[49605]

I'm surprised how arse-hurt Honda is from the decision to allow the Buell XBRR in FX, especially since Honda had already announced they were dropping out of AMAs least important support class anyhow!





From the Honda press release...



"Recently, however, conflicting interests within the AMA organization have caused a division of ideology and a blurring of the vision that American Honda has always supported. Recent issues, including the departure of dedicated individuals from AMA Pro Racing and its inability to stand by its own rulebook with regard to recent Formula Xtreme considerations, have been particularly alarming."





Maybe Buell marketing was unwise to label the 50 bikes they're putting together for privateers as "XBRR"... if they had simply called exactly the same thing "Factory Race Kit for Buell XB" there could have been no doubt at all that the bikes were perfectly legal under long-existing FX rules.



Honda really seem to be acting like a "it must go our way all the time or else we're going home" bunch of babies.

 

[TLS_MAN]

Honda was turning over the FX bikes and factory support to Erion. They have two years of development in their bikes and still stand a good chance of winning the championship. They don't mind fighting one of the big four because they can out spend them, but Buell is outside of their control and is providing competitive machinery. Just remember how years ago they got Ducati omitted from Supersport racing even though they should have been eligible.

 

[sportbikebandit]

Oh please

"They don't mind fighting one of the big four because they can out spend them, but Buell is outside of their control and is providing competitive machinery. "

You really believe that ? Ducati can still race in Supersport they raced in FX two years ago with Doug Chandler. You have been watching too much Fox news dude

read this buell head

 

[Pinkslip]

Honda has been too corperate for years now anyway. No matter what division of racing, Honda is nothing but a bunch of guys in three piece suits. This is one of the main reasons Rossi left the Repsol team a few rears back. I like Hondas, but wouldn't buy one right now. They lost sight of the passion that drives their customers.

 

[33545]

Re: Oh please

It's off topic anyway, but do yourself a favor and don't read that Buell article. It's really the single worst pieces of journalism I've ever come across. Doctored dyno charts and comments that completely contradict everying ever written about the Buell. If not for the pictures I would have assumed they had never even ridden the bike.

However, if you do manage to drag yourself through that link do yourself a favor and contrast it with MO's own Ducati SS vs. Buell XB-R comparison:

http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mccompare/02xb900.motml

 

[TLS_MAN]

Re: Oh please

If you read my comments carefully, you would see that I said Ducati can't race the 749 in "Supersport", not FX. It is evident that if the rules allow open ended spending like MotoGP, only Honda and Yamaha will have a consistent chance of winning. Just go back and look at the record. And second, I am not a HD homer or Buell head as you assume. I ride an R1. I just like to see competitive racing and with the factories only making the necesarry parts to factory teams, the privateers can only hope to be backmarkers.

 

[TLS_MAN]

Re: Oh please

Also, I read that article a long time ago. You should read the article in the current Road Racing World concerning the Buell. What you will see is that the motor has been completely gone through and problems corrected. The motor is expected to last the entire race season with only a top end check. I would brt the other bikes will have a complete tear down each race. Again, we are talking about allowing privateers access to affordable competent machinery.

 

[The_Aerodynamic_Head]

They've lost sight of the passion that drives their MOTORCYCLES. Every important street model they produce is now heavier and more expensive than the directly competing models.

 

[bigjames]

Derision in the Honda ranks? Possibly because Buell (ok, let's just say it, Harley Davidson) and the AMA may have pulled a fast one? My Harley riding self is laughing out loud...