Anybody see the latest Bike? They have a little blurb about "How to tackle Coppice with the Doctor" or something, but the good stuff is the last part where he talks about the transition from 500 strokers to computerized 4 strokes.
I'm paraphrasing, but it went something like this, "when i first tried the 990 with traction control, it was like only 1% of what we have now [in 2009] and even then, as soon as I tried it I thought ".... no. Now it's like 100% of what we had back then !!!!"
He talks a lot about how tires and electronics have changed the GPs dramatically over what people seem to forget is a surprisingly short amount of time.
It's a fascinating and depressing insight and he gets pretty technical in his analysis of the situation.
Basically, he says that unless they go back to more powerful bikes with less electronics the racing will only continue to spread out. One example of how much more the 800s rely on corner speed (and the electronics that help the riders maintain such corner speeds)? Knee sliders. Yup. Even though slider technology is advancing at a blistering pace and riders are swapping for fresh sliders more often than ever, they still go through 30% more wear than with the 500s/990s.
Even though Rossi doesn't need anymore sunshine blown up his ..., you've gotta hand it to the guy. He really is ....... fast on pretty much any type of motorcycle. Things have changed a lot, he's still up there and he barely looks winded, if at all.
It's too bad the rulemakers want everybody racing around on iBikes. I know I'd much rather see everybody punishing some black and rounds while elbowing each other into the runoff. It sounded like Rossi felt the same as he bemoaned that the "manufacturers make the rules" so we must take the bikes we get.
Good read. Hit your local bookstore and check it out. Then go start an ePetition to resurrect the fire breathing dragons.
Four Strokes Good. Two Strokes Better.
I'm paraphrasing, but it went something like this, "when i first tried the 990 with traction control, it was like only 1% of what we have now [in 2009] and even then, as soon as I tried it I thought ".... no. Now it's like 100% of what we had back then !!!!"
He talks a lot about how tires and electronics have changed the GPs dramatically over what people seem to forget is a surprisingly short amount of time.
It's a fascinating and depressing insight and he gets pretty technical in his analysis of the situation.
Basically, he says that unless they go back to more powerful bikes with less electronics the racing will only continue to spread out. One example of how much more the 800s rely on corner speed (and the electronics that help the riders maintain such corner speeds)? Knee sliders. Yup. Even though slider technology is advancing at a blistering pace and riders are swapping for fresh sliders more often than ever, they still go through 30% more wear than with the 500s/990s.
Even though Rossi doesn't need anymore sunshine blown up his ..., you've gotta hand it to the guy. He really is ....... fast on pretty much any type of motorcycle. Things have changed a lot, he's still up there and he barely looks winded, if at all.
It's too bad the rulemakers want everybody racing around on iBikes. I know I'd much rather see everybody punishing some black and rounds while elbowing each other into the runoff. It sounded like Rossi felt the same as he bemoaned that the "manufacturers make the rules" so we must take the bikes we get.
Good read. Hit your local bookstore and check it out. Then go start an ePetition to resurrect the fire breathing dragons.
Four Strokes Good. Two Strokes Better.
