Eli’s suspension guy

blockhead17
How much does this have to do with how well Eli is riding?
I have heard Eli talk about their relationship from his Honda days, they obviously work well together. It just seems like he can put the bike anywhere this year.
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agn5008
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agn5008 2/6/2022 6:14pm
2/6/2022 6:14pm
I’m more interested in whoever has taught Eli how to start a race. That’s been the real key to his recent success.
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AJ565
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AJ565 2/6/2022 6:20pm
2/6/2022 6:20pm
Was Eli on the hybrid air fork last year?
ML512
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ML512 2/6/2022 7:01pm
2/6/2022 7:01pm
AJ565 wrote:
Was Eli on the hybrid air fork last year?
Nope.
ML512
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ML512 2/6/2022 7:03pm
2/6/2022 7:03pm
blockhead17 wrote:
How much does this have to do with how well Eli is riding? I have heard Eli talk about their relationship from his Honda days, they...
How much does this have to do with how well Eli is riding?
I have heard Eli talk about their relationship from his Honda days, they obviously work well together. It just seems like he can put the bike anywhere this year.
Ricki Gilmore, smart dude. A huge part of why Eli decided to go blue in the first place...

Worked together through a good chunk of his Honda days and early Kawasaki times.
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Marc_Honda 2/6/2022 7:22pm
2/6/2022 7:22pm Edited Date/Time 2/6/2022 7:22pm
agn5008 wrote:
I’m more interested in whoever has taught Eli how to start a race. That’s been the real key to his recent success.
Yamaha 450 power!

I just think everything is falling into place now he’s comfortable.

He loves his KYB suspension, He’s one of the only riders who doesn’t want to run a less powerful map and he’s loving that cable clutch. I think these few things are helping his mentality.
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moto162
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moto162 2/6/2022 9:07pm
2/6/2022 9:07pm
ML512 wrote:
Ricki Gilmore, smart dude. A huge part of why Eli decided to go blue in the first place... Worked together through a good chunk of his...
Ricki Gilmore, smart dude. A huge part of why Eli decided to go blue in the first place...

Worked together through a good chunk of his Honda days and early Kawasaki times.
That and they guaranteed him if he wanted anything changed they would do it no matter how they felt about it.
blockhead17 2/6/2022 9:35pm
2/6/2022 9:35pm
I think a bit part of it too is the communication and how Ricki predicts what Eli wants based off what he says.
I think it’s an important relationship and they need to understand each other well.
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Leeham
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Leeham 2/6/2022 11:25pm
2/6/2022 11:25pm
Dude can get a start now. He was able to be up front ALL 3 mains. On top of him being able to make whatever change he wants to the machine. Hes the guy to beat as of right now.
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Bill_Carroll
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Bill_Carroll 2/7/2022 12:25am
2/7/2022 12:25am
agn5008 wrote:
I’m more interested in whoever has taught Eli how to start a race. That’s been the real key to his recent success.
Right...LOL The producer finally got it right in the first Moto when He/She went to the Front of the gate.
Eli had a bike length .2 sec out of the gate.
Too bad they didn't go back to that shot rather then the Rear tire shot the last Moto..
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motov8tedcre8tor 2/7/2022 2:31am
2/7/2022 2:31am
I think his better starts are because of that 'backwards' engine and refining the bike gradually instead of coming up with new models every other year like KTM does? New is not necessarily better.
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sgrimmxdad 2/7/2022 3:38am
2/7/2022 3:38am
He's enjoying riding again IMO. Add the clutch cable to the power of the Yamaha and it fits his riding style. Think how many good starts Chiz gets on the stock bike!
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PRM31
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PRM31 2/7/2022 4:32am
2/7/2022 4:32am
I’ve said before, Eli has lost countless SX races in the first .2 sec of the race. Seems they finally have addressed this.

He’s clearly getting off the gate better, but also riding really well. Spells trouble for competition. Still have Detroit, Daytona, Seattle, and Denver, places he tends to do very well.
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Mr. Afterbar
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Mr. Afterbar 2/7/2022 5:05am
2/7/2022 5:05am
agn5008 wrote:
I’m more interested in whoever has taught Eli how to start a race. That’s been the real key to his recent success.
I'm an Eli fan, so I hope I'm wrong, but I feel Eli's good starts at Glendale have to do with the start itself. Eli was able to line up next to the tunnel on the outside all 3 races. There was no way for him to get boxed out and once past the tunnel, he had plenty of room to work with. Combined with the extra long start straight, I feel all this gave Eli more confidence that he could get a good start. Less chance of a start incident with all that room. That's how I think when it comes to starts, anyway, and I've never been a great starter much like Eli. Hopefully he can keep the good starts moving forward, but I don't feel Glendale was a good indicator.
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Joey_Bridges
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Joey_Bridges 2/7/2022 5:16am
2/7/2022 5:16am
I think I'm just going to go with him saying that he has everything, and everybody, working for him now, and he's having fun riding his bike.
And it shows.

Hell, I can't even remember him in green.
Seems like it was that long ago.
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m21racing
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m21racing 2/7/2022 7:07am
2/7/2022 7:07am
Bike looked good. I would guess he's got the springs in both forks, and has been putting in the testing time . The stock bikes responded well to minor valving changes. The kit stuff would be great I with proper testing, and a competent tuners touch.
Kelz87
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Kelz87 2/7/2022 7:50am
2/7/2022 7:50am
I think the cable clutch has helped. People forget Eli was a pretty decent starter before Kawi went to the hydraulic clutch
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Zesiger 112
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Zesiger 112 2/7/2022 7:55am
2/7/2022 7:55am
The way he was jumping the roller into inside berm and railing the sand was indication the real Eli is back. Awesome to see.
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offroad949
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offroad949 2/7/2022 2:01pm
2/7/2022 2:01pm
If you watch the dynamic of him on the Geico bike and the yz450 the similarities in the riding are there. Watching him ride the KX450 vs YZ450 in the corners are night in day. It's fluid.
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smoothies862 2/7/2022 2:17pm
2/7/2022 2:17pm
agn5008 wrote:
I’m more interested in whoever has taught Eli how to start a race. That’s been the real key to his recent success.
Bill_Carroll wrote:
Right...LOL The producer finally got it right in the first Moto when He/She went to the Front of the gate. Eli had a bike length .2...
Right...LOL The producer finally got it right in the first Moto when He/She went to the Front of the gate.
Eli had a bike length .2 sec out of the gate.
Too bad they didn't go back to that shot rather then the Rear tire shot the last Moto..
I thought the same thing when it was happening. I wish they would take the camera and walk down the line showing every rider and bike before they start show the sponsors bikes gear etc. and then hold that shot down the front when the gate drops so much better in my opinion
soggy
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soggy 2/7/2022 3:46pm
2/7/2022 3:46pm Edited Date/Time 2/7/2022 3:46pm
m21racing wrote:
Bike looked good. I would guess he's got the springs in both forks, and has been putting in the testing time . The stock bikes responded...
Bike looked good. I would guess he's got the springs in both forks, and has been putting in the testing time . The stock bikes responded well to minor valving changes. The kit stuff would be great I with proper testing, and a competent tuners touch.
He’s on a hybrid air/spring setup, I think he ran spring at Kawi.
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Kawboy14!
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Kawboy14! 2/7/2022 6:04pm
2/7/2022 6:04pm
That Yamaha seems to shift better from 2nd to 3rd because that’s where Tomac was getting dropped on the starts, as soon as he shifted
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kpiper
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kpiper 2/7/2022 6:23pm
2/7/2022 6:23pm
Mr. Afterbar wrote:
I'm an Eli fan, so I hope I'm wrong, but I feel Eli's good starts at Glendale have to do with the start itself. Eli was...
I'm an Eli fan, so I hope I'm wrong, but I feel Eli's good starts at Glendale have to do with the start itself. Eli was able to line up next to the tunnel on the outside all 3 races. There was no way for him to get boxed out and once past the tunnel, he had plenty of room to work with. Combined with the extra long start straight, I feel all this gave Eli more confidence that he could get a good start. Less chance of a start incident with all that room. That's how I think when it comes to starts, anyway, and I've never been a great starter much like Eli. Hopefully he can keep the good starts moving forward, but I don't feel Glendale was a good indicator.
This is spot on. Eli still has to prove his starts are truly better by doing it for a few more weeks.

Starts are 90% confidence though and maybe that is what we are seeing.

Although, in the press conference when asked if he expected to get a holeshot he quickly says, "no!".

Don't say that Eli! Say, "Yes, I was expecting to get a holeshot as I have really improved my starts."

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