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If he gets out of Kawi, and obviously this is based on nothing I just think it’s the most obvious answer out there.
The bike is beyond proven. Kenny just won on it telling everyone he wasn’t changing or tinkering with a thing. It’s a neutral handling bike with probably the best front end feel of all time… downside being if he does go full Chase and crash there ain’t an electric start.
Chase on a Yamaha seems like more of the same.
Suzuki will happen after the Yamaha doesn't work.
I think I heard Stewart is going to HEP
My wild guess is Chase will go to Club MX, but will it be Yamaha or Honda?
Chase won't end up on a Suzuki until the new bike (ha) shows up and then he has to try to set it up.
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yep. What's to stop Chase from immediately and perpetually seeking that comfort zone he can't articulate much less adjust the bike to achieve? The Kenny comparison is spot on illustrating the different approaches and results. Kenny says, "good enough" and just goes out and rides the shit out of whatever he is on and Chase keeps chasing.
If industry leading OEMs like Honda, KTM, and Kawi can’t make him happy what makes you think a 8 year old Suzuki with kick start will?
If he leaves I think he should go to Suzuki as well. It’s tried and true. So much data. Good ergos and the bike is just fine. Not best in class but no weird characteristics either.
Bobby and Chase seem like a match made in hell…I don’t think that’s the move but 🤷🏽♂️
It could definitely make sense. Kenny is chill these days and they get along well. He'll either get on the bike and never tuck the front ever again or get on the bike, have a crazy crash again and the kickstarter flies into the stands.
It won’t matter what bike he is on til he gets his mental in order.
Kenny was constantly making changes to his Honda, and he basically hasn't touched his Suzuki in years. With Chase it isn't really about the bike…
He needs to organize his own program. Pick his brand of choice, get OEM support, and assemble his own crew.
No one to point fingers at other than himself.
nah , the amount of stalling the bike chase be doing , he need to keep his ass far away from a kickstarter
PMG…hire Chase? Why would Pipes do that to himself? 🤣
Kenny and the team spent a long time and went through a lot of suppliers getting that bike to his liking. He didn't just ride it as he found it.
Chase to Suzuki? Only if Kenny allows it. Chase has had 3 tries on factory 450's and all have not gone great..or as expected I should say. He's not a number 1 guy by any means any longer. He's becoming a Barcia.
You’re right. New is better. Every update is a positive iteration lol.
Huh?
Kinda harsh on Barcia…a guy that’ll just shrug and say,”Well, I guess this is what we’ve got, today. Let’s go racing.”
💪🏼
Dude! HEP has Bogle testing rite now!
Pit Row
who's to say they will have him? Not sure anyone will sign him and think he will be finding out what it costs to run an SX semi and 1 rider.
I think we will find out it it is a Team Kawasaki US management problem or really a bike problem here very soon.
There is a new KX450 coming and I would assume Sexton and Tickle have been allowed to ride it. If Chase thinks this new bike can be better than the outgoing bike, I believe he will stay with his lucrative $$ Factory Kawi contract. If he still chooses to exit Factory Kawi, that tells me it is a Team problem, not a bike problem. As others have mentioned, this team reminds me a lot of Factory Yamaha before they shifted 450 programs. Marchbanks is getting top 5's on that bike. Tickle put it in the top 10 two years ago in a one-off ride. Anderson put it on the podium in SX multiple times. That doesn't mean it's perfect, but I would expect their new 2027 model to put them back in the game.
This guy gets it. Remember how many races he stalled during his championship battle against Webb in '25?
go look at OP 1st post, paraphrasing Kenny's position going into 2026 SX season. His mechanics said he wasn't touching anything as the season began (you can probably search it yourself) and widely reported he wasn't tweaking it before each race for consistency of how it felt. Chase never stops and never finds a "comfort zone" even when something works and he wins.
He’s saying they have taken a few years to get to this point where Kenny is comfortable enough to say it’s good enough this year….how can we forget the struggles with suspension (blown shock in the whoops) hiring Chiz to help test and the apparent magic with a factory transmission….he didn’t just jump on the bike and ride it the way it is this year…he jumped on a bike that they had been testing and improving over a few years to get it to the point where KR said good enough…
Stewart to HEP makes more sense than Sexton to HEP...unless Kenny retires.
Roczen spent years at KTM, RCH, and Honda constantly changing and chasing set ups. And in the beginning at HEP as well. It is only the last couple seasons that he has been leaving things alone.
It's really wild that Suzuki won't even entertain the idea of a starter for the 450
Fahie recently said they haven't seen the new bike and don't even know the specs/changes. Shocking if true.
not arguing about that history. The present-day facts are Kenny worked with Pipes to turn the bike into a proven winner so good he won the 2026 SX championship. They didn't need to keep tweaking week to week because it was dialed in. Addressing the comments by some posters who think Chase will end up at HEP, IMO not a good match if he wanted to continue changing things constantly which is HIS proven history. Why would Pipes sign him if he wasn't going to ride the dialed in proven winning bike as-is and try to make changes again? He's never proven his changes result in a stable platform that can win championships like HEP has. Would Chase sign a contract stipulating he would race the bike as-is (with minor pegs and bars preference stuff) and then do what he's always done anyways and ruin the relationship with HEP in short order and want out again?
supposedly they already retrofitted a current gen motor with E Start and battery but decided the weight gain and handling changes made it a no go for Kenny.
Chase should look for HELP
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