QuoteGardner
"It's difficult to put them in a ranking, Look they all got
different personalities and strengths and weakness... but it
certainly shows out of all this that they are heading in the direction
and Arilia leading that and BMW is not far behind, they are going down
to this Gp styled motorcycle".
(Gardner's comments are telling and I agree... MotoGp is the path that
leads to the future... look for a rise in "virtual V4s and real V4s... V2s and
status quo I4s will be on the wane)...
Aprilia
"The one that stood out in particular for sharp and accurate steering a
bit like a Gp bike was the Aprilia, in summary that was the best bike
today, because it was very precise point squirt good power, I wouldn't
say the faster power but it certainly had the most directional
confidence inspiring chassis and gives very good feed back for the
tires on the track" I'd say the Aprilia in summary, the total, and
the one I'm the fastest on, gave me the most confidence on".
(The notion that the Aprilia handles like poop is now laid to rest)...
Yamaha
"I was expecting more of it, it's probably got the best and the
strongest motor but to get that bike around the corner really
surprised me today and it reaffirms just how good Ben Spies is on
riding that thing. I believe he has won on not the best bike and I
think it is a testament on his ability. The Yamaha is a good mid
ranger."
(Gardner would probably like the backward spinning crank of the M1 which
cancels a good portion of the I4s gyroscopic procession)...
Ducati
"One of the best bikes around here is the Ducati. The Ducati is a lot
lot of fun because the big V twin power and it's trackable power,
thats a fun bike here at this track."
(90º Big Bang V2s are fun but wait till he gets his hands on the D16RR)...
BMW
"I'd say the Aprilia in summary, the total, and the one I'm the
fastest on, gave me the most confidence inspiring on but also just
behind the Aprilia was the BMW. The BMW steers very very precisely and
very very good considering it has a across the frame 4 cylinder. and
out of all the 4 cylinders I think it was better than the Honda,
probably the best handling 4 cylinder."
(Yep it's good considering its the widest engine possible)...
Honda
The Honda is always very fast and very good...
(So fews words... I think Honda's CBR1000RR ain't very impressive and
therefore it should be replaced with a V4 by HRC)...
Kawasaki
"The Kawasaki was a big surprised as well, that was right up there, and
I think it probably gave me one of the best lap times. but its
confidence inspiring but the problem they got with the Kawasaki is
that there traction control is too strong, and when you get off a
corner and soon as you open the throttle it's DA DA DA DA, it doesn't
give you that rider confidence feeling, it's doesn't relate to the
throttle to the back tire and it very hard to understand that. But the
lap time was very good so I think if they fix that up, tune that up,
it could be a very strong competitor here in the Supers"...
(Not all engine architectures are equal... some need less traction control
while others need more... which may sap drive and confidence... I think
Kawasaki is working in it's own "virtual V4")
Suzuki
"I think probably the weakest bike today was the Suzuki. The Suzuki
feels big, feels old fashion, and its got a great engine but I think
the chassis and everything around it is a bit out dated. I think the
Japanese need to do some work to pick their game up and come to the
front runners"
(When is Suzuki going to anted up a dedicated homologated racer??? their
converted street bikes don't impress)...
