I've seen multiple times bikes not be able to keep up with the good drivers on the Dragon (granted this video isn't the actual Dragon, the Dragon does not have guardrails) .... its all a rider vs driver game. Maybe some people on bikes can smoke the guys driving, sometimes its vice versa. This argument will never end in this thread due to everyone being stubborn and not wanting to give in and say who is right and who is wrong. Obviously by looking at track times above is proof enough that on a track, cars are putting down faster times... yadda yadda.

Enjoy the video, its the gallery. If you want to argue back and forth go to car talk and discuss it or I'll just move this thread there.. take your pick.

 

What's with all this random bike vs. random car comparisons?

Think of all the variables that go into deciding who is faster than who. Then if you are able to prove what car/bike is faster in which situation, can you then generalize to a range of cars/bikes? Obviously not. We can definately say a F1 or Le Mans racer will be a moto GP bike. We cannot now say cars are faster than bikes.

TO BRING THIS BACK ON TOPIC, a properly ridden SV650 should be able to outhandle a s2000 in the twisties. The SV is very light and thin so it'll be able to transfer weight from side-to-side fairly quickly. Also, that bike should still be able to run the quarter mile somewhere in the LOW 12 second range (source: sportrider.com), slightly faster than a supercharged s2000.

Many of the sportbike riders errors have already been pointed out:
- poor choice in line (although hard to tell road condition, debri, etc...)
- heals on pegs, hanging toes way off the side
- not in full lean (once again, road condition, feels life is precious, etc...)

The motorcycle rider was smart not to be flying in the straights, hanging on the s2k's butt mid-turn, etc... Who knows what's around the corner? Guard rails at the dragon make it that much more dangerous. Imagine sliding into one of the guardrail's supports, happened to a friend of mine three years ago; it killed him.

This is a great video, looks like both the bike and the s2000 were having a blast; which, in the end is what matters right?

Chris (GSX-R owner)

P.S. Lets drop the whole crazy bike vs. crazy car arguement, it's all hypothetical cause it'll probably never happen on the road. Regardless, everyone knows riding the bike is more fun .

 

How wrong you are, the only advantage a sport bike would have in twisties is any straights were it can get the whole shot. On tight turns, curves, sweepers, etc, the car will have the advantage. More than likely you're not going to get someone on a bike that is willing to go knee scraping through all turns on public roads.

BTW, I am a pretty competent rider (former YZF600 and R6). A proper sportscar will usually have the advantage, s2000 included.

 

I'm uploading a vid (166 MB) of the 11-minute 8.8 mile Dragon run. I know of no street car, except maybe the Atom, that would be able to match or beat the run made by this street-bike, in traffic, on this very twisty road.

BTW - the video was at one time hosted by Killboy, but it seems to have dropped off the internet.

 

I agree that bike lovers and car lovers will never agree, its just like skateboarders and rollerbladers.
I think we should have a third party do a study, like Myth Busters.

 

The SV is a slow bike compared to a liter class. No way the S2000 would beat any inline 4 600 or 900+ bike. 'Previous owner of a 900rr 1100xx and 929rr.

 

Here's something interesting... I just remembered that there's a local motorcycle racing organization here in Texas. They use the same tracks that NASA does. Here are some lap time comparisons. I make no claims in regards to vehicle perparation or driver skill. For the bikes, I selected the best lap time presented in the results for that particular make and model

Texas World Speedway: Lots of straights that rewards high power.
Me and my car - 2:02.5
Suz GSXR1000 - 01:43.1
Suz GSXR750 - 01:45.0
Kaw ZX-6R - 01:46.0
Yam YZF-R1 - 01:46.2
Kaw ZX-10R - 01:48.4
Ducati 999 - 01:48.9
Yam YZF-R6 - 01:49.1
Suz GSXR600 - 01:49.5
Kaw ZX-7R - 01:50.1
Suz SV650 - 01:51.3
Hon CBR600RR - 01:52.2
Hon CBR1000RR - 01:53.9
Hon RC51 - 01:54.0
Kaw EX250 - 01:54.9
Hon CBR600F2 - 01:57.4
Yam YZF450 - 01:57.4
Hon CRF450 - 01:57.5
Hon RS125 - 01:57.5
Kaw ZX636 - 01:57.5
Apr RSV1000 - 01:58.0
Hon CBR600 - 01:58.7
Apr RS250 - 01:58.8
Hon CBR600F3 - 01:59.1
Ducati 900 - 01:59.7
Hon CBR600F4 - 02:02.5
Ducati 996 - 02:06.9
Yam TZ125 - 02:10.8
Suz DRZ 400 - 02:11.6
Hus SM450 - 02:12.8
Yam RD400 - 02:16.4
Tri Bon650 - 02:20.9
Kaw EX500 - 02:24.9
KTM 65 - 02:45.5

Porsche Club Racing records, same track:
00 GT3 R - 1:44.648
04 GT3 CUP - 1:44.788
75 911 - 1:45.843
97 911 - 1:49.535
71 911 - 1:49.687
75 914 - 1:50.610
76 911 - 1:50.864
93 911 RSA - 1:51.545
92 911 - 1:51.944
70 914-6 - 1:52.428
89 951 - 1:52.465
P 93 911 RS AMERICA - 1:53.220
S 93 911 RS AMERICA - 1:54.099
S 81 911 EURO SC - 1:55.652
S 88 951 S - 1:56.350
S 79 911 SC - 1:57.907
83 911 - 1:59.447
S 89 944 - 2:02.442
S 74 911 CARRERA - 2:02.767
76 914 - 2:10.299

Motorsports Ranch. Twisty, shorter straights.
I've never been timed, but I think I'm in the 1:28 to 1:30 range.
Kaw ZX-6R - 01:16.0
Suz GSXR1000 - 01:16.3
Yam YZF-R6 - 01:16.8
Ducati 999 - 01:19.4
Suz GSXR750 - 01:19.5
Suz GSXR600 - 01:20.3
Suz SV650 - 01:20.8
Kaw ZX-7R - 01:21.4
Hon CBR600RR - 01:22.0
Suz SV1000 - 01:22.3
Yam YZF-R1 - 01:22.5
Hon RC51 - 01:22.9
Hon CBR1000RR - 01:23.1
Hon RS125 - 01:23.7
Kaw ZX-10R - 01:23.7
Yam YZ426 - 01:25.0
Hon CRF450 - 01:25.0
Husq SM510 - 01:25.2
Hon CBR600F2 - 01:25.6
Apr RS250 - 01:26.1
Apr RSV1000 - 01:26.8
Hon CBR600F4 - 01:27.5
Hon CBR600 - 01:28.3
Kaw ZX636 - 01:28.8
Ducati 996 - 01:28.9
Ducati 900 - 01:29.3
Hon CBR600F3 - 01:29.5
Ktm SMR450 - 01:30.1
Kaw EX250 - 01:31.9
Duc 900SS - 01:32.9
Hus SM450 - 01:34.9
Kaw EX500 - 01:35.6
Yam TZ250 - 01:36.8
Yam Seca II - 01:37.3
Kaw 650R - 01:38.2
Yam TZ125 - 01:38.6
Hon RS85 - 01:41.7
KTM 65 - 01:44.5
Yam RD250 - 01:48.0
Cann X440 - 01:48.8

I don't have any good club racing numbers for MSR but cars seem to be in the low 1:20s.

 

Here's the link to where the file is:

http://www.filefactory.com/?725f3d

You have to click the gold stars under the "premium" link to get linked to the file. It's a 166MB file, and I think once you see the video you'll understand that the bike is the faster way down the Dragon.

 

Another large differance in my mind is that when comparing times between motogp bikes and alms or f1 cars is that yes race cars are faster than race bikes but street bikes are much faster that street cars. Because a moto gp bike is very close to a street bike when commparing a f1 car to an s2000 or a porsche. And the simple statment 4 tires>2 is not compleatly correct because leaning the bike over compleatly changes the physics while cornering. Just things to ponder..i have never ridden a bike so this is just food for thought

 

You're more prone to take greater risks in a car. With a bike, you make a mistake and it could mean your life, were with a cage, you're talking dented metal.

The reality is, unless you encounter some nut job with a death sentence, the car will stay ahead of a bike on a very twisty, minimal straights, road.