ShanoXtra Posted 23 hours ago Report Share Posted 23 hours ago 1 hour ago, heathen52 said: The bond between the fans and riders has been lost, this 100%. that is down to riders doubling up and down, fans no longer have their rider for there team it is basically watching a rider that just happens to have your teams colours on, I know riders are self employed but previously they only raced for 1 team per season with occasional guest appearances. Another reason why Ipswich is well run, all riders very social with the fans and will stop and chat and take photos after meetings, not just in the van and go. Even Doyle and Emil who are too boys give a lot of time to fans. When Ipswich won the title I would bet if you speak to a lot of fans it was so positive because it’s like a family club and everyone has time for each other, win together and lose together. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FAST GATER Posted 16 hours ago Report Share Posted 16 hours ago (edited) 13 hours ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said: 4 valve engine had no real bearing on the popularity of the sport, it just happened at the same time of the decline but it wasn’t the cause,the return of the 2 valve engine isn’t going to make the sport any I can't quite agree with that statement as we ultimately withdrew all our sponsorship in the sport as a result of the spiralling costs which over a very short time just became ridiculous . In the sport we went from half a dozen riders using Japs with the rest on two valve Jawas all of which could be home serviced by the average( Journey man) rider or an informed individual .You had Ivan & Co on works engines but to a large extent the rest of the riders operated at an affordable level . Enter first the two valve Piper Conversion ( not a huge cost ) then the Street conversion ( half the cost of a new engine from memory ) Weslake ,four valve Jawa and Godden in the mix as well all in a matter of a few years . Riders being as we know are influenced very easily chopped and changed at a whime ,we spent upwards of over 25k( on engines alone ) in three yrs and this was in the seventies . Imo that period is when the dynamics of the sport changed the riders took control to a large extent part of their reasoning was the inceased cost of being competitive .Up until this point the average rider didn't have a tuner lucky to have two bikes and went to a primary job the next morning .This was when the the sport was at it's peak now it has all but dropped of a cliff your and your average rider wants to make a full time living out of it ! Edited 16 hours ago by FAST GATER 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE DEAN MACHINE Posted 14 hours ago Report Share Posted 14 hours ago (edited) 1 hour ago, FAST GATER said: I can't quite agree with that statement as we ultimately withdrew all our sponsorship in the sport as a result of the spiralling costs which over a very short time just became ridiculous . In the sport we went from half a dozen riders using Japs with the rest on two valve Jawas all of which could be home serviced by the average( Journey man) rider or an informed individual .You had Ivan & Co on works engines but to a large extent the rest of the riders operated at an affordable level . Enter first the two valve Piper Conversion ( not a huge cost ) then the Street conversion ( half the cost of a new engine from memory ) Weslake ,four valve Jawa and Godden in the mix as well all in a matter of a few years . Riders being as we know are influenced very easily chopped and changed at a whime ,we spent upwards of over 25k( on engines alone ) in three yrs and this was in the seventies . Imo that period is when the dynamics of the sport changed the riders took control to a large extent part of their reasoning was the inceased cost of being competitive .Up until this point the average rider didn't have a tuner lucky to have two bikes and went to a primary job the next morning .This was when the the sport was at it's peak now it has all but dropped of a cliff your and your average rider wants to make a full time living out of it ! While I agree with all of that it had no real bearing on the decline of the popularly of the sport, 95% of the fan base past and present couldn't tell the difference between a jap and a offset GM let alone how many valves it had, what changed was the riders and teams and the bond with them by the fans, it became them and us instead of one of us Edited 14 hours ago by THE DEAN MACHINE 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The White Knight Posted 5 hours ago Report Share Posted 5 hours ago 8 hours ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said: While I agree with all of that it had no real bearing on the decline of the popularly of the sport, 95% of the fan base past and present couldn't tell the difference between a jap and a offset GM let alone how many valves it had, what changed was the riders and teams and the bond with them by the fans, it became them and us instead of one of us How very true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 valve Posted 5 hours ago Report Share Posted 5 hours ago (edited) 10 hours ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said: While I agree with all of that it had no real bearing on the decline of the popularly of the sport, 95% of the fan base past and present couldn't tell the difference between a jap and a offset GM let alone how many valves it had, what changed was the riders and teams and the bond with them by the fans, it became them and us instead of one of us Promoters agreeing to share riders for many years ultimately dilute the loyalty towards those same riders from a single team fan base. The problem of “us and them” (if it actually exists) is not down to the riders, it’s the culture of how the sport is organised. Edited 3 hours ago by 1 valve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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