Do I think the Yamaha YZF450 was born bad? NO! I owned one, I rode a few, I worked on them. I give you that we have to have a different approach when working on it and setting it up. If you do whatever Suzuki did with the chassis on Dungey's RMZ450 in 2010, it would not work. Making a Yamaha like a chopper like RC/RD/RV's bikes can't work because you make the bike worse by doing that. There has less weight on the front end on the new generation of the YZF450 which results in having a light feel on the front. Light feel means that you could lose the front. Look at Bubba's bike in 2011, rock hard front forks, super soft rear shock and shock sag (measure of the length of the travel of the shock on the stand minus the same measure while sitting on the bike. Let's say 105mm is standard measure for SX) at well over 110mm… I am sure his bike felt like your Dodge Ram pickup truck in turns after 5 minutes of rain…
His 2012 set-up on the chassis looks way better. I notice that his bike is still pretty stiff but the balance looks better than 2011. Being stiff like Bubba is good for jumping and charging around the track but you have to be on the gas all the time to make your bike settle. I really think he made improvement on his bike this year but it still hurts his traction on both ends. Seems like he is on egg shells going in the turns and even on acceleration. Don't even start talking about the Pirelli/Dunlop tire fiasco. Tires are important but the set-up of his bike isn't helping his tire/traction feel. They are trying to put a band-aid to fix a broken bone, it isn't the solution. BUT the chassis isn't the only problem in my opinion…
After watching his GoPro Helmet Cam Video from the L.A. Main Event (RIGHT HERE), I noticed something about his engine. Dude, that bike sounds like a YZ125 running out of gas in Alaska in the winter? His bike sounds super lean, super aggressive an going thru the RPM way too fast. This bike isn't easy to ride, it's not linear, lacking torque and no throttle control. I am sure this engine is super bad ass on a Dyno but on a hard packed slick track with a winter dew? Rumors say that he started using 3rd gear on starts this weekend in LA. If true, it would make sense. His bike lights up way to much and way to fast to start in second. All he would do his spin the rear wheel or wheelie if he'd catch traction...
I really feel like his setup could be improve drastically in no time. You can see that it's not the same Bubba as before. Yes, you are going to tell me, he's still crashing… On that part you are right, but his genius moves, his super speed aren't shown really often these days. There is less and less sparks and awesomeness in his riding. When you see him get passed by Chad in the Main in L.A. (nothing against CR22, I thought he had one of his best races ever this weekend) but it's not the Bubba that we know. In his "A" days, he would have passed Weimer in 2 turns without knowing Jake was on the track. Haters will say he's done and will never win again but I say that his biggest competition this year is to make a controllable and efficient bike to show his full potential. If not, he can stop thinking of beating McGrath's 72 SX wins record and start thinking having fun turning left like Ricky Carmichael…
Someone should send the JGR guys this article. Maybe they will get the set up right and we can see the Bubba of old
ReplyDeletewow, I dont have the knowledge u have DV, but i admitt, Bubba is not like in the old days if you can speak about old. I thought his crashing was cause of Bubba going to fast the nike style .just do it. i never thought his bad results where cause of his bike. I do think Bubba is coming back strong. Dont think his day's are over. and to beat MC's Sx Record in SX i think its possible.
ReplyDeleteThis article is very interesting, and I agree completely with you DV, he is not the James Stewart of old. Take for example, his first year on Yamaha, even when he didn't really know the bike that well, he was passing people like they weren't even on the track. The way chad passed him at the LA supercross round was laughable, there is no way that would have happened without at least an attack from JS7, he let him just carry on.
ReplyDeleteGood article. But DV, what do you think he can do to make a better chassis? It looks like hes not happy with the bike, and this doubt about the bike is making him ride more carefully than we are used to see.
ReplyDeleteBon article.
ReplyDeleteMais peu familier de la langue de shakespeare, il y a des subtilités techniques que je n'ai pas très bien compris.
une petite traduction serait bien sympa.
Mais quand on y pense plutôt que de leur "filer" l'article j'imagine bien Mr DV12 chez JGRMX comme conseillé technique....
Spot on DV. I was watching an sx from 04, and all I could think was how sick he used to be. He tweeted after LA that "once they (the team) trusted each other that the bike would get better" I get the feeling that he's the one pushing the aggressive set up and J-Bone is trying to get more realistic set up
ReplyDeleteGood article but my thoughts are if he was so unhappy with the Yamaha last year why would he sign to ride the same bike this year. Yes he is on a different team but the bike is still the same bike. JGR can do some stuff to it but they can not reinvent the Yamaha if you don't like it from the first team what make him think it would be any different on a new team. If he wants to win he needs to change bikes. As for the records of MC he will NEVER beat them.
ReplyDeleteI think DV is spot on about the set-up. Question is what's been stopping them testing solution to have more weight on front wheel?
ReplyDeleteTres bon article DV, ça fait chier de voir autant de talent gaché par une moto mal reglé, essaie de prendre contact avec lui ou le team pour lui faire tester tes reglages sur leur track je suis sur qu'il gagnerai 1 sec. Well done.
ReplyDeleteBubba hit the ground several times pretty hard last year. I'm sure he is starting to think about that a little bit as he gets older. Not that he's old by any means, but the thoughts are starting to creep in there. He has built a nice life for him and his family and you can tell he is starting to enjoy his life a little more by just watching his tv show. It doesn't do him any good if he gets himself really injured and is not able to enjoy the rest of his life. I think he smart to back it down a notch and not kill himself.
ReplyDeleteje préfère Molière à Shakespeare, donc... Je partage la bonne qualité tecnique de l'article et le fait que Bubba est en difficulté avec Yam... Moins d'accord que sans changements draconiens, la situation aille s'améliorer. In my opinion James need a CRF: I saw a beautiful #22 CRF on e-bay !!!! Almost new and not so expensive !!! Alternatively, back to KYB and a new GET's map ! Marco from Bergamo
ReplyDeleteYou know what he needs DV? Your 2007 Honda/MDK motor...smooth yet juicy when you need it. He needs to worry less about how his bike handles the whoops and rhythm sections, and more about getting into and out of the corners quickly...
ReplyDeleteexpect a call from coy in the next few days offering a job.
ReplyDeleteAll great words!I think you're right!James, for me, is the most talented rider and dv's is right, at the moment, is not the James that everyone Knows.With the "normal" James yoy can see a pass on Jake Weimer in two turns actually, and a repass on Chad! :)
ReplyDeleteje suis d'accord avec marcobonomi, james était le plus rapide avec sa kxf, il n'est plus le même depuis qu'il roule avec la NOUVELLE yam. Tu dis que la yam est bien née, mais il roulait très bien en 2009 avec la précédente YZF, il a été champion alors que reed était en pleine bourre sur la suz non ? depuis 2010, c'est plus le même refrain, pourtant c'était la même équipe (SAN MANUEL) et Larry Brooks et ses gars n'ont pas fait n'importe quoi comme ça, en si peux de temps ! A mon avis, et c'est juste le mien, qu'elle soit bien née ou pas, la nouvelle YZF ne convient pas à Stewart.
ReplyDeleteCould not agree more. The bike apears to ride like something you'd see in the circus. It either spins, or (if James rides with the rear fender behind him)wheelies. It's not a good power displacement at all and like you said, a dyno test is uncomparable to an actaul track.
ReplyDeleteNot sure if you're still associated with Yamaha or not, but do you really not think the Yamaha 450 takes up a majority of the blame? We haven't witnessed Stewies speed for a while, (like you said)and I know there have been injuries etc. but look at 09. Back then, he was living up to the title he'd given himself: "Fastest man on the planet". 2010 comes round. Boop, nothing. I know there was the injury, but even prior to that, he wasn't his usual self on the track.
Seeing his move on Reed and Shorty at Phoenix, showed a glimpse of Bubba. But then it was gone..
Do you not think Yamaha, should just hook him up with a 2 smoker and see what he did? (I know from your reality of speed days, you may disagree, but hey..)
Moi ce qui m'epate le plus, c'est que Stewart est entoure d'un team d'experts (moteur, suspension etc..) qui ne sont sont surement pas completement idiots. Ils ont passe des heures, des jours avec Stewart, fait differents tests, essaye ci, essaye ca, obtenu des donnees informatiques ... bref, comme on dit en Anglais "you get the point". Et malgre ca, Stewart/JGR sont trop cons pour se payer les conseils d'EXPERTS (nos fameux internautes) qui ont vu de leurs yeux vu comment se comportait la moto et qui ont bien evidemment la solution (quote de DV:"I really feel like his setup could be improve drastically in no time"). Je ne suis pas forcement en desaccord avec tous ceux qui pensent que la Yam ne lui convient pas, mais les speculateurs et "problem solvers" me font doucement rigoler. Si la solution etait aussi simple que vous le pensez ... A bon entendeur, salut.
DeleteDV, Great analysis, thanks. Do you know if James has already tried the stiff carbon cylinder headstays or rotating the engine forwarding the frame?
ReplyDeleteGreat write-up, I'm normal visitor of one's blog, maintain up the excellent operate, and It's going to be a regular visitor for a long time.
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