Rossi at Mugello!

[HiSPL]

What a race huh? Fantastic racing by Rossi on a slower bike than Biaggi. Rossi and Gibernau mixing it up the whole end of the race. Man, fantastic racing.....


:chug:

[Kidder]

What a great race! Probably one of the best I've ever seen. I wish it wouldn't have been spoiled by rain. I think Sete would've taken him if they hadn't had a six lap sprint race. Sete was definitely sizing him up on the run to the front straight.

Anyway, great race. Now, I wish the Texas Tornado could get his riding woes figured out! :-|

[buck000]

Good tire choice by Rossi and Co. for the restart. He chose slicks, hung out in, what, 6th, then poof! He's in 2nd, then passing for the lead when the sun came out...

What a corner maestro that dude is....! :eek:

[HiSPL]

Anyway, great race. Now, I wish the Texas Tornado could get his riding woes figured out! :-|

I know what you mean.... OTOH, I really want Suzuki to get their GP bike sorted so they can start getting on the board. They have the talent but without a bike to ride they are going nowhere.....

[Tourmeister]

:tab I was really rooting for Xaus :mrgreen: I just watched the tapes last night :shock: I love races like that were no one breaks away and takes off. The AMA races were pretty good as well, go Miguel!!

:tab I know Colin has not been winning races, but he has be in the top ten more often than not, often right around 5 or 6th. Given the level of racing, that is nothing to be ashamed of. I realize for racers that if it isn't first, it doesn't matter. No one remembers the losers unless they have a name like Dick Trickle, a long time Nascar racer that has never won a single race. :lol:

:tab How about that crach by Nakano? Oh my God!? I cannot imagine coming off the bike at 200mph, flopping all over the place like that, and then we later get a report that he is concious with no serious injuries!! Simply amazing. Any Harley rider that sees that vid, with his head SLAMMING into the ground, and still thinks a helmet is a bad idea, is just a freaking moron. :roll:

Adios,

[pdef]

The people that race Harleys wear helmets too. I think the crowd that doesn't wear gear don't pay much attention to racing.

[buck000]

The people that race Harleys wear helmets too. I think the crowd that doesn't wear gear don't pay much attention to racing.

Or even, uberhawk aside ;-), other motorcycles...!

My neighbor's been riding for decades, and is all-HD, all the time, and quite a nice fellow, but he doesn't follow the races, doesn't know the term 'thumper', etc.

Interesting, the various moto-cultures Out There... :mrgreen:

[pdef]

While we are slightly off topic, I was watching Two Wheel Tuesday and it talked about AMA Flat Track racing. This was all dominated by H-D riders. Also I remember watching some Hill climb(I think that's the name) events, and H-D was competitive in that as well. Why are they represented here and not in other categories?

H-D may not have the budget of Honda, Suzuki and the like, but I am fairly sure they have deeper pockets than Ducati or Aprilia. How come they don't put out competitive supersports, superbikes, or maybe a gp racer?

Is there no money in racing, or is it just that money is best spent on marketing their image? I am fairly sure if H-D made a superbike that was even slightly competitive and got a few podiums, they could market the **** out of those and make a killing. Look how many people bought the hyped up V-rod because of it's hp and drag times.

[Chirpy]

Or even, uberhawk aside ;-), other motorcycles...!

Hey! One of the owners of Lonestar Track Days has a Fat Boy for his only street ride. So there...pffffft.

As to Harleys on flat tracks, easy. There's a finite limit to how much horsepower you can transmit to clay...it's more about how the power is delivered. The XR750 has had 30 years of development, and there's just something about V-Twin power that just works.

Yamaha built a TZ700 flat-tracker, and it scared Kenny Roberts. Too much horsepower. Honda tried a turn at flat tracking, and had to take a Shadow motor and modify it to the point where only the AMA could recognize it as a Shadow.

Lately the only motor that has shown promise is the TL1000 motor. Again V-Twin power.

As to the modern superbike thing, well, KR's won the Daytona 200 as recently as 1968. I was five, I don't remember.

Oddly enough Harley has built one or two in the past. Both projects were killed as Harley believes in only racing what they sell, and they didn't think a four cylinder CB-750 lookalike (I think before the CB-750 was out) would sell. The VR1000 actually had reasonable success with that Canadian Miguel guy riding it, but was killed off early as it wasn't based on a "real" production platform. Shame NAStyCAR doesn't follow that rule...I mean your Taurus is a rear wheel drive V8, right?

I'd love to see it, although I think realistically you might see a factory Buell in Forumla Extreme first. The privateers currently running aren't doing all that bad. Besides Buell can do things and not upset the "faithful". The current gen Buell's don't even use a Sportster motor any more...different cases.

Now, as to my own Harley, after 31 days in the shop the dealer managed to put the wrong fork springs in. One working day later it was back in the shop, the Wednesday before the ROT rally. I have yet to hear from them again.

I'm thrilled with Central Texas Harley's service department at the moment. But that's a different thread.

MotoGP rocks this year!

Daryl

[buck000]

Now, as to my own Harley, after 31 days in the shop the dealer managed to put the wrong fork springs in. One working day later it was back in the shop, the Wednesday before the ROT rally. I have yet to hear from them again.

***? :brainsnap

So that's, like, 1/5 of the time you've owned the bike, it's been in the shop? Yeesh, that sucks.

I do like the sound of the Buells in AMA this year... :chug:

And re: flat track, isn't Chris Carr running a KTM this year?

[Tourmeister]

:tab Trivia time! Anyone know what Harley called the V4 sportbike they developed about the time they bought themselves back from AMF? At the time, they could only afford to go to production with one of their motor lines, the V4 or the V-twin, so the V4 was just mothballed and only recently has seen the light of day in the form of pictures and parts. Supposedly, they had it pretty far along the development path.

Wasn't poor Pascal Picotte racing for Harley in the AMA Superbike series a few years back? Then there was a Mike something (Smith maybe?), with the 911 number plate. Remember the bike going up in flames at Road Atlanta a few years ago?

Adios,

[HiSPL]

Aaahhhh! The Nova project. They were pretty far along with complete engines and many test platforms that had logged lots of miles in testing. The twin, V4, and V6 models all shared the same basic engine design with modular pistons and cylinders. Need a 1500? Use 6 jugs! Pretty neat design actually, I wish they had made it.....

http://www.riderreport.com/images/elements/144217_NOVA.300x234.jpg

[Tourmeister]

:tab That's it! Man, the engine looks massive compared to the Honda VF's of the time. The styling leaves a little something to be desired... I don't think that bike would have ever made it in the Harley lineup though, not enough bad boy pretender wannabe to it. :roll: You'd never see a pack of ****'s Angels riding them :lol:

:tab Here's the poop on it.

http://www.riderreport.com//output.cfm?id=144217

Adios,