GP Riders height & weight

[DoubleEagle]

So does anyone think that there should be a handicapping system to make it fair for larger Riders to participate in Motosports ?

Or should it only be a Sport for " little " people ?

Dolph

[kopfjäger]

In NHRA all classes must make a certain weight, including driver and gear. When Angelle Sampey was racing Pro Stock bike, she used to run 100lbs of ballast to make weight.

[Speeddog]

Nice thing about ballast... you can usually put it in a more desirable location than when the weight is part of the rider.

[DoubleEagle]

Can anyone see a way that a " large " person like a LeBron at 6'9" and in full Race gear 290 lbs. could ever be able to compete in MotoSport like Road Racing ?

Dolph

[Jester]

Just a hypothetical case here.

What if a very talented Athlete like LeBron or Kobe got hurt and couldn't play B"ball anymore and liked to ride bikes.

They decided they wanted to get real good at riding ..so much so that they got good enough to race on a WERA or AMA Superbike level .

Then let's just say for arguments sake , they won enough to go International and won the British super Stock one year and once again for arguments sake they had what it takes to go to WSBK ..excpt they are 6'9" tall and in top shape weigh w. gear 295 lbs.

For all in tense and purposes they wouldn't be competitve due to their size.

Should they be kept out of the Sport because of their size or could there ever be a fair way that they could compete against the " more normal " Riders ?

Dolph     

Yes they should be kept out.  Should we lower the basket so 5 footers can compete in professional basketball?  No.  A person's size is usually what keeps them from certain sports and drives them to others.  An undersize linebacker might choose to pursue baseball instead of football because he can't compete due to lack of bulk.  You don't modify the sport because he can't play, no matter how talented he is.  Shorter athletes might choose soccer instead of basketball or baseball because its easier to make a career.  There are tons of talented athletes that can't fulfill their dreams due to size.  You just accept it and move on. 

Valentino is a normal size guy, and so is the Ben and Simoncelli.  Those guys haven't been hindered at all.  They are very light compared to a normal person of their size, but that's just due to working their ass off to stay lean.

[mattc7]

Yes they should be kept out.  Should we lower the basket so 5 footers can compete in professional basketball?  No.  A person's size is usually what keeps them from certain sports and drives them to others.  An undersize linebacker might choose to pursue baseball instead of football because he can't compete due to lack of bulk.  You don't modify the sport because he can't play, no matter how talented he is.  Shorter athletes might choose soccer instead of basketball or baseball because its easier to make a career.  There are tons of talented athletes that can't fulfill their dreams due to size.  You just accept it and move on. 

Prime example #1, Antonio Gates.  Too small to play forward, too tall for a guard, ends up a Tight End (after never playing football), and became one of the most dominant tight ends in the game.

[Triple J]

Valentino is a normal size guy, and so is the Ben and Simoncelli.  Those guys haven't been hindered at all.  They are very light compared to a normal person of their size, but that's just due to working their ass off to stay lean.

Rossi and Spies are giving up 50-60 lbs to Pedrosa. This is noticeable at the start of every race.  It's hard to say if they're hindered throughout the rest of the race. Rossi has beaten Pedrobot numerous times, so he's obviously a better rider, but would it have been as close if their weights were more equal? Hard to say yet with Spies...he's probably the biggest rider in GP though. That extra 50-60 lbs has to have an effect on tire wear, and maybe other things as well.

I still think the minimum weight should be bike and rider combined. Nothing dramatic to help with Dolph's scenario...but something should be done to equalize the combo. The lighter rider would still have a slight advantage since the ballast could be placed anywhere on the bike.

[mitt]

Rossi and Spies are giving up 50-60 lbs to Pedrosa. This is noticeable at the start of every race.  It's hard to say if they're hindered throughout the rest of the race. Rossi has beaten Pedrobot numerous times, so he's obviously a better rider, but would it have been as close if their weights were more equal? Hard to say yet with Spies...he's probably the biggest rider in GP though. That extra 50-60 lbs has to have an effect on tire wear, and maybe other things as well.

I still think the minimum weight should be bike and rider combined. Nothing dramatic to help with Dolph's scenario...but something should be done to equalize the combo. The lighter rider would still have a slight advantage since the ballast could be placed anywhere on the bike.

No way they are giving up 50 to 60 lbs - those guys only weight 150ish to start with.  Ped-bot doesn't weigh 90lbs...

And IMO until I can play pro bball at 5'10", then 7' guys should not play pro moto racing.


mitt

[zooom]

Rossi,Simo,Spies,Hayden are only giving up 30-40 pounds max....

[gm2]

Can anyone see a way that a " large " person like a LeBron at 6'9" and in full Race gear 290 lbs. could ever be able to compete in MotoSport like Road Racing ?

Dolph

no.

[Triple J]

I was just going off of googled weights...Spies at 160, Rossi at 148, Pedrobot at 112. OK....up to ~50 lb difference (I screwed up the conversion on Pedrobot's weight before). 5'-11" vs. 5'-2" height difference, so that weight difference isn't out of line. That difference could be around ~10% of the total weight...significant.

And IMO until I can play pro bball at 5'10", then 7' guys should not play pro moto racing.

You could if you were talented enough...thre are a few sub 5'-10" NBA players. There are also some sub 5'-10" NFL players...look at the Patriots.

http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-shortest-nba-players.php

Anyway...I'm not saying equalize the weights for giants...that's ridiculous. Just try to equalize them for normal size riders...say the current bike min. weight plus 140-150 lbs for an average rider = the total minimum weight. Riders above average size have to suck it up.

[Speeddog]

From the article linked by the OP:

Simoncelli - 158 lb - 6'0" - Tallest & Heaviest

Spies - 156 lb - 5'11"
Hayden - 152 lbs - 5'8"
Rossi - 147 lbs - 5'11"

Lorenzo - 143 lbs - 5'8"
Stoner - 128 lbs - 5'7"

Pedrosa - 112 lbs - 5'3" - Shortest and Lightest

[ducpainter]

I was just going off of googled weights...Spies at 160, Rossi at 148, Pedrobot at 112. OK....up to ~50 lb difference (I screwed up the conversion on Pedrobot's weight before). 5'-11" vs. 5'-2" height difference, so that weight difference isn't out of line. That difference could be around ~10% of the total weight...significant.

You could if you were talented enough...thre are a few sub 5'-10" NBA players. There are also some sub 5'-10" NFL players...look at the Patriots.

http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-shortest-nba-players.php

Anyway...I'm not saying equalize the weights for giants...that's ridiculous. Just try to equalize them for normal size riders...say the current bike min. weight plus 140-150 lbs for an average rider = the total minimum weight. Riders above average size have to suck it up.

I can see a machine weight, but not a total weight.

No matter which way you go it becomes a penalty for someone.

Let them weigh what they weigh and go racing.

[Spidey]

Rider + bike weight just gives incentive for people to get tiny riders and strategically-placed ballast.  I mean, imagine if it were moveable -- you could take 20 lbs and have it shift around a bit so that it was either perfectly centered or off to a side or the front or back to minimize load or to provide traction.  Jebus, can ya imagine?  And while intuitively I like the idea of bike + rider min weight, it's not like Douchey McSmurfjizz is winning every race.  Just leave it be.  And while we at it, ditch the 21 liters.  Ditch the electronics.  Let 'em race.   

Just as long as they don't let girls race GP.  Then we'll have to start making some rules.   

[dgm]

Just as long as they don't let girls race GP.  Then we'll have to start making some rules.   

I realize you're probably half-kidding, but personally, I'd love to see some female GP riders.  As a father of 2 little girls who are constantly being told that motorcycles aren't for girls, they should keep their hands clean, etc., I would love to see a woman dragging knee through some GP corners.