John "Junk Yard Dog" Dowd 46 and Mike Brown 41, Millville-Spring Creek MX national news. Long in age Long on resumes very long in talent. "What’s in the news is the two over 40 riders John Dowd and Mike Brown both scored points in the 450 class. In the first moto Brown finished 12 while Dowd placed 13th. Now that is amazing. Some of us over 40 rider wish they had half of the talent of one of these racers."
And you know if Doug Henry had not broke himself he would be right in the mix. I bet LaRocco could still lay down some fast lap times too. Ryno too maybe. Cool stuff, thanks for the post.
I wish all these guys well in their racing and other endeavors ... When I was passing 40, I still had ~most of my juice left ... So I think they can still put on a show with the younger crowd ... Age 46? .. I could definitely tell my tank was starting to leak ... Hearing Ryno trash that yamma-hammer was priceless! Not sure on that 1/2 mark ... Probably too fast for me ... I'd go for 1\8 of that skill level ...
Those guys are amazing. I loved how they both ended up together on the track. They beat some very talented regulars too. As for Ryno, I think that guys is a wingnut, regardless of his talent. He should go do celebrity cage fighting or something.
Ryno is a very unique individual. Sometimes a little bizarre, Determination supreme, never say say die attitude blended with big, big emotion for sport and life (he was super emotional about not fulfilling the Hangtown commitment). He was bummed for the fans, for the naysayers and most likley for himself as he is his own representative. Chilly we ride/race dirtbikes, we are all a bunch of wingnuts!!! (PS RynoPower is a good supplement line and he was using his Brux bite as well)
That yamaha was the creator of all his wooos ... ... It would have been a big surprise but very cool if he'd looked over his shoulder and said: "Hey Dowd~ I wanna ride that 449 Husky in the second moto... Is it here? ... Its just ain't working out for me on this pretty blue-mint tablet I'm riding today ..."
For all Im just going to say it the TC449 is like a pro rally car is to a F1 car type analogy. (the pro rally car is a great machine that is out of its element and spec in F1). the 449, It is not competitive at that top tier MX level with that level of of riders. Its a great bike for just about everything we normal mortal riders do, probably even some local pros, but at the top tier of MX it does not cut it, fact. Dont expect to ever see one ...there or even at the WEC level of top tier enduro for that matter. Remeber 99% of us are moto mortals your 449/511 is fine in our world. All the wishing and hoping and fan/owner based stuff is great for us, its a cool/different machine but it just aint going be seen in any top tier MX/enduro venues. Hey we can see it and root for it in top tier rally with the speedbrain team in the Dakar and other rally events.
Dowd rode a KXF and Brown SXF both are fully capable and proven winners in top tier MX. If Husky builds a industry standard chassis design 450 based on the X-lite package (to some tech degree) the thing will be competitive in top tier MX with a good pilot on board.
You might be right ... I doubt it'll be raced by any ama guys ... And that POS yammaha Ryno was riding did not deserve to be out there either ... I'll believe a Husky can't run with the pack when a stud PRO AMA racer gets on it and fails to run in his normal position ... Andrew Short is the best example going of a guy running multiple bikes and his finishes are just about the same across the board ... He even rode a bike that did not even belong in the starting gates and he would whip over half the 450s in the race ... Then he switches back to his beloved hondo 450 ... and finishes just about the same? ... Its the rider and Shorty or any of the other top tier guys could place well on a Husky if given a fair chance ... Its up to bmw ... spend some $$$ or or we'ew doomed to not even in the starting gate ...
Ray you can bank on BMW getting there, evolution will happen, all those Japanocentric moto heads laughed at KTM 15 years ago...... BMW does not want to be showed up by their upstart Austrian (Teutonic) neighbors, we will see our chosen brand up top again. We only need to look at the TC250 to see how that thing is evolving, I, like you think it can win a GP moto now with a top tier pilot on the bars. That is a big change from just a few years ago.
I think Ryno ran better when he was on the CRF450, but he has a big support deal with Yamaha now sooooo that is where he is now. I think Davi has his YZF dialed in now with great help from the JGR stable to get that front planted. Ryno may need to get his mech to get some Davi tech into his YZF. Gotta have confidence in the front, ask any MX guy then go right to the roadrace GP guys, they will tell you the same. I love mass centralization logic but maybe the YZ engineers lost too much of the weight transfer pendulum action with their design, for sure it appears to have not worked for James but also GP factory rider Phillapaerts seems to have slid down the ranks a little as well (he's injured now too). I'll bet Tony Cairoli is glad for his transfer to the Kato stable before the slanty motor design came out (along with his entire team).
Maybe bmw will continue pushing the dirt racing bikes ... Currently, bmw is salivating over the new street \ DS bikes it appears and may loose interest in real dirt bikes ...Next yr will show their hand on the dirt bikes, apparently ... ktm? They put a top tier rider on their bike and now it is the worlds best .. just like that ...#1 on a first yr model bike lol ...They are such rocket scientists over there in that pimkin patch ... Husky can do the same with a top tier rider ... And of course bmw kicking the door down in at ama HQ and saying, 'we're here, get used to us' ... The TC250 racing in EU has validated its efforts from last yr ... Same rider, same results in and around the top 10 ... Better rider, better results will happen ...Lower class rider will produce lower finishing results ... Its pretty simple. Sorry but Husqvarna's TC line of bikes are MX racers ... Please TC owners, post some race results that show what a real rider can do on a Husky ...
Ryno is a charactor and I'm glad he loves riding/racing dirt bikes. I've followed his analysis of riding styles with guys like Stewart and Tomac representing the newer bent at the waist, toes pointed in, weight over the front style. Stewart didn't have much luck with the Yamaha - not surprised Ryno didn't either. Many of the top teams are running motor mounts on the Yamaha that tilt the engine forward to put more weight up front and get more "feel". I've read and seen that many, many riders ride/race at the same speed no matter what they're on and I'm sure it's possible that the right rider could get a TC449 or a 2 stroke 250 into the main and run ok. But the tracks are designed for the current 450 4 stroke and a really competitive bike for supercross/motocross needs to be purpose built as such.
Ok, little off topic here, but I was thinking about this the other day: Paul Whibley has to be the the most successful rider, anywhere in the world, aboard the new generation YZ. I can't think of anywhere else that that bike has actually won much at a top level.
If stories are to be believed Dungy's KTM is basically a hand built RMZ replica. If you cant beat 'em, join 'em. The bike is only part of the issue, hiring DeCoster and Dungy so you can win is a whole 'nother pile of cash. Note that Red Bull has top billing on Dungy's hat, not KTM. Apparently only spiked sugar water sellers and shoe companies (both are really brand/marketing empires) have the money to play this game. Team adidas/Husqvarna/BMW has a nice ring to it. Grab a couple front runners out of the 250 ranks, custom build some bikes and party on.
And supposedly Joe Gibbs Racing built the YZ for Stewart to replicate the fit and feel of the RMZ also.
I spoke with John Dowd at the 2002 Atlanta Supercross and he was a class act. At the time I had a 2002 400exc so I was a huge fan of his and it is great to see him back! I can't wait to see him race Southwick. This from the 02 Atl SX That is me on the left talking to him out of the side of my mouth. I still have the signed jersey! This is him that night! In SX he was a 250 2-stroke rider but MX he was on a 520SX! Ohenry
