MotoAmerica 2022 silly season

like it or not it is here to stay. this is no different to the side car races I used to watch at mid ohio as a kid imo... just another thing to watch, promote, sell, and race.

bring it on, i am bored as fuck at the the track after 4pm now i can be bored after 5pm

 

I hated the idea of the baggers until I watched it on the TV.
Still not my favorite but I really liked it.

now if they’d do a naked 1000cc plus superbike class I’d be cool. Katanas, the CBR bike, whatever Kawasaki has, Ducati, the aprilia, Ducati naked bike. Retro but still fast enough to get the gear heads into it.

 

Have you ever watched that "Taste of Tsukuba" stuff?

 

I can see that.
Last year I saw two "baggers" at one of our trackdays in the novice group.

 

Again, no offense to anyone who likes the baggers etc. It is just worrisome to me that a type of bike racing that would be similar to the way nascar is to road racing in cars is burgeoning. Open wheel grids are full of non american racers because the american ladder system etc is nothing compared to Europe etc. We are just getting some great guys in Europe again. But diluting the roadracing fields is not helpful for the future. MotoA always said besides being the premier Superbike series, they also wanted to be a feeder to the world stage. If Baggers gets huge and talent follows the money to them, it will make the MotoA goals harder. Try selling a FFord sponsorship to anyone in Canada and they will say but Nascar.... Anyhow, no offense again to anyone.

 

As a racer I think the baggers are great. There have been multiple rides come available that actually pay a rider that didn’t exist before. The rides and sponsorship dollars it has generated didn’t really exist before so I don’t think it’s taking away from $$ that was put into sportbikes.

 

IIRC V&H is a sponsor of Hayden Schultz and WERA’s own Gene Burchum was a crew chief for the factory Harley FT team with them. There place in Brownsburg is on same road as John Force Racing, Don Schumacher Racing, Beast Chassis, and around the corner from Tony Stewart Racing. If you think they are not heavy hitters your need a course correction.

 

So as a competitor in the class, what are your thoughts on Twins Cup this year so far as the number of regular podium contenders, stiffest competition, championship hopefuls, etc...

 

I think Twins is going to be one of the toughest classes. There’s 8-10 riders who are capable of fighting for the podium and wins.

I don’t think Daytona will be very indicative of how the rest of the season will go due to the nature of the track. Atlanta will be interesting to see where things shake out

 

I HATE the twins class and yapped on endlessly that it had no place in the MA paddock. SVs and the 650 Kawasaki and all that crap belonged in club racing. Blah blah blah the grid sizes proved me wrong and the R7 and aprilia . . .

I still don’t like it but who cares what I think it’s what the grids and people racing the class think.

 

That is definitely not a stock swing arm. LOL



And this is definitely not stock induction

 

I think you are somewhat off base on this. It is not diluting the field, it is allowing riders without the means or available rides in other classes, to stay in the paddock and relevant to roadracing. There just aren't that many good rides available in MA at this point. Look at Hayden Gillim, he raced the baggers last year, had a one off stk1000 ride and is now got a pretty good gig for this year. I would rather see Barnes, Eslick, Wyman, Knapp, etc on baggers and hooligans than not have them in the paddock at all. Perhaps as MA grows, some of those guys will be able to get with a good team in SBK.

 

The one thing that bothers me the most about the Baggers is the lap time. The fast guys lap time is considerably faster than mine on a 600 =[
Hell, they are even faster than some of the 600 and Stock1000 riders on MA.

 

it's insane to watch them at Chuckwalla putting down sub 2:00min laptimes.

 

Honestly, I don't care much for the baggers personally but there is no denying the factory bikes are seriously trick race bikes. And if it helps the sport as a whole, then I am glad they are here and they should stay. I think the thing that bothers me mostly about them is the nearly complete lack of trickle down tech. These baggers are really more NASCAR than GT3 or other sports car for an analogy. On the outside they look something like the marketing money behind them (mustang or camry or whatever) but its got very little to do with the actual product and its intended use. At least a sports bike is in the same realm of function, and a SSTK bike is actually really close to what you and I may be riding on the street. And to win with a SSTK bike or similar, the actual base product has to be pretty good at the track itself. I will never buy a bagger and take it to the track. So its hard for me to get really get in it. I have however bought a twins bike, or a sports bike and taken it to the track and then turned it into a full race bike. There is the biggest disconnect for me personally. But it doesn't mean its bad. And like I said, if it helps our sport then I am glad they are here.

 

You might be surprised at some of the parts off these bikes that will end up being developed and sold to customers.
Yeah - the parts that raise the carbon fiber bags way up are a waste, but the suspension and engine parts can all be sold to rich customers, and there are a lot of those in the bagger crowd.

 

So, it seems obvious that both fans and sponsors vote with their feet, and with their wallets. Whatever it is we personally like, or wish were true, the sponsor money, and the fans/ticket money, go where the market and the interest are. That’s just basic economics. You can’t sell a lot of a product that not many people want, and when you sell a product people DO want, the world will beat a path to your door.

 

that goes to show you who on a 600 and 1000 are not professionals. License may say it, but that’s about it. “Look at me, I’m cool”

 

I already brought this up last year, but I rented a bagger and rode from San Diego up to Laguna Seca with some buddies last summer for MotoAmerica. I rented a 2021 Harley Street Glide, and it was one of the highlights of 2021 for me. I had never ridden anything remotely close to it, and it was a very refreshing difference from what I am used to. The bike was surprisingly nimble in the twisties, and I got more compliments on the bike in one weekend than I have ever gotten on a sportbike in 15 years combined. I'm not saying I'd want to race one, but I now have a new appreciation and respect for them.

I've been to Laguna several times, and the last event was packed. The reason: the bagger crowd showed up in full force. Lots of dollars spent at a MotoAmerica round that wouldn't have existed without the bagger race. I think they're good for the sport, and it will be fun to see that class develop more.