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Ama should allow 2nd bikes. It's so much cheaper overall.
And almost every1 that races near that level has multiple bike. A race bike and a practice bike. If something major goes wrong you just switch to the practice bike.
I'm even happy for factory teams to only be allowed 1 bike and privateers have 2.
I get your sentiment, nobody wanted Ty to go out like that. I'm curious what you reasonably expect Kawi to have done to prevent this, though? Not arguing , just wondering 👍 I don't think Kawi or them themselves would have expected a 450 engine to go out so soon.
Vohland, Jett and Anstie had motors let go this last year or two (I appreciate two were 250's), I'm sure theirs were well prepped and 'serviced' for want of a better word.
MotoGP and F1 have had the occasional engine failure. World class engineers are constantly up in those engines and have suitcases of cash stuffed into them.
Sometimes shit happens.
Glad Kawi helped the guy out afterwards though, he's earned it.
That’s my thought as well, what would be the harm in being allowed to send 2 bikes through tech incase of a major failure, so you could just run the other bike?
I believe they do at Triple Crown races in SX...
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You understand that there is a big conflict?
I’ve never met Ty or his family. What has he or his family done over the years that make it so hard for a rider with his talent and results to secure a ride? Also, if he has a riding facility, why is there such a huge disparity between his SX and MX results?
I was flagging at Budds Creek for the '99 US GP years ago and a local pro seized the engine in his RM 250 during qualifying. I swapped it with his practice bike engine in about 15 minutes, he got out there and seized that one too. I found another engine for him and swapped that in with about 20 minutes remaining. He qualified! I was a teenager at the time, great with a wrench, but not a pro and had never touched a Suzuki prior to that.
Two points - think at one of the biggest, most popular races of the year, some “media” would have the scoop on this so we aren’t all speculating and relying on someone that “doesn’t want to get into the entire situation” Two - bikes are more expensive than ever, have the most tech and R&D into them, yet they still can’t make it 1.5 hours a weekend?
I’d bet a fair amount of money that the engine wasn’t fresh going into the weekend. More like built a bit (you don’t get starts like that on stock engines) with a decent number of hours on it. Privateer life ain’t easy.
I could see it puffing blue smoke plenty in moto one while I was shooting, I figured there was no chance in hell that thing would make it through moto two if they left it in.
I've asked every weekend and they claim their engine is 100% stock right now. I noticed last weekend it still has a stock ECU on it as well.
Ty did say during press day he was hoping to have some more power for this weekend but things didn't come together in time.
How is there a conflict if they gave him the motor after the fact?
Stock crate engine is about $3,000-4,000.
How much for a nicely built one from Twisted Development?
Depends what you do to it. Head and ECU would probably run at least $1,800 or so. The biggest thing is that bike likely needs a good crank and rod to survive the abuse that Ty puts it through.
kawi doing kawi things
Weak point of the Kawi or just expected when someone goes that fast on a stock engine?
You said somebody at Kawasaki should have kept the bike running for him...
Pit Row
Yes good marketing to having the green bike running up front they should have been at least giving him some some parts out the back door to help him! Would not be the first time factories have done this!
Worn big end and probably low on oil.
I imagined the 'bandaid' was extra oil.
They are listed at about $450.
MXGP allows two bikes to go through tech- you keep the spare at the line ready to go.
AMA allows one race bike with a special numbered sticker, and they check it every time your rider enters the track
I agree on the broad point but the highly paid factory team riders were being embarassed so...
Why are you guys assuming it is a financial constraint being the only factor? How about the fact that he doesn't have a team getting his bike to the track each week and a mechanic to fly back and forth to take apart his entire engine and rebuild it in the 4 days they have between the races that are 500+ miles apart from each other lol.
It takes alot more to go to these races every week than people think, its a logistical mess for non factory guys. Its not just the $ that makes it so damn impressive for someone to be doing as well as Ty is with basically no help.
I guess they could just pay twisted or whoever to have 2 engines then constantly be swapping them similar to how club does, but still takes time and logistics to have a fresh one on hand and one in the bike at all times.
Shit are they using pump gas too?😜
I can’t believe they are possibly still using a stock ECU, makes what Ty is doing even more impressive…
Weege talked to him on his wrap up show at the Kawi rig as they swapped a motor for him. Ty was all smiles and seemed stoked on the help they were doing for him … not sure what some of guys think that Kawi should do more for him? He is a pure privateer right now that is racing a for what we know is a stock KX450 with suspension work from AHM and kicking Factory riders asses every weekend to include the factory contracted Kawasaki riders and that is pretty awesome in my book!
I understand what it takes my son chased his dream for 3 years on my dime we couldn't make every round because of logistics and finance what ty is doing is very impressive just saying he should get some more help!
Seems like a no brainier given the fact of how many thousands of miles have to be traveled by privateers to compete in the series. One bike problem and it’s the long ride home. Most guys at local races have another bike in the van incase if a problem.
They had plenty of time earlier in the day. To install a loner engine in his bike. Even if they had to pull it out after moto 2. You would think their goal is to keep his bike running for the day. About the least expensive advertising and promotion they can get with him and that bike on the track.
I know this is a very long time ago, but a friend of mine blew up his race bike 2 days before the Southwick national. He was a good starter in the local pro class and his regular engine had been modified. With very little time, he borrowed another friend of ours bike , a stock low hour CRF450 and put his plastic and suspension on. That weekend he had the second fastest average lap time in practice. Means not much since they still raced to get into the motos back then, but RC was the only one faster. In the first moto he came out of the first turn in 4th. Stock engine with slip on or maybe a full exhaust and revalved suspension,I think he even had the stock bars on it was so stock.
He ran up there , but wanted to try and lead a lap . Ended up cartwheeling off the track as he passed into 3rd sometime during the first lap. Got back up and was in 15th or so and had a bigger crash that took all his energy. It was 2005. After a bunch of crashes he ended up just outside the top 20 and in the second moto he was tired and didn't do anything great.It was one of the years that over half the 450 class got IV's in the medical truck after the 2nd moto. Super hot and humid. He ended up getting hurt pretty badly over the off season and wasn't the same rider after that. But he got a great start there on a stock engine. I would think that back then it would have been more of a disadvantage than now. I know of locals that have run Big bores and that have run stock engines and gotten great starts on both. Maybe it was just that different back then.
It's the one big upside to 450's. It's a level playing field when it comes to horsepower. Yet, there are those who think the displacement should be dropped down to 350. I get the idea.... but then you'd have the factories building the engines for more horsepower and having an unfair advantage against the privateers. Rinse and repeat. 450's today are the real deal open class. It's pretty awesome a stock engine can be competitively raced in the pro class, imo.
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