sohlman

iTrader: (92)

For those who care and/or watch MotoGP...the Kentucky Kid, Nicky Hayden is the World Champ! Thanks to an early crash from defending champ, Valentino Rossi, the door was opened for the American to take the championship. Congrats Nicky!

Siccmade

iTrader: (2)

yeah i watched the race it was pretty good

royfan33

iTrader: (8)

I'm very happy for Nicky, but I was looking forward to a major battle between he and The Doctor. Overall it was a great season of racing. When Rossi crashed in the first corner of the first race, I knew it would be a fun year. No fun when he just ran away from everyone.

I'm curious to see what the new 800s will be like. Now if they would fix the rules so there wasn't such an advantage for riders like Pedrosa. If they keep it up all teams will little 120lb jockeys. I bet its an even bigger advantage on the 800s.

BlueR1

yes power to weight important but pedrosa is only 5kg less than the average rider. so 5kg/150+bhp atw = nothing

anyway lucky win for hayden, nowhere near the "best" rider, just best bike, best team, most money.

oh if onyl rossi pushed harder in the last race, if he didnt lose to elias by the 1/1000th second rossi would of gotten an extra 5 points for the win. and would be WC today......

royfan33

iTrader: (8)

Pedrosa's advantage is huge. He's only 5'3"/158cm and 104lbs/50kg. It's a huge debate for GP fans. It works out to about 35lbs/16kg average less weight. What other form of racing do you know of where the rider is not included in the final weight? His small stature gives better fuel economy, faster acceleration, better tire life, which allows for more aggresive electronics mapping and on and on.

There have been many articles in the last few months in various mags. If he wins and the rules stay the same all manufactures will go the same route.

Weight list from Sportbike planet:

Pedrosa: 104 lb, 5'2"
Elias: 121 lb, 5'4"
Melandri: 128 lb, 5'6"
Stoner: 128 lb 5'7"
Capirossi: 130 lb, 5'4"
Rossi: 130 lb, 5'11"
Hayden: 150 lb, 5'8"
Gibernau: 154 lb, 5'9"

Weight difference between Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden: 46 pounds. What would a F1 team give for a 46lb andvantage?

Again, I'm happy for Hayden, and I'm a huge fan of any type of racing, especially Motogp. But I'm afraid if the rules aren't changed it could ruin the class.

BlueR1

thanks for listing them weights.

case in point the top 3 yesterday was the 3 bigger riders in the class. baylis would prob be 150lbs??

easy to say lighter = better, but in motogp, the only advantage is down the straight. yes less wieght and less drag. so what? end of day its not a major factor. most important is rider, bike, and team, and tires tires tires #1. no matter what stature you are.

around corners makes no difference. they dont use anywhere near all throttle at lower revs around and exiting corners. in fact the computer mngt of the bike limits the power

p.s i think pedrosa is closer to 120lbs now, he bulked up alot to help him handle the 1000 better. so why was his aim to bulk up if lighter is such a big advantage?

so it still stands, pedrosa is only 5kgs lighter than the AVERAGE MOTOGP rider.

anyway i hate pedrosa, so who gives a fk. 125cc and 250 weight rider important. motogp (with some say 200hp) atw weight of rider not important

anyway have you ever ridden a 1000cc?? if you've ever felt 150hp between your balls i think you'll understand why.

offroader

iTrader: (15)

I am amased at the size of these riders. I thought the bigger guys would be able to hold onto the bike stronger and longer at high G forces over the entire length of the race.

Maybe I should go get myself a bike then

SRAD

iTrader: (15)

Nicky was the most consistent in scoring points over the season. Anyone that has watched MotoGP or the old 500cc races can see that Rossi is the best ever. He had too many DNF's over the year. His performance is still amazing considering he is on the Yamaha. Look at Edwards.....he is no slouch but he is just not as fast as Rossi and is always back in the field somewhere. Let's be real.....Rossi is the reason Yamaha has won the previous 2 or 3 years. If he was back on a Honda......who knows what he would have done. Not taking away from other riders but he is on a different level period.

sohlman

iTrader: (92)

Weight matters to a certain point. Even in R/C. If your car gets too light, it has trouble getting the power to the ground effectively. Same with some 1:1 racing. I raced SuperSport for eight years and I'm 6'3", 200lbs...that's a slight disadvantage.

As for Pedrosa, he's dead to me. Nicky did get very lucky. But it will all start over again with the 800cc bikes. There will be new riders at the top, new machines with different power curves, etc. Anyway, can't wait until March 10th, 2007, first MotoGP race.

YBSLOW

iTrader: (9)

Awesome!
Go USA!!!
I am so glad Nicky won, that guy is sick riding a street bike like a sprint car backing it into corners.

P2gee

Pedrosa's size advantage is not so much his weight as it is his ability to fold up behind the fairing on the staights. At 185 mph, any rider with a shoulder, elbow, toe, top of helmet ect. sticking out from behind the fairing has a HUGE aerodynamic drag disadvantage to riders that are folded up. Ideally all the factories would love to have a "riderless" frontal profile for their bikes when on the straight away. Unfortunately, since GP caliber motorcycle riders are not a dime a dozen, you take what you can get hence the height and weight list above. Rossi's stature allows him to fold up very nicely on the bike, an advantage he probably has over Hayden whose broad shoulders tend to make him les compact behind the fairing. Speaking of Hayden.....CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Anbody who can powerslide a motorcycle at 160 mph around sweeping turns is an automatic hero in my book!!

royfan33

iTrader: (8)

Absolutely. A buddy I ride with has a 05 GSXR1000 It's awesome. I have a Zx6R now, not 150hp but enough. Plus my insurance isn't more than my payment. I got my first bike when I was 8, and raced MX for years. This is the wrong place to discuss it, but I still believe his weight or lack of it will become an issue. If it didn't matter they wouldn't have any weight limit at all. Every form of racing I know does, including Motogp. Except MotoGP doesn't include the rider.

Laws of physics....less weight is not going to help him at top speed. His smaller body may help him tuck more effeciently, but he will accelerate faster, have less tire wear, and use less fuel. Cornering is where his advantage should shine, less mass less centrifugal force. Just watch, if he wins more next year this issue will be covered in depth.

Anyways, many debates on many cycle forums. Part of being a fan I guess.

P2gee

No doubt, Rossi is very good. Best ever?? = Kenny Roberts Sr.

SRAD

iTrader: (15)

No doubt Sr. is one of the best....but he didn't race long enough to put up the numbers that Rossi has in just a short time. Who else could have taken the mediocore Yamaha to 2 or 3 titles besides Rossi? Heck I bet if he was on the Suzuki he could win a few races.....maybe not the title but a few races surely is possible with him. Rossi gets a bad start and then comes through the field like no one can. He has simply destroyed Gibernaugh. I'm surprised he has not retired. Now he is going to Kawasaki!!! Talk about not having a chance to win. He'll be a midpacker until he retires. He should have kept his mouth shut. Rossi is the Schumacher of MotoGP!!!!

sohlman

iTrader: (92)

Check out the Speeszilla forum (Street and Track section). One of the best around.

http://www.speedzilla.com/forums/