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Amen to that
Weren't the works Suzuki's somewhere in the 178- 185Lbs range ?
I remember that the 250 was like 168 lbs.
got drool on my keyboard from that
Weren't the works Suzuki's somewhere in the 178- 185Lbs range ?
I remember that the 250 was like 168 lbs.[/quote:5a3df]Roger's weighs 209. 1973 was the year that the FIM came up with the weight limit. It was 194 for 250's and 209 for 500's.
I seem to recall that Maico showed up at Carlsbad that year with forward mounted shocks while Suzuki still had "conventional" placement. This forward mounted configuration therefore would be a mid-season refinement by Suzuki??
The other folklore is that Suzuki had to pour lead into the frames of their bikes to make the new FIM minimums. I'd expect that the forward mounted shock mod and requisite gussetting added weight but is the frame otherwise beefier than the 72 frame on Joel's 72?
Whereas Joel's 72 250 represented the holy grail of technology (real or imagined) Roger's 73 was, at best, on par with the competition (thanks to minimum weights and the suspension revolution). Does the "obsolescence" of the bike (as the season closed) have anything to do with how it managed to escape the crusher? I know it didn't pass into Roger's hands as that practice didn't start for another couple of seasons.
I seem to recall that Maico showed up at Carlsbad that year with forward mounted shocks while Suzuki still had "conventional" placement. This forward mounted configuration therefore would be a mid-season refinement by Suzuki??
The other folklore is that Suzuki had to pour lead into the frames of their bikes to make the new FIM minimums. I'd expect that the forward mounted shock mod and requisite gussetting added weight but is the frame otherwise beefier than the 72 frame on Joel's 72?
Whereas Joel's 72 250 represented the holy grail of technology (real or imagined) Roger's 73 was, at best, on par with the competition (thanks to minimum weights and the suspension revolution). Does the "obsolescence" of the bike (as the season closed) have anything to do with how it managed to escape the crusher? I know it didn't pass into Roger's hands as that practice didn't start for another couple of seasons.[/quote:983ac]
The 1973 Suzuki's were initally very similar to the 72 bikes. Just before the 73 season began, the weight limit was implemented. This was from pressure from the Maico factory. This forced Suzuki to artificially "fatten" up their bikes. In doing so, the bikes were somewhat out of balance.
Maico came out with the forward mounted shocks the GP before Carlsbad in Czecho. The GP after Carlsbad (West Germany), Suzuki came out with a new frame, the shocks were in the same location but they were longer. This helped some but it was not enough. After that GP, Roger and Sylvain Geboers, took a spare frame and did their own mods to Rogers National bike. This bike was raced at the Belgian GP. which Roger won. The same mods were then applied to the GP bikes for the Luxembourg GP and the final in Holland.
This is just a brief summary of what happened. I will post a detailed story on the site later. It is an amazing story for sure. The whole GP season went down to the last moto of the last race between Willy Bauer and Roger.
Bauer's Maico definitely ruled at Carlsbad that year (1973)...but if Jim Pomeroy on the opening laps had not cartwheeled down the downhill on the works 360 Pursang, he may have given Willi what-for!
Thanks for that information about the works machines being diverted from 'The Crusher'...those RHs and RNs, along with the mid-'70s RC Hondas were the envy of every rider who ever twisted a throttle into the knuckles-up position 'back in the day'. Now if that factory Honda from the '80s with the RIBI 'quadrilateral' front-end on it is still alive and kicking out there somewhere, that would be the ultimate! Pix, please y'all?
- Francisco
Compania Espana de Motores, S.A. (CEMOTO)
San Adrian de Besos
Barcelona, Spain
That last picture looks to have a different tank. Is it the same bike ?
Pit Row
I know for a fact that the Ribi-Honda is still around and in good condition, I seem to remember somone posting a pic of it not too long ago.
http://freepatentsonline.com/image-4379567-1.html
Oh, well...
http://www.mxworksbike.com/82%20RC250_ribi.htm
Does that machine look like a 'Space: The Final Frontier' model or what?!
Well, we know that Honda holds the patents on it...who knows what trickness might yet emerge from deep within the Honda factory.
http://www.mxworksbike.com/82%20RC250_ribi.htm[/quote:a6fa7]
Looks like something from "The Terminator".
Looks like something from "The Terminator".[/quote:5cdde]FYI, The reason it is not used today is that with that system, you cannot preload the suspension for clearing jumps. If you were to just use it on rough ground it would be superior to todays suspension systems. Another downfall to it is the high maintenance of lubing all the joints. Not practical for the consumer.
Post a reply to: Roger DeCoster's 1973 World Championship Suzuki