Tom Moen @ KTM killed shootouts (kudos to Ping for telling it straight) & Merica's declining competitive spirit

taking a shot at Tom Moen - sheesh!

Plenty of shootouts out there. Racer X quit because Davey didn't like the heat, as Ping alludes. I think they also realized they weren't bringing anything to the table that other outlets weren't doing better.

i heard Ping wouldn't piss on a Ridgeline if it were on fire, and because of that we could be bros

peelout wrote:

i heard Ping wouldn't piss on a Ridgeline if it were on fire, and because of that we could be bros

Ping is barely tall enough to drive the Ridgeline......you gotta be over that line on the wall or your not allowed to ride without your parents.

I have 2 kids in competitive sports, and I can assure you there are winners and losers. And if you were to approach my 10 year old after a loss and question her competitive spirit - she would beat the shit out of you. Sorry about your oldness.

peelout wrote:

i heard Ping wouldn't piss on a Ridgeline if it were on fire, and because of that we could be bros

kkawboy14 wrote:

Ping is barely tall enough to drive the Ridgeline......you gotta be over that line on the wall or your not allowed to ride without your parents.

MXA not afraid to tell it like it is.

Vital around mxdn time, and a few months after, shatters the idea that the USA is losing its competitive nature.

What am I missing about Tom? He was always an awesome guy, not sure how he got dragged into this...

slipdog wrote:

What am I missing about Tom? He was always an awesome guy, not sure how he got dragged into this...

Apparently he navigates SOCIETY in a Ridgeline with a participation ribbon hanging from the mirror, and yields to others

GrapeApe wrote:

I have 2 kids in competitive sports, and I can assure you there are winners and losers. And if you were to approach my 10 year old after a loss and question her competitive spirit - she would beat the shit out of you. Sorry about your oldness.

Your 10 year old daughter would beat a grown man for asking a simple question? I’ll take things that never happen for $400 Alec.

Do shootouts really tell the truth. Do you really buy a bike based on the shootout results? Probably not, you just sit down and figure out what you need to buy to make your favorite brand better than the other brands. They are all great it really comes down to color and do you like your dealer.

Adam43 wrote, Racer X quit because Davey didn't like the heat, as Ping alludes. I think they also realized they weren't bringing anything to the table that other outlets weren't doing better.

I am not sure what Ping said or was joking about but I'm definitely not afraid of the heat, I just have never been into doing bike tests because the other magazines were doing them and there was no need for us to go that route -- we wanted to be a lifestyle magazine, not hard parts. When Ping retired he knew how to actually test (which I will admit I am not very good at) and he started doing them online for films, and people seem to love his swagger and wisdom.

DC
Racer X

Why would other oems be angry about ktm winning? They had a few good years so what. 2019 is going to change that. The japs have stepped up the game big time. Look how positive theyre feeling about the kx already. Some said its got the best motor and suspension in the class.

GrapeApe wrote:

I have 2 kids in competitive sports, and I can assure you there are winners and losers. And if you were to approach my 10 year old after a loss and question her competitive spirit - she would beat the shit out of you. Sorry about your oldness.

BobPA wrote:

Your 10 year old daughter would beat a grown man for asking a simple question? I’ll take things that never happen for $400 Alec.

And she would slap the KTM propeller beanie off your head and smack you with your KTM pennant.

It's a figure of speech, moron.

All shootouts need to be taken with a grain of salt. Even in the Vital shootout you can tell some test riders have some bias towards certain brands, be it an educated bias or simply what they are used to.

While the shootouts are helpful, one of my biggest factors in buying a bike was, parts availability, durability, and ease of maintenance. All of this info I put together on my own by reading through forums for weeks before pulling the trigger on the purchase. In reality Shootouts matter more to the manufacturer than most readers from what I have seen and heard over the years, so I could see why RacerX would rather publish another 15 page lifestyle story each year that people may actually care about rather than ANOTHER shootout, that will most likely not sway the consumers opinion that much.

Regardless I'll continue to read the shootouts, read RacerX, and Probably listen to Ping's podcasts in the future, I hope all parties continue to keep up the good work!

GrapeApe wrote:

I have 2 kids in competitive sports, and I can assure you there are winners and losers. And if you were to approach my 10 year old after a loss and question her competitive spirit - she would beat the shit out of you. Sorry about your oldness.

BobPA wrote:

Your 10 year old daughter would beat a grown man for asking a simple question? I’ll take things that never happen for $400 Alec.

GrapeApe wrote:

And she would slap the KTM propeller beanie off your head and smack you with your KTM pennant.

It's a figure of speech, moron.

First time I have ever seen the word moron used around here. Off to google to see what it means...

GrapeApe wrote:

I have 2 kids in competitive sports, and I can assure you there are winners and losers. And if you were to approach my 10 year old after a loss and question her competitive spirit - she would beat the shit out of you. Sorry about your oldness.

BobPA wrote:

Your 10 year old daughter would beat a grown man for asking a simple question? I’ll take things that never happen for $400 Alec.

GrapeApe wrote:

And she would slap the KTM propeller beanie off your head and smack you with your KTM pennant.

It's a figure of speech, moron.

What’s a moron?

Again, I’ll take things that never happen for $300, this time, Alec.

My propeller hat would also be of the Kawasaki variety, moran.

I relied on shootout info to buy my '18 last year.

People win and lose in society everyday?

I also disagree with what that guy on Main Event Moto was saying, he acted as if 10 - 15 years ago people rode to be the very best rider they can be but apparently now people just want to have fun and enjoy their hobby?

Riding has always been about the fun for me, I just think people who grew up chasing the dream of being a pro have a skewed idea of why people ride.

Some of you guys buy into this millennial-snowflake shit way too hard

GrapeApe wrote:

I have 2 kids in competitive sports, and I can assure you there are winners and losers. And if you were to approach my 10 year old after a loss and question her competitive spirit - she would beat the shit out of you. Sorry about your oldness.

BobPA wrote:

Your 10 year old daughter would beat a grown man for asking a simple question? I’ll take things that never happen for $400 Alec.

GrapeApe wrote:

And she would slap the KTM propeller beanie off your head and smack you with your KTM pennant.

It's a figure of speech, moron.

explaining a post in a derogatory manner but not really getting the reply in the first place, thats pretty good stuff... its like you two are abbot and costello..

BobPA wrote:

Your 10 year old daughter would beat a grown man for asking a simple question? I’ll take things that never happen for $400 Alec.

GrapeApe wrote:

And she would slap the KTM propeller beanie off your head and smack you with your KTM pennant.

It's a figure of speech, moron.

newmann wrote:

First time I have ever seen the word moron used around here. Off to google to see what it means...

I think he means, Moran.

milliebays wrote:

love that Ping doesn't give any fucks and says it like it is.

listen to the latest RacerX pod.

KTM used to lose shootouts and complained the loudest about it. Now, ironically, when they'd be winning, noone wants to do shootouts because of all the grief they got/would get from manufacturers and fanbois.


on a semi-related noted, the latest Main Event Moto pod was FANTASTIC. great rant with Andy from Guts on the decline of the competitive spirit in America. WE LIVE IN A SOCIETY.....where we can't have winners and losers any more. it's sad.

flame away i don't care.

Chill out bro

Way back when...there were bikes that were total turds. We needed a shootout to tell us which bikes to avoid. I don't think there is a truly bad bike sold these days. Now it's all about nuances and which color you prefer. Much tougher for the testers nowadays. When was the last time you read, "frame/shock broke in half....carb fell off"?)

I am continually amazed at the number of douchebags on Vital!

some think shootouts are a waste of space (likely those whose brand always loses), some flip flop on them (again likely to do with their brand winning or not), some use them religiously to decide which one to buy, some never read them...its a choice that I am glad we all have.

At the end of the day, shootouts are a group of peoples opinions that have more relevance than your average joe rider's opinion.

For what its worth the Vital ones are the ones I pay closest attention to, the MXA ones the least ...imho.

809 wrote:

I am continually amazed at the number of douchebags on Vital!

#metoo

GrapeApe wrote:

I have 2 kids in competitive sports, and I can assure you there are winners and losers. And if you were to approach my 10 year old after a loss and question her competitive spirit - she would beat the shit out of you. Sorry about your oldness.

I love when people talk about the “sad state of competitiveness” or “participation trophies” and they have no actual basis to back it up. Sports are more competitive than ever. All of them.