Whibs 2010

[JaredBolton]

haha, yeah, the "2011 CRF450" test has been quite popular. That thing is so much fun though. We were riding it around the parking lot at Big Buck last weekend and had tons of comments from people saying how they either had one when years ago, or just liked it.

Glad you like the videos! As long as theres an audience, and I'm feeling creative, they'll keep coming!

[denill]

Race Report: OMA Round 1 Medora, Indiana
Rider: Paul Whibley
Team: AmPro Yamaha
Bike: Yamaha WR 450
Result: DNF

Round One of the OMAs did not go to plan.
I got a good start and was just pipped for the holeshot by Jordan Ashburn. He set a good pace and had some creative lines early in the the lap. I managed to make a pass down in a ravine before we climbed up one of the numerous steep hills. I led the first couple of laps of the shorter than normal track. I was soon joined at the front with Thad Duvall and Jimmy Jarrett swapping positions as lines developed around the virgin course.

Mid race Thad and I had a built a gap although I later learned Jimmy had dropped out with a damaged radiator. I soon had my own problems, bending my gear lever beyond use in a deep rut. The bike was jammed in 2nd gear which was good for the woods but the open sections on the various old logging roads had the WR valve bouncing quickly.

I was holding down second place and at the fuel stop an assessment was made to try remove and replace. Katherine had rounded up a team of help to try to fix the problem. I guess the shifter was pushed back into the footpeg and was difficult to remove so after a quick gas up I decided to carry on as is. As I left the pits I realized that the bike had been dropped to first gear while they were trying to remove the gearlever and that wasnt going to work. So I looped back to the pits and with some prying the damaged part was tossed and a new one fitted. I was now back to 4th or 5th but gaining time again. But it just wasnt my day as I soon bent the gear lever again. I think in the haste to replace it, I put it on a position too low.

I was back to being jammed in one gear, luck would have it, if I had any, would see the bike stuck in 2nd again. I even managed to move up to 3rd place and was closing in on Scotty Watkins in 2nd but was running out of laps. On the last lap, for some reason the WR decided it would prefer to be ridden in 5th gear although the clutch didnt think that was the best deal and was completely smoked by the last hill. I got half was up and that was it. Done. Less than a mile from the finish line.

Thanks to Ryan, Chad, and everyone else who helped out in the pits.

1st: Thad Duvall
2nd: Scotty Watkins
3rd: Jordan Ashburn

Paul Whibley is supported by:
AmPro Yamaha, Monster Energy, Shoei, Sidi, Smith, Ohlins, G2, CTi, Moto SR, Vortex Ignitions.

[Reckless]

Bugger clapped out a mile from the finish. Not fault of the bikes or his really just one of those days by the way I read it! BUGGER!!
Hope it gets better from here, his overall speed seems ok though!

[takitimu]

Ok, that is getting unlucky now, poor guy must be be almost driven to drink.

[camchain]

Unreal. A lot of 'bad luck' can be traced back to bad prep but this really is mega bad luck. 2 bent shifters? They should have cut it/replaced it straight away rather than piss around with it. Stuck in gear again? Fried clutch halfway up a hill half a mile from finish line. Poor bastard must have been thinking it can't be real. Someone has put a voodoo curse him. Hopefully everything up to now is just a season full of bad luck all at once. Cheers Denhill, was hard reading that though...

[denill]

Unreal. A lot of 'bad luck' can be traced back to bad prep but this really is mega bad luck. 2 bent shifters? They should have cut it/replaced it straight away rather than piss around with it. Stuck in gear again? Fried clutch halfway up a hill half a mile from finish line. Poor bastard must have been thinking it can't be real. Someone has put a voodoo curse him. Hopefully everything up to now is just a season full of bad luck all at once. Cheers Denhill, was hard reading that though...

Yep and it came across quite clearly that he was going to kill that F****N Yamaha before he gave up. And he did kill it.

[takitimu]

Yep and it came across quite clearly that he was going to kill that F****N Yamaha before he gave up. And he did kill it.

Hope he can biff the damn WR in the tip & get an '10 YZF450, that WR is jinxed, IMS have the tanks on their website now & they should be out of customs by now surely. Biff the forks & shock on the YZ from the WR & go kick some Suzuki ass.

Maybe he can do that over the summer break

[camchain]

Yep and it came across quite clearly that he was going to kill that F****N Yamaha before he gave up. And he did kill it.

Heh. Too true: "for some reason the WR decided it would prefer to be ridden in 5th gear although the clutch didnt"
He would've beaten to death. Strange they have him on a WR. Sounds like they've removed the electric leg as well.

[denill]

Strange they have him on a WR. Sounds like they've removed the electric leg as well.

Yeah - thats the only good reason I would've thought to have Whibs on the WR??

Electric legs are vital in gnarly terrain. Kickstarting the big bitch while slipping down a slippery slope - not nice................

[secondfield]

Someone give that man a YZ450F for chrissakes!

[Reckless]

Hope he can biff the damn WR in the tip & get an '10 YZF450, that WR is jinxed, IMS have the tanks on their website now & they should be out of customs by now surely. Biff the forks & shock on the YZ from the WR & go kick some Suzuki ass.

Maybe he can do that over the summer break

Someone give that man a YZ450F for chrissakes!

You all reckon the Yz would be better for him?? I don't really have a clue as I haven't ridden either the WR or the YZF450.
But I was thinking that with the new mods that the 2010 Yzf has, maybe its far to snappy for enduro and he's ridding the best bike Yamaha have?
And waddya mean swap the Forks/shocks, these guys don't use any factory bits anyway, they are all bloody ohlins etc aren't they? Wouldn't matter what shocks he has in the thing they are modded so much they are from factory?
I reckon the Wr is probably the best bike for him and the new engine etc in the YZF has put it further away (maybe to far if Whibs as a factory rider is on a wr) from being a cross over bike?

Anyway from his write up he was catching this guy and gaining on that guy so I don't think speed is a problem you can bang up your gear lever twice on any bike and your gonna fry the clutch in 5th gear that's for sure!
Hope this is his bad luck round and things look up for him from here!!!
Just my 2c

[takitimu]

Whib's is RG3 from memory for suspension, figure it's seriously tweaked, hence take the forks/shocks from his WR ( already tweaked ) as a base, though he was riding YZF in NZ in summer, so might already have a baseline.

All the GNCC bikes ( well pretty much all ) are MX, Whib's WR has no electric start, probably no wiring loom or overflow bottle & I'm betting a '09 head & piston etc. So not really a WR anymore.

In the end I think it's handling & throttle flexibility with the FI that would make me think YZF, I'd love to know why they didn't go that way, might be Yamaha, might be the newness of the YZF, maybe lack of IMS tank.

I disagree on speed not being an issue, Josh had two laps faster than Paul's fastest.

I just hope it works for Paul eh, he works insanely hard & deserves to do well.

[camchain]

Yeah, just seems really odd being on WR but as Taka noted it'll be a long way off stock. All the best guys seem to want the extra pep of an MXer and the being the best, they can probably use it. The MX models are the cutting edge too with changes following onto enduro models the next year or so, & it's like this with all manufacturers.
Maybe he lost the RG3 suspension when he went Yamaha with their part ownership of Ohlins (But then again I think Ohlins may have bought Yamaha's share out again?)

Be real interesting to know the ins and outs of it. Strang really had the bit between his teeth last year too but had some bad luck, could be hard to beat this year. Whibs luck needs to change fast.

[guy smiley]

Think he'd prefer to be riding the YZF but was instructed to ride the WR(no choice).
Mullins is riding the YZF... Strang is on the RMZ not RMX....

[vazza]

I dont think Paul would have any say in what he rides. Yamaha pays him to ride what they want. Maybe they want it to help push sales of WR250/450 for XC use??

Regardless that WR would be completely factory im sure, would be nothing like a stock WR450 so I really dont think it makes much of a difference. He's obviously as fast as the others on their MX bikes, just having some badluck.