Ok raul , maybe i was a bit harshe to call him a one hit wonder... But heres the way i look at it... they have a very thick check book for these bikes... Your telling me that if the bikes lacking performance is hurting his over all race performance for the season , Hayden cant put his foot down and get what he wants.... shhiiiitt... he makes enough dam money to where he could put his own shit on the bike to better suit his riding style... +1000 on Melandri for stoners team mate.. I would say in good faith that that will be similiar to Maladen and spies , . every race their in , their both playing tag for first place... haha unless maladen falls lol j/k...I think ducati will dominate with that combo... I dont hate rossi , but variety as one mentioned , i hate knowing the out come of the dam race by watching rossi stay in second the whole time only to fly up front with 2 laps to go... Im in stoners corner... Make rossi work for his title , like he has not had to do in quite some time..

 

Honda indeed has the biggest pockets. But everyone once in a while their investment yields a POS. Remember the RC45?

Anyways, the problem with Honda is that they are serious snobby SOB's. They think their bikes & engineering is what wins them championships. While it is part of the equation, we can arguably say that the riders are a very important part of the equation IF not the most important.

Nicky did make his demands, but Dani has been struggling too. So guess who gets the tit first when the riders cry to the factory. You guessed it Dani does and his efforts have yet to yield a competitive bike. Melandri was not happy either and that is another rider that should be doing better. Let's not forget he is on Bridgestones, and the bike is so ill handling that even the grip advantage doesn't help the Gresini squad.

Just look at the results... Dani is the only rider to have won a race on a Honda. And he hasn't been very consistent either. On top of that BS, you have their tire supplier getting spanked by the new kid on the block.

What does all that translates to? Well to me, its EZ math... Honda has 6 Honda riders, more than any other manufacturer, the deepest pockets & no matter what rubber they are on they couldn't mount a worthy title fight or defense...

This isn't just Nicky.... this is classic Honda Exec's caught with their heads up their ass.

 

Oh and Ilmor & Roberts went the solo route... getting a sponsor to fund them has become nearly impossible & the Spanish wont look outside their kind do fund teams without spanish riders.

I wouldn't expect Nicky to be funding is own parts and even if he wanted to & did... Honda would have a shit fit and disallow it.

 

Then you know what .. the hell with honda then...I think thats complete bullshit.. Your paying 6 people millions a year and their not getting any better... how can 6 well known names not even make a title effort...
Who do you think honda will go for after they lose their top runners...?

 

and where does kawasaki stand in this , their not clinching titles either , are we putting partial fault on machinery?..

 

Kawasaki & Suzuki are the 2 smallest factory teams.

Kawasaki is funding the team out of their pockets & next year will be the 1st year they start out with a top dollar rider (Hopkins). Next year we'll really see just how good the Kwaker is...

Suzuki had what I considered a dream team with Hopkins & Vermuelen, but clearly the 1st year of the 800's wasn't as good as Ducati's. But they are having a decent year nonetheless considering where they have been the past 6 years.

 

All new bikes this year and the factory Honda riders were on Michelins. The new Ducati 800cc bike and Bridgestone rubber was the real deal this year.

Honda did get some kinks worked out towards the end of this year. Pedrosa may have challenged for #1 if he was on the 'Stones. Nevertheless, I'd wage $$$ on Honda making big strides on the bikes this off-season.

 

with the 990s suzuki struggled big time if anyone remembers just like stoner last year hopkins would crash out like every other race especially when he was in the top 5 making up spots. this year suzuki is really doing something right for them to be doing so good on new bikes... guess the bridgestones might be a big help

i just wonder how well anthony west would of done if it wasnt for that jump start at motegi i think he will be a wild card next year as hopper's teammate im hoping that it will be real exciting next year.

somone needs to throw toni elias a bone that guy can ride especially when he is hurt he does better!