Eli out at Yamaha?

Reed had that 2011 450MX title on lock until the crash at Millville. He had the red plate the whole series and a decently comfortable lead and appeared to have Dungey and RV covered in speed more often than not.. probably the best he ever looked, honestly. 

Also, I’m obviously not super knowledgeable about it or I wouldn’t be asking.. but is it not possible to swap a bike from a hydraulic clutch to a cable clutch? It’s pretty easy to swap the other way. 

It would take some work to change to a cable clutch, modifying the left side crankcase, but it could be done..

Sounds like a job someone like Roger would enjoy.

ROI also takes into account the initial investment; Eli probably has more overall star power than the other two but is it worth what he’s asking?

He’s also clearly at the back end of his career, he hasn’t finished a full series since 2022 MX.  People paying the bills will be scrutinising those things.

Not sure there's a better match from a personality standpoint than Roger and John and Eli Tomac. The ultimate "get off my lawn" lineup that might just be crazy enough to work. Would love to see it. 

                   I believe, assuming that Eli and Yamaha cannot come to an agreement, that Eli calls it a career.  Would like to see him on a Duck, but setting up a new bike , with little data, sounds like a bit more than he wants at this point in his life.

Have you seen Herlings ride…

Eli Watson to race. If he goes for another two years regardless of which team it will mean a good bunch more millions in the bank account.

I can see Redbull KTM working out, why would you risk the Ducati.

Rev the Ducati to the moon and it locks up on a jump etc

Eli has had a few tough years through injury and most likely would of had 2 more SX titles in 23 and 25.

Dang the full circle move would be so sick. I mean it’s 100% not happening but imagine.

I cant remember who it was but they mentioned that technically star has paid eli a lot of money 2 years in a row for him to be out with injury not racing, so maybe that helps make up the difference for him taking less going fwd. Maybe not, but hes made a lot of money. 

IDC if he’s on a Tao Tao as long as he’s still out there blowing up berms. 

How bad ass would it be to have Tomac on a Ducati, Triumph. Looking at Bloss and Oldenberg's results a Beta for that matter.

Somewhere I thought I read Ducati was not going to be ready for ‘26 SX. Any TLD insiders have an update on that? I’ll bet Ciabatti is looking into whether it could work. As long as Eli isn’t demanding stupid money, they can make it work. Monster Ducati. What better way to sell more Ducatis! Probably pretty set on using Showa though. KTM would be, dare I say, more ready to race as a team and bike. We know they will use KYB if they have to.

The destroyer of clutches needs to be on a bike with a known good clutch system. That rules out the Ducati and Triumph for now.

KTM has a new bike coming for next SX season. I am sure it will not have a cable clutch, but it will have the most durable clutch system in the series. It is also rumored to have more comfort like the 19-22 bike. The smooth KTM engine character might be the biggest problem for Tomac. They make a lot of power it just doesn't feel like it compared to the Yamaha.

Yeah, weve seen him ride. Have you seen him crash? Theres no way Tomac goes to the orange shit box

The powerhouse team kawasaki of Tomac and sexton would be mind blowing…

Not really, L2S.

Though, it is Very dependent on the particular bike, And the room / area left by the Slave Cylinder mount area. Most, if not All, the Slave Cylinders on MXers / Dirt Bikes, are situated between the Ignition cover, and the Countershaft Sprocket and Chain. It's a tight area, but, in most case, not insurmountable

It just a matter of  a new end plate  / housing / lever set up, working on the Clutch Shaft Inner Rod - be it a pure  push rod, or rack and pinion set up, so to speak. 

I tried to find the picture of Joel Smets' Cable Clutch he ran on his first KTMs for a while, but I'm buggered if I can find the file I put it in - Logically it would (also) be in the KTM one, but, at times, I'm thoroughly Illogical.  Hang on - I found it - well, one of the pics - there were others with a more machined aluminium finish / look to them:

Someone in Europe, sold such a kit for a while.

I thought a while back when they mentioned this that Yamaha would have all the leverage in this contract talk, they know he only wants to race a couple more years and they know he doesn't want to help develop a new bike or even test a ton on a bike he hasn't been on yet. 

My bet is he maybe takes a big bonus heavy contract if they offer or maybe goes to KTM, its not a cable clutch but its probably the most durable and best clutch design of the OEMs. 

Eli is still under the Star Yamaha tent for the '25 Nationals...correct?

I like ClubMX but I hope that doesn’t happen. That bike isn’t good enough for Tomac. This is a bummer situation for Eli. It sucks if he decides to just walk away.

I really find it hard to believe Monster and Yamaha can't find the money. They found it for Craig lol

Who is Matty B?  I listen to a ton of moto podcasts, but I’ve never heard of that.

IMHO, Eli would take less money to stay on a known commodity like the Star Yamaha bike. He obviously likes the bike and has had a lot of success on it. There is no way he needs the money at this point in his life. He wants another championship or two before he calls it a career and starting on a new brand is probably not in his best interest. Plus, what happens if Haiden doesn't gel with the 450 class or gets hurt? Star can't be stupid enough to just send Eli packing. He's one of the greatest ever and his riding has been nothing short of great. It's not like he's slowed down at all. I am stunned that Star would even consider letting Eli go.

If Eli is smart, he will find a way to stay on a Yamaha, unless he truly plans on putting in another 2-3 years. He has that bike where he wants it and he can win on it currently. If he switches brands and can't gel with the new bike, the end of his career may look much different than it does right now. He doesn't need to be switching brands for just one more full season. 

Maybe talk to a college, Alabama or Georgia, get Yamaha to start a College SX/MX team, he could make millions on NIL. Kidding of course, just crazy all the money out there for stick and ball sports. 

The Club bike is plenty fine. Phil put it in the top 10 in the 450 Nationals and Shock has podiumed with it in 250 SX.