the 800's, good or not?

[Corny]

after 9 (it were nine, not?) races in 800CC motogp, I think it's fair to give your opinion about the move..

I prefer the 990s to be honest, the sound of the bikes were better, it looked much more spectaculair (sliding all around, you only see that now a little bit with Stoner) and the electronics were not as important as they are now..
Also, there is a big big difference between horsepowers with the 800s. If you see the difference between f.e. Ducati and Suzuki, there should be time loss for Suzuki there..

That's how I think about it, now let me know what you think of it

[ChrisS]

I also prefer the 990s, as you said they were more spectacular, they were tougher to ride and at the same time more forgiving, I think they made a better show

[The Phantom]

You'd have to say that the move to 800cc has been an expensive and relatively pointless exercise... looking at what's different:

- cost of building bikes - UP, negative
- rideability of bikes (power) - easier, negative (skill levels diminish)
- handling of bikes - better, negative (if you're not from 250s forget about it)
- spectator appeal - similar, still some good racing
- wow factor - down, negative
- popularity of MotoGP - same, it's attracted no new fans
- sponsor appeal -same
- rider satisfaction - hard to gauge but most riders always want more grunt
- boffin factor - UP : ) the real benefactors are the engineers who get to play
- sales factor - well, I'm sure Ducati is selling more bikes this year!
- relevance factor - hard to call, unless you own a VFR800 : )

It could be argued that simply adding the tyre rule - and putting Stoner on a Duc - might have resulted in much the same season as we're seeing...

The real irony for me is that Honda, struggling mightily to make the RC212V work, was the main instigator of the 800cc rule.

[ChrisS]

nice breakdown of the main points Phantom, I think you are right at most of them.

I would like to add in sponsor appeal, 800cc as a racing formula may be the same for sponsors but the smaller size of the bikes is a negative.

If you look at the Ducati in GPs where they can ran Marlboro you will see 'rlboro' and 'Marlbo' in either side with the rest of the letters covered by the riders legs, the RC212V is almost a naked bike, leaving very little side space for sponsors.

[The Phantom]

Right on Chris, I completely missed that, and it's a big one. Probably completely unexpected by Dorna too...

[Corny]

btw, is it only me, or do you guys also think it's more difficult to overtake with the 800s? I've seen more passingmanouvres last year.. ( in a race I mean)

[The Phantom]

Most passing seems to happen under brakes with the 800s, unless you are Casey Stoner...

[NinjaMaster]

I think there are good and bad aspects to the 800's. On the downside, they aren't as spectacular as the 990's and the riders don't enjoy them the same.
On the plus side, it gave Zook and Kwak a chance to start again and catch up faster than if the 990's remained. Overall, the spectacle hasn't diminished in my opinion with racing as close as ever, just the bike movement isn't as spectacular.
And I still reckon if a talented enough rider comes from Superbikes, they can still be fast on the 800, just like CV.

[maxu05]

I am really enjoying the 800's myself, though, I can sede that they are not as brutal as the 990's. I think it's just the same as the switch from 2 stroke to 4 stroke, as the 2 strokes were more brutal than the 4 strokes, and now the 800's are less of a monster than the 990's. What will happen in 5--10 years when they are reduced to 600/500cc ? Will they still be as fast due to the technological advances ?

[mx311]

after 9 (it were nine, not?) races in 800CC motogp, I think it's fair to give your opinion about the move..

Personally, I don't like the 800's much. The 990's were far better imo and from haven ridden one I can see why the riders loved them so much.

The thing about the 800's as a whole though is that they are ultimately a failure. It didn't lure anyone new to MotoGP and it didn't reduce speeds and reduce the danger level. If anything, the speeds and danger have risen.

The racing is good yes, but then last year wasn't that bad was it?