I thought it was funny to calculate the results of the 2006 250F shootout without Matt Armstrong's ratings and see very little change. Perhaps you should include the new numbers on your website or send them to the guy who seemed so upset at youhe'd take his words back and not jump to a conclusion so quickly.
Without Matt's votes, the final results did not change at all. The Honda went up from 96.5 to 96.9, the Kawasaki went down from 95.3 to 95.1, the Yamaha went up from 93.8 to 94.4, the KTM went up from 92.0 to 93.3 and the Suzuki went up from 88.4 to 89.4. Again, no change in the order of first to last, and the largest change was 1.3 percent.
Ron said, "It is so glarringly harmful to the results of the test" to include Matt's numbers! It is not so in the least.
I just thought this was interesting. I enjoy your magazine and I would look at the 250 two-stroke test to compare numbers if I hadn't given it to a friend. If you could post the shootouts online that'd be excellent.
Anyways, if Matt can whip a bike like he can in those pictures on pages 50 and 52 then I think I can trust his opinion on the bikes.
| 2006 250F Shootout Results | | With Matt Armstrong's Results | Without Matt Armstrong's Results |
| Honda | 96.5 | Honda | 96.9 |
| Kawasaki | 95.3 | Kawasaki | 95.1 |
| Yamaha | 93.8 | Yamaha | 94.4 |
| KTM | 92.0 | KTM | 93.3 |
| Suzuki | 88.4 | Suzuki | 89.4 |
Thanks for crunching the numbers for us. Just for kicks, I pulled out the December issue to do the same with the 250 two-stroke numbers... and I came across an interesting fact: Matt Armstrong wasn't a tester for us in the 250 two-stroke shootout. It looks like Ron had some wires crossed.
But that's okay, Ron. You brought a good point to light in your letter last week. And that point is that you don't have to agree with us. All the info, opinions, charts and breakdowns are there so that you can pick your own winner. Looking closely at the opinions, you can see that even Jimmy's vote differed from the outcome of the test.
So you're welcome to tabulate your own results. If you want to do it Olympicsstyle and throw out the highest and lowest scores, go for it. If you want to lend more weight to someone's opinion because they're of similar stature to you, then by all means. That's exactly why we give you everyone's height and weight. (As a smaller rider, I do that all the time.)
So take your liberties with our comparisons. If you have ideas about ways to improve our tests, or to give you more information with which to make that allimportant decision, let us know!
Incidentally, Paul, past shootouts are online. Look under "Motocross Bike Tests" and you'll find the 125, 250F, 250 two-stroke and 450 comparisons from 2005, as well as the Ultimate MX Shootout. We'll give the '06 comparisons a bit more time on people's coffee tables, but they'll eventually go into the online archives as well.
Thanks for the letter, Paul. And thanks for keepin' it real, Ron.