Moto3 Racebike To The U.S

They could afford 50+ superbike teams, it was just a business decision that the money spent on AMA SBK in this climate wasn't worth the returns it generated...

 

Actually not all that bad but when you add in the ohlins forks, shock, brembo brake rotor, master cylinder, calipers, titanium race exhaust, bolts, spares, etc. it will definitely rack up. I sure wish racing was cheaper,

 

"$28,599"

I just tried saying that three times in the mirror and nothing appeared....rats

 

Twice the technology.
Twice the price.
Half the fun.

Screw four strokes.

 

Unless it comes with a second identical bike it's not that good a deal.

 

At that price all that shit should be on it already.

 

In a perfect world.

 

So I'm reading that article, and I'm thinking "hell yeah, this looks like the business". Then I see that price and decide to stick with my converted street bike.

 

Compared to the $12k price tag of that last RS125 including a GP season worth of spares I think $28.6K is outrageous. I was planning to buy one if it was $17.5K or below, but there is now way now. I particularly like the part of the press release where they say that "now" there is a real GP bike ready to race out of the box available to everyone... ummm have they already fogotten about their RS125s and 250s? I do remember being at Jennings when Mike Himmelsbach pulled one out of the crate on Friday and put it on the podium Sunday against some of the fastest kids in the US. Sounds a lot like a GP bike that is out of the box competitive to me.

I think they will sell a few in the US to the front running fast kids whose parents have deep pockets, but thats about it, and that is only if they prove to be faster than the 125s, which rumors from over seas say they are not. Their real market is Europe where a price equivalent to US $29K is not too out of line. We still haven't seen maintenance intervals or spares prices yet which could make the cost of running one of these in the US even worse.

It looks like it is all part of the Honda plan to kill off the two stroke (again). With a top end costing $300 now and cranks being discontinued they are probably going to get their way.

 

When I first heard about this I was excited, I thinking I will have around 10-12,000 in the bank when I get back from Afghanistan and this little bugger should be perfect for a race bike with out all the messing around of converting a street bike. The 29,000 please. So why would you drop that kind of $$$ when you can buy a raced prep sv650, cbr, r6 et al for under ten thousand. I can see if for a kid that is the bees knees and might make it to the big time, but then again if he is that good wouldn't they already be in the red bull rookie cup.

Come on honda, I wanna ride on the track) just not bad enough to take out a loan against the kids college fund to do it.

 

Honda doesn't care or doesn't realize that for every fast 12-14 year old out there on the grid (that will only ride the bike for 2 years anyway), there are 5-10 more older guys on the grid or with a bike in the garage, or doing track days. They are completely focused on the kids. At 15k or under they would probably sell hundreds of these, rather than the handful that they will at 29.

 

Buy a Moriwaki. They're right around $12K or so.

 

Thats my plan now. A used mori for about 6-8k. Its still a Honda though... grrrrrr. Also with the new Moto 3 bike it would be like Honda to stop selling morwakis through their delers.

 

You know there's a MD250S, right? Designed to slot in a Suzuki RM-Z250 motor.

 

Yes, but I have never seen one in the US.

 

I think it's going to be like the Aprilia 250 GP bike. Sure you can buy a honda for a fraction of the price, but you'll never compete against the Aprilias (unless you're last name is Ayioma ;-)

Those who want their kids to be the next Nicky Hayden will drop the coin. Just like you see in carts, golf, tennis and every other "my kid will be the next meal ticket" sport.

BTW: I'm pretty sure those new Moto3 bikes have an entirely new engine design. Something that hopefully will take the constant high RPM abuse that singles are not famous for.

But yea, under $20K would be a lot easier for us the swallow.

Anyone have the costs on what a real 125GP factory bike costs? Have been up close to a few, I'm gonna say they're quite a bit more than the customer Honda's $12K

 

Just noticed something. $28K and you get a street fork and caliper???

Maybe this is a preliminary mock up bike for photos only?


BTW: Anyone catch the Graves 250cc Moto3 bike in the paddock at Laguna? Said they built it to push Yamaha into the series, kind of a proof of concept. Beautiful bike.

 

The suspension and brakes are most likely straight from the last generation RS125. While it wouldn't surprise me if they were used on other bikes, on a sub 200 lb bike designed for the track, they actually work quite well. On the 125s, the vast majority of riders don't actually NEED to upgrade anything on the bike. I expect the new bike will be the same.

I don't have any specific numbers on what the world level 125s cost, but i would guess a current generation Aprillia would be in the six figure range. So IF the NSF250R is competitive $29k is a steal compared to the top level bikes, just not compared to the average 125 in the US.

 

The bike makes 48HP at 13,000 rpm. The engine has a reversed and rear canted cylinder like the Yamaha 450. This is a "from the ground up" newly designed ROAD RACING machine, not a reworked dirt bike. It does use some RS-125 parts.

 

I would stop looking for bargains in the competitive road racing arena, especially in the world markets.