That sounds a lot like the STK1000 class that they got rid of. I'm not sure why they axed the class but I do know that I never heard much about it compared to SBK or Supersport.
I also think it’s funny that all the crying and bitching about Ducati. When Rea was winning 4 yrs straight, everyone praised Rea and Kawi. Now that AB and Ducati are mopping the floor, oh Ducati is racing a new homologated Gp bike. Not to mention Kawi homologated a brand new bike this year as well. Ducati just built a better bike and have a better rider this year.
Oh, Kawasaki has never won a stk1000 championship. Since 2007 , Ducati 6, BMW 5, Aprillia 1. One of those years, Tati Mercado had the championship won until someone crashed into him on the next to last race of the season. Would have been 7 for Ducati.
That would be so cool if they allowed it be a "claiming" race. Pick up AB's bike for 40 grand? They wouldn't be able to make them fast enough.
Agree on all counts. The V4 is a great bike and is not a homologation special like the current ZX10RR. I rarely root for Ducati over a Japanese rival (except Suzuki sometimes) but Ducati put out a hell of a bike while JR and Kawi are bitching about it in a sense.
Y’all are HILARIOUS at your bitching. Acting like Rea bike is only $40k Tell ya what, let me go down to the pits and offer them $40k each and see if they sell them. LOL. Y’all mad because a little Italian Shop ca build a better bike than the biggest company on the grid. Plus they got a better rider. Win/win. Shut the fuck up.
The f@ck they can't. They just choose not to build a motogp bike and it makes perfect sense why they don't. Why spend hundreds of Millions to develop, build, race and support a motogp bike and program when they can race WSBK, promote the bike they actually sell and win (up until this year so far). Hell, they didn't just win, they dominated and got a lot of press, advertising and eyes on Kawasaki as a whole by doing it. Yeah, they could race motogp and finish top ten (if they are lucky) and spend $50 Million a year (if they do it all themselves) and maybe get lucky and get a podium or they can spend $20 Million (if they spend hard) and win championships.
I know - I think it need to be dropped quite a bit to be something more attainable. $40K is well beyond most folks’ capability to afford for a motorcycle. Make the whole thing more appealing and accessible for the average sport rider.
It’s a good number. Realistically, the issue here is that Ducati is probably losing money on each R they sell in order to have all the stuff they want for the race bike and still be under the cap, but that’s their right within the rules.
That probably is the case. I do love that Ducati built the V4 R and have crushed Kawasaki most of this season. Kawi has had it pretty easy for far too long.
Yeah, but the average sport rider is not competing in World Superbike. When you consider the costs involved in WSBK, hell even a regional championship like MotoAmerica/BSB/ASBK/CSBK.....the MSRP of the bike off the showroom is really not that big of a factor for most teams when you start thinking about engine, suspension, data acquisition and analysis, travel costs/logistics, etc etc. Not to mention.....put it in perspective with the 4-wheeled world. $40K while not chump change is about the MSRP of most people's daily driving grocery getter....not even close to a purpose built race machine. Look at the price difference between a new V4R and lets say a new ZR1 Corvette.....from a performance to $ ratio, one costs about 3x as much as the other, mmhmm.
I thought the same thing, the first time I looked at a Speciale. Everything on these bikes is race-grade. The electronics capability, materials used, exorbitant manufacturing costs of a V4, suspension and braking components, etc. It all quickly adds up. They are amazing bikes.....even moreso than the previous Ducati superbikes. I’d love to have even the base V4, if I could afford one.
This is what's confusing me. In the WSBK threads y'all swear it's not the bike. Elsewhere y'all brag the bike is a ringer. Which is it?
It's both, but mostly the rider. Ducati has had a solid bike for years, but they haven't had the best rider on the grid until now. Look at the results...Rea got 2nd in every single race so far. If Bautista hadn't joined WSBK, Rea would've likely won every race so far even with the V4R on the grid. Would've had a few good races with Chaz maybe, but overall he would've still been the dominant one. Personally I think this is an awesome move from Kawasaki. Means more badass bikes for consumers in the near future. Nobody can go out and just buy a MotoGP bike, but quite a few people could get close with the V4R, and whatever Kawasaki will come up with because of the $40k price limit. Then maybe other manufacturers will do the same in the upcoming years too. Who knows...maybe even Suzuki will stop being bitches and at least have a team in WSBK.
That's MotoGP. And they got their 2nd win in how many years? Yup-dee-doo! lol They need to get their asses back in WSBK.
I like that they are making homologation specials. Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawi and Ducati all have them at the moment don't they? There are still regular bikes for us poor people to buy.