Superstock 600 championship cancelled

[wharfy]

F2 Billy ? - sure would be great to see a proper and modern 2013 F2 bike whizzing around. Of course they would be Methanol burning, carbon fibre for africa, inc wheels, open electronic aids inc traction, on-board data logging and suspension, Trick frames, Slicks, Aftermarket brakes, discs, clutches. Oh Yeah baby - 150hp & 130kg ! , WooHooo

Might show up our Superbikes in lap times though ? (& we couldnt have that could we ?) :-)

Or are we talking some sort of dumbed down F2 ? :-)

Its obvious to many why some clubs run F1, F2,F3. They simply do not have the resources to apply the rules. Is it really that bloody simple........

My bike is no longer eligible for any of the National classes as it has had to many bits replaced with after-market items e.g. front subframe, rear sub-frame - not for performance reason but pure economic ones these items are approx 1/3 the cost of the genuine factory ones. So even if I did harbour some fantasy about being a National class rider I'd need to spend some money making it compliant.

[Drew]

My bike is no longer eligible for any of the National classes as it has had to many bits replaced with after-market items e.g. front subframe, rear sub-frame - not for performance reason but pure economic ones these items are approx 1/3 the cost of the genuine factory ones. So even if I did harbour some fantasy about being a National class rider I'd need to spend some money making it compliant.

I was under the impression after market subframes were legit. I know my Ducati had them.

[Billy]

I was under the impression after market subframes were legit. I know my Ducati had them.

Nope,Pro twin and 250 production only that I am aware of,Supersport is def only fron fairing bracket

[quallman1234]

The main issue with the 125's is that there was probably only about 30 of them imported if not less, with only about 15 active ones still around. So you have to have everyone onboard to really have a good showing.

The one positive thing about 125's this year, is that there really isn't one slow rider in it (Including Troy G from aussie). There will be 9 after levels (Zayne is still recovering), and i expect the NI rounds will see another few pop up. (Katie,Joel,Matt etc)
Its inevitable that the 125's are going to die, as the support from HRC will be disappear in a few years, if not sooner.
Will be a great pity as they are very cool little bikes.

[merv]

Surely the real issue is as usual, money! Instead of bagging him, everyone on here ought to team up with Paul Owen and encourage his writing and try and market more motorcycles.

The golden years we all remember are when sales boosted the distributors who in turn paid for race teams which encouraged more racers.

We have talked about this many times before, you have lost the interest of the yoof of today and its got nothing to do with the reasons espoused in the ramblings of right wing Dr Robert either, as no matter what persuasion of Govt this is a world phenomenon. There are just too many other interests grabbing their attention and they'd sooner get wasted and be out all hours impressing chicks doing burnouts in their own illegal way for more street cred than being all disciplined at a race track. You don't run your races from 2am on so you aren't grabbing the target age group.

They meet by electronic networking and its more fun for them doing that with little up front cost, no commitment and no effort. Life has just got too easy and they are now just all fat, dumb and happy.

So how to get the interest? That's when you need help from someone smarter than me I'd say. Maybe back to the future. "You meet the nicest people on a Honda" did it in the 60's, now there is a real ground swell to commuter scooters, so how do you turn the rider of every one of those into a motorcyclist as they age so that sales of bikes rise. Its like we need that cycle of the 60's and 70's to repeat with growth in the market. I am sure the "...nicest..." pitch won't work with the yoof of today but some other sort of ego booster might. Think about it.

p.s. where did that thumbs up come from on this post I don't think I put it there?

[quallman1234]

Perhaps we could have some brainstorming and actual group cooperation instead of relying on a select few to promote our sport and then bad mouthing them for not doing enough.
Goals are required as a first step.

Yes money it is always, but referring to the 125 class it doesn't help that there our only 15 active ones, and you have to have alot of dedication to run one properly

[CHOPPA]

Oh no its turning into one of these ones again haha

[scrivy]

They meet by electronic networking and its more fun for them doing that with little up front cost, no commitment and no effort. Life has just got too easy and they are now just all fat, dumb and happy.
I wouldn't say happier...... my customers are getting ruder and ruder (all ages too)


So how to get the interest? Think about it.

If they love electronic gadgets so much and are digital natives, why not pitch electric bikes at them.......

[merv]

If they love electronic gadgets so much and are digital natives, why not pitch electric bikes at them.......

Haha now you're talking.

[Drew]

Oh no its turning into one of these ones again haha

You forget where you were or summat? KB baby, where no matter what conversation you want to have, it is not the same as the conversation everyone else wants to have.

[merv]

The thread is about a class being cancelled due to lack of interest, so how do you get that interest back up I'm thinking? Or are you saying that's not what we should be talking about?

[Drew]

The thread is about a class being cancelled due to lack of interest, so how do you get that interest back up I'm thinking? Or are you saying that's not what we should be talking about?

Read into anything I say, whatever you will.

[MarcusWyatt]

I'm quite new to the racing scene in good ol' New Zealand, having my first race at the AMCC Rnd 1 in September on a F3 SV650.

Anyways, I always thought the Superstock 600 and then later 1000 would be the natural progression for me. Since I don't have to tinker much on the engine side, it would reduce the setup and running costs. I'm sure that's probably not a 100% true. So, it's a pity the classes would probably disappear...

The other thing that I've noticed is most club racers in the F1 and F2 class would rather buy a ex National bike from one of the top racers, than convert a bike themselves. It's much more cost effective to buy an ex-Ray Clee bike (maybe $25k), than having to fork out $15k for a street legal late model, add suspension and yoshi bits for motor and we are starting to talk big bucks. Even if you do Superstock spec it will cost good mint. Could be a reason as well for the poor uptake?

In my case, the original idea was to look for a Pro-Twin spec SV650. But they where very rare and hard to find. So I ended up with a good Superlight SV instead. To be honest, I've not seen a Superstock 600/1000 race bike been advertised on TM since I've been looking in the last year or so.

On the Moto3 story. I would love to see a MD250 type rolling chassis or complete racing bikes being build and sold. I don't know how much it's cost so far to build the first one, but if you could get a complete bike for say $8k, I would think that the GP125 class could start growing again.

How about this idea, similar to Red Bull rookies, have 5 GP125 or later MD250 in like a development team running at the National Rounds. Firstly, work on getting the funding from some big Corporate or maybe multiple Corporates (Each bike/rider being sponsored separately). For this to work, firstly you need to keep the sponsors happy, without the money, nothing flies. The whole idea would be to focus on finding new talent, not just supplying bikes to existing national riders. Give those young club/bucket racers who's showing promise, but maybe don't have the means, a go.

On biking in general, I believe the exorbitant ACC levies been applied to motorcycle licensing is one major factors in dampening the sales of new bikes and also scaring people away from buying motorcycles.

Another idea on getting young people interested in motorcycles is TV advertisement(Although it is expensive). Why don't the four big Japanese importers or even all the NZ motorbike importers work together and get some TV exposure, by making a combined TV advert to get people interested in motorcycling. They can all have equal slice of the 30sec advert with their logo's at the end and a slogan like "Motorcycling...makes your car feel dull and dreary!" or something... I'm sure some advertising executive can do much better... The thing is, you need to plant the little seed in the mind of the young person. Maybe target the advert at the learner market. Try capture the 15/16 year old to buy a bike, instead of a car for his first form of transport.

How about this idea for club racing to get more spectators to the races and make a bit more money at the gates. Why don't we add $10/$5 onto the entry fee for each class and use that money for a bill board somewhere prominent. A slogan like "Bored, got nothing to do this Saturday!! Auckland Motorcycle Racing Championship 10 March 2012 Hampton Downs Motorsport Park".

Even as a racer and AMCC member I'm finding it hard sometime to find information. When I wanted to start racing earlier this year, it took me quite some time to get the information I needed to know where, when and how. So how would a every day Joe know about a AMCC club event on the 10th of March? They don't, unless they are part of AMCC or know someone that races, etc.

Anyways, I'll stop rambling now...

[SWERVE]

How about this idea, similar to Red Bull rookies, have 5 GP125 or later MD250 in like a development team running at the National Rounds. Firstly, work on getting the funding from some big Corporate or maybe multiple Corporates (Each bike/rider being sponsored separately). For this to work, firstly you need to keep the sponsors happy, without the money, nothing flies. The whole idea would be to focus on finding new talent, not just supplying bikes to existing national riders. Give those young club/bucket racers who's showing promise, but maybe don't have the means, a go.

Marcus that is exactly what i am trying to get off the ground with KIWISTARS but using the 250 Production class and Kawasaki Ninjas as the bikes. You have already supported this effort by purchasing a Shorai battery from us.
Steve Ward (Sth Is) & Steve Bagshaw (Nth Is) have similar ideas with 125gp and have already helped youngsters progress. If you have any ideas or know any potential investors please PM me or pop in and say hello nat a round of the Nats.

[Robert Taylor]

Surely the real issue is as usual, money! Instead of bagging him, everyone on here ought to team up with Paul Owen and encourage his writing and try and market more motorcycles.

The golden years we all remember are when sales boosted the distributors who in turn paid for race teams which encouraged more racers.

We have talked about this many times before, you have lost the interest of the yoof of today and its got nothing to do with the reasons espoused in the ramblings of right wing Dr Robert either, as no matter what persuasion of Govt this is a world phenomenon. There are just too many other interests grabbing their attention and they'd sooner get wasted and be out all hours impressing chicks doing burnouts in their own illegal way for more street cred than being all disciplined at a race track. You don't run your races from 2am on so you aren't grabbing the target age group.

They meet by electronic networking and its more fun for them doing that with little up front cost, no commitment and no effort. Life has just got too easy and they are now just all fat, dumb and happy.

So how to get the interest? That's when you need help from someone smarter than me I'd say. Maybe back to the future. "You meet the nicest people on a Honda" did it in the 60's, now there is a real ground swell to commuter scooters, so how do you turn the rider of every one of those into a motorcyclist as they age so that sales of bikes rise. Its like we need that cycle of the 60's and 70's to repeat with growth in the market. I am sure the "...nicest..." pitch won't work with the yoof of today but some other sort of ego booster might. Think about it.

p.s. where did that thumbs up come from on this post I don't think I put it there?

Merv, valid points but Im sticking by what I said. We have lost a lot of personal ambition ( as an overall, doesnt apply to everyone ) and many things have been dumbed down via social engineering from the lesbo/ pacifist / socialist sisterhood. Thank god many of those types of ''leaders'' have now been eradicated.