Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery. There are plenty more TT wins left in him.

Not great news about John but hey he's here to tell the tail which is the main thing.

Surely Honda will be looking for someone to ride the new blade along side Guys who is looking like he will need this year to get back up to podium speed going by the Cookstown and practice at the NW200.

What's there options ??

I would be in good spirits if I got away with a big off and wasn't going to have to race the new blade at the TT .
The bike clearly isn't ready which is understandable but I think Honda are going to pay the price of going for the publicity with Guy rather than a solid number 2 who could have stepped up. Guys preparation looks all over the place and watching him yesterday on the 600 he looked well off the pace and only after a signature, at this rate he's going to struggle to qualify - expect to see him out at darley/aintree or somewhere but his body language looks like he's already given up and, to me going out at the TT with new untried bike in that frame of mind, after a couple of years off, isn't safe. Maybe Honda will magically sort the bike out and Guy will put a shot of Rum in his tea and fire himself up - anything can happen, but I  think that someone sensible needs to stand up and do a Micky D, face the truth and pick another route, Mcpints ancient blade is probably in the museum (or his downstairs bog) quick squirt of wd40 she'll be rite. Don't think I wouldn't  bother with a second rider nearly everyone who could do it already have better kit - Tux is available!

Such a shame for John,  gut wrenching as it would be for him, I hope they try him out on commentary booth. 

 Was thinking b William Dunlop could be a nice replacement...

william would be my choice as hes had a troubled time getting his own gear ready
but would he ride a bike that looks like its not ready and also depends what commitments he has to his current sponsers

(12-05-2017, 01:32 PM)badlyoverdrawnboy Wrote: I would be in good spirits if I got away with a big off and wasn't going to have to race the new blade at the TT .
The bike clearly isn't ready which is understandable but I think Honda are going to pay the price of going for the publicity with Guy rather than a solid number 2 who could have stepped up. Guys preparation looks all over the place and watching him yesterday on the 600 he looked well off the pace and only after a signature, at this rate he's going to struggle to qualify - expect to see him out at darley/aintree or somewhere but his body language looks like he's already given up and, to me going out at the TT with new untried bike in that frame of mind, after a couple of years off, isn't safe. Maybe Honda will magically sort the bike out and Guy will put a shot of Rum in his tea and fire himself up - anything can happen, but I  think that someone sensible needs to stand up and do a Micky D, face the truth and pick another route, Mcpints ancient blade is probably in the museum (or his downstairs bog) quick squirt of wd40 she'll be rite. Don't think I wouldn't  bother with a second rider nearly everyone who could do it already have better kit - Tux is available!

i heard guy say in interview he was at north west for the signature
but i asked someone if they were going northwest just for signature as i know they dont like it they said no it dosnt count its after cut off date

(12-05-2017, 12:08 AM)Sam Pato Wrote: Reading between the lines the new Fireblade sounds like it still needs a lot of work to get to speed and they are running out of time for the TT.  Looking like a bit of a poison chalice.


Sam

Not like Honda to have problems like this just before the TT, I bet the bosses are non to pleased !!

worse than originally thought -
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/sport/motorc...-1-7959523

Blimey.
Sod the bikes, as long as John is OK.
That sounds more like a potential bike/component failure rather than rider error.

(12-05-2017, 07:20 PM)c iom tt Wrote: Blimey.
Sod the bikes, as long as John is OK.
That sounds more like a potential bike/component failure rather than rider error.

i had a feeling from the use of the word 'stable' in the press releases that there was a bit more to it. Fingers crossed for the lad that's he's back to 100% soon enough. A media gig would be a great next move in my opinion. 

I can't think of another instance where a crash of this seriousness (not fatal) causes the team to withdraw so I'm guessing that Johns telling them that the bike done something drastic that has caused the crash. 

I'm also guessing that is part of the reason Guy isn't really putting his back into it. Chances are his confidence is in his boots. 

On the plus side. Given it's a Honda the repair of the problem will only require a 50p part. (At least according to anyone on the payroll).  

Get well soon John. 


Sam

[In the good old days we'd know he (JM130) was ok when he was back on the forum to pick a fight with Spannerman - I miss those days]

(12-05-2017, 05:08 PM)veefour Wrote: Not like Honda to have problems like this just before the TT, I bet the bosses are non to pleased !!

Getting a bit of RC45 deja vu. 

Remember them signing up Steve Ward to stop him embarrassing the factory boys on his privateer RC30.
 

Sam

(12-05-2017, 03:59 PM)scaramanga Wrote: i heard guy say in interview he was at north west for the signature
but i asked someone if they were going northwest just for signature as i know they dont like it they said no it dosnt count its after cut off date

5th May was the cut-off date for Mountain Course licence signatures. The 5th of May was a Friday so in reality Monday 1st May (Bank Holiday) was the last chance to get a signature. Assuming Guy didn't race last year he would have to finish on 6 separate race days between 1st January and 1st May 2017.

(12-05-2017, 06:32 AM)captainsparkledotcom Wrote: Best wishes to John from all of us in his hometown.
I wonder if the powers that be would let 'someone' have a 'comeback'?
Could be worth it for the publicity, but with no signatures on the licence it probably would kick up a big fuss!

I've been racking my brains on this one.......

The best I can do is Keith Amor or Cam Donald (but I think he's still active so doesn't fit with the no signatures)

Who is this 'someone' ?

Such a shame for John, a disaster really, but so glad he's (essentially) OK which clearly is the main thing with what was a pretty big crash.

For Honda, the new Fireblade has been really problematic, across the board in BSB, WSB and on the roads. Getting Guy to ride it is obvioulsy a major PR coup but the bike seems to be lacking and you cannot imagine Guy would have any real confidence with it, or indeed in himself given the problems in testing and other races. With other riders totally at the top of their game, it always was a very long shot realistically, even more so now.

Has Guy got all the signatures he needs for eligibility ?

As others have said, one would presume Honda would want to replace John, but who with. Possibly Conor perhaps, lured by a Honda pay cheque and of course familiar with the team.

Also, where does it leave the Shinden ? Head and shoulders above the rest, if Guy is the sole rider then surely victory will come, although of course it would be probably the least satisfying TT in history, for rider and fans alike

John isn't known for throwing it down the road or even looking close to doing so and Honda have withdrawn, that's not a little teething issue that's something unforeseen, instant and by the look of it something integral that can't be remedied "overnight" in engineering terms, if it's gearbox based i'm not sure there'll be a big queue of pilots wanting to replace John.

Yes, totally agree. If in all likelihood the bike is the culprit, and, as you say, the fact Honda have withdrawn it leaves a big question mark, then it wouldn't be the ride of choice, to put it mildly

Extending on from that then, if Honda aren't 100% sure of the bike's safety, they wouldn't be able to run at the TT, would they ?

(12-05-2017, 10:50 PM)Sam Pato Wrote: [In the good old days we'd know he (JM130) was ok when he was back on the forum to pick a fight with Spannerman - I miss those days]

That has just made me splutter in my drink and burst out laughing!
And you forgot to say that Spanners would also be telling JM130 what he was doing wrong, and how to solve it.
I wonder how he is? He did have a wealth of knowledge ( when he wasnt getting his facts mixed up)

Sounds about right - Spanners furiously back peddling whilst trying to maintain he was still right when confronted by the man himself (JM130) - funny as ....  

I sometimes wonder where everyone drifted off to.  10 years ago there were a few TT related message boards that were worth keeping an eye on.  Now its all quiet except for race week.

I'm guessing that if you're suitably engaged with the modern world you get the low down as it happens via twitter or some such.

Getting back to topic - anyone got an update on John?  Hopefully signing the contract for the Ramsey Hairpin gig as I type :-)

Cheers


Sam

(13-05-2017, 09:20 AM)Alfie Noakes Wrote: John isn't known for throwing it down the road or even looking close to doing so and Honda have withdrawn, that's not a little teething issue that's something unforeseen, instant and by the look of it something integral that can't be remedied "overnight" in engineering terms, if it's gearbox based i'm not sure there'll be a big queue of pilots wanting to replace John.

How right you are Alfie re: JM's amazing ability to keep things shiny-side-up. I think this last - and particularly serious - off is the 3rd occasion that the new Fireblade has done the dirty on John in the last month, so there's evidently some pretty significant issues with the thing! As others have previously said, I'm thinking this might be the time for J-Mac to call it a day and enjoy all those wonderful memories from a remarkable racing career. His comment a few years back that "bikes always get you in the end" has, unfortunately, proved extremely prophetic. I wish John & his family well; & here's to a full recovery from his various injuries asap.

I'd got a 60th present sorted out as J M was doing a book signing at Waterstones in Lancaster on Tuesday ....begger!! ...Can anyone on here 'do' a McGuinness signature ?. If you're reading this John ...All the best and when you're up and about my missus says she'll massage your leg !