I thought the TVR was quick!!!!!...

I thought the TVR was quick!!!!!...

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.mark

Original Poster:

11,104 posts

283 months

Wednesday 17th April 2002
quotequote all
...Until I got a ride on the back of my mates Fireblade yesterday!!

0 - 60 in 2ish I'm told and the mid range grunt was mind blowing, although he reckoned it was tricky keeping the front wheel down 2-up.
Traffic was busy so only managed 110mph, would love to go faster!

mel

10,168 posts

282 months

Wednesday 17th April 2002
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Welcome to world of the informed

s2 giles

2,871 posts

282 months

Wednesday 17th April 2002
quotequote all
I'm pleased this thread has come up, I too have had rides on bikes that are very impressive but at the end of the day, it doesnt do anything for me ! am I ill ?

I find the push in the back of a car a totally different experience than the hang on thrills of the bike and can't relate the two together.

It seems like comparing concorde top speed with a TVR's

plotloss

67,280 posts

277 months

Wednesday 17th April 2002
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I was driving down the M4 over Easter weekend, and I over took a fella on a Hayabusa. We were travelling along, after over taking I pulled back into lane 1 and he was alongside. I booted it, he gave a little twist of the throttle and that was the last I saw of him.

Bikes, they are quite simply mad!

Matt.

pdavison

1,637 posts

284 months

Wednesday 17th April 2002
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I ride a Yamaha R6 and I have to admit that the acceleration is quite unbelievable (at any speed), but I agree that the acceleration in a car (I used to own a TVR) does give quite a different feeling !

The nearest I have got to that 'bike' feeling in a car was a highly modified Renault 5 GT Turbo - I think it's something to do with the way in which turbo charged car can give such a sudden burst of acceleration.

Perfect solution - have both !

Cheers

Paul

REV-EREND

21,536 posts

291 months

Wednesday 17th April 2002
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One of the most annoying things about owning a high performance car is that you can only rarely use all the power.

There is always some numpty ahead doing 30 in a fifty
and then another 20 in front of them - so it does not seem worth overtaking - as it just makes you look like a total w*nker but the enormous revelation when you get on a fast bike is that the roads are not over crowded but instead there are groups of cars traveling slowly with large gaps in between for you to enjoy !

It seems that only rural France can offer traffic free B roads for a fast car driver to enjoy.

That is a big reason why so many people take their fast cars to Le Mans in June - every year !

Rev.

adeewuff

567 posts

277 months

Wednesday 17th April 2002
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I think that alot of people don't realize that the more acceleration & power you have on a vehicle, the less time you can actually use it!!

Simply because you run out of tarmac....

mtmrop

53 posts

274 months

Wednesday 17th April 2002
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quote:

I think that alot of people don't realize that the more acceleration & power you have on a vehicle, the less time you can actually use it!!

Simply because you run out of tarmac....



Has never stopped me trying though

Stig

11,822 posts

291 months

Wednesday 17th April 2002
quotequote all
Same with my R1.

I think the difference in 'feeling' is that a car shoves you back in the seat, whereas an R1 tries to pull your arms out of their sockets

loknlode

15 posts

280 months

Wednesday 17th April 2002
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I was once asked by a guy on a GSX1100R how quick my Cerbera was. I told him that I had seen 165+ on the clock.

He pointed at the bike and said "This is quicker than that!"

I pointed out that I was smoking a cigarette and listening to Macy Gray at the time!!

I wasn't of course, (too busy hanging on!) but the point was made!

>> Edited by loknlode on Wednesday 17th April 12:19

Roadrunner

2,690 posts

274 months

Wednesday 17th April 2002
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Good point. At leat you turn up some where comfortable and tidy with the girlfriend. Bikers must get pretty sweaty in the summer and bloody freezing in the winter. Then there's all the hassle with carrying all that gear when you get somewhere. Looks like a laugh if saved just for sunday blasts though.

.mark

Original Poster:

11,104 posts

283 months

Wednesday 17th April 2002
quotequote all
Agree with all said, the acceleration in a car feels - safer?
Maybe it's just my warped mind but sitting on the back of the bike with the force of the air movement across my shins making my feet lift off the pegs gave me quite a buzz.
I could never get one though - be dead within minutes.

McReis

73 posts

275 months

Wednesday 17th April 2002
quotequote all
quote:
He pointed at the bike and said "This is quicker than that!"

I pointed out that I was smoking a cigarette and listening to Macy Gray at the time!!



That's one good thing about a bike: no bad habbits and no lousy music! Just noise and speed!

mel

10,168 posts

282 months

Wednesday 17th April 2002
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I've spoken before about an incident coming back from LM a few years ago with 4 top draw bikes playing with a 355 the big difference is that at 170 a bike sits down feels stable but the wind rush puts huge stress on your arms, shoulders and neck were as cars generally get lighter feel less stable but have minimal physical effect on the driver (I bet the 355 driver didn't ache for a week afterwards). I would also say that 170 in a car does actually feel quicker than on a bike.

apache

39,731 posts

291 months

Wednesday 17th April 2002
quotequote all
I'm an ex biker and prefer the shove in the back feeling of a car.....bit like being in a plane when the brakes are released for take off, it aint that fast but the feeling of enormous power is amazing, still makes me grin

ZZR600

15,605 posts

275 months

Wednesday 17th April 2002
quotequote all
quote:

quote:
He pointed at the bike and said "This is quicker than that!"

I pointed out that I was smoking a cigarette and listening to Macy Gray at the time!!



That's one good thing about a bike: no bad habbits and no lousy music! Just noise and speed!


And if you've got a kawak the roar of the air box ..... oooh lovely

kerniki

430 posts

289 months

Wednesday 17th April 2002
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I own a Suz. TL1000R and a TVR Chimaera, both are as intoxicating as each other in there own way, your much more involved with a bike, there's less room for error in the dance of swooping from corner too corner, throttle control is much more important, in the TVR you can be more aggresive, and take more risks, me, I love them both and could'nt be without either.

Nik

sbyatt

55 posts

286 months

Wednesday 17th April 2002
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The big difference, and the reason why I prefer to ride, is the freedom. Certain cars may be as quick, but they need a lot more space to overtake as they're so much bigger. A bike can overtake, if the lane is wide enough, when there are solid white lines in the middle of the road.

And you can scare your passenger more easily.

Nacnud

2,190 posts

276 months

Thursday 18th April 2002
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Just found this video on the Web.
If you don't appreciate just how quick Bikes are, then watch this ! http://bil.zon.se/filmer/honda_blackbird_cbr_300kmh.mpg

Only downer is that it is 30Mb

hertsbiker

6,371 posts

278 months

Friday 19th April 2002
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The reason I got into bikes was that I couldn't afford the sort of car that I really wanted.

Bikes then gave me a warped perspective on life, where traffic jams are almost welcomed, roundabout are things of joy, and 0-60 becomes irrelevant. And NSL means being about to do atleast 60, even if the idiot in the Metro doesnt want to.

They also gave me points, a broken toe, a nervous affliction of looking for coppers, and pain in my arms from heavy braking !!

Yep, the rush is incredible, and I crave the next high-speed thrill like a junkie seeking another hit.

No car that I have driven so far comes close, and the sacrifice of discomfort and zero practicality are easy to bear when it's a nice sunny day.

However, if someone 'gave' me 1000bhp car, I may be tempted to give up on bikes. For a while. Like, until a traffic jam... and there's a lot of them coming in the next few Blair years.

For that is where even modest bikes come alive - where traffic is merely mobile obstacles, and you have so much acceleration that even 90mph Beemers are just so much dead metal.

And yet, I know that one day I'm gonna chicken out, and quit riding. Possibly because of being frightened of a ban, if not a crash !

I wouldn't ever knock a fine car like a TVR, because any car that has that level of performance will atleast register on a bikers map, and some get a lot of respect. The drivers of such cars are so close in mindset to the bikers, that we must be friends.

And for the future, as a fast biker, and a fast car lover, I say we should stand together on all issues that threaten our enjoyment of the open road.

rgds, Carl.