He's fast when he stays on the bike and gets a good start. He's had some major injuries over the last handful of seasons, and when he gets buried on a start, that's where he ends up. I like him, but honest truth is he's past his prime and lost the confidence and edge necessary to be at the front week in /week out. Great guy, very strange choice to go with a bike that hasn't done anything at all in SX or MX for what, a decade? I would love for him to prove me wrong.
Being a German born racer who's won an MX GP2 championship gives him a broader fan base than most US born pro's. Japanese execs likely considered that, when they had the opportunity to get him back on a yellow bike. He's also won an outdoor MX championship in the US on the Carey Hart and Ricky Carmichael Dodge/Sycuan Casino/RCH Racing factory backed Suzuki team, in 2016. He's won a 250 West title, and an earlier 450 MX title on KTM's also, along with numerous SX races. He and Justin Barcia have won multiple Anaheim I season opening races. He's likely to run with the leaders and win a few races, and has already been talked about plenty by the media. Suzuki is alreadygetting r.o.i. from signing him, and will continue to, IF he remains healthy. That is always an important "if" with him...
Bye bye BSB. https://www.visordown.com/news/racing/bsb/suzuki-announces-official-withdrawal-british-superbikes
Funny... drop all the racing support. Then come out with a GSX-8S... which looks like it might have the base architecture for a twins cup machine if Suzuki would make a GSXR variation of the 8S.
I laughed out loud at their silly of their exit wording of "expectations" of a new bike. ".....Our decision to explore alternative options to Suzuki follows the manufacturer’s recent announcements about its racing activities globally, and the absence of news about the possibility of a new GSXR 1000. "
And Hawk Racing goes with BM....... no wait.... Honder !!! https://www.britishsuperbike.com/ne...2lVS7nSS0wI6wtJssZ4D3hLKUdm3NqUEwrJ6YTgjDksjE
I fart in the open mouths of that article. I see Suzuki seeing their racing future in HEP. Sucks hard for teams that used to look to the manufacturer for their primary source of income but I think those days for motorcycles are over. Sucks but the European model seems be be it.
Kids, I blame the kids today. No, Im not a boomer but a Gen Xer. The younger generation all over isn't built like the previous ones. When I'm talking about them I'm talking about most of them because I know there are exceptions. Most of these kids didn't play sports. Didn't fight on the playgrounds. Hell, I bet most didn't even get dirty. The boys didn't find fun in danger thus never tasted the drug of adrenaline. So why would any corporation expect a group of people who wore helmets while learning how to ride a bicycle to buy a big scary, fast and loud motorcycle. I wouldn't be surprised if all but big touring bikes and small CC bikes go out altogether. Sport bike riders will continue to be a very small shrinking segment of society and corporations can't make a profit off of that. So how will they continue to support racing? "Old man yells at clouds" Lol
I think you need to not blame kids and you need to blame Suzuki for having shit products that were over taken by other brands. The gsxr1000 hasn't been relevant in 10 years and the 600 in even longer. They have never had a good small cc bike like the r3 or ninja 250/300/400.
Never been relevant what? Street riding? That's what most bikes are purchased for and very,very few are turned into track bikes and even less for racing. All these bikes produced are more than capable for street riding. All will put a smile on your face and land you in jail. Sales of bikes allows these companies to go racing. If no one is even into riding they won't be buying them. Then the company won't be racing and eventually won't be making them. If you're not interested in motorcycles then the chances of you being a motorcycle racing enthusiast is zero. So you won't be watching races either on TV or in person. I can and do blame these kids for a lot of things. The decline of interest in sportbikes is one of them....
Yeah, nah. Don't blame the kids man. It's the parents, policies, rules, and societal expectations. My dad got in fights in school all the time... he got a "stern talkin' to". I got expelled freshman year for getting in a fight. My mom rolled her BF's car when she was wasted at 16 in 1985. The cops took her home and dropped her off. I did donuts in front of my house after a few beers when I lived out in the country in 2010. I got a DUI, berated by a judge, actually served jail time, and paid a bunch of money in fines. My uncle streaked across the football field during his homecoming game in high school and never really got in any trouble for it. Kid I went to school with moon'd his gym class senior year and was arrested. I got a tickets for skateboarding in the street.. I got tickets for skateboarding on the sidewalk. Kids cant do shit nowadays without getting in trouble. My 10 year old nephew got detention for trading a pokemon card at recess. Healthcare is super expensive. Insuring a sportbike is bonkers in some states. Not to mention people really fuckin suck at driving cars. I quit riding my Grom to work because people were constantly just pulling out in front of me. I drive a stupid giant truck everywhere and I see down into people's cars. Nobody is paying attention. Last week I literally saw a middle aged woman with a tray in her lap trying to roll some up while driving down the road. like wtf? you can literally buy them mf'ers ready to spark now. *Takes IG video of old man yelling at clouds.
Sorry but you're wrong. Kids are absolutely still interested in motorcycles,both street bikes and dirt bikes. As far as bring relevant yeah all sportbike are capable on the street no shit.. but Suzuki is boring and outdated. Why would anyone dream of owning a gsxr1000 when you can dream of a v4r or s1000rr? Or even a r1. They fell behind and stopped trying.
With the rise of 7-figure salaries in e-sports (including treating the best like real drivers/riders with podium ceremonies and whatnot), I think there are young people who are "interested", but only from an abstract standpoint as far as participation. This is where a lot of the young population of "wantabee racers" and physical bike buyers are going. Hopefully, some of that enthusiasm will end up with some real-world participation, but not so sure. In the case of Suzuki, I was buyer in the glory days (as many on here were), but agree that they can't keep up with the might of the factories who have the depth in electronics and engineering from their huge car operations (Ducati (Audi), BMW and Honda). Kawasaki is heading that direction too, but seems to have more of a "fighting" attitude about it.
We're not allowed to be men anymore. Gone are the good old days where you could slug it out and then be friends again a week later.
Well one reasonI can think of about not buying a Ducati or BMW is because not everyone has a dealer near them to work on one. Our only Duc dealer in the state went out of business a couple of years ago. So I would buy a Duc and that's the very reason why I never bought an Ape. No, shit about Suzuki falling behind and in part that is part of their demise. I stand by my opinion about kids these days. Maybe your area is alot different then mine but I dont see very many kids riding bikes at all. We can agree to disagree
