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ML512
6/6/2017 11:40pm
6/6/2017 11:40pm
Edited Date/Time
6/7/2017 11:05pm
Well, got held up...but here she be! Pit Bits from the 2017 Sugo All-Japan National round I attended over the weekend...enjoy!
http://www.vitalmx.com/photos/features/Vital-MX-Pit-Bits-2017-Sugo-All-…
http://www.vitalmx.com/photos/features/Vital-MX-Pit-Bits-2017-Sugo-All-…
Ride report?
Always cool to see works race bikes.
Did you get the chance to chat with any riders or teams?
The Shop
I mentioned about the air box grate on the Narita team crf250. Those air box grates come standard in Japan (in fact, the air box itself is also different than the US version). Most people remove those grates straight away when they buy the bike.
Some really fascinating stuff for us moto junkies to wrap our brains around. Thought it was pretty interesting about how the Big 4 all have factory riders on both KYB and Showa so they can "keep track of what each brand is up to"
Thanks for your due diligence ML!! Surely you must be taking notes when doing these aside from just clicking off photos, yea??
Note, it's IA2, not AI2. (International-A class).
Let me know if you need a translator/"cultural expert" to go with next year! I'll also test ride works bike if pressed! hahaaa Or hire one of our Vital guys already over there.
The new Suzukis look great. I like my last one even though it was a POS mechanically. The new design looks interesting.
Anyone run a helmet other than Shoei or Arai over there? Obviously the Japanese made connection just funny to see.
Looks like they pretty much all use starting blocks? Heck, my oldest is just under 6' and still prefers them at times.............
Graphics, advertisements, gear, rigs, etc.
I would have thought there would be more of a conversion to the Japanese language a lot of that stuff.
found this on youtube:
https://youtu.be/ZvhrmExRwkI
many more Sugo videos from this user
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJZwU-K3wvFbV3zTVRleNoA/videos
Pit Row
I'm pretty sure it's Salt.
A Japanese tradition, it's to clean the bike of any bad luck or ward off any bad spirits.
I sometimes find a sprinkle of salt on my seat from someone in the paddock at my local track.,
Strangely, although most of the bikes are designed and made here (Japan), motocross doesn't have a huge following at all. It's viewed as expensive, noisy and dangerous.
Plus, a lot of people live in tiny apartments with nowhere to store their bike and equipment, and are forced to rent a one of those storage containers on top of the general costs.
Japan has a big consumer culture, but people generally like to spend in electronic stores, fashion and eating out.
A lot of riders I meet are middle aged, own a house and a van kind of people.
Going to a National at Sugo almost has the feel of a local race in the US. You can move around easily and have completely free access to the pits all day. The teams are mostly operating out of straight trucks, no big semis.
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