I am still enjoying this thread and learning a lot. However, it looks like it has morphed into who has what on their bike and what they would like if they could afford it, also if any of it is worth the money. My question is this, does it not bother you to know that if you came in first, tenth or last, you don't really know if it was you, the bike or a little of both. To be honest, I can't afford, nor would I pay much for racing gear if I could. What I would like to see is a PRO (or unlimited) division and an Amateur division, with the PRO division riding anything they want and the amateur division only being able to ride a standard bike. (This bike could be made by different companies but all the same spec's and price. The only thing that can be done is fit adjustments for the
rider.) This division would show who the best or fastest rider is. Now I know that bike companies would probably not go for this because they would not be able sell their overpriced stuff. I'm also sure there are
probably a million other reasons why someone is against it, but it 's fun to think about. The Auto racing folks tried that with the IROC series. Is that still going, if not, maybe that answers my question.