AMA Superbike is boring - AL spoiler

[hchou]

So I just finished the first race of the AMA Superbike. Mlading wins by 15 seconds? Give me a break. Yeah, if Spies didn't crash out, it would have been a race. But Spies vs Mladin race in race out gets kind of boring. Why does the rest of the field suck so much? Why can't Honda and Yamamha and Kawasaki get their act together? Yates is passing factory riders (only to be struck with engine issues)? Is there that big a gap of talent in the AMA? Where's Ducati? What happened to the MV team?

I hope DMG makes some pretty big changes to make the racing more of a race as opposed to a Mladin / Spies two man show. And despite all my complaints, I still end up watching each and every race.

[Kurt'sSV]

DMG is going to make big changes. Apparently next year there will be a LiterBike class (superbike) and a "Daytona Superbike" class (Formula Xtreme). This new Daytona superbike class will have HP limitations and weight limitations depending on what type of motor your bike has. Sounds like they are also going to run the Moto-ST endurance series in conjunction with the AMA rounds, too. And no more Superstock/Supersport classes. At least that's how it sounds.

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2008/Apr/080417a.htm

The Supersport race was really good. Came down to the last corner. I'll miss that class next year.

Suzuki dominates Superbike because they have a much, much larger budget for AMA Superbike than the other factories. They sink more money into it. Their GSX-R 1000 is developed with a LOT of input from Mladin and the Yosh team. You can say the bike is kind of developed around AMA tracks and Dunlop slick tires. Suzuki also makes sure they can pay for the best riders.

[dapittbull69]

Supersport was an awesome race Josh Herrin is going to be a great talent to watch in the future if he continues to progress like he is now. I fell asleep during the second superbike race. WSBK is so much more exciting to watch than AMA. Hopefully next year's racing will produce better competition.

[CC_05_SV]

I got the odd chance to meet Jake Zemke a month back and he said that the yosh boys are so much more competitive because the team has so much money and the bikes are custom made in Japan and are much more tuned in that way than the other bikes.

[rwalterk]

Kurt summed it up best. Every maker seems to have certain series where they're willing to invest more money; AMA Superbike seems to be Suzuki's.

Ducati dropped out for 2007 because the AMA rules weren't bent to allow their v-twin (999) to be more competitive. World Superbike allowed them to change more parts which is why they were still very strong there. They're not at AMA this year either with the 1098 because (correct me if I'm wrong) the AMA rules still have a maximum displacement rule of 999cc.

I would agree that it's a boring series though. I like watching World Superbike and MotoGP a whole lot more.

[Novadesigns]

Mladin and Spies need to go to WSBK and get their asses kicked--or Yoshimura/Suzuki needs to leave and put those riders on other bikes. AMA superbike has been so biased for so long its just a joke. Suzuki completely outclasses the entire rest of the field.

[Thudds]

Speaking of WSBK, is anyone going to Miller?

[Tom]

DMG is

Suzuki dominates Superbike because they have a much, much larger budget for AMA Superbike than the other factories. They sink more money into it.

They have that larger budget because they won races, and they won races because their team has more talent (and probably works harder). If Mladin and Spies were on Hondas, I bet it would be Honda that would be writing the big checks.

[Kurt'sSV]

They have that larger budget because they won races, and they won races because their team has more talent (and probably works harder). If Mladin and Spies were on Hondas, I bet it would be Honda that would be writing the big checks.

Nope. The factory determines how much money is put toward the racing. More money = better everything.

[Novadesigns]

And also American Honda split with HRC a few seasons ago and their perfomance dropped considerably.

[Tom]

Nope. The factory determines how much money is put toward the racing. More money = better everything.

In this case, if honda, kawi, yamaha, etc put in 'more money,' they will just lose 'more money' because they don't have mladin :) That's my point.

The way I see it, the riders/teams dictate how much money the guy upstairs puts into the program based on how much the rider/team is worth. Put me on any of those bikes and the money will stop flowing.

It's like those big dogs your folks had. You think you're out walking the dogs, but you're just there holding the leash. The dogs are walking you.