Ask Ping

Tommy,

I’ve been wanting to go for a few years now, and this year, the timing finally worked out. The track looks incredible and it just seems like everybody is there for a good time, which is right up my alley these days. I suppose the reason more folks don’t make an effort to attend from the U.S. is the logistical nightmare of getting bikes over there. The only other option is borrowing a bike, and it’s rare that somebody who spent the time and money to rebuild an old bike will let you just hop on it and beat it up.

If you do ship a bike, you still have the cost of getting there, lodging, transportation, etc. Luckily I found a bike to ride, and I’m just crossing my fingers for good weather. I asked the promoter what the chances are of getting rain in England that time of year and he quickly responded, “100 percent.” Not exactly the answer I was looking for. Anyway, I’ve got a really cool bike lined up and I’m taking my whole family on a European vacation. Look for me circling the roundabouts shouting into the backseat, “Look kids, Big Ben! Parliament!”

See you there!

PING

Hi David, 

Love the column as always. Your no-BS approach to things and happiness to tell the truth is refreshing in today's crazy world. 

We’ve seen Tomac have a mechanical at RedBud. This isn't the first we have seen this year, either, and [Steve] Matthes made a good point in his Observations column saying that because there is so much happening when the bikes are running, it's a miracle this doesn't happen more often, so I have a sort of two-part question:

1. How highly tuned are the engines? I know the 250s are trying to get as much as possible from the engines, but what about the 450s? Are they running close to the edge, or are they built with a safe tolerance? 
   
   
2. Obviously I know these bikes are super expensive, but on the TV broadcast, I saw they were swapping out Tomac’s engine. In the MXGP series, nearly every rider, and certainly the factory efforts, have two bikes under the awning; is the AMA not the same? Could a rider not just hop on the spare bike and finish? 

Love to hear your take on this.

Thanks,
Andrew 

Andrew, 

Thanks for reading, man. And sorry for missing a couple weeks recently, but life has been busy and this whole state is burning again. 

The four-stroke engine is a whirling mess of metallic parts and pieces, and when you factor those development numbers with a sharper pencil (like we see in race engines), the margin for error is thinner than Jason Weigandt’s budget for his second cousin’s birthday present. The 450 engines aren’t built right to the limit; the focus is more on power delivery and making the power broad. Most good engine builders will tell you they could squeeze another eight to ten horsepower out of a 450 if they really wanted to. As such, we don’t see mechanical failures in that class related to overdevelopment, but the 250 class is a different story. Every single ounce of horsepower counts in that class, so these machines are built to last for one race and one race only before they are torn down and rebuilt. Honestly, I’m surprised we don’t see more 250s come apart like Weston Peick after a Vince Friese takeout.

Your second question is an easy answer. The AMA doesn’t allow a second bike to be raced. Each team takes one bike through AMA’s tech inspection before the race and the frame is marked. You MUST complete the event on the same frame that you started with. 

Hope I answered your questions; thanks for the note.

PING

Ping,

Who was the best or most interesting teammate you had during your career? What about the worst? Thanks for the laughs and moto info every Friday!

ZT