Richie V sandbagging

My name is John Ulrich, and I am entitled to my opinion, and yes, Richie is riding the F out of that thing. And SDK is riding the F out his bike as well. And I still think all the four-cylinder bikes in a given displacement class should be the same size, in this case, 600cc.

I have a 40-year-old son with his own name, who is entitled to his own opinion, and is responsible for what he says. I don't know what kind of relationship you have or had with your dad, but I have no control over what he thinks or what he says, nor do I want to. He decided to appear on that podcast when they asked him to, and I didn't know anything about it until after it was done. So if you have a problem with him, I suggest you take it up with him, preferably in person, at Indy or Laguna or another event you're both at, and you can discuss it like the adults you both are.

Having said that, I think that he's taken a lot of flack from people who purposely quoted him out of context and omitted anything positive he said about Richie and his riding. I've heard him say that yeah, Richie is riding very well, and in response to a question, that no, there shouldn't be an asterick next to his name if he wins the title, because he'll be the champion, period.

I spoke to Richie personally at the last round, and told him exactly what I think of him and his riding, and it was exactly what I said in my post above, that you're now complaining about. If you can't understand what I wrote, that's your problem.

 

So if Suzuki made a 636 and dropped their 600, then Team Hammer would drop out of supersport. Got it.

I mean, that would never happen since Suzuki doesn't do any new motorcycle development or building, but hypothetically speaking.

 

It is easy to understand why a bike manufacturer would boost displacement on a bike. The old adage,"there's no replacement for displacement". A very economical way to increase power/torque, compared to other methods. So, for a bike that hasn't changed materially in 10? years or more (I don't know, haven't followed Kawi's) it helps keep it competitive with the street offerings of other makes. I doubt that racing series rules conformance was a big factor in the change way back when.

As for the current situation, don't care. Everyone knew the rules going in, and it's been that way for this bike for many years. Feel like the bike is an advantage? Go get one and race it. And as has been said by others here, this is pro racing, and as such, it is a show. It isn't always strictly a sporting competition.

 

It doesn’t matter. According to SDK and Chris Ulrich, all he needs is the bike and he will be on the podium because it apparently is that good.

 

All good, I agree this has gone left rather quickly but I honestly just wanted to let you know why people are upset and you have a line of communication that I don't have. I understand there is more to this and others are making some pretty wild claims but if you think nothing was wrong and it was all taken out of context than that is your problem and I have done all I can do.

Again, thank you for reaching out, I don't think many would have done that, good luck and hopefully we can come visit you in the pits soon enough!

 

I am with you on the 600 (or any other inline) as it’s apples to apples configuration. Always been curious why Kawi went that route to begin with. I remember when they had the r and the rr which the r is what TH was on and the RR was in SS. I know a lot of insurance companies have classes for bikes of 599 and below etc so it always seemed a bit silly, especially back them with two bikes. Ya it’s cheaper to get more HP with more displacement but seemed to not be a cost effective solution back then even when the market was good.

 

Suter is a phenomenal unit when it’s working but as you said unless you have a budget for it don’t bother. They are a nightmare to maintain and unless you have a team around you that has the time between sessions and budget for new parts forget it. There are other aftermarket brands out there that are near bulletproof and you aren’t having to go into them constantly. As you said with a few small improvements the R6 has a damn good clutch out of the box. Just my experience, other people seem to love them. Forget what plates they were but yes you had to run a lower than stock stack height to get it to last as the springs bottom out with the stock height creating a lot of excess wear on expensive parts, not just the plates and fibers. That coupled with the excess heat generated when that happens made it a nightmare if you didn’t have the lower stack height.

 

that's a bit of a stretch on what they have said.. I think JU has categorically said it's a 600 class, let's keep all the bikes 600's. (with inline 4 bikes). I'm not sure what CU actually said, but i'd want to hear all of what he said before makin a comment, not just bits and pieces.

 

I think some just don't know what you and your family have actually done for racing.
Sad that people don't see what you have been doing.
I do agree that 636 is an advantage and as I've pointed out somebody dropped the ball when bike was 1st let in as you know it can be an advantage.
But this is what it is and the riders need to just focus on finding the weakness and get on to winning races.
I've pointed out how certain things look from others perspective about things that had been said by riders.
And you are correct.
Trust the riders and let them ride.
Best of luck rest of the yr and best wishes to family and Team M4.

Steven

 

Maintaining the clutch is simply part of top level racebike service. It's not a big deal once you are accustomed to it, it can be done regularly and usually quickly.

 

For us slow guys, could you or @MELK-MAN give a quick difference in clutch performance? I.e., what does a Suter do better than a Yoyo, etc.? I'm so slow I only worry about my clutch when it starts slipping p) but am legitimately curious what a "super clutch" gets you in terms of performance.

 

Chris has never been known to not speak his mind.
Lets be real here, he has loads of interest for a fair competition and equipment for his team.
That's his business and he wants it to be successful as any business owner would.
Im sure everyone has learned from all this.
But if history has proven anything we know that racing will be better and M4 will rise to top and be
right the front racing for wins and championships.
Some just dont know what an advantage a 636 can really be racing a 600cc bike.
We know because we have been racing way to long. lol
People just need to cut CU and team a little slack and enjoy the racing.

Steven

 

This.

 

Kind of why I said the Suter is a phenomenal clutch if...

 

I really like John more after coming here and defending himself (which he is entitled to do) and dammit if I don't love the explanations. I was sitting silently and he even stated the cylinders because I got flack about the 675's but they were down a cylinder.

 

Aint no "if" about it. Its fucking amazing!!! Learn it and its no worse than changing oil

 

To me it’s clear that CU is a driven business man is going to do what’s best for the business (team), he has a valid point to pose the question but in this case based on pure opinion it’s not the difference between Ritchie winning or not. I think if Bobby was still on a 600 the conversations would be a bit different. I think SDK needs to keep quiet about it as it makes him look like a dude with a pile of excuses and let CU handle it from the team side of it. Funny part is by the time this gets sorted, or if it ever does, RE will be on a super bike and we will have one less bike on the 600 grid. SDK hasn’t improved at the pace I thought he would and I have no idea why. The bike and team are plenty capable and he’s not getting dominated because of 36Cc’s that’s for sure - based purely on talking out of my @ss. I’d love to see the data overlays of the two for lap. I went back and watched a few laps of different races and it sure appears RE is on the gas a lot sooner. Some of the tracks from what I could actually pause and estimate distance and actually see the movement in throttle hand a good 10’ plus in some cases.

 

Exactly was my point above in post before that. There is a reason top level teams use them, they do require money and time to keep in good working order but if you do they are awesome, they just aren’t very forgiving with lack of maintaining them.

 

What are the benefits?

 

but ya do need to budget a bit more for parts.. they-be-expensive. something many club racers won't factor in enough.
sorry to thread-jack, .. but @RM Racing @Robby-Bobby do you replace pressure plates after the anodizing wears ? or only if there's evidence the wear is not perfectly even? I've heard both.. worn anodizing is fine, others say after the anodizing is gone, replace..

the slip is better. The ramp angles are different than the 45 deg angles of the OEM r6 slipper, and it's got much more "tunability" with shims (washers) that can be added to the pressure plate screws that change lift, and can easily change the beveled spring washer to alter the slip. It's just such a better feel when dialed in for some riders. Many/most can work with the OEM slipper, cutting the Y springs, and working with engine braking mapping (controls how butterflys close) on the ECU. Plus, it looks dreamy