Did Stewart kill the current YZ450f?

FARANG
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FARANG 8/27/2012 8:12am
8/27/2012 8:12am
Stewarts crashing on the Yam hurt the image of the bike no doubt, especially when he laid a lot of the blame for the crashes on the bike (more directly after he left) rather than himself. 'Big' James criticized the Kawi when they moved to Yamaha as well but that was largely ignored at the time.

To put it in perspective, since he chose to ride his favourite bike - the Suzuki, his number of crashes is around 40% of the number of motos he has started. In his last 2 motos he crashed 3 times. His injuries on the Suzuki this season are a badly damaged wrist and a broken finger. He is not even close in the seasons points standing due to crashes. He cannot finish the season due to injury. On his personal choice of bike.
lumpy790
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lumpy790 8/27/2012 8:15am
8/27/2012 8:15am
Yamahas black eye healed as soon as JS7 crashed the same way on the Suzuki.... rider not the bike.
kongols
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kongols 8/27/2012 8:17am
8/27/2012 8:17am Edited Date/Time 8/27/2012 8:19am
There is nothing like a good fishing thread in a morning. Two similar threads started in two forums at the same time. Coincidence? You betcha!
burn1986
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burn1986 8/27/2012 9:19am
8/27/2012 9:19am
Not completely. Before Stewart, there wasn't a problem with it. After Stewart, there was a problem with the image of the bike.

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peelout
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peelout 8/27/2012 9:38am
8/27/2012 9:38am
you guys seem to be forgetting the crashes he suffered on the 2006 KXF 450, the 2004 and 2005 KX 250, the 2009 YZF 450...

blame the bike all you want
YamaRyder29
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YamaRyder29 8/27/2012 9:39am
8/27/2012 9:39am
burn1986 wrote:
Not completely. Before Stewart, there wasn't a problem with it. After Stewart, there was a problem with the image of the bike.
I agree. I know many people who ride the new yz450f and they all love it. I think stewarts crash after crash on the yamaha definitly hurt its image. Stewart blamed his crashes on the yamaha, but besides his first two races on the suzuki, he has done nothing but crash.
Maybe its time people realize Stewart is gonna crash on every bike he rides, no matter what brand it is. Yeah, he's fast, but he just makes stupid mistakes that bite him in the butt everytime.
lumpy790
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lumpy790 8/27/2012 9:57am
8/27/2012 9:57am
dam photographers have plagued JS7 his whole career
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dehner47 8/27/2012 9:59am
8/27/2012 9:59am
peelout wrote:
you guys seem to be forgetting the crashes he suffered on the 2006 KXF 450, the 2004 and 2005 KX 250, the 2009 YZF 450... blame...
you guys seem to be forgetting the crashes he suffered on the 2006 KXF 450, the 2004 and 2005 KX 250, the 2009 YZF 450...

blame the bike all you want
exactly. and also coming off the couch and trying to win races, mid way threw season, doesnt help much either!!
gsxrcr28
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gsxrcr28 8/27/2012 10:09am
8/27/2012 10:09am
Yep.

The dude has crashed on every bike he has ridden, but he also showed that the bike is capable of winning Supercross races against the best in the world. You would think that would help the bikes image.
Crisp BRAAAP! 8/27/2012 10:14am
8/27/2012 10:14am
Crisp BRAAAP! wrote:
Lots of other very experienced pros don't like it either. Stewart was just the icing on the cake.
S.Loyer wrote:
I know a few who love it.
I don't doubt that: I said "lots" not "everyone". But when listening to Matthes' reporting, it's hard to ignore how many seem to dislike it. When Tim Ferry was working for Stewart, he didn't like it and he was a Yamaha factory rider for a while. They certainly don't seem to be lining up to take the JGR ride despite the notion that a huge pile of gold comes along with it. Deano basically said as much during the interviews while discussing why he decided not to go there.

The flip side of it is that, of the guys who are OK with it, I haven't heard anyone that strongly endorses it and says its the best bike out there. Only that it's a good bike. Maybe I've missed someone but that just what I can remember hearing. Again: not going to say everyone, but there does seem to be this trend in the pro pits.
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peelout 8/27/2012 10:47am
8/27/2012 10:47am
gsxrcr28 wrote:
Yep. The dude has crashed on every bike he has ridden, but he also showed that the bike is capable of winning Supercross races against the...
Yep.

The dude has crashed on every bike he has ridden, but he also showed that the bike is capable of winning Supercross races against the best in the world. You would think that would help the bikes image.
good point

more often than not he was still the fastest out there, even on this "underperforming turd" bike.
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rikhek 8/27/2012 11:14am
8/27/2012 11:14am
neverwasfastenuf wrote:
Don't know if he killed it or not, but it about killed him.
That's some funny shit. Had an actual LOL moment when I read it.
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Moto_Geek 8/27/2012 11:18am
8/27/2012 11:18am Edited Date/Time 8/27/2012 11:19am
JS7's bike was far from a yz450 stock specs wish work for most riding conditions. To compare a tailored factory yz to the one on the showroom floor are completely different bikes. The stock bike is way better then what JS7 was riding. Care to argue that?
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GuyB 8/27/2012 11:27am
8/27/2012 11:27am
onenastynotch wrote:
pourcel said the bike was terrible and dv said the same thing ..said it was impossible to set up corrctly
Pourcel said it was terrible, yet signed up to ride it when he had other options (including Hondas) available. That sounds like bad career choice.

Kyle Regal stepped off the JGR Yamaha, and now rides one for Merge Racing.
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GuyB 8/27/2012 11:29am
8/27/2012 11:29am
lumpy790 wrote:
dam photographers have plagued JS7 his whole career
I think you typed photographers when you meant to say gravity. Smile
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Braaap14 8/27/2012 11:29am
8/27/2012 11:29am
Bike sucks ive been on one at red bud. Went right nack to a trusty 11' crf after.


You cant blame the machine as it doesnt crash itself, but it surely puts you in situations to crash easily with the bikes balance lack of nuetraluty and front end feel. More weight and " planted " riding helps but moving around alot amd using your body seperatley from the bike dosconnects it from the track.


People just look for reasons to hate on james.....
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GuyB 8/27/2012 11:32am
8/27/2012 11:32am
FARANG wrote:
Stewarts crashing on the Yam hurt the image of the bike no doubt, especially when he laid a lot of the blame for the crashes on...
Stewarts crashing on the Yam hurt the image of the bike no doubt, especially when he laid a lot of the blame for the crashes on the bike (more directly after he left) rather than himself. 'Big' James criticized the Kawi when they moved to Yamaha as well but that was largely ignored at the time.

To put it in perspective, since he chose to ride his favourite bike - the Suzuki, his number of crashes is around 40% of the number of motos he has started. In his last 2 motos he crashed 3 times. His injuries on the Suzuki this season are a badly damaged wrist and a broken finger. He is not even close in the seasons points standing due to crashes. He cannot finish the season due to injury. On his personal choice of bike.
I talked with Big James at Unadilla after the first moto. He mentioned that Dunlop needed to work on their front tire, and that the track needed maintenance.
Tyrell
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Tyrell 8/27/2012 12:18pm
8/27/2012 12:18pm
FARANG wrote:
Stewarts crashing on the Yam hurt the image of the bike no doubt, especially when he laid a lot of the blame for the crashes on...
Stewarts crashing on the Yam hurt the image of the bike no doubt, especially when he laid a lot of the blame for the crashes on the bike (more directly after he left) rather than himself. 'Big' James criticized the Kawi when they moved to Yamaha as well but that was largely ignored at the time.

To put it in perspective, since he chose to ride his favourite bike - the Suzuki, his number of crashes is around 40% of the number of motos he has started. In his last 2 motos he crashed 3 times. His injuries on the Suzuki this season are a badly damaged wrist and a broken finger. He is not even close in the seasons points standing due to crashes. He cannot finish the season due to injury. On his personal choice of bike.
GuyB wrote:
I talked with Big James at Unadilla after the first moto. He mentioned that Dunlop needed to work on their front tire, and that the track...
I talked with Big James at Unadilla after the first moto. He mentioned that Dunlop needed to work on their front tire, and that the track needed maintenance.
Good job he's not going to Lommel then if they're worried about track maintenance #222 Braaaap!

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2thefront
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2thefront 8/27/2012 12:34pm
8/27/2012 12:34pm
TerryK wrote:
Davi Milsaps had some of the best races of his career on it.
And he loves it so much he's tried everything to get off it the last couple years.
JOHN CHOATE
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JOHN CHOATE 8/27/2012 1:10pm
8/27/2012 1:10pm
Wasn't it Matthes that said perception is worse than reality about the Yamaha? Dubach concurred when being interviewed by Matthes but Dubach does run an engine relocation kit in his and he told me at Loretta's that the couple of extra pounds that the kit puts on the front end makes a big difference.
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Xsenter 8/27/2012 2:16pm
8/27/2012 2:16pm
Kyle Chisholm and Bobby Kiniry have talked out open about liking the Yamaha .
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Skip376 8/27/2012 2:17pm
8/27/2012 2:17pm Edited Date/Time 8/27/2012 2:18pm
I remember a podcast where a test rider for one of the magazines said when you started adding HP to the thing it started to act strange.

I think the massive amount of riders talking ill of the bike had more to do with people thinking it's a bad bike more than Stewart crashing. Ex; Reed, Tedesco, Pourcel, Ferry, Pingree, Byrne, Hahn Jason Thomas Etc all have said negative things about the bike.
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Stompin 8/27/2012 2:31pm
8/27/2012 2:31pm
FARANG wrote:
Stewarts crashing on the Yam hurt the image of the bike no doubt, especially when he laid a lot of the blame for the crashes on...
Stewarts crashing on the Yam hurt the image of the bike no doubt, especially when he laid a lot of the blame for the crashes on the bike (more directly after he left) rather than himself. 'Big' James criticized the Kawi when they moved to Yamaha as well but that was largely ignored at the time.

To put it in perspective, since he chose to ride his favourite bike - the Suzuki, his number of crashes is around 40% of the number of motos he has started. In his last 2 motos he crashed 3 times. His injuries on the Suzuki this season are a badly damaged wrist and a broken finger. He is not even close in the seasons points standing due to crashes. He cannot finish the season due to injury. On his personal choice of bike.
GuyB wrote:
I talked with Big James at Unadilla after the first moto. He mentioned that Dunlop needed to work on their front tire, and that the track...
I talked with Big James at Unadilla after the first moto. He mentioned that Dunlop needed to work on their front tire, and that the track needed maintenance.
i think they blamed pirelli tires , when he was on yam
MX558
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MX558 8/27/2012 5:29pm
8/27/2012 5:29pm
No worries Stewie can crash the shit out of any bike made. I had one for one for a little while, good bike but I'm short so back on Red.
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machine 8/27/2012 6:37pm
8/27/2012 6:37pm
TerryK wrote:
Davi Milsaps had some of the best races of his career on it.
gsxrcr28 wrote:
But he actually won races on the Honda. Chad called it a turd and a lot of other stuff. Pourcel Ferry Pingree Byrne Hahn JT$ All...
But he actually won races on the Honda.

Chad called it a turd and a lot of other stuff.
Pourcel
Ferry
Pingree
Byrne
Hahn
JT$

All had negative things to say about the bike, and I'm sure they were not the only ones.

I like the bike and would own one, but it seems some of the top pros have issues with it.
Add Regal and Izzi to that list. Also Dubach didn't make an engine relocation kit for nothing.
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ky_savage 8/27/2012 6:43pm
8/27/2012 6:43pm
tblazier wrote:
That funky thing was DOA IMO
I agree! I can't get past the looks of it. Rode a friends and hated the intake noise.
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JOHN CHOATE 8/27/2012 6:50pm
8/27/2012 6:50pm
Dubach has used engine relocation kits as far back as '02(maybe even earlier). JGR has also used them for several years depending on rider preference. Again, I believe the perception is worse than reality like Matthes and Dubach stated. MXA has been vocal about Bubba's overly stiff fork settings being the culprit. Who knows??
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AS64 8/27/2012 6:51pm
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josh8811 8/27/2012 7:24pm
8/27/2012 7:24pm
My YZF is awesome...

Cheap
Reliable
Best factory forks
2nd lightest
power... who cares.. they are all fast
the air filter, although 6 WHOLE bolts to access, is by far the easiest filter EVER to clean

My 2011 has almost 100 hours on it.. Not a SINGLE issue..

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