Modern Vespa

Clip from a high speed GP getoff on reddit. He walked away sore AF but he walked away!

https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/tqb3rs/these_airbag_suits_in_motogp_are_just_incredible/

He pitched it just a little too hard and lost traction.

Notice how right leg comes up immediately to counterbalance? Perfect form but too little too late.

Also pretty good form on the landing I noticed he came in soft on the left foot and was trying for knees all the way, that's the way to do it kids if it happens to you.

Well, that made my hind end pucker.

The problem with the safety gear is that it makes him push harder than he should and take more risks.

Finding the limit by going over it on a regular basis is one day going to end his career. That's if it hasn't already after the latest crash.

Yeah I liked it too!

He was keeping the pace and made a mistake, he was not even first when he went down so while he may have been exceeding his limit's if you want to play with the big boys you have to keep up.

I understand your point and it is totally valid but the other side of that coin is the extra confidence and calmness from knowing you can survive a horrific crash like that should help you to be a better rider? Unless you are gonna go full on idiot and not even try to make it.

The other thing for me I and bet what he is doing is critiquing just what went wrong and what he did right. If he had not been quite so abrupt, just a little smoother and he would have made it. He lost his focus there for a split second and let his mind get just a little too far ahead of his position on the racetrack, have to be in the moment at speed. If you don't get the timing just perfect you live with the mistake, hopefully.

Also you have to remember what Barry Sheene said about Kenny Roberts in his rookie year on the GP circuit. Very similar to your comment Barry said Kenny wasn't gonna live very long pushing it that hard basically talking smack to the new kid and Kenney wiped the floor with him and became a many time world champion. Barry could not keep up with Kenny and retired shortly thereafter.

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/motorcycles/motogp/sheene-versus-roberts-silverstone-40-years

I recall a time when helmets were less common and were blamed for instilling a sense of invulnerability.

I don't think you're going to find a professional racer that hasn't gone for a few slides. If they haven't nobody's going to sign them since they won't push.

I totally understand that, its part of the job description. Doing it on a very regular basis though is playing the odds a bit to much.

I believe RyanF9 used that clip in his video on rider airbags:

And: I just realized that, hokey smoke, I never got around to creating a Reddit account. All taken care of now.

Racing and those that push limits are why gear tech keeps evolving and improving. We get the 2nd or 3rd gen benefits...after it doesn't require sponsorship to even put a down payment on.