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I'm sure there are factual aspects and varying degrees of truth to what he says, and it's his son so emotions are gonna be high on the subject, but...
"Chase is on Tim Gasjer's setup and Kenny wasn't allowed the same"?
"If Honda listened to Kenny more he could have caught Tomac in points"?
Kenny's Monster Cup and following crashes were because the Honda didn't "forgive his mistakes" like another bike would?
"A mechanic fired by another team and hired by Honda or a mechanic without decades of experience, can't be any use to a rider like Kenny".
How much of this is for real? I see his point and get the WSX rides on the Genuine Parts Honda kind will in their minds validate their complaints, but I'm curious how much of this is legit.
90%
Never underestimate the fact that in factory teams, there are people that would rather lose, than win with something that wasnt their idea.
And it never changes.
Look at Tomac, look at Factory Yamaha.
Sounded like a typical dad when his kid is not real happy with a situation, most parents have been there, it is frustrating. One is left with many things to wonder about after the interview, more questions than answers. For example, why would Chase get parts Kenny could not, for what purpose? Why would Kenny sign several contracts with a team that treated him this way? If the Lawrences could work within the system, why couldn't the Roczens? The big one though is why does Honda consistently shit on their championship riders, ignoring their input and requests, going all the way back to Gary Jones and Marty Smith? And now Marquez in road racing is getting shit on as well. Is it to prove it is the bike, not the rider? I believe Honda's policies and practices towards rider input nearly killed John McGuiness, and Guy Martin in the 2017 road race season. Unexplainable.
Reminder that Valentino Rossi wasn't a good rider, his Hondas were just the best...
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Heiko saying Sexton had the same frame as Gajser is a bit strange.
Now, unlike what so many here think when it comes to the GPs, not all the top riders are on Full Works bikes in the GPs.
But, Gajser had a Work Honda Chassis last year. Hell, on this site when pictures came out of it, there was a long string of comments about how crap the welding looked on it ( this years first pictures showed even more 'cobby' welds, by the way) . It certainly wasn't a std frame.
And, by US rules, a Works Frame / Chassis is completely verboten (sorry couldn't resist my extremely limited German).
If Sexton had the same frame as Gajser, well, he would have been protested out of (both) the series.
So, that being said by Heiko, does make one wonder about the rest of his interview.
Without a doubt, he's a Dad that loves and is concerned for his Son. But hasn't he 'gone off' a few years earlier, and / or a few times, about Kens different teams, that led to some problems?
Chase and his mechanic have both mentioned to us they had the option of the braced frame last year and didn’t run it. Chase said it was actually pretty bad with his old setup and didn’t feel comfortable using it until this off-season when they had more time to develop around it and test out the BFRC more in SX. Again, Chase mentioned they both tested it and had the option to use it, but neither chose it. Actually, Chase claims Kenny did a race on it last year. 🤷🏼♂️
Didn’t Ken’s Dad do the same type of complaining when Ken was at RCH?
So he said the key to winning on the Honda in WSX was a different suspension specialist that knew what they were doing. Does anyone know how that Factory Connection suspension is working out for Kenny this year?
ML512 : Heiko says Sexton had the same frame as Gajser within the first 30 seconds.
And that, you surely know, is BS of the highest order.
Now, as I wrote, I know buggerall German, and, am relying on the English captions provided, but I can't see them f**king up that badly on the translation.
Anyway, 8 minutes to the start of the MXGP program from Argentina. Starts for me at 2am. I'm So ready for some Motocross. So, probably to bed at around 6am on a Sunday morning, then out of it at 10.30am for a S**t, a Shave and a Shower. And then Indy SX at 11am . Then, the GP proper in the evening.
Isn't the production rule in the USA, kind of a joke anyway, as in not strictly enforced to the letter? If you don't protest me, I won't protest you kind of thing? Or if the AMA busts me for this infraction, my team will raise hell about this other team's infraction, on and on? Unless something is glaringly obvious of course. Of course, nobody can honestly answer this publicly, but Roczen's dad did specifically say Gajser's frame, which one would assume would not be stock. At least this was implied by KR's dad, that the frame was something special. And Chase along with his mechanic stated to Mr. Lindsay Ken did use that frame? So who is the liar, and what is the motive for that lie? Perhaps Chase did get Gasjer's frame and Kenny just got a braced stock frame? Maybe these riders don't know what the hell they are using half the time? Would these teams rather lose with parts they choose, then admit they are wrong and win?
Kenny's dad has a history bitching about his son's equiptment from across the pond. He did ths same thing when Ken was on RCH. I'm sure he's a great guy, but there is no reason to publicly go on record (again) saying things like this bashing another OEM.
Yup....it's deja vu all over again......
That’s a stretch, didn’t VR46 leave Honda because they always say it’s the bike not the rider who wins? Didn’t VR46 win on a unproven Yamaha the 1st year after leaving Honda?
Possibly his complaining is simply honesty?
Bracing the frame on that bike seems like the worst solution. Isn't most of the crashes supposedly caused by the bike being too reactive which you would assume is because it's stiff. To me it seemed that both Kenny and Chase were somewhat scared of that bike in last year's supercross series. It would snap throw them on their heads. A more forgiving chassis would be slower to do all that.
The translation in the beginning might be misleading. Subtitles say "chassis", but he says "Fahrwerk" and by that means "suspension".
Not sure Kenny will like this interview. I think he and his dad had problems before and weren't talking for a while because of another interview he gave.
Faaark Faaark Faaark
Just watched the "Studio Show" - t'was good - Herlings especially so. He's pretty bloody level headed now, and, he admitted that Chase (Cairoli) could show him how to Whip!
But, bugger me blind, I messed up and didn't realize that the Qualifiers weren't until 5am and 6am. So, right now, I've 2 and quarter hours to kill before the off. Oh well, I've a swingarm to finish weld - and, the Big Beads of Aluminium are far easier to lay down tidily than the tiny 4130 / Stainless or Ti ones I've got cued up........
Though, It might mean I go to sleep through Indy......... the second I sit down in Grandads Recliner, with a Pizza and a Bevvy or two, I fear nothing will keep me awake. Unless it's a barn burner of a SX. I hope it is.
I remember reading somewhere that Keefer actually said the frame is on the softer side, almost like it’s too soft and the harsh feeling is actually the feeling of the frame “snapping” back from flexing so they brace it to stiffen it up a bit. I don’t know any of the technical data behind that, but I will say after riding a 22 450, it was the worst feeling chassis I’ve ever been on.
Pit Row
Fan of Kenny....
....but, like son, like father. Gotta know when to keep your mouth shut....truth or not.
Yes, totally!
Just like every time my ex-wife was fired from a job, it was because the manager/owner was mean and had it out for her!
Giving him the benefit of the doubt, if Roczen's Dad did actually say suspension instead of chassis, can anyone confirm Sexton had a suspension kit that wasn't available to Kenny?
Yes. That's exactly what I was bringing up to the reply I quoted about how Honda says it's the bike and not the rider.
And if Schwartz had ridden for Honda would he have beaten Rainey/ Yamaha?
It doesn’t matter. Those were Schwantz’s cards and that’s it.
Schwantz was arguably a better rider than Roczen and did more with what he had.
Didn’t Hannah say he won on bad bikes and lost on good ones?
Seems like the rider is a big part of the equation.
Ever seen somebody running top three, make a mistake and never fight back or maybe drop further back?
Ever seen somebody crash at the start and then contend at the end?
And Kawi was withholding factory parts from Eli!
Complaining?! 😂
You don't think the most honest conversations he would have are with his immediate family-that information is relayed back to you and you label it complaining?
The guys having the time of his life..under zero restrictions and having fun riding again.
The time has passed in which he can speak on it-Honestly and you say complaining.
Why the fuck do you think he left?!
What did you want to hear?
Unreal.
Poes law and all but i think he was being sardonic and judging by the downvotes he got it went over ppls heads idk
Sardonic. That’s a good word.
Its funny how kens bike is great for the first 5 laps, then it magically turns to shit and he starts losing positions.
and yes his dad said the same sh$t at RCH.
Post a reply to: Interview with Roczen‘s father about the problems with Honda