A telling sign of just how terrible AMA Superbike has gotten, is when Mladin crashes and they fix up his bike after a red flag. Then he starts last and almost makes the podium. Absolutely pathetic for two reasons. One, there should have never been a red flag in the first place. If that was MotoGP the reace would have continued because the crash was not blocking the track in any way, and there was nothing wrong with Mladin after the crash. Second, the fact that part of the race is over and Mladin starts dead last, and almost makes the podium shows how crappy the rest of the field is. The whole series has pretty much become a joke when the question of the day during the race was 'Who will be first to unseat the two Suzuki riders'.
Superbike at Millers
I went to Millers Motosports Park for the races yesterday. It's actually a pretty nice facility. The grandstands are covered. But a better idea is to get trackside tickets, bring a chair, an umbrella, a cooler of your favorite beverages and find a spot you like. It's cheaper and you can move around the park. The track is pretty level and you can see 90% of it from anywhere. There are also large video displays that show the feed from SpeedTV in front of each grandstand. But they are too far away to be able to make out the standings text without binoculars. Lucky for me there was a relatively cool north wind blowing yesterday which kept the temperatures down. There was lots of scenery too, but I'm not going to talk about it because I don't want to be burned at the stake by sachiwilson and her gang of vixens.
The announcer was pretty irritating and having to listen to him say shyt like how wonderful it was that the 125cc racers could actually figure out how the starting lights worked was pretty teeth-grating. And the constant pro-Honda and Suzuki bias was pretty pathetic. Luckily the sound of the bikes drowned him out much of the time.
This is the first time I've been to a Superbike series and I am amazed at how boring the 1000cc classes can be. If Mladin hadn't high sided early the Superbike race would have been a parade. Superstock wasn't much better with the bikes pretty much just following each other around. Yawn. The Supersport race was much more entertaining with a much bigger field and a lot more passing action.
And frankly the USGPRU 125cc race early yesterday was the most entertaining of all.
If the AMA doesn't find some way to inject life into the Superstock and Superbike series I can see them withering away. Local flattrack and Supermotard races are much more exciting... the higher velocities of the Superbikes notwithstanding. It'd also be better to see more manufacturers involved than the same 4 with their virtually identical bikes. Since the Superstock and Superbike lap times are almost identical it might be fun to see them run together.
Not that the day wasn't fun. The idiot announcers and their typical stupid questions to the starters are pretty funny. You can just see the racers holding back the urge to call the announcers idiots and tell them to shutthefockup. The only real pall on the day was the podium finishes by Honda. But all in all I wouldn't pay good money again to see Superbike.
The announcer was pretty irritating and having to listen to him say shyt like how wonderful it was that the 125cc racers could actually figure out how the starting lights worked was pretty teeth-grating. And the constant pro-Honda and Suzuki bias was pretty pathetic. Luckily the sound of the bikes drowned him out much of the time.
This is the first time I've been to a Superbike series and I am amazed at how boring the 1000cc classes can be. If Mladin hadn't high sided early the Superbike race would have been a parade. Superstock wasn't much better with the bikes pretty much just following each other around. Yawn. The Supersport race was much more entertaining with a much bigger field and a lot more passing action.
And frankly the USGPRU 125cc race early yesterday was the most entertaining of all.
If the AMA doesn't find some way to inject life into the Superstock and Superbike series I can see them withering away. Local flattrack and Supermotard races are much more exciting... the higher velocities of the Superbikes notwithstanding. It'd also be better to see more manufacturers involved than the same 4 with their virtually identical bikes. Since the Superstock and Superbike lap times are almost identical it might be fun to see them run together.
Not that the day wasn't fun. The idiot announcers and their typical stupid questions to the starters are pretty funny. You can just see the racers holding back the urge to call the announcers idiots and tell them to shutthefockup. The only real pall on the day was the podium finishes by Honda. But all in all I wouldn't pay good money again to see Superbike.
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This is the first year I haven't attended an AMA Superbike race in a long time. Watching yesterday's debacle shows I've made a wise decision.
If it hadn't been for the 125cc race the day would have been a loss. It really was a waste of time staying for the Superbikes.
I did take one positive lesson home though. Honda's pathetic showing in Supersport and Superstock shows that money can't buy everything.
I did take one positive lesson home though. Honda's pathetic showing in Supersport and Superstock shows that money can't buy everything.
Wow, I was watching the race and wondering the same thing! First, why red flag the race when the other races just shove the bikes off the track and rarely even throw a yellow flag? And second, what the heck is Mladin taking before the race that has him leaping up from that crash and literally RUN around the track? Either he's got some great "meds" or he's one tough mofo!
The races Speed covered in the UK in the rain were cool too. I liked it when those riders were crashing out and sliding for 10 minutes...I was waiting for one of them to make a cell phone call while he was waiting to come to a stop.
The races Speed covered in the UK in the rain were cool too. I liked it when those riders were crashing out and sliding for 10 minutes...I was waiting for one of them to make a cell phone call while he was waiting to come to a stop.
It was more fun when Ducati and H-D were involved. Ducati provided the necessary cache' and the oil and parts streaming behind the Harley added a certain element of danger.
Red Flags for the Stars..
Yep makes you wonder if it was a back marker that wrecked like Mladin who was clearly off the track would they have red flagged it..
Yep makes you wonder if it was a back marker that wrecked like Mladin who was clearly off the track would they have red flagged it..
Back in the 70's we had a joke that if you drove slowly up US1 you could gather up enough spare parts from the HDs to build a new one! It's taken me 10 years to get my Shovelhead to a point where stuff stopped rattling off. But it still leaks oil...
Leaking oil on a Shovel is not a problem. It's when it stops leaking oil that you have to worry 
Agree 100 percent. I'm actually a Mladin fan, but call a red flag was illogical and him being able to ride up the entire line to 4th just proves that something's not quite fair/right in AMA Superbike racing. It's almost as if Yoshimura Suzuki has some special "ins" with the judges.
World Superbike and MotoGP prove real racing still exists on two wheels.
World Superbike and MotoGP prove real racing still exists on two wheels.
The GMP predicts AMA will let Ducati back in with 1098 in 2008
Ducati will be back next year with the 1098.. The AMA will cave. Aprilia might field a team with the superior V-4
Ducati will be back next year with the 1098.. The AMA will cave. Aprilia might field a team with the superior V-4
I had a shovelhead that didn't leak (much). The solution was to put in a belt primary and then run the primary case dry. It also solved the dry clutch running in the oil bath problems.
Prediction
I predict wheels will continue to be round!
I predict wheels will continue to be round!
That's a solid suggestion, no doubt. But I have this bizzare desire to try to keep the bike as close to original as possible. I did concede on the points and get a Crane ignition, and replaced the Kehnin carb with S&S. Those were "had to dos" to make the bike rideable day to day.
I prefer square with chamfered corners.
I still love to watch the races, live and on the tube, even if ama seems a little one sided right now. Maybe the rules will allow for some more competition next year. The Yosh team just seems to have it dialed for superbike. But fx and supersport are still fun, and superstock might get there. what i believe is that the riders are very skilled, the ama has to pick up its game or leave it to someone else. or maybe motorcycle racing is just not going to catch on here. i have heard good things about miller but i awlays wondered why they needed airfence for a brand new facility.
Maybe I should have mentioned that the only reason I'd be reluctant to go again was that it cost me $60 for the one day after all the ticket downloading fees were done. I won't spend that much again for only a couple of races worth watching. The park itself is quite nice.
That doesn't mean that I'm not highly impressed with the way those guys can bring those bikes down from 175mph so quickly and take that turn 1.
That doesn't mean that I'm not highly impressed with the way those guys can bring those bikes down from 175mph so quickly and take that turn 1.
I guess you weren't impressed enough to pay another 60 bucks!
How to say this? I'm glad I went. I just won't bother again unless they improve the series. Go back to 750s. Encourage V-twin and triple participation.
I wonder why the AMA hasn't included 675 triples in the mix like they do in Europe. Maybe because the Big4 don't want to be humiliated.
I wonder why the AMA hasn't included 675 triples in the mix like they do in Europe. Maybe because the Big4 don't want to be humiliated.
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