Tomac's Kawasaki

Richard Tease II 10/6/2018 4:42pm
10/6/2018 4:42pm
Hasn’t Kawi been running this 19 model in the GP’s for a while. I hardly think there going into this race with an unproven platform.
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Bret
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Bret 10/6/2018 4:44pm
10/6/2018 4:44pm
Richard Tease II wrote:
Hasn’t Kawi been running this 19 model in the GP’s for a while. I hardly think there going into this race with an unproven platform.
Stop it with your unsubstantiated logic!Grinning
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Stoop
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Stoop 10/6/2018 4:45pm
10/6/2018 4:45pm

https://mxvice.com/82228/chatter-box-eli-tomac-2


What about the switch to the 2019? Was that questionable at all for you? Obviously it is a big switch and an all-new bike. Was there a bit of doubt in your mind at all?

There always is that question, on what the bike's going to be like. A lot of times it can be a lot different. But for me, the chassis was nothing but better. A lot of times if there are really big chassis changes, that is where you can run into some trouble. But for us, it was pretty straightforward. It was nothing but good. Like I said, I have been excited. We have not gone racing on it yet, but it should be good.

It does sound like everything's much improved, but was there one thing that just took a little bit of time to get used to? Something that maybe you did not expect or you just had to put a lot of time into?

It sounds like a straightforward answer, but no. It was all better. The motor was a massive improvement. The chassis still feels like a Kawi to me, which is nice and stable. Actually improved some lean stuff too. It is all sweet.
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280driver
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280driver 10/6/2018 4:46pm
10/6/2018 4:46pm
Richard Tease II wrote:
Hasn’t Kawi been running this 19 model in the GP’s for a while. I hardly think there going into this race with an unproven platform.
No. The GP bikes are ‘18’s. They’ve raced them in Japan with very good results.
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agn5009
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agn5009 10/6/2018 4:47pm
10/6/2018 4:47pm
kb228 wrote:
Personally i think its smarter to get races on the new bike before you get to your next 2 championship seasons so you know its dialed...
Personally i think its smarter to get races on the new bike before you get to your next 2 championship seasons so you know its dialed. Might be an unpopular opinion but OEMs care more about sx and outdoors than winning des nations.
H4L wrote:
The voice of reason. Kawi is more than likely putting the new model through actual racing conditions to gain data before the 19 SX / MX...
The voice of reason. Kawi is more than likely putting the new model through actual racing conditions to gain data before the 19 SX / MX season starts.
280driver wrote:
It’s also been raced since early this year in Japan. I️ believe Tyler was hired by Kawi to test and see what would brake. It’s not...
It’s also been raced since early this year in Japan. I️ believe Tyler was hired by Kawi to test and see what would brake. It’s not like it just released. Could it have been an electrical issue?
Tyler rides SUZSUKIS
MXMattii
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MXMattii 10/6/2018 4:49pm
10/6/2018 4:49pm
It was just not a good look for Kawasaki. There three front runners: Eli Tomac (Technical DNF), Clément Desalle (Technical DNF) and Tommy Searle nurturing that bike to a fifth place with lap times clearly slower then what he could've done. So three Kawasaki's in the MXGP heat that were breaking down at the biggest race of the season...
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280driver
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280driver 10/6/2018 4:50pm
10/6/2018 4:50pm
H4L wrote:
The voice of reason. Kawi is more than likely putting the new model through actual racing conditions to gain data before the 19 SX / MX...
The voice of reason. Kawi is more than likely putting the new model through actual racing conditions to gain data before the 19 SX / MX season starts.
280driver wrote:
It’s also been raced since early this year in Japan. I️ believe Tyler was hired by Kawi to test and see what would brake. It’s not...
It’s also been raced since early this year in Japan. I️ believe Tyler was hired by Kawi to test and see what would brake. It’s not like it just released. Could it have been an electrical issue?
agn5009 wrote:
Tyler rides SUZSUKIS
Bowers
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mxtech1
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mxtech1 10/6/2018 5:43pm
10/6/2018 5:43pm
drt410 wrote:
Yea the new bike shitting the bed in its FIRST race isnt a good look. Thats 2 dnf’s this year and one in the first ever...
Yea the new bike shitting the bed in its FIRST race isnt a good look. Thats 2 dnf’s this year and one in the first ever race of the all new platform. Not a good look at all. How many mechanicals can they have before Tomac loses trust in his bike and team? 2 front brake issues in 1 season in sx, 1 front brake issue in mx where they cut the friggin brake line, 1 blown up motor, then whatever happened today... its getting ridiculous. Hes had by far the most mechanicals of any rider and hes the top guy on what should be the top team.

How can he have any faith in his program with a track record like this? Then sending him out on a brand new from the ground up bike for mxon....wtf is that? The bike is 100% new that takes looots of testing. I wouldnt even have done MEC on it. I would have been testing the bike all week every week up to Anaheim 1 and raced the race tested bike. MEC is a million dollars on the line and he has a huuuge shot at winning, put me on the old bike...although the old bike has had more mechanicals than any other bike out there. What happened to them? I dont remember RV having 1 mechanical, it was understood he was the best rider on the best equipment. Wtf?
You have to remember that technology is changing and we are seeing teams manage their programs differently. I feel that KTM/HUSQ and Honda are more F1-esque and nimble while Kawi seems more constrained in some aspects. Not that Kawi is incapable, because they've proven success, but I think they are feeling some pressure to keep up with KTM, specifically.
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motoarmageddon 10/6/2018 6:03pm
10/6/2018 6:03pm
There has been so many 19 KX450s sold here in socal already and everyone loves them. They aren't having any issues.
Squirrelings 10/6/2018 6:05pm
10/6/2018 6:05pm
It’s a race team problem, not a ‘19 KX 450 problem.
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Harv379
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Harv379 10/6/2018 6:10pm
10/6/2018 6:10pm
yamahaha131 wrote:
We were at the bottom of the leap standing. He went wide in the turn before the leap and looked like he stalled. You could see...
We were at the bottom of the leap standing. He went wide in the turn before the leap and looked like he stalled. You could see him repeatedly hitting the start button trying to fire it back up but she was done. Almost seemed electrical by how he responded.
flinttropicsMX wrote:
Yes I was standing at the bottom of the hill and seen it all. He couldn't get that thing started for the life of him. Couldn't...
Yes I was standing at the bottom of the hill and seen it all. He couldn't get that thing started for the life of him. Couldn't believe what was seeing.
So we can rule out the button was working and it was trying to turn over but wouldn't fire?
PRM31
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PRM31 10/6/2018 6:11pm
10/6/2018 6:11pm
So, Eli shouldn’t race an unproven bike. Just when then should he race the new bike?

Have to start somewhere
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DoctorJD
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DoctorJD 10/6/2018 6:14pm
10/6/2018 6:14pm
Tomac/Kawi/Mechanical. Same as it ever was.
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CPR
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CPR 10/6/2018 6:27pm
10/6/2018 6:27pm
It's a new feature on the 19 Kawi's; if the throttles not being twisted hard enough the engine shuts down.
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Shaun_Powelson 10/6/2018 6:42pm
10/6/2018 6:42pm
kiwifan wrote:
He had the wrong sized sprocket....
H4L wrote:
Laughing Was thinking the same thing..
I heard they were saying he didn't torque his sprocket bolts correctly
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SmokinJoe439 10/6/2018 6:54pm
10/6/2018 6:54pm
At least it happened now and not during the actual race.
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yamahaha131
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yamahaha131 10/6/2018 8:18pm
10/6/2018 8:18pm
yamahaha131 wrote:
We were at the bottom of the leap standing. He went wide in the turn before the leap and looked like he stalled. You could see...
We were at the bottom of the leap standing. He went wide in the turn before the leap and looked like he stalled. You could see him repeatedly hitting the start button trying to fire it back up but she was done. Almost seemed electrical by how he responded.
flinttropicsMX wrote:
Yes I was standing at the bottom of the hill and seen it all. He couldn't get that thing started for the life of him. Couldn't...
Yes I was standing at the bottom of the hill and seen it all. He couldn't get that thing started for the life of him. Couldn't believe what was seeing.
Harv379 wrote:
So we can rule out the button was working and it was trying to turn over but wouldn't fire?
I don’t think we could rule anything out. It would seem to me if it were an obvious motor malfunction he wouldn’t sit so long trying to get it to fire. Who knows maybe they didn’t top it off after the sight lap ??‍♂️
bsharkey
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bsharkey 10/6/2018 8:30pm
10/6/2018 8:30pm
drt410 wrote:
Desalles Kawi blew up today, Elis blew up at the red bud national, hes had by far the most mechanicals out of everyone... Wtf is up...
Desalles Kawi blew up today, Elis blew up at the red bud national, hes had by far the most mechanicals out of everyone... Wtf is up with kawi?
Its a kawi period
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wreckitrandy
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wreckitrandy 10/6/2018 8:33pm
10/6/2018 8:33pm
Looked like it was spewin' coolant to me. Maybe my eyes were fooling me.
tempura
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tempura 10/6/2018 8:39pm
10/6/2018 8:39pm
They’ve been racing them in japan since the first round, and they’ve had a very good season on them.
r18b
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r18b 10/6/2018 11:44pm
10/6/2018 11:44pm
Lupinos kawa is prepped by a local guy here. Looks like he does a better job then those factories.

Tomac can get in touch with him. No problem.

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tek14
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tek14 10/7/2018 12:03am
10/7/2018 12:03am
Bike started to smoke and stalled in corner... yes sounds like electrical problem :D
Rs444
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Rs444 10/7/2018 12:11am
10/7/2018 12:11am
689 wrote:
Front brake lever got mud on it?
????
WCRider
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WCRider 10/7/2018 1:36am
10/7/2018 1:36am
The bike has never been tested in this kind of conditions. Gamble choice imo.
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MXD
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MXD 10/7/2018 3:50am
10/7/2018 3:50am
Maybe it just overheated a bit and wouldn’t fire. The battery only has so many seconds of cranking power. How many times have we seen guys kicking bikes over and over in the mud and they eventually fire? Is it possible that it’s something as simple as that?
HenryA
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HenryA 10/7/2018 5:21am
10/7/2018 5:21am
MXD wrote:
Maybe it just overheated a bit and wouldn’t fire. The battery only has so many seconds of cranking power. How many times have we seen guys...
Maybe it just overheated a bit and wouldn’t fire. The battery only has so many seconds of cranking power. How many times have we seen guys kicking bikes over and over in the mud and they eventually fire? Is it possible that it’s something as simple as that?
We will probably never know... Whistling
ShipLap
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ShipLap 10/7/2018 5:27am
10/7/2018 5:27am Edited Date/Time 10/7/2018 5:31am
During breakfast at the hotel this morning, I heard that it was electrical. From a Monster guy (normal sized though).
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305FC250
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305FC250 10/7/2018 5:31am
10/7/2018 5:31am
Typical Kawasaki trash. From the local practice tracks up to the most prestigious races in the world I see more broke Kawis getting pushed into the pits than any other bike. Don't care how good it might perform when its working it doesn't matter if they break down all the time.
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mx_phreek 10/7/2018 5:44am
10/7/2018 5:44am
drt410 wrote:
Desalles Kawi blew up today, Elis blew up at the red bud national, hes had by far the most mechanicals out of everyone... Wtf is up...
Desalles Kawi blew up today, Elis blew up at the red bud national, hes had by far the most mechanicals out of everyone... Wtf is up with kawi?
bsharkey wrote:
Its a kawi period
It blew up cause he t-bone that rider that was getting back on track and damaged his bike in the collision. Let's not just use broad sweeping generalisations because it a kawi.
DJP120ci
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DJP120ci 10/7/2018 5:48am
10/7/2018 5:48am
I had Eli sign a jersey for me last night. I asked him what happened and all he would say was electrical. Dude was not happy! As you would expect
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