Yoshimura Race Shop Products and Services Unveiled

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Yoshimura Race Shop Products and Services Unveiled

Please discuss the Motorcycle.com article Yoshimura Race Shop Products and Services Unveiled in our Motorcycle Forums below. Use the reply button to let others know your comments or feedback on the article. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, along with your thoughts and personal opinions on the bikes and products we have tested.

[seruzawa]

Valve cotters may seem a little thing but losing one will grenade an engine quicker than you can say "Kook's a squid."

[acecycleins]

Yosh is doing the right thing. Marketing 101- sell to everyone with a pulse.

[pplassm]

"Is it possible for a brand name to be so powerful that people lose sight of what the company actually sells?"

Sure. Think Fox Racing, Scott, Burton, and lots of others.

Che Gueverra has the best brand recognition of them all.

[MOKE1K]

I always thought this stuff was readily available through the yoshimura japan website? I'v been going on that site for years now, they have the same stuff? From what I know you can order all of it their.

[Kenneth_Moore]

“The super secret days of racing are over."

Pete, can you fill in a bit on this? Is this the result of the DMG's stock-bike format you mentioned, or are there other influences at work here?

[Pete_Brissette]

Originally Posted by Kenneth_Moore

“The super secret days of racing are over."

Pete, can you fill in a bit on this? Is this the result of the DMG's stock-bike format you mentioned, or are there other influences at work here?

As best I understand it from Yoshi R&D America staff in the company's Chino, CA, offices, Yoshi never made and/or made available a majority of the racing oriented components at a consumer level. The 2009 Yoshimura Book of Speed is almost entirely exhaust systems. Yosh made mountains of those.

(But above, MOKE tells us differently. I've never had a need to shop for Yoshi race parts, so he may be right in terms of availability to the consumer via the Internet.)

However, they only produced a small collection of performance items like, cams, adjustable camshaft sprockets, stators, race ECUs, one race transmission, and a couple case savers. And virtually all of those bits are for the Gixxer Thou.

The best interpretation of the "secret days of racing" comment is probably in reference to prohibitive costs of other stuff from Yoshi that simply wouldn't have had a place in the market.

Also, note that Yosh is now providing engine building/tuning services.

I haven't read the 2009 AMA rule book, but apparently the Superbike class is largely a "production-based" series, ergo fewer allowable modifications, with the net result (hopefully) being that racing could be much more affordable, thereby opening the door for the "parity" that Roger Edmondson has made mention of in the recent past. Look to what was Moto-ST for an example of spec tires, fuel, weight restrictions, etc.

So, instead of a Superbike costing, I dunno, $150-200K (?), theoretically, you could build a Yoshi-spec GSX-R1000 Superbike --one that's competitive, at least in terms of h.p.-- for, what, maybe less than half the above estimated cost? I suppose then that the AMA sees that as much more attainable by the average Schmo...

Simple business follows then, I guess, with Yoshimura's decision to market the existing as well as new products: Might as well sell it, too!

Finally, Yoshi explained that they are working to develop products for a broader range of applications (bikes). Now they can make more $$$.

Hope that helps, not hinders, understanding.

Thanks

[Kenneth_Moore]

I guess I get it:

The race bikes are less custom (and secret) and cost less.

Yosh is making more parts for more bikes.

Yosh makes more money from more customers.

[sambyanis]

But I think there are many other ways of marketing also.

[MOKE1K]

I think the bigggest advantage to this is the engine building services. All their experience is a hugh plus if your looking to be competitive on the track. Just make sure you have alot of expendable cash on hand.