One racer to another....

There are several fold as to why I cannot race the AMA. I solved one of those...which was having a motor equivalent to those guys that I just put into my bike and the others along with no purse money. Without purse money and paying back on the grid to 20th place helped a lot of racers to make the show. At least it would pay the tire bill.

Dont think that having a motor 30 to 40hp less and not having electronics that is equivalent to those doesnt make a difference. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that there is a lot more than what is seen on tv or from the track side. My honda when I last race had 171hp and no electronics...just my wrist.

My program is on to weak of legs since my divorce and this year has been a come back year for me. All my focus has been getting back to Zero. Meaning...gaining back the things that I had two years ago. We are all living addressing income these days and the economy...mine is no different. I see myself back in the saddle, doing what I like to do and being competitive in the club scene...problem is...I still need to have more finances to combat issues like balling my bike up at the last round to the tune of 3k. Its just a matter of time and I will patiently work my way back.

 

Last winter AMA Pro sent out a survey of all teams to see what electronics they were running and based on that survey they capped the systems to $18k which is very reasonable for the premiere road racing series in North America. You can't dumb down the electronics too much or no rider will ever be prepared for the world stage. The article reflects just that gap. MJM/NG is using EM-Pro/Bazzaz combo if I'm not mistaken. EBR guys don't have the electronics package yet but they also haven't unleashed the full potential of the engine yet and to do that fully, they will have to invest in a electronics package.

One other thing to consider on how vital Hayes' electronics are. He beat the previous lap record of a full on Mladin superbike. I'm sure there are a few chassis, engine, etc improvements from 09-11 to the 2012 R1 but the biggest difference has been electronics. Hayes hadn't used TC until this season even though it was available to him.

 

Josh Hayes is a hero.

However...

Advanced Electronics In 2012 AMA Pro Superbike:
Yoshimura (Blake 79/Chris 6): Magneti Marelli Marvel4
Yamaha (Josh 1/Josh 2): Magneti Marelli Marvel4
Jordan Suzuki (Ben 23)/NG Suzuki (Roger 54): Pectel (aka Pi or Cosworth)
KTM (Chris 11/Stefan 12): Magneti Marelli SRT
Attack (Steve 15): Motec

Tough field.

 

Im thinking/hoping that the fuel was for combined hauler, and race gas costs. Even if the race fuel he used was $50 per gallon, Id find it hard to believe that he went through 40 gallons in a weekend.

 

I want to know if ST is getting royalties for the interview

 

And the $18k hardware cap does not include software (which has risen in cost to offset the reduction in hardware cost) nor the biggest expense, somebody to run it. Yoshimura's Don Sakakura says the team spends $300,000 per year to run electronics for two riders, with two bikes each; the biggest part of that is contracting and paying expenses for the guys who know how to run the electronics.

 

Do you think that the Yamaha guys are able to use the Marvel4 more effectively than the Yosh guys, since the Yamaha has ride by wire throttle, and the Yosh still has conventional cable throttle?

 

Yes. For sure. And that team is very, very good.

 

In this instance, Id guess the link to his site is excused, because he is providing some content here. Its no different than link to a rrw article.

 

He is the best rider in the country. It was not a stab at Josh. The guy could probably beat a lot of racers with two spark plugs taken off. Ask yourself this...do you think that with no electronics on their bikes and equal equipment that they could beat Eslick or Cardenas like they have been dominating the series so far?

I have raced a few AMA rounds in my time and I gotta tell ya...just like what Turpin told me..."I can go in as deep and fast as they can...its on the exit that they kill me". Tell me this buddy...when was the last time you pinned the throttle 100% while on your knee 20ft before apex and got the perfect drive without full on MM". Matter of fact tell me the last time you saw someone do that time after time, turn after turn without electronics?

This article was to promote discussion...not for me to make excuses, not for me to burn one rider or another...but to demonstrate something that a lot of you people dont know. These great riders are where they are at because they are great riders. But...how impressed are you now knowing that the level of greatness that these guys display are really not all them...but a computer making sure they exit every corner perfectly and making a significant difference in their lap times????

 

He said he would buy you a beer Aaron.

 

BINGO!

 

He started using more this year.

 

Perspective wise, those costs are still cheap when you look at what those programs are branding. If a privateer wants to be those guys they have to be a master of one track. You can't focus on a season just one race weekend. Farrell did awesome because that is his home track. He probably won't be as competitive anywhere else in the season.

 

All this Cawk talk is geting weird. Divert!!!

 

:up: Im in the same boat. Not divorced, but haven't had the extra money needed to race in a while. I did three weekends in 2010, but haven't raced since then. I know it will take me a couple weekends to get back to where I was skill wise once I do get back on track.

 

Just one? Man Shane is getting cheap in his old age

 

Thanks John for the inside info.

 

Great read!!

 

Yet Yoshimura has advocated going to $1800 EMpro kit boxes. $300,000 x four seasons (2012-2015, no rules 2012, new rules 2013-2015) = $1.2 million. How big does the number have to be, before it is too much?

$300k a year is real money. It's not cheap, any way you look at it. That $300k could have gone a long way toward keeping Tommy Hayden on that team, riding a Superbike.