Last race you were saying the Suzuki can’t compete especially when the track gets rough! Last race was one of the roughest tracks of the year, and Ken won! These “experts” have it dialed 😂😂😂
Kenny made Suzuki’s Great Again.. I can get 2 Suzuki’s for the price of 1 Yamaha.. Being a weekend warrior, you can’t beat it. Hopefully the price doesn’t go up now.. Damn you Kenny.. It’s a love hate relationship now.
In the pulpmx show last night they had Kenny on and he said firepower honda and the HEP team are the only teams he has been on that allowed to do whatever he wants to his bike. This includes KTM as well so its not just a japanese thing. John Tomac had similar complaints about Kawasaki that they wouldn't allow Eli to make the changes he wanted to make to his bike. Star Racing is not an in house Yamaha factory program, its a private racing team that gets factory support from Yamaha which means the riders are allowed to do whatever they want to their bike and its why star is so successful. Barcia and Plessinger constantly complained about not being able to change their bikes when they were on factory Yamaha.
I am from Germany, Heiko said He had the same "Fahrwerk" like Gajser. That is translated correctly like Suspension. Just saying, he didn't really say frame, that would be "Rahmen". Anyways. Keep it up, Regards from Germany.
Sounds like the same thing John Tomac had to say about Kawasaki. They refused to give Eli what he wanted and Star did. There are so many stories of the factories getting in the way of riders winning and excelling.
i say it all the time... you have to have known a fussy yet brilliant test rider to understand Kenny. there are personalities out there who simply cant function unless everything feels perfect because its too much of a distraction to focus if it's not. it's not that they are whiners... it's that they are good enough to fine tune to the point they cant tell the difference. then and only then will they stop thinking about the product and just ride. these people are on a genius level and need to be respected as such, not mocked for being quirky.
I thought so too… but I heard colt got one and then ended up switching off it.. you probably heard that too. On pulp. I recognize your name from the chat I think lol
His dad and him made crazy accusations about the rch team as well it seems to be common when they leave a team they blame it on everything except Kenny
If Honda knew how to go fast, they would race the bikes themselves that they engineer. Remember who's the fast ones here... the riders. Interesting how Honda is now admitting their setup is not good enough for Chase's speed... but apparently it was good enough for Kenny a few years ago... I call BS. Kenny FTW! Hilarious when he held his kick starter up on the podium!
I'm stoked for Kenny, but I still can't help but think how that Firepower would have been for him. That weekend at Paris was insane, he looked super comfortable and fast as hell. But still happy to see him making the Suzuki work!
He looked incredible last few rounds of WSX. Sent the quad when no one else did and handled ET and Webb very well. Would’ve loved to see that setup come with him. Suspect his health keeps slowly improving too.
@Doc Martin I agree! Pretty impressed to see him win on the Suzuki though still. Not that I doubted him, but the field being so deep with every factory rider being fast, and his bike isnt stock or anything of course but it isnt a factory ride and it has its disadvantages so I just wasnt sure. Had me thinking he might be a podium guy from now on but I'm happy to see I was wrong. I'm not saying he's gonna win a ton but I think he can do it again. Look forward to see him in outdoors this year.
When the riders struggle the factories say it’s the riders. When the riders are winning the factories say it’s the bike. Look at the adds…… I also think Webb is dealing with this too.
I almost feel like kenny went to suzuki because of partially nostalgia from his childhood but mostly because they'll give him whatever he wants or needs regardless of money
I Love your Research! I'm from Germany and this Interview with Heiko Klepka was a literal Goldmine. It was so fun to her some really deep inside behind the scenes stuff!
Honesty is what we all want, yet that is the farthest thing from what is given. A breath of fresh air from the Outside! They say that the Truth-Hurts, but it’s also the Best bet. I believe what Kenny’s dad says, he’s not under contract with anyone and can speak as he sees fit!
Some people call it whining, I call it knowing exactly what you want, and being frustrated when they won't deliver. To put it in layman's context, it's like, if you're ordering something at a Restaurant and you like a Medium-Well steak, and the chef brings you one Rare because he says, "It's better that way" maybe to him it is, but to the guy who ordered it, it sucks, and that's the only guy in that scenario who's opinion matters. The chef isn't eating that steak, just like the engineer isn't riding that bike.
I agree about the Firepower Honda. I think he could’ve done it on the ClubMX Yamaha too. Super excited to see what happens in Detroit. Two wins in a row might break the internet.
As a German, Kennys Dad said they had only 1 Suspension like they have in the GP's for Gajser, he doesnt talk about the FRAME, from what i understand his father said only 1 Honda rider of each series gets a special treatment and acces to certain special parts
actually the frame IS different and not stock, but as far as I know it is legal by AMA cuz its the production frame with added material (you can see the material on sexton bike check on vitalmx TH-cam) welded in certain spots by Honda japan to alter the forces applied to the chassis when riding. Probably they also alter the head angle to go with that (unconfirmed) (on the clamps, not the frame, by inserting a smaller size head tube with special bearings). That plus the bfrc shock is what gajser also run in the gps and probably what Heiko was referring to.
Hrc told (at the time 3x consecutive world champion) Valentino Rossi "we are not trying to build a bike that YOU can win on, we are trying to build a bike that ANYONE can win on" and let him walk away rather than allow him to run the specific steering angle he wanted. Hrc are engineers and seem to not be able to grasp the human element in racing. Or perhaps more realistically are set on engineering their way around it. Rossi walked away from Honda, went to Yamaha who had been nowhere the previous year, won the first race of the following year then the title and then 3 more. Riders will always make the difference but only if you let them
@@jordanemede This all comes back to products being engineered to be what the average consumer wants/needs/will pay for as opposed to meeting the needs of the racer who can win. I get the corporate side of it but also don't understand why they don't just build the bike for the elite racer knowing that the average cannot tell the difference and average racer probably cannot either. Look at KTM. None of their guys liked the new bike last year and Webb didn't even race the bike outdoors. Hopefully Chase will be okay on the KTM if the rumors of him going orange are true.
@@gregmatty6393 yes you're right the vikes and the after market industry are largely built around the consumer which is a necessity to keep everything afloat. Tthe point is that there are plenty of components that are what moto people call "unobtainium" it's something only the factories manufacture or something that isn't available to the general public. You can't buy different transmission parts but all the factories make them and use them on their teams etc.. I feel like we're saying the same thing here either way man lol
It's more than a win that was such a cool thing for our sport ! Go Kenny! I never been so pumped in my life for a guy to get a win I was literally crying 🤣 .
I totally agree with your statement. I was on the edge of the couch, hands were sweating, I was screaming at Kenny to hang on! When he whipped his bike over the finish line, I felt as if We All had just clinched the Sx Title. I was also close to tears, this guy has been through so much and he has overcome it all. A huge Heart and Love for the Sport and his Fans. Kenny has always been my Favorite because of all of these things.
@@jeffhanson664 He looked pretty close to tears himself during the interview with Will. Not sure if anyone in the entire moto community has ever won on such an older generation bike at that level of racing. That neckburn will be remembered as one of the hottest ever.
I think I would have been just as happy if Barcia would have won. I'm pumped for both of them. Just shows how much Barcia has grown up because in the past he would have attempted a pass that wasn't there and wrecked out both of them
That usually happens when you introduce new bikes. It takes some time to get them setup correctly. Look at last year with the new KTM’s and how they struggled. Now look at them this year. Once Yamaha gets that new bike dialed in correctly then Tomac won’t have the comfortably issues anymore.
@@davidjessee7701 thank you i hear people saying whats wrong with tomac he didnt when in indy. He won in daytona 7 time winner and he wasnt feeling the track in indy lets see what happens in detroit. Fans espect him to win or never be off the podium which is harsh
@@Legalizeranch420 I think it isn't about not winning. It's about chilling in 7th and letting Craig pass you in the final few laps putting you into 8th, losing the red plate by 1 point now because of it. He has 5 wins to Coopers 2. Yet he is down a point. To pretend something isn't right would be silly. I want Tomac to win this championship again.
There is a whole series in German from Heiko. Damn and he is the real deal. People don’t get how badass Kenny really is. In Germany we don’t have supercross tracks. Kens home track is like a backyard 110 track. That he’s able to win sx is just mindblowing. Remember in Germany u also get just 5-6 months of riding a year because of weather. And when he grew up riding here the tracks most of the time were beat up, bluegroove shitshows. So many guys think he’s a whiner but he just wears his heart on his sleeve and tells the truth. There are so many examples that show he’s telling the truth. Ricky on js7 is on record. He had to force the issue with Suzuki because the damn corp. wouldn’t let him run certain suspension stuff, they made it happen but the first season was a throw away because Suzuki corp. didn’t wanna change. Same with HRC, the Lawrence family was under his wing in Germany - Honda is about to loose them too. Rumor in Germany if the new generation 450 is not better for sx jett will sing with another brand.
People forget how connected the riders are to each other. Stoked Kenny is riding outdoors. Jett gets to race his hero. We get Tomac too. 450 outdoors is stacked! Dylan, Kenny, chase, Tomac and Jett. 250 outdoors is stacked too with hunter, Joe, Cooper, tom.
@@robwright4398 4 Sure he will win on the 450 its the 5th generation on the bike, if they can't figure it out for the 2024 model they won't never. but mark my words, you won't see Jett on the new gen Honda
I think a lot has to do with the bike has only been changed minimally since 2016 and y’all remember how he could ride that 2016 Suzuki. Dudes an Animal!
Come on, Kenny has been off the pace the whole season and won a freak race. Of course he won because he is awesome and rode awesome, but it didn't look like the bike was somehow super good and that's why he won.
It all works both ways. No engineers, no riders. If building winning bikes was easy, everyone would do it. Honda is an amazing company. From zero to F1 winning engine in a couple of years? That's crazy They can do anything they set their minds to.
The suzuki is affordable. You can make it your own with the cost adding up to what you would buy for a standard OEM yamaha, ktm, etc... All suzuki needed was a top rider. They could have always been in the game.
Webb said something about frame changes last year too. I am very confused because there seems to be lots of news coming out about works frames yet it's against the rules. Do they just not want to penalize anyone or what's going on?
I tell ya, engineers design things and most have zero flexibility about changes....... In industry things are always improved by the folks that use them daily....... Good episode and thanks for the content!
Was disappointed when James Stewart said the Suzuki “didn’t have the technology” to win so I been waiting for it to happen ever since. People always forget that SX/mX is and has always been 90% rider and 10% bike.
Yeah, that was such bs. Yeah, the suzuki is dated compared to a honda yamaha, etc, but it absolutely could go just as fast as the other bikes. I know this isn't completely relevant but guys in professional atv racing ride 17 year old Hondas and suzukis against brand new yamaha 450 atv's and still win! Carburetor and all haha. Mx bikes from 20 years ago could still go just as fast if the rider was up to it. Bet you a guy could get a 2002 crf450r on the podium if they were good enough. I know the bikes already fast enough haha.
I don't think the Honda Firepower would make all that much difference, he was barely beating Savatgy on it in world supercross and barely was beating Savatgy in supercross on the Suzuki, until recently when he finally got a decent setting he stuck with but then Savagty dropped out for training purposes.
Honda is notorious for trying to force the rider to get used to their bike rather than tweeking it to suit the rider. This isn't just MX; Repsol Honda in MotoGP is out in left field compared to the other brands and the guy who used to ride the wheels off the bike to win is sick of getting hurt on it. If Chase Sexton isn't sick of the front end knifing on him yet, he soon will be!
I thought it was suspension, but even if it *was* frame, it's not like anything will happen, we had Webb letting the "non standard frame" cat out of the bag on *his own team* and nothing happened, so one year on from it, I can't see anyone at AMA/FELD/MXSports chasing this one up. That horse has bolted, I reckon.
Damning stuff, Cooksey! Looks like Honda might've screwed the pooch again, and since you bring up Chad Reed, maybe that played into why JGR folded after the '19 season. Possibility there?
JGR folded because they were losing to much money and Suzuki kept trying to pull their funding. I dnt think it was worth it for them after a while, especially with Nascar not being what it used to be
Cooksey, I think that is also what's happening with Anderson. Last year was a new bike to him, he was stoked and happy. Well, the honeymoon is over, and I think he is going thru the same problems that Tomac had when they wouldn't change things for him. I think Anderson is unhappy right now and trying to work through it.
Cooksey just something interesting I ran into Decoster a few months ago randomly in Murrieta we just started talking moto I asked about KR94 he had nothing good to say I was surprised how openly he was talking bad about him kinda rubbed me the wrong way
Kenny's dad is full of it. Kenny is super fast, but just has soooo many health issues he can't finish a season. I was surprised that Honda stuck by him as long as they did. I am hopeful he can this year, but only time will tell. It was never about the bike in his case. He had amazing races on a Honda as well.
CMON people we all know who the Powers are. These are the guys who can perform at peak in any weather OUTDOORS ! And do it for the whole Moto. NOT A 10 MIN CARNIVAL RIDE
Sorry as long as Honda is near the front , here in New England if your not paying top dollar your not even getting a new Honda! In the past couple years with the brothers killing it on the 250’s there are no new 250 ‘s. on the show room floor, gone to top locals with no extras for us slow guys! No matter what Kenny’s dad said! Sold out!
Lars was on Pulp and said he was hurt by all of Heiko’s accusations. He says they’re just not true. Geisers frame was a stock frame with a couple support brackets welded into it. That’s perfectly legal. You can add to the stock frame, you just can’t remove any metal. Chase liked the way it calmed down the flexing. Kenny had the option to run the frame and the BFRE shock. Kenny said he didn’t want either. The shocks are super expensive, so they didn’t order any for Kenny. Then, mid season, Kenny decides he wants to run the BFRE shock, but they were on backorder from supply shortages. Lars even called a bunch of European teams to see if they had any extras they would sell him, but no one would come off them. I think Lars is telling the truth.
Pretty sure I heard about sexton using that frame last year or at least testing it. There is some frame modification allowed. A team can add material but they can't remove any. So it is possible he was riding a legally modified frame. But if he was and they weren't letting Kenny have the same set up that's not OK at all. That's clearly showing everyone they didn't value him anymore and that he was done after that season. There were similar rumors about Eli and AC in his last year at kawasaki. I think it was Hopper that was going off about how Tomac wasn't getting access to the same parts as Adam. But that could have all been rumors. I've also heard Ken has access to different parts than his current teammates. Teams in general don't seem to have the budget they used to and it's moving towards each team only having one premier rider. It sucks if they really are playing favorites like that but I guess that's what happens when the only thing that matters Is winning and you're on a budget.
Kenny is the only one under the progressive banner while the others are under the HEP/Twisted Tea banner. Kenny gets the progressive budget and the other guys get the twisted tea money.
@@Natedoc808 that makes sense. But it's not all that much different from Honda favoring sexton last year. If they only have so much budget they're going to put it where they think they need to to win. I don't like that they did that, Kenny is one of my all time favorites and seeing him get pushed aside for sexton sucked. But I'm also going to assume Honda had a budget to work with and between sexton Ken and the Lawrence Brothers they had to make a sacrifice somewhere. It makes sense to back the young talent in that scenario. I hate that the sport is that way but the money just isn't there like it used to be. Its crazy to think that a decade ago a guy like Jake Weimer or Andrew short could have job security on a big name team and now Ken Roczen doesn't have a true factory ride. The times have changed and the future doesn't look bright.
@@seanhaberman4619 yeah it does suck. Hearing Chad reed talk about his Etnies deal paying more annually than the factory manufacturer bonus in his factory contract is just crazy. That being said these teams have been doing this for a long time all the way back in the late 80s where 1 guy would get the new tricked out carb and suspension while the other two guys ran production carbs and suspension but could get some motor work/porting/reeds if they knew somebody like Mitch Peyton. The old skool guys talk about this a lot on the whiskey throttle podcast. Honda was doing a lot of things to Sexton’s frame and Sexton even spoke to that coming into the season about stiffening the frame. Overall the teams that will do well are the ones that are willing to makes the changes to the bike to dial it in for what the rider wants… hence why Eli left Kawi, KEnny left Honda, chase is leaving Honda, KTM had a shit year last year as roger was unwilling to make changes and even blamed the results on the riders making too many changes.
Apparently, you can add material. Ken hit me up and told me “We welded pieces on to the frame like Gajsers frame is. There is no cheating in that whatsoever”
Great job Cookie Man! The laughs at the end with you and your honey was a nice addition. We usually see ya sorta wound up, and it was nice to see you laugh a little!
I told you before, the racing in America is run by the factory teams. End of story. They have always run what they run. If you like even a different type of grip, too bad. You run what they say. All the bikes are good. So many parts out there to make it the way you want. Roczen just proved it. It is not a disadvantage to ride a yellow bike if a rider can get the resources he needs. End of story
Honda hasn’t really won since DeCoster was team manager except for the couple years with Carmichael. Ricky could of been competitive on a moped. Well a fast moped.
@@CookseyMedia for sure man ,you bring to light some topics no one would ever hear and its good for our sport. sometimes people need to see the other side of these things.
Every review said the Suzuki basically needed better suspension a just a bit more power. None of Pros ridin stock bikes! All have different suspension & motor mods.
Your Video link is incorrect. The interview part about HRC is this one th-cam.com/video/QVWt6lUk_iY/w-d-xo.html Don't get mislead by the subtitles. Heiko said "Fahrwerk", wich means the suspension (forks and rear shock). He didn't say "Rahmen" wich would translate to frame. So he did not make an accusation to HRC.
Well he is talking about Gajsers "FAHRWERK" that is translated with chasis ...actually Fahrwerk means suspension in German a bit tricky the translation he could have ment the on or the other ...but if we talk about Fahrwerk we mean Suspension
There’s a interview from sexton from preseason sx that he says that both him and Roczen tested Tim’s frame for a couple rounds but roczen didn’t like it. This was around Unadilla time
This goes way back, way before RJ and comp, and it's not just the JP mfg's. It started way way back phil reed et al, with the euro makes and JP makers innovated and listened but then they became dominant and also stopped listening.
I don’t think it really has to do with the frame. Look at Jett and Hunter. Those two guys are going to be the future of Honda in America and how much do you want to bet Jett will win on the Honda and probably a few championships.
90% of the time, it's not the engineers choice. All they do is make and change the design, and make sure its safe. If an engineer won't change the part, it's because the guy above him holding the wallet says no.
I think It's not that the Suzuki has the power but it's more manageable to ride so Kenney felt more comfortable on it that the more powerful bikes and there's nothing wrong with that.
I got to spend some time with my ol friend Bobby Webb building surfboards a couple years back. Got to Go and See Cooper Win in Orlando when Supercross kicked back in, after the Plandemic. Its been 25 years since we really talked. So.... I got to hear IT ALL! Its simple like a movie one liner. If you ain't first....your last! Stoked Kenny won!! My good friend Mourice, Move or Die surfboards makes Kennys boards. How epic is that?
Clearly the HRC of the 70's and 80's of when I raced Is NOT even remotely close to the HRC of 2023 ! HONDA is more interested in other things 🤑🤑🤑 then the RACING AND RESEARCH /DEVELOPMENT great example of that is Honda completely dropping out of the TRX450 PRO ATV MOTOCROSS/GNCC RACING and leaving Yamaha as the sole manufacturer producer of the PRO ATV motocross /Gncc quads ! WTF was up with that bonehead decision along with the bike / rider issues of now as well ???
Honda has screwed the pooch since 2002 then they stopped making two strokes and have kinda sucked since. Cars the same, reliable and technology leaders in the 80's and 90's but bland and boring this century.
McGrath left Honda because he didn't like the way the aluminum frame handled. Supposedly he raced his 1993 spec bike for all four years he won titles for Honda.
Congratulations Kenny! yeah IDK the whole story but i did here from one of the Managers of Team Honda saying we only got 2 good years out of 6 for Kenny but there desperation of winning a Championship was becoming madness apparently.
That’s fucked they’d say that.. but I don’t doubt it. Can’t help an injury honestly. It literally happens in the blink of an eye and it’s just part of the sport. He had a massive impact on the success of Honda Dirtbike sales, they can’t deny that. Ken is a great person for the sport and deserves massive amounts of respect for what he’s done after his injuries.
I think Kenny's father may have been referring to the frame stabilizer that Sexton uses that they also use in he GP's. According to Honda Kenny tried it and didn't like it. However, that could have just been Honda trying to get ahead of this interview.
In Japanese culture & corporate culture, "The Expert" is ALWAYS right. A bike builder, in their minds, knows better what the Rider needs. lol - Even in Retail, in Japan, the Customer is Never Right! LOL
![BOWKYLION - วิงวอน (ex-change) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cLdnZWDaO-w/mqdefault.jpg)
Last race you were saying the Suzuki can’t compete especially when the track gets rough! Last race was one of the roughest tracks of the year, and Ken won! These “experts” have it dialed 😂😂😂
Throughout history experts get it wrong often!!!!
Bikes don’t make or break the race giving the rider set ups they are comfortable with and doing as they ask is what gets the jobs done
@@aceneto9386obviously shown by this last race.
It's not a mystery that the suzuki even a factory one isn't close to as good as the other brands, that race just showed how fuckin technical KR94 is
TRUST THE SCIENCE 😂😂
Kenny made Suzuki’s Great Again..
I can get 2 Suzuki’s for the price of 1 Yamaha.. Being a weekend warrior, you can’t beat it.
Hopefully the price doesn’t go up now.. Damn you Kenny.. It’s a love hate relationship now.
In the pulpmx show last night they had Kenny on and he said firepower honda and the HEP team are the only teams he has been on that allowed to do whatever he wants to his bike. This includes KTM as well so its not just a japanese thing. John Tomac had similar complaints about Kawasaki that they wouldn't allow Eli to make the changes he wanted to make to his bike. Star Racing is not an in house Yamaha factory program, its a private racing team that gets factory support from Yamaha which means the riders are allowed to do whatever they want to their bike and its why star is so successful. Barcia and Plessinger constantly complained about not being able to change their bikes when they were on factory Yamaha.
I am from Germany, Heiko said He had the same "Fahrwerk" like Gajser. That is translated correctly like Suspension.
Just saying, he didn't really say frame, that would be "Rahmen".
Anyways. Keep it up, Regards from Germany.
Sounds like this video is about to get a cease and desist haha
Sounds like the same thing John Tomac had to say about Kawasaki. They refused to give Eli what he wanted and Star did. There are so many stories of the factories getting in the way of riders winning and excelling.
Yup
Chad Reed
Justin Barcia
Aaron Plesinger
Grant Langston and thts just Factory Yamaha😂😂😂😂😂
@@Sithlord224 cooper Webb
i say it all the time... you have to have known a fussy yet brilliant test rider to understand Kenny. there are personalities out there who simply cant function unless everything feels perfect because its too much of a distraction to focus if it's not. it's not that they are whiners... it's that they are good enough to fine tune to the point they cant tell the difference. then and only then will they stop thinking about the product and just ride. these people are on a genius level and need to be respected as such, not mocked for being quirky.
Heiko is referring to the BFRC shock Sexton has been running and that Tim also runs in MXGP.
I thought so too… but I heard colt got one and then ended up switching off it.. you probably heard that too. On pulp. I recognize your name from the chat I think lol
His dad and him made crazy accusations about the rch team as well it seems to be common when they leave a team they blame it on everything except Kenny
If Honda knew how to go fast, they would race the bikes themselves that they engineer. Remember who's the fast ones here... the riders. Interesting how Honda is now admitting their setup is not good enough for Chase's speed... but apparently it was good enough for Kenny a few years ago... I call BS. Kenny FTW! Hilarious when he held his kick starter up on the podium!
I'm stoked for Kenny, but I still can't help but think how that Firepower would have been for him. That weekend at Paris was insane, he looked super comfortable and fast as hell. But still happy to see him making the Suzuki work!
He looked incredible last few rounds of WSX. Sent the quad when no one else did and handled ET and Webb very well. Would’ve loved to see that setup come with him. Suspect his health keeps slowly improving too.
@Doc Martin I agree! Pretty impressed to see him win on the Suzuki though still. Not that I doubted him, but the field being so deep with every factory rider being fast, and his bike isnt stock or anything of course but it isnt a factory ride and it has its disadvantages so I just wasnt sure. Had me thinking he might be a podium guy from now on but I'm happy to see I was wrong. I'm not saying he's gonna win a ton but I think he can do it again. Look forward to see him in outdoors this year.
Paris is not a real supercross race 🤦🏼♂️
Best I ever see him ride
When the riders struggle the factories say it’s the riders. When the riders are winning the factories say it’s the bike. Look at the adds……
I also think Webb is dealing with this too.
I almost feel like kenny went to suzuki because of partially nostalgia from his childhood but mostly because they'll give him whatever he wants or needs regardless of money
I Love your Research! I'm from Germany and this Interview with Heiko Klepka was a literal Goldmine. It was so fun to her some really deep inside behind the scenes stuff!
I was blown away by his honesty, I am a fan. Love the Roczens!!!
Honesty is what we all want, yet that is the farthest thing from what is given. A breath of fresh air from the Outside! They say that the Truth-Hurts, but it’s also the Best bet. I believe what Kenny’s dad says, he’s not under contract with anyone and can speak as he sees fit!
Some people call it whining, I call it knowing exactly what you want, and being frustrated when they won't deliver. To put it in layman's context, it's like, if you're ordering something at a Restaurant and you like a Medium-Well steak, and the chef brings you one Rare because he says, "It's better that way" maybe to him it is, but to the guy who ordered it, it sucks, and that's the only guy in that scenario who's opinion matters. The chef isn't eating that steak, just like the engineer isn't riding that bike.
That is a great analogy! I am going to use it. Thanks!!!
@@CookseyMedia Please do! Keep up the killer Moto content!
I agree about the Firepower Honda. I think he could’ve done it on the ClubMX Yamaha too. Super excited to see what happens in Detroit. Two wins in a row might break the internet.
Yea without a doubt it would!
It seems like I watched a video of you saying that there was no way that Roczen was going to win on a Suzuki this year?
There's one way to assure you will never get another Honda ride. Probably gives the other manufacturers a pause as well.
As a German, Kennys Dad said they had only 1 Suspension like they have in the GP's for Gajser, he doesnt talk about the FRAME, from what i understand his father said only 1 Honda rider of each series gets a special treatment and acces to certain special parts
Apparently something is lost in translation.
So the story is bullshit. I couldn't get thru it because this fkn guy is always trying to sell shit. Not gonna click on this show again.
actually the frame IS different and not stock, but as far as I know it is legal by AMA cuz its the production frame with added material (you can see the material on sexton bike check on vitalmx TH-cam) welded in certain spots by Honda japan to alter the forces applied to the chassis when riding. Probably they also alter the head angle to go with that (unconfirmed) (on the clamps, not the frame, by inserting a smaller size head tube with special bearings). That plus the bfrc shock is what gajser also run in the gps and probably what Heiko was referring to.
Yep It's true.
Hrc told (at the time 3x consecutive world champion) Valentino Rossi "we are not trying to build a bike that YOU can win on, we are trying to build a bike that ANYONE can win on" and let him walk away rather than allow him to run the specific steering angle he wanted.
Hrc are engineers and seem to not be able to grasp the human element in racing. Or perhaps more realistically are set on engineering their way around it.
Rossi walked away from Honda, went to Yamaha who had been nowhere the previous year, won the first race of the following year then the title and then 3 more.
Riders will always make the difference but only if you let them
Not sure what career you have but coming from a guy who deals with engineers daily this is NO surprise
I don't doubt this but would love to see the original comment in a magazine somewhere for reference.
@@jordanemede This all comes back to products being engineered to be what the average consumer wants/needs/will pay for as opposed to meeting the needs of the racer who can win. I get the corporate side of it but also don't understand why they don't just build the bike for the elite racer knowing that the average cannot tell the difference and average racer probably cannot either.
Look at KTM. None of their guys liked the new bike last year and Webb didn't even race the bike outdoors. Hopefully Chase will be okay on the KTM if the rumors of him going orange are true.
@@gregmatty6393 yes you're right the vikes and the after market industry are largely built around the consumer which is a necessity to keep everything afloat. Tthe point is that there are plenty of components that are what moto people call "unobtainium" it's something only the factories manufacture or something that isn't available to the general public. You can't buy different transmission parts but all the factories make them and use them on their teams etc.. I feel like we're saying the same thing here either way man lol
@@jordanemede For that we are in agreement. Ride safe.
It's more than a win that was such a cool thing for our sport ! Go Kenny! I never been so pumped in my life for a guy to get a win I was literally crying 🤣 .
I totally agree with your statement. I was on the edge of the couch, hands were sweating, I was screaming at Kenny to hang on! When he whipped his bike over the finish line, I felt as if We All had just clinched the Sx Title. I was also close to tears, this guy has been through so much and he has overcome it all. A huge Heart and Love for the Sport and his Fans. Kenny has always been my Favorite because of all of these things.
@@jeffhanson664 He looked pretty close to tears himself during the interview with Will.
Not sure if anyone in the entire moto community has ever won on such an older generation bike at that level of racing. That neckburn will be remembered as one of the hottest ever.
I think I would have been just as happy if Barcia would have won. I'm pumped for both of them. Just shows how much Barcia has grown up because in the past he would have attempted a pass that wasn't there and wrecked out both of them
roczen sr has always been notorious for saying complete nonsense while not being involved in the topics he is speaking on. far from a reliable source.
I think Tomac would be doing better on last year's Yamaha, he never had bogus races on tracks with rough conditions last year he would excel.
I agree. The new bike isn't as good as they're pretending but they will never admit it because they can't piss off a big advertiser like Yamaha.
That usually happens when you introduce new bikes. It takes some time to get them setup correctly. Look at last year with the new KTM’s and how they struggled. Now look at them this year. Once Yamaha gets that new bike dialed in correctly then Tomac won’t have the comfortably issues anymore.
@@davidjessee7701 thank you i hear people saying whats wrong with tomac he didnt when in indy. He won in daytona 7 time winner and he wasnt feeling the track in indy lets see what happens in detroit. Fans espect him to win or never be off the podium which is harsh
@@Legalizeranch420 I think it isn't about not winning. It's about chilling in 7th and letting Craig pass you in the final few laps putting you into 8th, losing the red plate by 1 point now because of it. He has 5 wins to Coopers 2. Yet he is down a point. To pretend something isn't right would be silly. I want Tomac to win this championship again.
@@daltonturner3113 I personally wouldn’t worry unless he doesnt podium in detroit or go down more then 7 points then that would be concerning for ET
There is a whole series in German from Heiko.
Damn and he is the real deal.
People don’t get how badass Kenny really is.
In Germany we don’t have supercross tracks.
Kens home track is like a backyard 110 track.
That he’s able to win sx is just mindblowing.
Remember in Germany u also get just 5-6 months of riding a year because of weather.
And when he grew up riding here the tracks most of the time were beat up, bluegroove shitshows.
So many guys think he’s a whiner but he just wears his heart on his sleeve and tells the truth.
There are so many examples that show he’s telling the truth.
Ricky on js7 is on record. He had to force the issue with Suzuki because the damn corp. wouldn’t let him run certain suspension stuff, they made it happen but the first season was a throw away because Suzuki corp. didn’t wanna change.
Same with HRC, the Lawrence family was under his wing in Germany - Honda is about to loose them too.
Rumor in Germany if the new generation 450 is not better for sx jett will sing with another brand.
I 100% appreciate Roczen, and his dad keeping it real. It’s all I ask of people, as I do my best to do the same.
People forget how connected the riders are to each other. Stoked Kenny is riding outdoors. Jett gets to race his hero. We get Tomac too.
450 outdoors is stacked! Dylan, Kenny, chase, Tomac and Jett.
250 outdoors is stacked too with hunter, Joe, Cooper, tom.
What is rockys dad going to say when Jett wins on the 450 Honda?
@@robwright4398 4 Sure he will win on the 450 its the 5th generation on the bike, if they can't figure it out for the 2024 model they won't never. but mark my words, you won't see Jett on the new gen Honda
I think a lot has to do with the bike has only been changed minimally since 2016 and y’all remember how he could ride that 2016 Suzuki. Dudes an Animal!
Jet can make Honda his b1tch if he plays his cards right, who else they gonna get to compete on 450?
Which is exactly what Kenny’s dad implied. I think, I don’t speak German.
Just watch the difference with star Yamaha...and how it was Factory Yamaha
Nothing wrong with chases bike except what's between his ears
Factory Honda stunted Ken Roczen's career with that pogo-stick-suspension. At least they didn’t dump him while he was rehabilitating.
Come on, Kenny has been off the pace the whole season and won a freak race. Of course he won because he is awesome and rode awesome, but it didn't look like the bike was somehow super good and that's why he won.
It all works both ways. No engineers, no riders. If building winning bikes was easy, everyone would do it. Honda is an amazing company. From zero to F1 winning engine in a couple of years? That's crazy They can do anything they set their minds to.
The suzuki is affordable. You can make it your own with the cost adding up to what you would buy for a standard OEM yamaha, ktm, etc... All suzuki needed was a top rider. They could have always been in the game.
Sexton said on a video interview this year that his frame is so chopped up, it doesn’t even feel like a Honda anymore.
Webb said something about frame changes last year too. I am very confused because there seems to be lots of news coming out about works frames yet it's against the rules. Do they just not want to penalize anyone or what's going on?
@@amacoutdoors2076 I believe they can add material to the frame, just not take any away
@MJ 1776 OK that makes some sense. I think i rememenr them mentioning an extra cross for stiffness/ more ridged chassis. Thanks
I tell ya, engineers design things and most have zero flexibility about changes....... In industry things are always improved by the folks that use them daily....... Good episode and thanks for the content!
Was disappointed when James Stewart said the Suzuki “didn’t have the technology” to win so I been waiting for it to happen ever since. People always forget that SX/mX is and has always been 90% rider and 10% bike.
Yeah, that was such bs. Yeah, the suzuki is dated compared to a honda yamaha, etc, but it absolutely could go just as fast as the other bikes. I know this isn't completely relevant but guys in professional atv racing ride 17 year old Hondas and suzukis against brand new yamaha 450 atv's and still win! Carburetor and all haha. Mx bikes from 20 years ago could still go just as fast if the rider was up to it. Bet you a guy could get a 2002 crf450r on the podium if they were good enough. I know the bikes already fast enough haha.
I don't think the Honda Firepower would make all that much difference, he was barely beating Savatgy on it in world supercross and barely was beating Savatgy in supercross on the Suzuki, until recently when he finally got a decent setting he stuck with but then Savagty dropped out for training purposes.
I knew they have admitted to using the same shock as Tim but never heard anything about the frame.
Honda is notorious for trying to force the rider to get used to their bike rather than tweeking it to suit the rider. This isn't just MX; Repsol Honda in MotoGP is out in left field compared to the other brands and the guy who used to ride the wheels off the bike to win is sick of getting hurt on it. If Chase Sexton isn't sick of the front end knifing on him yet, he soon will be!
He is.
I thought it was suspension, but even if it *was* frame, it's not like anything will happen, we had Webb letting the "non standard frame" cat out of the bag on *his own team* and nothing happened, so one year on from it, I can't see anyone at AMA/FELD/MXSports chasing this one up. That horse has bolted, I reckon.
Damning stuff, Cooksey! Looks like Honda might've screwed the pooch again, and since you bring up Chad Reed, maybe that played into why JGR folded after the '19 season. Possibility there?
JGR folded because they were losing to much money and Suzuki kept trying to pull their funding. I dnt think it was worth it for them after a while, especially with Nascar not being what it used to be
Squeaky wheel gets the grease!
The translation is wrong, I live in Germany and he is talking about the Suspension not about the Frame. I would correct the video.
I was thinking all of this back in 16 and 17 wish RCH never dissolved.
Cooksey, I think that is also what's happening with Anderson. Last year was a new bike to him, he was stoked and happy. Well, the honeymoon is over, and I think he is going thru the same problems that Tomac had when they wouldn't change things for him. I think Anderson is unhappy right now and trying to work through it.
Cooksey just something interesting I ran into Decoster a few months ago randomly in Murrieta we just started talking moto I asked about KR94 he had nothing good to say I was surprised how openly he was talking bad about him kinda rubbed me the wrong way
Wait 4:35 chase sexton signed with KTM ?
I called this happening. Kennys dad blasted RCH the same way saying the same shit.
You can add material to the frame which is what they did
Im so glad you made this video. I couldnt make heads or tales of what K-rox pop was running down
Did you see kenny front suspension boing his way threw woops jumps-looked like stewert front end ,
Kenny's dad is full of it. Kenny is super fast, but just has soooo many health issues he can't finish a season. I was surprised that Honda stuck by him as long as they did. I am hopeful he can this year, but only time will tell. It was never about the bike in his case. He had amazing races on a Honda as well.
It sure sounds like he's full of it. I'd take everything he says with a grain of salt.
CMON people we all know who the Powers are. These are the guys who can perform at peak in any weather OUTDOORS ! And do it for the whole Moto. NOT A 10 MIN CARNIVAL RIDE
Goes to show what Jonny hopper said a year or so ago, only certain riders get certain parts and no one believed him.
Sorry as long as Honda is near the front , here in New England if your not paying top dollar your not even getting a new Honda! In the past couple years with the brothers killing it on the 250’s there are no new 250 ‘s. on the show room floor, gone to top locals with no extras for us slow guys! No matter what Kenny’s dad said! Sold out!
Lars was on Pulp and said he was hurt by all of Heiko’s accusations. He says they’re just not true. Geisers frame was a stock frame with a couple support brackets welded into it. That’s perfectly legal. You can add to the stock frame, you just can’t remove any metal. Chase liked the way it calmed down the flexing.
Kenny had the option to run the frame and the BFRE shock. Kenny said he didn’t want either. The shocks are super expensive, so they didn’t order any for Kenny. Then, mid season, Kenny decides he wants to run the BFRE shock, but they were on backorder from supply shortages. Lars even called a bunch of European teams to see if they had any extras they would sell him, but no one would come off them.
I think Lars is telling the truth.
It sounds like Lars was telling the truth, I believe him.
Pretty sure I heard about sexton using that frame last year or at least testing it. There is some frame modification allowed. A team can add material but they can't remove any. So it is possible he was riding a legally modified frame.
But if he was and they weren't letting Kenny have the same set up that's not OK at all. That's clearly showing everyone they didn't value him anymore and that he was done after that season. There were similar rumors about Eli and AC in his last year at kawasaki. I think it was Hopper that was going off about how Tomac wasn't getting access to the same parts as Adam. But that could have all been rumors. I've also heard Ken has access to different parts than his current teammates. Teams in general don't seem to have the budget they used to and it's moving towards each team only having one premier rider. It sucks if they really are playing favorites like that but I guess that's what happens when the only thing that matters Is winning and you're on a budget.
Kenny is the only one under the progressive banner while the others are under the HEP/Twisted Tea banner. Kenny gets the progressive budget and the other guys get the twisted tea money.
@@Natedoc808 that makes sense. But it's not all that much different from Honda favoring sexton last year. If they only have so much budget they're going to put it where they think they need to to win. I don't like that they did that, Kenny is one of my all time favorites and seeing him get pushed aside for sexton sucked. But I'm also going to assume Honda had a budget to work with and between sexton Ken and the Lawrence Brothers they had to make a sacrifice somewhere. It makes sense to back the young talent in that scenario. I hate that the sport is that way but the money just isn't there like it used to be. Its crazy to think that a decade ago a guy like Jake Weimer or Andrew short could have job security on a big name team and now Ken Roczen doesn't have a true factory ride. The times have changed and the future doesn't look bright.
@@seanhaberman4619 yeah it does suck. Hearing Chad reed talk about his Etnies deal paying more annually than the factory manufacturer bonus in his factory contract is just crazy. That being said these teams have been doing this for a long time all the way back in the late 80s where 1 guy would get the new tricked out carb and suspension while the other two guys ran production carbs and suspension but could get some motor work/porting/reeds if they knew somebody like Mitch Peyton. The old skool guys talk about this a lot on the whiskey throttle podcast. Honda was doing a lot of things to Sexton’s frame and Sexton even spoke to that coming into the season about stiffening the frame. Overall the teams that will do well are the ones that are willing to makes the changes to the bike to dial it in for what the rider wants… hence why Eli left Kawi, KEnny left Honda, chase is leaving Honda, KTM had a shit year last year as roger was unwilling to make changes and even blamed the results on the riders making too many changes.
@@Natedoc808not true bud, marshell weltin is under progressive
can you elaborate on the why the frame isnt allowed?
Apparently, you can add material. Ken hit me up and told me “We welded pieces on to the frame like Gajsers frame is. There is no cheating in that whatsoever”
Great job Cookie Man! The laughs at the end with you and your honey was a nice addition. We usually see ya sorta wound up, and it was nice to see you laugh a little!
Why would Kenny with the better frame getting better results, only take points from Eli and not Chase also?
I told you before, the racing in America is run by the factory teams. End of story. They have always run what they run. If you like even a different type of grip, too bad. You run what they say.
All the bikes are good. So many parts out there to make it the way you want.
Roczen just proved it. It is not a disadvantage to ride a yellow bike if a rider can get the resources he needs. End of story
Honda hasn’t really won since DeCoster was team manager except for the couple years with Carmichael. Ricky could of been competitive on a moped. Well a fast moped.
As low as RC had his Honda, it was basically a moped.
Well uhh Hondas have both red plates in the 250 class so yeah they're fast bikes
I gotta say sometimes I don't agree with what you say, but than you say something that blows my mind haha love it keep it up man
Never said you would agree or even like what I say, but hopefully I make you think. Thanks for watching!
@@CookseyMedia for sure man ,you bring to light some topics no one would ever hear and its good for our sport. sometimes people need to see the other side of these things.
Every review said the Suzuki basically needed better suspension a just a bit more power. None of Pros ridin stock bikes! All have different suspension & motor mods.
Your Video link is incorrect. The interview part about HRC is this one th-cam.com/video/QVWt6lUk_iY/w-d-xo.html
Don't get mislead by the subtitles. Heiko said "Fahrwerk", wich means the suspension (forks and rear shock). He didn't say "Rahmen" wich would translate to frame. So he did not make an accusation to HRC.
Fixed the link, thanks
Thanks for the insight Cooksey, we appreciate it as always!
Well he is talking about Gajsers "FAHRWERK" that is translated with chasis ...actually Fahrwerk means suspension in German a bit tricky the translation he could have ment the on or the other ...but if we talk about Fahrwerk we mean Suspension
Ken can complain all he wants he's a multi time champ he knows how to win listen to your riders
There’s a interview from sexton from preseason sx that he says that both him and Roczen tested Tim’s frame for a couple rounds but roczen didn’t like it. This was around Unadilla time
Apparently it wasn’t made available to Roczen…
This goes way back, way before RJ and comp, and it's not just the JP mfg's. It started way way back phil reed et al, with the euro makes and JP makers innovated and listened but then they became dominant and also stopped listening.
When McGrath was with Honda, he ran the same frame year after year even though the production versions changed.
I’m buzzing Kenny got a win ,Shout out to cooksey from England UK
I don’t think it really has to do with the frame. Look at Jett and Hunter. Those two guys are going to be the future of Honda in America and how much do you want to bet Jett will win on the Honda and probably a few championships.
Honda hasnt won a supercross title jn a while especially in the premier i think jett will get it done for them both motocross and supercross
Honda always has been a control freak. Ask McGrath
90% of the time, it's not the engineers choice. All they do is make and change the design, and make sure its safe. If an engineer won't change the part, it's because the guy above him holding the wallet says no.
When the shoe fits
Stock bikes for sale is one thing, racing is a complete different animal.
U have to listen to the rider./driver, in all types of racing is like that.
I think It's not that the Suzuki has the power but it's more manageable to ride so Kenney felt more comfortable on it that the more powerful bikes and there's nothing wrong with that.
I got to spend some time with my ol friend Bobby Webb building surfboards a couple years back. Got to Go and See Cooper Win in Orlando when Supercross kicked back in, after the Plandemic. Its been 25 years since we really talked. So.... I got to hear IT ALL! Its simple like a movie one liner. If you ain't first....your last! Stoked Kenny won!! My good friend Mourice, Move or Die surfboards makes Kennys boards. How epic is that?
Roczens dad talked the same shit when he rode yellow last time
he meant his dad. and yep, all true.
Big acusations requires big proof....
What a dumb statement! Is big proof a legal term😂 Sorry, but this statement sounds like a Lance Armstrong defense, and he was guilty AF.
@@CookseyMedia It's ok, you are literally the My Pillow Guy of MX. I don't take it seriously.
I know Honda is known for crappy welds on their frames. reason for the extra welds that are easily visible on Sexton's bike.
That Honda bike didn't just almost end rockson's career. It also ended cole sealy's career
Sexton is fast but he chokes in mains
Its Chase Wrexton
Choke Wrexton
Love your KX…Team Green ALWAYS!
Kenny say that his firepower Honda had way more power and speed and felt better than his hrc factory honda
Clearly the HRC of the 70's and 80's of when I raced
Is NOT even remotely close to
the HRC of 2023 !
HONDA is more interested in other things 🤑🤑🤑 then the
RACING AND RESEARCH /DEVELOPMENT
great example of that is Honda completely dropping out of the
TRX450 PRO ATV MOTOCROSS/GNCC RACING and leaving Yamaha as the sole manufacturer producer of the PRO ATV motocross /Gncc quads !
WTF was up with that bonehead decision along with the bike / rider issues of now as well ???
Honda has screwed the pooch since 2002 then they stopped making two strokes and have kinda sucked since. Cars the same, reliable and technology leaders in the 80's and 90's but bland and boring this century.
McGrath left Honda because he didn't like the way the aluminum frame handled. Supposedly he raced his 1993 spec bike for all four years he won titles for Honda.
Love when you have Gina on..💯👍
Congratulations Kenny! yeah IDK the whole story but i did here from one of the Managers of Team Honda saying we only got 2 good years out of 6 for Kenny but there desperation of winning a Championship was becoming madness apparently.
"hear"
@@mixerguru Tool!
Yes..Honda did not get much winning out of Kenny. The Honda/Roczen contract m was for 10MM if I recall correctly.
That’s fucked they’d say that.. but I don’t doubt it. Can’t help an injury honestly. It literally happens in the blink of an eye and it’s just part of the sport. He had a massive impact on the success of Honda Dirtbike sales, they can’t deny that. Ken is a great person for the sport and deserves massive amounts of respect for what he’s done after his injuries.
Don't say uhh ever on camera
Cannot blame the bike for Kenny going short at the monster cup
This is a one off imo. Ken will be back to middle of the pack next week.
Now I know where Kenny got his drama queen crown.
If if if if my aunt had balls she would have been my uncle.😂
I think Kenny's father may have been referring to the frame stabilizer that Sexton uses that they also use in he GP's. According to Honda Kenny tried it and didn't like it. However, that could have just been Honda trying to get ahead of this interview.
In Japanese culture & corporate culture, "The Expert" is ALWAYS right. A bike builder, in their minds, knows better what the Rider needs. lol - Even in Retail, in Japan, the Customer is Never Right! LOL
Don't matter what bike Ken was on,if you didn't see him winning...well
Sounds identical to Eli Tomac moving from factory Kawasaki to Star Yamaha.
Great Video !!!
That was Tomac’s same complaint with kawi. Pro circuit wasn’t willing to make the suspension changes he wanted.