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1) It's not the bike
In the GPs, Frossard is doing quite well with the "POS" Yamaha. He managed to get 2nd last year, won multiple GPs and scored a lot of podiums. In the US, Millsaps is doing quite nice with the Yamaha. I agree there are many people who are out (Reed, Dungey, Canard, ...) but he is still "the best of the rest" ... And remember daytona? 1-2 for the yamaha boys ...
2) It's not the combination Stewart and Yamaha
The guy won many heat races (I think 7 or 8) and also 2 main events! In the heat races, he has great speed and doesn't make a lot of mistakes. His laptime is also really good ...
However if the main event begins, he rides crap! When did he managed to get a really great start? And that's not the bike because Millsaps had a lot of great starts. He's too slow of the gate and then he starts to make stupid mistakes. He has nowhere near the speed he had in the heat races. Compare the heat race and main event from Houston. Heat race, he rides agressivly, confident and fast. In the main event he is slow, make tons of mistakes, etc.
I wish Yamaha would make the 450 more in styling, ergonomics, and frame geometry to its 250 - which has the attributes the 450 lacks. I remember this with Suzuki way back in 92. The RM125 was so cool, but the 250 just didn't have that bling. Same thing. And James, like Reed with the Kawasaki, isn't inspired when he looks down at the front fender.
Like all sports, it's mental. And these details matter more than "we tough guys" (said in a low voice) want to admit. color matters. gear matters. how clean things look matters. everything matters.
the bike is the issue.
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What's funny is that Yamaha has had a reverse engine EFI 250f ready to roll out but thankfully that go scrapped.
Will people stop defending the Yamaha already. None of the pro's like it. And so what if Frossard does decent on it, he's racing the GP's. Where a 3rd is as good as an AMA 9th. Plenty of Yamaha 450's have placed in the AMA top 10 (aka GP podium). We're not talking about top 10's, we are talking about the ELITE guys, the FAB 5 so to speak. Those guys need the best equipment and James is just not on equipment even close to the level of his contemporaries.
How many years did it take for Honda to dump twin pipes on their 250F?
Thanks Josh !
I just bought one and to be honest I couldn't care less who rides what as far as pros go, it doesn't effect my buying decisions in anyway.
I care about 1) Reliability 2 ) The ability to set it up for me without spending $$$$'s 3) A fair price for the bike & the same for parts 4) Healthy resale.
That bike hit each mark for me personally.
BTW, trifilar pendulum (or any other rigid body analysis, for that matter) isn't what guys at JGR, Yamaha, or any other team or mfg combination you can come up with is using. Why don't we use carrier pidgeons to communicate anymore?
Manufacturers need to build a bike that only works for one rider in the world?
How's that going to help help sell them to the rest of the racing population?
Way back when, there were a lot of critics when Yamaha debuted the monoshock.
Who won that argument?
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Okay, people think its ugly. I'll bet just as many think it looks great. I think it's a great looking bike, and I own a Honda.
Perceive it as "doesn't work". Who? Just as many think it DOES work. Just because Stewart isnt winning? I doubt he has what it takes to run with RV no matter WHAT colour bike he's riding.
I believe his time has come and gone. That's why I called you on it.
Butthurt? Lmao Cmon. You don't actually BELIEVE that do you? Oh and BTW, you still owe me breakfast at Chandler. Next spring Pal. Coming to HoonFest. If you still rode a real bike with a REAL motor, you'd know what I'm talking about. Lol
Like I said, some love the bikes, but some just can't deal with the turning traits of the YZ,
@ Jabroni, any more info on what is in development at the moment, and which particular department you work for with Yamaha ??
I don't think they are the best bike out there, but they are nice.
Explain gautier paulins moto win at the motocross des nations last year on the new generation yzf 450?
Its not the bike thats the problem- millsaps does well on the yam (in the ama) frossard has had alot of success on it in gps (you say that a 3rd in gps is equivalent to a 9th in ama- so how do you explain clement desalles results in the ama outdoor series? finishing on the podium in 3 out of 4 motos?- surely if the ama series is so far superior, clement would win every gp by miles if he can get a 2nd overall in the ama series, on a borrowed bike! its not the case though is it?)
Put james on a honda, suzuki, kawasaki, ktm, maico whatever bike you want- he will still be crashing! he's always been a crasher. In my opinion there are a few problems james is having (none bike related) :-
1) He's used to being top dog- all the way through his career, everyone has told him he is 'the fastest man on the planet' - i think the main problem with james now is mental. He cant handle the pressure of other riders being as fast, or faster than him- look at when he was battling with RC, put James under pressure and he can't handle it. Reed is the complete opposite of this, one of his main strengths is that he doesnt tend to crack under the pressure.
2) bubba's world etc- james isnt as committed to the sport as he used to be- RV, dungey and reed are!
3) as above- RV, dungey and reed have stepped it up over the last 2 years
4) no outdoors- not racing doesn NOT help you when the competition is racing.
As far as stewarts problems go, i think his main issue is the mental thing- ie not being able to handle RV becoming 'top dog' (or maybe more to the point, him finally realising he is not 'the fastest man on the planet') - then there's the issues with not doing outdoors, bubba's world, the fans turning against him etc
If he was to do one supercross round (now he's out of the points chase) on a yz 250 2 stroke, then race the outdoors, it would win him alot of fans back. The annual- 'i'm racing outdoors for the fans' then sudden U turn at the last minute is getting old too, i'm sure i'm not the only one that thinks this?
You have to mention stewart and his problems on a thread that is titled 'when will yamaha admit failure and go back' when its only James who has had any real issues with the bike (arguably pourcel too) but if the bike was THAT bad, then they wouldnt be getting any results on it, anywhere- and frossard is flying on the yam (so was paulin at last years des nations) and milsaps is doing pretty well too!
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