faffi

I just watched a few races from 1992 and was stunned by how much smoother and in control they looked back then compared to today! I remember the 1980s, when the big two-strokes were bucking and weaving and protesting - especially Gardner's Honda - but by 1992, all was calm. Hardly a wheel off line at any point, nor a wobble or a weave. The only thing similar with today was that there seemed to be next to no warning before they lost the front or, in a few cases, got high-sided. If you watched the COTA race, you will have seen many riders sliding, wobbling and bobbing quite a bit, lap after lap. Now, do you think this is a result of the electronic aids allowing them to be less accurate, or that they race closer to the ragged edge today or something else?

Amazing!

The cause of the high bpm rate is that they are scared silly. Senna had a similar high bpm during races. F1 drivers, and probably riders as well, only breathe on the straights, never under braking and cornering. The brain constantly scream "you are going to die if you continue like this", hence the high bpm simply out of pure fear. They are that close to the limit. Mika Hakkinen once said that when he braked for the chicane at Monza at the 130 metre mark, going from 353 to 80 kph in that short distance, he had to fight his survival instincts every single lap all weekend. Because the brain refused to accept that it was possible, even after doing it repeatedly. Senna said that every time he got back in his F1 car after the winter break, he got petrified because everything happened so quickly that no matter how hard he had driven his Ferrari on the streets, he was in no way prepared for the shock of the speed of the F1 car. I also remember they said Rossi was special because his bpm stayed around 150 whereas the rest sat in the 180-190 range. Not because he was in a better shape, but because he had more in reserve. Hence he had more brain power and awareness to cope with the unexpected. Whether or not that's still the case, I cannot tell - this was commented on cirka 2003. BTW, a high bpm rate doesn't mean you are out of shape - max bpm is genetics more than anything. But even you could sit at max bpm for an hour of you were convinced you were going to get killed if your concentration lapsed for just a fraction of a second and you were already basically operating beyond your abilities.

Don't have any video, but you can get similar results adding a quart of oil for old style automatic transmissions. Also helps to free stuck hydraulic lifters.

Brno on the Yamaha 500 - yes, that was close to being a complete flipover

Those are the best kind of crashes Colin Edwards had something similar some years back in MotoGP.

It is very easy to understand that must have been a fantastic experience - good for you

I have several moments that have stuck to mind that differ quite a bit. The ride home after picking up my brand new CB100 back in 1980. The sound, the look, the pride. Sliding the rear wheel of my CB1100F all the way around a loooong 100 mph sweeper. Riding a gnarly, hairpin-infested unfamiliar backroad on my VT500FT, raised for much more cornering clearance, and still touching down stands/exhaust in every corner. Touring on a beautiful day, no wind and not a cloud in sight, standing on the pegs, arms punching the sky, screaming from the top of my lungs inside my helmet from pure excitement of being alive, riding the XS500. Passing cars virtually every morning on snow and slick ice on my Z400G, riding on the normal tyres. Cruising on my VN800A and for the first time really enjoying the straights and seeing how nice the landscape was instead of thinking about when a corner would pop up. Trundling along on my VS1400, finding the road blocked by a huge tractor and being able to stop in time, knowing it would have been an accident with a sportier bike. When finally cracking the code of riding the way I've been told through this forum and by reading TOTT2 on my Z650B, and again being able to ride relaxed and intuitively. Yet the best moment of all came at the start of the 2015-season, when I finally lost all my urge to push and take risks on the road. Luckily, this coincided with a year when we experienced a huge amount of near-misses; roads blocked by vehicles, oncoming cars using our side of the road, cars not stopping for us at intersections - you name it, we got it. Due to the reduced speeds, we had no issues. But had this been some years earlier it would have ended with fatality at least 5 times and in hospital a dozen more times. Looking forward to many more safe and fun riding seasons.

If you want to google-translate from German, or read German, you can read it all here http://www.motorradonline.de/fahrtechnik-und-fahrsicherheitstrainings/alles-ueber-schraeglage-mit-motorraedern.706154.html For those who will not do that, here are a few facts: Slowest and fastest: Ducati Diavel, rider pushing bike down, bike lean 41 degrees, combined lean 38, corner speed 47 kph Marq Marques on his MotoGP bike, hanging off, bike lean 62 , combined lean 66, speed 78 kph Honda Fireblade, rider sitting straight, bike and combined lean 45, speed 55 kph Honda Fireblade, rider pushing bike down, bike lean 46, combined lean 43, speed 53 kph Honda Fireblade, rider hanging off, bike lean 48, combined 51, speed 61 kph Honda FIreblade, Pirelli SBK Qualifier, hanging off, bike 51, combined 53, speed 65 kph Husqvarna 701 Supermoto, rider pushing bike down, bike lean 57, combined 51, speed 62 kph Husqvarna 701 Supermoto, rider sitting straight, bike and combined lean 47, speed 57 kph Husqvarna 701 Supermoto, rider hanging off, bike lean 46, combined 51, speed 62 kph

Interesting to see how the 40hp single reels in larger bikes, despite the rider not being perfectly consistent'

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2015/Dec/151209mncs.htm

Guintoli was champ in 2014 on an Aprilia.

Well, Kawasaki have only 3 titles throughout the history of WSBK, and it was more a case of Rea dominating this season than Kawasaki as Sykes came 3rd, didn't he?

http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/225468/1/jerez-testing-times-friday.html Sykes on par with Marquez and Jacobsen incredibly fast on his 600.

I think it's a case of a feather turning into ten hens. The incident wasn't IMO big enough to cause the hysteria that has followed. Worse episodes have happened over the years without history being made. The real issue isn't really with the riders, though - they have over-boosted egos, which they must have in order to become the best of the best - but with their management. Instead of surrounding themselves with critical people that could guide them well, they surround themselves with people who pee all over their backs and boost their egos into proportions where they become too big to be useful. So Rossi should have been told not to speak his feelings ahead of the race, Lorenzo should have known to keep his mouth shut after the race and MM should have raced flat out instead of handing it to racing as a thank you for the - likely wrong - accusations. Still, although I am a Rossi fan and hope he takes the title, I think it is fitting that he got the sentence since he set the whole thing off.

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2015/Nov/151102leswashbon.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph7BfQlBkk8&feature=youtu.be

IMO even better than this year's race

Yeah, I saw that. One thing is that they have made it, stranger is the time they chose for revealing it

I agree!

For me, Jorge came out with the worst personality of them because he wasn't involved, yet began screaming for blood even before the jury had reached a verdict.

A good read - if you read it all. Othewise you may get the wrong impression and definitely not the whole story https://motomatters.com/analysis/2015/10/27/2015_sepang_motogp_round_up_heroes_who_h.html

Not sure if Rossi is right with his speculations are correct, that MM feel Rossi has cost him the title and that Rossi was at fault in Argentina and Assen, or if MM got pissed by Rossi's allegations this Thursday if MM knew they were wrong. Most likely it is a combination; MM is a bit angry with Rossi for their clashes and Rossi is cracking under the strain of the title chase and have said things best not said, making MM even angrier. Whatever the causes, it is sad for us fans of the sport to see the two best racers of the past quarter of a century act like children.

I see the same as I saw live; MM turning into Rossi, starts going down and knee comes out. I have not seen the helicopter shots, but apparently they show this even clearer. Lin Jarvis: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2015/10/25/sepangclash-jarvis-reacts/188527 Anyway, this is a discussion that is likely to have Rossi dissers see Rossi in the wrong, Rossi fans will see MM in the wrong. I believe they were both wrong, that MM got what he was after and that Rossi was a fool for making his accusations on Thursday and allowing himself to be provoked on Sunday. But I do not believe he caused MM to crash, and I believe MM raced unsportsmanlike.

Read the jury's verdict and you will see they blame MM for messing with Rossi, but that it wasn't illegal. And also that they conclude that Rossi did not kick MM down. Lin Jarvis also gave full support to Rossi's version, although he also said he didn't approve of Rossi's actions. The irony is that had Rossi kept looking forward and gone at racing speed, he would not have received a penalty. It came because it was so obvious what he was doing - which was to state an example, but not to cause a crash.