Review: Fast Riding the Roberts Way
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Web Opinion (Was Re: Review: Fast Riding the Roberts Way)
Regarding people over-reacting to web opinion, motorcycle.com is even making into The Onion's sights:
http://www.theonion.com/onion3919/report_majority_of_human.html
Regarding people over-reacting to web opinion, motorcycle.com is even making into The Onion's sights:
http://www.theonion.com/onion3919/report_majority_of_human.html
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911 Posts
Ok,ok, you guys are the best, but not as good as The King, he was and still is the essence of what motorcycle road racing is all about. How I wish we had a time machine so that we could put Valentino Rossi and Kenny Roberts on equal bikes and let them rip! Two of the best we have ever seen.
It would be really interesting to see Agostini, Hailwood, Sheene, Roberts, Rossi etc all in their respective primes on equal bikes.
This kind of topic is allways good for some heated discussion/speculation.
Of course, there is always the probablility that the skills that were most suited for bikes of one era would not be ideal for the bikes of another era.
The flattrack style introduced by Roberts was going out of favor late in the 500GP era as the top riders used more of a 250-style, trust the front tire, approach. The 4-strokes have somewhat changed that around, but still, I bet that Roberts in his prime would get beaten by Rossi, if both were on RCVs, and conversely that Roberts would beat Rossi if both were on TZ750s with mid-70s tires.
This kind of topic is allways good for some heated discussion/speculation.
Of course, there is always the probablility that the skills that were most suited for bikes of one era would not be ideal for the bikes of another era.
The flattrack style introduced by Roberts was going out of favor late in the 500GP era as the top riders used more of a 250-style, trust the front tire, approach. The 4-strokes have somewhat changed that around, but still, I bet that Roberts in his prime would get beaten by Rossi, if both were on RCVs, and conversely that Roberts would beat Rossi if both were on TZ750s with mid-70s tires.
Gotta sympathize with your reviewer on this one. Contrast what appears to be a documentary of KR taking some cash customers through the training with "On Any Sunday" as a case in point. If they had titled that one "Fast Off Road Riding the Malcolm Smith Way" people would say two things, first, I couldn't ride like Malcolm Smith, and second It's a great video.
Unless I've missed the whole point of the KR video, I'd say two things, first I couldn't ride like Kenny Roberts and second It's a mediocre video.
I pick on Malcolm Smith because he lives about 10 miles from my house in the summer, and he's the best rider I've ever met personally, as well as being pleasant to talk to. I've never met KR, but he comes across as too intense for me to want to have much to do with, even watching his video.
(Now johnnyB can start back in on ad hominem attacks.)
Unless I've missed the whole point of the KR video, I'd say two things, first I couldn't ride like Kenny Roberts and second It's a mediocre video.
I pick on Malcolm Smith because he lives about 10 miles from my house in the summer, and he's the best rider I've ever met personally, as well as being pleasant to talk to. I've never met KR, but he comes across as too intense for me to want to have much to do with, even watching his video.
(Now johnnyB can start back in on ad hominem attacks.)
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2,752 Posts
Excellent Review, I going to buy it for my race with Sean
Great stuff. I only wish I could bow down to Kenny in person and take the class. In any case I have to get ready for the big race with Sean at Laguna. You remember Sean don't you. You are going to race me around Laguna on a Blast right???
Great stuff. I only wish I could bow down to Kenny in person and take the class. In any case I have to get ready for the big race with Sean at Laguna. You remember Sean don't you. You are going to race me around Laguna on a Blast right???
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1,538 Posts
Re: Excellent Review, I going to buy it for my race with Sean
Yeah that sounds like a plan. If the powers that be at Mo can set it up, I'm there!.
Yeah that sounds like a plan. If the powers that be at Mo can set it up, I'm there!.
I grew up worshipping KR in the early-to-mid 70's. He should have paid me -- he won every single race I ever saw him in, dirt or roadrace. I saw him dust everybody at Loudon in '77 with a broken hand (just keeping off my other boyhood hero, Gary Nixon) and watched him all but humiliate Mamola, Mike Baldwin and all the US racers at his last race at Laguna Seca after not racing for a year (where friend Dale finished fourth in BOTT on his home-converted belt-drive Ducati!!!).
So I am far from the first person you would expect to dislike this video, but let me inform, in a blunt KR-sorta way, that this video isn't about how to ride at all. It's a horrid disappointment if that's what you buy it for, as I did. There are only about four minutes on actual riding technique and the rest is almost completely forgettable. I disliked Keith Code's oh-too-simple approach (where you're ready for TOTW2 after five laps on-track), and I dislike this one for lack of real content. The best technique book I've ever seen was Steve Baker's little paperback book analyzing hyperbolic, parabolic and circular lines, but haven't seen a copy in years (gave mine away, darn it). The only important point is the concept of the "danger zone," from which you are supposed to derive KR's entire riding style. Good friggin' luck.
I saw KR do things on TZ-750s, OW-31s and 500GP bikes that were definately first-rate -- just look up the race description for his last Sears Point appearance to get an idea of his incredibly front-row abilities. I would love to hear him talk more about how to ride, what to do with different power bands ("so, KR, how would you ride a bike in the dirt with all torque and no horsepower?"). ways to compensate for decreasing amounts of grip, what about footpeg weighting, when do you transfer weight to where etc etc etc.
I also have no doubt that, could we put all the best riders of all time on equal bikes, and give them some time to get used to them, that we'd see something that looked like the "BMW race" at Daytona -- a knock-down, drag out real race. My money would be on Hailwood to win, but only by a fraction, and I'd put KR in the next group of about 10 equally gifted and able racers.
And BTW, Roberts stopped racing because HE was mentally worn out after the last year racing with Spencer, and realized he'd had enough (just read his bio). Mental games weren't his strong point and aren't to this day, he's much more direct than almost any Formula1 car racer. But he did adapt to all sorts of conditions, as you expect from any multiple World Champion, so can't be discounted by any of us mere mortals.
So I am far from the first person you would expect to dislike this video, but let me inform, in a blunt KR-sorta way, that this video isn't about how to ride at all. It's a horrid disappointment if that's what you buy it for, as I did. There are only about four minutes on actual riding technique and the rest is almost completely forgettable. I disliked Keith Code's oh-too-simple approach (where you're ready for TOTW2 after five laps on-track), and I dislike this one for lack of real content. The best technique book I've ever seen was Steve Baker's little paperback book analyzing hyperbolic, parabolic and circular lines, but haven't seen a copy in years (gave mine away, darn it). The only important point is the concept of the "danger zone," from which you are supposed to derive KR's entire riding style. Good friggin' luck.
I saw KR do things on TZ-750s, OW-31s and 500GP bikes that were definately first-rate -- just look up the race description for his last Sears Point appearance to get an idea of his incredibly front-row abilities. I would love to hear him talk more about how to ride, what to do with different power bands ("so, KR, how would you ride a bike in the dirt with all torque and no horsepower?"). ways to compensate for decreasing amounts of grip, what about footpeg weighting, when do you transfer weight to where etc etc etc.
I also have no doubt that, could we put all the best riders of all time on equal bikes, and give them some time to get used to them, that we'd see something that looked like the "BMW race" at Daytona -- a knock-down, drag out real race. My money would be on Hailwood to win, but only by a fraction, and I'd put KR in the next group of about 10 equally gifted and able racers.
And BTW, Roberts stopped racing because HE was mentally worn out after the last year racing with Spencer, and realized he'd had enough (just read his bio). Mental games weren't his strong point and aren't to this day, he's much more direct than almost any Formula1 car racer. But he did adapt to all sorts of conditions, as you expect from any multiple World Champion, so can't be discounted by any of us mere mortals.
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