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well.....kawasaki isnt starting out to well in world sbk

3K views 46 replies 17 participants last post by  The Joker 008 
#1 ·
after all the hub bub about kawasaki getting chris & this and that i figured we would see some zx10 action, atleast 1 kawi in the top 7-8 range. its not looking to good so far, ya kawi might get stronger as the year goes on but so will everybody else, dang i was hoping they would have a good year:sad:
 
#2 ·
I was rooting for them yesterday but it was all an aprillia and zuk fest up front with the duc's giving em hell too but hopefully as the year goes along we'll see kawi move up the ranks? gotta keep the dream alive!!!!
 
#3 ·
Umm, they actually did start out well. In WSBK, Vermuellen was in the top 7 seven before he went down both races. He was doing very well. I just hope his injury does'nt derail his whole seaon. In WSS, the ZX6R, is at or near the top w/ Lascorz at the helm. That dude can ride. Fujiwara is in the top 10 as well. As for Roger Lee, I wasn't expecting much from Hayden on the Pedercini Kawi Team. If he can pull into the top 10, that itself would be a major accomplishment.
 
#4 ·
I guess if they awarded points for "starting well" then suzuki would have done half assed decent in moto gp then?:crackup: i was pulling for them like i said and wasn't expecting them to really contest for the win or even podium BUT it seems like the other guys just have alot more of what's needed then the kawi's do as of now anyway. it is good to have ya back J!!!! :ayyy:
 
#9 ·
Traitor!!!! :mrgreen: :heyyou:
mr_honez can get away with it cause he's been around here since before it was even a zx10 forum!!!!! or something like that but you get the idea, and i'm just messin with ya anyway man.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Masterlink im on the other side of the coin I root for the underdogs ducati ,Aprilla add kawasaki since they havnt done anything for SO long and I like my zx14 so much . Look how well Aprilla has done and that company is a speck compared to the japanese manufactures. Whats pissing me off is the TV announcers give more credit to BMW for comming in 10th that the Aprillia winning a race? both models came out the same year yet all you hear is how well the BMW is comming along in such a short period of time . BMW must be sending hookers and cash up to the announcers booths .

Im sorry guys ive give up on Kawasaki building a competitive race platform. They are going to build a bike one step behind the compitition on a technical basis then use hot rod tricks to give it HP for dyno figures on the street/sales floor. They also are banking on the NINJA catch phrase and will continue to do so till it turns Iconic like the Corvette or Mustang . The Kawasaki Workers/management might be true motorcyclists but KHI big wigs probably have never even rode a bike . Yamaha HAS to sell bikes to survive and the founder and Current CEO and board members ride. Hondas Founder was a racer/engineer himself and loved the motorcycle division. He attended every MotoGP race and went to the racing engineering department every day. When the accountants/stockholders meeting told him to stop developing the original 4 stroke NR500 GP bike because it had no chance of winning and was thought to be hurting sales Mr Honda he told them that he loved racing, honda is a 4 stroke company and they could go fuk themselves (VERY unjapanese lol) Now that Mr Honda has died , Hondas racing spirit is withering also if you have noticed. Even at Suzuki the board members ride and encourage the workers to ride also . Until the NINJA catch phrase dies off KHI wont go fully tilt into racing to increase sales ..... Do I want to see them win races ? YES but racing isnt a good business proposition, its a passion... maybe 2010 sales will be SO bad kawasaki will want to try something new to generate exsitement/sales in 2011.
 
#15 ·
Masterlink im on the other side of the coin I root for the underdogs ducati.

jake, i like ya and enjoy that you like talking racing but sometimes i think your smoking grass:lol: calling ducati an underdog? whatever, they ARE world sbk, hell for several years it was the ducati cup over there. they have always had top notch riders (foggy,bayliss,haga) they have always had a displacement advantage, & good factory backing. there is no way they are an underdog, kawasaki on the other hand :lol: ya id say under underdog, im very disappointed that they cannot get it together & i'll go as far as saying they prob will NEVER get it together either. but hey its a good street bike i guess
 
#38 · (Edited)
I remember the same for suzukis 1996+ 750s until mladin got it dialed in and steamrolled the series for several years. Hey kawasaki, mladin ain't doin' anything right now, make him an offer. Seriously though, I think chris v is a great rider and will see improvements thru the year. Hard to crucify the guy after 1 round.

Masterlink im on the other side of the coin I root for the underdogs ducati.

jake, i like ya and enjoy that you like talking racing but sometimes i think your smoking grass:lol: calling ducati an underdog? whatever, they ARE world sbk, hell for several years it was the ducati cup over there. they have always had top notch riders (foggy,bayliss,haga) they have always had a displacement advantage, & good factory backing. there is no way they are an underdog, kawasaki on the other hand :lol: ya id say under underdog, im very disappointed that they cannot get it together & i'll go as far as saying they prob will NEVER get it together either. but hey its a good street bike i guess
Amen brotha.
 
#17 ·
What makes a killer streetbike doesn't make a killer racebike in all cases. Furthermore, there are more differences between a stock 2010 zx10 and the WSBK zx10 than there are similarities. That said, I'm finding this year's WSBK hard to get into. There are no Kawi's in the unt to root for, nor any Americans. I [kinda] like Mad Max, and Xaus, but Xaus is so far out of contention, and it's kinda boring watching Max run equal in the corners then pass on the straights. It was a good race last weekend, but still not nearly as exciting as some other racing I watched (Supercross). I also agree about the stupid BMW touting. Hell, I work for a BMW dealer and I'm sick of hearing about how far they've come in two years - Ape is winning, and was on the podium last year - that's an accomplishment. Then the BMW fanbois will say "Aprilia's been in WSBk for years, it isn't their first true year." Sure, that may be. But, BMW has had the Boxer cup, and other race outings before. The fact of the matter is they have race team experience, just not in WSBK.

In any case, I'm looking forward to a Texas sweep in GP. It would be really cool to see the Americans rubbing elbows and physically making a presence at the races.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Masterlink..Ted Garlock, Im Not smoking grass jus have in somnia .lol. You have to excuse my lack of explination ,. What I mean when I reffer to Ducatis as UNDERDOGS, im talking in a Business sense where there very exsistance depends on winning races on Sunday to sell on monday as the saying goes . Without it they coudnt competewith the big 4 japanese companies advertising blitzes, cheaper knock off models, cash back incentives and below market rate finance. Ducatis success on the racetrack allows them a higher retail price , thus higher profit margin. easier said than done as they have to win races on a shoe string budget in comparison to the japanese big 4, with a 10th of the man power . Master lnk and Ted Garlock I have nothing but admeration for Ducati and Buell . Sadly only one company has survived but both are examples of companies that have the true passion of motorcycling in there souls . Thank God Harley bought MV Agusta instead of Ducati. They had serious negociations but deal fell through or the 1198s engine would have been in the .. D-rod chrome cruiser and the 1198 would have the 1978 air cooled ss750 engine lol. ( anyone remember the Ducati Indiana ?.. if Ducati Brandon sees that bike he will go blind lol)
 
#22 ·
,. What I mean when I reffer to Ducatis as UNDERDOGS, im talking in a Business sense where there very exsistance depends on winning races on Sunday to sell on monday as the saying goes . Without it they coudnt competewith the big 4 japanese companies advertising blitzes, cheaper knock off models, cash back incentives and below market rate finance. Ducatis success on the racetrack allows them a higher retail price , thus higher profit margin. easier said than done as they have to win races on a shoe string budget in comparison to the japanese big 4, with a 10th of the man power . )
I understand what you mean in a business sense. You're right that the big 4 japanese are much larger retail operations than Ducati is. However, I would be willing to bet that Ducati's racing division is larger than both Kawasaki and Suzuki, and probably equal to Honda and Yamaha - considering all of the big four have their feet in racing other than street bikes. In other words, Ducati may be the smallest company, but I bet they have more people and investment dollars in roadracing than any other motorcycle company. The only equalizer for the japanese brands is the fact that they have spread their funding across other racing efforts (ATV, MX, Watercraft, etc.).
 
#24 ·
team green is tail end charlie again this season, oh well there is always next year:lol:
 
#26 · (Edited)
VR6 Cudos for sticking to your guns with the Biaggi pick. Biaggi is a hall of famer to be sure . Great rider but you can see his age on the race track. No disrespect, hes 10 times the rider that Ive ever been .VR6 might still pull the upset win on here with Biaggi winning the title in 2010.That being said..it does make you wonder just how good is the Aprilla ? I wouldnt be suprised if its the best WSB on the track hands down . I picked REA because of his strong showing last year and banked on Honda taking loss personal and going after Yamahas title. If MR Honda was still kicking you could bet the ranch Honda would have WSB paddock FILLED with engineers after losing to thier arch rival Yamaha.

AS far as supersport I wish speed network would air the 1000cc supersport class. The zx10 does well in the class and you get to see all the manufactures competing . KTM has entered the RC8 which has the best platform base for a twin race engine in the literbike class( yes Ducati is better now but at end of delopment , KTM engine more technology but new ) so im keeping a close eye on them this year.
 
#27 ·
TED I was Talking to my Accountant who is a life long , die hard Ferarri enthusiast. Sold his soul to buy a yellow Ferrari california ? looks good but not very ferarrish, sound is good speed is lacking compared to a sportbike . Anyway he was looking into HOW Ferrari funded such a expencive endevor (500million dollar year race Budget ?) because even taking outside sponsorship dollars in consideration(flash name recognition is only worth so much , especially in bad times .) the numbers dont add up unless the workers are volenteers , they use windmills for electric and dig there own iron ore on the property lol. Where there is smoke there is fire the people saying motor racing gets quietly funded by the italian govenment like we fund football stadiums, give tax breaks ect makes more sence , not that I think tax dollars should go to sports in either case . But then again we have all heard the italians go nuts over motor racing and both Ferarri and Ducati are not just companies but national institutions that rank up there with the Pope lol. ferarri and Ducati supposedly help one anouther and might get more money/help than we think .
 
#29 ·
Thats a good point jake, something Ive never considered actually. It costs ALOT of money to run an F1 team. Not to mention the Ferraris that run in other arenas of racing. While Im not sure about other "factory teams" as in F1, the numbers really wouldnt seem to jibe. Have you seen their facility? How can they be making making that much money?
:dontknow:
 
#28 · (Edited)
Hey Guys and Gals...I don't like this Title of this Thread and may change it. Please don't post race results in this thread during the season. If your not sure why you should read Rules and Sticky's in the RACE SECTION...key WORDS..CLUE TO RACE RESULTS..all though not in the same weekend it can be construed by the Title almost EVERY weekend is a Bad weekend for Kawi. I will re-visit this thread later.

Thanks,

bloo
 
#31 ·
master link yu are correct on Kawasakis PR campain this year. Kawasaki said thiswas going to be a Full on effort . Looking at Kawasakis racing efforts from DAY1 till the present , you can almost see the market research dept looking for instant gains on the sales floor before they will commit to greater funding as if racing works like a retail advertizing campain . And as you know thats not how it works. Its more for reputation for a quality product for dependabilty and performance , which down the road creates consumer confidence in turn increasing sales .Honda Yamaha and Suzuki ducati and Aprilla ALL have CEOs, board members who are apassionate about the SPORT of racing . Kawasaki itself is also but the Parent company KHI doesnt and they call the shots . MASTER LINK I agree!! Im sure Kawaski CAN build superior race machines , but without passion the question is WILL they commit to full on race effort, not justput a spin on press releases that LOOK like they are commited . The current riders Certainly have the talent to post better results .UNLESS the ZX-10s Frame is genuinely has a inherant design flaw which has been stated here ( The ZX10 frame rails come up and over front of engine instead of around entire engine like all the other liter bikes) I THINK the person that reseached this is an engineer so ill take his word on it , b ut im really curious if the 2011 chassis to copy the other manufactures set up. HAS ANYONE SEEN A SNEEK PEEK AT THE 2011 ZX10??
 
#32 ·
Jake i still think its the riders more than the bike, lets see, vermulen kicked ass a few years ago but has lost his edge, just look at his moto-gp career. tom sykes never did much on the yamaha last year & roger hayden can ride a 600 but iv never seen him master a litre bike. im with you on the whole frame thing too, if the new aprilla, bmw, & cross-plane R1 can come out and get good results why cant the 10R? why did the zx-7R do so good for years but the 10 cant? why dont they make a modern zx7R with a 10R engine:idea:
 
#34 ·
Why did the zx-7R do so good for years but the 10 cant? why dont they make a modern zx7R with a 10R engine:idea:
:+1: Great idea, that may work. But I don't understand how Kawi is doing well in WorldSuperSport w/ Lascorz on the ZX6R, but they cant get it right w/ the 10R. :dontknow:
 
#33 ·
The rumour goes that the engine is misplaced in the frame. I'm not so sure about that, cause the bike has the same ref. points as any other manufactor out there. Wheelbase, rake etc etc. BUT what I'm reading here is that maybe the frame do not handle flex and stress good enough compared to the competition? I don't know, but one thing I know, is that I'm getting frustrated of the bad results in WSBK. I had a hope that this was the year that they might be consistently among the top 6.
 
#39 ·
Hayden read down further . I was using the term underdog in refferance to team size and Funding being Ducati is such a small company compared to the Japanese companies . Although italy had the most fededicated Zelot motorsport fans in the world with Government subsidizing motorsports with the blessing of the Italian people. ( so team budget numbers a bit Fuzzy ) The french on the other hand, where pissed when Renault assertained government subsidies to stay afloat yet still funded race teams.
 
#42 ·
Master I agree that Kawasaki Could be a force in WSB or even MotoGP. Im sure Kawasaki itself ( the subsiderary) has the talent and will but gets gets its legs chopped off underneath them by corporate (KHI) when they dont produce quickly. I dont have inside imformation of any sort , Im just speculating from the pattern Kawasaki has had over the years.
 
#43 ·
Its because were not being heard. I emaild Kawasaki telling my unhappiness with their results asking for a explanation on why I should continue to buy their bikes, although as a racer I think they are the best stock race platform for a club racer, and big surprise : no answer. I propose we setup a few organized days to flood their email boxes stating how much we love the brand but that we want a full racing effort so we don't have to make anymore excuses. anyone in? By the way Chris was riding the crap out of that bike and Im proud of him for his effort but he just pushed too hard.
 
#44 ·
im in and i like your style. im not surprised you didnt get a response, BUT i would be willing to say that the boys at KHI look into the forums (.net especially) and have to understand how annoying it is to watch team green struggle each week. ill email them until they win or send a little green ninja to kill me:mrgreen:.
 
#46 ·
well another terrible weekend for kawasaki world superbike, please kawasaki quit so you can stop embarrasing yourselves in front of everybody, then start over & come up with somebody that can ride!!!!! yes it will cost alot more but will be worth it in the end, this weekends performance was hidious
 
#47 ·
I agree. You would think DePuniet was out there crashing for us. Problem is we need good riders to WANT to ride for Kawi and that aint happening right now.
 
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