Bike vs Car cornering speeds?

[trumpy]

There is one more more issue to throw into the equation: skill required for a given level of performance. Having raced single seaters both in the late seventies (yeah guys, that's before some of your parents even met!) and in more recent times, then coming back to bikes (dirt a few years ago and road a couple of months ago) I believe it is much harder to ride a bike to its limits than to hold a car on the limit (that's my excuse for being a nana on my bike and I'm sticking to it!). My business partner who is 15 years my junior is an ex national single seater champion, advanced driving instructor, sometime race school instructor and rides a CR500 in his spare time, fully agrees. There is much more to do at any given time to make a bike perform well.

[Lou Girardin]

I've never had a car keep up let alone pass me. But then, who knows how good they are, how hard they're trying etc. There's too many variables to be sure.

[N4CR]

Scumdog has a good point about road conditions, I have got the bike quite far over for a few corners and it wasn't much quicker than a properly modded mr2 turbo, and that ain't even a decent sports car (for most).

But you still see bikes giving cars the learn on a fair amount of tracks.

[ManDownUnder]

Race ya from Kopu to Whitianga on Riff Raffs SV, that'll learn ya.

Edit: For the record, Performance Bikes tested a heavily moddified WRX angainst a GS500 and a GSXR1000. tested the cornering between all three on a constant radius circle, the car was howling tyres, switching between understeer/oversteer, barely managing to hold a line. Even the lowly GS could choose whether to ride 'round it or duck up the inside. The only place the car out performed either bike was in braking.

Shit I gotta brush up on my cornering then...

[bugjuice]

this debate will never die. bikes are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars that are better than bikes than are better than cars. See?
Top Gear reckons cars are better, cos JC hates bikes, but 5th Gear had a Duc against a Lambo, and the Duc beat the Lambo by something like 1 second. Horses for courses. Look at the times the F1 class race at Puke compared to the V8s. Then check the times at Taupo..

[Leong]

Of course a bike has a wider 'lane' to move around on (as per track stuff) but on an 'unknown' road that advantage is whittled right back.

This was one of the first things I learnt..... Public roads aren't much wider on a bike, because you need to allow a greater margin for error. As someone else said, a little drift in a car is much easier to control than the same on a bike, and you need more margin for those bits of loose metal thrown up by cars. If you're used to taking a wide line into corners in a car, be careful not to do the same too much on the bike when you're learning, especially right hand turns. If you're just a little late getting the bike leaned over you can run out of road very quickly. Bikes can't change direction as quickly as a car with "sports" suspension etc. I found this out the hard way riding my bike after doing the coro loop in the car earlier in the day.

There is one more more issue to throw into the equation: skill required for a given level of performance. ............ I believe it is much harder to ride a bike to its limits than to hold a car on the limit (that's my excuse for being a nana on my bike and I'm sticking to it!).

Agree completely even though my experience is biased, 30yrs in cars and less than 3mths on a bike.

For me, my car will always be quicker thru the twisties, but the enjoyment and satisfaction factor will probably continue to be higher on the bike. Hopefully, in another month or so, my bike may actually outperform my car on the straights!!

[Matt Bleck]

Depends on a hole lotta shit.

What driver, what car, what bike, what tyres, bla bla bla....

To say a bike is quicker than a car or vise versa, is like asking how long is a peice of string........

[bugjuice]

To say a bike is quicker than a car or vise versa, is like asking how long is a peice of string........

twice the distance from one end to the middle

[Matt Bleck]

You just had to didn't ya......

[Motu]

To say a bike is quicker than a car or vise versa, is like asking how long is a peice of string........

That's why every month when this subject crops up again I say you have to compare the toppermost of the toppermost for each in motorsport - F1 and MotoGP,the fastest cars and the fastest bikes on the planet with the very best riders and drivers in each.The bike doesn't have a shit show in hell - end of story.

[justsomeguy]

No time to read all the stuff-

Let me put it this way:

A good car will shit over a good bike with driver/rider skills being equal.

[justsomeguy]

The fastest cars and the fastest bikes on the planet with the very best riders and drivers in each.The bike doesn't have a shit show in hell - end of story.

Aye.............

... and that's the truth whether you like it or not

[clint640]

Luckily back here in the real world the WRXEVOF40GTRHSVFPV is gonna be be stuck behind a smelly truck while we tootle past in the vastly smaller amount of space required to execute a safe overtaking maneuver on a bike

Cheers
Clint

[madboy]

I've got a quickish bike (636) and I've had a quickish car (modded Lancer GSR ~200kw at the wheels). Straight line, the bike annihilates the car. Passing, the bike annihilates the car. Wheelies, the bike annihilates the car. But for burnouts, the car annihilates the bike. On corners, the car annihilates the bike. Braking, car wins. Bumps...

It's all very well if you're Whitetrash Jnr on a K6 thou running slicks on a perfectly smooth racetrack, but as Scumdog said the roads ain't like that. One little bump, oil patch, bit of gravel... But add in traffic to pass and the bike is back again... but then it rains...

Oh jeez, I really need to get back to work...

[bigbadwolf]

did you guys see top gear when they raced the ariel atom (300bhp, 452kg) against a bike with a similar power to weight ratio? the car wasted the bike because it has around four times the contact area of rubber on the road. but the ariel atom is pretty much a road legal go kart (see the pic attached). a decent car will be more stable, have higher downforce and much more grip on the road than a bike

generally a sports car can beat a bike if the driver is awesome, but the guy on the bike will be having waaaaaaay more fun

(not that anyone here is condoning street racing or anything)