A2 as the best track of the season...flat turns make for so much better racing than cookie cutter 180 SX turns.
Webbs' race was very impressive
Hill disappointed me a lot. I expected him to crush this championship. If he would not get starts or crashes a lot, okay I understand. But he is going BACKWARDS. He is too slow compared to Webb, Nelson, Bowers, etc. I really expected A LOT more ... He said he crashed before A1 but mwheh ...
The Shop
On the Star Yamahas subject I was at Glen Helen and witnessed Jeremy Martin getting three holeshots. Now after A2 it is obvious the new YZ250F engine under the massaging of Brad Hoffman and George Luttig at FMF coming up with the optimum exhaust the resulting packing is both one seriously powerful mofo as well as a very tractable combination. I was impressed at GH but am even more impressed now after seeing the power put down Saturday night on less than ideal conditions and seeing the difference it made in lap times.
Watching it online today the 250F Main reminded me of how slick Ascot would get on Friday nights after the marine layer rolled in. I would much rather see riders doing balancing acts on the bike to get the most traction on a flat turn than watching someone air out a 70 foot triple or someone pulling off a quad but hey I'm old.
EDIT Buzz in the pits at the GH Nationals after the 3 holeshots was the 250 Yamahas were 50hp motors. I can appreciate why Steve Lamson said at the MXdN Jeremy Martin's Euro spec bike (fuel and sound) was slower but was actually easier to ride per Jeremy.
The idea of a 125 two stroke class is a good one and implementation is long overdue. How about a stock 250F class with sealed motors? All you could do would be pipe and suspension.
Make the 250s the premier class and the big cost of engine dev goes to the premier teams, but it's nowhere near as much because half as many riders AND they've now only accommodating one four stroke engine package in production and racing development–the 250.
The regional class engine costs drop so the satellite teams, that already have to accommodate twice as many riders, have more budget to go around for, well everything. A healthier industry all around.
Amateurs moving up who aren't lucky enough to be on PC/Geico etc, are no longer priced out of having a competitive engine and forced to race a 65hp 450 before they're ready, we've seen that a lot recently...
125s as the first professional racing class would drop all development costs throughout the entire amateur racing arena, two strokes from 50cc-to pro for the teams and privateers alike.
Provides a better stepping stone through the classes and revitalises probably the greatest racing class in MX/SX history (Where's Newmann?)
The premier class bikes come back down to something more manageable, to similar horsepower levels to what was the norm in 2000s, away from the ridiculous nature of 65hp bikes on a sx track, a thinking that was dropped in the early 90s with the 500 class.
We already pretty much see that racing is almost always better in the 250 class because the 450 bikes are so damn fast no one pushes it, and the pros reiterate this time and time again.
Therefore the tracks can go back to being tighter, slower, safer, more technical, more interesting, than the high speed hit the deck shit we have now... No more 450s with so much power they can idle around the track and anything that extends them is far far far past the safety limits for the human body.
And to top it off there is a clear marketable difference for new fans between the thump thump thump of the big boy class and the zippy sound of the kid class...
One problem with the tracks is that the builders have to use hard and slick dirt; otherwise, the 450s would tear it up after a couple heats.
The 450 class came about by accident and not by design. It was 125/250 two strokes from 1970 to 2000. They wanted four-strokes to be competitive so uh, 450cc should do it. It wasn't that veteran riders, manufacturers and promoters put any effort into making a decision.
Seriously though usually I get sick once or twice a year around this time, and its not nearly as bad as what it is this year.
Whatever is going around is the weirdest thing. Usually you can feel a cold or flu creeping up, but not this one. I showed up to work on Tuesday at 7AM feeling perfectly fine, no sniffles, no cough, nothing. I got up to grab some coffee, and I shit you not in the time it took me to leave my desk, walk to the break room ( 50 feet tops) and walk back, I thought I was going to die. My body was aching to the point I couldn't sit down, I couldn't look at my computer ( which is 99% of my job) and couldn't even talk. I didn't tell my bosses I was leaving, just made a B line for the car and was at home for the next few days not able to move off the couch.
So once again, if Hill has it, hes a baaaaaad dude
I'd rather see 10 more Stewy vs WADA threads than read shit like that?
125s were the best thing ever. Slower, yep, but way more entertaining....
Are you 12
Pit Row
Post a reply to: Webb's YZ250F was hooking UP!