Chase changing the whole setup!?

Blake522
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Murrieta, CA, USA
1/17/2026 9:34am
olds cool wrote:
Kawasaki should hire Carson Brown as a psychologist / liason / mediator.  That guy can take any bike and make it work.  I have no doubt...

Kawasaki should hire Carson Brown as a psychologist / liason / mediator.  That guy can take any bike and make it work.  I have no doubt that Broc is a great test rider but put CB on Sexton’s bike for a few laps here and there during the week to show and then tell Chase that it’s not all the bike dude.  Better yet, have Carson bring a bunch of assorted bikes to the test track and do an abbreviated version of the one on ones he did with KRoc.

Press516 wrote:

Carson is a cool dude, but on an SX track, Sexton laps him easily, even on a bike he doesn't like...

Well, we WOULD have found out.

Carson brown had a chase sexton VS Carson brown on a KTM 150SX, on a supercross track..sadly, with how the final went during the Vegas finale, didn’t get the chance. 

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Mavetism
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Hannover, DE
1/17/2026 9:41am
Mavetism wrote:

I expect Chase to wear his hat backwards by the second half of the season. 

Oh snap! Haha. 

I hope he wins in San Diego by the way. 

Wouldn't mind if he did, he needs to be up there every weekend, he's way too fun to watch when he's on.

1/17/2026 9:41am
Blake522 wrote:
Track talkers pod was saying during press day at A1, someone close to the brothers told them chase had the forks off & rear shock off.So...

Track talkers pod was saying during press day at A1, someone close to the brothers told them chase had the forks off & rear shock off.

So, what are we at 3 “completely” different set ups.. not counting what goes on at the practice track?

How difficult is it to get the Bike in a window? The suspension team should just take it off, pretend to change shit. Put it back in & be like try that, it’s totally a different set up. 

Ask Prado

1
Blake522
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Murrieta, CA, USA
1/17/2026 9:45am
Blake522 wrote:
Track talkers pod was saying during press day at A1, someone close to the brothers told them chase had the forks off & rear shock off.So...

Track talkers pod was saying during press day at A1, someone close to the brothers told them chase had the forks off & rear shock off.

So, what are we at 3 “completely” different set ups.. not counting what goes on at the practice track?

How difficult is it to get the Bike in a window? The suspension team should just take it off, pretend to change shit. Put it back in & be like try that, it’s totally a different set up. 

kylemenz1 wrote:

Ask Prado

I’ll text him

1

The Shop

Front242
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Tipp City, OH, USA
1/17/2026 9:58am
Buckland wrote:

It's going to be a long three years.

or end up like Prado quickly 😏

2
PRM31
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1/17/2026 10:07am

New callsign. Chase “Setup” Sexton. 

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Tyler D
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La, CA, USA
1/17/2026 10:11am Edited Date/Time 1/17/2026 10:12am

He needs to change Lecheins number off his bike before he disgraces it further being the biggest headcase since Craig

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Tyler D
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1/17/2026 10:20am
Boomslang wrote:
Chase needs to revise the whole SETUP of his head. The damn Kawa was good enough to post a Qualy lap 0.6secs faster than the next...

Chase needs to revise the whole SETUP of his head. The damn Kawa was good enough to post a Qualy lap 0.6secs faster than the next best at A1.

Jett said it a while back, his HRC 450 had some issues, but him and Hunter adjusted and rode around those problems, and they got results

Chase easily can be on Jett's level, but his constant harping and seeking of the perfect setup has manifested itself into trying to perfect the fine tuning of a black art. It ain't gonna happen and he needs to be held accountable.

I've spent countless hours with the best chassis, Suspension and engine guys in the industry and the common consensus is that there ain't the perfect bike. 

The greats like Jeremy, Villo, Reed, Ricky, Dungey. I'll throw in Stew, all had gray areas with their equipment. Everything was not perfect but what made them great was their ability to adjust and adapt...

Chase arrived at San Diego with major changes. It ain't gonna work in the long run. It may work for one evening and we will see the entire team get broken down over the next few weeks. These guys put in looong hours only to have their rider grab parts from PC. I can tell you now that the morale over there can't be good.

Chase will grenade himself again.

 

aees wrote:
Putting in a qualification lap on a decent track, and riding 20min at the end of a night is not comparable. Anyone that has done testing...

Putting in a qualification lap on a decent track, and riding 20min at the end of a night is not comparable. Anyone that has done testing knows that. You will get away with a lot earlier in a race day during sprint laps.

Non of the riders in the field today can ride around a bike that they are not comfortable on and still podium. None. Shock was slightly off for Jett and he had to settle for a third last season. So not even he can do it.

Certain riders have speed because of how they setup their bikes and need to hit that window. Dungey was no exception, he didn't ride around anything and end up winning.

I get tired of listening to people being 20-30sec a lap slower on a national track, repeatedly telling championship winning riders how to handle their bike setup.

Chase ain't winning riding around a setup issue. He is here to win championships, so there really isn't any option is there.

-what are the setup issues?

-what is his style and why is it worth keeping? And why does it cause problems with certain setups?

-why do some other PRO riders go just as fast with fewer chronic setup conflicts? 

1
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davistld01
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Springfield, MO, USA
1/17/2026 10:26am

Kind of a bad mark for Kawasaki when their star rider prefers PC stuff over the factory parts. 

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4
1/17/2026 10:32am
davistld01 wrote:

Kind of a bad mark for Kawasaki when their star rider prefers PC stuff over the factory parts. 

Which in reality stinks for kawasaki ,99 percent of the people buying a bike from a dealership couldn't use either suspension to its full capabilities. 

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1
truck
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1/17/2026 10:34am
davistld01 wrote:

Kind of a bad mark for Kawasaki when their star rider prefers PC stuff over the factory parts. 

I'm not sure most people draw much of a distinction between the two.

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bigcat
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N, TX, USA
1/17/2026 11:00am

Wait a minute, i thought the bike was fine and it was all Prado fault?   

9
8
MikeID
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Boise, ID, USA
1/17/2026 11:05am

To me this makes the championship chase just that much more interesting.  Just from his history and Kawasaki’s season for last year, I’d like to see them figure it out, bike or otherwise.

scootch
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Fort Worth, TX, USA
1/17/2026 11:09am

The one constant with Chase Sexton is change haha

4
Gravel
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Ridgecrest, CA, USA
1/17/2026 11:10am
davistld01 wrote:

Kind of a bad mark for Kawasaki when their star rider prefers PC stuff over the factory parts. 

truck wrote:

I'm not sure most people draw much of a distinction between the two.

PC/Kawasaki are almost one and the same in my mind, I can’t think of another longer lasting moto partnership. Full respect to corporate for using all available resources.

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Gravel
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1/17/2026 11:11am
bigcat wrote:

Wait a minute, i thought the bike was fine and it was all Prado fault?   

Both could be true..

1
1
1/17/2026 11:15am
PRM31 wrote:

New callsign. Chase “Setup” Sexton. 

Chase "The Setup" Sexton*

10
2
PNWMXer
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Washington, WA, USA
1/17/2026 11:29am

Jeff Ward rode an entire race with a blown shock.

Magoo rode with a missing footpeg and a left grip down by the tank.

Dungey rode with a suicide shifter, shifting over the triple. 

As my dad has told me countless times:


“Just ride the damn bike.”


As truck said, if your bike isn’t working at 101%, you ride at 95% and salvage a podium. I guarantee that over a season, you’re better off backing down just enough and getting top 3-5 points consistently than throwing a whole new setup at it week after week and either crashing or having to back it further down because it’s a like riding a bull. 

 

10
7
olds cool
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Claremont, NC, USA
1/17/2026 11:34am
olds cool wrote:
Kawasaki should hire Carson Brown as a psychologist / liason / mediator.  That guy can take any bike and make it work.  I have no doubt...

Kawasaki should hire Carson Brown as a psychologist / liason / mediator.  That guy can take any bike and make it work.  I have no doubt that Broc is a great test rider but put CB on Sexton’s bike for a few laps here and there during the week to show and then tell Chase that it’s not all the bike dude.  Better yet, have Carson bring a bunch of assorted bikes to the test track and do an abbreviated version of the one on ones he did with KRoc.

Press516 wrote:

Carson is a cool dude, but on an SX track, Sexton laps him easily, even on a bike he doesn't like...

Fair point.

We can revisit that this summer.

aees
Posts
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USA
1/17/2026 11:41am
Boomslang wrote:
Chase needs to revise the whole SETUP of his head. The damn Kawa was good enough to post a Qualy lap 0.6secs faster than the next...

Chase needs to revise the whole SETUP of his head. The damn Kawa was good enough to post a Qualy lap 0.6secs faster than the next best at A1.

Jett said it a while back, his HRC 450 had some issues, but him and Hunter adjusted and rode around those problems, and they got results

Chase easily can be on Jett's level, but his constant harping and seeking of the perfect setup has manifested itself into trying to perfect the fine tuning of a black art. It ain't gonna happen and he needs to be held accountable.

I've spent countless hours with the best chassis, Suspension and engine guys in the industry and the common consensus is that there ain't the perfect bike. 

The greats like Jeremy, Villo, Reed, Ricky, Dungey. I'll throw in Stew, all had gray areas with their equipment. Everything was not perfect but what made them great was their ability to adjust and adapt...

Chase arrived at San Diego with major changes. It ain't gonna work in the long run. It may work for one evening and we will see the entire team get broken down over the next few weeks. These guys put in looong hours only to have their rider grab parts from PC. I can tell you now that the morale over there can't be good.

Chase will grenade himself again.

 

aees wrote:
Putting in a qualification lap on a decent track, and riding 20min at the end of a night is not comparable. Anyone that has done testing...

Putting in a qualification lap on a decent track, and riding 20min at the end of a night is not comparable. Anyone that has done testing knows that. You will get away with a lot earlier in a race day during sprint laps.

Non of the riders in the field today can ride around a bike that they are not comfortable on and still podium. None. Shock was slightly off for Jett and he had to settle for a third last season. So not even he can do it.

Certain riders have speed because of how they setup their bikes and need to hit that window. Dungey was no exception, he didn't ride around anything and end up winning.

I get tired of listening to people being 20-30sec a lap slower on a national track, repeatedly telling championship winning riders how to handle their bike setup.

Chase ain't winning riding around a setup issue. He is here to win championships, so there really isn't any option is there.

Tyler D wrote:
-what are the setup issues?-what is his style and why is it worth keeping? And why does it cause problems with certain setups?-why do some other...

-what are the setup issues?

-what is his style and why is it worth keeping? And why does it cause problems with certain setups?

-why do some other PRO riders go just as fast with fewer chronic setup conflicts? 

He rides over the front, but wants a soft setup anyway. And just as RJ he trusts it to have great traction all the time. That's why he is so fast, he is closest to the limit at all time, but also why it bites him.

All the riders would be tweaking the setups if Jett was in it now. They are ok, because Jetts and Chases 0.5-0.8sec advantage hasn't made them realize they need to do something.

6
2
aees
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Location
USA
1/17/2026 11:55am
PNWMXer wrote:
Jeff Ward rode an entire race with a blown shock.Magoo rode with a missing footpeg and a left grip down by the tank.Dungey rode with a...

Jeff Ward rode an entire race with a blown shock.

Magoo rode with a missing footpeg and a left grip down by the tank.

Dungey rode with a suicide shifter, shifting over the triple. 

As my dad has told me countless times:


“Just ride the damn bike.”


As truck said, if your bike isn’t working at 101%, you ride at 95% and salvage a podium. I guarantee that over a season, you’re better off backing down just enough and getting top 3-5 points consistently than throwing a whole new setup at it week after week and either crashing or having to back it further down because it’s a like riding a bull. 

 

Those old stories, is just that, old. Ward and Magoo wouldn't stand a chance against the speed that today's bikes allows. It also means margin for error is less. It's not a comparison you can do.

I know a rider that was very fast during youth and junior time, but unfortunately had a father with attitude like yours. He have told me when he has now coached his kid to a few national titles, that if he would have been allowed to invest time and resources into setting up his bike properly, he is sure he would have reached the top national level. He still beats fast former nationals champions being over 40.

If you are not on it today, your third will be a 6-8 and that ain't cutting it. Jett wasn't happy with his shock after a few races, and even he could barely salvage a third and that is just shock clickers wrong direction type.

4
9
truck
Posts
3729
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Location
Louisville, KY, USA
Fantasy
1/17/2026 12:02pm
PNWMXer wrote:
Jeff Ward rode an entire race with a blown shock.Magoo rode with a missing footpeg and a left grip down by the tank.Dungey rode with a...

Jeff Ward rode an entire race with a blown shock.

Magoo rode with a missing footpeg and a left grip down by the tank.

Dungey rode with a suicide shifter, shifting over the triple. 

As my dad has told me countless times:


“Just ride the damn bike.”


As truck said, if your bike isn’t working at 101%, you ride at 95% and salvage a podium. I guarantee that over a season, you’re better off backing down just enough and getting top 3-5 points consistently than throwing a whole new setup at it week after week and either crashing or having to back it further down because it’s a like riding a bull. 

 

aees wrote:
Those old stories, is just that, old. Ward and Magoo wouldn't stand a chance against the speed that today's bikes allows. It also means margin for...

Those old stories, is just that, old. Ward and Magoo wouldn't stand a chance against the speed that today's bikes allows. It also means margin for error is less. It's not a comparison you can do.

I know a rider that was very fast during youth and junior time, but unfortunately had a father with attitude like yours. He have told me when he has now coached his kid to a few national titles, that if he would have been allowed to invest time and resources into setting up his bike properly, he is sure he would have reached the top national level. He still beats fast former nationals champions being over 40.

If you are not on it today, your third will be a 6-8 and that ain't cutting it. Jett wasn't happy with his shock after a few races, and even he could barely salvage a third and that is just shock clickers wrong direction type.

So Jett managed a third? And didn't crash or go off track multiple times when he wasn't happy with his setup? 

That's the point. 

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1
resetjet
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Location
Tampa, FL, USA
1/17/2026 12:02pm

“Where do you think he will land?” 

I’ll bite. on his a$$

3
2
mtbkris2
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San Diego, CA, USA
1/17/2026 12:46pm

It’s a shame he is such a head case because he truly has the potential to be one of the best we will ever see

6
2
1/17/2026 1:06pm

How long until he starts blaming the bike…..I’ll ground 8.

1
3
Gravel
Posts
1849
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Location
Ridgecrest, CA, USA
1/17/2026 2:06pm

How long until he starts blaming the bike…..I’ll ground 8.

If Kawi is letting him do whatever he wants to the bike the Chase owns it 100%. And seeing the PC parts that showed up this week, it looks like Kawi isn’t getting in the way of whatever Chase wants..

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2
1/17/2026 2:08pm

How long until he starts blaming the bike…..I’ll ground 8.

We’ll see how tonight goes but potentially around 7:15pm pacific standard time 

1/17/2026 2:12pm

How long until he starts blaming the bike…..I’ll ground 8.

Gravel wrote:
If Kawi is letting him do whatever he wants to the bike the Chase owns it 100%. And seeing the PC parts that showed up this...

If Kawi is letting him do whatever he wants to the bike the Chase owns it 100%. And seeing the PC parts that showed up this week, it looks like Kawi isn’t getting in the way of whatever Chase wants..

Well i really hope he can figure it out, even if that just means realising there is a limit that can only be pushed so far. Most of his issues occur when he is faster than everyone else, maybe he just need to realise that is it.

1
Gravel
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1/17/2026 2:21pm

How long until he starts blaming the bike…..I’ll ground 8.

Oldstyle wrote:

We’ll see how tonight goes but potentially around 7:15pm pacific standard time 

You might just be right 

bvm111
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Las Vegas, NV, USA
1/17/2026 2:31pm Edited Date/Time 1/17/2026 2:32pm

prado qualified second and eli first .., so there is that going for kawi and everyone saying that kawi did everything for prado and chase having to get off that awful KTM 😂

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