Ken Roczen Riding a 2023 Yamaha YZ450F

m21racing
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m21racing 10/31/2022 7:17pm
10/31/2022 7:17pm
Green bike suits him imo. But, who knows?
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Press516
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Press516 10/31/2022 7:23pm
10/31/2022 7:23pm
A Mitch tuned KX funded by KR's personal sponsors could be an elite privateer program. I think it would be fun to watch.
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280driver
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280driver 10/31/2022 7:26pm
10/31/2022 7:26pm
The KX has 4 years of race development. The new YZ has zero. KX is the smarter choice.
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Dirt.Squirt
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Dirt.Squirt 10/31/2022 7:34pm
10/31/2022 7:34pm
CG118 wrote:
Would be awesome to see something like that from Roczen. A little redemption, against a rejuvenated Coop, maybe the best sx Eli we’ve seen, Anderson killing...
Would be awesome to see something like that from Roczen. A little redemption, against a rejuvenated Coop, maybe the best sx Eli we’ve seen, Anderson killing it, Chase,…………..this could be a great year for SX.
Most stacked year ever perhaps? Whistling
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Dirt.Squirt
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Dirt.Squirt 10/31/2022 7:36pm
10/31/2022 7:36pm
kiwifan wrote:
Good luck to him no matter what bike he is on...knowing as sure as hell it will not be a Honda
Bruce372 wrote:
Exactly, I think everyone wants to see him to well.
I really want to see roczen kick some ass this next year and I would consider myself the opposite of a fan of his Huh
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LouisianaMotocross 10/31/2022 7:47pm
10/31/2022 7:47pm
280driver wrote:
The KX has 4 years of race development. The new YZ has zero. KX is the smarter choice.
You got downvoted for some reason but it’s a good point. The yz may be a better bike than the kx, but if Ken is funding this out of his own pocket, it would seem like the safer option would be the bike with a ton of development.
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Nathaniel129 10/31/2022 8:19pm
10/31/2022 8:19pm
Dirt.Squirt wrote:
I really want to see roczen kick some ass this next year and I would consider myself the opposite of a fan of his Huh
Great way to put it. Same for me, I've had enough of the weird interviews, nonchalant entitled attitude, and off-the-rails Instagram posts...
But I think it would be awesome for him to come out next year and be a week in week out contender against THE guys.
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SX_336
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SX_336 10/31/2022 8:22pm
10/31/2022 8:22pm
280driver wrote:
The KX has 4 years of race development. The new YZ has zero. KX is the smarter choice.
LouisianaMotocross wrote:
You got downvoted for some reason but it’s a good point. The yz may be a better bike than the kx, but if Ken is funding...
You got downvoted for some reason but it’s a good point. The yz may be a better bike than the kx, but if Ken is funding this out of his own pocket, it would seem like the safer option would be the bike with a ton of development.
Not to mention availability and rider tested parts. Who knows when anything would be available for the new Yamaha.
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Dirt.Squirt
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Dirt.Squirt 10/31/2022 8:31pm
10/31/2022 8:31pm
Nathaniel129 wrote:
Great way to put it. Same for me, I've had enough of the weird interviews, nonchalant entitled attitude, and off-the-rails Instagram posts... But I think it...
Great way to put it. Same for me, I've had enough of the weird interviews, nonchalant entitled attitude, and off-the-rails Instagram posts...
But I think it would be awesome for him to come out next year and be a week in week out contender against THE guys.
Just shows how important mentality is in motocross. If his head was in the right place 100% or even 90% of the time he would be unbeatable
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Wil Denis
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Wil Denis 10/31/2022 10:38pm
10/31/2022 10:38pm
Is there any chance of him riding for Yarriv Konsky’s Honda team if he decides he likes the Honda for him better then the Yamaha or Kawasaki?
KiwiBermRailer 10/31/2022 10:51pm
10/31/2022 10:51pm Edited Date/Time 10/31/2022 10:51pm
Please not the Blue Pig!! Noooooooooo
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KurtJ99
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KurtJ99 10/31/2022 11:57pm
10/31/2022 11:57pm
It’s going to be cool to see Kenny chose the bike best for him this year. Hopefully he finds something he really gels with and we see some good results.
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WCRider 11/1/2022 12:19am
11/1/2022 12:19am
The WSX champ Silly
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locky144
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locky144 11/1/2022 12:40am
11/1/2022 12:40am Edited Date/Time 11/1/2022 12:41am
I honestly thing this is cool and it’s going to be sweet either way this plays out. Yes this has been brought up but it is similar to reeds 2011 path. Reed was 29 when he started two two and roczen 29 next year and they were both at a point coming of a rough year and the factory teams are looking at them both them same heck of a rider been around for a long time but not willing to task the risk to create budgets and work with them. I think this is exactly what Kenny needed, a fresh start where he can go about things his way, bring on 2023, can’t wait 🤟
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suspensionguy 11/1/2022 1:24am
11/1/2022 1:24am
KiwiBermRailer wrote:
Please not the Blue Pig!! Noooooooooo
Pay a fast guy enough and you can sell a pig Silly
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davis224
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davis224 11/1/2022 3:51am
11/1/2022 3:51am
Brent wrote:
...so, with Ken riding all these different bikes, does this mean that he has not been signed to a factory team for 2023? On one hand...
...so, with Ken riding all these different bikes, does this mean that he has not been signed to a factory team for 2023?

On one hand, I have a hard time believing that a talent of his level wouldn't have OEM teams doing what it takes to get him signed and starting preparation for Supercross-this is a guy who won Anaheim 1 earlier this year after all.

On the other hand, could his lack of disclosure about his health issues prevent teams from taking a risk for the amount of money Ken would want?

If he is considering starting his own private team, maybe he should talk to Chad Reed first?

It's getting pretty late for deciding on a bike for 2023...
soggy wrote:
His sponsor deals exclude him from riding for every factory team except Honda and KTM. Ktm is full and we know he isn’t riding Honda.
ML put out a video a few weeks back saying his Red Bull deal isn't very solid, and that it could be cancelled pretty easily if a different opportunity arose.
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MxKing809
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MxKing809 11/1/2022 4:30am
11/1/2022 4:30am
Brent wrote:
...so, with Ken riding all these different bikes, does this mean that he has not been signed to a factory team for 2023? On one hand...
...so, with Ken riding all these different bikes, does this mean that he has not been signed to a factory team for 2023?

On one hand, I have a hard time believing that a talent of his level wouldn't have OEM teams doing what it takes to get him signed and starting preparation for Supercross-this is a guy who won Anaheim 1 earlier this year after all.

On the other hand, could his lack of disclosure about his health issues prevent teams from taking a risk for the amount of money Ken would want?

If he is considering starting his own private team, maybe he should talk to Chad Reed first?

It's getting pretty late for deciding on a bike for 2023...
soggy wrote:
His sponsor deals exclude him from riding for every factory team except Honda and KTM. Ktm is full and we know he isn’t riding Honda.
davis224 wrote:
ML put out a video a few weeks back saying his Red Bull deal isn't very solid, and that it could be cancelled pretty easily if...
ML put out a video a few weeks back saying his Red Bull deal isn't very solid, and that it could be cancelled pretty easily if a different opportunity arose.
Yeah, I got the vibes that red bull was over it….and over the LA agent and lack of return on their investment for months on end.
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Spoonguy
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Spoonguy 11/1/2022 4:41am
11/1/2022 4:41am
What a sad state of affairs in our sport when one of the fastest riders ever is riding around production bikes a couple of months before the season starts, deciding what to choose, rather than factories beating at his door for his services. Just unreal. Perhaps his years of "it's just a motorcycle race" attitude are catching up to him, I know it got old listening to that crap for me, but there is no denying he will put a bike to the front several times over a season. I guess it is the times he isn't at the front, belly aching, that the factories will not tolerate.
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soggy
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soggy 11/1/2022 4:50am
11/1/2022 4:50am
davis224 wrote:
ML put out a video a few weeks back saying his Red Bull deal isn't very solid, and that it could be cancelled pretty easily if...
ML put out a video a few weeks back saying his Red Bull deal isn't very solid, and that it could be cancelled pretty easily if a different opportunity arose.
No doubt anything can change. Just hard to see him walk from 15 year Red Bull relationship for a one year (maybe 2) deal with a rockstar or monster team. And all the factory seats are taken anyway
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HonDawg17 11/1/2022 5:11am
11/1/2022 5:11am Edited Date/Time 11/1/2022 6:28am
I just hope whatever bike he chooses can make him ride like the Ken Roczen we all know. Fast, smooth, in it for the title hunt all year.
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Press516
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Press516 11/1/2022 5:29am
11/1/2022 5:29am
The availability of a factory bike is one thing... it sounds like the Honda was offered to him, but he chose the WSX ride over the factory Honda.

What seems crazy to me is that there doesn't seem to be any tier 2 rides available to him. The support teams are killing themselves trying to get someone to run in the top 5 and here's a perfect opportunity to make that happen and what we see is KR working on putting together his own privateer ride.

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soggy
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soggy 11/1/2022 5:35am
11/1/2022 5:35am
Press516 wrote:
The availability of a factory bike is one thing... it sounds like the Honda was offered to him, but he chose the WSX ride over the...
The availability of a factory bike is one thing... it sounds like the Honda was offered to him, but he chose the WSX ride over the factory Honda.

What seems crazy to me is that there doesn't seem to be any tier 2 rides available to him. The support teams are killing themselves trying to get someone to run in the top 5 and here's a perfect opportunity to make that happen and what we see is KR working on putting together his own privateer ride.

Probably because the mid tier teams don’t have the budget for him. He could do better as a privateer with personal sponsors then he could on say Phoenix Honda, and he gets more choice over what’s on his bike.
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bens152
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bens152 11/1/2022 5:43am
11/1/2022 5:43am
Press516 wrote:
The availability of a factory bike is one thing... it sounds like the Honda was offered to him, but he chose the WSX ride over the...
The availability of a factory bike is one thing... it sounds like the Honda was offered to him, but he chose the WSX ride over the factory Honda.

What seems crazy to me is that there doesn't seem to be any tier 2 rides available to him. The support teams are killing themselves trying to get someone to run in the top 5 and here's a perfect opportunity to make that happen and what we see is KR working on putting together his own privateer ride.

Sounds like his agent made that decision and f*cked his deal. I bet he pays that man a lot of money to handle sh*t like this. As do most people with a lot of money.

Same with the Reed situation. I would love to hear the hard questions put to his agent to get the truth. He seems greasy as.

It’s a shame someone on Kenny’s level is jumping around on different bikes, trying to secure something. When his competitors are only focusing on boot camps and getting in the laps. Being Kenny, this will put even more fire in him. We didn’t know if we would ever see him win again and look what he’s achieved. Hope he gets it secured soon and we can have an exciting ‘23!
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fourfourone
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fourfourone 11/1/2022 5:50am
11/1/2022 5:50am Edited Date/Time 11/1/2022 5:52am
Press516 wrote:
The availability of a factory bike is one thing... it sounds like the Honda was offered to him, but he chose the WSX ride over the...
The availability of a factory bike is one thing... it sounds like the Honda was offered to him, but he chose the WSX ride over the factory Honda.

What seems crazy to me is that there doesn't seem to be any tier 2 rides available to him. The support teams are killing themselves trying to get someone to run in the top 5 and here's a perfect opportunity to make that happen and what we see is KR working on putting together his own privateer ride.

Kenny made it clear on the JS podcast that he thinks he deserves a factory ride. With a factory ride, comes factory money. 2nd tier teams aren't going to pay what he wants.

I like KR but I think he values himself more than what he is actually worth to a team. His constant blaming of the bike, and mental issues are a red flag to many of the top teams.

If Kenny was a true title contender someone would make room for him on a factory team.



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McG194
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McG194 11/1/2022 6:14am
11/1/2022 6:14am
ThePizzaCobra wrote:
I want some Roczen bike reviews…
Why?

What Kenny needs in a bike does not relate to what a regular human needs. His opinion on how a bike performs could possibly help 5-10 humans in the world at the most.
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Press516
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Press516 11/1/2022 6:16am
11/1/2022 6:16am
Press516 wrote:
The availability of a factory bike is one thing... it sounds like the Honda was offered to him, but he chose the WSX ride over the...
The availability of a factory bike is one thing... it sounds like the Honda was offered to him, but he chose the WSX ride over the factory Honda.

What seems crazy to me is that there doesn't seem to be any tier 2 rides available to him. The support teams are killing themselves trying to get someone to run in the top 5 and here's a perfect opportunity to make that happen and what we see is KR working on putting together his own privateer ride.

fourfourone wrote:
Kenny made it clear on the JS podcast that he thinks he deserves a factory ride. With a factory ride, comes factory money. 2nd tier teams...
Kenny made it clear on the JS podcast that he thinks he deserves a factory ride. With a factory ride, comes factory money. 2nd tier teams aren't going to pay what he wants.

I like KR but I think he values himself more than what he is actually worth to a team. His constant blaming of the bike, and mental issues are a red flag to many of the top teams.

If Kenny was a true title contender someone would make room for him on a factory team.



What he thinks he's worth is one thing... But a privateer ride with personal sponsors is still less $$ than a tier 2 ride combined with his personal sponsors. Plus the tier 2 ride is getting decent parts for "free". The privateer ride might get a fair amount of goodies, being that it's Ken of course, but he is going to be buying a lot of stuff too.

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CPan
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CPan 11/1/2022 6:48am
11/1/2022 6:48am
I really don’t think his decisions this year are money driven. Looks like he had a blast at WSX and now he’s trying to get setup on the best bike possible to compete in AMA SX. Obviously the Honda wasn’t that bike (for him). Hopefully he finds something he can be competitive on.
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McG194
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McG194 11/1/2022 6:59am
11/1/2022 6:59am
I think the best idea is pitting out of Club and being a kind of satellite member but have Red Bull buy him Star bikes.

It kind of ticks all the boxes. Give Star a revenue stream, puts Kenny on a proven winner (even though it's year 1 new model and it hasn't proven squat) and give Club a huge boost in credibility and mostly for Kenny he can surround himself with people he is comfortable with. Why not satellite for Star? This way just gives an extra level of separation from Monster Yamaha.
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Johnny Ringo
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Johnny Ringo 11/1/2022 6:59am
11/1/2022 6:59am
I can’t believe we’re two pages in without a:

Looks Comfy
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