I'm very sorry to hear about you're friend. I was one of those guys once and I was EXTREMELY lucky!! Honestly, I'm sorry to hear about that.
Just so you know I now try to talk alot of sportbikers with a heavy wrist into the track now too. I figured that I could at least try to point them in the right direction. I can't make the choice for them, but I can inform them of how to. If I can just save one guys life by doing that I'm happy. Yes, you are right though. All of the ones I talk to all say the same things that you stated. :?
Let's be honest. We were ALL one of those guys once, we've ALL lost friends to horrendous street crashes, and we're ALL extremely fortunate to have survived that period in our lives. How many people buy their first street bike just to use it at the track? Would that be zero, or none? And if I allowed myself a street bike, I'd STILL be doing that kind of dangerous street riding. Speed is addictive, and I can't help myself. This is why I choose to ride only at the track, where my behavior does not put innocent people at risk. The most talented rider I've ever seen is STILL out there on the backroads, and I've been trying to get him to the track since 1999. His string of excuses never ends. Ironically, this guy was the one talking to everyone about how he planned to become a racer when we were both still squidding it up on the street in the mid-90s, but I was the one who actually DID it. I always felt that he was the better, more gifted rider, but I'm the one with the wall full of trophies. To me, that just doesn't make a lick of sense. As a rider, I'm only of average talent. I've gotten to the level I'm at through hard work, sacrifice, and pain. This guy has that magic aura around him when he rides, like he's God's personal gift to the sport of motorcycling. If he hasn't made it to the track, even after seeing what I've accomplished with a lesser set of tools, then he's NEVER going to come. It's as sad and as simple as that.
This is very true Chris. I also won't let myself on the street anymore either........Unless I had a bike that seriously prevented me from pushing it. (Like a cruiser with really low footpegs and a girl on the back :wink: ) I do still try to get some people into the sport still though.
Nicky Hayden under represented? Just an observation... I noticed a 7 foot tall poster of Nicky Hayden that was set up at the Honda Display at Cleveland Ohio Cycle World Bike Show. It proclaimed him as 2006 MotoGP world champ. I think it was displayed beside a CBR 1000 in Repsol colors.
nicky hayden doesn't sell bikes? that sure looked like his mug melded to the front headlight of a cbr100rr in those tv commercials. unless i'm missing something, tv commercials are still used for selling purposes... hmmm... the 600RR and 1000rr work pretty good for the ten kate team... not to mention for bsb champion ryuichi kiyonari and british 600ss champion cal crutchlow. maybe it's american honda that can't get the job done- everywhere else, it's winning.
for the record, I said that before I heard anythng about the new CBR600RR & it was sarcasm, afterall. prior to that bike, everything they've made in the past few years fell into the damning with faint praise category of "it's a nice, comfortable streetbike" while Yamaha, Suzuki & Kawasaki made "nice race bikes." Looks like they've smelled the coffee finally, with the new 600.
lance, the 1000 and "old" 600 are kicking ass in wsbk,wss and bss (i'm not sure about the other national series, but i'm sure it's doing well). it's only in the us that honda is getting it's butt handed to them. methinks it's partially due to american honda taking the project "in-house" and their reluctance to race in ss. though, the "old" honda 600RR did beat 2 yamaha R6's in FX- and i'll say that i believe that eric bostrom is a superior rider to josh hayes. imho, the main reason you don't see 05-06 600RR's in wera or any other race series, is because of honda's lack of contingency. though, that has all changed with honda's new contingincy plan for 07. i happen to like hondas- (i just bought a wrecked 06 600RR to run track days next year) i think that they are a step above the others in terms of reliability and above all, quality. truth be told, i was looking for an R6 but this fell into my lap.
yeah, lack of commitment in racing from american honda, for sure, but also take into consideration their geriatric Canadian racer Duhamel, yeah, he's faster than the likes of us, but when was the last time he won a race? I believe that Ten Kate does a substantial amount of thheir own development, too. where's their US equivalent? or even a US M4 or yosh providing aftermarket support for the privateer racer? It seem as if American Honda, if not Honda itself, has been asleep at the switch as the trackday and clubracing scene has grown by leaps and bounds. Everyone else, even Triumph, it seems, has been falling over themselves, making a better track bike- while Honda has puttered along making their signature overweight & bland brand of roadbike that's a perennial backmarker in magazine track comparisons, not to mention racing grids all over this country. I won't quibble that their reliability, fit and finish is exemplary, but their machines of late have been lacking in a certain sort of sex appeal, erring on the side of sensibility. Honda has become to Japanese marques, what BMW has traditionally been to European brands- the sensible alternative.
i'll say this for american honda- at least they were there racing superbike- where was yamaha the last 2 years? kawasaki bowed out for a spell too. if it weren't for honda, superbike would have been the suzuki cup a few years back. i won't even mention the fact that honda has supplied 7 bikes in moto gp (including giving an engine to kr senior) to make sure that there is a reasonable number of bikes on the grid. that says something about honda's commitment to racing. presently, there is one big difference between honda and bmw, and that is this little bike called an rcv! i won't even go into the fact that the company, being 4 years old almost went backrupt building suzuka to test it's racebikes in 1962 in preparation to go gp racing. question- which japanese manufacturer was the first to win a race at the pretigious isle of man? i think you know the answer.