Wow, what a surprise grid and great race at Buttonwillow. 500 Twins went from a disappearing class to an active class overnight - and it wasn't just because of 250P riders in 500 Twins. It was cool to watch the race at BW.

I hope more 500 Twins riders come out for 450SB as well. For lightweight bikes, the SV650 is a neat bike, but I think 500 Twins and 450SB are still great classes. I'd hate to see them start to dwindle and disappear.

Cya at Infineon.

Thanks Mike! Glad to be part of a good show! Big thumbs up to Patrick for his first win!

The SV500's are not legal by the current AFM rules for 450 superbike, otherwise Joe S. and I would be running it.

since our SV500's were originally 400's, we can only run down a class if we stay in the 250-450 cc range. However, based on the same rule, if I have an EX500 I could build it to 600 cc and still be legal for 450 superbike (as its still in the as manufactured 451-600 cc range)

The rule change to remove the wording "...based on manufacturers original displacement" from the twins run down a class, was submitted, but it was voted down at the rules meeting last year.

even so, I think all of the EX500's from the 500 twins grid did race 450 superbike at buttonwillow

My SV500 started life as a 650....

by the AFM rules, that means your twin cylinder bike is no longer in the manufacturers original displacement category (601-750 cc), so your bike is not legal for 450 superbike either...

in other words, if we want to race our SV500's in a superbike class, its 600 superbike!

maybe we could get someone to start a contingency program for top SV500 in the 600 superbike class...

Ha! That would be awesome.

time to get rid of 450P and start formula 5

maybe we could petition Kevin to allow any 500T bike that wants to run in 450SB- since the Superdino that many of us were looking forward to running in was taken away . Maybe if someone sees that if many others will be racing in a second race instead of only one then perhaps there might be an eventual rule change with an allowance for this year. It's either that or get spanked in FIV and how much fun is that? Whichever race that all of the 500T people can agree will be our "other' race will be the one to look for or look at.

TWF wrote:time to get rid of 450P and start formula 5

If we don't get more racers on the grid in 450P I have to agree with Zoran. As full as our grids are, any class with only a few bikes on the grid should be considered for elimination. And yes, I'm benefitting from allowing grey market bikes in the prod class.

I'm not sure we need to petition the board to give us a second 500 twins class - we just need a few tweaks to the AFM rules (and in fairness to how the current rules read, the SV500 to my knowledge is exclusively a very recent AFM phenomena, so the rule book wasn't written with it in mind)

currently, the only 500's on the 500T grid that cannot race in 450 superbike are the SV500's and Kevin's Gibson.

The Gibson is a true formula bike, so it really shouldn't be eligible for 450 superbike.

The EX500's are actually legal for not just 450 superbike, but also 450 production (as long as they are not modified outside of the production rules)

I feel that the SV500's are consistent with the rules of 450 superbike, but the AFM rule book says otherwise.

As for how well 500 twins do in Formula IV or 450 Superbike - the fast guys on the 450's are also fast in Formula IV (there have been winners on 450's in past races, its not always an SV!). So, we'll still be getting smoked - your finishing position just looks better because there are fewer entries in superbike than F-IV

Even if I could run 450 superbike, I would still run Formula IV - while a 500T is at a disadvantage on that grid due to the displacement of the other bikes, its great practice for how to deal with traffic on faster machines and a good way to improve riding skills by having to chase faster bikes (and I could certainly benifit from that...)

hmm, maybe we should enter the 500's in 600 superbike afterall, it might make us feel like we're competitive in F-IV...

Didn't Jay run times right in line with the guys who ran into the top 10 in FIV at the last Sears round? Seems pretty competitive to me. Where Tigert on a 500 when you need him.

But, it would be good to see SV's run in the 450 class (where the fastest times could get a 500 on the podium).

was that on 500 o 650?

400 as far as I know.

AFM needs to streamline the classes. merge the three classes (production, superbike, and formula) into two classes like supersport and superbike. They could start with the smaller displacement classes and work up to bigger grids over time.
But, heck, what do I know, I don't even ride anymore.

:bump

hmmmmm....mebbe I'll be joining the ranks....picked up fawndog's old bike last night...

http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=188419