Shimoda’s hesitation to change

I seem to remember Jim Holley talking about a few of the Japanese riders he worked with for Yamaha being “stubborn” and reluctant to change or listening to his input. 

People who know anything about japanese culture should know that the correct term would be ”conservative” not stubborn.

They stick to what they know, for both good and bad. 
 

I can't imagine not wanting to train/ride with the Aussie's everyday 🥴

I used to practice with a guy who had a YZ250. I would chase him around the track everyday after school on my RM125. He taught me everything I know, he just didn't teach me everything he knew. I only passed him once! 🙂

Japanese culture is to stick with what you know, and be very disciplined. When it works, it’s undeniable. When it doesn’t, its apparent. 

Whatever he's doing, it's not the way (wey?) he should be doing it. He seems to be regressing.

The last year on Kawi must have been disappointing, it was disappointing as a Jo fan. Now he's moved to Honda, I was hoping this would be the change he needed, but it doesn't seem any better.

Maybe it would be best if he'd go all in and train with Hymas and the hunter brothers? Sure his TV cables may be less organised over there, but his riding would likely improve.

I've had enough old rear wheel drive cars and history lessons to be familiar with the Japanese psyche and whether it's stubbornness, loyalty, being conservative, something's gotta change.

I hope it does. When Jo is good, he's GOOD.

Why dont u just listen to the riders themselves other than putting some wild speculation out there? Because u dont believe them?

Jo has been pretty open about his current state with honda in recent interviews. Said that the balance of the honda is the exact opposite of what he is comfortable riding with. They apparently found something, which made him improve his result in both motos at thunder valley significantly. He himself was a bit surprised and said its "crazy" how much of a difference it can make. But of course, I forgot, vitards think setup doesnt really matter, they all lie and use it as an excuse. While that can be true in some cases, yes, I believe Jo on that one.

He did start mx with a small injury, to be fair. But he is who he is. I doubt his results would be that much different, if not for the injury. 3 races in and already 45 points down, we'll start seeing some good motos out of him. Even some moto wins. He's not even the best 250 rider for HRC now

I’d normally agree with you, but this is a pretty blatant pattern with Jo. Even when he was on Kawi he always seems to “find something” only once he’s out of championship contention. Gotta be a mental thing. 

Jo needs an injection of confidence. I want to see Ironman 23 Jo back!

Talent does not always equal desire.

Seems like a talented dude who is making good time—but isn’t 100% sure of his desired destination. 

Change of scenery can be good, even if only in the short run. That said, the change to Honda hasn’t paid dividends yet. 

It’s evident he simply doesn’t want it as much as someone like Levi, Deegan, Hymas, etc.

Think about it, why did he leave PC Kawi for Honda? Was it the bike? I doubt it, he had 3 years to get comfy on the PC Bike and it was clearly faster than the Honda.

Was it getting more personal attention? No, Honda cares a lot more about the Lawrences whereas at PC every rider is always injured so Shimoda and Kitchen would always be the focus.

The answer was money. He knew he would get personal gear and energy drink sponsorships at Honda so he left PC.

Now look at Levi. He knew he would get less money at PC, but he also knew that if he put in the work he would get that money back through race win bonuses. He even invested 150k into Sextons trainer.

Shimoda, knew he didn’t want to work as much and take the risk of getting race wins, so he played it safe at Honda. Really shows where his heads at.

So of course it’s no surprise now, he doesn’t want to train w the Lawrence’s and put in the extra work to get to the next level. Look at his physique as well. Hes clearly weaker than the other riders. Queue the clips of him picking up his bike in Supercross.

i say this all the time, but I highly encourage people listen to his Gypsy tales podcast. Shimoda himself states he wants to retire at a young age and move back to Japan. He only raced so much as a kid bc his father loved the sport but in his own words Shimoda has “never woke up in the morning and wanted to ride.”

Yes, it’s frustrating, but that’s just his mentality. It’s shame he’s wasting his potential and talent. 

He's become a very frustrating rider to follow. Obviously, whatever he's doing doesn't quite cut it in terms of winning championships. It's one thing if he was still brand new to the series, but he's been essentially the same exact rider since 2022, which in SX/MX terms is a pretty long time. 

He's also unbelievably skinny. I know moto is more of an endurance sport, but most of the top guys have some type of muscle... especially nowadays with guys like Sexton and Kitchen working with Peter Park. I can't be convinced that Jo's 12 year old boy frame is conducive to riding the shit out of a 225lb dirt bike.

"Better the Devil you know than the Devil you don't." 

Could also be that he sees Honda as family. Yes i know that he had to go when they folded Geico Honda but he might miss the Honda family and feel some comfort in those people.

i can only guess that a guy like him could have a hard time racing for Mitch and being under that ultra competetive tent.

He moved at a young age and what i remember he has his sister and mom here but no other family?. I don’t think it’s fair to expect the same killer instinct from him as people from the western side of the world.

Their culture is so far from what people are used to here, very humble and honorable (spelling?)

But i never expected him to become much more than this. He has allready become the best japanese rider ever on paper and i always thought he would be a top 5 guy at best. So he surpassed my expections.

When he moved to HRC, I said his starts would get even worse as the Honda seems like the slowest factory 250. Chase is nailing his starts though. No doubt it's within Jo's abilities to win. That's why it's frustrating to see his his inconsistency. I picked him to win mx last summer when Jett moved up. But I don't see that he can put it all together for a title anymore 

Shimoda’s problems are 100% between the ears. No fire, no desire, seems like he races cause he’s a good rider but doesn’t really love the competition. 

IIRC there’s a clip of him on Gypsy tales saying something along the lines of he doesn’t really love to race, sounded like he explained it as more of a job and didn’t have that passion of riding like others do. 

If I were Joe, I would want to spend time over at the Lawrence compound to mix things up and keep it fun at the very least. Then again, If I were Lars I would say go try it out and let’s spark the change. Take Nick if he can go

That could even be where I got it from. He’ll never reach his potential with that attitude. Explains why he does better at the end of the year when there is no pressure on him. 

Indeed, changing his whole program won't happen over night. If he and Kervella went their own ways in good terms (what I think happened) you've a bigger chance to make him switch to his old riding coach in combination with new physical program things could work...

Other idea is to bring in someone such as Yoshitaka Atsuta. He knows a thing or two about mx and knows the culture.

One thing I will say about Jo is that he is an enigma -- hence why he gets talked about so much. He's really the only rider in either class that can go 1-1 any day without anyone being surprised but still has yet to be a title contender once.

To be fair to Jo, he also deserves some credit. Yes, it's easy to criticize him, but he's actually done a lot better than other riders in his age range. Just look at Pierce Brown, Jalek Swoll, Stilez Robertson, Seth Hammaker, Nate Thrasher -- all of whom beat Jo in amateurs. These guys get way less flack for their performances despite all being significantly worse than Jo.
 

His race FINISHES being dramatically better at the end of seasons is undeniable, that's my point.

Someone else said "Shimoda Hater" and I don't think that exists. It feels like people are frustrated with Joe, but I don't think I've ever heard anything close to hate for the kid. There is a Shimoda Realist, and I think he pretty much always says what I implied - Joe finishes series in a better place than where he starts them. That's undeniable.

I hope he figures it out, because when he's on, he can run with almost anyone in the class. More guys at the front consistently is always a good thing. 

It’s a cultural thing with the Japanese.  They are some of the most honorable, respectful, and polite people on earth.  It’s just not in their DNA to need to be catered to or to ask for things at the risk of upsetting anyone.  It is often misjudged for stubbornness, which is apparent all the way to the largest Japanese companies, like Honda and Toyota.  

I believe Matthes had said that Jo went to Honda for the opportunity to get a 450 ride in the future, not for money.

I don't know how someone can say he has no desire when he pushes so hard at the end of races. And look at that move he put on Deegan at SMX last year. But other than that one pass he isn't aggressive enough, and that's gonna hurt when he gets bad starts. I still think with his riding style he can possibly be amazing on a 450. 

His program is not working 😭. Easily a top 5 rider in the 250 class but his program is not working. 

I hope he gets it figured out either way.

I still have my hopes up that  he'll go well on the 450 when he gets there.

Doing the same thing and expecting different results is crazy.  It seems like by now the benefits of training in east coast weather and dirt, and with riders who push you, is a proven thing.