Prado has been a real mystery to me, but I want to throw something out there.
I recently came across a clip of reedy being interviewed after MXDN at Red Bud, and he was really vocal about how fascinating the track turned out afterwards, he said he has never seen lines where he did and had never seen the track look anything like that in his 20+ years of going there.
So it got me thinking, maybe the Euro’s ride tracks completely different and take different lines etc, which is why a couple weeks ago, Prado was leading after holeshot because it was a fresh track and as it started to wear in he struggled with our style.
Could also explain why we seem to struggle every year at MXDN no matter where it is.
Just a theory, I’m searching for anything at this point.
I don't think there is enough emphasis on the difference of MXGP bikes and AMA production rules. Imagine going from custom steel frames to a production aluminum frame bike. I also think our bikes look stiff in MXDN compared to the top MXGP guys on their bikes. Those bikes are only focused on outdoors where our production bikes are progressively getting stiffer in order for the factory SX bikes to be workable.
I've been saying the same thing since Red Bud 2018. It's a majority MXGP riders who generally ride more sweeping lines with softer suspension vs AMA riders with stiffer suspension diving into turns and pivoting.
…..another Prado thread…….just what is needed. 😑
I think its a old myth that MXGP suspension is in general softer than AMA.
Cairoli after retirement when he was in US (2022?) rode with almost SX suspension in his fork, KTMs USA mechanic has explained his setup was similar to what KTM team uses for SX 😄 And he is light as a feather.
https://motocrossactionmag.com/we-ride-tony-cairolis-ama-450-national-k…
It's rider preference as usual. But riding style I think it differs, just because they run so much sand where you have to keep up momentum.
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Yeah no. The bullet came here for a one off at Ironman and kicked everyone's ass..
Eh fair enough. I'm only basing the softer thing off of what some of the media says, and back when Herlings came over how wildly different his bike looked, casually moving up and down, compared to everyone else slamming into everything comparatively.
He said in Lewis’ interview that he’s loved the US tracks.
What I am talking about is chassis (frame) and not suspension. There was a video of Febvre in MXDN France where you could see and hear is chassis flex over the braking bumps. It looked wildly different than our Yamahas. I think even Gypsy mentioned it in a podcast.
The crux of my thought is that going from a steel to aluminum frame has historically been a challenge, I think it would be even more challenging to go from MXGP modified custom steel frames to production aluminum. I have heard the factory teams in Europe will run different frames for different tracks. The current discomfort may not have showed itself as much in SX as it does in the square edge and rutted national tracks as well. He was performing better in SX than he has outdoors. It is a shame he was injured so early.
And Cairoli popped over for a post-retirement vacation in 2022, had no problem stringing together top-5s, then just showed up again a few weeks from his 40th birthday on a completely-undeveloped Ducati with a pipe & kit suspension and finished motos inside the top ten.
Been saying this about our guys suspension being stiffer for quite a while. Look at Eli, Chase and AP vs Jett, Hunter and Kenny. The guys that have ridden motocross all over the world run a softer/more plush setup where out guys here run a much stiffer setup. Watching Jett at Millville especially, his bike just soaks up everything and the bike looks like an absolute pleasure to ride.
Off the showroom floor I'm choosing the YZ450 24/7-365 over the CRF. If I had to choose between Eli and Jett's bikes, I'm choosing that CRF450 over Eli's YZ450.
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