Crusty Cy, on 22 February 2012 - 05:13 PM, said:

while you have a point with the privateers where is the guys that have been running yami for awhile?  its not just the privateers that have moved on to other bikes!  don't take this wrong I'm not saying its all the bike!  but it speaks that there are only a handful of riders on the yami after a big change like this.  it changes everything about the bike.  its hard to fund that.  and if the bike needs changes its even more $$$ to fund that!   JGR will get it right and make it work but at what cost and how long?  its already not the same bike we get so is it worth it?  i say break the contract that they shouldn't have signed and move on!

Edited by T-Doshi9, 22 February 2012 - 07:12 PM.

Well as soon as JS wins on his Showa / JGR , suspended ,  Pirelli tired, 1 off Gas tank  1 off plastics , custom seated and god only knows what elseBike  i am going to run out and buy a new Yamaha becuse i will then know its the best bike out there .   Give me a  break  the thing is a Frankenbike no wonder they cant figure it out .    Now with that said   2 years ago JGR built a show bike  not sure what happend to that  ?  but that was 1 nice looking bike ,   thats  what i would want .

Edited by OR Racer46, 22 February 2012 - 08:26 PM.

Yamaha needs to step up and make some geometry changes as well as substantial weight loss to these bikes instead of bng every year, otherwise the starting lines will become Yamaha free. I don't totally buy into the bike is not the problem ideology, its becoming an epidemic amongst the pro ranks. For the casual rider I'm sure they're fine but there has to be something that pro's don't like about it. The 2009 CRF 450 was the same way, but they figured out the issues the following year and now theres a lot more red out there. Jame's motivation may not be as high in fear of getting lawn darted into the ground as the race wears on-riding with a 16 pound disadvantage. Thats ridiculous.

OR Racer46, on 22 February 2012 - 08:23 PM, said:

Umm.....He already won


How's your new Yami

HAV, on 21 February 2012 - 07:09 AM, said:

So I guess you are implying he should be on the RMZ?  I cannot help to watch and imagine if he was on a bike that behaved in a way that he can trust. I think that'd be any brand out there, except blue.

Lap times dont tell the whole story. James is riding most races likes he's treading on egg shells. RV can make the same mistake as James, in the same part of the track, but RV stays up and James hits the dirt.  I'm no big James Stewart fan, but I dont enjoy watching him ride like he is.

Any fans claiming James has lost his skills or fitness is a load of...

Edited by numroe, 23 February 2012 - 06:57 AM.

So is this tank really 16 friggin pounds heavier?? that seems crazy to me, and if it is , imagine riding your bike on a track with a 16 pound back pack on , that would surely drop atleast a half a second off your lap time? i dunno im over thinking, but damn!!

arel451, on 22 February 2012 - 09:15 PM, said:

First off my 09 CRF 450r is good enough for me...mind you I haven't managed to win a SX event yet. So I guess you are correct.

Next off..what is this 16 pounds BS. Is stewie a little shrimp or what? Do you really think he and his bike together had a 16 pound deficit to the Chad Reed and bike combination? How about poor K-Dubb? He would have to cut off both legs to weigh as little as tiny stewie. I laugh at the mooks who argue back and forth about one bike's weight having an advantage over another.... while chunky lifts his helmet to stuff another ho-ho in mouth, sitting astride his ever so light KTM "even with a battery and magneto".

When I want to shave a bit of weight from my bike...It is cheaper to lose 5 pounds off my body than to start switching to Carbon fibre. In fact, if I take fibre rather than purchase carbon fibre I will probably get faster and cheaper results.

Edited by 2-fiddy, 23 February 2012 - 06:45 AM.

BDubb106, on 22 February 2012 - 06:02 AM, said:

Yes a terrible bike can easily do both those things. Tracks differ week to week. A lot. A poor handling bike can easily put a rider on the dirt if the rider backs his pace down a fraction.

BDubb106, on 22 February 2012 - 06:02 AM, said:

Nope, he lacks speed. Else he'd be lapping consistently faster, and getting more holeshots. His pride is at stake. Worth much more to him than $. Will power is not the problem.

Edited by numroe, 23 February 2012 - 06:51 AM.

2-fiddy, on 23 February 2012 - 06:44 AM, said:

After the start straight, bike weight and body weight are very different things. If you dont get that now, then I you never will. Surely you've swapped between riding a 450 and a 250F and noticed some differences besides just the motor output.  If you think your stock 09 CRF450R works just fine, then you probably wont respect James or anyone who comments on bike handling woes.

That said, I've no clue what the weight of James' bike is compared to the others out there. Stock bike weights probably dont mean much.

Edited by numroe, 23 February 2012 - 07:01 AM.

numroe, on 23 February 2012 - 06:48 AM, said:

What makes you think that? Do you even watch the races? Obviously not if you think he is not still fast. James, Poto, and Reed were all within thenths of a second when comparing lap times and have been all season Will power is def. an issue. When you stall the bike and take your good ole time trying to start it back up, that is a lack of will. IDK how you see things but I call that throwing in the towel. He has the speed now and always has that never has been the issue. Even the biggest JS haters will admit he's still fast. His bike is not terrible. Ill buy in if someone can tell me the last time they heard him say that? He is fast enough and his bike is fast enough... he needs to get his focus back and catch a little luck.

Edited by BDubb106, 23 February 2012 - 07:05 AM.

numroe, on 23 February 2012 - 06:55 AM, said:

This from a guy with an 06...Typical comment from a guy who spends too much time reading articles and not enough time riding. Yeah I have read all sorts of crappy articles on the 2009. That being said mine works fine and when it doesn't I will fix it. Big deal.

I ride, I race and I built and run my own club and track...What do you do?

BDubb106, on 23 February 2012 - 07:02 AM, said:

Because his bike is so heavy that after having to wrestle it back  up he was totally exhausted and couldn't give it  a good kick until he caught his breath!!

Now I don't believe the bs I just typed but I thought I would throw this theory out there before one of his fans did.

BBA, on 23 February 2012 - 09:40 AM, said:

LOL. That was good.

2-fiddy, on 23 February 2012 - 07:55 AM, said:

Exactly, if your bike feels ok to you then fine. What I'm getting at is if you cannot feel the handling problems with your 09, then you never will, and you will never understand what can be wrong with the handling of Stewart's bike.

It's getting off topic ... I have done enough ride of hours on friend's 09 and '10 CRFs. In stock trim and also with the usual fixes, plus some time spent dialing it in, and the difference between the best stock and properly fixed is ridiculously good.

Edited by numroe, 23 February 2012 - 02:53 PM.

BDubb106, on 23 February 2012 - 07:02 AM, said:

Of course he's still fast. But he's not as fast as he can be. He is lacking speed IF the objective is to beat Villopoto. Speed is relative. You can see it in his riding style, Stewart looks like he's never sure what's going to happen. Doing a couple of Bubba's World seasons wont stop him from knowing how to ride.  I hope he and his team get there. I love watching him ride when he's on REALLY on it for many laps.

I wrote this earlier:Lap times dont tell the whole story. James is riding most races likes he's treading on egg shells. RV can make the same mistake as James, in the same part of the track, but RV stays up and James hits the dirt. I'm no big James Stewart fan, but I dont enjoy watching him ride like he is.

Edited by numroe, 23 February 2012 - 03:04 PM.

I'm into this sport way late in life; only been riding and following the sport starting in 2006. JS and the Kawi was a good match back in the day. It's like some weird voodoo guy that has cast a spell on the Yamaha and JS. We'll see JS back into podium finishes, hopefully soon. RV is even better and faster on the Kawi; the KX bikes have been running strong for the last 6 years.
Oh and I do have another bike in the garage; the other bike is not green and it's not blue either.

Whoever said that the JGR bike is 16 pounds heavier than any of the other bikes is an idiot. All of the top teams bikes are right at the weight limit set by the AMA. This is why they get weighed in tech inspection each week, sometimes they have to add weight to meet the minimum requirement. It's amazing what you can do with a lot of titanium and carbon fiber.

KJ790, on 23 February 2012 - 03:32 PM, said:

The "idiot" would be Steve Matthes at RacerX in this article. http://www.racerxonl...rvations-dallas

With a background of having been a factory mechanic at Yamaha and wrenching for Team USA at the MXON as well as having a few other gigs where he's been under the tents with the top guys, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

Your contention about all the contenders being right at the limit", is the first time I've heard this. Anything to support this? That would go against the need for the AMA ruling a couple of seasons ago that stopped mechanics from the practice of sanding down and thinning ("polishing") frames to reduce weight.

James Stewart = Dead Man Walking.

numroe, on 23 February 2012 - 02:51 PM, said:

This comment makes me laugh. I have a 2008 yz250 and I recently sold my yz250f. I have never ridden a 450 until I bought my buddy's CRF450R, for a sweet deal. Of course it handles different than my other bikes. No-kidding. How am I supposed to compare it against another 450 that I am not comfortable riding or isn't set-up for me? Nobody I know is going to let me take their 2011 2010 or 2012 for a day long rip...So I will just have to enjoy my bike as it is.

My rule of thumb for any mods is more track time. If my bike doesn't handle as well as I wished, it is probably because i need more track time. Other than factory recalls, which there was an issue, I don't search for better lap times in a parts catalog.

I am sure you can make your point without being condescending.

numroe, on 23 February 2012 - 02:58 PM, said:

Ill go along with this, but so is everyone else... No one is on RV's level at the moment. Im confident in saying that RV is quite comfortable with the way thing are going. The guy is hauling the mail, and the one guy who was willing to push him is no longer in it. Someone has to step up or things are gonna get boring really quickly.

Edited by BDubb106, 23 February 2012 - 06:31 PM.