James Stewart's Suspension Guy Sergio

tbanks
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tbanks
Edited Date/Time 1/27/2012 3:31pm
Good read here IMO about how much goes into setting up James's bike.

http://www.racerxonline.com/2011/09/28/insight-sergio-avanto
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WR5
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WR5 9/28/2011 2:25pm
9/28/2011 2:25pm
Interesting! It was the bike the real problem.
72kiteboarder
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72kiteboarder 9/28/2011 2:42pm
9/28/2011 2:42pm
Wow, that was a good read.
tbanks
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tbanks 9/28/2011 2:59pm
9/28/2011 2:59pm
He seems to have blamed himself for a lot of James' troubles this SX season. I know some of the blame goes to James as well, but he seems honest about it.
neverwas 9/28/2011 3:01pm
9/28/2011 3:01pm
One of the more interesting interviews Iv'e read.

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P
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P 9/28/2011 3:01pm
9/28/2011 3:01pm
Good info. He seems like a good guy and a "can do" kind of guy.


P
montana262 9/28/2011 3:09pm
9/28/2011 3:09pm
Very good read!
TriRacer27 9/28/2011 3:17pm
9/28/2011 3:17pm
Is he the guy that James personally hired?
mxrider225
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mxrider225 9/28/2011 3:19pm
9/28/2011 3:19pm
TriRacer27 wrote:
Is he the guy that James personally hired?
Yep, it says in the article.
motosmith
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motosmith 9/28/2011 3:23pm
9/28/2011 3:23pm
Now that's what I'm talking about. We need more interviews like that. Awesome.
Sondy132001
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Sondy132001 9/28/2011 3:29pm
9/28/2011 3:29pm
He no longer works for him correct ?

S
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motomike137 9/28/2011 3:31pm
9/28/2011 3:31pm
Was interesting for sure but WR5 I don't see where the bike was named as the culprit. I still believe that James just has never got it in his mind that he has to "race" these guys lap after lap for the complete season. When you see things like what happened at Daytona it says to me that he still thinks he can "check out" on the competition but IMHO they have caught up to him and are more consistent. Bottom line is that I think he would have had the same issues on any bike. With these things said know that I am no James hater... quite the opposite really as I love watching the guy push the envelope and I hope that he has a great season in 2012.
petie11o5
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petie11o5 9/28/2011 3:33pm
9/28/2011 3:33pm
Sondy132001 wrote:
He no longer works for him correct ?

S
In the article it sounded like Sergio is still working for Stewart.
machine
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machine 9/28/2011 3:35pm
9/28/2011 3:35pm
"The conversations that we were having in the truck, and let’s face it, everyone was having in the paddock and on the message boards, was that we were the fastest in practice—by a lot—and it wasn’t translating into main event wins. He’s killing them in the heat races, jumping things that others couldn’t do and put yourself in my shoes. You’re sitting there in truck and the evidence is mounting up that something’s wrong but he’s fastest in practice and winning heat races."

This is total BS, yes he won some heat races, but to say he was the fastest "BY A LOT" is a crock of shit. At the beginning of the season he was fastest by a little, not a lot. Then after about the 3rd or 4th round, many times, the other riders (RD and RV) were qualifying faster than him.

Also, to say that the other riders couldn't jump the stuff he was doing is crazy. They were just smart by not taking unnecessary risk to potentially throw it all away.

Which plan worked out the best?
Sondy132001
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Sondy132001 9/28/2011 3:49pm
9/28/2011 3:49pm
Sondy132001 wrote:
He no longer works for him correct ?

S
petie11o5 wrote:
In the article it sounded like Sergio is still working for Stewart.
I guess we will all find out when Anaheim 1 happens Woohoo

S
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WR5 9/28/2011 3:55pm
9/28/2011 3:55pm
motomike137 wrote:
Was interesting for sure but WR5 I don't see where the bike was named as the culprit. I still believe that James just has never got...
Was interesting for sure but WR5 I don't see where the bike was named as the culprit. I still believe that James just has never got it in his mind that he has to "race" these guys lap after lap for the complete season. When you see things like what happened at Daytona it says to me that he still thinks he can "check out" on the competition but IMHO they have caught up to him and are more consistent. Bottom line is that I think he would have had the same issues on any bike. With these things said know that I am no James hater... quite the opposite really as I love watching the guy push the envelope and I hope that he has a great season in 2012.
We didn’t win the championship and that’s what I was brought in to do. I can only say that it was a complete failure, a professional failure on my part to not be able to get the motorcycle to do what he wanted it to.

Do you think is his falut that James feel unconfortable on the bike? Or is he hiding someting?
im not a James fan and recognize that RV, CR, RD and Canard are very fast too, but when u talk about settup, fork, chassis and damping, what is he talking about? I think is about a YZ450F, or not?
DTMteknik
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DTMteknik 9/28/2011 3:59pm
9/28/2011 3:59pm Edited Date/Time 9/28/2011 4:00pm
machine wrote:
[b]"The conversations that we were having in the truck, and let’s face it, everyone was having in the paddock and on the message boards, was that...
"The conversations that we were having in the truck, and let’s face it, everyone was having in the paddock and on the message boards, was that we were the fastest in practice—by a lot—and it wasn’t translating into main event wins. He’s killing them in the heat races, jumping things that others couldn’t do and put yourself in my shoes. You’re sitting there in truck and the evidence is mounting up that something’s wrong but he’s fastest in practice and winning heat races."

This is total BS, yes he won some heat races, but to say he was the fastest "BY A LOT" is a crock of shit. At the beginning of the season he was fastest by a little, not a lot. Then after about the 3rd or 4th round, many times, the other riders (RD and RV) were qualifying faster than him.

Also, to say that the other riders couldn't jump the stuff he was doing is crazy. They were just smart by not taking unnecessary risk to potentially throw it all away.

Which plan worked out the best?
Look at the 'Sign of the lap times' articles posted after each SX event. James was not the fastest at all of the events. In fact, he was only fastest at about half of them. Not sure why people still think he was killing everyone when it came to lap times last year, because he didn't. He wasn't the fastest guy on the track all the time and he came in 4th in the championship, facts are facts.
Titan1
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Titan1 9/28/2011 4:01pm
9/28/2011 4:01pm
That was a great interview...I learned so much.
petie11o5
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petie11o5 9/28/2011 4:03pm
9/28/2011 4:03pm
motomike137 wrote:
Was interesting for sure but WR5 I don't see where the bike was named as the culprit. I still believe that James just has never got...
Was interesting for sure but WR5 I don't see where the bike was named as the culprit. I still believe that James just has never got it in his mind that he has to "race" these guys lap after lap for the complete season. When you see things like what happened at Daytona it says to me that he still thinks he can "check out" on the competition but IMHO they have caught up to him and are more consistent. Bottom line is that I think he would have had the same issues on any bike. With these things said know that I am no James hater... quite the opposite really as I love watching the guy push the envelope and I hope that he has a great season in 2012.
Did you watch Daytona lol? James checked out within the first few laps. He knows he has to race them...when they can keep up.

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motomike137
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motomike137 9/28/2011 4:05pm
9/28/2011 4:05pm
motomike137 wrote:
Was interesting for sure but WR5 I don't see where the bike was named as the culprit. I still believe that James just has never got...
Was interesting for sure but WR5 I don't see where the bike was named as the culprit. I still believe that James just has never got it in his mind that he has to "race" these guys lap after lap for the complete season. When you see things like what happened at Daytona it says to me that he still thinks he can "check out" on the competition but IMHO they have caught up to him and are more consistent. Bottom line is that I think he would have had the same issues on any bike. With these things said know that I am no James hater... quite the opposite really as I love watching the guy push the envelope and I hope that he has a great season in 2012.
WR5 wrote:
[b]We didn’t win the championship and that’s what I was brought in to do. I can only say that it was a complete failure, a professional...
We didn’t win the championship and that’s what I was brought in to do. I can only say that it was a complete failure, a professional failure on my part to not be able to get the motorcycle to do what he wanted it to.

Do you think is his falut that James feel unconfortable on the bike? Or is he hiding someting?
im not a James fan and recognize that RV, CR, RD and Canard are very fast too, but when u talk about settup, fork, chassis and damping, what is he talking about? I think is about a YZ450F, or not?
My statement is just my opinion based on what I observe and the feeling I get after watching these guys and the mindset they appear to be operating under. The Yamaha is different but not that different and yes maybe it could use improvement, I mean look at what happened when Villipoto got the 2012 frame for his bike. I just think that a lot of people want to call out the Yam as a roach and they think that another brand would magically make James dominant again. I think it has to be tough when you have been used to smoking the competition with relative ease (except for one red headed troublemaker...lol) and you wake up one day and you have to kick scratch and claw your way to wins for a whole season.
motomike137
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motomike137 9/28/2011 4:07pm
9/28/2011 4:07pm
motomike137 wrote:
Was interesting for sure but WR5 I don't see where the bike was named as the culprit. I still believe that James just has never got...
Was interesting for sure but WR5 I don't see where the bike was named as the culprit. I still believe that James just has never got it in his mind that he has to "race" these guys lap after lap for the complete season. When you see things like what happened at Daytona it says to me that he still thinks he can "check out" on the competition but IMHO they have caught up to him and are more consistent. Bottom line is that I think he would have had the same issues on any bike. With these things said know that I am no James hater... quite the opposite really as I love watching the guy push the envelope and I hope that he has a great season in 2012.
petie11o5 wrote:
Did you watch Daytona lol? James checked out within the first few laps. He knows he has to race them...when they can keep up.
And what happened while he was trying to ride that pace?
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gsxrcr28 9/28/2011 4:20pm
9/28/2011 4:20pm
motomike137 wrote:
Was interesting for sure but WR5 I don't see where the bike was named as the culprit. I still believe that James just has never got...
Was interesting for sure but WR5 I don't see where the bike was named as the culprit. I still believe that James just has never got it in his mind that he has to "race" these guys lap after lap for the complete season. When you see things like what happened at Daytona it says to me that he still thinks he can "check out" on the competition but IMHO they have caught up to him and are more consistent. Bottom line is that I think he would have had the same issues on any bike. With these things said know that I am no James hater... quite the opposite really as I love watching the guy push the envelope and I hope that he has a great season in 2012.
WR5 wrote:
[b]We didn’t win the championship and that’s what I was brought in to do. I can only say that it was a complete failure, a professional...
We didn’t win the championship and that’s what I was brought in to do. I can only say that it was a complete failure, a professional failure on my part to not be able to get the motorcycle to do what he wanted it to.

Do you think is his falut that James feel unconfortable on the bike? Or is he hiding someting?
im not a James fan and recognize that RV, CR, RD and Canard are very fast too, but when u talk about settup, fork, chassis and damping, what is he talking about? I think is about a YZ450F, or not?
In one of the podcast either by DMXS or Matthes RV said that Michael Byrne told him the bike is an "odd duck". Then RV asked the question, "how good can they make an odd duck work?"

Bailey talked about it on DMXS also that he thought the bike was contributing to his problems.

I don't think James has ever come out and said the bike sucks except that one day at Unadilla when they tried to race it outdoors. I think one of the issues he had with Yamaha is they either said or implied that they were going to give him factory support for at least the first 4 Nationals and then didn't.

So who knows? If he doesn't race the Monster Energy Cup and Chad, RD and Canard don't I think its going to hurt attendance and that's a bummer.
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DownSouth 9/28/2011 5:08pm
9/28/2011 5:08pm
I still can not grasp how if the bike/rider are fast in practice and winning the majority of the heat races, then how can it be that the bike is the problem when the rider can not make it happen in the main event?
P
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P 9/28/2011 5:08pm
9/28/2011 5:08pm
machine wrote:
[b]"The conversations that we were having in the truck, and let’s face it, everyone was having in the paddock and on the message boards, was that...
"The conversations that we were having in the truck, and let’s face it, everyone was having in the paddock and on the message boards, was that we were the fastest in practice—by a lot—and it wasn’t translating into main event wins. He’s killing them in the heat races, jumping things that others couldn’t do and put yourself in my shoes. You’re sitting there in truck and the evidence is mounting up that something’s wrong but he’s fastest in practice and winning heat races."

This is total BS, yes he won some heat races, but to say he was the fastest "BY A LOT" is a crock of shit. At the beginning of the season he was fastest by a little, not a lot. Then after about the 3rd or 4th round, many times, the other riders (RD and RV) were qualifying faster than him.

Also, to say that the other riders couldn't jump the stuff he was doing is crazy. They were just smart by not taking unnecessary risk to potentially throw it all away.

Which plan worked out the best?
Actually, you are incorrect on that second paragraph. Do you remember when RV tried the quad-quad and came up short so he said that he wasn't going to try it again? Also, no one jumped the wall jump at Daytona. James is known for his jumping skills, and you know that. When it comes to technical sections James usually has everyone else covered. Not that someone can't step up their game, but he is usually a level above the field in technical sections. That's just MHO.


P
machine
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machine 9/28/2011 5:15pm
9/28/2011 5:15pm
machine wrote:
[b]"The conversations that we were having in the truck, and let’s face it, everyone was having in the paddock and on the message boards, was that...
"The conversations that we were having in the truck, and let’s face it, everyone was having in the paddock and on the message boards, was that we were the fastest in practice—by a lot—and it wasn’t translating into main event wins. He’s killing them in the heat races, jumping things that others couldn’t do and put yourself in my shoes. You’re sitting there in truck and the evidence is mounting up that something’s wrong but he’s fastest in practice and winning heat races."

This is total BS, yes he won some heat races, but to say he was the fastest "BY A LOT" is a crock of shit. At the beginning of the season he was fastest by a little, not a lot. Then after about the 3rd or 4th round, many times, the other riders (RD and RV) were qualifying faster than him.

Also, to say that the other riders couldn't jump the stuff he was doing is crazy. They were just smart by not taking unnecessary risk to potentially throw it all away.

Which plan worked out the best?
P wrote:
Actually, you are incorrect on that second paragraph. Do you remember when RV tried the quad-quad and came up short so he said that he wasn't...
Actually, you are incorrect on that second paragraph. Do you remember when RV tried the quad-quad and came up short so he said that he wasn't going to try it again? Also, no one jumped the wall jump at Daytona. James is known for his jumping skills, and you know that. When it comes to technical sections James usually has everyone else covered. Not that someone can't step up their game, but he is usually a level above the field in technical sections. That's just MHO.


P
BS.......RV could have kept doing the quad jump, but elected not to because it was too scetchy. The wall jump at Daytona was doable by at least the top 5, but again it's risk vs reward.

So tell me, which plan works the best?

I'll give JS credit for taking the sport to a new level back in the day, much like MC and RC did in their respective time, but the competition has caught up to JS, he no longer has that advantage. It was proven last season, you just chose to ignore it.
P
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P 9/28/2011 5:16pm
9/28/2011 5:16pm
The fact is that James gave away the title this year. Was his bike the best on the track, maybe not, but he had a great chance to take control of the series and he blew it. The Yamaha was more than good enough.

That being said, I think that if he stays focused on the end goal for the series and not stuff like being taken out by Chad Reed or cracking under the pressure of RV not making a main he could easily win the title in 2011. Had he ridden the entire series like he started the series off he would have walked away with the title. That's just MHO.


P
petie11o5
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petie11o5 9/28/2011 5:16pm
9/28/2011 5:16pm
motomike137 wrote:
Was interesting for sure but WR5 I don't see where the bike was named as the culprit. I still believe that James just has never got...
Was interesting for sure but WR5 I don't see where the bike was named as the culprit. I still believe that James just has never got it in his mind that he has to "race" these guys lap after lap for the complete season. When you see things like what happened at Daytona it says to me that he still thinks he can "check out" on the competition but IMHO they have caught up to him and are more consistent. Bottom line is that I think he would have had the same issues on any bike. With these things said know that I am no James hater... quite the opposite really as I love watching the guy push the envelope and I hope that he has a great season in 2012.
petie11o5 wrote:
Did you watch Daytona lol? James checked out within the first few laps. He knows he has to race them...when they can keep up.
motomike137 wrote:
And what happened while he was trying to ride that pace?
Clearly, he was comfortable riding at that pace. He gapped the best riders and made it look effortless. One little mistake is what happened. Front end popped before that jump.
ATKpilot99
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ATKpilot99 9/28/2011 5:19pm
9/28/2011 5:19pm
I'm hoping when all the dust clears from this we see James on a Honda. That would be interesting to say the least.
machine
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machine 9/28/2011 5:20pm
9/28/2011 5:20pm
P wrote:
The fact is that James gave away the title this year. Was his bike the best on the track, maybe not, but he had a great...
The fact is that James gave away the title this year. Was his bike the best on the track, maybe not, but he had a great chance to take control of the series and he blew it. The Yamaha was more than good enough.

That being said, I think that if he stays focused on the end goal for the series and not stuff like being taken out by Chad Reed or cracking under the pressure of RV not making a main he could easily win the title in 2011. Had he ridden the entire series like he started the series off he would have walked away with the title. That's just MHO.


P
well, he's got another chance this season, so we'll see won't we?


btw- he blatantly took RV out during the season too, so don't get to hung up on the Reed incident.
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jmar 9/28/2011 5:20pm
9/28/2011 5:20pm
As I have said before. Ferry is one of the best test riders out there, and Stewart needs to hire him to help get the bike set up.
ns503
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ns503 9/28/2011 5:22pm
9/28/2011 5:22pm
From that other read, I thought the L&M team was intact - but they don't have their suspension guy anymore either?

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