Yes without doubt things have changed.....but the technology of today allow riders to do the things they do.
But you mentioned adapting.....what happened when Rossi went to Ducati? It didn't work out too well.
As for Hailwood.....he took ten years out and came back to win the TT.....on bikes that were light years ahead of what he was used to. If the ability is there to that degree then it can be done.
But ask yourself how many riders since then have taken 10 years out and then come back and done that? Do you honestly think any riders of today are capable of that?
We only saw a glimpse of the ability that the likes of Hailwood and Saarinen posssessed during that era.....because they were restricted by technology. Though those guys always rode beyond the boundaries of that technology to a level that was untouchable in their day. And totally dominated.
The only rider who's come remotely close to that in the modern era is Mick Doohan. But injuries notwithstanding, could he now return and be the force he was? Highly unlikely.....great rider though he was, he was no Mike Hailwood.
Put any of the current day guys on one of Mike's old bikes and see if they could get round something like the IOM in the times he did.
I bet you they won't even get close......I doubt if they'd even manage to stay on the bike. Because he was riding with archaic suspension, pisspoor brakes, and wafer thin tyres barely better than a bicycle. The current generation couldn't even begin to imagine riding a bike that they had to battle with just to keep it upright. So strip away all the high tech from these guys today and you'll see a different picture.
And the reason guys of that era rode in that way was because in those times the damn tyres were square. It was only in the early 70's with Saarinen and then Kenny Roberts that the present riding styles started taking shape due to technology moving forward.
But in Hailwood's day it was no nonsense stuff.......and virtually non existent safety standards. Different world and those guys were brave men.
Yes it, and to boot, I need to ride back to Uni through it tomorrow. 100 miles of cold and wet. And I have a stinker of a cold. So yup, jealous abuse time!
Have a good run Christo.....it's not easy here either!
I've had loads of thumpers over the years....I love 'em. I'm very much in the XT camp (hence my username).....though I did have a DR650 at one time and that was very good as well.
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