Moto GP test ride...what the PROS think..

Wow, great article!
I agree that the last line really says it all. Lets see if in 2008 the bridgestones live up to everyones expectations!

A couple of excellent Schwantz quotes:

Of the Duke:
"It stops and when you're stopping it, it's still turning. It still goes where you want it to. It's so balanced feeling, right into whatever point you chose to make it on the track. Whether it's right in on the paint, or if you miss a little bit. And I think that's more a thing that I see Casey do, is I see him move further and further into the corner. Even when he screws the corner up, it'll turn back on itself so quick and Casey's got so good at getting off the inside of the thing, trusting the electronics enough. He gets in, he misses a little bit, he gets that turned with a little bit of throttle, and the electronics control it as he's coming out."

Of the Yam:
"To me I wasn't as fast as I was on the Suzuki. It feels more like what a bike is supposed to feel like. It was a lot harder work doing a 1:39 on that than it was doing 36's on the Suzuki, because I think the Suzuki is that much ...
It (the Yam) just seemed like, on the edge, it was struggling for grip. I said it feels more like what I would expect a motorcycle to feel like, not now what modern-day-electronics on a GP bike are going to allow you to do. To me it seemed like, when the rear stepped out, I thought "Whoa". But that's why I did five laps, and when I did five more i'd see black lines out of corners that I'd never seen before. I was going just as fast or a little faster. It definitely, to me, feels like something that... It's more like a motorcycle that I would like, that I would ride. I don't like that real electric feel, where "Okay, I'm just going to let it do its work"

Of TC:
I like to be able to come off a corner, feel the thing start spinning up instead of it starting to spin and it just... for some, it's hard to tell when it's electronic or when it's not. And I think that shows where a lot of the electronics have gotten."

How about his last comments that Pedrosa will only do what Puig says..
That was funny.

enjoyed reading the article.

I wonder if Dani might not grow up and losen up now that Honda has told Puig he is not welcome in the garage.I also wonder if it might not have been at Dani's request that Honda did so.He is probably getting tired of being Puig's Borg.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(povol @ Dec 5 2007, 10:39 PM) [snapback]103569[/snapback]<div class='quotemain'>
I wonder if Dani might not grow up and losen up now that Honda has told Puig he is not welcome in the garage.I also wonder if it might not have been at Dani's request that Honda did so.He is probably getting tired of being Puig's Borg.


Povol
I missed that about Puig.
Where did you read that?

Fantastic read.

The picture of Schwantz with Spies right behind him is epic.

Really I thought pretty much everything in there was a rehash of things we've heard this season, but it was really nice to have it all in one place.

If you take the pictures out and read Steve's evaluation of the Honda and the Ducati you could easily be led to believe you are reading about road bikes.

The Duc is lurchy (even on the GP they can't fix it) you sit "in" the bike and it is ridiculously poised once you get it on its side.

The Honda is as smooth as silk, flickable, and refined.

The only difference was that the Honda had the touchy brakes.

I'm really pleased that someone explained the difference in Danis and Nicky's pace. While I'm convinced Dani can still probably run more hot laps over a race distance than Nicky, I'm also convinced the tires are making the difference in pace. Both Schwantz and Atlas said the Michelins are twitchy on the edge, and Schwantz said the rear was loose everywhere. Take 20kg and multiply it by the applicable G-force and you have a loose rear end accounting for .2-.4 per race lap.

That whole section about lack of side grip completely explained the other half of Nicky's poor performance (one half obviously was his miserable luck).

This article still leaves a lot of questions about Kawasaki, though. How can that bike have so much raw speed, and still be incapable of scoring an occasional podium. I know RDP binned it as many times as Stoner did last year, but seriously, that bike had the pace pretty frequently and no one did anything with it.

I guess Hopper will show whether the pilot or the bike is to blame. He may not be the fastest man ever on a bike, but he has enough experience to get the most out of it.

cool article..

the puig/pedrosa quip is too funny...
and now we know kinda how they all stack up. seems the riders do make the final difference in the end...

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BigAl @ Dec 6 2007, 06:01 PM) [snapback]103575[/snapback]<div class='quotemain'>
cool article..

the puig/pedrosa quip is too funny...
and now we know kinda how they all stack up. seems the riders do make the final difference in the end...

Who would have thunk it?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(alex29 @ Dec 6 2007, 07:29 AM) [snapback]103577[/snapback]<div class='quotemain'>
Who would have thunk it?


yep! its really out there aint it..

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(xx CURVE xx @ Dec 6 2007, 02:11 PM) [snapback]103595[/snapback]<div class='quotemain'>
Where are all the Stone licker posts?
Schwantz:
" I never watch Pedrosa, I never pay attention to what he does."



I enjoyed the article and thanks for posting it.

That kevin schwantz went faster/found it easier to go fast on the suzuki than the yamaha hardly requires re-evaluation of einstein's theories though.

I take it you were also impressed that schwantz (one of my all-time heroes by the way) really liked the set-up on casey's bike, initially described as crazy by the ducati technicians; you know casey stoner the guy incapable of developing a bike who fortuitously landed on a perfect bike developed totally by loris capirossi but unable to be ridden by him to the extent that loris had the engine changed?

Not that I am not with you on the rossi hating, he is likely the greatest ever and it is ridiculous to compare stoner to him at this stage, but stoner can only do his best with what he was given; his best this year seemed fairly good to me.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(michaelm @ Dec 6 2007, 02:23 PM) [snapback]103597[/snapback]<div class='quotemain'>

Not that I am not with you on the rossi hating, he is likely the greatest ever and it is ridiculous to compare stoner to him at this stage, but stoner can only do his best with what he was given; his best this year seemed fairly good to me.


Thank you for this comment, it is wonderful to have someone on the board who understands that rideres also have a learning curve and that Stoner is on the upward turn of his. I think I will truly enjoy watching him over the next few years.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JohnnyKnockdown @ Dec 5 2007, 11:32 PM) [snapback]103572[/snapback]<div class='quotemain'>
Povol
I missed that about Puig.
Where did you read that?


I cant find it anywhere,i look at so many sites and Google isnt helping.But what it said was, Puig had been given a new title that technically meant he couldnt be in the pits as a part of the crew.Maybe i dislike that nut sack enough that i dreamed it, but i dont think so.

I must concur that Stoner is on the upswing. He is a very talented rider, fast and not afraid to race.

I must give Schwantz credit that he says that the Ducati engineers listened to Stoner and gave him a much much better bike than what Capirex developed for them.

-- But if you think that Schwantz's comments aren't a little biased toward the Suzook-- you might be mistaken--

Never the less, his comments gave some real insight into the Kawak, Yammy and Honda. As well as the role of the electronics effecting the way each bike is ridden.

What stood out the most to me was the lack of electronics on Rossi's bike and that his bike felt more or less exactly the way a race bike would be expected to feel- solid and a bit to ride at the edge.

Sounds like the Yamaha has been developed to where the Rider is more important than the electronics.

The Kawak, if it is as good and it sounds, may be a surprise next year.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Duc999 @ Dec 6 2007, 10:55 AM) [snapback]103605[/snapback]<div class='quotemain'>
What stood out the most to me was the lack of electronics on Rossi's bike and that his bike felt more or less exactly the way a race bike would be expected to feel- solid and a bit to ride at the edge.

Sounds like the Yamaha has been developed to where the Rider is more important than the electronics.

The Kawak, if it is as good and it sounds, may be a surprise next year.


Yeah, that part stuck with me too. I was remembering an interview on MGP.com where CE was talking about his electronic settings and how his electros are nearly turned off where as Valentino's are turned completely on.

It seemed to suggest that Rossi was a hypocrite--calling for the elimination of rider aids while using them more than other riders. However, it didn't seem possible that Valentino would actually enjoy riding with them.

The only thing I could deduce at the time, was that Rossi had the bike set up so that it would function flawlessly until the point it was about to buck him off and then explode in a ball of rashed metallic flames.

Schwantz's assessment seems to confirm that Yamaha's electronics package is set up to save the rider's life and not improve the bikes performance. It is a completely different strategy than any other in the paddock. It's kind of nice to know, there is at least one old-school set up left in the paddock. I'd be really interested to see what Hayden could do on a bike built to achieve mechanical perfection.

If Jorge/Toseland go well on the Yamaha next season it will demonstrate they both have the ability to ride using the feel from the seat of their pants.

Thanks for the link,

Schwantz's article was excellent.

The other guy's sucked.

I think this article confirms that tires made most of the difference this year -- although the Yamaha was a little crappier than the rest.

I really don't buy the whole" honda is too tiny" argument. A rider
s perception of bike size is based on the positions of the foot pegs, handle bar and seat -- all ofwhich can be adjusted. Fuel tank width can be changed too, as what is visible is just a cover these days