A controversial (and probably unpopular) view!

[gareth h]

This is something I’ve been mulling over for a while, having owned 3 Caterhams I have come to the view that with the exception of using them on track, a Caterham is a car for those that can’t, or don’t want to ride a motorcycle.
The last 7 owned was a CSR and it was obviously quick, but I found that speed was always very limited by vision, which meant on many roads I just wasn’t able to travel much faster than in something far less capable.
Whereas, if I’m out on the bike my viewpoint is maybe a metre higher than in the 7, and I’m able to change road position to open up the view through a corner, meaning I can make progress without feeling I am exposing myself to the unknown.
Probably a very unpopular view, but I really can’t see a place for one in the garage anymore.

[gareth h]

MBBlat said:

About 2/3rds of our local Caterham club are also bikers. Small sample I know, but it would suggest that there is a large overlap.

And I was one of those, with a couple of bikes and a 7 in the garage, ironically I felt safer on a bike than in the 7.

[gareth h]

AinsleyB said:

I've a collection of motorbikes and a 420R.
All different flavours of fun and compromise.

But for sharing the drive with a mate / wife / other, the 7 wins. It also out brakes and out corners the bike. Sure a bike takes up less road space and yes, you can overtake easier. But its an odd comparison.

One is a motorbike, the other a Caterham 7, just different sorts of fun.

I was feeling so exposed in the CSR compared to being on the bike, the fact that it would corner and brake quicker was completely academic as vision was always the limiting factor, perhaps it’s just the roads that I use, there aren’t too many where you can see through the corner out this way, maybe different in say the Fens

[gareth h]

I think if I’d kept mine it would have become a trackday toy too