Was Ken Roczen's HRC Bike THAT BAD?? - Gypsy Tales

Tommy Searle is a true legend of the game. He's the third most winning rider in UK MXGP history and has finished second in the World Championship twice, won multiple British Championships and did a stint in the US for factory KTM. We both moved to the US around the same time but haven't had a chance to catch up in person since, so this was a really great chat! Tommy is deep in the KZbin game now with mates Billy Bolt and Ed Warren and his KZbin Channel and Podcast are well worth a sub!
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[@SauceyDad]

I love how people talk about Kenny like they never watched moto from 2010-2016 lol him still racing at all is insane…the fact he stayed at the top of the sport is just stupid. Pre crash Kenny was one of the gnarliest riders a dirt bike has ever seen..wealthy and a family man now, stupid to cross the line if not 100% comfortable 🤷‍♂️

[@yukonjon5964]

if i could give this more than one thumbs up...

[@russsavage1611]

Hell yeah! I think I remember Jase saying pre crash Kenny made it look like everyone else’s bike was broken haha! He was so much faster it was wild to watch.

[@CullyClayton]

HRC bikes are so bad just ask chase and jett

[@theadorebundy4514]

Tim Gajser 2022 MXGP1 champ HRC.

[@jameswarren2894]

Hahahaa right?

[@CullyClayton]

@@jameswarren2894 damn clickbait 😂

[@BOSFallen]

Lol did anyone listen to the interview at all? That’s not what was said at all you should hear the context or idk listen to the interview that your commenting on….

[@jonsnow178]

@@BOSFallen you gone cry?

[@SierraScout2]

This guys gives a great description of how these bikes work.

[@edwardvanwormer6993]

Tommy is spot on with his opinion. I love how he explained it.

[@eric-yt]

My dad used to say they should only be allowed to race production bikes, i.e. no parts you can't buy off a rockymoutain or something like that, and the more I think about it the more I start to agree with him.

[@8180634]

That can become a safety issue. These guys can push the pace faster than is safe on stock suspension.

[@coreyploof217]

@@8180634 doesn’t mean it has to be stock stock, we as the public can get A kit suspension and some trick stuff but there shouldn’t be any one off factory shit that isn’t allowed to the public

[@aidanmotox70]

@@coreyploof217 why it makes people strive to work hard to potentially ever get the chance to ride these factory bikes… that’s like saying f1 drivers should be racing lowered civics

[@completelylucid7596]

@@aidanmotox70 Agreed lol makes no sense whatsoever. Who the hell would watch f1 or nascar if we could just build shit like that ourselves. Takes away incentive to race super high level and takes away from even watching if these dudes aren’t racing these crazy trick machines we can’t drool over

[@coreyploof217]

@@completelylucid7596 I mean idk about you guys but I prefer to watch local level races every day. Car or motorcycle, it’s relatable. You can’t relate to a 75000 dollar factory bike and a guy being able to ride it faster than 99% of the people in the world. Don’t act like because you don’t have a factory bike or a race car is the reason you don’t go that fast or race on a high level

[@Natedoc808]

The comfort factor is the result of suspension and chassis setup- so if a bike is inherently engineered in a way that it cannot quite be tuned to a rider’s liking, then he isn’t going to be confident pushing the machine, you ride tight, get arm pump, get tired because you’re getting beat up. I never though it made that much of a difference until I had my suspension completely done including gold valves, custom shim stacks, tubes cross hatched and coated, same to the shock…. Holy cow what a night and day difference and I was insta rly riding way faster for longer and the bike responded/handled exactly how I expected and wanted it to.

[@mrmullut]

Dude dropping knowledge. Honest and straight up!

[@sunrealclothing]

Great perspective on older factory motocross racers on bike setup!

[@TheBubbascrub]

Thumbs up straight away for Tommy searl

[@Gpx111]

Was unreal rider back in the day finished second in the world in mx2 at 16

[@nicholastrutwein42]

Really good insight on the expectations from a Pro side of things for the bikes. Nice one Tommy lad innit

[@mikedillman2761]

Kroc always seems to come out swinging year after year but something along the way always seems to derail him, I still love seeing him roll to the line and give it hell. it's hard to say if its mental or physical but I'm leaning more toward mental which can cause physical issues too. Regardless tho, he's still an absolute badass and a fan favorite...

[@nasty3145]

Vendors will eventually get greedy. Hire suspension guys to "Fine tune" out of the box stuff. Racers will always find an edge

[@kakiho6981]

He mentioned that he has some illness so he can't recover as normal. That's why...

[@Mudcreekmedia]

My 450L says Hrc on the tripple clamp so u can say things are getting pretty serious lmao

[@slayer6936]

Tommy is one of my top riders I follow!! He is one great bloke!!

[@dustin9035]

I put a HRC decal on my Honda 9.9. I pull ski’s on my Jon boat now. Its nasty

[@stewartmolina5894]

Start downloading ASAP

[@kirkwilliams4942]

Makes sense. Interesting perspective.

[@bazwax77]

Love listening to Tommy 100 🔥👏🏻

[@bprickard]

Kenny wanted a different shock linkage, a lot like Kawasaki they said no. Kenny washed the front end of the bike how many times last season?

[@yukonjon5964]

after WSX England when Kenny ran a different shock linkage set up, one that HRC would not let him run, he said... "good to know i can still ride whoops!" so what does that tell us... its not the bike or the frame as much as HRC development is too slow to follow their own frame changes etc. great product, just not tuned. look how many various Honda teams are out there. the bikes can be made to work well. it was obvious that problems started with the new frame in 2021. Honda needs to learn to make smaller changes at a time, which is Yamahas success for a well performing product that is popular despite it's flaws.

[@shanereilly5994]

This guy is spot on

[@scottchelmford7136]

some people dont gel with certain bikes. people say the rmz450 he won on is outdated and garbage at that time.

[@stewartmolina5894]

We are powerful lobbyists this is who we are this is who we are always meant to be

[@crcmoto3751]

Those headphones are killing me. Dudes on a tight leash lol

[@richardferrell4362]

Kenny has said every single bike he's ridden on sucks. I take his words with a massive grain of salt.

[@sexatica]

His Zook didn't

[@petergriffin4629]

I don't remember that

[@MONSTERTRUCKSOVERDRIVENTOUR]

His Suzuki he liked

[@trevorsant3141]

Must've only watched him on a Honda then he liked his Suzuki and ktm

[@SoleAddictions]

@@trevorsant3141 this. He loved those bikes

[@theadorebundy4514]

Hmmm..... AMA 250SX and 250MX(x2) championship, and closet last race point's gap in AMA 450MX history and finishing 2nd with multiple moto and overall wins and MXGP1 championship........

[@michaeltaylor7146]

Im a weekend warrior and did a track day on 450's. In about 2018/19. KTM was fast, Kawi was comfortable, Honda was so twitchy that i didn't enjoy it! Maybe the honda comes alive with a fast rider but i didn't like it at all! Im a mega Kenny fan but he needs to look at himself rather than the bikes and he will find the answer! The only time ive seen him happy was after changing to stock triple clamps in 16 on the Suzuki! Kenny is all mental at this stage but he definitely has it in him to win again!

[@joelballard4955]

Fantastic

[@germanbeer2466]

How it works is that if Tomac didn’t win, then Yamaha would suck, right?

[@motocrosssupercross3781]

It’s like Charlie bit my finger but with bikes 😂 fucking Honda kicked me!

[@Shoorit]

Honda kicked who?

[@motocrosssupercross3781]

@@Shoorit talking about Bike kicking rider when riding

[@Shoorit]

@@motocrosssupercross3781 I see now.

[@stewartmolina5894]

I got a full Spread it's a two-page 2005 RM250 please pull this pic

[@colinbox3472]

At least your getting comments gypsy even if none of them watched the video

[@GYPSYTALES]

People think the title is the video lol

[@Slipvayne1]

I don't think the bikes trash. I think it's a similar situation to Tomac and Kawi. Tomac wanted to make changes to the bike, PC Kawi wanted to set it up and Tomac ride it their set up. He went to yami where he can try and set his own bike up how he wants. Hondas probably similar and wants the bike set up their way than what Kenny prefers. He mentioned this at wsx, that with this new genuine Honda team he can do things to the bike he wasn't able to with HRC. And something worked cause he looked like Kenny again, even in the whoops at WSX. But people are gonna judge and Hate on Kenny no matter what he does even if he's winning or losing. Also like Searle said, it's a comfortability thing on sending it with an older rider, Kenny mentioned that too.

[@yukonjon5964]

that Kenny interview was indeed an eye opener when he said they were trying different linkages at Genuine... so apparently Honda will only run the stock linkage. that would be due to OEM "development of product" garbage. no wonder he complains. just let the rider tell ya how to fix the bike OEM's!

[@Slipvayne1]

@@yukonjon5964 Exactly, I feel like you can't be mad at a rider for not winning if you won't let him run what works for him.

[@esczine]

He definitely looked like his old self at the WSX initially, but once it got to the final 3 races it didn't quite seem to click as much. He had yet another front end slide out, and in the final race he was jumping the whoops from the get-go - it was only Tomac who was blitzing them. I'm not sure if he'd given up by that point as he'd had a bad start and was never going to get close to taking the overall, but he was really subdued.

[@Slipvayne1]

@@esczine Yeah I think after he realized the mistake cost him and then the bad start I think he realized he was gonna have to settle for second. And I'm not making excuses for him by no means, I've been a longtime Roczen fan and lately have just become fed up with hoping he will get back to winning like normal again but man hus superpole lap, the heat race, and just how he was riding he didn't look as stiff as he recently had with HRC. I'm sick of excuses though I know the dudes capable but idk. Maybe we will get something nice out of him in WSX. Even if he wins it all though it still won't be enough for the poor guy cause of the lineup that's all people will say is if Tomac was there he'd been second. And maybe they're right but it's on him. After what's he's been through injury wise he's still fast as hell and I wish the dude well.

[@esczine]

@@Slipvayne1 Likewise! He was riding super smooth for most of the night, and was nailing the quad so cleanly too.

[@stewartmolina5894]

I'm authorizing you to pull my pics off my phone these are supporting details

[@MARCHOFTHESAS]

CN u ask Tommy how he did a shakedown down on a Friday in England and then raced mxdn sat and sun lol

[@jasonbaldwin5875]

Shakedown was in America

[@charlieszablewski830]

Whos winning at the moment

[@rickgibbs805]

Fighting the bike? They ripped the whoops.

[@Kawiboy]

Love TS100 👊 👊😉

[@markblankenship5788]

Obviously the bikes are fine, the rest of the team is/was winning. When they lose, the bike suck. When they win, the bike are working fabulous!! Lol

[@trevorsant3141]

Just because they are winning doesn't mean the bike doesn't have issues. The Hondas have been having known issues in general since 2020 and even recalled 2021 models. And if you watch sexton, jett, and hunter they all look like they struggle on the bike alot more in certain spots compared to other riders and manufacturers thats why it's being brought up.

[@flexdubel5870]

Hä why would kenny stay on Honda?😄

[@Randy_Cox]

Some guys can't handle Honda style heat. Jet and Chase seem to make it work....on not just occasionally but consistently.

[@mathewingham6978]

Chase and Jett win a tonne but they also hit the deck quite a bit

[@Randy_Cox]

@@mathewingham6978 that's called racing. If your not pushing the edge your not winning. Lots of guys ride around in 20th and never crash.

[@mathewingham6978]

@@Randy_Cox we’re not complaining about motorcross here. We’re talking bike comfort. You said that not everyone can handle a Honda but jett and chase can. I’m just saying they aren’t the best example of this given they crash a bit. And this is coming from a Jet superfan

[@derrickzenner9300]

When a kid can win at MXoN in his first 450 race how bad can it be. When K-Roc puts in blistering laps at the start of so many motos how bad can it be.

[@shotgunbrown2821]

Id put james stewart kawi 450 days up against any bike watch james race thundervalley in 2008 on youtube

[@Rimraz]

Click bait king!! Love your work though Jase!

[@stewartmolina5894]

Twitter homie, Twitter 🤘🌎

[@jimbusby8298]

How many times did Ken Roczen get pitched off in a endo style wreck?🤔🤫 no one talks about that. Freakin Weird with the talent he has

[@stewartmolina5894]

Megatron

[@CESONER]

Be for real: Chase fought that bike to a fraction off the outdoor championship.

[@gildo101rossi]

Be still had odd crashes when he shouldn’t of or didn’t look out of control. Was it chase or the bike? I mean is it because Chase can’t feel what Roczen can feel in the bike and does that cause him to ride tight or not feel he can push?

[@KosmicHRTRacingTeam]

HRC bikes suck just ask all the dudes that got destroyed by Jett, Hunter and Chase. I mean there just happened to be more wins on HRC when combining all MX, SX, 250 and 450. So ya, they suck. How many wins for Austrian bikes again this year?

[@dkcampbell3]

Couldn't possibly be clearer, based on both Ken's and Chase's racing seasons, that at the speeds they ride, the bike gives you a choice between cornering and whoop performance. Choosing one doesn't necessarily make the other terrible, but it's bad enough that it causes them crashes. It has been demonstrated over and over all year.

[@Stinky_sack]

Add this to the list of reasons I don't care much for roczen

[@MrKnnthc93]

Dude it’s a factory Honda. I’m sure it was fire. Let’s be honest

[@SoleAddictions]

Maybe for you it would have been. Not for someone who’s on factory bikes his whole life. They just wouldn’t work with him and let him use whatever parts he needed to in order to get it where he wanted. That’s why Tomac went to Star because they let him do that. That’s why Kenny left Honda.

[@completelylucid7596]

@@SoleAddictions Lol yeah and apparently that’s why he’s left every team he’s ever been on. Also smart guy he was going to race with them next super cross season, he didn’t deny a contract because he didn’t like them or the bike it’s because hrc resented their offer because of WSX. Didn’t start smack talking the bike until after the fact of that happening so please do some research before you start talking about stuff you have no clue on

[@dkcampbell3]

@@completelylucid7596 says the guy who has all of his facts wrong.

[@dls951]

Roczen blames Honda just like he did KTM just like he did Suzuki. It’s always the best factory bikes on the planet at fault?

[@jpesicka999]

If they used KYB suspension instead of Showa they would instantly be better.

[@yukonjon5964]

most hardware between those brands are interchangeable, its only the valving stacks that are really any different. the problem is that one brands perfect setting cant be moved to a different brand bike, as the whole bike changes its effect. basically the reason everyone loves the KYB stuff on Yamaha, is because only Yamaha has chosen to only make tiny changes for 20 years with both frames and valving settings. it's fine tuned. all other bikes could be just as good if the frames were more dialed in and the suspension was set to match. at times, it only takes one single shim size change to go from bad to good. it's a fine art.

[@jpesicka999]

@@yukonjon5964you’re not wrong. It’s all A-Kit at that level. At same time there’s a feel difference between all suspension and diff suspension will work better in diff situations. KYB just seems to work everywhere for me.

[@yukonjon5964]

@@jpesicka999 yeah your in good company liking KYB, and i dont doubt it's good. just kinda makes no sense that its really anything more than the valving settings. in saying that, i'm impressed that the new Honda has modified fork wall thickness to allow for more flex. so that's a Showa leg that is improved by more than the valving. maybe KYB has a better handle on the hardware side as well as the valving.

[@stewartmolina5894]

Should there be any legal issues I'm proposing Eric eisner's law firm out of Washington DC coordinate with Mark Morgan of Morgan & Morgan should it be necessary Cypress Hill has their information

[@josephfelice601]

So are we going to discuss KTM'S massive fail with Chad Reeds bike?

[@SoleAddictions]

You mean MDX massive fail?

[@samoliverio7455]

Bro what? He crashed cause those whoops were a deathtrap

[@lukescido9265]

@@samoliverio7455 his fuel pump died

[@Fire_at_Wil]

@@SoleAddictions Chad brought his own bike and did his own prep, can't blame it on the team. MDX only prepped their 250 bikes.

[@josephfelice601]

@@samoliverio7455 The bike cut out due to a ecu or fuel pump failure.

[@dandlugolecki3408]

How come Sexton made it work?

[@lewdog8326]

Said no one ever!!

[@stewartmolina5894]

We're going to figure out how to get you back on your feet through the finest in medicine I put that on God

[@stewartmolina5894]

I'd like to provide you with a liaison getting contact with MacDill Jsoc this is the man that cadre that help me become the man I am today. I cannot provide a direct reference only an avenue to get in contact

[@moneyontrees6]

Waste of internet time. Agreed with factory bikes. Better than stock. Even Suzuki

[@PisgahGravelProject]

Jett seems to like his......

[@yukonjon5964]

no, there are old interviews where he "chokes" when asked about the new frame on the 250. also once stated the old frame was way better. that tells ya something.

[@stewartmolina5894]

You should really try reaching out to Manchester United I put you on homie you're the s*** now you're all the way up

[@Heretic84]

If it wasn’t for that BS suspension set up kicking Kenny into the face of that jump? who knows what he might’ve won.

[@S0RELOSER]

You have no idea how difficult it is to deal with Ken Roczen when it comes to suspension setup. Find me a single time in his career where he wasnt complaining about the suspension... meanwhile EVERYONE bends over backwards for him. He's a basket case.

[@hoppiemacv8604]

Time to go back to 2-Strokes!

[@Franksssss]

Lazy 4 strokes riders these days. Expect the bike to soak it up etc etc. Get on a a 2 stroke and wind it on.

[@stevezoutman7533]

Of course the bikes are going to be bad if you can't give accurate input or feedback to your tuners and mechanic.

[@joski9030]

Sounds like rider not bike

[@OneSon744]

hey they are better than a Suzuki.

[@aidanmotox70]

Suk on top

[@toddrichard1742]

Kenny is a bit of a whinner, Sexton and both of the Lawrence boys have done well on the Honda. Kenny's not competitive for a whole moto anymore, that's not the bikes fault.

[@tristansneath2107]

Not competitive for a whole Moto? He literally podiumed 8 Motos this year. How is that not competitive?

[@SoleAddictions]

He podiummed 8 motos and won 1 of 3 super cross races he was in this year. Last year was 2nd in outdoors championship and 2nd in super cross. Kenny made the bike work the best he could for him but at the end of the day he had to call it. None of us are in his shoes. we can’t say anything about him complaining because if they would just do what star did for tomac and let Kenny use whatever parts he wanted to, he would have destroyed everyone.

[@yukonjon5964]

@@SoleAddictions that and if his past surgery antibiotics had not ruined his immune system so he's half sick all the time. no joke. its in a Weege interview. complain some more Roczen haters

[@wheels.and.wrenches]

Has nothing to do with the bike. It has to do with one thing, and one thing only... HOW TALENTED YOUR SUSPENSION GUY IS. That's the only thing that matters

[@michaelblough3509]

If anyone seeing this thinks the Honda HRC bikes suck, please never watch motocross or supercross again. What a dumb thing to say

[@Jthornton64]

Yo

[@thesmoness]

Please be better with thumbnail titles. Jett just won back to back outdoors and an indoors? Chase finished close 2nd? So roczen had dropped off they all do. Be better.

[@micahhook3576]

Honda hasn't won a championship in decades

[@bryantucker1270]

And there is a reason they can’t win

[@theadorebundy4514]

Lmao i see you have no clue what you are talking about.

[@micahhook3576]

@@theadorebundy4514 in America

[@theadorebundy4514]

@@micahhook3576 Tim Gajser MXGP1 2020 and 2022 champion on HRC honda sooo.....

[@johnmalone2389]

Ken is a professional whiner

[@fugginrambo]

Yeah man $250,000 factory bikes are just awful. Especially when he gets the holeshot and leads for several laps. I know I would rather take my chances on a One-Wheel and surf thru the whoops throwing Chaka-Bra's with my shirt off. Are we really having this conversation?

[@yukonjon5964]

we're guessing you have more than a few local championship wins to be saying this...

[@stewartmolina5894]

I'm sending this communication to Vladimir Putin he's going to forward that to Marshall Kim. The president and the joint Chiefs have blocked me because I'm too much of a clown and they're losing their shit three times an hour 🤡🤴💦

[@cooganbeggs4942]

Didn’t see any HRC bikes fail due to the f*cking fuel pump imploding. I would never trust a GayTM after what happened to Chad and the other guy (can’t remember his name right now)

[@aidanmotox70]

09 Hondas had fuel pump issues lol

[@cooganbeggs4942]

@@aidanmotox70 ‘09?!? …dude are you serious 🤣 yeah i heard there were issues with the ‘69 models also

[@AlexZaboroski]

Haha your giving this guy grief about mentioning an 09 and you can’t even remember Josh Grants name.

[@aidanmotox70]

@@cooganbeggs4942 so you’re saying it’s against the policy to try something new and for it to fail? Newer vehicles have faulty parts all the time. Shit happens unfortunately

[@cooganbeggs4942]

@@aidanmotox70 I would 100% suggest that a supercross track is not the place to test engine critical components where an engine cutout can literally end in death or a career ending injury

[@qresind]

Stawhp clickbaiting nibbas. "Honda bikes are so bad" that the Lawrence brothers got 1st and 2nd and Sexton also 2nd in the championship...

[@fliarshypocritestothebones5698]

"KTM BIKES SUCK!" will be way more accurate lol HRC vs KTM 2022 MXGP: HRC 1st - KTM 18th.. (with the biggest budget of MXGP!) AMA MX 250: HRC 1st - KTM 6th AMA SX 250: HRC 1st & 2nd - KTM 11th & 18th AMA MX450: HRC 2nd - KTM 6th

[@yukonjon5964]

GayTM

[@SouthernUtahMx]

This dude is high if he thinks a spec tire doesn’t make a big difference.

[@davidbrent6044]

😂😂😂 research who he is and who’s he’s beat over the years.

[@SouthernUtahMx]

@@davidbrent6044 idc who he is. He’s wrong. Ask any test rider here in the US who’s ridden with a spec tire. Keefer talks about it all the time. Spec tires are insanely good and make more of a difference than having a fast motor.

[@MMACHMP]

The factory Hondas fucking suck

[@michelcasanova9773]

Tht s à lot of BS roczen always critisize th brand tht he rodé wth ,nd thts why i dont lk tht dude ,u dnt spit in th soup

[@markmonge7947]

Enough said @cullyclayton

[@michelcasanova9773]

Oh realy ,hrc bikes r soo bad fr rocsen , funny coz chose, jett, Hunter, gajser did pretty well wth those bikes, maybe rocsen himself sucks, nd nt th bikes fact is tht He lost heart ,nd wherever Hé ll go Hé ll Nevers win Again , hes done