Posts
70
Joined
2/4/2009
Location
Murphy, NC, USA
Edited Date/Time
2/10/2013 8:31pm
Andrew Short’s results are almost identical on a stock bike or a factory Honda. He has placed 6th in the last 2 races.
Could it be a huge marketing tool, to purposely race, a close to stock bike against the so-called factory bikes?
I think the story could be portrayed, as the underdog and receive a substantial amount of TV exposure.
I know when I line up against guys that drive up in the $100,000 set up and I only have the used bike and old pickup truck, that it makes me think for a few seconds, how my results would change if I had their set up.
With a rider announcing on TV that he is racing a bike off the show room floor and finishing in the top 10, I think the normal viewer can relate and therefore sell more motorcycles.
What is your opinion?
Could it be a huge marketing tool, to purposely race, a close to stock bike against the so-called factory bikes?
I think the story could be portrayed, as the underdog and receive a substantial amount of TV exposure.
I know when I line up against guys that drive up in the $100,000 set up and I only have the used bike and old pickup truck, that it makes me think for a few seconds, how my results would change if I had their set up.
With a rider announcing on TV that he is racing a bike off the show room floor and finishing in the top 10, I think the normal viewer can relate and therefore sell more motorcycles.
What is your opinion?
I just think it could be a marketing bonus for the manufactures. I think Short can do it on a bike straight off the showroom.
I’m just using Short as an example, I believe most of the top 20 can do this and it just needs to be advertised for the average viewer on TV.
The Shop
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$189.95 - $239.95
I just think, an advertised stock bike that makes the main could be an advertising asset and therefore benefit our sport?
http://www.vitalmx.com/forums/Moto-Related,20/If-RV-and-the-2012-KX450-…
Remember when JS 259 & RC were winning championships on 2-strokes against the 4-strokes? How much torque & HP were they down...
In other words stock suspension at race pace would get someone killed real quick.
#2) most consumers would prefer the $100,000 rig to your used bike and pick-up. The rig won't make them go any faster or win any more trophies, but that doesn't matter. You have to create a marketing campaign based on that fact. The number of slow overweight practice riders (that don't ever race) with blinged out bikes far outweighs the number of competitive (meaning they race) consumers with enough sense to know that [for example] a set of fresh tires will do more for you on Sunday than a set of anodized hubs.
You can also look at the days before the production rule. Glover showed that you could be competitive on a YZ490 against the Works Hondas. Do you think Yamaha sold more YZ490s than Honda sold CR500s????????? Ha!
I also think what Hannah did was a different time and place. Look at how Supercross suspension worked back in the day vs. now.
Pit Row
taken straight to the track and raced...do you? Really?
So you want to take a million dollar talent, put him on a stock bike with stock suspension when he's been testing a factory race bike the entire off season and see how it goes?
Wouldn't Kawasaki have more to lose if RV had a bad race?
Have a look at any review of a factory bike and you will notice it immediately. Connecting rods, pistons, brake calipers, cases, suspension components,...you name it. Most of these parts will be made of a stronger material than stock. Not necessarily 'better', but always stronger and with tighter tolerances.
And then there's the customization, which speaks for itself. I've read reviews of bikes where a factory rider had something like five subframes to choose from, 4 different brake setups, exhaust pipes... Not to mention these teams have multiple sets of suspension ready for every rider and factory tyres...
As far as the motor itself goes, I think there's a huge difference is whether you're talking about a 250 or a 450. With the 450 you're searching for the perfect power 'delivery'. That's something that probably a lot of engine tuners can do, as it most likely requires more insight, skills and brains than anything else.
On a 250 on the other hand you're searching for for every 1/10 of a HP that you can squeeze out of that thing, which is probably a whole lot more dependant on the parts you have at hand.
"Stock bike" sounds impressive,I wouldn't doubt that its way nearer to the bike they took "off the showroom floor" and Short,being the amazing rider he is has the talent to maximize the bike's potential but with the great parts that are readily available,I'm sure they'd use a whole lot of them
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