Posts
236
Joined
7/2/2008
Location
Rootstown, OH, USA
Edited Date/Time
1/23/2012 3:14pm
The thing I used to really value about the moto community was that it was full of people with common sense (the quality of judgment needed to recognize the simplest of truths), but lately the moto community has turned into a whiny domain full of pansified little girls who want to change the world of racing because they might get hurt if they make a mistake on a 450. I can drive my car at 125 mph, but that would not be safe for long, but I do not petition the manufacturers of my car to make one that does not go as fast.
Proportionately there may be a ceiling to the speed of what a motorcycle can do coupled with terrain and human reaction capabilities, but as the majority proves: this ceiling has not been breached by 450’s. The only noticeable difference as of late is that when more people ride the percentage of people hurt should rise in proportion with respect to a few confounding variables.
What ever happened to people just sacking up and saying “I have limitations”? Instead all the do gooders out there want to protect the rest of us because they feel we are as feeble minded and ill equipped to make decisions as they are.
Basically I enjoy the 450’s and wonder why people think if the displacement limit was lowered to 350 there would be less injuries or a reduction in severity.
Proportionately there may be a ceiling to the speed of what a motorcycle can do coupled with terrain and human reaction capabilities, but as the majority proves: this ceiling has not been breached by 450’s. The only noticeable difference as of late is that when more people ride the percentage of people hurt should rise in proportion with respect to a few confounding variables.
What ever happened to people just sacking up and saying “I have limitations”? Instead all the do gooders out there want to protect the rest of us because they feel we are as feeble minded and ill equipped to make decisions as they are.
Basically I enjoy the 450’s and wonder why people think if the displacement limit was lowered to 350 there would be less injuries or a reduction in severity.
This was proof that sarcasm is quite easy, but what I was looking for is what people think about common sensibility amongst the modern moto community.
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IMO people making the grumpy old man argument, all be it lazy, of "duhhhh twis da throttle less" have a narrow scope. Maybe we should start putting trees in the middle of the MX track.... I mean DUHH all you have to do is go around
The view from the Vet starting gate might not be the whole picture.... I know I know, novel idea .
Most of the people I know about that have had catastrophic injury or worse (which is many) have been pretty young.
My point (in the original thread) was that for pro level competition the 450 is fine.... putting riders that aren't ready for it on an OPEN class bike is foolish.
Make no mistake, it is not the responsibility of the manufacturer to limit availability but rather the PARENTS and SANCTIONING body to offer up guidance.
i drive a 450hp car for work every day and rarely speed....but at night or on the weekends on our super hwy up here i'm ripping around at 260. point being, take what you want out of your beast when the situation calls for it.
The suspension didn't use to let you go that fast around bumps and stuff unless you were a very skilled riders. Now the suspensions are so good these days that Joe beginer can go a lot faster than his skills would normally let him go.
I don't think 450s have anything to do with more injuries, the information age (internet and stuff) just makes you aware of every single incidents out there.
Also, I think there's a lot more beginner on the tracks than in the past. A big reason for that is people used o ride on lands everywhere to perfect their skills and later hit the track. These days, unless you live in the sticks, you can't ride anywhere expect on a track. So a complete beginner will have to venture on a full race track if he wants to ride... Not the bike's fault....
As for my PAIR.... as interested as you seem in them, they will remain in my control. I am pretty sure that me and my 450 can still get some use out of them.
However... no amount of personal bashing will change my OPINION that 450's are OPEN class machine and I don't think that there should be a OPEN Beginner or OPEN Novice.
I have been riding and RACING for 27 years... if you don't agree with my opinion then cool... but the second you start talking down to me about "whining" or "growing a pair" you show your lack of intelligence and class.
Save the forum tough guy shit for someone else.
After all, helmets are just pretty things we wear on our heads and there is more protection in vented rayon then science can ever fathom!
happen and that's just the way it is.
Everyone bitches when an outside governmental agency imposes rules / laws that turn the industry on its head. But, holy shit if someone suggests that we should maybe TALK about making some changes to prevent outside interference...then thats the spineless person?
Using common sense when riding or keeping a 450 out of the hands of a novice will not likely change. The ego will always wins when Joe somebody goes and gets a 450 to be like his buddy....
The idea of limiting the displacement to govern speed or decrease accidents is rediculous. I have been riding/ racing since I was 11 and now that I am older (38) and wiser i seem to have found my groove and can turn lap times on a 250 that is pretty close to my 450..... I still ride the A class for fun but for the most part its just the pace I am comfortable to ride at... Make the 450 a 350 and I will still go the same speed and probably hit the ground the same as now..
I do agree that MX has changed over the years...but it is also a sport that has attracted a much larger and diverse group of people that bring their own opinions...When I started racing a Factory rig was a cube van...and knowbody made money at it.
Hey Hammer.... remember Factory Doug Hoover and his Esso Easy Mix Cubee...lol I thought that was the shit.
Z
Pit Row
Anyone thats ridden a 250F and 450F or 125 and 250 back to back can tell you that the smaller bore machine handles better at the same speed, with the same suspension, over the same bumps. I don't know if it is a function of inertia, power, weight, or chassis but there is definitely a relationship there.
I am no physicist or pre-med Cognitive Neuroscientist for that matter but I think this is worth talking about.
At race pace I need to push much harder on a 250 to go the same pace as my 450. I always feel just a little closer to the edge on the smaller bike, maybe because it lets me? maybe because I was weened from a 125 to early and need to wring its little neck...who knows...All I am saying is that for me I feel safer and more comfortable on the big bike...I am also 6' and 197lb
Noting your point about the little bike handling better... and at a diminished pace that could be true.
I remember the summer of 1986..I was 16 and 3 of the 5 guys I rode with broke femurs.....and we we on 125's. Back then i had just moved to the intermediate class (B class) I dont recall the crashes then hurting any less than the ones i have taken on my 450....and I am faster now!!!
BTW crashing still sucks, and I had the joy of seperating my shoulder this spring.
Usually you have to carry more momentum through the corners to achieve the same speed and that would lend itself to the feeling of being more on edge especially at 200 pounds.
"Everyone in this post is now dumber for having read your reply to it"
2004 I had a 250F and 450F and was suprised that ridding the small bike actually made me faster when I got on the 450.
Instead of caving into possible governmental influences the moto community as the last domain of common sense people needs to remind the government that not everyone is incapable of thinking for themselves. Some of us are wise enough to know that actions have consequences and dangerous actions have more serious consequences.
Haven't you realized that this country is full of girlie men?
RM80 - broken back
KX125 - broken collarbone
CRF450 - broken foot
CRF50 - broken rib and cracked sternum (that one was a little embarrassing)
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