| Author | Message | ||
     Jima4media |
Blake, That is a good chart for comparisons. Thanks for putting that together. It really show how little difference there is between 600s and liter bikes, and how rider skill makes the most difference. | ||
| Elvis |
Thanks Jim. Back when the VR-1000s were racing, I had a Yamaha, but I was rooting for them because they were the only serious "American" racing effort in a looong time. Maybe the Buells have a better chance of picking up fans from current sport-bike owners? Well I'm having fun, anyway. If no-one does jump on the band wagon, that'll just make it easier to get tickets.  | ||
| Elvis |
It looks like Pike's Peak has a much more open track with fewer turns. It seems that will hurt the Buells this weekend (assuming they'll be there). Any comments from those who study these things? | ||
| Benm2 |
Once again, it looks like HD has nothing other than a passing interest in racing. The organization could certainly be funding the FX effort to AT LEAST Honda's FX level; they would only have to support two bikes. The Japanese companies spend thousands on Superbike, superstock, supersport, and FX. The friendly anonymous poster here has indicated that budget is an issue. What does it take to loosen the purse strings? | ||
| Gonen60 |
doesn't some HD dealers sponsor some Buell race bikes. (Tilleys?)..Maybe not the 2 in FX, but in other classes or series | ||
| M1combat |
The two in FX are sponsored by Hal's and Kosco. I believe both are HD dealers. | ||
| M1combat |
What about Ford sponsorship? HD has ties to ford and Ford is THE winningest company in the history of motorsport. Even in F1, and they've only run about 60% of the races. | ||
| Gonen60 |
So in reality, "The XB doesn't fall far from the HD Tree" | ||
| Benm2 |
So, would a massive horde of Buell riders arriving at an AMAPR event help? You know, follow the examples of fan support displayed at Misano, Valencia, or Motegi? Screaming Buell fan's with blue zinc oxide covering their face & "BUELL" shaved into their chest hair? HD seems to like the crowds - like bike week & such. Can Buell riders go to the races? Is there enough interest for a Horde? | ||
| Whodom |
Speaking of organized attendance, what is the FX schedule for the rest of this year? | ||
| Elvis |
You can find the schedule here: http://www.ussuperbike.com/round.php?sc=1177&year=2004&number=7&UID=qGQfgs7ei7Hf 4vOVZ4mZ7LOyELdZBb This weekend is Pikes Peak in Colorado, but then races in Buell country (Wisconsin and Minnesota) after that (it would be great if an anonymous source or anyone else who knows could say if Buells will be at all the remaining races). There are still so few Buell's out there, that it's probably hard to get a lot of them together (though the ones that do make it could make up for numbers with enthusiasm). I also think there are many potential Japanese, Italian and German bike riders out there that would root for Buells if they can. Before Buell, my bikes were Japanese and Italian, not because of brand pride, but because there wasn't an American alternative. I was hoping the VR-1000's would do something, not because I was a Harley rider, but because I wanted to see the Americans do something, and I'll bet there are a lot of fans out there who feel the same about Buell. | ||
| Blake |
Dana, Re: "You ignorant slut"... You must be too young to remember Dan Akroyd and Jane Curtain doing the news on SNL? Dan's weekly line of "Jane, you ignorant slut" was classic. Anony is no admin. | ||
| Bads1 |
To young????Damn I'm 36 YRS old and yeah I remember.LOL | ||
| Anonymous |
BenM2...DO IT! That is exactly what is going to make a difference...screaming cheering fans showing up, not guys like Jose taking nasty potshots on a website. I can tell you for the teams who are busting their butts to be there in AMA FX with Mike and Michael, as well as FUSA Thunderbike teams, having cheering fans would feel wonderful. Buell falls far enough from the family tree not to get the same level of fertilizer, you can be sure of that! At the peak of VR days, the expense was well over $10 million per year, year after year...that's after 50 bikes had already been built and initially developed! But it was done to build a history for the V-Rod, not for typical racing reasons. If corporate actually sees that Buell riders are interested in racing, they will appreciate it more, and perhaps provide funding. You can bet if Buell has any extra money, it will go to racing!!! | ||
| José_quiñones |
I will be at the FUSA races at Summit Point and the AMA races at VIR this year, as I have in the last three years. This year I'll be at Road America for the first time. I'll be real easy to spot, I'll be wearing my Buell stuff as usual. So if you see me, anonymouse, please have the decency to tell it to my face and not hide behind Blake's curtain. The reason I commented on the sentence "...with the fastest laps very close to Superbike times, despite the bikes having less horsepower.” is because that statement is true for Supersport, Superstock (which Blake did not include in his chart) and FX, so it is not really saying anything, but it's good spin for a press release. I don't have any issues with the rest of it. Everybody understands that this is a brand new class and the bikes are in their early stages of development, they will be clearly faster than Superport spec bikes in the near future, I stated that twice before in this thread. The reason I compared Michael Barnes' FX times to his Superport times is to show that hiring Anthony Gobert is not the answer, Michael can go as fast as the bike will allow him, the bike needs to improve, not the rider. He should be able to go faster with his more powerful/slick tired XB than on his Supersport Spec R6. I guess that's your job, I hope you give him a better bike as the season progresses. edited by josé_quiñones on May 20, 2004 | ||
| Daves |
So if we could get Valentino Rossi on a Buell race bike he couldn't go any faster than anyone else? Hell if rider talent doesn't have anything to do with it I should be their rider! Dave daves@h-dappleton.com | ||
| Davegess |
We all need BIG BLUE BUELL flags to wave on the hillsides. Anyone able to make those big flags you see at the race tracks? I don't think Buell sells any such thing so if we got a few done up and actually used them at racetracks I don't think we would get in too much trouble. I can picture one waving above the crowd at turn 5 at Road America with a half naked guy painted blue waving it screaming his head off. Dave | ||
| Davegess |
Actually this might be a good Team Elves project. Get large groups of vocal and visible Buell fans out to the AMA races. Set up a tent, wave flags, do the usual Team Elves stuff - stuff that makes 25 people seem like 250. | ||
| Coyote_xb12s |
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7902411368&ca tegory=56420 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1314&item=3677704135&rd=1 I saw these on Ebay... maybe cheaper to have them made?? | ||
| M1combat |
"Hell if rider talent doesn't have anything to do with it I should be their rider! " We'll take turns Daves... You can't have ALL the fun. Davegess - I can picture two  . I think that you have a point w/ the Elves. I wonder. I could leave here Friday after work. Put in 500 miles and only have 250 to ride in the morning. After practice I could ride 250 back and have 500 left for Sunday (I assure you... wherever I am when the race starts I'll roll it on). I just changed my oil and my tires have about 400 miles or so on them. I think it's doable. I'll see if I can't get any of the other AZ Buellers to come with. | ||
| Blake |
JQ, It sure is interesting to read your rationalizations for what you post here. All, I'll be heading to Laguna Seca for three days of fun in the sun. Hope to see as many of you there as possible. Maybe we could play the Team Elves card to get Buell some coverage by SpeedTV. | ||
| Elvis |
Here's the SpeedTV feedback site: http://www.speedtv.com/feedback/ e-mail it to your friends. I just asked them for live Formula Xtreme coverage and more Buell focus. | ||
| José_quiñones |
Blake, you seemed to agree with me when I made the same point earlier in the thread about Anthony Gobert using Michael's lap times. Did anonymouse intimidate you? | ||
| Elvis |
Jose', The way I read it, you began by questioning this statement from Buell: "This class has a lot of technical innovation going on, with the fastest laps very close to Superbike times, despite the bikes having less horsepower.” That was an absolutely 100% true statement. You then began showing that all classes are close. That also is absolutely true. Nobody disagrees and it in no way contradicts anything anybody else has said. You are currently arguing with yourself, and I think Blake is getting a bit of a chuckle out of that, but I'm sure Blake can step in and speak for himself. The bottom line is rather than supporting a Buell race effort that you have always claimed to support, you seem to try to find obscure reasons to argue with those who actually support the effort. | ||
| Davefl |
You guys can debate this all you want. I for one had a great time at Birmingham last weekend. I did not go to see the Superbike, Superstock, or Supersport races, I went for the Buells in Formula Extreme. From the schedule Road Atlanta will be the only other race I might be able to attend and for that one I will take my Buell banner for all to see. | ||
| Reepicheep |
José... I understand your frustration at finding a bike that is so close to the one you really want, but still having it be so far away. I also am amazed at how effectively you can bait people that matter and people that care. And I think you contribute a lot to the board and am happy you are here. I think the frustration people have is that you are consistently harping on the negative and ignoring the positive. That's none of my business, but please remember that the people you are poking at have poured their life and souls into what they are doing. Hard decisions have to be made, real constraints exist, people do the best they can. When you poke and bait these people, it causes real pain and real frustration. I don't know what your ultimate goals are, but unless they are to hurt people that have given a lot to the things you say are important, you might want to look hard at the effects you cause. You want a world class race effort? Go do one. If Buell can somehow make a boatload of money building a world dominating super bike, then surely you could make a boatload of money by building your own, either completely from scratch or with some sort of rotax - XB hybrid. Or even go help fund a dealer that is trying this now. If it's impossible to do this, then why are you taunting others about not doing things you can't or won't do? I would love to see Buell on the podium as well. But not at the cost of the street bikes. Buell is making absolutely fantastic street bikes, and as it turns out they do pretty good on the track. All the other makers seem to be making fantastic race bikes that sometimes turn out to be OK streetbikes. I would hate to see somebody goad Buell and stop the one company thats doing it right. | ||
| Smadd |
ditto! | ||
| M1combat |
Another one... Ditto. | ||
| Anonymous |
Thanks, guys, for the positive feedback on Buell racing. I'll make my comments real simple and to the point. This IS Erik, and yes I do look in on BWB sometimes. I once in a while also post, as anonymous for pretty simple reasons. I am by far in the minority on anonymous posters, and certainly hope people don't think every anonymous posting is me. But I have to add a post to this thread. Re. this topic, maybe some comments towards Jose are over the top, but Jose, you and I know each other, and there is no question in my mind that your postings about Buell racing are very negative and derogatory. I have no idea why, since you always present yourself to me as a big Buell fan. You have your right to make as many nasty comments as you would like, but it sure pisses me off, as well as many others, obviously, and I have no problem saying that to your face when I next see you. | ||
| M1combat |
Yeah, another one... Thanks for the XB Erik. |
