Jesse James -- Pure entertainment or real talent?

[merwin]

Warning -- There's spoilers in this for his current show, so if you care, don't read it.

I've been following Jesse James since I first saw Monster Garage. At first I thought he was a pompous ass with an over-inflated ego, but I really liked the stuff they came up with on the show. The more I watched and observed both his behavior toward his crew and his actual talent when rubber meets the road, I started to realize that he solidly backs up everything he brags about and honestly seems like a genuinly nice person. Crude, but always respectful.

Now, I have been watching "Jesse James is a Dead Man", where he takes on these insane challenges like outrunning the cops, successfully riding a nitro-bike (probably the most difficult bike to ride), attempting to break an airspeed record in the Reno Air Race (only having flown once or twice before), breaking the land-speed record in a hydrogen powered vehicle (broke the existing top speed by ~16mph, but disputed by BMW & the world record authorities because of not following rules to the letter), and qualifying for the World Figure 8 Championships (went from 32nd place to 7th place before crashing out, doing better than his "arch rival" who's been professionally racing this for years).

Of course, there's the added Hollywood aspect of his current show that over-hypes certain areas, but what he's doing here would kill or mame probably every member of DU if they attempted each of these. It also seems plainly obvious to me that his skill level is in the top few percent of whatever land vehicle he gets into. Being able to get on a nitro bike and successfully complete a run on his 3rd try is insane, and something that most riders spend years working up to. Even completing one or two laps in a world championship figure 8 race shows serious talent, and he went from his starting position in the back of the pack (32nd i think) to somewhere around 7th place before crashing out. And finishing 2nd in a sidecar race when he'd never done it before... amazing in my opinion.

Even with this, he's got some serious enemies who say everything he does is scripted, made to look far more difficult, and that he is a no-talent hack. Just read up on the discussions regarding his attempt to break the land-speed record in a hydrogen powered car, with comments such as:

"This was a minor league accomplishment, and anyone who thinks a few dedicated blokes with no education pulled this off is naive. This was a major TV production, designed to make money, not blaze the path to a better tomorrow. I don't care whether it was scripted or not."

"Jesse James may be a decent motorcycle fabricator but rocket scientist he is not. Nor is he a P-51 pilot, his attempts to set new records is a joke. The ride in a P-51 Mustang, a valued opportunity, was wasted on the “dead man”. He is all flash and no fire."

And the best, coming from a journalist who covers land speed racing:
"Mr. James efforts count for absolutely nothing on the world motorsports stage and amount to little more than a self-promoting ‘TV racer’ PR stunt since he chose to ignore the sport’s sanctioning rules that have applied to all records certified for the past 80 years." She went so far as to claim that the timing company he used was on Jesse's payroll, even though they're an official firm that is used by other record holders... and also claimed that he probably cheated in the build (even though the build process was filmed from start to finish). Seems to me that she's pissed off that he isn't playing by her rules :)

In my opinion, he did this on a dry desert lake bed in conditions far worse than what BMW ran in, exceeding BMW's top speed by around 16mph (this part was never disputed, it was just how long he held it for). Their complaint was that he didn't hold speed for a mile, although he did do that in a previous run at around 170mph. This was all on it's first run ever with no previous dry runs before the main attempts. It seemed plainly obvious (at least to me) that the car could easily have held the 199.7mph for several miles, problem being the length of the lake bed and lack of places to do official record breaking runs in the USA. I personally hope he flies it to France to beat the crap out of BMW officially.

The way I view the hydrogen episode was not the fact that he was using hydrogen (not necessarily the most efficient) but that he was proving you can explore alternative energy for a relatively low cost, and that the auto companies in the states are just not putting any effort into it, where a team of ~5 custom motorcycle builders and a couple hydrogen experts can build a hydrogen vehicle that can run with the best of them in a very short time... doing what the auto companies in the USA have refused to do -- put real attempts at pursuing alternative energy sources.

So, what do you think?

[DrDan]

1. is this the guy married to Sandra Bullock?

How'd that ever happen.

[Robb]

2. He's a good wrench who can ride

...But I've seen better at both who didn't have a show. That's why everyone else in the industry snipes at him. :shrug:

[merwin]

3. I completely agree... but the thing that gets me

is that he can jump in or on anything and do as well (or better) than people who have been it for years.

The one that really got me was the figure 8 guy who hated every part of him (that part wasn't hyped... i especially liked the part where he ripped his steerig wheel off after jesse beat him in the time trials) and by the end of it they were shaking hands and laughing together.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that is not the best at the things he tries, but he has a natural understanding and bond with whatever he gets into... kind of how I see myself with computers. Not the best at any one thing, but I can get in front of anything and understand what makes it tick and how to make it do exactly what you want it to do... makes me look a lot more talented than i may actually be, but there is the aspect of it where i can pick up a new programming language in a matter of days to the level that takes some years to get to... works just as well but usually done by approaching the problem completely differently.

[Robb]

4. Ah, race day fury!

:D

Good buddy of mine races the Pikes Peak Hill Climb every year, has won his class eight times. Winningest rider at the thing, actually, and he's pushing 60. Anyhow, I remember (last year? year before?) he and another guy clunked together all the way to the top, then my buddy went down. The other rider went on to win. My buddy got up, got back on the bike and still took 6th overall.

Anyhow, my buddy gets to the top, rides over to where the winner is, takes off his helmet and cracks the guy with it, he was so mad and was convinced the other guy knocked him over on purpose. They were having beers and laughing within the hour. :D

I mention him because he's one of those guys. He waves his hands over engines and they work like never before. He can service anything with tires, and make it magic when he's done. I've had bikes of mine worked on by him, just a spring tune-up or something, and I hardly recognize them when they come back.

AND an amazing rider. Cut his teeth doing ice ovals, went on to win a lot in superbikes, can motocross and enduro like a champ, rides trails on weekends because it's his favorite thing to do. Loves it, and is great at it whenever he sits down.

I can see thinking of Jesse that way. :shrug:

[merwin]

5. I have a great respect for those with mechanical gifts.

A lot of my clients who work on engines, body work, etc talk about how computers are like magic and say they wish that they could have that kind of ability...

Then I mention how what they do is like a dark art to me. I am in complete awe when watching some of them simply listen to an engine and tell you exactly what is wrong with it. It amazes me that being a mechanic is seen as a relatively low-class job when we are both doing things that require about the same amount of skill and practice... I just work in bits and bytes and don't end up as greasy at the end of the day (usually).

I pulled out the service manual for my '93 Nighthawk 750 a few days ago to see what it will take to rebuild my starter (have to rock it in gear to get it to catch and start up about half the time)... consider whether or not to attempt to replace the leaky valve cover seal, and decided that all i trust myself with are things like spark plugs and chain tightening. I put myself in my client's shoes and decided that i have enough knowledge to be really destructive.

Frustrating, because the sum of the necessary parts to get my bike back in good shape is under $50... it's the 4 or 5 hours in labor that get me. Really gives me an idea of how my clients feel when I charge 125 per hour to do something that is completely routine and simple for me.

[guitar man]

6. eh, he's ok

As far as his chopper building goes, he's not all that original. He stole most of his ideas from the SF chapter of the HA. He so much as admitted it on one show I saw him on.

I certainly can't blame him for cashing in on opportunity though, I'd do the same given the chance.