| Author | Message | ||
     Jaimec |
Wonder what happened to Lorenzo? He was looking strong in practice and qualifying. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Lorenzo crashed. | ||
| Snowscum |
 | ||
| Jaimec |
I KNOW he crashed. Just wondered what happened between qualifying and the race to change his fortunes. | ||
| Blublak |
"I don't think 5'10 is a midget" If he's that tall, I must be at least 7ft 6in.. I find it hard to believe he's much bigger then 5' 1" (about 157cm for our metric friends).. Really, at Indy I towered over him and last time I checked, I wasn't NBA material.. I'm a tad over 6ft (183cm or so).. and the tall guys I saw riding were Edwarda, Hayden, Rossi and Toseland.. and of the four of them, Colin is the closest in height to me. The rest are all shorter but several inches at least. | ||
| Buell2001b |
Dude are you crazy"ducati needs a new design". They have the best bike in GP with no doubt. Stoner got 3rd in Jerez, just cause Nicky can't handle a Ducati it does not mean the bike is bad. Hell eeven pedrosa got second on the Honda that nicky complained about. I think he needs to retire, his mojo is gone. | ||
| Jaimec |
On the other hand, Marco Melandri was constantly bringing up the rear last year on the factory Ducati. This year he's on an essentially unsupported motorcycle, and he's doing better than he EVER did with Ducati. The best indicator of design is not how ONE rider performs on the bike, but how a NUMBER of riders performs on the bike. Last year and so far this year, that seems to be the Yamaha YZF-M1. (Message edited by Jaimec on May 04, 2009) | ||
| Vagelis46 |
If Stoner leaves Ducati, Ducati should retire from motoGP. Noone wants to ride for Ducati anymore. The bike is a carrer ender. Stoner and Hayden should leave as well, if they want to perform better. There is no way for Stoner to get the title this year. It is Rossi's already. Melandri does not get paid this year, in an efford to save his carrer in motoGP. His carrer was almost finished last year, after his Ducati ride. Capirossi, Elias also agrees with that. Ducati is not using a chassis in their bike. The front , the seat, the swingarm and the rear shock are directly bolted to the engine. So they cannot get the rigitidy right, in my opinion. Is this a motoGP bike or the new BMW 1200RT ???? They are "stuck" to the 90degrees engine.... | ||
| Jimidan |
Vagelis46 sez: "Noone wants to ride for Ducati anymore. The bike is a carrer ender." That is your opinion...based on what? There are lots of folks who would love a ride on the big Duck...Nicky included. Nicky is dealing with injuries from two wrecks on consecutive race weekends...one being a 140 mph highside and the other a rear-end ramming incident in lap one in Japan, where he could not get up on his own. He is sore as hell, and rode this past race with serious pain, just to get some seat time. He has had very little time to ride this bike and try to get used to it and learn how to set it up. That is not my opinion, but the facts. Go poop somewhere else. | ||
| Jaimec |
Nicky actually had MORE time than Casey in the pre-season, since Casey was recovering from surgery to his hand. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
I really want to see Hayden do well on the Ducati. The facts so far in the tests, before his injuries, show that he is not there yet. I can poop wherever I want !!! I am a free man. | ||
| Buell2001b |
Vagel how can you say that, Ducati is the only true bike outhere, just becuase Nicky can't win in anyhtign is n reason to blame the bike. Remmeber nicky complaining about Honda and yet Pedrosa was winning. Nicky needs to go back to AMA or WSB like mots of the ex MOTO GP have done | ||
| Jaimec |
The fact is, other than Casey, NO ONE is doing well with the Ducati ever since the reduction in size from the 990cc to the 800cc. During the 990 years, Sete Gibernau, Loris Capirossi, Carlos Checa and Troy Bayliss all did very well on the bike. Since the change in displacement, the only man able to do anything with it is Casey Stoner. Even Loris Capirossi, with all of his years of experience riding MotoGP with Ducati, couldn't come to terms with the 800cc bike. That should speak volumes right there. Right now, Ducati has a bike that only one man has been proven capable of riding and taking to the podium. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
The 990cc Ducati only managed very few wins....I do not think it was that great. It was the most powerfull but I can still remember Capirex trying ta stay on the bike while it was moving around like crazy. Ducati is using a "long" 90degrees V engine with no counterbalance shafts for maximum power, while they are making comprimises in their chassis design to fit this "long" engine. As soons as Japanese bikes went to pneumatic engines and improved their power output, closing the gap to Ducati, Ducati's problematic chassis really shows. Ducati better consider a more compact engine that would allow them to build a "real" chassis around it. | ||
| Jaimec |
A 90 degree V-Twin or V-Four doesn't NEED a counterbalancer. Spinning a counter-balancer just robs power that could otherwise be used to make more rear-wheel horsepower. In that, Ducati has the RIGHT idea. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Vagelis: Ducati is using a "long" 90degrees V engine with no counterbalance shafts for maximum power Jaime: A 90 degree V-Twin or V-Four doesn't NEED a counterbalancer. Spinning a counter-balancer just robs power that could otherwise be used to make more rear-wheel horsepower I see a similarity between these two statements. | ||
| Ceejay |
Real chassis? The DucGP09 is made from carbon fiber, including the swingarm. It might take a whole season of development in order to get the layup and directions right in order to optimize flex and stiffness characteristics, but I think they are on to the best path possible. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
 I wish Casey was around to ride this bike that was considered a "beast" and too powerfull and unridable. Imagine what it would have been for Aprilia to have someone like Casey to make their motoGP bike a success. They would still be in motoGP and would have not gone bankrupt and be bought out by Piaggio. Anyway, the RS3 has a "real" chassis. The front and the swingarm are linked together by the chassis that runs along the bike, and the engine is mounted to the chassis. In the GP9's case, the engine is the chassis and everything is bolted to the engine, using a carbon fibre part that is also the airbox. Do you consider this a "real" chassis like the rest of the GP bikes ?? | ||
| Vagelis46 |
 Here is another pic. She was a beauty !!! One of the best looking GP bikes. | ||
| Jaimec |
Motorcycles don't need traditional frames. That's "Old School." BMW's R bikes have been doing what Ducati is doing since the R1100RS was introduced 19 years ago (only BMW used aluminum, not carbon fiber). Break throughs are only made when you think "outside" the box. Just ask Mr. Buell... | ||
| Ceejay |
I don't believe a chassis to be real just because it doesn't use the motor as a stressed member. Most GP bikes use the forks frame swingarm approach as they often plug and play, thus it's easier to remove a part from the equation(I'm guessing). I'd fashion to believe that its cheaper both in materials and wieght to go with a stressed motor but GP cares about neither of these... That Aprilia is a gorgeous bike, but I'd guess that it doesn't have anything to do with being a tradional frame design. The Duc while I don't find it asthetically pleasing, is designed as a no holds barred race bike. I find it amusing how some feel Ducati to be the best place one can ride for and chastise honda. Honda at least built bikes for the rider, whereas Ducati seems to find riders for the bike... | ||
| Vagelis46 |
"Break throughs are only made when you think "outside" the box. Just ask Mr. Buell..." Buell has one of the best frames in the bussines. "Traditional", massive, and rigid. That is why I like Buells! Also 1198R has a frame, while the GP9 has no frame. | ||
| Buell2001b |
if it wasn't for Pedrosa Honda would not even be in podiums. i bet pedrosa would ahve no problem riding the Ducatis or Lorenzo. bottom line is winners don;t make excuses and Nicky and caperossi have ben doing it for a long time now. they need to retire | ||
| Vagelis46 |
I am sure Lorenzo, Pedrosa and of course Rossi, would do better than Hayden and Capirossi on the GP9. But would they take the risk to join Ducati ?? I do not think so. Rossi decided not to, 2 years ago. If Hayden and Capirrosi retire, who do you think could take their places ?? There are only 5 riders in the world that would do better than them, and they are already riding in motoGP. MotoGP needs more manufacturers and more bikes on the grid, not less. I personaly really like both Hayden and Capirossi. I also really like Ingrid, Capirossi's wife and it will be a big absence when she will not be around, after Capirossi's retirement. She is much more attractive than Uzzio, Rossi's boyfriend. | ||
| White79bu |
I still think Nicky can ride just as well as everybody else. The last two years at Honda they haven't been %100 behind Nicky. They favored the micro retard Pedrosa. Since 07 the bikes have been developed for micro man which makes it even harder to ride for Nicky. Now look at ducati. Who has won on that bike? One man, Stoner. The GP9 is a beast that seems to be extremely hard to tame. You have to rely on the electronics so much from what hayden is used to. Stoner rides it hard. The thing dosen't seem to work well unless you run it to death. Nicky is used to a more refined bike like the Honda. I don't think Nicky will win a championship on the Ducati but I do think he will have some success. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
She is much more attractive than Uzzio, Rossi's boyfriend. That takes "personal assistant" to a new level! | ||
| Vagelis46 |
I just do not get why there are so many Pedrosa haters ?? OK he made a big mistake when he took Hayden out, that nearly cost him the title in '06. I think that it will be great for motoGP if Pedrosa and Honda wins many races and propably the title this year. Stoner has Ducati by the balls. If he leaves they are skrewed. I think Hayden is perfect for #2 in Ducati. He will get better result, but I do not see him winning any races. Maybe Laguna ??? I hope so. | ||
| Jaimec |
Maybe not just Pedrosa, but the Pedrosa/Puig duo throwing their weight around MotoGP like bull elephants in a herd of gazelles. Shutting Nicky out in his own garage, while allowing Pedrosa to see Nicky's settings and telemetry and generally bad-mouthing their former "team mate" didn't win him any fans in the States. Must've been an eye-opener for the two of them in Indianapolis last year when a loud chorus of BOOs greeted the announcement of his name! | ||
| 46champ |
Probably an eye-opener for Repsol with the chorus of BOOs after all they are trying to penetrate the American market. | ||
| Jaimec |
Pedrosa on the pole in LeMans, with Lorenzo nipping at his heels. |
