Trust me - I safety wired it!

[tcchin]

Jake rode an RC51 at RA in 2002. The decision not to ride Superbike this year had more to do with trying to capture the FX flag than anything else.

Exclude riders from the 600SS class until they prove themselves? I thought the 600 class was supposed to be a support class, thus the relatively minimal nature of the licensing requirements. Just because the factories have chosen to use it to showcase their best-selling sportbike products doesn't mean that it's a premier class.

FWIW, the AMA used a blue flag at PPIR this year.

I can understand imposing penalties for malicious rules infractions (cheating, dangerous riding, dragging a crashed bike onto the racing line to cause a red flag, etc.), but mistakes happen and honest mistakes should be forgiven. Besides, why punish the rider for a mistake made by the crew? I agree that the incident was both inconvenient and expensive, but it was not the result of a malicious act.

(BTW Jason, I hope your shoulder is doing better...)

[Super Dave]

Exclude riders from the 600SS class until they prove themselves? I thought the 600 class was supposed to be a support class, thus the relatively minimal nature of the licensing requirements. Just because the factories have chosen to use it to showcase their best-selling sportbike products doesn't mean that it's a premier class.

HRC started the 600SS stuff by helping him with his Hurricane in 1987 (it looked like a stock pipe, but the print media even during the time said it was modified by HRC).

How about the big names in 600SS?  Hayden's, Gobert's, DuHammel, Bostrom's, Wait's...do I need to go on?  Ain't no "support class."  See the HRC black boxes from even the early 90's for CBR600f2's.

The minimalist nature of the licensing requirements just go to show how poor the set up is.  A fast privateer cannot really remain competitive in the AMA series or even think of supporting their program on it(purse money, support).  So, it is necessary to keep new blood coming in as the previous blood leaves.

How long can jnup and guys like him hold out to get support and knowledge enough to compete at a reasonable level?  Not very long.  What happened to guys like Mark McDaniel, Jerry Rothman?  Will Ty Howard have a ride next year?  Crusty?

I'd agree that the oil incedent was an accident.  Wish his catch pan lower would have held the fluid in.  Guess it didn't work there.

As for EBoz on the ZX7RR...it posted the fastest trap times at Brainerd...go figure.  Guess lighter pistions still accelerate and deaccelerate faster than heavier ones...hence, the potential is there.

Would the top guys go fast on "less worked" machines...yes.  Would many of the slower guys go faster on machines that were at least a bit more worked over in the suspension and a little in the motor department?  By all means yes.  We're back to Pridmore and the FI set up.  He's going faster.

How about the Graves' Yamaha R6's?  My R6 didn't come with the internals that they have.  If this were NASCAR, that would never be allowed UNLESS IT WERE AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE.

And, Jason, how's the hand? (The shoulder is secondary now, Tim...) ;D

[jnup]

first:   collar bone laguna crash-  good but rehurt at vir; ouch

next:   hand vir-  hurts but no break so great,  pain just sign i am alive and i race

[Super Dave]

next:   hand vir-  hurts but no break so great,  pain just sign i am alive and i race

You wuss...  I'm riding next time.  We'll make the bandage tighter to get your hand in the glove.

How's e-Bay trading today?  I'd go short since it's the beginning of the month...

[jnup]

ebay down but a little market advice, buy now because nup has to do a little ebay buying to fix the downed stallion  tonight

[jnup]

dave trading is slow so i have made about $120 playing copter pilot with a few guys in the pit today.  you should try this game

www.kontraband.com

my high is 2858

[Super Dave]

See...go short...

Kontraband?  Shrimp...LOL!

[jnup]

i dont know, i got a lot to buy tonight

that might raise it up alone...

[tcchin]

HRC started the 600SS stuff by helping him with his Hurricane in 1987 (it looked like a stock pipe, but the print media even during the time said it was modified by HRC).
                                
How about the big names in 600SS?  Hayden's, Gobert's, DuHammel, Bostrom's, Wait's...do I need to go on?  Ain't no "support class."  See the HRC black boxes from even the early 90's for CBR600f2's.
                                
The minimalist nature of the licensing requirements just go to show how poor the set up is.  A fast privateer cannot really remain competitive in the AMA series or even think of supporting their program on it(purse money, support).  So, it is necessary to keep new blood coming in as the previous blood leaves.
                                
How long can jnup and guys like him hold out to get support and knowledge enough to compete at a reasonable level?  Not very long.  What happened to guys like Mark McDaniel, Jerry Rothman?  Will Ty Howard have a ride next year?  Crusty?
                                
I'd agree that the oil incedent was an accident.  Wish his catch pan lower would have held the fluid in.  Guess it didn't work there.

Dave, I think you misunderstood me. My point was that 600SS was originally supposed to be an entry-level support class, but the manufacturers have been greasing it up with factory star power in order to make their stock 600cc sportbikes look more appealing to potential buyers. Now that the SuperStock class allows 1000cc fours, the AMA has been left with no real entry-level class in which young racers can develop their racecraft.

Matt Wait's last full-season 600 ride (1997) was with the very-privateer Bandit Racing. This team was run out of a residential two-car garage about half a mile from my house.

Regarding the catch pan, I think the deal was that the race had been declared 'wet', in which case the catch pan can be unplugged to prevent it from filling with water...

[Team_nuclear123]

Tim, Jake rode the RC as a test, but did not campaign the class. He was waiting for the new bike to come out. Now its coming out, and he's racing it.

I couldnt agree more with Jnup " rider who forgot oil drain plug, ban for life"

Money goes where talent flows.

[tcchin]

As long as 'banned for life' means as little as it did for Carry Andrew, otherwise it doesn't make sense. It would be like serving a prison term because the guy at Jiffy Lube who changed the oil in your Camry committed a crime.

So where do you see this going? Should everyone who causes a debris-related red flag situation be BFL (banned for life)? Is this ban limited to mechanic's error? What if rider error causes a crash wherein a bike hits the deck and oils the track (AMA doesn't require reinforced engine covers)? What if a rider grabs too many backshifts, overrevs and grenades a motor on the racing line? Why should mechanics be held to zero-tolerance standards and why should the ramifications include truncation of a rider's career? This all seems just a little too kneejerk to me.

[Super Dave]

Dave, I think you misunderstood me. My point was that 600SS was originally supposed to be an entry-level...

I totally agree.  But if that was the case, then the rules should have been changed years ago.  But, since the manufacturers make up the board of the AMA, that thought has gone by the way side.  What it was supposed to be and what it is are two different things.

Now, Superstock seems to be the ground for the "non-factory" guys.  That makes sense too...  Put the up and comers on 150+WRHP motorcycles with slicks...  Sounds like a lot of tire bills for an up and comer...

How about new FX?  Exploding 135RWHP 600's?  (See catch pan with drain for rain events...)

If we want to talk about banning for life...  Ban the cheaters, not the humans.  That would ensure that preproduction BS doesn't get into the fray, like it does year after year.  Or at least make the penalty really, really painful for cheaters.  Again, mistakes happen.