Panic Button for Chase/Kawi?

Jdog2221
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2/18/2026 10:07am Edited Date/Time 2/18/2026 10:57am
Looking at the two previous seasons, it he really that far off from where he normally is? 2024Round 1 3rdRound 2 1stRound 3 8thRound 4 5thRound 5...

Looking at the two previous seasons, it he really that far off from where he normally is? 

2024

Round 1 3rd

Round 2 1st

Round 3 8th

Round 4 5th

Round 5 2nd

Round 6 9th

Average finish 4.66

2025

Round 1 1st

Round 2 6th

Round 3 4th

Round 4 1st

Round 5 5th

Round 6 3rd

Average finish 3.33

2026

Round 1 8th

Round 2 4th

Round 3 1st

Round 4 5th

Round 5 7th

Round 6 5th

Average finish 4.66

 

He’s usually fast af, there have been no flashes since he won. Quit fucking with the bike and just ride it

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2/18/2026 10:09am
Press516 wrote:
I do get a kick out of all the "panic button", "Kawi career killer", "disaster so far" comments in the myriad of threads on Sexton.  While...

I do get a kick out of all the "panic button", "Kawi career killer", "disaster so far" comments in the myriad of threads on Sexton.  While also seeing "Prado is killing it", "so impressive", "made his point", "proved it was the bike" comments on Jorge.  But he is 10th in points...  This is not to be negative on Jorge, but more to emphasize the comments on Chase are pretty absurd.

Chase, who is 5th in points, only 18 out of the lead...  and has a race win already?  These comments on Chase are for when he is 25 out with 5 races left...  Which certainly could happen, but we're not there yet.  This feels like the opposite of the Jett and 72 proclamations...  Let it play out.

crusty_xx wrote:
Why are we comparing him to Prado? Sexton is a title contender and should have probably been the #1 guy to win this title going into...

Why are we comparing him to Prado? Sexton is a title contender and should have probably been the #1 guy to win this title going into this season. Prado isn't even a top 5 guy (on any bike) - yet.
If anything you have to compare Sexton to Tomac. Both on a new team. One has won 3 races, the other is 5th in points with 1 podium in 6 rounds.

If you want to compare Prado to Chase then it kind of looks even worse. All from a guy who has less gate drops on a SX track than you have fingers and toes...

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ohh_454
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2/18/2026 10:19am
PRM31 wrote:
So, going back to Villo, then later Tomac, and Anderson, it seems they are all rear steer riders. Was that because that is how that bike...

So, going back to Villo, then later Tomac, and Anderson, it seems they are all rear steer riders. Was that because that is how that bike needed to be ridden? If true, is that still true?

I feel the bike is still a steer with the rear and Chase needs to figure it out. Deegz would probably do good on that bike. 

1
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KurtJ99
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2/18/2026 10:33am

Suzuki drops factory team, HEP recovers and builds brand with two elite level riders in Roczen and Andersen.

Yamaha fumbles factory 450 team and creates reputation of "blue pig", let's 250 team (Star) take over. Championship winning under Tomac and Webb.

Kawasaki......

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1

The Shop

Logan114
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2/18/2026 10:38am
truck wrote:
As bad as he's ever looked in a race where he didn't crash. Start was good enough and got dropped by guys who in past years...

As bad as he's ever looked in a race where he didn't crash. Start was good enough and got dropped by guys who in past years have had nothing for him. 

Tomac crushing it, prado exceeding expectations, Anderson doing fine, marchbanks has been a disaster..... Plenty of evidence to indicate the bike is at least part of the problem. Combine that with sexton always searching for some feeling that doesn't even exist on a good bike..... definitely panic button time but not sure what good it's going to do. 

Tyler D wrote:
Career wise, where does he even go from here? He's burnt bridges everywhere. Yamaha after webb retires if Hunter doesn't get there first, and end up...

Career wise, where does he even go from here? He's burnt bridges everywhere. Yamaha after webb retires if Hunter doesn't get there first, and end up as a #2 to deegan? Hail Mary the Ducati?

He's gotta figure this bike out or he's cooked. 

If you're chasing a feeling that doesn't exist, it doesn't matter where he goes.. Chase needs to just accept the bike won't ever be perfect and take more accountability. When he gets this 'feeling' he is arguably one of the fastest people on the planet, but it is very apparent at this point that he is a severe headcase. 

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kawasa84
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2/18/2026 10:44am Edited Date/Time 2/18/2026 10:45am

Kawasaki 250 and 450 were sharing the frame in 22'. 

Not sure if they still are, but I can tell you, at my very slow speeds, the 22' & 24' 250's are the best handling MX bikes I've ever owned. They have blown my mind on stabilty in fast straights to either carving tight deep ruts to powering around a bermed corner. I run stock clamps on both, and only my 22' has a PC Linkage and Link. 

They either are just that much different than the 450's or maybe they just fit me well. 

Or maybe I don't know what I'm missing and would be blown away even more the other brands handling? 

But yeah, zero complaints on the handling from me and I've had ill handling bikes before

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VHM
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2/18/2026 10:52am
PRM31 wrote:
Last year Swap did an interview with the Japanese Kawi test rider, I forget his name. He made a statement during the interview that immediately threw...

Last year Swap did an interview with the Japanese Kawi test rider, I forget his name. He made a statement during the interview that immediately threw a red flag for me. Not an exact quote, but something to the effect that they know where the bike works well. It seemed to dismiss that different riders might want something very different. At a minimum, it makes me pause when thinking about what they are willing to do.

KurtJ99 wrote:
Takeshi Katsuya (Taka?) is the test rider. He had a nice interview with Gypsy a while back. Aussy accent threw me off...As a former pro had...

Takeshi Katsuya (Taka?) is the test rider. He had a nice interview with Gypsy a while back. Aussy accent threw me off...As a former pro had had experience going from lapped to winning on good/bad setup bikes. I think he was brought over to help Prado out for a while with MXGP based suspension changes. He was helping Febrve in MXGP. Perhaps he's doing same now for Chase too, not sure, but don't think so given SX specific suspension needs. Certainly as Chase transitions to outdoors it would be beneficial to try Febvre's setup, even if he ends up not liking it.

 

He's working for HRC now. 

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2/18/2026 10:53am
VHM wrote:
Leemur891 wrote:

I’m sure there’s a tinge of truth in this post, but I just cannot take “dirtbikelover” as a credible source. 

NotTheStig wrote:
It is just some paraphrasing of what James said on his Seattle rewind show. But basically a more accurate version was James said “Chase pushes the...

It is just some paraphrasing of what James said on his Seattle rewind show. But basically a more accurate version was James said “Chase pushes the front and he doesn’t react to the feeling of doing so, which points to him not being sure about what’s wrong/what needs to change because he has to wait to find out how the bike reacts (inconsistently), ergo a set up issue” it’s more nuanced than that, but he goes into it at 28:10

Right on, thank you for clarifying. I’ll have to check this one out tonight.

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Jkawi
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2/18/2026 10:55am
Jkawi wrote:
This is the one situation where kawi should suit their stereotype and not let him change anything. Give him a bike that the test riders set...

This is the one situation where kawi should suit their stereotype and not let him change anything. Give him a bike that the test riders set up and tell him he has lost his set up privileges. If he rode a damn setup for more than a week, I feel like he would maybe improve.

I don’t think that would work well for securing riders in the future. Riders like what they like, whether it would be better to use a...

I don’t think that would work well for securing riders in the future. Riders like what they like, whether it would be better to use a different setup or not. 

I don't think their ability to secure a top rider is awesome at this point already. But that wasn't my point here. My point was it is Ironic that most riders issues with Kawasaki, would probably benefit Chase at this point. I mean it's apparent that Chase doesn't know how to test or set up a bike either.

Would you agree, or do you think it's better for Chase to have an open canvas? Actual Question BTW.

Cheers,

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2/18/2026 10:57am
kawasa84 wrote:
Kawasaki 250 and 450 were sharing the frame in 22'. Not sure if they still are, but I can tell you, at my very slow speeds, the...

Kawasaki 250 and 450 were sharing the frame in 22'. 

Not sure if they still are, but I can tell you, at my very slow speeds, the 22' & 24' 250's are the best handling MX bikes I've ever owned. They have blown my mind on stabilty in fast straights to either carving tight deep ruts to powering around a bermed corner. I run stock clamps on both, and only my 22' has a PC Linkage and Link. 

They either are just that much different than the 450's or maybe they just fit me well. 

Or maybe I don't know what I'm missing and would be blown away even more the other brands handling? 

But yeah, zero complaints on the handling from me and I've had ill handling bikes before

2021 is when they started sharing. It actually became a common complaint on the 250 that there was a lack of front end bite because they didn't move the motor forward in the frame when they should have. There's still a big gap between the frame and motor. 

2025 Kawasaki KX250 Features and Specs ...

3
2/18/2026 11:22am Edited Date/Time 2/18/2026 11:33am

What he say? Lol

JJO741 wrote:
I’m paraphrasing, but he made statements about a lot of what a lot of people have notated about Kawi. During Weimer’s time there, they were unwilling...

I’m paraphrasing, but he made statements about a lot of what a lot of people have notated about Kawi. During Weimer’s time there, they were unwilling to let him try new parts and Weimer was very vocal about the chassis being a problem. Stated the lack of listening hindered his results which affected his career. Stated RV would’ve won more on another brand because the feedback of the bike exhausted you throughout the moto. He was not a fan of Fahie’s recent comments which prompted him to tell his truth finally. It was a good listen. Weimer has always been a straight up guy. 

ohh_454 wrote:
Dan could probably say a lot about Weimers baby momma killing his confidence and being a major distraction I’m sure too and how he should’ve left...

Dan could probably say a lot about Weimers baby momma killing his confidence and being a major distraction I’m sure too and how he should’ve left her at home while he was at the races lol Jake also signed (2) 2 year deals, he could’ve went to a different team after his first contract was up. I’m sure what Jake’s saying is true, but Jake had major distractions with her that didn’t do him any favors for his racing career. 

You think it was Weimers wife’s fault the bike was shit? 
Dan and the Drunk have no idea how to setup a motorcycle, but yet act like they do. If they would both put their ego aside and let the people who actually know what they are doing, do it, it could be a great team. Weimer was/is a great test rider, they didn’t listen to him, they didn’t listen to Eli, and they won’t listen to Chase either. They will continue to be a shit team until they can find another RV type rider that can win on any bike. When KYB was helping Eli, they didn’t even know what rake and trail were, how the he’ll can you run a professional race team and not know that? 

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Tyler D
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2/18/2026 11:51am
JJO741 wrote:
I’m paraphrasing, but he made statements about a lot of what a lot of people have notated about Kawi. During Weimer’s time there, they were unwilling...

I’m paraphrasing, but he made statements about a lot of what a lot of people have notated about Kawi. During Weimer’s time there, they were unwilling to let him try new parts and Weimer was very vocal about the chassis being a problem. Stated the lack of listening hindered his results which affected his career. Stated RV would’ve won more on another brand because the feedback of the bike exhausted you throughout the moto. He was not a fan of Fahie’s recent comments which prompted him to tell his truth finally. It was a good listen. Weimer has always been a straight up guy. 

ohh_454 wrote:
Dan could probably say a lot about Weimers baby momma killing his confidence and being a major distraction I’m sure too and how he should’ve left...

Dan could probably say a lot about Weimers baby momma killing his confidence and being a major distraction I’m sure too and how he should’ve left her at home while he was at the races lol Jake also signed (2) 2 year deals, he could’ve went to a different team after his first contract was up. I’m sure what Jake’s saying is true, but Jake had major distractions with her that didn’t do him any favors for his racing career. 

You think it was Weimers wife’s fault the bike was shit? Dan and the Drunk have no idea how to setup a motorcycle, but yet act like...

You think it was Weimers wife’s fault the bike was shit? 
Dan and the Drunk have no idea how to setup a motorcycle, but yet act like they do. If they would both put their ego aside and let the people who actually know what they are doing, do it, it could be a great team. Weimer was/is a great test rider, they didn’t listen to him, they didn’t listen to Eli, and they won’t listen to Chase either. They will continue to be a shit team until they can find another RV type rider that can win on any bike. When KYB was helping Eli, they didn’t even know what rake and trail were, how the he’ll can you run a professional race team and not know that? 

Oof. Giving Uptite a run for his money with the scoops. Who is the Drunk? What's the detail on KYB not understanding geometry?

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1
philG
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2/18/2026 12:07pm
Jdog2221 wrote:

Weimer is going off about Dan fahie on pulp right now

philG wrote:

I asked Lewis to ask Weimer if he was allowed to change sprockets... i guess that escalated quickly

 

Going to listen now. 

So i listened and to be honest there wasnt a lot that i hadnt already heard, save for Jake calling out Fahie for being a liar. 

But as i always bang on about, there are people in Factory Teams, that would rather lose than win with something that wasnt their idea, and this 100% confirms it. 

In 2009/10 we had six different sets of clamps, 3 Specs of Swingarms, and 3 different linkage shock clevis set ups for our SXV 450 Aprilia's , and we were working out of the corner of a barn. 

3 Sets of Ice Parts clamps. 19/17 Offset, 17/14 and 14/11 , and then 2 sets with an degree of rake taken out , swingarms at -25, -40  and -50 length, and then ride height at +5 and +10, and each one that made the bike better , we went again , until it either didnt work, or the benefits were lost elsewhere.  i reckon £10k total, and we sold probably 50 or 60 sets worldwide after. 

And Jake Weimer on a Factory Kawasaki couldn't get anything.  As Weimer rightly pointed out , they killed his career, and the only justification was that it worked for RV, who had never ridden anything else and had no clue what a good bike was. 

I like Chase, i dont want him to fail, but Christ he has a job on his hands. 

And no wonder Jorge sacked it off, if only he had done some homework before he went. 

 

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truck
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2/18/2026 12:18pm

With regard to prado and chase lacking judgment by signing with kawi, it shows you how pointless test riding a bike is. What you feel riding at 80% for a few laps doesn't tell you much about what you'll find when looking for that last few percent. 

And for all the rear steer talk, maybe I'm imagining things but in the RV days it seems like a lot more hard pack dusty bowl turns and less rutted tracks than now. Hard to swing that rear around when it's in a rut.

Anyone catch Steve on pulp basically saying the chase ktm relationship went bad from the start because chase caught Ian Harrison in a lie? He threw this out there as if it was a guess but I found it to be far too specific of a thing to just throw out there as speculation. Felt like he knew exactly what he was saying and wanted Lewis to take the bait and expand on it. Or maybe I'm reading way too much into a throw away comment. 

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2/18/2026 12:32pm
JJO741 wrote:
I’m paraphrasing, but he made statements about a lot of what a lot of people have notated about Kawi. During Weimer’s time there, they were unwilling...

I’m paraphrasing, but he made statements about a lot of what a lot of people have notated about Kawi. During Weimer’s time there, they were unwilling to let him try new parts and Weimer was very vocal about the chassis being a problem. Stated the lack of listening hindered his results which affected his career. Stated RV would’ve won more on another brand because the feedback of the bike exhausted you throughout the moto. He was not a fan of Fahie’s recent comments which prompted him to tell his truth finally. It was a good listen. Weimer has always been a straight up guy. 

ohh_454 wrote:
Dan could probably say a lot about Weimers baby momma killing his confidence and being a major distraction I’m sure too and how he should’ve left...

Dan could probably say a lot about Weimers baby momma killing his confidence and being a major distraction I’m sure too and how he should’ve left her at home while he was at the races lol Jake also signed (2) 2 year deals, he could’ve went to a different team after his first contract was up. I’m sure what Jake’s saying is true, but Jake had major distractions with her that didn’t do him any favors for his racing career. 

You think it was Weimers wife’s fault the bike was shit? Dan and the Drunk have no idea how to setup a motorcycle, but yet act like...

You think it was Weimers wife’s fault the bike was shit? 
Dan and the Drunk have no idea how to setup a motorcycle, but yet act like they do. If they would both put their ego aside and let the people who actually know what they are doing, do it, it could be a great team. Weimer was/is a great test rider, they didn’t listen to him, they didn’t listen to Eli, and they won’t listen to Chase either. They will continue to be a shit team until they can find another RV type rider that can win on any bike. When KYB was helping Eli, they didn’t even know what rake and trail were, how the he’ll can you run a professional race team and not know that? 

Crazy to think that RV2 was a beast his whole career. Imagine how much better he would have been if he had a bike that was actually "good." 

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3
2/18/2026 12:36pm
truck wrote:
With regard to prado and chase lacking judgment by signing with kawi, it shows you how pointless test riding a bike is. What you feel riding...

With regard to prado and chase lacking judgment by signing with kawi, it shows you how pointless test riding a bike is. What you feel riding at 80% for a few laps doesn't tell you much about what you'll find when looking for that last few percent. 

And for all the rear steer talk, maybe I'm imagining things but in the RV days it seems like a lot more hard pack dusty bowl turns and less rutted tracks than now. Hard to swing that rear around when it's in a rut.

Anyone catch Steve on pulp basically saying the chase ktm relationship went bad from the start because chase caught Ian Harrison in a lie? He threw this out there as if it was a guess but I found it to be far too specific of a thing to just throw out there as speculation. Felt like he knew exactly what he was saying and wanted Lewis to take the bait and expand on it. Or maybe I'm reading way too much into a throw away comment. 

What was the lie?

2
truck
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2/18/2026 12:45pm Edited Date/Time 2/18/2026 12:49pm
truck wrote:
With regard to prado and chase lacking judgment by signing with kawi, it shows you how pointless test riding a bike is. What you feel riding...

With regard to prado and chase lacking judgment by signing with kawi, it shows you how pointless test riding a bike is. What you feel riding at 80% for a few laps doesn't tell you much about what you'll find when looking for that last few percent. 

And for all the rear steer talk, maybe I'm imagining things but in the RV days it seems like a lot more hard pack dusty bowl turns and less rutted tracks than now. Hard to swing that rear around when it's in a rut.

Anyone catch Steve on pulp basically saying the chase ktm relationship went bad from the start because chase caught Ian Harrison in a lie? He threw this out there as if it was a guess but I found it to be far too specific of a thing to just throw out there as speculation. Felt like he knew exactly what he was saying and wanted Lewis to take the bait and expand on it. Or maybe I'm reading way too much into a throw away comment. 

What was the lie?

No idea. Steve threw it out there when talking about how interpersonal things at KTM went south immediately and that at least doesn't seem to be the case at kawasaki. It was just an oddly specific throw away comment I thought. 

4
philG
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2/18/2026 12:46pm
Crazy to think that RV2 was a beast his whole career. Imagine how much better he would have been if he had a bike that was...

Crazy to think that RV2 was a beast his whole career. Imagine how much better he would have been if he had a bike that was actually "good." 

RV didnt know any better.  

If he had got to a good bike, he might even have raced a few more years. 

 

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1
2/18/2026 12:46pm
KurtJ99 wrote:
Suzuki drops factory team, HEP recovers and builds brand with two elite level riders in Roczen and Andersen.Yamaha fumbles factory 450 team and creates reputation of...

Suzuki drops factory team, HEP recovers and builds brand with two elite level riders in Roczen and Andersen.

Yamaha fumbles factory 450 team and creates reputation of "blue pig", let's 250 team (Star) take over. Championship winning under Tomac and Webb.

Kawasaki......

What could hurt...? Give to 450 Program to Mitch and I bet that bike sings. 

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Timo
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2/18/2026 12:53pm

News flash, a bike every regular rider thinks is awesome because it's comfortable isn't great for one of the fastest riders in the world in a discipline that only the top 1% of riders race. Man, who would have thought...

Is the Kawasaki a bad bike for everyday riders? No, it's a great bike.

Is it great for professional racing? Moto is probably okay, supercross probably not.

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4
2/18/2026 1:04pm
Timo wrote:
News flash, a bike every regular rider thinks is awesome because it's comfortable isn't great for one of the fastest riders in the world in a...

News flash, a bike every regular rider thinks is awesome because it's comfortable isn't great for one of the fastest riders in the world in a discipline that only the top 1% of riders race. Man, who would have thought...

Is the Kawasaki a bad bike for everyday riders? No, it's a great bike.

Is it great for professional racing? Moto is probably okay, supercross probably not.

Prado said it was okay in sx but dangerous in mx so that doesn’t look good for sexton! 

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Zycki11
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2/18/2026 1:07pm
Leemur891 wrote:

I’m sure there’s a tinge of truth in this post, but I just cannot take “dirtbikelover” as a credible source. 

NotTheStig wrote:
It is just some paraphrasing of what James said on his Seattle rewind show. But basically a more accurate version was James said “Chase pushes the...

It is just some paraphrasing of what James said on his Seattle rewind show. But basically a more accurate version was James said “Chase pushes the front and he doesn’t react to the feeling of doing so, which points to him not being sure about what’s wrong/what needs to change because he has to wait to find out how the bike reacts (inconsistently), ergo a set up issue” it’s more nuanced than that, but he goes into it at 28:10

Leemur891 wrote:

Right on, thank you for clarifying. I’ll have to check this one out tonight.

I have said this quite a few times. Chase likes a softer setup for feeling in his hands. The initial part of the stroke becomes super twitchy and then you watch his bike.  Corner entry the bike is unstable, then he waits through mid corner and the bike settles again. But when he hits the throttle it squats so much from the load under acceleration it robs his forward momentum. 

I am a nobody and can see his bike is super twitchy and not settled anywhere. Learn to understand the motorcycle, hire a coach to walk that path with you if need be. Either way, his bike needs to be stiffer to accept his ability to go so fast and muscle it around. 

Last updates I heard were the frame was stiffened and the forks softened. 

This stuff takes time, and when you look at someone like Eli who knows exactly what he wants out of his motorcycle compared to Chase who is looking for a “feeling” but doesn’t know how to get there. Naturally this will take longer. 

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30minmotos
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2/18/2026 1:09pm Edited Date/Time 2/18/2026 1:10pm
Timo wrote:
News flash, a bike every regular rider thinks is awesome because it's comfortable isn't great for one of the fastest riders in the world in a...

News flash, a bike every regular rider thinks is awesome because it's comfortable isn't great for one of the fastest riders in the world in a discipline that only the top 1% of riders race. Man, who would have thought...

Is the Kawasaki a bad bike for everyday riders? No, it's a great bike.

Is it great for professional racing? Moto is probably okay, supercross probably not.

News flash if anyone thinks it’s the bike and not the inbred team around it , man who would have thought.

1
6
Tyler D
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2/18/2026 1:17pm
NotTheStig wrote:
It is just some paraphrasing of what James said on his Seattle rewind show. But basically a more accurate version was James said “Chase pushes the...

It is just some paraphrasing of what James said on his Seattle rewind show. But basically a more accurate version was James said “Chase pushes the front and he doesn’t react to the feeling of doing so, which points to him not being sure about what’s wrong/what needs to change because he has to wait to find out how the bike reacts (inconsistently), ergo a set up issue” it’s more nuanced than that, but he goes into it at 28:10

Leemur891 wrote:

Right on, thank you for clarifying. I’ll have to check this one out tonight.

Zycki11 wrote:
I have said this quite a few times. Chase likes a softer setup for feeling in his hands. The initial part of the stroke becomes super...

I have said this quite a few times. Chase likes a softer setup for feeling in his hands. The initial part of the stroke becomes super twitchy and then you watch his bike.  Corner entry the bike is unstable, then he waits through mid corner and the bike settles again. But when he hits the throttle it squats so much from the load under acceleration it robs his forward momentum. 

I am a nobody and can see his bike is super twitchy and not settled anywhere. Learn to understand the motorcycle, hire a coach to walk that path with you if need be. Either way, his bike needs to be stiffer to accept his ability to go so fast and muscle it around. 

Last updates I heard were the frame was stiffened and the forks softened. 

This stuff takes time, and when you look at someone like Eli who knows exactly what he wants out of his motorcycle compared to Chase who is looking for a “feeling” but doesn’t know how to get there. Naturally this will take longer. 

needs a crossbar....

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2/18/2026 1:29pm
KurtJ99 wrote:
Suzuki drops factory team, HEP recovers and builds brand with two elite level riders in Roczen and Andersen.Yamaha fumbles factory 450 team and creates reputation of...

Suzuki drops factory team, HEP recovers and builds brand with two elite level riders in Roczen and Andersen.

Yamaha fumbles factory 450 team and creates reputation of "blue pig", let's 250 team (Star) take over. Championship winning under Tomac and Webb.

Kawasaki......

What could hurt...? Give to 450 Program to Mitch and I bet that bike sings. 

Mitch needs to worry about getting his 250s to win first...

1
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KurtJ99
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2/18/2026 1:34pm
KurtJ99 wrote:
Suzuki drops factory team, HEP recovers and builds brand with two elite level riders in Roczen and Andersen.Yamaha fumbles factory 450 team and creates reputation of...

Suzuki drops factory team, HEP recovers and builds brand with two elite level riders in Roczen and Andersen.

Yamaha fumbles factory 450 team and creates reputation of "blue pig", let's 250 team (Star) take over. Championship winning under Tomac and Webb.

Kawasaki......

What could hurt...? Give to 450 Program to Mitch and I bet that bike sings. 

Mitch needs to worry about getting his 250s to win first...

I don't recall where Mitch took a championship caliber rider and dragged him down. Hell, they are using his suspension components anyways.

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2/18/2026 1:42pm
KurtJ99 wrote:
Suzuki drops factory team, HEP recovers and builds brand with two elite level riders in Roczen and Andersen.Yamaha fumbles factory 450 team and creates reputation of...

Suzuki drops factory team, HEP recovers and builds brand with two elite level riders in Roczen and Andersen.

Yamaha fumbles factory 450 team and creates reputation of "blue pig", let's 250 team (Star) take over. Championship winning under Tomac and Webb.

Kawasaki......

What could hurt...? Give to 450 Program to Mitch and I bet that bike sings. 

Mitch needs to worry about getting his 250s to win first...

PC bikes aren't the problem....and minus one fast Yamaha rider, PC really wouldn't have many problems at all thus far in 2026.

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1
neysbo
Posts
2005
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Edelstein, IL US
2/18/2026 1:47pm

Well Chase tested the Kaw plenty like a year ago before signing so pretty much on him.

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Jkawi
Posts
446
Joined
3/5/2015
Location
CA
2/18/2026 2:01pm
NotTheStig wrote:
It is just some paraphrasing of what James said on his Seattle rewind show. But basically a more accurate version was James said “Chase pushes the...

It is just some paraphrasing of what James said on his Seattle rewind show. But basically a more accurate version was James said “Chase pushes the front and he doesn’t react to the feeling of doing so, which points to him not being sure about what’s wrong/what needs to change because he has to wait to find out how the bike reacts (inconsistently), ergo a set up issue” it’s more nuanced than that, but he goes into it at 28:10

Leemur891 wrote:

Right on, thank you for clarifying. I’ll have to check this one out tonight.

Zycki11 wrote:
I have said this quite a few times. Chase likes a softer setup for feeling in his hands. The initial part of the stroke becomes super...

I have said this quite a few times. Chase likes a softer setup for feeling in his hands. The initial part of the stroke becomes super twitchy and then you watch his bike.  Corner entry the bike is unstable, then he waits through mid corner and the bike settles again. But when he hits the throttle it squats so much from the load under acceleration it robs his forward momentum. 

I am a nobody and can see his bike is super twitchy and not settled anywhere. Learn to understand the motorcycle, hire a coach to walk that path with you if need be. Either way, his bike needs to be stiffer to accept his ability to go so fast and muscle it around. 

Last updates I heard were the frame was stiffened and the forks softened. 

This stuff takes time, and when you look at someone like Eli who knows exactly what he wants out of his motorcycle compared to Chase who is looking for a “feeling” but doesn’t know how to get there. Naturally this will take longer. 

Evident by the fact that he calls it a "feeling". If you knew what the "feeling" was then you would be a lot better at describing what you are looking for. I think he's had so many people (his dad) telling him what he likes and needs his whole life, that he himself does not know what that is anymore.

James is better at describing what the bike is doing from TV than Chase is.

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2/18/2026 2:23pm
ohh_454 wrote:
Dan could probably say a lot about Weimers baby momma killing his confidence and being a major distraction I’m sure too and how he should’ve left...

Dan could probably say a lot about Weimers baby momma killing his confidence and being a major distraction I’m sure too and how he should’ve left her at home while he was at the races lol Jake also signed (2) 2 year deals, he could’ve went to a different team after his first contract was up. I’m sure what Jake’s saying is true, but Jake had major distractions with her that didn’t do him any favors for his racing career. 

You think it was Weimers wife’s fault the bike was shit? Dan and the Drunk have no idea how to setup a motorcycle, but yet act like...

You think it was Weimers wife’s fault the bike was shit? 
Dan and the Drunk have no idea how to setup a motorcycle, but yet act like they do. If they would both put their ego aside and let the people who actually know what they are doing, do it, it could be a great team. Weimer was/is a great test rider, they didn’t listen to him, they didn’t listen to Eli, and they won’t listen to Chase either. They will continue to be a shit team until they can find another RV type rider that can win on any bike. When KYB was helping Eli, they didn’t even know what rake and trail were, how the he’ll can you run a professional race team and not know that? 

Tyler D wrote:

Oof. Giving Uptite a run for his money with the scoops. Who is the Drunk? What's the detail on KYB not understanding geometry?

KYB knew what it was and was trying to explain it to one particular guy on the team to get their components to work with the way Eli rides. That guy had no idea what they were talking about. That same guy fired Gilly because he was doing stuff to get the chassis better that they didn’t agree with. 

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