Ducati Monster Forum

originally sorta hidden in this thread (http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=28396.0), here's a 3-part Q&A session with ben spies while he was hanging out at the Yamaha Champions School @ Miller earlier this month.

taking questions from students and instructors, he's very candid and talks about enough stuff pertaining to himself, motogp, wsbk, electronics, travel, and how to go faster anywhere... thought it should get it's own thread in case you missed it.

pt 1: http://www.onthethrottle.com/content/view/307/1/ (http://www.onthethrottle.com/content/view/307/1/)

pt 2: http://www.onthethrottle.com/content/view/314/1/ (http://www.onthethrottle.com/content/view/314/1/)

pt 3: http://www.onthethrottle.com/content/view/319/1/ (http://www.onthethrottle.com/content/view/319/1/)

Thanks gm².

It was well worth the listen.  [thumbsup]

INDEED IT WAS!!!....30 minutes I am certainly not regretting having spent and wanting back to do other things...

Great videos!!  [thumbsup]

Thanks for the links. 

loved the little comment re 3 or 4 years of mental warfare with mladin.  =)

oh and (derby pointed this out in the other thread, something i also thought): gee, wonder why he's planning on learning italian in the off-season.  could just be that he's going to keep Como has a home base... or more than that.

Man, what a good interview.  I kept thinking about it all yesterday.  There's so much good stuff there.

His discussion about how improved electronics dictates the need for lower rider weight is really interesting.  I don't think that's the whole picture though.  He was saying that the grip means that you need to be lighter.  But grip is from the electronics and the improvement in tires.  Either way, interesting.

Good to know his deal about running around on shagged tires.  I guess we shouldn't be watching his free practice times as indicative of anything for the race and/or qualy.

You think his comment about Italian means he's staying??  I figure no matter which paddock he's in, he's gonna need to learn Italian.

He did mention something about a wifey.... 8)

Make Como feel more like home.   [thumbsup]

and also just that the GP bikes have such ridiculous grip, regardless.  remember that he was only barely not the fastest guy at the indy GP test.  on the suzuki, no less.


i never really worry when i see 7th or 8th in practice.  one of the things House really drilled him with early on was tire management.. considering tires is such an easy thing to psyche yourself out with, that whole thing is a really interesting conversation.

remember the first couple superpoles.. announcers being SURE that he'd used up his Qs to get whatever time.. and then.. nope!


well, his crew chief and at least one of his mechanics are english speakers... he doesn't exactly need to be able to speak italian, outside everyday living.  convenient, sure.. especially if he'll be there for a while.

unless he starts riding like a retard, he can go to GP whenever he wants.  maybe he wants to kill it in wsbk for another year and watch how the engine rule plays out in GP, first.  i'd be a little nervous about that rule. 

I think he just wants to be prepared verbally should he have another incident with Fabrizio.  ;D

If he has another incident with douchebrizio, I don't think there'll be much talking going on.  Guns, knives, breaker bars, biting, scratching and ear-pulling?  Sure.  Talking?  Not so much.

how bout a good ole fashioned helmet butt instead!..or a Texas Tomahawk chop...

watched them last night.  pretty good information and more truth / honesty than most interviews - refreshing.

mitt

isn't it though!.....kinda wished more of em were like that....

Did OTT just start this year?  It's had some great stuff this season.  Really interesting.   [thumbsup]

no, OTT has been around for a couple few years now, but he has built a good network of contacts and started putting out good stuff...REALLY good stuff.

nope.  but he/they (obviously) used the crap AMA situation this year as a reason to improve the site and coverage.  doing a great job.

part 4...

http://www.onthethrottle.com/content/view/325/1/ (http://www.onthethrottle.com/content/view/325/1/)

How many more parts are we going to get?

That's good stuff, I'd like to see a bunch more.  [beer]

2010 Spies R1 intro (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiVCbMlXxNM#ws-normal)

Its subterfuge.  Where does Yamaha come up with this stuff.

"I just imagine I'm riding around a big kitten."

"I really enjoy T-Rexs"

 [laugh]

no...the best was Toseland's whale not work so good for him....or Colin's outright "what a load of crap"...of course, I just think Colin is a great real personality who speaks his mind and that's why that was even funnier, because it was possibly unscripted ( okay, maybe not).

Gotta admit the styrofoam tracks were pretty funny.

yeah they were...along with the pretzels with ice cream as a special diet....

Jonathan Green talks to Ben after Nurburgring:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid271552961?bctid=38013340001 (http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid271552961?bctid=38013340001)


"18 points is nothing in this series  .... but the next three tracks i know... "      :)

and he sorta clarifies "foresees".  but not completely.

OTT-Dave preseason convo with ben

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/5866955 (http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/5866955)

Those in-depth interviews (even the Mladin ones that ducpainter hates) are always really interesting for all the tech tidbits.  I love OTT. 

Good stuff indeed.  :)

Sad to see Skype is still as F'd up as it was when I used it 4 years ago.  :P

skype gets confused if you say too much at once.  you kinda need to speak like you're having an IM convo.

and yeah.. i always love the fact that Dave asks seemingly simple questions that uncover stuff you otherwise don't hear about.  Very interesting stuff, at that.

 [thumbsup] that they're gonna do this after every round!

it, along with other video conferencing apps, are just susceptible to network congestion/delays. unless you have some decent end-to-end QoS, you're really not going to be able to work around that.

what i find interesting is that it almost always catches the whole conversation and plays it back quickly in order to catch up.

Ben is dreamy...

He really is a fine cut of a man.    ;)

Ben & Colin teleconference:

http://www.motomatters.com/interview/2010/04/05/spiesedwards_teleconference_this_is_the_.html (http://www.motomatters.com/interview/2010/04/05/spiesedwards_teleconference_this_is_the_.html)

more Spies-y-ness for ya...

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2010/Apr/100405-benspiescolum.htm (http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2010/Apr/100405-benspiescolum.htm)

I keep saying this, but my OCD goes batshit crazy everytime he says or writes "good" when he means "well."  And he does it all the time. 

just remember, he had a factory suzuki ride when he was in highschool. i'm not sure english class was his primary focus.

nope...developing into a fine cut of man for Spidey was!

I know, I know.  Cuz of that, I'm willing to forgive a buncha stuff.  I mean, he's still a million times more literate than Hopper.  But the good/well thing makes me wanna kick puppies into traffic. 

[laugh]

here ya go Spidey...for your spank bank!

(http://www.superbikeplanet.com/yamiow/image.jpg)


http://www.superbikeplanet.com/yamiow/ (http://www.superbikeplanet.com/yamiow/)

i like t-rexs... rawr.

Something about that picture makes me uncomfortable.

Don't let gm2 know you've got The Ben pics.  He gets really jealous. 

Hopper is literate?

post-qatar OTT chat

http://www.onthethrottle.com/content/view/614/1/ (http://www.onthethrottle.com/content/view/614/1/)

make the beast with two backs lysol... >:(

+1

mitt

Lysol?  Huh? 

+1

??

Perhaps they got a Lysol commercial instead of the Science Kid or AllTel commercial?

Not only did I get a Lysol commercial...

the vid started, then stalled, and I got the audio of the lysol ad over the interviewers face.

very disturbing. ;D

you really gotta get off that dial-up connection, gramps.


;)

I'm on NH style high speed...

It's a 100Mb/sec system oversold 11ty billion percent...

and then throttled back to 6...

and as long as we don't all click send at the same time it's all good. :P