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Edited Date/Time
2/6/2012 6:37pm
Its been played by the big 4 for better than 4 decades without anyone else being invited. Has the preception now changed for pro riders that going forward KTM becomes a player in any new contract negoiations for top riders? Suzuki offically got out of the offroad business this year with teams and bikes. Is motocross far behind?
The GP crowd screaming world domination after a win in America sure ran away fast.
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KTM have been a player for a while now in the the rest of the world, in both classes in motocross.
this year KTM stepped up its game with hiring Decoster and Dungey to go after that top spot on the podium. They succeeded (at least once!), and I think it shows that their program and bikes are very capable of winning at any level in our two wheel endeavors. I think that dungey will win more races, and I think he's a solid rider capable of winning most nights. Same would go for RV, CR and JS. There are maybe one or two other riders out there where if the cards fall right, they could win a race as well, but day in day out if you want to win a race or championship, it's going to be with one of these four riders for now. If you want your product to be in the spotlight and win races or championships, it's going to be with these four.
the advantage with KTM is that they are quick on their feet. if they see something that works, they will put it into production. Most of the japanese big four have maybe 2 off road bikes (vs. MX). KTM has made a killing in market share by having a bike for every rider. Basically about 8-10 off road bikes. 4 or 5 MX/SX bikes, two strokes and four strokes, what do you want/prefer? they have it. I think if the big 4 don't watch what they are doing, KTM is going to start to take more and more market share in MX as well. They are making gains and I don't see them going backwards any time soon. Look at the riders in AX this year, how many are on KTM vs. years past? off road racing has always been dominated by orange, just go look at the starting field at any WORCS or GNCC race. Maybe one day soon you'll see the same thing on the local MX tracks?????
Dungey is right where he is regardless of the bike. He finally has some fast guys to race with.
but then go ahead and believe the hype! it's all about mx and sx and it's all about the "big" 4. But that means either Kaw or Suz are looking in as number 5.
Last 3 or 4 years, the vet MX races that I've run in the northeast and Canada are about 75% orange
A couple of weekends ago Dungey had the red plate, so its pretty clear they are as competitive as any of the other brands at the highest level of SX.
So no they haven't changed the game, but they are well on their way to owning it...
Unfortunately this also means bike designs are likely to stagnate where they're at. The production rule will probably put a cap on what manufacturer's will do with advanced tech features and their higher costs to buyers. The two strokes been kicked to the curb so all riders will be on virtually identical machines. We as consumers can pick our choice of machine on what color we like best..
The Big 4, they got you covered if you want a cookie cutter 450 or 250 4 Stroke, If you don't, than screw you.
Suzuki, they were the big dog in GNCC, first 18 wheeler, awesome bikes, big budget affair. Now they don't even race GNCC.
I don't get all the talk about the sport growing, yada, ,yada, yada, but then KTM comes along, willing to build bikes and spend big money, and everyone just bitches and moans about them. It;s not their made in France for gods sake.
Go to an outdoor national or SX and check out the KTM semi, they ain't play pimpin. They are the new Honda, get over it. Suzuki will soon be like Zundapp, gone but not forgotten.
You want a 300cc twi stroke offroad bike that's winning everything? they got one
Want a competetive 250 2 stroke, check
want a cookie cutter 450 4 stroke mxer, they got that
want a 500 4 stroke offroader? yep
want a 500 4 stroke offroader that happens to be street legal? got it
50cc, 60 cc 05 cc or 105 mini? did you want big wheel or small wheel cuz they got that too.
I mean shit...just about any combination you think up, you can buy today - so wtf? Why bother with the same old 250/450 and build a shitty enduro bike once every 5 years that the japanese companies have been offering?
I agree they are the new Honda.
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