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Davey Coombs on regretting 4-strokes (spoiler alert, he doesn't)
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TL:DW; He doesn't really regret the 4-stroke rule, says that all the teams have used it that could. He admits that there is a massive competitive advantage with 450 vs 250 2T, but also says the industry (and promoters) are going to do everything they can to slow down encroaching electric bike phenomenon - to protect 4-strokes!
He also touches on the elephant in the room that many don't want to face up to, which is noise levels of four strokes. Says it's an issue, but in the end nothing has or will be done about it.
Pouring one out for X-Track in Atlanta which was closed down specifically because of noise in the early 00's, when 4-strokes and barely-there exhausts were becoming widespread.
He's in bed with the manufacturers; of course he's going to protect their interests.
The unspoken part that I'm starting to believe is that the Stark Varg is a far superior motorcycle, in the "right now" sense. (Maybe not for 30+2.) All the factory riders are saying, "well, it's pretty good," but they have bosses to answer to. (And those bosses don't make an electric bike.)
I am absolutely salivating at the thought that the thumpers might be rendered obsolete within a few years. Screw four strokes all the way back to the Hell they came from.
X2 . If all the Mfg’s turned up at the next national with electric bikes and denounced 4 strokes Coombs would agree.
They could all turn up with what they ran in 1974 and say that was where it’s at and he’d agree.
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Please, not 1974! That would be before leading axle forks and lay down shocks.
Make it '77 or '78 and all is well!
They need a box for ebikes
ok
Why is that surprising or offensive to anyone? It’s a production based motorsport series in which the manufacturers are heavily invested and provide the lion’s share of the financial investment.
4 strokes are fun, two strokes are fun, ebikes are fun!
The question that needs to be asked, Is why the major of manufactures of the baddest, trickiest motocross bikes, afraid of a stock Stark Varg?
The one question never asked of him.... 4 strokes are so great, can't you atleast allow 150cc 2 strokes and 300cc 2 strokes in class? Never asked so he doesn't have to answer. 20+ years and they "made the mistake" but are too afraid to even let in a small 150 and 300cc.
"4 strokes are just so much better than 2 strokes." It's almost like the fake news fox, cnn and msnbc quoting their talking points.
I feel like it's an open secret at this point that the OEM's killed the 2-stroke. It's a shame they did, but it’s been almost a quarter century now, maybe it's time to let it go.
the paying public confirmed the decisions of the oems by buying 4 strokes on mass, as they still do,
Yamaha made a killing buy building them first,
For pro MX it’s just too hard to get parity. For amateur racing sure.
That's kinda dumb considering that Honda is pretty far into development of their electric motocross bike. Trey Canard raced it last year at the Japanese Nationals. Without a doubt, KTM, Yamaha and probably Kawasaki are already engineering and testing the platform as well.
Yamaha was working on the YZ400F years before any of us knew about it.
Promoters/industry not going all in on electric will be their undoing in the long haul. You can only stop progress so much before it finds away around you. Better to join in than get left behind.
I thought the main reason for X Track closing was due to the runoff affecting a downstream farm and the legal issues behind that. Regardless, miss that place. Learned how to ride there.
Davy Coombs had nothing to do with the displacement rules for 4 strokes, those were AMA rules that had been in place for 20 plus years before Yamaha exploited the rules and then it was to late because of the money invested by Yamaha and then all the other OEMs. Now where DC screwed every one was when he would not try to get the equal displacement rules so the 2 stokes could compete and did what Honda told him to do. DC is on record saying he didn't think it was fair to the OEMs who quit making 2 stokes like Honda but DC had no problem screwing the OEMs like Yamaha and KTM who still invested in MX by making 2 strokes he also said Honda would pull out of Pro racing if they made equal displacement rules , if they want to pull out then let them but it was a bluff . DC may not be on Hondas pay roll but he still does what they say.
Pit Row
They should have called their bluff; no way Honda would pull out because of equal displacement rules.
If the rule came in, factory teams would still be 4t, there’d be little to no difference in the 450 class, while there’d be maybe a few privateers on 2t’s in the top ten mix in the 250 class. Even if the odd 2t occasionally landed on the podium, I fail to see how that would hurt any OEM.
The failure to rectify this rule after 20 years of injustice is one of the biggest travesty’s in the sport.
A 150cc and 300cc wouldn't matter as far as who makes them. Because they won't be par with the 4 strokes. It just gives those few that want to try, a little better chance to qualify. That's all we ask for, but can't even get that. No one on a 150 or 300 will be winning a sx or mx in proama races. So, again the question remains, why can't they allow it?
I doubt it’s either of those two things to anyone. I’m not sure how you came to the conclusion that’s what I was inferring.
It's like meeting a nice girl. You have fun with her, and like her physical appearance. So you start to date her exclusively. Then she adds a bunch of weight, costs way more money to keep her happy, and suddenly she's gotten to be a loud mouth too.
That's a 2 stroke to a 4 stroke.
Best statement I’ve seen on here in a long time.
My question is what happened to the vacuum pump? That's the doohickey on the left side of the original YZM400 under the tank right?
For me, it's the smell of the bean oil. Almost as good as good sex.
The rules need to be updated to accommodate 250 vs 250. And limit the Premier class to 500cc any stroke.
Before leading axle forks? Maico and AJS just took their shirts off!
A third class, allowing riders more of a break by only having 2 classes race per weekend. Kinda like it used to be.
You 2 stroke nut huggers are deluded.
For racing, the 4-stroke bike of the past 10-15 years is simply a faster and better bike across a broader range of conditions than the 2-stroke was and is.
Ktm makes a 150 and a 300 cc 2-stroke MX bike. In other countries that allow mixed bikes in classes, they are still nowhere to be found.
Because they are still not competitive and get wasted across a broad range of track conditions.
Racers will ALWAYS go for the fastest, most competitive machine. Current 4-stroke running costs are not that bad, particularly if you go for a 450.
Especially when you consider most racers are in and out of a bike on a yearly basis. Race teams rebuild engines with factory-supported parts and a few privateers are caught in the middle.
But from what I can tell, even they are not complaining about running costs...
So who that actually races competitively, are complaining about 4-stroke running costs here...?
Well, then why are you still asking for a handicap? Not too long ago a KTM 250sx won the Canadian outdoors in the 250 class....
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