Broc Tickle podcast on Kawasaki's situation

2/27/2026 11:50am

Great interview. 

Hearing Tickle talk about working with Marchbanks, it sounded to me like he had the desire to be more involved with Chase but maybe Chase wasn't interested?

JA21 had Tickle with him a lot in 2022 and those results were pretty top tier, albeit a different generation. 

3
philG
Posts
10948
Joined
5/12/2012
Location
GB
2/27/2026 12:41pm

Something i just remembered while reading through this. 

Back in the day when Zach Osborne came to race GP's for Steve Dixon's Yamaha team, they built 3 Speed 250's and i believe that Zacho used to rev the bike so hard, the stock cases would only do a couple races if that.   I believe that they did their own billet cases, at one point, and i know they did a 4 Valve head as well.  

But the point of the post, Zacho would test the bike, and come back in and say it didnt feel 'quite right', and ask them to retorque everything, and it always went up a bit.  Nothing was 'loose' but it wasnt fully tight and loaded up. 

He will be doing a great job for Beta. 

5
Robgvx
Posts
4038
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
GB
2/27/2026 1:18pm
Robgvx wrote:
I raced for factory Kawasaki in Europe. On the first day I got to ride the factory 500 the first thing I and my mechanic went...

I raced for factory Kawasaki in Europe. On the first day I got to ride the factory 500 the first thing I and my mechanic went to do was adjust the rear sag. However, we were told by the senior team mechanic not to touch it as the “sag has already been set”.  He went on to explain that it had been ‘set’ when the shock was built on the basis of winding in ‘X’ mm of spring preload.

Did you eventually get the bike to your liking?

It’s a long story*, but not exactly. It was still a good bike but could’ve been even better had they been a bit more supportive. 

(*which is why I put it all down in a book).
 

3
2/27/2026 9:17pm
30minmotos wrote:
It’s not broc, it’s not the bike itself, it’s not chase, it’s not Prado. It’s the team. It’s exactly the same as team Yamaha before star...

It’s not broc, it’s not the bike itself, it’s not chase, it’s not Prado. It’s the team. It’s exactly the same as team Yamaha before star turned it around.


Listen to the interviews around when star took over the 450 program. Everyone hated that bike before star got it. Then all of a sudden star is able to find 15 lbs to shave off the bike, dump all the dumb ass overbuilt way too rigid fork lugs, triple clamps, axles whatever else they went the wrong way with and within weeks or months went from the bike riders careers went to die on, to the bike that took ferrandis Webb and Tomac straight to the top of the box.


It’s the team. The team is full of baby boomers with more ego than talent. More ego than sense. More ego than technical skills. It’s the baby boomer way: it’s a work culture issue.

Nailed it!

4

The Shop

mx691
Posts
934
Joined
6/27/2008
Location
Stockholm SE
Fantasy
2/27/2026 9:43pm
Robgvx wrote:
I raced for factory Kawasaki in Europe. On the first day I got to ride the factory 500 the first thing I and my mechanic went...

I raced for factory Kawasaki in Europe. On the first day I got to ride the factory 500 the first thing I and my mechanic went to do was adjust the rear sag. However, we were told by the senior team mechanic not to touch it as the “sag has already been set”.  He went on to explain that it had been ‘set’ when the shock was built on the basis of winding in ‘X’ mm of spring preload.

This is just insane! 🤣

Imagine this mindset is still real at Kawi? WTF?!

Tyler D
Posts
2257
Joined
12/5/2022
Location
La, CA US
2/27/2026 11:33pm

@LewisPhillips , when is the Mitch podcast happening?

1
soggy
Posts
8822
Joined
12/3/2018
Location
UT US
2/28/2026 6:06am

its amazing how much guys like Matthes refuse to see what's in front of them.  They just say the guys at Kawi are smart, they'll figure it out.

it's the same thing that was being said before factory Yamaha switched to star.

Maybe we should have all seen this coming.  Rider who expects way too much from a bike joins a team that doesn't know how to set up there bike. not a good recipe.

7
3
Benhameen
Posts
209
Joined
12/27/2022
Location
Carterville , IL US
Fantasy
2/28/2026 6:35am
soggy wrote:
its amazing how much guys like Matthes refuse to see what's in front of them.  They just say the guys at Kawi are smart, they'll figure...

its amazing how much guys like Matthes refuse to see what's in front of them.  They just say the guys at Kawi are smart, they'll figure it out.

it's the same thing that was being said before factory Yamaha switched to star.

Maybe we should have all seen this coming.  Rider who expects way too much from a bike joins a team that doesn't know how to set up there bike. not a good recipe.

Maybe we should have all seen this coming.  Rider who expects way too much from a bike joins a team that doesn't know how to set up there bike. not a good recipe.

This is exactly what I thought when I read he was going to Kawi. 

5
neysbo
Posts
2014
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Edelstein, IL US
2/28/2026 7:08am

Well now with SX season out the window, hopefully can focus on getting the green pig dialed for outdoors.

2
davis224
Posts
7437
Joined
8/15/2006
Location
Cornland, IL US
Fantasy
2/28/2026 7:22am
Ando came out swinging on that bike in his first season.   How the f did that happen.  And still had great speed the following years...

Ando came out swinging on that bike in his first season.   How the f did that happen.  And still had great speed the following years.   He never seemed to have any struggles with the bike. Moreso his own health. 

 

And now the zuk he's seemingly very comfortable already. 

You are correct. 7 supercross wins that year, finishing the series in 2nd and followed that up with a strong outdoor season with multiple podiums and...

You are correct. 7 supercross wins that year, finishing the series in 2nd and followed that up with a strong outdoor season with multiple podiums and 3rd overall.

People are quick to forget success, but obsess over (perceived) failures or shortcomings.

That was the 2022 bike. New bike in 2023 and while he got some podiums on it the level of success was not the same.

Same generation bike in 23, new bike wasn't until 24.

brocster
Posts
4546
Joined
6/9/2009
Location
Aliso Viejo, CA US
2/28/2026 8:01am
How Broc is still employed makes no sense to me.  Nothing against him personally, but he was hired to test the bikes for the factory team...

How Broc is still employed makes no sense to me.  Nothing against him personally, but he was hired to test the bikes for the factory team and that is  clearly not working.

Broc’s hands are tied by a couple buffoons that think they know better. To have the simple mindset that if “x rider” can win on it then Chase should too is idiotic. In no way should a person that has never gotten off the Vet track be allowed to set the parameters to operate within on a motorcycle. Each and every pro’s bike is probably 80% similar in setup with the last 20% being extremely personal to each individual. That’s the part where Bruce and Mike need to listen and make change and stop with the idiotic belief that they know otherwise. 

4
8tensolutions
Posts
3358
Joined
11/15/2009
Location
Salt Lake City, UT US
2/28/2026 8:23am
How Broc is still employed makes no sense to me.  Nothing against him personally, but he was hired to test the bikes for the factory team...

How Broc is still employed makes no sense to me.  Nothing against him personally, but he was hired to test the bikes for the factory team and that is  clearly not working.

brocster wrote:
Broc’s hands are tied by a couple buffoons that think they know better. To have the simple mindset that if “x rider” can win on it...

Broc’s hands are tied by a couple buffoons that think they know better. To have the simple mindset that if “x rider” can win on it then Chase should too is idiotic. In no way should a person that has never gotten off the Vet track be allowed to set the parameters to operate within on a motorcycle. Each and every pro’s bike is probably 80% similar in setup with the last 20% being extremely personal to each individual. That’s the part where Bruce and Mike need to listen and make change and stop with the idiotic belief that they know otherwise. 

I agree with all of that.  In other threads I have tried to figure out how the team has not been completely reorganized starting with the top.  It doesn't mean they have to fire everyone, but someone else clearly needs to be driving the ship.  It is a failing business and the manager/leadership is responsible for that.

byke
Posts
3015
Joined
8/12/2015
Location
Auburn, CA US
2/28/2026 8:29am
Here’s the Broc Tickle interview that I did about their riders’ settings/struggles.I think he was more open than most… It’s available on all podcast platforms!

Here’s the Broc Tickle interview that I did about their riders’ settings/struggles.

I think he was more open than most… It’s available on all podcast platforms!

That was superb, thank you!

shortty761
Posts
759
Joined
4/2/2024
Location
Newport News, VA US
2/28/2026 10:20am
kijen wrote:
Serious question, who developed this generation bike, seems strange they have to fix it after they get it. Seems the development guy should be fired? Unless...

Serious question, who developed this generation bike, seems strange they have to fix it after they get it. Seems the development guy should be fired? Unless it was the mxgp. Guys and the buke was developed mors for mx and they figured it would be easy to adapt for sx?

Also seems intresting the Lawrence's seem to get credit for developing the current CRF. are they just better at testing and understanding the motorcycle then Chase?

Timo wrote:
The bike is really good for average joes, not so good for elite SX/MX speed. If you make it better for professionals then the average rider...

The bike is really good for average joes, not so good for elite SX/MX speed. If you make it better for professionals then the average rider won't like it as much. 

Average Joe here, bike feels perfect

2
Spoonguy
Posts
3494
Joined
2/28/2022
Location
Mc Kean, PA US
2/28/2026 11:15am
soggy wrote:
its amazing how much guys like Matthes refuse to see what's in front of them.  They just say the guys at Kawi are smart, they'll figure...

its amazing how much guys like Matthes refuse to see what's in front of them.  They just say the guys at Kawi are smart, they'll figure it out.

it's the same thing that was being said before factory Yamaha switched to star.

Maybe we should have all seen this coming.  Rider who expects way too much from a bike joins a team that doesn't know how to set up there bike. not a good recipe.

Matthes, Weege and their type are the same people who say the broadcast team is great and that broadcasting is a hard job and that the fans don't know what they are talking about and have no right or basis to judge how the sport is presented. To your point, 110%, what I mean by that is....

6
FWYT
Posts
3548
Joined
5/25/2014
Location
San Diego, CA US
3/1/2026 6:48am

That was a very cool and informative interview. Well done Lewis  And Broc seems like a solid dude. The part about changing all those triple clamps was really interesting. 

1
Indy mxer
Posts
1856
Joined
6/15/2010
Location
The Villages, FL US
3/1/2026 6:56am
How Broc is still employed makes no sense to me.  Nothing against him personally, but he was hired to test the bikes for the factory team...

How Broc is still employed makes no sense to me.  Nothing against him personally, but he was hired to test the bikes for the factory team and that is  clearly not working.

brocster wrote:
Broc’s hands are tied by a couple buffoons that think they know better. To have the simple mindset that if “x rider” can win on it...

Broc’s hands are tied by a couple buffoons that think they know better. To have the simple mindset that if “x rider” can win on it then Chase should too is idiotic. In no way should a person that has never gotten off the Vet track be allowed to set the parameters to operate within on a motorcycle. Each and every pro’s bike is probably 80% similar in setup with the last 20% being extremely personal to each individual. That’s the part where Bruce and Mike need to listen and make change and stop with the idiotic belief that they know otherwise. 

I agree with all of that.  In other threads I have tried to figure out how the team has not been completely reorganized starting with the...

I agree with all of that.  In other threads I have tried to figure out how the team has not been completely reorganized starting with the top.  It doesn't mean they have to fire everyone, but someone else clearly needs to be driving the ship.  It is a failing business and the manager/leadership is responsible for that.

I think Chase and Kawi will eventually get the bike dialed in, but it's definitely taking a lot longer than it should.

I can't figure out how Chase could look so good in the race he won, then so bad in the races after that?

Post a reply to: Broc Tickle podcast on Kawasaki's situation

The Latest