Attn: Duc racers...could it be???

[HAWK]

That was my argument about moving the SV to ULW. It was the opening of the floodgates. You let in one bike that should really be in MW and then all the other MW bikes want in too.

Yes, time and technology march on but I'm sorry 130HP has no business in LW.

[Ducmarc]

you may be right paul now it's not lightwt it's old middlewt. i really never expected them to change the whole light wt status, just hoped to pickup a third race 2 for the young guys. but in our division we have a few guys with deep pockets . they are good guy's but they still have the might to win. yeah i know buy a new bike but bimota 1100cc plus all carbon latest gas charged forks  and as many new tires as needed during a race plus a really good smooth rider kinda kills all the lightwt classes. me and markie feel like the talaban fighting the marine corps. we come out with a new RPG and they show up with an A10 .

[123user]

Here we go again!  The "whiny" sv rider comment is absolutely true.  In the last 2 years, I've read post after post about how the dual spark ducatis were unfairly classed in lightweight.  CCS killed two birds with one stone by allowing them in ultralight (at the expense of the other bikes in UL)  SV's were given a new class to dominate (if they so wished) and CCS didn't have to kill off the class.  In hindsight, they should've just killed the class.

The argument about bringing more bikes/riders into a class by throwing a older (faster) machine into the mix is complete crap.  If you have a 15 year old bike or something that is otherwise uncompetetive in its designated class, then just deal with it!  Buy something else!  The Buells and Ducati's in lightweight are very dominate, however the SV is not so far off as to make it impossible to compete.  Adding the 748 raises the mean considerably.  Right now, if you average the HP out between the SV, Buell, Ducati, Bimota, 650R, NCR...  you're looking at about 80hp for SS and 95hp for SB.  Add the 748, and you've increased it to about 90 and 105, respectively.  The SV crowd is perfectly capable of complaining without any help... this will only make them more vocal- and I'm sick of it!

On the other hand, my 1000ds is ready for a teardown.  I'd be perfectly willing to build a 748 LWGP machine instead.  I can feel the love already, instead being at 150 mph down the back straight at RA, I could be at 160mph...  I'm getting butterflies!!  'Cause 130hp is lightweight....Right???

[Ducmarc]

ah the 1100 bimota dynoed at 120 my 748 dynoed at 119 i think i can find a couple more to about 122 or 3 but to get to 130 i would probbaly have to have a 853 kit which could be considered cheating   plus i've never seen a 330lb 748 maybe 380. but what you get is a real chasiss which is half the battle  the bimota's has a pretty good chassis and is light coupled with ttx shock and 20k worth of forks makes it hard to beat i've got about 10k in my ebay assy. job with a lot of chris boy corse parts  his makes 130 and i know what's in it . i really don't think the average racer has the wallet and the stomach to race a 120hp 748  i bet half way through next year there will only be 5 or 6 good running 748's out there anyway.

[HAWK]

You coming to BHF this weekend Scott?

[123user]

No Paul, I've already got the bike torn down...  super-secret non-aluminum, non-steel frame project is underway.  Expecting a wet weight of about 295lbs for next year.

[backMARKr]

wabbit season......

[HAWK]

wabbit season......

For now, Duc season "next year" 8)

[George_Linhart]

I've got to say that I have some mixed feelings on letting the 748 into the LW class.

On one hand, with a good rider on board the 748's do very well in Thunderbike which is really the only class they are legal for and just not all that many show up.  Basically, if there are not that many well prepared and capable 748's out there than it really won't make a big difference either in grid size or competitiveness of the LW field as it exists today.  I like to see deeper fields and different bikes so I can see that maybe its not such an outragious idea.

On the other hand, if you make them legal I could see a bunch of well built 748's coming out of the woodwork.  It wouldn't be any more expensive to build a very good 748 than the cost of any other superbike in the LW class (although maintenance would be a bit more if built to real RS spec.).  There are also a lot of knowledge on the set-up and mods that really can make them fast - some parts might be difficult to find but could be found or fabricated without too much problem.  And while I don't mind racing them in Thunderbike, I always keep in mind that this is the old Heavyweight Sportmans class (an eclectic combo of new and old bikes) and that on a LW bike I am theoretically stepping up a class.

I have seen how fast the Chris Boy 748RS is going down to T-5 at Road America and it was insane.  You can also see that Matt Carr from Ducati of Indianapolis used his 748R to beat Joel Spaulding at the Mid-Ohio races, winning Thunderbike against Joel's XB12  (after serving a stop and go penalty for jumping the start) and in supertwins against Joel's 1125R which nobody would argue is a LW class bike...   Just on its face the outright potential of a 748R/RS is way superior to anything on the LW grids and it could be a game changer so on that front it could be a very bad idea.

In the end, I am a big believer that we shouldn't dilute the class structure by trying to performance index non-competitive older bikes into lower classes.  If your bike is no longer competitive in its class, buy one that is or shut up and just go out and ride - don't try and argue that you should be allowed to "bump-down" a class.  On this basis - it woudl be a very bad precedent being set if this happens.  Next thing you know we are going to have guys on 2004/2005 Yamaha R6's saying that since they are not as competitive in the MW feild anymore that they should be in LW too.

George

[Woofentino Pugrossi]

Can I run my 12 yr old YZF750R in ULGP then?

[HAWK]

Uhhhh... Rob that would be racing UP a class, no problem.

George, you had better be careful or you will be branded with the circle whiney SV mark which would clash terribly with that pretty bike of yours. Will you be at BHF this weekend?

[George_Linhart]

Paul - no whining in my post.  I actually enjoy racing against the 748s in Thunderbike.

Yes - the family will be at BHF this weekend.  The bike is already loaded in the trailer.

George