Why is it so freakin hard for James to get his bike set up right?

THE_NOOB
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THE_NOOB 5/26/2013 11:15am
5/26/2013 11:15am
I'm not diminishing Bubba, I'm just pointing out that I don't think it's the bike, he's riding that thing pretty fast, but a lot of posters blamed the YZF450 and now they're blaming the RMZ450, I don't think it's fair to the Teams and manufacturers who invest a lot of money into these riders and then people start blaming the bike instead of the rider.
TeamGreen
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TeamGreen 5/26/2013 11:20am
5/26/2013 11:20am
WhKnuckle wrote:
Some guys are great testers who can get a bike perfect and some are great riders who can't get a bike perfect. In my humble opinion...
Some guys are great testers who can get a bike perfect and some are great riders who can't get a bike perfect. In my humble opinion, James needs to hire Kevin Windham to set up the bike, and not even ask anything about it. Just take the bike from Kevin, say, "Thanks", and go out and ride. Don't even think about the bike, just ride.
He had Ferry at Kawasaki (Test & Development) and Ross Maeda (KYB Suspension Guru) was around (Who James actually trusted & would just go out & ride the set-up Ross gave him...like that last National at Hangtown on a Kawi..."Go out & try this. Just go do a few laps & tell me what's happening...& 'where', OK?")

James was invincible when he had "Blind-Faith" in the people around him.

To me, it looks like he may actually be getting back to that kind of "Confidence" in his equipment; however, while he was out "finding himself"? The rest of the world got faster.

A Lot Faster.
THE_NOOB
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THE_NOOB 5/26/2013 11:31am
5/26/2013 11:31am
Sure! BobbyM, is that all you got, have to resort to the Gay insults. Pathetic and it's a CLEAR sign that you're Angry, while I can't be happier that RV is doing so good.
gsxrcr28
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gsxrcr28 5/26/2013 11:36am
5/26/2013 11:36am
THE_NOOB wrote:
I'm not diminishing Bubba, I'm just pointing out that I don't think it's the bike, he's riding that thing pretty fast, but a lot of posters...
I'm not diminishing Bubba, I'm just pointing out that I don't think it's the bike, he's riding that thing pretty fast, but a lot of posters blamed the YZF450 and now they're blaming the RMZ450, I don't think it's fair to the Teams and manufacturers who invest a lot of money into these riders and then people start blaming the bike instead of the rider.
a lot of posters blamed the YZF450

A lot of pro riders did also.

The Shop

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kongols
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kongols 5/26/2013 11:39am
5/26/2013 11:39am
THE_NOOB wrote:
Sure! BobbyM, is that all you got, have to resort to the Gay insults. Pathetic and it's a CLEAR sign that you're Angry, while I can't...
Sure! BobbyM, is that all you got, have to resort to the Gay insults. Pathetic and it's a CLEAR sign that you're Angry, while I can't be happier that RV is doing so good.
RV was heard saying the following" No I don`t know who THE_NOOB is and if I ever meet him I will launch my bike at him"
FlaNard
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FlaNard 5/26/2013 11:41am
5/26/2013 11:41am
James has never been known as a great tester or as being great with bike set up. That's why they used to have Ferry around.
rcm406
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rcm406 5/26/2013 11:47am
5/26/2013 11:47am
THE_NOOB wrote:
It's not the Bike, that RMZ 450 is set up to perfection for these top level riders and have parts available to them that nobody else...
It's not the Bike, that RMZ 450 is set up to perfection for these top level riders and have parts available to them that nobody else can get. This seems to be a common theme with Bubba where his fans always want to blame his bike. Swap bikes and put Villopoto on that RMZ and Bubba on that KXF and it would just be more of the same, RV 1-1
No one is blaming the bike you dumbass! I'm blaming James for not being able to set up his bike the best it can be! And I didn't say he would be winning even if he had it set up perfectly! Gawd, it amazes me what people comprehend when reading a post! And why puff out your chest about RV in this post? Geezus, you want a serious bromance with RV, don't ya? I'm just curious, do you have an invested interest in RV?
TeamGreen
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TeamGreen 5/26/2013 11:51am
5/26/2013 11:51am
THE_NOOB wrote:
Sure! BobbyM, is that all you got, have to resort to the Gay insults. Pathetic and it's a CLEAR sign that you're Angry, while I can't...
Sure! BobbyM, is that all you got, have to resort to the Gay insults. Pathetic and it's a CLEAR sign that you're Angry, while I can't be happier that RV is doing so good.
kongols wrote:
RV was heard saying the following" No I don`t know who THE_NOOB is and if I ever meet him I will launch my bike at him"
Oh...

So, the Noob is J-Law?
rcm406
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rcm406 5/26/2013 12:02pm
5/26/2013 12:02pm
THE_NOOB wrote:
It's not the Bike, that RMZ 450 is set up to perfection for these top level riders and have parts available to them that nobody else...
It's not the Bike, that RMZ 450 is set up to perfection for these top level riders and have parts available to them that nobody else can get. This seems to be a common theme with Bubba where his fans always want to blame his bike. Swap bikes and put Villopoto on that RMZ and Bubba on that KXF and it would just be more of the same, RV 1-1
rcm406 wrote:
No one is blaming the bike you dumbass! I'm blaming James for not being able to set up his bike the best it can be! And...
No one is blaming the bike you dumbass! I'm blaming James for not being able to set up his bike the best it can be! And I didn't say he would be winning even if he had it set up perfectly! Gawd, it amazes me what people comprehend when reading a post! And why puff out your chest about RV in this post? Geezus, you want a serious bromance with RV, don't ya? I'm just curious, do you have an invested interest in RV?
Damn noob, I hate it that you can't attend any races and see your boy RV win, otherwise you would be violating that restraining order RV took out on you!Woohoo can't get within 1000ft! Fuckin cyber stalker!
BobbyM
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BobbyM 5/26/2013 12:56pm
5/26/2013 12:56pm Edited Date/Time 5/26/2013 12:58pm
THE_NOOB wrote:
Sure! BobbyM, is that all you got, have to resort to the Gay insults. Pathetic and it's a CLEAR sign that you're Angry, while I can't...
Sure! BobbyM, is that all you got, have to resort to the Gay insults. Pathetic and it's a CLEAR sign that you're Angry, while I can't be happier that RV is doing so good.
There sure are a lot of "Bobby M's" out there I suppose and that's not a gay insult... it's a movie quote.
zook11
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zook11 5/26/2013 3:09pm
5/26/2013 3:09pm
Kinda knew it was a bad idea for Suzuki to hire just james. He needs a teammate to help do some of the testing to get the bike right. Shame on Suzuki for being cheap it's costing them right now.
nytsmaC
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nytsmaC 5/26/2013 4:28pm
5/26/2013 4:28pm
I can't help but wonder how much his knee and/or wrist is holding him back. Definitely not riding at the same level he was last year when the Nats started. Maybe he's easing himself in, figuring out his bike setup and trying to get his body to 100% before he wicks it up all the way, I hope he finds his speed back.
Choppy
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Choppy 5/26/2013 5:03pm
5/26/2013 5:03pm Edited Date/Time 5/26/2013 5:05pm
Whenever someone's not winning they're always trying to improve on the bike setup.

Take Villopoto, Reed, Short, Brayton, Grant, Weimer, Tickle, Dungey and Millsaps for example.

When those guys struggle now and have struggled in the past it's always the bike, and all of a sudden they need to do midweek testing.
I guess no pro can really set up their bike it seems because they've all complained about it at one time or another.
Crush
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Crush 5/26/2013 6:19pm
5/26/2013 6:19pm
THE_NOOB wrote:
It's not the Bike, that RMZ 450 is set up to perfection for these top level riders and have parts available to them that nobody else...
It's not the Bike, that RMZ 450 is set up to perfection for these top level riders and have parts available to them that nobody else can get. This seems to be a common theme with Bubba where his fans always want to blame his bike. Swap bikes and put Villopoto on that RMZ and Bubba on that KXF and it would just be more of the same, RV 1-1
Disagree completey...

James' bike looks horrible... Tho this isn't new, his bikes at Kawi did look better for whatever reason...

Last time his setup looked at least a little balanced was 09 Yamaha...

Since then he's choppered them more and more, always looks like his forks are super hard and he's running a low soft slow rear end...

As for if Bubba 08 would beat RV 13 we'll never know. RV is hard to bet against but James was better back then than he is now, no question in my mind.
Crush
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Crush 5/26/2013 6:23pm
5/26/2013 6:23pm
I should add, he has always choppered his bikes, but for whatever reason that worked on his Kawis... Maybe because they are typically a more stable slow moving chassis, or whatever it is... But look at his RMZ compared to the last maybe 5-10 guys who have ridden that thing to a lot of success, looks nothing the same except the colour, that's bike setup, and James' isn't good, and it's maybe worse than what it was years ago.
THE_NOOB
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THE_NOOB 5/26/2013 8:50pm
5/26/2013 8:50pm
Maybe the Suzuki isn't designed to be ridden at James Stewarts incredible WARP speed, isn't that what his Dad said about the Yamaha and just doesn't operate very well at those incredible speeds he's capable ofWhistling
burn1986
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burn1986 5/26/2013 8:55pm
5/26/2013 8:55pm
THE_NOOB wrote:
Sure! BobbyM, is that all you got, have to resort to the Gay insults. Pathetic and it's a CLEAR sign that you're Angry, while I can't...
Sure! BobbyM, is that all you got, have to resort to the Gay insults. Pathetic and it's a CLEAR sign that you're Angry, while I can't be happier that RV is doing so good.
BobbyM wrote:
There sure are a lot of "Bobby M's" out there I suppose and that's not a gay insult... it's a movie quote.
Maybe I can help you here. If the noob's not gay, then RV isn't winning right now.
Rotaholic
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Rotaholic 5/26/2013 9:34pm
5/26/2013 9:34pm Edited Date/Time 5/26/2013 9:40pm
The trouble is that when your testing for lets say outdoors, you have no idea where everyone else is. James may have had that bike dialed in 100%, the best its ever ridden/handled. But what happens is, everyone else has been testing and when 1st and 2nd place start checking out you start thinking your amazing setup is losing you 2 seconds and you start to tinker with what was months of dialing. That testing soon gets thrown out the window in order to keep up with everyone else and can sometimes turn to panic stations and radical changes. I hope they stick with the tried and tested and focus more on rider fitness and line selection etc

It aint the bike, it has hardly changed over the years and RC4, CR22 and RD5 all killed it on the yellow sled

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burn1986
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burn1986 5/26/2013 9:50pm
5/26/2013 9:50pm
Everything's wrong when you're losing.
jmar
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jmar 5/26/2013 10:04pm
5/26/2013 10:04pm
WhKnuckle wrote:
Some guys are great testers who can get a bike perfect and some are great riders who can't get a bike perfect. In my humble opinion...
Some guys are great testers who can get a bike perfect and some are great riders who can't get a bike perfect. In my humble opinion, James needs to hire Kevin Windham to set up the bike, and not even ask anything about it. Just take the bike from Kevin, say, "Thanks", and go out and ride. Don't even think about the bike, just ride.
TeamGreen wrote:
He had Ferry at Kawasaki (Test & Development) and Ross Maeda (KYB Suspension Guru) was around (Who James actually trusted & would just go out &...
He had Ferry at Kawasaki (Test & Development) and Ross Maeda (KYB Suspension Guru) was around (Who James actually trusted & would just go out & ride the set-up Ross gave him...like that last National at Hangtown on a Kawi..."Go out & try this. Just go do a few laps & tell me what's happening...& 'where', OK?")

James was invincible when he had "Blind-Faith" in the people around him.

To me, it looks like he may actually be getting back to that kind of "Confidence" in his equipment; however, while he was out "finding himself"? The rest of the world got faster.

A Lot Faster.
I completely agree with this.
FIREfish148
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FIREfish148 5/27/2013 2:37am
5/27/2013 2:37am
THE_NOOB wrote:
Maybe the Suzuki isn't designed to be ridden at James Stewarts incredible WARP speed, isn't that what his Dad said about the Yamaha and just doesn't...
Maybe the Suzuki isn't designed to be ridden at James Stewarts incredible WARP speed, isn't that what his Dad said about the Yamaha and just doesn't operate very well at those incredible speeds he's capable ofWhistling
Look here dummy.

A list of Yamahas 450 outdoor results since they completely revised it...:

Best results so far...
2013
Hangtown: Phil Nicoletti-11th, next best: Travis Preston-17th

Thunder Valley: Josh Grant-11th, Next best: Nicoletti-17th

2012 top 5's
Nico Izzi: 4th @ Thunder valley

Millsaps: 5th @ Highpoint, 4th @338 (Southwick for your noob ass), 4th at Unadillla

2011 top 5's
Ricky Dietrich: 5th @ Freestone

Millsaps:2nd @ Freestone, 5th @ Highpoint

Brayton: 5th @ Shoug, 4th @ 338

Note: Pourcel marked a 8th at Hangtown and pulled out of the series at Freestone...

2010 top 5's
Josh Grant: 5th @ Hangtown, 5th @ Freestone, 4th @ Budds, 4th @ Thunder Valley

Kyle Goerke: 3rd @ 338

Chizz:4th @338

Brayton:3rd @ Steel City

Total top 5's since Yamaha's new 450:
16

Total Podiums since Yamaha's new 450:
3

Total wins since Yamaha's new 450:
0

I bleed Blue and Red, but Yamaha FUBARed the hell out of the 450. And you are a complete idiot if you cannot recognize that. I really hope they get their shit together, because the other manufactures are moving ahead.
Fearo
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Fearo 5/27/2013 2:57am
5/27/2013 2:57am
This thread has got me wondering...

If you put James back on his '08 perfect season Kawi 450...Would things be different than they are now?
kongols
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kongols 5/27/2013 3:51am
5/27/2013 3:51am
Fearo wrote:
This thread has got me wondering...

If you put James back on his '08 perfect season Kawi 450...Would things be different than they are now?
Nothing will get the confidence of those years back.
FARANG
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FARANG 5/27/2013 4:53am
5/27/2013 4:53am
Fearo wrote:
This thread has got me wondering...

If you put James back on his '08 perfect season Kawi 450...Would things be different than they are now?
If he was against the 2008 field he'd still be winning now.

The difference is the competition, not the bike. 2008 Stewart on a Kawi vs. 2013 Stewart on a Zook would be a good race. Add 2013 Villopoto into the equation and Stewart gets owned. Same as when RC took him to school in the nationals. If you don't believe me, check the results.
kongols
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kongols 5/27/2013 5:09am
5/27/2013 5:09am
FARANG wrote:
If he was against the 2008 field he'd still be winning now. The difference is the competition, not the bike. 2008 Stewart on a Kawi vs...
If he was against the 2008 field he'd still be winning now.

The difference is the competition, not the bike. 2008 Stewart on a Kawi vs. 2013 Stewart on a Zook would be a good race. Add 2013 Villopoto into the equation and Stewart gets owned. Same as when RC took him to school in the nationals. If you don't believe me, check the results.
If Stewart was with a torn ACL in 2008 you think he would beat Stewart of 2013?
FARANG
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FARANG 5/27/2013 5:48am
5/27/2013 5:48am
FARANG wrote:
If he was against the 2008 field he'd still be winning now. The difference is the competition, not the bike. 2008 Stewart on a Kawi vs...
If he was against the 2008 field he'd still be winning now.

The difference is the competition, not the bike. 2008 Stewart on a Kawi vs. 2013 Stewart on a Zook would be a good race. Add 2013 Villopoto into the equation and Stewart gets owned. Same as when RC took him to school in the nationals. If you don't believe me, check the results.
kongols wrote:
If Stewart was with a torn ACL in 2008 you think he would beat Stewart of 2013?
Ah, so now we have the bike and the ACL. What's next? The wrist? Tyres?

Face it man, his time's up. Great rider when unchallenged, but those days are long gone as is his confidence and motivation. The new breed arrived 3 years ago and it's only going to get worse. He had his moment in the sun between RC retiring and RD/RV moving up. It's 'collect the paycheque' time now. Nothing wrong with that, but he's gonna have to earn it now by sucking it up and taking those top 5 finishes.
kongols
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kongols 5/27/2013 5:51am
5/27/2013 5:51am
FARANG wrote:
Ah, so now we have the bike [u]and[/u] the ACL. What's next? The wrist? Tyres? Face it man, his time's up. Great rider when unchallenged, but...
Ah, so now we have the bike and the ACL. What's next? The wrist? Tyres?

Face it man, his time's up. Great rider when unchallenged, but those days are long gone as is his confidence and motivation. The new breed arrived 3 years ago and it's only going to get worse. He had his moment in the sun between RC retiring and RD/RV moving up. It's 'collect the paycheque' time now. Nothing wrong with that, but he's gonna have to earn it now by sucking it up and taking those top 5 finishes.
It was a simple question. Why you have to complicate it so much?
rcm406
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rcm406 5/27/2013 6:12am
5/27/2013 6:12am
You think RV cuts his chassis down? His bike looks so much shorter than everyone else's.
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davistld01 5/27/2013 6:59am
5/27/2013 6:59am Edited Date/Time 5/27/2013 7:02am
Kawasaki has outdoor settings that made RV successful in outdoor seasons past to fall on for this season. So does Honda...so does Yamaha (LOL), KTM, etc. Stewart came onboard last year at Hangtown, and won the first four Nats, then jacked up his wrist in that crash.

So...Suzuki does not have the same advantage. Not band-aiding for Stewey...but the bike looked terrible in CO. The rear end looked like a pogo stick, and he was bouncing out of lines all over. Didn't I hear Emig say something about a steering damper being added to the Suzuki...hence Stewarts comments on the podium about it taking him 15-minutes to realize the change his tech made were good? If that's the case...I couldn't see the improvement
Crush
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Crush 5/27/2013 7:03am
5/27/2013 7:03am
davistld01 wrote:
Kawasaki has outdoor settings that made RV successful in outdoor seasons past to fall on for this season. So does Honda...so does Yamaha (LOL), KTM, etc...
Kawasaki has outdoor settings that made RV successful in outdoor seasons past to fall on for this season. So does Honda...so does Yamaha (LOL), KTM, etc. Stewart came onboard last year at Hangtown, and won the first four Nats, then jacked up his wrist in that crash.

So...Suzuki does not have the same advantage. Not band-aiding for Stewey...but the bike looked terrible in CO. The rear end looked like a pogo stick, and he was bouncing out of lines all over. Didn't I hear Emig say something about a steering damper being added to the Suzuki...hence Stewarts comments on the podium about it taking him 15-minutes to realize the change his tech made were good? If that's the case...I couldn't see the improvement
Not to say that Stewy rides the same or has the same setup, but that bike is basically unchanged since 08 from a production point of view...

And not that it is the same crew, but there would be a lot of history on that bike. More than Honda has on their new bike for sure!

Post a reply to: Why is it so freakin hard for James to get his bike set up right?