by Steve Dye
10 Things We Learned at Millville
Wednesday, July 20, 2011 | 4:30 PM
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10. IT RAINS IN MINNESOTA: Judging by the veritable monsoon that took place going into the Spring Creek weekend, it's no wonder the area is called the land of a thousand lakes. It rains in Minnesota, and then it gets hot. And really really hot down at the Creek, where the humidity sits in the bowl like warm milk over soggy cereal. With no slight to Red Bud, Millville must be mis-scheduled by two weeks because there's just two seasons in Minnesota: Winter, and the Fourth of July.
9. LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE HOME TEAM: And while we're talking location location location... There's Ryan Dungey's wildly popular win – his fourth consecutive national win in his home state. Iowa native Justin Brayton hails from Fort Dodge, about three hours away from Spring Creek, and considers Millville his home race too. Brayton put in a strong ride after crashing in the first moto and managed to put the sole JGR entry – teammate Davi Millsaps sitting out with a sore knee – into the top ten with a 12-7 for ninth overall. From zero hours away, and leading the way for the small bore division, was the stellar fifth-place ride by sometimes-resident Alex Martin in the 250 class. Due largely to reasons pertaining to number ten, above, Martin spends much of his time training in South Carolina and other warmer climates, but technically he resides on the Spring Creek property. Minneapolis's own Gannon Audette also put it in the top 10 for the home crowd with a 15-10 for ninth overall in front of the home crowd.
Dungey took the overall at Millville for yet another win in front of the home fans.
Photo: Brian Robinette
Hahn has had a tough first year on the Yamaha.
Photo: Brian Robinette
Will Albertson be on a Yamaha soon?
Photo: Brian Robinette
9. LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE HOME TEAM: And while we're talking location location location... There's Ryan Dungey's wildly popular win – his fourth consecutive national win in his home state. Iowa native Justin Brayton hails from Fort Dodge, about three hours away from Spring Creek, and considers Millville his home race too. Brayton put in a strong ride after crashing in the first moto and managed to put the sole JGR entry – teammate Davi Millsaps sitting out with a sore knee – into the top ten with a 12-7 for ninth overall. From zero hours away, and leading the way for the small bore division, was the stellar fifth-place ride by sometimes-resident Alex Martin in the 250 class. Due largely to reasons pertaining to number ten, above, Martin spends much of his time training in South Carolina and other warmer climates, but technically he resides on the Spring Creek property. Minneapolis's own Gannon Audette also put it in the top 10 for the home crowd with a 15-10 for ninth overall in front of the home crowd.
Dungey took the overall at Millville for yet another win in front of the home fans.
Photo: Brian Robinette
8. AND THE AWAY TEAM: Fredrik Noren from Sweden posted a 14-17 for 15th. Evgeny Mikhaylov from Russia just missed a top 20 overall finish despite finishing in the top 20 in both motos. Mikhaylov, riding with a cue ball white helmet and no graphics on his Suzuki, finished 19th in the first moto and 20th in the second for 21st overall. Let's repeat that: A Russian with a plain-wrap lid and a no-wrap bike finishes in the top 20 in both motos. Maybe Fro and Weege should get Larry Maiers back into the announcer's booth to see what he thinks about all this Euro-Russian incursion stuff.
7. TOMMY HAHN IS MAD, AND HE'S GOING HOME: Or at the very least, to another team. A different team with a different bike. Whatever the reason, it's not working out with Hahn and the Yamaha. The merits of the machine can be debated, but not every rider seems to mesh with the motorcycle. Hahn's frustration was palpable – and verbal – after he lost the front end (for reasons unknown to him) and crashed hard in the first moto. The usually mild-mannered Tommy threw his helmet, and a little bit of a tantrum. He said he was going home! Instead Hahn came back out and soldiered to a strong eighth place second moto. Hahn has proven he's got podium potential by putting it on the box in the past. His future likely lies elsewhere.
6. TREY CANARD IS BACK: And, news flash, the kid is still lightning fast. Scoring a podium in your first ever 450 race is no small feat. Doing it coming off the couch after re-breaking the biggest bone in your body? That's something, huh? And how about silencing doubters who said you wouldn't be up to speed right away by right away posting the fastest lap time in qualifying? Pretty good stuff. Canard's podium may or may not have happened without Chad Reed's burgeoning frequent-flyer miles, but the Oklahoma kid hung with the lead pack in the first moto before fading ever-so-gracefully to fifth. And in the second moto, he was in his own lead pack of one for much of the race – behind the rival Ryans but ahead of everybody else. With Canard's return, an outdoor season that couldn't get any better just did.
5. MIKE ALESSI DENIED: Since returning to his favored 450cc of displacement, Mike Alessi has regained most of his holeshot mojo and shown that he still has what it takes to start at the front and hold onto his position like a pit bull clenches a rib eye. After missing the first four motos of the year after his Hangtown practice crash, Alessi has finished fourth in five motos so far, including twice at Millville. Unfortunately for Mike's checkbook, it's said that he only gets bonuses for top three finishes – a pretty tall order with Chad, Ryan, and Ryan splitting up the podium positions like loot from a heist. On that rare day when Reed abdicated his spot on the box, it was bad for Alessi that there was another works Honda waiting to take his place. Alessi tied with Canard for points, but lost out on the overall position.
Hahn has had a tough first year on the Yamaha.
Photo: Brian Robinette
4. VET CLASS: And on the subject of finishing fourth... Fan favorite Kevin Windham's two best finishes of his extended outdoor non-vacation were 4-4 fourth place finishes at both Mt. Morris and Lakewood. In the last two rounds, K-Dub's results have fallen off by just a bit: 12-6 for ninth at Red Bud and 11-10 for 10th at Spring Creek. Now he's announced he's putting it on the shelf for the rest of the season, which means he won't have to ride the sand at Southwick. Conversely, if the plus-30 class Windham isn't looking forward to sand whoops the size of Volkswagens, Massachusetts’s own plus-40 hero John Dowd almost certainly is after a tough – but points paying! – day at Millville. Dowdy explains that he won his first ever "legit" national at Millville all the way back in 1994. (No, the Hangtown one-moto River Run doesn't count.) A mere 17 years later, Dowd still managed a top twenty moto finish with an 18th in the first race. He’ll want to do much better at Southwick, and to keep that 16 he’ll have to. And finally... Chad Pederson. Nice try Swap! Good to see you again buddy!
3. TOP (JIMMY) PRIVATEER: Top privateer one week, having to skip the next for lack of funding. The life of Jimmy Albertson is kind of a mixed blessing at the moment. You want proof? Well, trading moto finishes with one Kevin Windham does not suck, even if Windham's 11-10 edged Jimmy's 10-11 in the overall results. But on the downside, Albertson had planned on skipping the Washougal round and saving his energy – and his pennies – for a push at the east coast rounds of Southwick, Unadilla, and Steel City. On the upside, his strong finishes since returning to action at Lakewood have earned Albertson a try-out with the Valli Yamaha team this week. So that's pretty good. But then again, switching from a Merge Racing Honda 450 to the Yamaha will be a big big adjustment. So that’s kind of a push.
Will Albertson be on a Yamaha soon?
Photo: Brian Robinette
2. MOTOCROSS HAS A 40 RIDER FIELD: Mr. Reed's wild ride has prompted comparisons to James Stewart's crash and subsequent push through the pack at Daytona earlier this year. But the circumstances are as dissimilar as the trajectory. In either case, you had to wonder how anyone could get up from something like that and still race. In either case, it was one hell of an impressive swing from "Oh man... he's done" to "Wow. How did he do that?" But maybe it's time to mention that Reed effectively made up 26 positions – six more positions than there are riders in a supercross main – in his last to 14th ride. So, you know, there's something else for the internet to argue. Just what it needed, right?
(Here's a little more fodder, just to beat the beaters to the punch: Yes, 11 riders failed to finish the second 450 moto. That means... pick one... A) Chad 'only' had to pass 15 riders, or B) Reedy is even more of a man for finishing out the moto in that heat, after that vicious impact. Discuss.)
1. EVERY POINT COUNTS: In 1996, then defending outdoor national champion Jeremy McGrath's one-year reign effectively ended when the tour stopped at Millville. In one of those pivotal moments that can define an entire season, MC elected to turn two tabletops into a giant double – a gap no one else even considered jumping. Jeremy came up just short, turned his foot under, and his title defense began to unravel. McGrath, hobbled, struggled to finish that day. At the next round, McGrath pulled off the track altogether – and he would eventually lose his number one plate to Jeff Emig by just 10 points… points he could have easily salvaged had he kept riding at Washougal. Steve Matthes did a great podcast with the King at PulpMX where Jeremy says his decision to pull off is one of the biggest regrets of his career. When Chad Reed remounted after his huge crash to salvage seven points, did he save his chance at the 2011 crown? Whatever happens at the end of this wild and unpredictable outdoor season Chad Reed will be able to look back at his roller-coaster races at Millville – outgunning local hero Ryan Dungey in the first moto only to be shot into space in the second – and know that on his worst day, he gave it his best.
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Lets go DUNGEY
Reed, Villo, Dungey, Canard, Windham: 5 real champions !!!
hmmmmm,,, another rider that does NOT like the Yamaha..
Now that was an awesome article. Teach Weege how to pull together info and relay it to the public like that. Great piece!
yup! dungey's got his mojo back. Consistency will win. Reed may be back but i think that fly through the air may stick in the back of his head for a while. And RV is fast, but has shown that his consistency is also in question. Plus RD ran his ass down at millville. Hopefully for the fans they all stay in it and healthy. Let's not forget Trey.. i predict he wins a couple motos before it's over! This one's going down to Pala, but I predict the calm and dangerous Dungey takes it!
#7 - Wow!! .....Another rider fed up with the handling of the 450 yamaha?SHOCKER.!!!...it has to do with the front end which knocked Stewart to the ground on several occasions this year....Pourcel is a bigname and can walk away and pick up a new ride like nothing, same thing Stewart is doing....Hahn, looks like he reached the boiling point of frustration......
#2- Yes, lets argue :)..... Dont forget that quite a few riders didnt even start the second moto at Milleville in addition to the several that pulled off before you lick Reeds ball sweat any more......and most SX main events are 12-14 minutes....Daytona probably 20 with the longer laps, which is 10 minutes plus two laps shorter than a MX moto...Do we have to bloat Reeds ego any more than it is.....Can we just say " way to go man!!" rather than blow this guy all day???
#1- Dont forget about RV's "every point counts" charge from dead last to 9th at Red Bud....He too had "points" in mind and now he is in within 6 pts.....Reed had some bad luck and had RV DNF'd moto 1 at Red Bud, he would be kicking himself silly now after Reed lost points this week......
I would say RV and RD have been pretty equal with their consistency.... RV, RD and CR have been either 1, 2 , 3 , 95% of the time....couple off or bad motos for all 3 of these guys now.....Reed has been most consistent and I think if anyone else was finishing like RV and RD have been this year, they would be considered pretty damb consistent......and....we are just at the half way point.....so.....only time will tell..... GO RV!!
Yamaha needs to redesign the 450 again! The bike obviously has problems when the top pros are complaining about it. It was strange to see Pourcel choose the bike over the Honda and then after racing the bike for real, he stated it was dangerous to ride! JGR isnt saying anything but I know they are! At least Millsaps and Brayton have to be saying something or keeping it to themselves. Its ashame if Yamaha has Stewart locked into a contract because he has to be wanting to ride something else. I dont think hiring Ferry to try to "improve" the bike is going to help. If it does, more power to them! But there is way too much complaining about this bike. Scrap this bike, Yamaha, and build a better one quick!!
Trend Killer.Be honest here.Have you even ridden one of the new Yamahas? I'm starting to become a believer now but was just wondering.I starting to think that maybe your right.
It's TEN,000 lakes Mr Dye!
That damn yamaha and its backward motor must take the weight off of the front tire killing its traction.
TREND KILLER- Yeah RVs crash was tough and its did knock him silly but I doubt anyone at Red Bud feared that he was DEAD like 90% of the crowd at Millville. that easily could have been the case. that feeling of vomiting that Reed mentioned that he felt throughout the moto was nerves, like near death experience nerves. You try riding at that level muchless at all feeling like that. RV would probably agree. I'm actually suprised that RV having watched Reeds crash didn't affect his ride for the first lap or so.
Fred - Honestly I have not rode a 450F ...and wouldnt waste my money on one anyway...., but a lot of comments out there and just watching with my own eyes....Pourcel said it was dangerous bike....Pourcel is a frenchie kook, but he knows how to ride a bike..... I have ridden a few Yamaha's in my day and never liked any of them .... I test rode a 1990' YZ80 back in my 80cc days and got off it after 2 laps, it was a piece of crap compared to the CR 80 and my favorite KX80.....then when the YZ 250 4-stroke came out, I tried my buddies and I liked it cause it was a new thing, bbut i didnt like the handling......I rode my buddies 03 YZ250 2-stroke and I didnt like it at all compared to my 2000 CR 250.... I always looked at Yamaha as the last on the list....the greatest riders can win on anything as RC, Stewart , MC and even Reed have shown.......but the Yamaha seems to be a step in the wrong direction and I was suprised when Stewart jumped on one and MC......You notice MC came back to the Red and Reed has pretty much said his Honda this year is better than any yamaha....
Shocker, yes the "shock" factor of Reeds crash was pretty shocking.....We didnt see RV's crash at Red Bud, but rumor was he flew down the hill and was run over which can F-your day up really quick......Reeds crash "looked" crazy...but he was up an running in less than a minute.....so it obviously was all SCARE and no flare.....if that makes sense...when you watch it 4 or 5 times in a row...it loses its SHOCK factor and its just more of a crazy crash we dont see too often.....real time I am sure it was nuts...and RV was probably shocked....but pit boards were showing Reed was up and running....
Trend Killer...Your right Reed is getting a ton of exposure for his flight. It's because he never has a crash like this, no one cares when JS crashes because he does it week in and week out. Another factor is Reed has more fans then Stewart, i guess that what happens when you take second by four points in SX, and race the Nationals. Even better Reedy took a top three spot on sportscenter top plays lastnight, not the way you want to hit mainstream but its better then a mug shot.
Steve Dye is Gay, Discuss?
Melvin....Steve Dye in brilliant!
Mason - Not tryng to make this a JS7 vs. Reed issue,,,,,but I agree with the exposure of a good crash and bringing MX into the limelight, although I am not sure about the Reed having more fans comment. Stewie hit the mainstream 5 years ago and Stewart has a lot of fans out there ...his name is more recognisable to the average joe on the street than Reed ..Most SX races this year he had the loudest reception, even after the "mug shot"..It sucks it takes a good crash to make it to sportcenter when we had an awesome SX series and an awesome MX series so far....the crash is deserving of attention like any specactular crash in any sport...my issue is making Reed into some super natural figure that did the "impossible"......its seems a little over kill when guys take spills all the time...maybe not as crazy "looking" ...but if Reed got up in 30 seconds, it obviously wasnt too bad.....The death of a racer at Red Bud didnt make sportscenter.....that is really a perspective on how small our sport is....sad
Unfortunately now Yamaha will make the 11 the 12 WR. Everybody makes mistakes and that bike is one. After years of building great bikes one apple should'nt spoil the barrel. Stop and retool that thing and this time let some good american test riders (no offense aussies and euros) test the prototypes instead of just trusting road race engineers, technology and inhouse test riders. Grab a tape and an RMZ and a clean sheet of paper and get to work..lol
There's a lot of comparisons between the Reed & Stewart crash but there has been some other good ones too. Canard getting slammed by his own bike during Supercross and Alessi's crash at the first race of the season come to mind. The only difference that I see is that Stewie wads it up most of the time while he's way out in the lead. Either way, when any of these guys get up and start racing again it just shows how driven they all are.
mxmofo, Trend Killer, HJ, fred & Shocker, Yamaha has trouble in river city for several reasons, #1 obviusly being the percieved handling troubles with their (relatively) newly designed 450. #2: considering the economy, rallying / justifying the dollars (yen) to RE re-design a whole nother 450. #3: Yamaha losing face for returning to a "conventional" design after claiming how "revolutionary" their ill-conceived design was / is (which is kind of a big thing to J-brand corporate). #4: Who the heck is doing the R&D on the new "old" design? Japan? JGRMX (who is rumored to be shopping for a new OEM)? VMS? Their non-existent Factory team?
I wouldn't want to be a Yamaha P.R. or R&D employee right about now.
And we all thought the YZ490 sucked.................................................
I forgot to give props to JGRMX for doing what no other has done: Keep their riders from bad mouthing or flat-out abandoning their YZ450's
I've said it before, they must be doing something right to those bikes AND they are probably one heck of a R&D team.
Trend Killer...not trying to make it a issue either, just facts. JS might have had more in SX, but come next year there will be a change on the fan base! I do respect your opinion though. It will be interesting to see how well #7 runs his team.
TrendKiller,Reed actually said his best bike that he ever had was his 04 yz250.He said that bike was killer.
Dean Porter to run top 10 in one of the motos @ Southwick!! Watch this kid!! A true privateer from West Aust doing us all Proud!! Kepp goin Dizzy!!
I loved my 03 YZ250 smoker, wish I had kept it when I got my CR450 4stroke, love both of em. Reed has re-earned a ton of my respect, Stewart lost all of mine a long while ago. I am keeping my 07 CRF til Honda gets their bugs out, all these new bikes have glitches, just gotta go with what works for you, National class boys are on such another level that any glitch is magnified. Yamaha might need some R&D, good luck though in this economy of low bike sales and high prices. How about an all new 2stroke line, wishful thinking? Maybe not.
#8 Should also include Aussie privateer Dean Porter 21-21 for 21st overall
Millspaps and Brayotn look comfotable on the JGR bike now but didnt they both have come to Jesus moments on the Yamaha ?
I bought aYZ 426 as a welcome back to MX and I coulda swore it was a TM400 painted blue.
I had a 06 YZ250F (first year aluminum frame) and that thing stood me up mid corner more than Ginger the hottie in Spanish 101.
Almost fell for the new Yam but thankfully I got a 08CRF450.
JimM
Pala 374
I am sow glad I bought a 05 450 CRF
This morning on Fox News they showed Reedy's get off and said he got back on the bike ans "passed 450 riders to finish 14th". Holy crap, what a hoss!
Congrats to Mitch Payton and Pro Circuit....one heck of a milestone that they have reached!!
Although I will probably hear it from the Reedy fans, in my opinion, the series is going to be all Dungey and Villo from now on. Yes ... all Dungey and Villo ....
Hahn...1 more guy that says the Yamaha SUCKS!!!
No doubt Reed will take it to the wire.
@ Carlsbad.... My hands went numb at the mere mention of the yz490!! haha! That thing was rough man! It was actually really fast but was just a beast. I must have been about 18 or 19 when I raced those things and you would feel pretty ass whooped at the end of a long moto, I can't imagine what it would feel like now to ride one being older. Yamaha nursed that design into the ground. It was a giant Air Cooled Vibrator!
wow....all this back and forth about a guy that was not in the discussion at the beginning of the year......! Everyone out there had Villi, Dungey, Canard and so on........Reed was not even going to be a consideration for outdoors cause he was old and washed up ?.....Good on you Reedy !......SCOREBOARD !
Tommy Hahn is right.....hes probably had more injuries on his current bike than hes ever had. He is a podium guy and he deserves a better ride. He has a huge fan base as does his brother Wil. Ive known Tommy a long time and he is soft spoken and mild tempered. But enough is enough..somebody needs to find out why some bikes seem to "fall apart" for no apparant reason before someone gets a really, really serious injury. These guys deserve to be safe out there and overall, I'm just not seeing it.
So with Alessi not bringing home the bacon who is paying the bills? Danielle doing double shifts at The Krazy Kitty?
Having ridden all the current model 450's (I personally own a 08' CRF450) I have to say that the Yamaha is an odd duck. For most average guys it's going to be fine, but it does not turn very good and is kind of a porker. The RMZ turns the best without a doubt and the new generation CRF's are very light but have a lot of understeer. The KX450 has a great motor but is tall and wide (the 12' is much narrower). The KTM is a KTM. They always feel a bit different from Japanese bikes. I have also noticed that the most common used 450 on Craigslist, at least in my area is the 10' and 11' YZF450. The public has spoken and so have the pros, the new gen YZF is a failure.
Look, I never said anything about the bike being a problem. Steve threw this a bit out in left field. I threw my helmet off because I was about to pass out from the heat. Watch the tv and you will see that the water gets thrown on my head ASAP. Yes, I was furious. I got a good start and was up at the front moving foward. The frustration people saw was with myself. Moto concepts yamaha has worked hard this year to make me comfortable on the bike. It's a very different bike and requires a different way of riding. Not bad. Just different
Hahn throws a baby tenper tantrum, then comes back and gets 8th place on a "bad" bike.. Funny he can beat some factory guys on a bad bike..
What is all the nonsense with brand loyalty, ie Hondas are always better than other brands etcetera. BS. Rookies are generally the ones obsessed with 1 brand. ie only Hondas, only BelRay chain lube etc lol.
Experience and a lot of riding through the years tells me different brands have good model years and bad model years. ie Loved my 2001 yz 250's, hated my 2 2003 KX 250's, loved my 05 CRF 450's, hated 1 of my KTM's etcetera.
It all depends on the brands current push and how riders mesh with the current bikes characteristics. People do seem to feel more comfortable with the feel of certain brands...but it doesn't mean that others are going to feel the same way.
I am sure some people are totally fine with the yzf450s, but they do seem to be troublesome for a lot of people.
I hope KTM is paying Shorty a lot of $ to be a product developer. Sad to see him struggling. Hopefully it's not career suicide...
Eleven things we learned: 11: Ryan Villopoto can be caught and passed outdoors.
I've noticed that the message boards are suspiciously absent of the RV fanboys this week. Maybe if RV wins at Washougal, they will be back in full force telling us how RV is going to NOW start dominating the series.
Well folks, from the horse's mouth...............
Big thanks to Thahn for the straight dope.
I understand your position and can say this: I think you'd be (consistently) top 5 on ANYTHING else.
I guess Hahn NEVER said the bike was bad, there you go excuse makers.
Minnesota is not the land of 1000 lakes, it's 10,000. And Wisconsin has 15,000.
I think Reed's crash was a lot less violent than Stewart's, Reed was feet down while in the air and he landed on a downhill that is soft dirt (the side of the jump). Still was spectacular, glad he didn't get hurt.
RCSP-I have walked that track and you are crazy if you think that is soft?! And stewart tucked when he endowed Reeds crash was hands down way worse. Stewart got up within a minute too, he only got lapped cuz it was supercross and the lap was a full minute shorter than a national lap!
TRENDKILLER-you are straight up f-ing idiot. 1-Pourcel cannot get a ride wherever he wants because he is an asshole that only wants money and has no heart. Honda and Yamaha were testing HIM out, not the other way around. Do you think he would rather ride for a NON-factory half privateer team or a budgetless basically factory team with awesome bikes? No he wouldnt have. And apparently you are blind because reedy was unconsious for like 5-7 seconds after he hit the ground. And the nautious feeling was from hitting his head so hard, not nerves. Do you think a 12 year veteran is gonna get sick to his stomach from nerves over a crash??? No. He wouldnt. Also, when it comes to 2 strokes, Yamaha takes the cake buddy in all aspects of the bike. And even the new 4 strokes i admit the 450's handle like a tractor, but there motors are bulletproof. My 2006 yamaha 250f is my 2nd favorite bike ive ever raced. And unlike you i am actually a fast rider who knows how to test a bike. I was to turn pro in 2009 but very bad injuries held me up. And Villopoto was crawling off the track right after the crash, did you not see reedy lying there limp for a good couple seconds? You sound like you that guy that just rides to do wheelies up and down his street or go to the track and ride in blue jeans and work boots! lmao!!!! But i know your gonna get alot of pleasure out of bashing everything i say so have at it!!!!!!!!!!! :)
And by the way i was not at all bashing RV he is one of my favorite riders also!!!!! Hope he wins it championship i think....not sure...like dungey and reedy too!!! lol
Land of TEN thousand lakes!
@BILLC, Looks like Hahn disagrees with you about the Yamaha, no more excuses for your boy Stewart or any for Pourcel, other riders arent having a problem with it. So give it a rest about the Yamaha being a junk bike, its just an excuse.
Ummmmmm, Mr. Hahn is quoted as saying "It's a very different bike and requires a different way of riding. Not bad. Just different".
To anyone without a PH.D in P.R. speak, Mr. Hahn very tactfully deflected Steve Dye from putting words in his mouth, THAT IS ALL.
He did not say he was in love with the 2010 / 2011 YZ450F, nor did he say he hated it.
Tommy Hahn is a racer under CONTRACT. Any bad-mouthing of his equipment could be construed as "breach of contract" to a litigious person nosing through the fine print of said contract. Most (OEM / Racer) contracts have clauses in them that strictly prohibits derogatory references to their equipment therefore, Mr. Hahn is removing himself from any contract dispute and possible monetary penalty................there you go.
To sum up, the 2010-11 YZ450F is an epic fail and Yamaha is stuck with that turd. Mr Hahn, you are exonerated from any further proceedings...........................and you have a "pass" from me anytime you give *the look* or *the high sign* to some kooky reporter that asks "what happened" when you crash out from here until you mount another brand.