Assorted reader comments: FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: Good to see someone publicizing what seems to be a real Achilles heel of the emerging 450cc class. While there are lots of people pushing this new platform, so far most of the voices heard are those of people with something to gain if the new class gets traction. Meanwhile, my friends who are independent experts on these motors have been telling me for a couple of years now that they are hard (and expensive) to service and that service intervals are short. Hardly ideal for a true entry class in racing. Just listening to a motocross race and comparing the sounds to the sound of a road race is instructive. The MX race sounds like this this, Burp, burp, brapp… a series of very short bursts of acceleration. A road race sounds like, WaaAAHH, WaaahHH, WaaaahhhhHHHHHH, with lots of long periods at full throttle, often followed by four or five violent downshifts in a row. Those totally different soundtracks correspond to totally different engine loads–and wear patterns. I’ve had a few conversations with tech people inside OEMs and privately they’ve expressed reservations about running the 450 MX motors at peak revs for extended periods. Back in the day, I spent a lot of money to make a big dirt bike motor (Yamaha 660) suitable for the old AMA Pro Thunder class. The experience was ultimately frustrating. But there’s another lesson from that class. Although it was reviled in the paddock as “Pro Turd” the original idea was a good one–get a grid of more diverse bikes, and create a class to attract local interest at Nationals. The problem was making the Ducati 750 eligible. Since that was by far the most competitive bike homologated for the class, Pro Thunder went from being funky and affordable to being a Ducati 750 spec class in short order. And the loose, Sportsman-oriented rules actually meant the Ducs were full-on baby superbikes, pumped up to as much as 850cc and 120+hp at the wheel. Ie: What had been an everyman’s class turned into a class where the entry point was one of the most expensive base motorcycles in the paddock. Beware the law of unintended consequences. Especially where the consequences can be disastrous and/or deadly… Mark Gardiner Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: Phil Rispoli’s review of what goes into racing a 450cc Single was excellent. This is a great reality check on so many fronts, notably the cost to set up and maintain one of these bikes in road race trim, and also the degree to which running one provides track knowledge and racecraft that is transferrable to faster classes like 600s. As a Lightweight-class racer for the last six years on an SV650 (both first and second-generation models), I have seen a number of young guns come up through the ranks on an SV and then move up from there. As Rispoli points out, nothing else compares to the SV650 in terms of initial cost of the bike, reliability throughout the season, or building racecraft and transferrable track knowledge. I’ve been on the track with 125cc and 250cc GP bikes, and they, like the 450cc Single motards, look like they are racing on an entirely different track–their lines are nothing like the lines I have to take on the SV. While riding these bikes might be great for teaching young riders how to maintain momentum and corner speed, it’s less clear how well they work for teaching the race lines that the bigger bikes use, not to mention the cost and mechanical know-how needed to run them at or near the front for a full season. Tom Short Thinkfast Racing AFM #280 San Rafael, California FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: Thanks for posting that article – I was getting all fired up about building an F450 chassis after reading about the recent chassis rules change. There is nothing about the engine’s maintenance demands on the 450moto site. I’m not a racer – yet – but I’m working on that. My apologies if you’ve heard that too many times! An enthusiastic Roadracing World subscriber, Bob Horn Englewood, Colorado FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: Let me start off by saying it’s a good idea in concept. IN CONCEPT ONLY! I do believe we need a way for our future/young racers to better develop and show their skills to the factory teams, factory supported teams, etc. on a national and world levels. I’ve looked into the 450cc idea myself and found it to be a very expensive to purchase and maintain. By the time you get everything you need you can buy a year-old racebike. I see what they’re looking for, a bike that all the manufactures already make. If they’re looking for something they can control, do it with the 600cc SuperSport class running this year. It can be a one-make race. Change the manufactures every year or two. Or change it every race for that matter. Have they looked at doing a National series a step below the AMA something for the amateur racers and run their Superstock 600s and 1000cc V-Twin, Parallel Twin, Inline Fours? Then run something closer to a World Superbike format (600cc Supersport, 1000cc Superstock and 1000cc Superbike) at the National level. All I know is we need to do something to help the future of our sport. That means finding ways to help our future racers learn their craft. In the end that will help make a better show. Because what we want to see is better racing. Ray Baisden Indianapolis, Indianpolis To see up-and-coming young guns in action, check out the WERA National Challenge Series and the USGPRU Series”¦Editor. FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: I’m going to have to play devil’s advocate here a little bit in retort to Phil Rispoli’s comments about racing 450cc Singles. I have road raced 450s at the Expert level on and off now since 2003. All of which have been of the Yamaha YZ family. I’m not intending to start a battle of the brands, but I have never had a single mechanical failure. I’ve never blown up an engine, or broken a part. And I’ve won plenty of races. These races have included multiple trips to Texas World Speedway which is the ultimate test in wide-open throttle durability. In 2005 (before everyone else was doing it) my dad (Vernon Davis) and I built a WR450 powered GP bike, using a 1997 TZ250 chassis. I raced this bike with the CMRA for nearly an entire season. It was good for numerous wins and top-five finishes against SV650s and even Heavyweight Twins classes on smaller tracks like Oak Hill, (Cresson) Motorsport Ranch, and Hallett. This was by far and away the most fun I’ve had on a motorcycle. I believe these bikes would make for great competition, and would be relatively inexpensive to build, and maintain. That is if you aren’t conned into buying someone’s off the shelf “kit” to convert your dirt bike. I also think that these machines would be a decent stepping stone for today’s racing youth. Mostly in the physical size of the motorcycle. they honestly aren’t much faster–if at all–than a well-ridden 125cc GP bike. My TZ/450 made 53 bhp at the wheel, on pump gas, with a bone-stock motor, and a custom reverse cone megaphone exhaust system built by my dad. The bike weighed 230 pounds wet. My only complaint about the potential AMA version of this class, is the exclusion of anyone over the age of 21. I think that’s a little ridiculous. We already have an age restriction class with Supersport. I feel that the class should be open to any non-pro rider. Thats just my $.02. Thanks. Jesse Davis Austin, Texas As proposed, the F450 class would replace existing 600cc SuperSport as the age-restricted class at AMA Nationals”¦Editor.