Anyone else watching the 1988 500 gp season review on motorsport.tv ? So cool to see some of those old races again. This is about the time I started following road racing closely. Those 500's could be treacherous. Imagine some of todays riders trying to tame those beasts.
I'm gonna have to find the time to watch these. You could never really watch them back in the day. You had to wait until the newspaper on Monday morning, then read the back of the sports section to maybe see the race results. I made a bunch of money one year and bought the entire season on like 15 Duke VHS videotapes. They were probably $30 each or something crazy. That was the only time I really remember watching the races.
People always say that, but today’s riders would go just as fast on those bikes. Probably faster. We’ve gotten better at every single sport on earth, but worse at riding motorcycles? Unlikely. A better way of looking at it would be to say that the best riders have always squeezed every ounce of potential from a bike. Nothing’s changed, except they go faster now.
No no no. Don’t you know that everyone 20 or more years younger than you is a giant pussy and has had everything in life handed to them?
I certainly don’t think that’s the case but I do think the level of focus on fitness has gone up a great deal.
If they grew up on those types of bikes then yes I agree. But if you put MM or JL on a 500cc bike tomorrow and told them to go fast....you would need a small telescope to watch them re-enter the atmosphere.
Not that I think today's riders would be any slower. You're right, the best guys would still get the most from the machines. However, based on today's riders use of so much electronics, the advance in tire technology and the light switch power of a 500 2 stroke, I think the learning curve would be much different. Rider injuries would be more of a factor too. Watching these races, probably three quarters of the crashes they showed were high sides.
Stumbled across it the other day, enjoyable for sure! Agree the learning curve would be interesting. I think eventually they would be as faster but there had to be a fear factor of the 500's that inhibited the speed of some riders that wouldn't be there with today's modern bikes.
Using today's tires on those machines would end with tons of twisted frames, bent forks and blown-out shocks.
I think with time on the bikes that todays riders would go faster. They're much more committed to training on and off of motorcycles to push themselves further than the riders back in the day.
While I agree with this I still like the old days when the riders were more like us. Out to have a good time, more laid back when out in public....not so much pressure to stick the red bull, monster, rock star can into every TV interview.
Totally agree. Then it was more a passion for the sport and less a full time job taking care of sponsors. I think Rossi being more like the old school guys like Kevin and those guys is why he's so popular. Granted I have seen Lorenzo do a shot of tequila so he's not a total dweeb