| Author | Message | ||
     Crusty |
If a Buell was to win the Daytona 200, it would really get the attention of the target market segment, and sales would really escalate. Now, reputable sources say that the bikes are making horsepower that's equal to or better than the competition, so what's needed is a top caliber rider. I mean no offense to messrs. Barnes or Ciccotto, but they're not quite up to the level of Miguel DuHamel or Jake Zemke yet. Ben Bostrom is at loose ends right now, and he is capable of winning it. I wonder how much a rider of his caliber costs? Harley Racing is no longer being driven by true Enthusiasts like Dick O'Brien, now it's just a marketing ploy to sell Roaring Chicken performance accessories. After underfunding the VR racing effort for years , with the results to match, is there really any chance that a Buell effort will receive the funding to field a team with a realistic chance of winning the Big One? I really hope so. I would love to see a Buell win the Daytona 200. As much as I would love to see a successor to the S3-T. | ||
| Newfie_buell  |
Don't hold your breath Crusty?!? | ||
| Sandblast  |
I am holding my breath. That would be the coolest thing ever in the history of the world  . If yelling at your television helps the racers any, you can bet the Buells will be flying and I wont be able to talk for weeks. | ||
| Blake  |
I think Michael could do the job. I think Barnes could too, but he's now retired. John Haner? | ||
| Buells Rule! (Dyna in disguise)  |
Myself, Dana & Coolice will be there with front row seats to see if it happens. | ||
| Blake |
I was talking to Jeff Nash yesterday at the Dallas IMS. He doesn't know of any Ducati entries in FX next year, but has been pressing as much as he can to get one going. I suggested he might think about getting a grass roots Ducatista sponsored Duc FX fund drive going online. He estimates that he would need a minimum of $500,000 to run a competitive FX season. That's only $100 average from 5,000 Ducatista. I hope he does it; time is short, but not impossible. He said that the end of the year would be a drop-dead date for go/no-go. How about we think about doing the same thing for a Buell racer? | ||
| BadS1  |
What happened???There was a Duc this year in FX but not next year??? | ||
| Tripp  |
the red sox went from cursed to first anything is possible!!! | ||
| Blake |
The team that was racing the Duc in FX this year will be running a Suzuki next year. | ||
| BadS1 |
Wow didn't here that yet.And I thought Chandler wasn't doing all that bad this year first time out and all. | ||
| Sportsman |
GAD ZOOKS! I'ts pricey to run an AMA team. But a top level rider, properly funded, might have a chance. Bostrom with a 1 race deal from the Eric might upset some people, but I'd like to see it for the 200. | ||
| Court |
ear on tracks....may get hit by train, maybe not....but I am giving serious consideration to being at Daytona. Two years ago, the thought would have been great conversation. I'm seeing few obstacles these days. The ones that remain are the subject of some rather intense effort it seems. | ||
| Firebolt020283  |
wasnt it mr buells dream for one of his bikes to win daytona? | ||
| Crusty |
Dyna; you don't want a front row seat at Daytona. You want to sit as high in the stands as possible, or you won't be able to see very much of the Race. (You won't be able to see very much of the front straight!) The best area was just as the racers were entering the infield(Seagraves?). With the new changes to the track, there may be other locations as good. The track is too big to sit close. It's freakin' huge! I don't see how I can afford to get there this year, but if there's any way possible, I'll be there. | ||
| Rocketman  |
I'd like to see Daytona won by the fastest, most powerful category of production based racer. If that were Buell I'd be amazed. Daytona's supposed to be the premier event of the US motorcycle racing calendar. Not a lower class horse race for donkeys. Rocket | ||
| José_quiñones  |
Those donkeys, the track owners, the tire companies and the AMA want those donkeys to survive Daytona... Unfortunate, but necessary. | ||
| Firebolt020283 |
why u people always got to be negitive? Buells are going to be in daytona(thats a good thing). the buell riders are good (not the best but still good). and were did we go from motorcycles to donkeys? please everyone just root the guys on or dont why yall got to rain on there parades. im excited to see buells racing just like i was excited to see hd racing it gives me some one to root for being as im not a fan of jap bikes soo even if they dont win at least we have people to root for. | ||
| Buells Rule! (Dyna in disguise) |
Crusty, I have been to the track before & yes it is huge, but I also know that come race day there are very few people in the stands so we will be able to sit pretty much anywhere we please  | ||
| Reepicheep  |
{Daytona's supposed to be the premier event of the US motorcycle racing calendar. Not a lower class horse race for donkeys.} Yeah. Thats why we see 1000cc two strokes out there every year.  | ||
| BadS1 |
What 1000 cc 2 strokes??  | ||
| Buells Rule! (Dyna in disguise) |
I thought they were 250's & 500 cc's? | ||
| Reepicheep |
That't my point. If Daytona is about the ultimate racing motorcycles, then there would be 1000cc two strokes out there. They would be making about 300 horsepower at the rear wheel, have zero relation to any street bike built, would have to be torn down and rebuilt after every race, and would kill all but the best riders before they could finish the first lap. If, however, Daytona is about a racing class established where a set of "arbitrary" rules puts interesting bikes with the best riders out at speeds appropriate for the track on machines that have some passing relation to streetable motorcycles, then it sounds like they are right on track. Just one man's opinion though. Reasonable people can differ. I would love to see "time and money" limited racing. Enter any bike you want, subject to the following rules. 1) The bike and all parts must be off the shelf, over the counter items available to the general public. 2) The total season expenses for the baseline bike and any parts you stick on it should be $30,000 or less. 3) The start of season labor must be 120 hours or less from bone stock to racing trim. 4) After each race, you have 8 man hours to prepare or mod the bike for the next race. 5) In the event of crash or mechanical failure, you may spend as much time and money as is necessary to return the bike to the baseline configuration it had at the start of the previous race. *That* would be a fun racing class. Combine it with some reality television (like Junkyard Wars), and you would have me hook, line, and sinker. | ||
| Buells Rule! (Dyna in disguise) |
I think racing should have 2 classes of bikes. 1 could be similar to motogp right now where basically anything goes. The other class would be stock bikes..........not appear to be stock but actual go to the dealer & pick em up stock. Folks will rave about Hondas win or Yamahas podium or others will wish for a podium finish from a Buell, but the truth is those bikes are nothing close to what we buy. I would rather see a bike I can actually purchase win a race then see some pure race bike built with mega $$ & full of unobtanium parts. Win on sunday sell on monday really would mean something then. I still want to see a stock bagger class, HD FLH's, Goldwings, Ventures, BMW LT's, etc. Banging saddlebags, dragging crashbars, CD players on high volume. | ||
| Darthane  |
LOL...now THAT would be a race I'd be interested in watching, especially after seeing the way some people can throw those big-assed baggers around. | ||
| Bomber  |
Kinda like the spirit of AMA Class C racing? ride your scoot to the track, take off the lights and mirrors, go fast, put it back together, ride it home -- don't forget to signal your intentions! loose one place for each time to neglect to use the turn signals! big fun, for sure -- hard to police, though -- | ||
| Newfie_buell |
The heck with the baggers lets go Moto-Scooters!!! | ||
| Buells Rule! (Dyna in disguise) |
Moto-scooters would be cool too. Im all for any class that highlights the rider instead of the machine. The big factories have all sorts of $$ to throw at their race bikes & it shows since a privater doesnt have a chance against them. Make it a level playing field where the best man wins. | ||
| Bomber |
box stock/single make racing classes are started pretty regularly by most sanctioning bodies, both two-wheel and four wheel -- they have great, affordable racing, that, sadly, draw almost no spectators I'm with you though -- the old Sportser class races were often better racing than the "real" races they supported | ||
| Stealthxb  |
How about we think about doing the same thing for a Buell racer? I think that is a great idea Blake. Count me in! | ||
| Rocketman |
Folks will rave about Hondas win or Yamahas podium or others will wish for a podium finish from a Buell, but the truth is those bikes are nothing close to what we buy. I would rather see a bike I can actually purchase win a race then see some pure race bike built with mega $$ & full of unobtanium parts. That's pretty much what Super Bike racing is all about. Within the British series (BSB) there's a Privateer Cup running in the same Super Bike race. More often the privateers can get inside the top 15, sometimes the top 10. It also serves as a great stepping stone for the riders coming from privateer campaigns to fully fledged works teams. As for the bikes themselves, this year Ten Kate was offering for sale damn near exact replicas of the BSB Fireblade for £20000. Cresent Suzuki are still offering their GSXR1000 replica too. As these companies will no doubt tell you, getting the required HP isn't a problem in replicating the racers. In fact it's pretty reasonable given the rules of allowable tuning, and it's entirely possible a road going replica can produce more power than the racers require. Where you might find the expense prohibitive is things like Ohlins WSB spec forks for example, or full works Brembo brake calipers another. You pays your money. This year WSB saw Franki Chili unhappy with his works 999R at the start of the season. For his home race at Valencia he purchased from his local Ducati dealer one of the last 998R's, for around £20000. He gave it to his team mechanics days before the race. They removed some lights and road stuff, swopped cams and some engine management stuff, brakes etc and fitted the 999R's slipper clutch, and Franki won one of those WSB races on what was essentially a road legal bike a week previous that you or I could have bought. As for Buell at Daytona, I gave up wanting Buell to win premier races when I realised their commitment to racing is nothing more than a passion to them rather than something they could buy into with all the profits Harley Davidson could bestow upon them to have a real go. In truth I've come to dislike the Harley brand for its politics and greed and would much prefer a Buell company that was independent, stand alone, against the world on a shoe string, with no ties to any such company, especially HD, and then I would revel in them fighting in a donkey race at Daytona. As they stand now I find it pitiful to say the least when the likes of Ducati, who were all but bankrupt before they launched their Monster, can take on the racing world from the lowest level and rise as high as Moto GP in a handful of years yet for all HD's 100 and more years, they can't get off the starting grid. That said, I accept that Buell is targeting a different market, but I'm unimpressed by those that seek to bring the level of racing down to better their own needs if their own needs are nothing more than what can only be seen as a publicity stunt when the dust from Buell winning at Daytona has settled. I want nothing more than to see the best bikes and the best riders racing to win in the premier class. The class racing at Daytona in 2005 cannot be considered such, and neither can Buell's or their racers. If Buell want to go racing, and racing to win, it's high time they got serious and dug down into HD's well deep pockets, rather than pizz and moan about how unfair the rules or the competition is or has been. Yes I know, we've been here before! And finally, for our lovely custodians...... Dare I turn this thread political in the hope a custodian or three will remove it for anal analyzation? You bet. So is this Buell at Daytona thing another example of American's meddling with the rule book? If the shoe doesn't fit, simply make it? Rocket |
