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Roczen tested one a year or two ago.
Yes but it was heavy and weird. This new one they’re testing is made by a different company.
It’s pretty unbelievable that they seem to be trying to do it, but they can’t figure out how to make it good. Like how bad could the first one they tried out have been that Roczen decided to keep the kickstart? The kickstart is a guarantee loss of some points during the season and Roczen can’t afford that. He will 100% stall or tip over and lose positions just because of the kickstart in at least 1 race.
They don’t have Suzuki engineering to make one for them. They basically just get a company to make one and bolt it on.
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Unbelievable considering that Factory Suzuki is racing in 27. I would have thought that bike has it.
Is the electric start that important? If the e-start makes it too heavy to pick up…
Pretty sure the wet weight of the current RMZ450 is right at 292lbs (😎), last I checked.
Bro no way that wet weight is even close to right.
And yes I personally think e start is needed. Roczen has had a kicking issue in at least 1 race every season he’s been on it. HR spike, lost positions, lost points. Gonna need every point next season for sure.
For everyone else that’s not racing professionally, no wouldn’t matter. Kickstart would be fine.
It definitely had an impact in SX this past year. Remember Hunter taking down Kenny at Seattle? Took Kenny a while to get the bike fired. Hunter's fired immediately and Hunter rode it home for 4th. Kenny took a 10th. Kenny's lap time from that lap was 28 seconds longer than Hunter's. Say they finish 4-5 or 5-4. Ken's position going into the finale looks a lot different.
Ken’s new ride:
I see.
The fact roczen removed the electric start from his honda in 17/18 and stuck with a kickstart shows it must make a noticeable difference at that level.
so chances of a aftermarket bolt on kit being good enough is very slim.
It’s wasn’t weight of the extra equipment that was the deal breaker on the Honda or Suzuki for Roczen (& Brayton- Honda), it was the impact it had on the feel of the engine.
This ^^^
The idler gears and other associated parts for the estart to spin the engine will make a noticeable change in flywheel effect.
Its only a small amount of added inertia, depending on sprag clutch location, and they could surely lighten the flywheel to suit.
No rocket science here, literally every other 450 manufacturer figured it out long ago.
Agree its a bit less easy on an existing engine, from an engineering, cost and production rules (?) standpoint. But for an OEM...
Feels like Suzuki can't be bothered - like every year someone says - "no point, we have a totally new engine package coming in 202X". Then they just serve up BNG, year after year.
Faulty logic.
Bike not starting isn't due to having a kick start lever. Ask Kitchen about Ironman.
Nice try. Once he used the secondary starter button the bike fired right up and he rode it to his mechanic and then back to the truck
What makes a bike less likely to start from a kickstarter vs button?
Pit Row
Maybe, based on the current platform, there isn't a good spot for the battery??
he can afford it, he won 😎
So...you're saying that even with Roczen's championship, Pipes doesn't have factory Suzuki engineering behind them to create an e-start that would be effective and wouldn't hurt the RMX in added weight or decreased performance? With every other manufacturer having it dialed in their production machinery, and their championship caliber bikes...it's shocking that Suzuki can't/won't do that as well.
Probably can get smaller and lighter if Suzuki is asking.
They recently proved they have the best bike in SX, why would they pay an engineering team to change it?
Yeah it is important if you are in a championship and stall the bike. Just that little issue could ruing the entire season, obviously Kenny did pretty dang awesome to circumnavigate that issue but alas, it is still necessary today. The dry weight even if correct isn't applicable as they bolt on parts that save weight. I don't think the HEP Suzuki is on the weight limit like KTM or possibly Honda, but the bike is in a sweet spot as far as frame geometry, handling, etc. The bones are great, so just find a light electric starter and see if that throws anything off.
They recently proved they had the best rider in SX riding a bike that they haven't changed much if at all in years...but that was set up to his demands.
Other teams don't set the bike up to rider demands?
Seems unlikely they will funnel funding into R&D when they just disproved the theory that greater R&D spending = success in racing.
I own the same bike. That battery isnt going anywhere except zip tied to the fender. This thing is already tight.
I know one team had the battery in the skid plate. 🤷♀️
Delay in starting the bike using the backup was not in the top 10 of problems he had in winning the championship SX or MX. Go fish!
It's @#$ time to do away with the production rule. It had it's time when there was a huge discrepancy between factory and production bikes, but that time is passed.
There are two different suppliers of 2001 CR500 cases for the aftermarket, but we can't get a custom case and starter for an RMZ because "rules".
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