Street bike racing...

purpleNurple
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purpleNurple
Edited Date/Time 1/23/2012 9:12pm
I just watched the AMA superbike race at Infineon and I cant help but think how sad the racing has become in all street bike racing. Who honestly thought that Traction Control and all the sensors would make good racing? Its sad when you can watch the riders crank the throttle and hear nothing but the bike back fire because of Traction Control or lean angle sensors.

I feel like the real race is to see who can set up the electronics the best so their jockey can ride their computer controlled bike around.

I miss the days where the rider made the biggest difference.

Thought?
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Mr. G
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Mr. G 5/15/2011 2:36am
5/15/2011 2:36am
Could not agree more. They should ban all electronic aides as it just tightens up the field artificially. They could even go back to carbs for that matter. It would show who the real "greats" are. By the way this is no slant on the non-greats as anyone that races at that level is pretty great.
unknownmxr 5/15/2011 6:34am
5/15/2011 6:34am
The fundamental problem is that over the last 20 years, superbikes and motogp bikes have become indistinguishable, at least to most fans. Recent economic pressures have forced dorna to allow street based engines in motogp (see Cycleworld). It is easy to imagine big name manufacturers balking at the cost of both gp and wsb teams, competing series with bikes that are 99% the same.
Another point is the lack of grass roots support in roadracing. The two stroke/fourstroke debate is new to motox, but this happened in roadracing back in the 80s. The tz350 was a 2 stroke twin that could be run out of the back of a van. Its replacement is the 600 4 cyl. If you think rebuilding a 250f is costly, try it with 4x as many cylinders.
The AMA pulled a major brain fart when they rejected the moto450 concept (450 mx bikes converted to roadracing). They chose the xr1200 series instead (roll eyes here). I think the real issue is the roadracing does not make as good TV as s/x anyway.
yzthumpa
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yzthumpa 5/15/2011 7:11am
5/15/2011 7:11am
I follow MotoGP closely - every race I'm checking the practice session times, qualifying, watching the races, then reading the rider quotes afterwards. All you hear is excuses about bike setup. Not that it isn't critical, but I just get tired of hearing it - especially if their teammate finished 10 spots higher on the same bike with basically the same resources at his disposal to arrive at his setup. What I do like is hearing guys like Nicky Hayden bitching about electronics and how it is ruining the sport. I hope bringing back the 1000's next season puts the fate of the racing back in the throttle hand of the riders, but if they don't cut back on the electronics I'm not so sure it will be any different. I have no problem with electronics used to collect data for bike setup, but traction control should come from the wrist. It also sucks when one manufacturer puts all the pieces together and produces a dominant bike. Honda is dashing all my hopes and dreams in MotoGP this season, lol.
purpleNurple
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purpleNurple 5/15/2011 12:13pm
5/15/2011 12:13pm
the dumbest quote I have ever heard was this year from Casey Stoner. He said something to the effect that the electronics were making the sports safer. I dont see how that is even remotely possible, the electronics are allowing for far greater corner speed and if you do loose grip with the tire the high sides still happen. I personally think Motogp is the most boring of them all, I would say WSBK is ok but still not that great. I think its cool to see guys like Hayden and Rossi hoping the electronics go away. Personally I think a lot of the top guys right now wouldn't be the top guys without the electronics, you would see guys like Collin Edwards make a return to the top again.

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BUTCH
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BUTCH 5/15/2011 12:18pm
5/15/2011 12:18pm
I think you guys are nit pickers.
Void Main
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Void Main 5/15/2011 12:24pm
5/15/2011 12:24pm
I think they should go back to 2-srokes.
purpleNurple
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purpleNurple 5/15/2011 3:10pm
5/15/2011 3:10pm
BUTCH wrote:
I think you guys are nit pickers.
Funny you say that with a icon picture of a dirt tracker using his hand for throttle control! hahah
BUTCH
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BUTCH 5/15/2011 4:07pm
5/15/2011 4:07pm
BUTCH wrote:
I think you guys are nit pickers.
purpleNurple wrote:
Funny you say that with a icon picture of a dirt tracker using his hand for throttle control! hahah
You're right the road races have nothing to do with it. They just sit on the bike, they have no throttle, it's all done from the pits!Laughing
purpleNurple
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purpleNurple 5/15/2011 4:18pm
5/15/2011 4:18pm Edited Date/Time 5/15/2011 4:18pm
BUTCH wrote:
I think you guys are nit pickers.
purpleNurple wrote:
Funny you say that with a icon picture of a dirt tracker using his hand for throttle control! hahah
BUTCH wrote:
You're right the road races have nothing to do with it. They just sit on the bike, they have no throttle, it's all done from the...
You're right the road races have nothing to do with it. They just sit on the bike, they have no throttle, it's all done from the pits!Laughing
They truly have nothing on these guys

These guys had balls of steel!!
BUTCH
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BUTCH 5/15/2011 4:52pm
5/15/2011 4:52pm
purpleNurple wrote:
Funny you say that with a icon picture of a dirt tracker using his hand for throttle control! hahah
BUTCH wrote:
You're right the road races have nothing to do with it. They just sit on the bike, they have no throttle, it's all done from the...
You're right the road races have nothing to do with it. They just sit on the bike, they have no throttle, it's all done from the pits!Laughing
purpleNurple wrote:
They truly have nothing on these guys

These guys had balls of steel!!
I agree! IMO Kenny Roberts is the greatest motorcycle racer that has ever lived, would have been a champion in any form on 2 wheels. Thanks for calling me an Icon btw! Laughing
txmxer
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txmxer 5/15/2011 5:49pm
5/15/2011 5:49pm
BUTCH wrote:
I think you guys are nit pickers.
purpleNurple wrote:
Funny you say that with a icon picture of a dirt tracker using his hand for throttle control! hahah
I'm guessing that icon is good ole Butch himself from many, many, many, many, many years ago. Must have been right after the switch from square wheels.
txmxer
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txmxer 5/15/2011 5:52pm
5/15/2011 5:52pm
BUTCH wrote:
I agree! IMO Kenny Roberts is the greatest motorcycle racer that has ever lived, would have been a champion in any form on 2 wheels. Thanks...
I agree! IMO Kenny Roberts is the greatest motorcycle racer that has ever lived, would have been a champion in any form on 2 wheels. Thanks for calling me an Icon btw! Laughing
that is a killer pic. That's a beast of a scooter...levers look like crow bars.
Void Main
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Void Main 5/15/2011 5:53pm
5/15/2011 5:53pm Edited Date/Time 5/15/2011 5:55pm
I think that's actually the square wheel model in the picture. Smile
BUTCH
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BUTCH 5/15/2011 6:07pm
5/15/2011 6:07pm
It's a Triumph 750! It was the first year they came with circular wheels!Laughing
unknownmxr 5/15/2011 6:30pm
5/15/2011 6:30pm
Nascar faces declining interest due to young people unable to give up bbm. In a decision that can only be called spasmodic they are switching to fuel injection and ethanol. Presumably there will be a spec black box. Electronics for street vehicles are now so sensitive that the computer can tell which cylinder is weak by the lower angular acceleration at the crank.
Another issue is that fuel injection operates at much higher pressure than carbureted systems. What happens when the fuel line breaks and starts pumping fuel at 40 psi? There is also the problem of tank pressurization with alcohol. The aluminum fuel tanks will be more prone to rupture.
Granted indy uses alcohol, but it is straight methanol with no gasoline.
yzthumpa
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yzthumpa 5/15/2011 9:12pm
5/15/2011 9:12pm
purpleNurple wrote:
Funny you say that with a icon picture of a dirt tracker using his hand for throttle control! hahah
BUTCH wrote:
You're right the road races have nothing to do with it. They just sit on the bike, they have no throttle, it's all done from the...
You're right the road races have nothing to do with it. They just sit on the bike, they have no throttle, it's all done from the pits!Laughing
purpleNurple wrote:
They truly have nothing on these guys

These guys had balls of steel!!
Those guys don't know what they're doing - not one of them took his foot off the peg and stuck his leg out before setting up for the turn, lol.
STICKMAN
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STICKMAN 5/16/2011 1:54am
5/16/2011 1:54am
Get rid all the electronics and Rossi will wipe the floor with all the young-en's.
tunedlength
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tunedlength 5/16/2011 7:59pm
5/16/2011 7:59pm
purpleNurple wrote:
Funny you say that with a icon picture of a dirt tracker using his hand for throttle control! hahah
BUTCH wrote:
You're right the road races have nothing to do with it. They just sit on the bike, they have no throttle, it's all done from the...
You're right the road races have nothing to do with it. They just sit on the bike, they have no throttle, it's all done from the pits!Laughing
purpleNurple wrote:
They truly have nothing on these guys

These guys had balls of steel!!
Lot of show boating going on there.
They had an agreement to play race until the last two laps or so.

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Void Main
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Void Main 5/16/2011 11:54pm
5/16/2011 11:54pm
tunedlength wrote:
Lot of show boating going on there.
They had an agreement to play race until the last two laps or so.
That's what I was thinking. There's no way they're getting maximum acceleration with the front wheel that high off the ground.
skidsteer16
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skidsteer16 5/17/2011 2:10am
5/17/2011 2:10am
tunedlength wrote:
Lot of show boating going on there.
They had an agreement to play race until the last two laps or so.
No crap!

Maybe it's a generational thing but I'll take 60+ degree lean angles over that circus any day.


I do hope they start to restrict the electronics in motoGP though...
johnnyg
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johnnyg 5/17/2011 9:22am
5/17/2011 9:22am
I dont think Josh Hayes usses TC. Know for sure he didnt last year.
unknownmxr 5/17/2011 11:25am
5/17/2011 11:25am
The crystal ball...ooeeeoo.... My guess is that Superbike and Motogp are heading into a Indy/CART type showdown in a few short years. Look at it from the manufacturers point of view. They are paying huge dollars for teams in wsb and motogp, which are competing series. The bikes are 99% identical anyway. The supposed street versions are unsellable unless the speed limit is raised to 200 mph. Furthermore, it's difficult to make money when the customer kills himself before the bike is paid off.
JPT
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JPT 5/17/2011 2:28pm
5/17/2011 2:28pm
The title of this thread is misleading. Those are not street bikes.

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