This is part one, part two later this week. Keep’em coming.
This is part one, part two later this week. Keep’em coming.
Want to get a letter read? Use the contact form on this very website and we’ll try to include the best ones in our mailbag that we’ll try to run all off-season.
Hi Steve,
I noticed that all of the aluminum framed 4 strokes have a perimeter frame, but the steel framed KTM’s use a spine frame. It seems like if a manufacturer decides to use aluminum as the material for the frame it must be a perimeter. The only exception I’ve seen is on the 2005 and later YZ’s. Can you give us some insight on the manufacturers choose the style and material of the frame, and the pro’s and con’s of each?
Thank You,
Nolan
Nolan, thanks for the email and it’s a great question- how come on the modern thumpers we don’t see a different frame design than the perimeter one? Of course the Yamaha 2-strokes have a “traditional” backbone frame made out of aluminum but there’s got to be a reason why the thumpers from Japan have a basic design going on. This is out of my league so I forwarded your email onto a super smart guy who owns RG3 Suspension and has a lot of experience in this department. Onto you Rob Henrickson:
Hi Steve,
My 2 cents is that it’s relative to the material that dictates perimeter or backbone style only to a point. The nature of aluminum is obviously considerably different
to steel or chromoly. I think its a matter of the manufacturers getting what they want around the steering head and maintaining that character down to the
head stays and swingarm pivot.
That triangulation at the headset is a formidable shape that laterally can’t be matched with a single spine. It’s whether or not the manufacturer wants that much strength and where they want the load distributed. A steel frame as we know will use less material to get the same strength in a given direction, but when you start trying to control multiple directions of torsional load with aluminum you’re adding some beef, so frames get a perimeter style.
This probably gives more options on the configurations, and the frame with aluminum (as a material) has more flex so lends itself well to the perimeter frame so the material’s advantages are put to use without compromising strength. The multi direction loads that are generated with the modern high output 4 strokes need to be controlled and it seems the way to do it is with a perimeter frame.
Just my 2 cents on a very deep subject. Cheers, Rob
Thanks Rob for that reply. Hope you’re happy Nolan.
Hi Matthes,
I am flying to Vegas for the MEC and was wondering what you would recommend for seats at Sam Boyd stadium. What is the best viewing area?
Also I just wanted to thank you for all the moto related things you produce.
You should feel great about your self knowing that you have saved the lives of multiple shitty drivers that otherwise I may have punted into on coming traffic during my daily commute. Your delivery, knowledge and soothing voice (except when you roll out of bed to do a podcast) relaxes and calms me so I don’t care how long my commute takes. (Awkward?) So bottom line, your podcasts have saved lives!
PS Tell JT$ I have sent him an email directly and also filled out the online request on BTO.com for VIP tickets to the Supercross in NJ….with no response.
Thank you, Kris from NJ
Kris, I asked JT about his blowing off of potential VIP’s and after him and I traded insults for a bit he said that he’s got a ton of responses for that race and that the line starts with people that have been in the VIP program before. So yeah, not sure where that leaves you but good luck! The BTOSports KTM thing is pretty cool and really if you’re a fan with some cash, it’s the perfect way to really get behind the scenes. There’s a chance that you’ll get to experience life in the big time. Some of the cool things to do are
1- You’ll see that Andrew Short really is that nice.
2- Chances are you’ll hear Matt Georke say something that will blow your mind.
3- There’s some great Bubba Burgers and tri-tip getting cooked in that truck.
4- Perhaps you’ll get to experience the argument that some others have when I come in there and the topic turns to, well, whatever really and the riders, myself, JT, one or all three of the Butler brothers start bench racing and forgetting that strangers are listening when we drop industry names or insult people.
Thanks for the nice words about the podcasts and it’s funny you say that it has actually helped you avoid punting drivers off the road because I’m sure that enough mentions of Tim Ferry, four Manitoba titles, my “yeah but still” comebacks are enough to create road rage. Hmmm, to each his own I guess.
Hypothetically, if the AMA allowed 250 2 strokes to race in the 250 class in 2014, how many 2 strokes would you expect to be on the line in 2014 and what would be the best result of a 2 stroke indoors and out?
Brad
Well Brad, it’s a tricky question to answer. The best result for the bike would be dependent on the rider on top of the bike. As always with this sport, the rider is the most important aspect to success. For example of this, see Star Yamaha who now have Cooper Webb and Jeremy Martin and have all of us thinking they’re set for the next few years. When we talk about a teams lack of success it’s many times because they can’t get the rider selections right. Yeah, Star Racing can’t seem to keep a team manager for more than six months but their future is bright with Webb and Martin. JGR is battling this also but more because of the bike than the staff getting the picks wrong.
Anyways, two-strokes. Yeah, one thing I think is that despite the tin foil hat two-stroke people droning on and on about how if it was cc versus cc the two-strokes would rule the earth once again, we haven’t seen that. In Canada they have this rule and we haven’t seen two-strokes do much of anything (although a rider did win the last MX2 race of the year on one and that guy was hurt most of the year) and in Australia the thumper guys were still much better than the two-strokes. When you point this out to the two-stroke kooks people they suddenly switch and say it’s all Honda’s fault.
Remember when four-strokes came out and riders like Kelly Smith, Kyle Lewis and others were on them against the two-strokes and surpassing their normal results by using the thumpers to get good starts? We didn’t think about much but those same guys started getting more “normal” results when others got on four-strokes. And the thumpers have gotten A LOT better in horsepower, carburation (EFI) and handling. It’s a knife to a gun fight my friend.
But to answer your question (kind of) bviously with only Yamaha and KTM making two-strokes you wouldn’t see that many guys on them and at the end of the day you’d have to work so much harder on one and be so precise (see also the KTM 350 failed experiment) that you wouldn’t get any top riders to race them. Right now they’re more of a sideshow than anything else.
Ryan Villopoto on a two-stroke= good results.
I am being told from a “very reliable” source that works for Husqvarna, that Chad Reed will be on a 2014 Husqvarna 450. It will basically be KTM with white plastic. I’m also being told that chad will help develop a whole new new husky for 2015. I wouldn’t stamp this rumor but it’s coming from a well-known Husqvarna staff member.
Steve
Steve (I swear it’s not a made up letter and I was so creatively bankrupt that I just used my name) I can very much believe this theory but it’s going to take a little bit of a rushed process by everyone. As we know the 51% owner of KTM, Stefan Pierer bought Husqvarna (read about it HERE) and has plans to field a team to go against, well, his own team over in Europe next year. From what I’ve gathered in talking to Tyla Rattray (the new Husky rider) the bikes will basically be rebadged KTM’s and in the future might be a bit different but they’ll not stray far from the winning platform that KTM has established. Clever move by Mr Pierer (whom I met a few times when I worked at KTM back in the day, he was always a cool guy) and it copies ones by the Best Buy’s and McDonald’s of the world. Best Buy would purchase some electronic chains and then if someone didn’t like the Best Buy “way” of doing things and went to a competitor Best Buy would still get the money. McDonalds once owned Chipoltle and so consumers who didn’t want fast food would go to the burrito place and the red haired clown would win either way.
So I suppose this is Pierer’s move. You don’t like KTM because they’re popular and all your buddies ride them? Perfect, buy a Husky then! There are people out there in this world that just don’t want to be perceived as sheep and want to do something different than the masses. Husky is the Chipotle of the dirt bike world.
Here’s the issue though, there’s no Husky’s as of right now. And in case you haven’t noticed, supercross 2014 is only three months away. So they would need to hurry this marketing plan along for Reed pretty rapidly but I don’t think it’s impossible. After all when the Ryan Dungey-KTM 450SXF came out, they didn’t even bother to get it homologated for a few months after supercross had started much to the chagrin of many teams. Hey, it’s the AMA, not NASA.
Here’s what Reed can do next year:
1-Get on the Husky program and this might be Chad’s number one choice as there would be lots of money for him and invested in him. Can Husky make this happen?
2-Ride a KTM. He’s got one at his house that he likes but would KTM, already having five great riders (Dungey, Roczen, Millsaps, Short and Georke) in the class, really want to shell out bucks and support for Reed who’s best days are behind him? Yeah they’d have a motivated Chad Reed and a popular Chad Reed on their side but do they NEED that? Not sure.
3-Get on a Kawasaki and ride for Pro Circuit. Reed and Mitch Payton could work out a deal where he basically rides a PC KX450F (like what Broc Tickle had) and maybe Mitch puts another rider on the team. One big problem with this is that Mitch Payton doesn’t need to spend money for a 450 team where the rider on the team doesn’t use his main sponsors like Thor, Scott and many others. I can’t see this happening because Payton doesn’t need it to happen.
4- Reed spends a boatload of dough and rides a KTM/Kawi (maybe he gets some 2012 CRF 450’s) on his team he has now and perhaps he puts all black plastic on them because he has to pay for everything. He still gets PC to modify the bike for him and because he’s Chad Reed, he foots the bill for everything and rides with an enormous chip on his solider to some podiums and top fives.
Hi Matthes and TL,
Firstly your shows rock! – Unfortunately I wasn’t aware of them until someone sent me a link to the laser-gate recording, haven’t missed one since though.
My questions are about the new 300cc 2 stroke class in Europe – your thoughts on that as an idea? Will it last more than a year? Do you think the Japanese manufacturers will work on a bike for it? How much will the European manufacturers embrace it? (as far as I can see KTM doesn’t currently have a 300 2ST MX bike) and will it catch on in the US?
Thanks very much and keep up the good work, Peams
You’re referring to THIS. I don’t think making a class where there’s only one OEM who makes a bike for it is a smart idea. Look at the failed CRF150 where it’s too slow against the 80’s and no one else jumped up to make one of those bikes. Seriously, Honda sort of blew it with that thing right? Same idea with this 300cc thing.
But KTM and Youthstream love them some of each other so maybe that’s the idea behind it. YS is just looking after its number one partner, I’m not sure. I know that anytime you add cc’s to a bike that wasn’t designed for it (even 50cc) you start having problems with vibrations, frame breakage and what have you. It’s like those Service 500’s crammed into a 450 aluminum frame. They’re never much fun to ride for all the reasons the YZ360 wasn’t much fun. The engineers who design these frames, head stays definitely DO know what they’re doing in terms of load resistance, flex capabilities and other traits of aluminum frames.
But then again it’s not like the MX3 class was just killing it and jam packed with action or public interest right? So good luck with this and maybe it will create some interest with the racing fans.
Love your show eff the haters. I ran across the Mark Barnett interview and was blown away that you were a huge fan to. I talk about the bomber and all the thirty something’s respectfully let me sound off while the teens and twenty’s look at me like I’m the has been never was I am. As you can guess I’m an ’80s moto guy from Northern BC. I don’t have 4 titles to brag about but I am still motoing down. Check out our track on facebook you won’t believe what a small town can do. Terrace motocross on facebook. Shit Matthes you probably don’t even read these hey rockstar. Love the show love the Canadian references and the Stern-esque radio style. Keep up the good work, Earl
Earl, thanks for listening. Appreciate it. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again- I’m blown away and honored by all the people that have listened to these shows. The Pulpmx Show, the Steve Matthes Show, Fly Racing Moto:60 show- I can’t believe they’re as popular as they have been. I meet numerous people every weekend that can’t get enough of them. Who knew? I just wanted to hear the legends tell their stories for the first time in their own words and if someone had done it before me, well, I probably wouldn’t have this website for starters.
Anyways, the Barnett podcast was maybe one of the most crushing ones I’ve ever done. And it’s not The Bomber’s fault, he was gracious and accommodating. No he had just been built up in my mind as this legend guy and having known him a bit now, he’s really just a simple, nice, country guy. Who was a complete bad-ass on a dirt bike. In that podcast he didn’t have a lot of memory of what he did, he was pretty understated and it was a tad…dare I say it, boring?
Again, no fault of his. It’s on me that I thought that he was going to actually crap out lightning and fart thunder over the phone I suppose.
Hey Steven, What’s up? My first question is when can we expect the release of the new 2014 X brand goggles? Also I was wondering about Sin Jin. He is actually one of my favorite callers, and I enjoy listening to him. I know he rides, but what class does he race, and is he any good? Also I wanted to say that you should redo the favorite co-host survey. I feel like you cheating JT out of a spot, by not even putting him in the running. I think the show wouldn’t be the same without him, and he is by far the best co-host there is, and the show would go to shit without him. Thanks for the awesome show and please for fucks sake sell some pulpmx show stickers, so I can stop paying graphic companies to make them for me. You don’t even have to buy me jizz filled coffee, I will gladly run them on my helmet for free.
Bailey out
Bailey, thanks for the email and I always tell the haters of Sinjin that there are plenty of people (like you!) that enjoy Sinjin’s, errr, unique sense of humor. I have no clue what class he rides but I do know he buys product from BTOSports.com, X Brand Goggles and Tech One Designs so he rules.
I sent Sinjin your letter, here’s his response:
Hey Bailey, I didn’t start riding until I was 16 so I’m now a novice , moving to B class real soon. I Love the Pulpmx Show, it all started 3 years ago when I called in and told Kenny, “to go fuck himself” because I didn’t win Mandingo Pickles (which i ended up winning because Kenny loved someone telling him off). For the last 3 years I have been a constant caller, best known for cussing like a motherfucker, and telling horrible true stories about Subway. Although most Pulpmx listeners hate me, a lot of people in the moto world now know who I am. I oftenly (kenny ebonics) have people come up to me at a local race asking me if I am the Sinjin from the Pulpmx show, when they see me on racers list, or see my pulpmx graphics done by none other than Techone Designs.
If I had to say Pulpmx has done 1 thing for me it would have to be meeting the love of my life, Jimmy Albertson. Ever since I saw his golden hair, beautiful smile, and tight ass I was hooked on him. I now talk to Jimmy and Greg when ever I have questions about my bike, and they send me extra plastics and shit. I would like to say they are friends, all because of Pulpmx. So Pulpmx thanks for helping me get exposure for doing nothing, but not thank you for exposing me because my dream of being in this industry will probally never happen because everyone thinks I am a shithead, and guess what, to those people GO F**K YOURSELF!
2014 EKS Brand goggles hopefully coming for the 2014 outdoors, I saw a drawing of them and they’re bad ass. At least I think so. And I didn’t put JT in the co-host category because he’s a host, he’s on every show and I just wanted to get a taste of which part-time guy the people liked. Hence Mason, Berluti, Ping and DV as they have been rotating in and out. Thomas is better than all of those guys but he’s a host. He’s in full-time whether he likes it or not.
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I asked Sinjin to send in a photo of himself but in true rebel fashion he didn’t. So this will have to do. |
Stickers are always available for free by sending a request using the Pulpmx.com contact form and sending me your address. Thanks to the folks at Roost MX for the stickers they’ve made for me.
Normally there’s no problem until you’re at or above 10,000 feet altitude but even then highly trained athletes can have problems even if they’ve never had problems in the past. I suppose that Jason Anderson could be abnormally susceptible to the symptoms if he had pulmonary problems as a kid. It’s like heat stroke. Once you’ve had it bad enough to be hospitalized you’re much more likely to have it happen again. It just does something to you physiologically.
That begs the question about what he takes to combat it. I think the treatment of choice for pulmonary edema is some type of steroid. Here we go on the PED’s tangent again.
Dan
Thanks Dan and this is in reply to Jason Weigandt, Jason Thomas and I wondering about Jason Anderson and why he had to take some high altitude pills before he went to Miller Motorsports race. None of us had heard of that but it’s also true that none of us have anything remotely close to a medical degree.
And yeah, PED’s and two-strokes. Those are the hot topics these days. I’ve always maintained that with millions of dollars at stake and virtually no testing at all for PED’s, you’d almost be dumb to not try and look to see if doing them can help you. For those people that say they won’t help, you’re an idiot. It’s about the recovery from training and allowing you to get at it the very next day that’s the best thing about PED’s. Of course they would help our sport! And again, money and no testing ensures they’re being used by some people in the sport.
