Scott Russell - Embarrassment to motorcycle racing
SVrider
> Then in the race of course the bike has problems. Or does it? Ok, so
> it probably did. But what kind of prick just gets off the bike and
> walks away from the pit area?? He has NO interest in racing this thing
> and it's so painfully obvious.
>
> Man, I'm just so sick of him acting like a baby. I wish Harley had
> canned his ass last year. He's an embarrassment to the sport and
> has no place in professional racing. I can't believe he's a former
> champion.
>
> Right now he's a "has been" and not much else.
Someone said he made the statement" that he likes riding for Harley, but he
wants to win". I believe he was lured with a lot of money, but can't stand
the idea of not winning. He needs to be somewhere else, riding for someone
else. Pascal Picotte did a credible job in ninth, I believe, and I heard he
signed for four more years. I still don't believe Harley cares if they win
Daytona (just my opinion). Seems like with their money and reputation, they
could get someone to design a bike that could win by now and hire the best
to ride it.
hobgoblin
Tim
97 F3
Erik Astrup <eas...@mother.com> wrote in message
news:38d36841...@news.swbell.net...
> Did anyone see his interview on ESPN2 on Saturday? That was during the
> pre-race show. Un-freaking-belieable. This guy has some nerve.
>
> Then in the race of course the bike has problems. Or does it? Ok, so
> it probably did. But what kind of prick just gets off the bike and
> walks away from the pit area?? He has NO interest in racing this thing
> and it's so painfully obvious.
>
> Man, I'm just so sick of him acting like a baby. I wish Harley had
> canned his ass last year. He's an embarrassment to the sport and
> has no place in professional racing. I can't believe he's a former
> champion.
>
> Right now he's a "has been" and not much else.
>
> Very sad.
>
>
> ---------------------------------------
> Erik Astrup - Team Iguana Racing (Ret)
> 1995 Triumph Tiger
> 1997 Triumph Speed Triple
> "It's such a fine line between stupid and...And clever."
> http://www.mother.com/~eastrup/
> ---------------------------------------
--Q--
looser.
He slashed his own throat when he signed with Harley. (looser) Also being
such an idiot to get into a bar-brawl before the race last year , and beat
up enough not to be able to fit a helmet on his FAT head. (idiot) -Not to
mention the poor sportsmanship like he has shown today-. (idiot looser)
Unless he gets on with another team (like one that can win) he is history.
Make way for new blood. Pretty cool second place finish today A ?
Erik Astrup
dataway
he just was getting fed up being back in the field even though he is "Mr.
Daytona". I think Harley could put in a little more effort but Russell
should have thought about that before he took their two million dollars. I
give Pascal a lot of credit for sticking it out. I agree completely, it's
easy to be a good guy when things go your way, you can tell a real champion
by how they act when things stop going their way.
Johnny B
Erik Astrup wrote in message <38d36841...@news.swbell.net>...
Henry Smeltz
won't build a winner and Scott wants a bike he can win on. Nothing wrong
with that. He's just on the wrong team. I think it was a combination of big
money and a new challenge that put him where he is. He should probably hang
it up now.
As for Nickie Haydon: Yeah that boy can ride. He hangs that backend out into
the conners like I've never seen. You'd think it was a dirt track. Did
anybody see his ride at Sear Point two years ago in the 600 race? He and
Miguel going at it hammer and tong. It was the best race I've ever seen.
Scary Fast
Historically, a by product of racing has been the ability to use it as
a medium for promoting your vehicles. Hence the phrase won on Sunday,
sold on Monday.
I can see why Suz/Yam/Hon/Duc/Kaw would want to spend $$$$ on racing.
Their track bikes have siblings that are on every showroom floor from
coast to coast.
Does Harley make a production version of their race bike? No.
Do the sportbike riders want to buy a Harley? Possibly, but it won't
be a replica of the track bike, and it will be used for a purpose
other than carving their favorite canyon
So if they can not use the track as a venue to promote their product,
what the hell are they doing? And why would Ford with their $$$ want
to back a team like Harley?
Just something to think about....
Troy Hilton
SVrider <tom...@email.msn.com> wrote in message
news:uVos9KKj$GA.244@cpmsnbbsa03...
>
> > Then in the race of course the bike has problems. Or does it? Ok, so
> > it probably did. But what kind of prick just gets off the bike and
> > walks away from the pit area?? He has NO interest in racing this thing
> > and it's so painfully obvious.
> >
> > Man, I'm just so sick of him acting like a baby. I wish Harley had
> > canned his ass last year. He's an embarrassment to the sport and
> > has no place in professional racing. I can't believe he's a former
> > champion.
> >
> > Right now he's a "has been" and not much else.
>
he
> wants to win". I believe he was lured with a lot of money, but can't stand
> the idea of not winning. He needs to be somewhere else, riding for someone
> else. Pascal Picotte did a credible job in ninth, I believe, and I heard
he
> signed for four more years. I still don't believe Harley cares if they
win
> Daytona (just my opinion). Seems like with their money and reputation,
they
> could get someone to design a bike that could win by now and hire the best
> to ride it.
>
not sure) and he admitted that there was no way they could win at Daytona
since they've spent most of the off-season working on suspension mods and
*no time* working on the engine to develope more power. How disheartening.
Could you imagine being the racer for a team and having your team rep or
whatever telling the public(via ESPN2) that you *can't* win? Geez, I'd want
to walk away too. They don't plan on making any engine mods til about half
way thru the season, or something like that. What a shame. I think Russel
wants to win more than Harley does.
Troy
Larry
this was with Ducati deciding to run at full power, and not "detuning" for
reliability, as they apparently used to do at Daytona. Losing by 11/1000s
of a second on the debut race of a brand new bike tells me that Honda Racing
Corp. is taking this very seriously.
If DuHamel didn't have the kink in his neck, it might have been even more
interesting.
Although, HRC is going to need to wring a bit more power out of the bike.
Chandler went by DuHamel too easily, and even Mladin on the GSXR seemed to
outpower the RC-51. I don't know if that was because of the broken exhaust
that Hayden had, or if the RC-51 is just a bit weaker........
Larry
Duc 98 Monster 900
RC-51 being built somewhere.
--Q-- <mtk...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Wm%y4.2240$zd.6...@news.uswest.net...
> Being a winner and not be -able- to win . hmm .... I would call this a
> looser.
> He slashed his own throat when he signed with Harley. (looser) Also being
> such an idiot to get into a bar-brawl before the race last year , and beat
> up enough not to be able to fit a helmet on his FAT head. (idiot) -Not to
> mention the poor sportsmanship like he has shown today-. (idiot looser)
> Unless he gets on with another team (like one that can win) he is history.
> Make way for new blood. Pretty cool second place finish today A ?
>
> "Erik Astrup" <eas...@mother.com> wrote in message
> news:38d36841...@news.swbell.net...
> > Did anyone see his interview on ESPN2 on Saturday? That was during the
> > pre-race show. Un-freaking-belieable. This guy has some nerve.
> >
> > Then in the race of course the bike has problems. Or does it? Ok, so
> > it probably did. But what kind of prick just gets off the bike and
> > walks away from the pit area?? He has NO interest in racing this thing
> > and it's so painfully obvious.
> >
> > Man, I'm just so sick of him acting like a baby. I wish Harley had
> > canned his ass last year. He's an embarrassment to the sport and
> > has no place in professional racing. I can't believe he's a former
> > champion.
> >
> > Right now he's a "has been" and not much else.
> >
Doordog
>to back a team like Harley?
Ford doesn't race to lose. Right now Ford is the only manufacturer that races
in just about every venue. They spend mondo bucks and they eventually win.
They won in F1, (Bennington) Nascar, (Jarrett) CART, (Andretti) NHRA, (Force).
I would say their track record says they will back a winner in WSB.
Ron
Erik Astrup
>What did he say in the interview?
The one classic line was about how his incident last year
(him getting decked and not being able to ride)
"was probably better than me coming here and riding around to get 10th or
somethin'."
His whole attitude during the interview was so clearly "This bike
sucks, I don't have a chance, I just want to go home."
Winners don't talk like that.
Troy Hilton
dataway <dat...@global2000.net> wrote in message
news:KK_y4.6792$oN5.1...@tw11.nn.bcandid.com...
> I actually got the feeling there was nothing specific wrong with the bike,
> he just was getting fed up being back in the field even though he is "Mr.
> Daytona". I think Harley could put in a little more effort but Russell
> should have thought about that before he took their two million dollars. I
> give Pascal a lot of credit for sticking it out. I agree completely, it's
> easy to be a good guy when things go your way, you can tell a real
champion
> by how they act when things stop going their way.
> Johnny B
>
>
> Erik Astrup wrote in message <38d36841...@news.swbell.net>...
> >pre-race show. Un-freaking-belieable. This guy has some nerve.
> >
> >Then in the race of course the bike has problems. Or does it? Ok, so
> >it probably did. But what kind of prick just gets off the bike and
> >walks away from the pit area?? He has NO interest in racing this thing
> >and it's so painfully obvious.
> >
> >Man, I'm just so sick of him acting like a baby. I wish Harley had
> >canned his ass last year. He's an embarrassment to the sport and
> >has no place in professional racing. I can't believe he's a former
> >champion.
> >
> >Right now he's a "has been" and not much else.
> >
> >Very sad.
> >
attitutde) is simply their respective motives and vision of what the team is
trying to accomplish. Russel wants to win now. Pascal wants to develop a
winner, IMHO. True, Harley could do more, by their own admission they've
done nothing to boost hp on the bike which is sorely needed. However, if
you're looking for the long term results, I think that the partnering of
Harley and Ford has definite promise. Ford doesn't do anything in racing if
they aren't going to win. Plus, if Harley is using this race team to
possibly develop a whole new future market for them, then its just a matter
of time.
Russell needs to make a choice: leave to find a team to win with *now* or
stay and help develop a future winner.
Troy
dataway
them anymore than another make, they just don't make a bike I am interested
in at the moment. However, I'd love to see an American made high quality
sport bike that is competitive on a world (or even AMA) level. Jeez, we put
men on the moon you'd think we could design and build a winning bike. The US
is maturing as far as sports cars go, producing some of the best performance
for the dollar you can get but it seems there is just not the impetus to
build a sport bike. Hopefully Ford money will help, but you'd think Harley
has enough to do it on their own, hell they out sold Honda in the US this
year, and they sell a zillion more bikes than Ducati does. If you go back 40
to 50 years Harley was quite successful in all forms of bike racing, what
the hell happened to them. And most of the "bikers" I've talked to about it
would love to see Harley deeply involved in racing AND producing a viable
sportbike. If all the Harley types out there would start really supporting
the race effort and making their feelings known to those in power I'd bet
you start seeing some more attention given to the race program.
Johnny B
Doug Welty
by far the best funded race team and it shows in there finishes. I guess
that's why they're the golden goose that many racers would live to race
for.
> > > Did anyone see his interview on ESPN2 on Saturday? That was during the
> > > pre-race show. Un-freaking-belieable. This guy has some nerve.
> > >
> > > Then in the race of course the bike has problems. Or does it? Ok, so
> > > it probably did. But what kind of prick just gets off the bike and
> > > walks away from the pit area?? He has NO interest in racing this thing
> > > and it's so painfully obvious.
> > >
> > > Man, I'm just so sick of him acting like a baby. I wish Harley had
> > > canned his ass last year. He's an embarrassment to the sport and
> > > has no place in professional racing. I can't believe he's a former
> > > champion.
> > >
> > > Right now he's a "has been" and not much else.
> > >
> > > Very sad.
> > >
> > >
Doug Welty
Troy Hilton wrote:
.
> > >
> I think the difference between Russell and Pascal (aside from just a bad attitutde) is simply their respective motives and vision of what the team is trying to accomplish. Russel wants to win now. Pascal wants to develop a winner, IMHO. True, Harley could do more, by their own admission they've done nothing to boost hp on the bike which is sorely needed. However, if you're looking for the long term results, I think that the partnering of Harley and Ford has definite promise. Ford doesn't do anything in racing if they aren't going to win. Plus, if Harley is using this race team to possibly develop a whole new future market for them, then its just a matter of time. Russell needs to make a choice: leave to find a team to win with *now* or stay and help develop a future winner.>
Troy
I think from Russell's point of view, he only has a few years left
in his racing career, and it has to be driving him crazy that Harley
doesn't share his desire to win now. I'm sure he doesn't want to waste
the last few years of his career to develope a new factory team just to
let the new, up-and-coming riders enjoy the fruits that may come down
the line.
Doug
D. Yin
missed it. I was all hyped to catch the Australian F1 but missed the
Daytona race.
Anyone know when they're going to repeat??
On Mon, 13 Mar 2000 04:02:16 GMT, eas...@mother.com (Erik Astrup)
wrote:
Troy Hilton
Doug Welty <taz...@home.com> wrote in message
news:38CD462E...@home.com...
Yeah, from that point I can understand his frustrations. I wonder though,
when he struck the deal with Harley how was it all presented? Was it the
"we're going to do whatever it takes to win" speech or what? You know, the
say one thing-do the other type of deal. I do feel for the guy-to be on a
team that really isn't putting forth its best effort (IMO) to produce the
best race bike to compete, but still, he needs to work on his how he
presents/represents himself. Its one thing to PO'd at someone but there's a
right way and a wrong way to show it. The sad thing is that regardless of
how bad Harley may be as a factory team, he's looking like the bad guy.
Troy
Randy Hesser
Foggy's bike. He's had it, done in, whatever trite phrase for washed up you
want to use.
He won't win NOW and never will. His attitude will keep him from a ride on
any team of substance, so he'd better cut his losses and ride his XR 100 out
in his back yard.
Doug Welty wrote in message <38CD462E...@home.com>...
JC
Scary Fast <n2ra...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:38cd8015...@news.mindspring.com...
> Point taken, I am a Ford fan. Go 6, 88, 97, 16, 17, 99, etc.....I own
> 2 Fords, but that still does not answer the question as to why they
> would support Harley.
>
> Unless there is a political "Made in the USA" issue. Why would they
> want to invest millions in a team that gives them an "associate"
> sponsor size decal, on the bottom of the bike and may never get on the
> wood?
>
> I just seems to me that if Ford wanted to be associated with another
> venue of racing they would have done what Chevy did, and sponsored the
> whole damn series!
>
> JMHO
I think Ford recognizes the marketing value of being associated with H-D.
Geez, slap a Harley sticker on an F150 and it's gotta increase the price at
least 400%. =^)
John
Tom B.
> to 50 years Harley was quite successful in all forms of bike racing, what
> the hell happened to them.
They failed to keep pace with the competition.
It bugs the hell out of me that harley won't build the kind of bike I
want.
I haven't followed the road race bike but it seems like they have been
wasting time on that thing for 10 years. How long have they been trying
to make that thing go 5, 6 years or what?
Harley represented everything that was wrong with American industry.
At least our auto industry got it's act together.
Larry -xlax- Lovisone
Chevy's give you that get lucky feeling...
Larry
The Busy Little Shop
86 VF500F 5years belt driven...
94 RC45 http://www.rvators.com/larry/RC45/rc45.htm
Larry -xlax- Lovisone
Glenn S.
McDuffee) wrote:
>>> And why would Ford with their $$$ want
>>>to back a team like Harley?
>So they can sell more Ford trucks to Harley owners.
Because Ford knows that Harley riders need a truck to go get
their bikes off the side of the road!
Glenn Stephens
Portsmouth, VA
'86 CB450SC Nighthawk (Little Ole' Faithful)
95% of all Harleys are still on the road. The remaining 5% were
actually able to make it home under their own power.
Want to take a virtual Harley ride? Click this...
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/1382/html/hawg_ride.html#top
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Ninja 37
just get booted. I'm not a Harley fan but I have to feel bad for those
poor guys on the Harley race team. Can you imagine having to work with
him? Yikes...
Scary Fast
2 Fords, but that still does not answer the question as to why they
would support Harley.
Unless there is a political "Made in the USA" issue. Why would they
want to invest millions in a team that gives them an "associate"
sponsor size decal, on the bottom of the bike and may never get on the
wood?
I just seems to me that if Ford wanted to be associated with another
venue of racing they would have done what Chevy did, and sponsored the
whole damn series!
JMHO
Thanks
On 13 Mar 2000 17:31:20 GMT, doo...@aol.com (Doordog) wrote:
>> And why would Ford with their $$$ want
>>to back a team like Harley?
>
David Alexander
wrote:
>I was amazed at the second and fourth place finishes for the RC-51. And
>this was with Ducati deciding to run at full power, and not "detuning" for
>reliability, as they apparently used to do at Daytona. Losing by 11/1000s
>of a second on the debut race of a brand new bike tells me that Honda Racing
>Corp. is taking this very seriously.
>
>If DuHamel didn't have the kink in his neck, it might have been even more
>interesting.
>
>Although, HRC is going to need to wring a bit more power out of the bike.
>Chandler went by DuHamel too easily, and even Mladin on the GSXR seemed to
>outpower the RC-51. I don't know if that was because of the broken exhaust
>that Hayden had, or if the RC-51 is just a bit weaker........
Even though he didn't finish, I wouldn't discount the *strong*
performance by Troy Bayliss on his Duc. He was right there with Mat
and Nicky the whole time. He didn't go out with any kind of
mechanical failure, he simply made a mental mistake in a turn dropped
it. It looked as if he had as good a chance to win as the other two.
It was a real shame when he dumped it. In my less than significant
opinion the V&H Ducati team had a lot to feel positive about on
Sunday, discounting the crash.
F. George McDuffee
>> And why would Ford with their $$$ want
>>to back a team like Harley?
So they can sell more Ford trucks to Harley owners.
George
If Education is the answer, what was the question?
Jaxi
JC wrote:
I think Ford recognizes the marketing value of being associated with H-D.
> Geez, slap a Harley sticker on an F150 and it's gotta increase the price at
> least 400%. =^)
>
> John
Shhhhhh! Don't give em any idea. : )
Jaxi
Ignatius
n2ra...@mindspring.com wrote:
>
And why would Ford with their $$$ want to back a team like Harley?
>
> Just something to think about....
Harley is going to reciprocate by offering a Taurus NASCAR version of
the 2000 Fat Boy. It'll have a painted-on bumper, don a couple hundred
sponsor stickers, and will be tuned to sound almost, but not completely
unlike, a carburated push-rod V8.
Harley will also share learnings from the VR eingine to help Ford
squeeze another 45hp out of the Mustang.... In 2002, with present day
Camaro power (and the death of the Camaro itself) they'll introduce the
"Cam(e)ro" minikor offer it only as a rebadged V6 version. Vengence.
It's all about vengence.
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Henry Smeltz
"D. Yin" <do...@surfree.REMOVE_CAPS.com> wrote in message
news:38d047ba...@news.supernews.com...
> Was the Daytona race this past weekend??? Damn, I can't believe I
> missed it. I was all hyped to catch the Australian F1 but missed the
> Daytona race.
>
> Anyone know when they're going to repeat??
>
ESPN2 3/21/00 @ 02:00 EST and 4/5/00 @ 14:00 EST.
As posted on AMADirectlink. The times are tentative.
The 600 Super Sport is due to be aired:
ESPN2 3/18/00 @ 13:30 EST and 3/23/00 @ 15:00 EST.
The 750 SS / Buell Pro Thunder / 250 GP is scheduled for :
ESPN2 3/23/00 @ 13:00 EST and 3/24/00 @ 12:00 EST.
check out www.amacycle.org for more AMA race info.
Scary Fast
in Yuppiville has a Harley sticker on their soccer mom's Cherokee.
RRipn
David Alexander wrote in message ...
>performance by Troy Bayliss on his Duc. He was right there with Mat
>and Nicky the whole time. He didn't go out with any kind of
>mechanical failure, he simply made a mental mistake in a turn dropped
>it. It looked as if he had as good a chance to win as the other two.
>It was a real shame when he dumped it. In my less than significant
>opinion the V&H Ducati team had a lot to feel positive about on
>Sunday, discounting the crash.
>
How about that stupid reporter trying to interview Troy while he was pushing
his bike back to the pits? Even after an exhausted reply by Troy that he
couldn't talk now, the reporter still tried to get the interview. Troy
should have knocked him upside the head with his helmet.
Chris
Erik Astrup
>Ford doesn't do anything in racing if
>they aren't going to win.
Well, none of us know what kind of say they have in the program.
So we don't know what benefit it will have. It sure hasn't seemed to make
any difference so far. The bike is still slow, and seemingly as unreliable
as ever.
> Plus, if Harley is using this race team to
>possibly develop a whole new future market for them, then its just a matter
>of time.
How long will it take? This is year SEVEN for this bike.
>Russell needs to make a choice: leave to find a team to win with *now* or
>stay and help develop a future winner.
No one in their right mind would hire this guy. He's burned his bridges
with pretty much everyone. He's a has been and should have retired a year
ago. (Or earlier)
Just my .02
Erik Astrup
>Was the Daytona race this past weekend??? Damn, I can't believe I
>missed it. I was all hyped to catch the Australian F1 but missed the
>Daytona race.
Do people really watch F1 car racing on TV? I had a big party last weekend
for the 200. (Three days long!) And some of my buddies are F1 fans. They
asked me to put the race on. Ok, what the hell.
Good lord. No passing. No nuthin'. We watched them go around by themselves
for nearly 2 hours. A couple of cars broke down, that changed the leader
board. Weeeee! I think we saw three passes, and they weren't very exciting.
Timing the pit stops was exciting. Well, sort of. :P
>Anyone know when they're going to repeat??
They don't repeat it as far as I know. To bad ya missed it, it was one of
the best Daytona races I've ever seen. They were hard at it from the green
flag to the checker.
D. Yin
corners. And the sound of the engines going by at 17+k rpms is music
to my ears, similar to your comments about the sound of GP bikes. I
also enjoy the on-board camera views. Too bad they don't do that for
the cycle races, or do they?
On Wed, 15 Mar 2000 03:52:42 GMT, eas...@mother.com (Erik Astrup)
wrote:
>On Mon, 13 Mar 2000 19:56:52 GMT, in alt.motorcycle.sportbike you wrote:
Do Yin -*- 1998 Honda F3
Remove "REMOVE_CAPS" in address to reply
Erik Astrup
Yin) wrote:
>Even through a television I can appreciate how fast they rail around
>corners. And the sound of the engines going by at 17+k rpms is music
>to my ears, similar to your comments about the sound of GP bikes. I
>also enjoy the on-board camera views. Too bad they don't do that for
>the cycle races, or do they?
They usually do. Well, Speedvision does.
Once the rest of the AMA season gets going it will be covered
by Speedvision. They always have at least one bike with a camera
on board. Sometimes two.
ESPN2 put one camera on some back marker. We got footage from that for
one shot. Then the guy went out of the race.
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Erik Astrup - http://www.mother.com/~eastrup/
1995 Triumph Tiger - 1997 Triumph Speed Triple
Team Iguana Racing (Ret!)
'Oh, Lord, bless this thy hand grenade that with it thou
mayest blow thy enemies to tiny bits, in thy mercy.'
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Henry Smeltz
"Henry Smeltz" <hasm...@hydrosoft.net> wrote in message
news:lcsz4.1934$I5.1...@typhoon2.gnilink.net...
>
> "D. Yin" <do...@surfree.REMOVE_CAPS.com> wrote in message
> news:38d047ba...@news.supernews.com...
> > missed it. I was all hyped to catch the Australian F1 but missed the
> > Daytona race.
> >
> >
> ESPN2 3/21/00 @ 02:00 EST and 4/5/00 @ 14:00 EST.
> As posted on AMADirectlink. The times are tentative.
> The 600 Super Sport is due to be aired:
> ESPN2 3/18/00 @ 13:30 EST and 3/23/00 @ 15:00 EST.
> The 750 SS / Buell Pro Thunder / 250 GP is scheduled for :
> ESPN2 3/23/00 @ 13:00 EST and 3/24/00 @ 12:00 EST.
> check out www.amacycle.org for more AMA race info.
>
www.ama-cycle.org
Erik Astrup
>
>How about that stupid reporter trying to interview Troy while he was pushing
>his bike back to the pits? Even after an exhausted reply by Troy that he
>couldn't talk now, the reporter still tried to get the interview. Troy
>should have knocked him upside the head with his helmet.
No, he did exactly the right thing. Politely tell him,
"Not now". It made the reporter look the fool.
David Alexander
wrote:
>Then in the race of course the bike has problems. Or does it? Ok, so
>it probably did. But what kind of prick just gets off the bike and
>walks away from the pit area?? He has NO interest in racing this thing
>and it's so painfully obvious.
Has there been any further info about what the supposed problems were?
Erik Astrup
wrote:
>>Then in the race of course the bike has problems. Or does it? Ok, so
>>it probably did. But what kind of prick just gets off the bike and
>>walks away from the pit area?? He has NO interest in racing this thing
>>and it's so painfully obvious.
>
>Has there been any further info about what the supposed problems were?
It turns out there were problems, no question. In fact the AMA was
getting ready to black flag him.
The mechanic said -
"I'm not exactly sure what happened. There was something
mechanical, but I don't know what it was."
"He did have an electrical problem with the shifter switch, and
that's why he slowed. But then he realized what it was and
turned it off, and went back to speed. After that happened
something else went."
"The performance of the motorcycle degraded over time, about
four laps. It wasn't an instant. It was slowing, and the AMA said
they were going to black flag (him). They asked us to call him in,
but he came in on his own."
(Source - amasuperbike.com)
Outer Tiger
eas...@mother.com wrote:
[snip]
> Then in the race of course the bike has problems. Or does it? Ok, so
> it probably did. But what kind of prick just gets off the bike and
> walks away from the pit area?? He has NO interest in racing this thing
> and it's so painfully obvious.
You're absolutely right, Eric. Watching him act that way made me sick at
my stomach. We're talking about a guy who, just a few years back, had
enough hunger and desire to pick his wadded bike up off of the track,
start it back up and then go on to win the race. Now he's just a whiny,
pathetic, piss bag with no racer left inside of him.
> Man, I'm just so sick of him acting like a baby. I wish Harley had
> canned his ass last year. He's an embarrassment to the sport and
> has no place in professional racing. I can't believe he's a former
> champion.
Meanwhile, young lions like Nick Hayden are beating the hell out of him,
while drones on about what he deserves and what a great racer he is.
Bloody.
> Right now he's a "has been" and not much else.
Here's hoping he'll turn himself around.
Regards,
Timothy V. Kreitz, Lead Illustrator/Designer
Genius Graphics & Multimedia, Ltd.
Website: http://users.apex2000.net/kungfumonk
------------------------------------------
"The Durango '95 purred away real horroshow.
A nice warm vibraty feeling all through your guttiwuts."
David Alexander
wrote:
>On Thu, 16 Mar 2000 02:43:11 GMT, David Alexander <na...@pobox.com>
>wrote:
>
>>>Then in the race of course the bike has problems. Or does it? Ok, so
>>>it probably did. But what kind of prick just gets off the bike and
>>>walks away from the pit area?? He has NO interest in racing this thing
>>>and it's so painfully obvious.
>>
>>Has there been any further info about what the supposed problems were?
>
>It turns out there were problems, no question. In fact the AMA was
>getting ready to black flag him.
>
>The mechanic said -
>
>"I'm not exactly sure what happened. There was something
>mechanical, but I don't know what it was."
>
>"He did have an electrical problem with the shifter switch, and
>that's why he slowed. But then he realized what it was and
>turned it off, and went back to speed. After that happened
>something else went."
>
>"The performance of the motorcycle degraded over time, about
>four laps. It wasn't an instant. It was slowing, and the AMA said
>they were going to black flag (him). They asked us to call him in,
>but he came in on his own."
>
>(Source - amasuperbike.com)
Thanks for the update. That report at least partially vindicates his
behavior if you ask me.
hog...@webtv.net
$$ to ride, but not give him a better bike ...
hog...@webtv.net
chrome strip on it... its all about being a poser isn't it ?
David Stephen
you enjoy paying stupid amounts of money for an under-engineered motorcycle
with no power (even with a Stage II kit), and spaghetti-like handling.
No thanks, I have ridden most of the 1999 lineup and was dissappointed with
almost all of them. I will take my ZX11 any day!
hog...@webtv.net wrote in message
<13417-38...@storefull-155.iap.bryant.webtv.net>...
Erik Astrup
>>Why? He was an embarrassment to Yamaha too.
>I seem to remember a whole lot of magazines with cover pictures of Russell
>winning Daytona on a Yamaha. I imagine that might temper their embarassment a
>bit.
They were very happy that he won Daytona for them. Sure. But when the
time came to renew his contract he was asked to not come back.
That speaks volumes about what Yamaha thought of him.
>I think Russells only salvation this late in his career would have been if
>someone at Kawasaki had wanted him to pair with Doug Chandler. Of course that
>would have negated any excuses he might have had too. tim
I don't think he's capable of winning on anything anymore. Haga showed
the old YZF still had podium finishes left in it, and Russell went
backwards on it.
His deliberate crashing of the bike at Laguna was the final straw I
think.
Michael Lamb
I saw a Daytona race where Scott lowsided on lap two picked the bike up and
went on to win the race. Also, Pascal is no slouch. I think the bike just
sucks. I don't think one of the Hayden boys could win on that thing. Too bad,
it would be nice to see Harley in the winner circle.
dataway wrote:
> I actually got the feeling there was nothing specific wrong with the bike,
> he just was getting fed up being back in the field even though he is "Mr.
> Daytona". I think Harley could put in a little more effort but Russell
> should have thought about that before he took their two million dollars. I
> give Pascal a lot of credit for sticking it out. I agree completely, it's
> easy to be a good guy when things go your way, you can tell a real champion
> by how they act when things stop going their way.
> Johnny B
>
> Erik Astrup wrote in message <38d36841...@news.swbell.net>...
> >Did anyone see his interview on ESPN2 on Saturday? That was during the
> >pre-race show. Un-freaking-belieable. This guy has some nerve.
> >
> >Then in the race of course the bike has problems. Or does it? Ok, so
> >it probably did. But what kind of prick just gets off the bike and
> >walks away from the pit area?? He has NO interest in racing this thing
> >and it's so painfully obvious.
> >
> >Man, I'm just so sick of him acting like a baby. I wish Harley had
> >canned his ass last year. He's an embarrassment to the sport and
> >has no place in professional racing. I can't believe he's a former
> >champion.
> >
> >Right now he's a "has been" and not much else.
> >
> >Very sad.
Michael Lamb
public to be raced in AMA superbike
Scary Fast wrote:
> I am not sure why Harley even races in a sportbike class?!?!
>
> Historically, a by product of racing has been the ability to use it as
> a medium for promoting your vehicles. Hence the phrase won on Sunday,
> sold on Monday.
>
> I can see why Suz/Yam/Hon/Duc/Kaw would want to spend $$$$ on racing.
> Their track bikes have siblings that are on every showroom floor from
> coast to coast.
>
> Does Harley make a production version of their race bike? No.
>
> Do the sportbike riders want to buy a Harley? Possibly, but it won't
> be a replica of the track bike, and it will be used for a purpose
> other than carving their favorite canyon
>
> So if they can not use the track as a venue to promote their product,
> what the hell are they doing? And why would Ford with their $$$ want
dataway
else? Believe it or not I heard the bike was homologated for WSB in Poland
or something however they've never raced it in WSB. I'd be very curious to
know the details of the street homologated version of the VR1000. Far as I
know HD has never sold a water cooled, fuel injected, four valve, overhead
cam, 75 degree V to anyone anywhere for use on the street, or for that
matter for use anywhere including the track. The only VRs I've ever seen or
heard of were factory bikes. I'm wondering how they worked that out with the
AMA, I'm betting there is an exception for US produced bikes.
Johnny B
Michael Lamb wrote in message <38D712C...@wans.net>...
Walter Barlow
> I am not sure why Harley even races in a sportbike class?!?!
1) HD has a strong racing heritage and some people there like to race
2) It's a good place to learn a lot of things
3) It's a way to keep talented engineers interested and loyal
4) It's a way to stay involved in a market segment that, while not
currently important to them, might be at some time in the future
Don't discount what HD is doing; they are not stupid people who can't
compete at this level (even though it may look like it). For a little
historical perspective, Honda faced a much stronger bias when they
started racing GPs in the late 50's and early 60's. They progressed much
faster because they very much wanted to start selling into a market that
valued performance and made a broad corporate commitment. HD isn't at
that corporate commitment level point. Yet.
> Historically, a by product of racing has been the ability to use it as
> a medium for promoting your vehicles. Hence the phrase won on Sunday,
> sold on Monday.
This supports my point somewhat. The VR program allows HD to wave the
flag (albeit weakly) for their owners. Even though purchase decisions
may not be made on how HD does in roadracing, it does give them a
presence.
> I can see why Suz/Yam/Hon/Duc/Kaw would want to spend $$$$ on racing.
> Their track bikes have siblings that are on every showroom floor from
> coast to coast.
> Does Harley make a production version of their race bike? No.
Well, it was homologated in Poland; but at $50k a pop, it's not a
casual purchase :-)
Several years ago, I met a HD exec at the Elkart Lake roadrace who had a
Wisconsin registered VR. Pretty nice bike in person (and at $50k it
should be!). He let me sit on it and I _almost_ had him talked into
taking it for a ride: but I think the amount of drool I was dripping on
the bike screwed that up.
> Do the sportbike riders want to buy a Harley? Possibly, but it won't
> be a replica of the track bike, and it will be used for a purpose
> other than carving their favorite canyon
> So if they can not use the track as a venue to promote their product,
> what the hell are they doing? And why would Ford with their $$$ want
> to back a team like Harley?
I'm not privy to what HD will ultimately do in this space or how much a
replica might actually be built. But I suspect that there is at least a
good sized market for a HD sportbike that they will tap as soon as they
think it makes sense. The numbers of Buell sold seems to support that
there is at least some market out there. And as far as use is concerned:
based on how much fresh sidewall rubber I see on the majority of
sportbikes it doesn't look like too many of them get used for their
intended purpose either. But that's missing a lot of the point- which is
selling product. There's a tendency among sportbike riders to think that
sportbiking is more "pure" than cruising. Trust me, not all posing takes
place on bikes that have forward foot controls.
As to why Ford is involved- easy: HD has one of the most powerful brand
names on the planet and Ford is trying to leverage that to sell more of
their products. In automotive terms of spending, it's a small absolute
number and an excellent investment.
> Just something to think about....
Yeah, do that :-)
regards,
Walter Barlow
PS: just so you don't think that I'm a HD apologist who accidentally
stumbled into this newsgroup to do some trolling, I guess I should
mention that I don't own, and have never owned, a HD (or any other type
of cruiser) and don't particularly like most of them.
Lloyd Reed
do they sell it?
Lloyd
LT250R
1200 Bandit
LOReed at email dot msn dot com
Michael Lamb wrote in message <38D712C...@wans.net>...
>The VR1000 is based on a production model. The bike must be sold to the
>public to be raced in AMA superbike
>
>Scary Fast wrote:
>
>> I am not sure why Harley even races in a sportbike class?!?!
>>
>> Historically, a by product of racing has been the ability to use it as
>> a medium for promoting your vehicles. Hence the phrase won on Sunday,
>> sold on Monday.
>>
>> I can see why Suz/Yam/Hon/Duc/Kaw would want to spend $$$$ on racing.
>> Their track bikes have siblings that are on every showroom floor from
>> coast to coast.
>>
>> Does Harley make a production version of their race bike? No.
>>
>> Do the sportbike riders want to buy a Harley? Possibly, but it won't
>> be a replica of the track bike, and it will be used for a purpose
>> other than carving their favorite canyon
>>
>> So if they can not use the track as a venue to promote their product,
>> what the hell are they doing? And why would Ford with their $$$ want
>> to back a team like Harley?
>>
n2racingmindspring<dot>com
They have to run their own racing line so they don't drop oil on
everyone else's line.....
Snip snip
>heard of were factory bikes. I'm wondering how they worked that out with the
>AMA, I'm betting there is an exception for US produced bikes.
>Johnny B
>
Erik Astrup
wrote:
> Has been, yes but so is Freddie Spencer, Kenny Roberts Sr., and Wayne Rainey.
Sorry, but I would never put those three greats in the same sentence
as Russell.
Yeah, Spencer made some ill advised comebacks. He didn't know when to
quit. But he (and the others) were never the poor loser that Russell
has become.
>I saw a Daytona race where Scott lowsided on lap two picked the bike up and
>went on to win the race.
Yeah, we all saw that. It was Daytona. Where else could he
do that? :)
Im not questioning the fact that he WAS a very good rider. But
for the last few years he's done nothing but embarrass himself and the
teams.
>Also, Pascal is no slouch. I think the bike just sucks.
I agree. And the bike does suck. It has for nearly 7 years now.
Unforgivable.
>I don't think one of the Hayden boys could win on that thing. Too bad,
>it would be nice to see Harley in the winner circle.
Yep. I wonder what it will take.
Erik Astrup
wrote:
> This supports my point somewhat. The VR program allows HD to wave the
>flag (albeit weakly) for their owners.
I think after this year, the only flag you'll see them waving is the
white flag. It will then be seven years with no progress.
Time to call it quits.
Erik Astrup
<Spam...@Blow.me.edu> wrote:
>Yeah, but my question is what production model is is based on? And where
>do they sell it?
They supposedly homologated the bike (after getting an extension from
AMA) by building 200 of them and getting them legal for sale in Poland
of all places. I'm not clear on the AMA homologation rules, but I
thought they had to make them for sale in the USA. I guess not.
Best I can tell It's a big joke.
Kcult
seen the new HD edition F150? It was profiled in The USA Today some time
last year. It was no big deal, though. It is black. It has leather
everywhere, as well as HD logos. It also sports either 19" or 20" wheels.
MSRP: $22,000. The article said that research indicates that most HD owners
have trucks. Now, they can have their passion in the form of a truck. What
do you make of it?
Troy
'98 1100XX
--
Erik Astrup
Oh I saw it alright. What do I make of it?
More Harley marketing. Nothing more. Sell the yuppie
with the $24,000 hog a $22,000 truck he can carry it to
Daytona in.
Hell, I saw Harley under arm deodorant when I was in Europe. God only knows
what it smelled like.
Lloyd Reed
Erik Astrup wrote in message <38f4cfb9...@news.mcit.com>...
>On Tue, 21 Mar 2000 08:45:04 -0500, "Lloyd Reed"
><Spam...@Blow.me.edu> wrote:
>
>>Yeah, but my question is what production model is is based on? And where
>>do they sell it?
>
>They supposedly homologated the bike (after getting an extension from
>AMA) by building 200 of them and getting them legal for sale in Poland
>of all places. I'm not clear on the AMA homologation rules, but I
>thought they had to make them for sale in the USA. I guess not.
>
>Best I can tell It's a big joke.
>
>
Just like a joke, except without the funny part at the end...
I have trouble believeing that with all the resources at their disposal and
what seems to be a free hand to do whatever they want from the AMA, Harley
still can't build a racebike that is any more than an embarassment to
themselves. I guess they are too busy building pretty tractors to sell to
corporate attorneys.
I'd love to see Harley get into a sportbike program, they could do it
under the Buell name if they didn't want to *pollute* their cruiser lineup.
I for one would be very happy to have an American alternative sportbike.
The Buell is a nice start, but it doesn't do it for me. If they build a
bike that competes with the top Japanese sportbikes on price, performance,
and reliability then I'll happily buy it. They will have to give up the
paintshaker engine though. I suppose an inline 4 is too much to even dream
about from those guys, but there is more than one non-US maker building
great sportbikes using V twins, so that's plausible.
Oh well, I'll just keep waiting impatiently for my ZX-12R to arrive.
Lloyd Reed
SVrider
> Hell, I saw Harley under arm deodorant when I was in Europe. God only
knows
> what it smelled like.
>
>
> ---------------------------------------
> Erik Astrup - Team Iguana Racing (Ret)
And probably didn't work very long either!;0).
Martin Schuessler
>
> I see the group asking about Ford's involvement with HD. I assume no one has
> seen the new HD edition F150? It was profiled in The USA Today some time
> last year. It was no big deal, though. It is black. It has leather
> everywhere, as well as HD logos. It also sports either 19" or 20" wheels.
> MSRP: $22,000. The article said that research indicates that most HD owners
> have trucks. Now, they can have their passion in the form of a truck. What
> do you make of it?
And I thought the posers in the sportbike community were bad......
Martin
Brian Trerice
Martin Schuessler wrote in message <38D94224...@amd.com>...
hog...@webtv.net
get it done...
Erik Astrup
>when theirs a job that needs to be done and all others fail, Ford will
>get it done...
Really? Well, we're still waiting to see it happen.
Glenn S.
wrote:
>>when theirs a job that needs to be done and all others fail, Ford will
>>get it done...
>
>Really? Well, we're still waiting to see it happen.
Everyone knows that Ford is First On Race Day.
Glenn Stephens
Portsmouth, VA
'86 CB450SC Nighthawk (Little Ole' Faithful)
Only Bikers understand why dogs love to stick their heads out of car
windows.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Daniel
Glenn S. <Glenn...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:4c2lds0eg4rbsinjl...@4ax.com...
> On Thu, 23 Mar 2000 18:11:14 GMT, eas...@mother.com (Erik Astrup)
> wrote:
>
>
> Everyone knows that Ford is First On Race Day.
>
Also
Found On Road Dead
F*%@ed Over Rebuilt Dodge...
Daniel
'00 YZF600R
Austin, TX
(ex-ford and dodge owner...)
Scott
Daniel wrote in message ...
>
>Glenn S. <Glenn...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>news:4c2lds0eg4rbsinjl...@4ax.com...
>> On Thu, 23 Mar 2000 18:11:14 GMT, eas...@mother.com (Erik Astrup)
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>> Everyone knows that Ford is First On Race Day.
>>
>
>Also
>Found On Road Dead
>F*%@ed Over Rebuilt Dodge...
>
does well in other sports besides neckcar is because they buy decent
companies like cosworth. But harley is no cosworth.
>
Tuna_Boy
"SVrider" <tom...@email.msn.com> wrote in message
news:OM1QqGEl$GA.242@cpmsnbbsa03...
Andy
Jeff Magno
<hi...@ix.netcom.com> writes:
>Yeah, from that point I can understand his frustrations. I wonder though,
>when he struck the deal with Harley how was it all presented? Was it the
>"we're going to do whatever it takes to win" speech or what?
Heck, you could tell even last year, during the Daytona pregame show, that
Russell was not thrilled about having ended up at Harley. It must've been quite
a blow to his confidence to have in the space of one season gone from WSB
contender to AMA Superbike also-ran. And maybe at that level of any sport the
money a team is willing to pay you to ride is largely irrelevant but it's still
no fun to have to go out there and risk yer ass every weekend on a bike that
hasn't a hope in hell of being a front-runner.
Thanks,
Remove the 'x' to reply
Jeff Magno
(Scary Fast) writes:
>>I think Ford recognizes the marketing value of being associated with H-D.
>>Geez, slap a Harley sticker on an F150 and it's gotta increase the price at
>>least 400%. =^)
>>
>>John
>>
>>> I see the group asking about Ford's involvement with HD. I assume no one
>has
>>> seen the new HD edition F150? It was profiled in The USA Today some time
>>> last year. It was no big deal, though. It is black. It has leather
>>> everywhere, as well as HD logos. It also sports either 19" or 20" wheels.
>>> MSRP: $22,000. The article said that research indicates that most HD
>owners
>>> have trucks. Now, they can have their passion in the form of a truck.
>What
>>> do you make of it?
.I would bet that in the grand tradition of US car manufacturing it was nothing
more than a ordinary F150 but with a black&orange paint scheme and a bigass HD
logo on each door. And the timeless beauty of it all is that even though the
*HD signature package* probably ran the price of the truck up 3 grand there was
still folks lined up out the door and around the block waiting to buy one of
the damned things...lol..what's that old saying? "a fool and his money will
soon make thier way to a Harley dealership"?????
Frankly I'm glad that no US companies have been involved in manufacturing
sportbikes, at least not on the scale of the big 4. If it were up to them we'd
still be riding on spoked wheels and skinny tires and the brakes and shocks
would expire after two or three hot laps.
Thanks
