[The_Aerodynamic_Head]

Hey, Man.

Bently came back from 71 years off from racing and fifty or so years of building only the hugest most expensive luxo-yachts on the planet, and won the 24 hours of LeMans. I think that was 1999.



So the brits do have pretty recent experience with this sort of thing.

 

[Z3Coupe]

Yes, it's great to see some historic marques (two wheeled and four alike) come back to racing. BUT... Bentley didn't win, and they were just using recycled Audi cars anyway.



Matthew

 

[longride]

I think Harley already proved how successful you can be with a low budget racing program. If Triumph isn't sending in boatloads of cash and bikes for this effort, they might as well stop right now. I suppose for their 600 to sell in any numbers, they at least need to show up at the track. I fear that is all they will be doing for any racing effort that comes from a small factory racing last year's design 600. I hope they do well, but I think the podium is many years off.

 

[21684]

Craig Jones????

Is this the same Craig Jones that just broke the stoppie record that was shown on this site a couple of days ago? He's on contract with Harley/Buell and looks alot older than 18. Must be another Jones.

 

[13630]

"I think Harley already proved how successful you can be with a low budget racing program. "



Which program are you referring to?

 

[longride]

Superbike

 

[Downtown]

They didn't win, they got fourth and they did it in 2001 with an Audi chassis. Nothing wrong with heritage but it's a stretch to call it a bloodline.

 

[jrpetruzzi]

Harley had Ford Motor Company backing them. It

just proves how lame the Harley motor was. The only way a Harley will finish first is if only Harley's are allowed on the track. I wish Triumph the best!

I hope they surprise everyone.

 

[15052]

Podium?? Just gettting into racing is good news. Every journey starts with single step...

 

[rsheidler]

In theory, supersport racing SHOULD be a much less expensive proposition, given that per the rules, very limited modifications to the production bike are permitted. Of course, if you seriously believe that Eric Bostrom's 600 Kwacker is anything close to what you could buy from your local dealer, you have not watched him pull the 750s on a long straight!



Part of the financial problem Harley had is that they had to scratch build a bike, make enough "production" versions (street legal in Poland only as I recall) to have a starting point. By the time they got the bike sorted, the Japanese had 2-3 later generations of production bikes on which to base their superbikes. They would have had to way outspend the Japanese in order to have a chance to be competitive. I can't believe they even tried it, but I am glad they did.



Cheers

Bob

 

[KPaulCook]

Triumph will suceed despite Longride.

As usual you are the voice of doom. Triumph has deep pockets being privately held by the Donald Trump of England. Triumphs sell well here in the open minded west coast. A 2 year warranty doesn't hurt either. Triumph is also located in Formula one and Lemans racing country does McClaren, Jaguar, Lola, Bentley mean anything to you. Lastly the Brits love anything that goes fast. Harley's racing program was a joke not based in reality i.e. production bikes as Bob said. It was an embarrassment to have Harley in Super bike.