Armen
Serious Thumper
Offline
Half-Witted Wrench-Jockey from Jersey
Posts: 1452
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Random thoughts: Read recently that the big death group has changed from snot nosed kids on killer sport bikes to graybeards with money buying fast bikes after not riding in decades. It used to be if you stepped away form the industry for a bit, the bikes got a little faster. Now if you step away for decades, the bikes might have 4 times the HP of the ones you used to ride. And your reflexes are much worse. Keith Code said that when he switched to the BMW S1000RR with all the fancy electronics (race ABS, traction control, etc), crashed rates dropped. A bud bought an S1000RR and marveled at how controllable and safe it was. Ride it Balls Out into a turn, grab brakes with a death grip, lean over a bunch, and gas it. Said it was amazing and safe. Then he crashed while racing overcooking a turn, spent $50K on a Medevac helicopter ride, and spent a LONG time recovering. Can't imagine the bike companies make much money selling bikes that become obsolete in 3 years. And have insano development budgets. Gotta figure that Triumph has made WAY more money on the Bonneville family than the sport bikes. Heavy, overbuilt, understressed, very slow to change, charge a premium price. And a bunch are made in Thailand. Compare the price and specs of a Bonnie and a 675 Street triple a few years ago. The triple gives Way more stuff for the same price as the twin. But then again, there has always been the marketing theory that the race winners bring the customers into the showroom, even if all they do is buy the more pedestrian bike. Look at HD with flat track over the decades. Racing bikes with no connection to their street bikes, but instilling brand loyalty and giving them a 'winner' they can identify with. More crazy numbers? In 1976 Udo Geitl was given $150K to build three BMWs and win the inaugural Superbike championship. Which he did. Five years later he was crew chief for team Honda, with the same mission and result.. That year Honda spent $10.5 MILLION on the team. The amount to win a championship now is even more staggering. Of course, there is huge amount of sponsorship money now. Back then they got a free parts and a few bucks. But, still, racing is crazy money.
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