Ken Roczen Riding a 2023 Yamaha YZ450F

fourfourone
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11/1/2022 7:02am
McG194 wrote:
I think the best idea is pitting out of Club and being a kind of satellite member but have Red Bull buy him Star bikes. It...
I think the best idea is pitting out of Club and being a kind of satellite member but have Red Bull buy him Star bikes.

It kind of ticks all the boxes. Give Star a revenue stream, puts Kenny on a proven winner (even though it's year 1 new model and it hasn't proven squat) and give Club a huge boost in credibility and mostly for Kenny he can surround himself with people he is comfortable with. Why not satellite for Star? This way just gives an extra level of separation from Monster Yamaha.
That aint gonna happen.
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seth505
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11/1/2022 7:02am
Wake me up when he goes home to yellow.
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ML512
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11/1/2022 7:20am
McG194 wrote:
I think the best idea is pitting out of Club and being a kind of satellite member but have Red Bull buy him Star bikes. It...
I think the best idea is pitting out of Club and being a kind of satellite member but have Red Bull buy him Star bikes.

It kind of ticks all the boxes. Give Star a revenue stream, puts Kenny on a proven winner (even though it's year 1 new model and it hasn't proven squat) and give Club a huge boost in credibility and mostly for Kenny he can surround himself with people he is comfortable with. Why not satellite for Star? This way just gives an extra level of separation from Monster Yamaha.
There's a few political reasons why that either wouldn't happen or very unlikely. Number one "Red Bull buy him Star bikes"

Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing...
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ML512
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11/1/2022 7:20am
seth505 wrote:
Wake me up when he goes home to yellow.
You'll be in a coma, then.
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The Shop

nskerb
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11/1/2022 7:25am
ML512 wrote:
There's a few political reasons why that either wouldn't happen or very unlikely. Number one "Red Bull buy him Star bikes"

Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing...
Cmon man! Look at RedBull, 0% chance they don't own several shell corporations. Star will be selling a bike to a Panamanian LLC.
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ML512
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Press516 wrote:
The availability of a factory bike is one thing... it sounds like the Honda was offered to him, but he chose the WSX ride over the...
The availability of a factory bike is one thing... it sounds like the Honda was offered to him, but he chose the WSX ride over the factory Honda.

What seems crazy to me is that there doesn't seem to be any tier 2 rides available to him. The support teams are killing themselves trying to get someone to run in the top 5 and here's a perfect opportunity to make that happen and what we see is KR working on putting together his own privateer ride.

Kenny made it clear on the JS podcast that he thinks he deserves a factory ride. With a factory ride, comes factory money. 2nd tier teams...
Kenny made it clear on the JS podcast that he thinks he deserves a factory ride. With a factory ride, comes factory money. 2nd tier teams aren't going to pay what he wants.

I like KR but I think he values himself more than what he is actually worth to a team. His constant blaming of the bike, and mental issues are a red flag to many of the top teams.

If Kenny was a true title contender someone would make room for him on a factory team.



Press516 wrote:
What he thinks he's worth is one thing... But a privateer ride with personal sponsors is still less $$ than a tier 2 ride combined with...
What he thinks he's worth is one thing... But a privateer ride with personal sponsors is still less $$ than a tier 2 ride combined with his personal sponsors. Plus the tier 2 ride is getting decent parts for "free". The privateer ride might get a fair amount of goodies, being that it's Ken of course, but he is going to be buying a lot of stuff too.

In Kenny's position the tier 2 ride is worse than doing it his own way. Secondly, the second tier team can't afford anything for him unless he runs all their sponsors.

ML512
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11/1/2022 7:26am
I can’t believe we’re two pages in without a:

Looks Comfy
Ha!

You know, I heard he's "flying at the test tracks".
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McG194
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11/1/2022 7:49am Edited Date/Time 11/1/2022 7:50am
seth505 wrote:
Wake me up when he goes home to yellow.
ML512 wrote:
You'll be in a coma, then.
More likely we see Malcolm on yellow. (Just pretend I cared enough to photoshop Mookie's face on this dude.)


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seth505
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11/1/2022 8:08am
seth505 wrote:
Wake me up when he goes home to yellow.
ML512 wrote:
You'll be in a coma, then.
Grinning
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fourfourone
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11/1/2022 8:13am
seth505 wrote:
Wake me up when he goes home to yellow.
ML512 wrote:
You'll be in a coma, then.
McG194 wrote:
More likely we see Malcolm on yellow. (Just pretend I cared enough to photoshop Mookie's face on this dude.) [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2022/11/01/575288/s1200_Suzuki.jpg[/img]
More likely we see Malcolm on yellow. (Just pretend I cared enough to photoshop Mookie's face on this dude.)


I bet that boat motor is kick start.
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R VanKamp77
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11/1/2022 8:15am
BarX suzuki - zero sponsor conflicts Cool
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McG194
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11/1/2022 8:25am
ML512 wrote:
You'll be in a coma, then.
McG194 wrote:
More likely we see Malcolm on yellow. (Just pretend I cared enough to photoshop Mookie's face on this dude.) [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2022/11/01/575288/s1200_Suzuki.jpg[/img]
More likely we see Malcolm on yellow. (Just pretend I cared enough to photoshop Mookie's face on this dude.)


I bet that boat motor is kick start.
From the outboard people I know they make awesome outboards and Suzuki people I know tell me that is the primary US focus.
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skeef
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11/1/2022 8:48am
McG194 wrote:
More likely we see Malcolm on yellow. (Just pretend I cared enough to photoshop Mookie's face on this dude.) [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2022/11/01/575288/s1200_Suzuki.jpg[/img]
More likely we see Malcolm on yellow. (Just pretend I cared enough to photoshop Mookie's face on this dude.)


I bet that boat motor is kick start.
McG194 wrote:
From the outboard people I know they make awesome outboards and Suzuki people I know tell me that is the primary US focus.
Being in the boat world. They make the heaviest, slowest motors.
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Press516
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11/1/2022 8:59am
I can’t believe we’re two pages in without a:

Looks Comfy
ML512 wrote:
Ha!

You know, I heard he's "flying at the test tracks".
We can giggle all we want... But KR is probably the guy that makes those statements true 100% of the time.
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Renner153
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11/1/2022 9:03am
McG194 wrote:
I think the best idea is pitting out of Club and being a kind of satellite member but have Red Bull buy him Star bikes. It...
I think the best idea is pitting out of Club and being a kind of satellite member but have Red Bull buy him Star bikes.

It kind of ticks all the boxes. Give Star a revenue stream, puts Kenny on a proven winner (even though it's year 1 new model and it hasn't proven squat) and give Club a huge boost in credibility and mostly for Kenny he can surround himself with people he is comfortable with. Why not satellite for Star? This way just gives an extra level of separation from Monster Yamaha.
ML512 wrote:
There's a few political reasons why that either wouldn't happen or very unlikely. Number one "Red Bull buy him Star bikes"

Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing...
Add in that I dont believe Kenny is just going to move to Club for a year either.
11/1/2022 9:24am
I bet that boat motor is kick start.
McG194 wrote:
From the outboard people I know they make awesome outboards and Suzuki people I know tell me that is the primary US focus.
skeef wrote:
Being in the boat world. They make the heaviest, slowest motors.
But perfectly functional, reliable and affordable. Sounds familiar...
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McG194
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11/1/2022 10:02am
I bet that boat motor is kick start.
McG194 wrote:
From the outboard people I know they make awesome outboards and Suzuki people I know tell me that is the primary US focus.
skeef wrote:
Being in the boat world. They make the heaviest, slowest motors.
I wouldn't doubt that because I see them on a shit ton of working boats, both here and in the Carribean.


"Mercury Marine and Yamaha Marine dominate the American market but it’s hard not to notice the emergence of Suzuki in the past decade."

The Japanese manufacturer has class leading engines too, for instance, the DF 70 and DF 90 4 cylinders were the lightest in their class for the longest time, as Merc and Yamaha fumbled around with switching from two stroke to four stroke, with overweight engines across the lineup, Suzuki had and still has the lightest in this range. The DF 140 has been around for a long time and is a repower dream for small fishing boats and center consoles. Under 400 Lbs, priced extremely well, the little 4 cylinder beat other 135 or 150 HP outboards on most specs and on price every time.


https://www.wavetowave.com/home/2020/8/30/suzuki-marine-outboard-market…
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TeamGreen
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11/1/2022 10:21am
He could share a few $$$ with the Honda Genuine Team and keep doing what he’s doing.
If he REALLY wants to keep his own program…
Go the Chad route and start his own team.
Red Bull, Fox…plus his WSX bucks…etc. He could pull it off and might even be able to buy/lease some HRC support.

Bye the way, his Red Bull alignment could work with GasGas, KTM, Honda…even…Suzuki Laughing hell…what about Beta? Woohoo

As for wether or not he can ride a brand that has a Monster sponsored factory team…? We’ll see…or…is the Monster sponsorship gonna be part of the change…?

A year based on US SX & WSX along with other select events could work out for Kenny and his sponsors. It would be wise for WSX to help make it happen, too.

So, we’ll see, I guess.
MotoMan12345
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11/1/2022 10:23am
soggy wrote:
His sponsor deals exclude him from riding for every factory team except Honda and KTM. Ktm is full and we know he isn’t riding Honda.
Brent wrote:
...maybe, but someone else did bring up the fact that James Stewart was a Monster athlete for a year, so it has happened before. It's kind...
...maybe, but someone else did bring up the fact that James Stewart was a Monster athlete for a year, so it has happened before.

It's kind of sad to see that energy drink companies have such strong grip on what riders rides for what brand...
When you realize how much $$ they’re paying then it makes sense. And I’m sure Red Bull is paying Ken a lot..most marketable 450 guy
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moto162
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11/1/2022 10:29am
McG194 wrote:
I think the best idea is pitting out of Club and being a kind of satellite member but have Red Bull buy him Star bikes. It...
I think the best idea is pitting out of Club and being a kind of satellite member but have Red Bull buy him Star bikes.

It kind of ticks all the boxes. Give Star a revenue stream, puts Kenny on a proven winner (even though it's year 1 new model and it hasn't proven squat) and give Club a huge boost in credibility and mostly for Kenny he can surround himself with people he is comfortable with. Why not satellite for Star? This way just gives an extra level of separation from Monster Yamaha.
ML512 wrote:
There's a few political reasons why that either wouldn't happen or very unlikely. Number one "Red Bull buy him Star bikes"

Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing...
I think the biggest issue is fxr. They are a big part of that team from what I remember. As far as motors star 450s are built out in Cali and yamaha still has a heavy hand in them. Right? They could easily give him the same works parts they supply star and let Jamie at td pull it all together. Chassis suspension is going to be the same as star. Works kyb tuned by enzo. I for one actually think Clubs set up their would work great for him. Its a great atmosphere to ride and train in having been there multiple times. He would everything they can provide as far as tracks for testing plus his own personal places that he rides. This would t be much different then Eli being in Colorado and the goat farm.
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11/1/2022 10:37am
When you realize how much $$ they’re paying then it makes sense. And I’m sure Red Bull is paying Ken a lot..most marketable 450 guy
Ah, but therein lies the issue....is he still the "most marketable 450 guy?"
I don't think he is anymore. His attitude, results, and self-righteousness the last few years has removed him from that category, in my opinion.
Maybe I'm wrong, but there has definitely been a huge shift in his fan base and his general persona.
Every interview has an excuse in it, even when he won. Maybe he doesn't care because he is set for life AND he has a family he genuinely seems to adore. Then you have that Instagram post, which tends to show he cares still....but then his season went about how most assumed it would.
You can only trade on marketability for so long, especially when the public perception is you always make excuses and give the impression you don't even have a passion for racing anymore. That's not the image most companies want.
I would argue Sexton is THE most marketable face in the sport right now.
Again, I would love to see Roczen compete at the top in 2023....but I doubt it will be for a traditional 450 factory team. Those bridges have all seemingly been burned.
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11/1/2022 10:44am
Reminiscent of Chad Reed, just before he started 22 Motorsport, unemployed but mighty quick.
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SEEMEFIRST
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11/1/2022 10:56am
I can’t believe we’re two pages in without a:

Looks Comfy
It made the 1st page.
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fourfourone
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11/1/2022 11:17am
When you realize how much $$ they’re paying then it makes sense. And I’m sure Red Bull is paying Ken a lot..most marketable 450 guy
Ah, but therein lies the issue....is he still the "most marketable 450 guy?" I don't think he is anymore. His attitude, results, and self-righteousness the last...
Ah, but therein lies the issue....is he still the "most marketable 450 guy?"
I don't think he is anymore. His attitude, results, and self-righteousness the last few years has removed him from that category, in my opinion.
Maybe I'm wrong, but there has definitely been a huge shift in his fan base and his general persona.
Every interview has an excuse in it, even when he won. Maybe he doesn't care because he is set for life AND he has a family he genuinely seems to adore. Then you have that Instagram post, which tends to show he cares still....but then his season went about how most assumed it would.
You can only trade on marketability for so long, especially when the public perception is you always make excuses and give the impression you don't even have a passion for racing anymore. That's not the image most companies want.
I would argue Sexton is THE most marketable face in the sport right now.
Again, I would love to see Roczen compete at the top in 2023....but I doubt it will be for a traditional 450 factory team. Those bridges have all seemingly been burned.
I agree.

That last few seasons he has really hurt his own persona. From the weird posts of IG that get deleted, to always blaming the bike other things on his sub-par results.

He really makes himself look like a total headcase to the outside world and that includes sponsors. He blew a Factory Honda ride to go win a 2-race championship with 3rd string riders (other than Tomac).



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DUCati227
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11/1/2022 11:18am
I heard he is flying to the UK to test the Triumph.
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Magoofan
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11/1/2022 11:23am
Skip the booger bike Ken.....go Blu!



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JMR1976
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11/1/2022 11:30am
So what’s he riding today? Time to make up his mind the days to A1 are ticking away and everyone’s out there testing their bikes.
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DonM
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11/1/2022 11:39am
I bet that boat motor is kick start.
You mean pull….
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PDUB481
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11/1/2022 11:43am

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Rotaholic
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11/1/2022 11:45am
Ken will be fine on which ever bike he chooses, most teams test for months before A1, have the bike dialed at the test track, and then find it's way off at A1 and throw all that testing out the window and go back to what they started with. We saw what Ken can do a Yz250 that he spent a day on, he will probably win A1 on a kawi or yami as a statement ride, then go downhill from there.
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