So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

Consider how the 500GP riders of yesteryear worked their way up the ranks, and the loopy machinery they did it on.

This might give you some idea. Don't fast forward to the bike riding bit, listen to what the man says and take it all in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k8hJWKIVNs

Btw, this is the one motorcycle ever built that I am determined to see being ridden one day, it is legendary amongst bike riders and GP fans of my age

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

That's a brilliant clip, thanks Lozzo. I don't think you're going to get that many chances to see it in action though....

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

Not sure your point, old bean.

Rossi started with minimoto!

Now thats going up the ranks!

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

Did you watch the clip?

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

No traction control in those days

Sheene vs Roberts epic racing

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

You should watch the Sheene docu on the Biography channel, he came up the hard way too. So did Roberts, they all learnt their craft from an early age, which is why they (incl Rossi) are as good as they are

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

I was refering more to the machinery they honed their skills on. That TZ is absolutely barking bloody mad even by today's standards, and it was built to race in 1975. Bikes nowadays are simply a development of last years model and that was an update on the year before that etc etc.

The fact that the KR TZ was only ever raced once, and it went from right at the back of the pack to win is testament to its rider's brilliance, and the fact that Yamaha made a legendary bike when they nailed that one together.

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

Yes agreed, Lozzo. But it took someone of KR's skill to ride the beast ;)

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

Still not wiv ya.

By that logic...Geoff Duke and John Surtees are better than KR and Sheene.

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

I don't think you'll ever understand then

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

+1

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

Sorry, but I'm with Lozzo on this one. To take 180kg of 4 cylinder 120bhp two stroke and throw it sideways at 150 mph on dirt takes some commitment, especially when you're surrounded by other riders doing the same thing and you haven't got a front brake! I'm not knocking the other famous riders, past and present, but I do have a special respect for Kenny.

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

Not to mention being able to have the super-human level of concentration to overtake everyone and keep the machine under control at the same time!

in the words of wayne and garth

we're not worthy! we're not worthy!!!

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

I understand perfectly well thanks.

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

I'm sorry, you weren't showing any sign of it previously.

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

You say that MotoGP riders have no talent and you question my understanding????????

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

Find me the passage or text that I wrote where I say MotoGP riders aren't talented

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

The context of your thread states that todays riders are less talented than other riders of yesteryear...

I dispute this.

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

old riders were more ballsy ,modern day riders id say are more technical, they defenalty are talented id say more so than there predisessors, but the older day boys did more eg work on the bikes as well as ride them
just my humble opinion of course

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

I reiterate - you just don't get it.

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

You do get it

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

Riders of yesteryear certainly had great phyiscal courage.

If you see the barriers at old race tracks they were a few feet from the grass and tracks like the IOM and Nurburgring which were no where near as safe as today.

Plus bad brakes and plastic tyres and very poor helmets and poor leathers and you have to respect those guys as true sports heroes.

And to say I dont get it...WRONG

I have been watching GPs since I was a lad...you dont understand that.

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

The modern GP stuff looks like it takes a whole different skill-set with all the electronics involved.

The current crop of GP riders are undoubtedly more talented than I'll ever be, but the current GP bikes don't raise my pulse in the slightest compared to watching the 500s.

Look at modern completely composed M1 or something, then watch the 500s weave, slide, slap and wheelie their way round the place.

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

Back in the mid to late nineties Sheene rode a Fireblade on road tyres round a circuit back to back with his 500cc championship winning machine. He said the Fireblade was ultimately a faster bike, with better tyres, better brakes and better handling, but the 500 was evil in the way it made its power, didn't go round corners, had zero grip from the poor quality tyres and had no brakes to speak of. He was amazed he'd managed to finish a race let alone win a whole 500cc championship season on it.

He said if the stock mid 90s CBR600 had been developed in the early 70s it would have been winning GPs on what we would have regarded back then as normal road tyres. I remember riding on mid 90s normal road tyres like Dunlop D204s and Bridgestone BT57s and they weren't all that good, not compared to tyres like Avon Storms etc.

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

'scuse me, but HOW ****ING COOL WAS THAT?

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

Cooler than week old penguin p1ss, as my lil brother says.

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

Wow! Narrow power band, no brakes and a frame that flexed like a rubber band.

And I remember having that yellow Yam jacket back then.

1979 GP500, Herzog, Sheene and Roberts. Sheene flipping Roberts the 'bird' with a few laps to go...

Didn't Sheene have a mega crash at Assen? Went over the brow of a hill at xxxmph only to find a bike laid on the track in front of him?

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

I thought that one was at Silverstone...

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

It was Silverstone in 1982

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

And they were racing against Manx Nortons etc which were hard pressed to give more power that a fit SV!
Thanks for that one Lozzo - a real treat.

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

very cool to watch. On the other posts though I dont think its really that easy or even necessary to compare modern GP riders to those of yesteryear. They ride with the best equipment they can get their hands on at the time.

If a GP500 bike was faster around a lap then they would still be riding them (assuming the class allowed it of course) so I dont really buy the balsy bit.

Hardly the same level but I started racing on a mental little MZ250 single, brakes were crap, handling didnt exist. I used to tip it into a corner and then just let it do its thing, if you messed with the steering mid corner you got spat off the side. I didnt feel any braver riding that after then riding on a FZR400 and then a CBR600 on track. The more modern bikes simply felt more precise and easier to go faster on. I dont suppose it really matters either way provided everybody else is on the same machinery.

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

I was amazed to find out that Crutchlow's World Supersport pole lap on the Yamaha R6 at Donington last year was faster than any 500GP lap there, ever. Just shows how far and fast things move on.

Cracking video, but then those mile ovals are generally pretty good to watch regardless of the bikes they're using. I don't think it really reflects on the ability of top level bike racers past and present, which imo is probably on a slight upwards trend, on average.

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

I've always said bring back the 500GP that'll shut that Stoner up.

Re: So yoiu think the MotoGP riders of today are talented?
 

It wasnt that long ago that Steve Hislop had the lap record around Donnington, faster than a MotoGP lap on his superbike.