Superbikes. Superman?

[Biff]

The K5 Gixxer 1000cc kicks out about 165 bkp at the rear wheel. Not the crank. It will do over 170 (stock) mph and weighs in at 166Kg dry (according to an old bike mag).

Five years ago a modern day, stock Gixxer/R1/RR/ZX9.5 would have had a good chance, when ridden by the right rider, of claiming some serious Moto GP podium time. Possibly.

The difference between your MotoGP replica and the MotoGP bikes of 5 years ago is that you wouldn’t have been able to buy one of these Moto GP superbikes without having to shell out several hundy thou $$. Big gahoonas. Today however, you can pick one up cheaper than a Las Vegas hooker and a bowl full of Colombia’s finest..... And I ain’t talking that Nescafe shite here either.

There is another obvious difference. A difference most of todays litre sprots bike riders, and many riders of other bikes may have difficulty admitting. As good as you think you are - you’re not a Moto GP rider. (But just in case you are, I always root for you. You’re my hero. Any chance of some free tickets to watch you sometime? No – I’m not gay. ). So the chances are – you don’t get anywhere near being able to use your Moto GP relica pocket rocket to its full potential.

Today’s roads are full of them, you. Some of you are very gifted. Some of you are dangerous, and some have only bought a sports bike because it makes you feel good. Some of you sexually. But very, very few of you, if any, can really use your superbike to its full potential. Sorry. And if you can – you’re a rare breed.

Today’s litre-ish sports bike is a super-bike in every sense of the word (s). In my opinion it’s only been within the last few years, maybe as recent as the last two years, that we’ve seen real superbikes made easily available to your average member of the public. Quite simply the superbike of today is a working work of art. It’s marvel of modern technology. It’s a fucking weapon.

So - these superbikes are ridden by normal people. People like you ? But not me (a Blackbird hardly qualifies as a superbike with these modern upstarts snapping at its rear set).

I don’t know about you, but I’m not Superman.

Although I do admit to enjoy wearing my pants over my trousers on Thursdays.

[Big Dave]

Yeah - I've posted pretty much the same thoughts.
I find 100 horsepower and good torque is plenty on the road.

[Toast]

I find 130ish hp not enough on the straights, and nicely manageable in the dry through any corners...more power would be nice and amusing...but I will wait 'til I can push this one to the limit before moving up.

[Blackbuell]

Thats why i bought my bike,i can have just as much fun with 100 hp,but you can still get ya self in trouble!!!!!!!!

[gav]

I know what youre saying Biff, but I can recall these sentiments when the VF750F came out in 1983, how close it was to a GP bike, racer for the road, blah blah, or the Suzuki RG500 and Yamaha RZ500, or even the GPz900 and GPZ1000R, too much power, too fast.
Inexperienced riders would get themselves into trouble back then, whats changed?
The main difference now is "stunting" is seen as some sort of bullshit sport that wannabee "extreme" riders seem keen to partake in, and trying to see who can write off the most bikes on public roads. Also wanting to compare how much skin they can leave on the road and who has the biggest and "best" scars, whatever....
Stunting is cool and I for one are pretty impressed by the guys like Christian Pfieffer (sp) AJ Farias, and the rest. Sure the locals want to join in the action, but keep it on the track, not on the public streets, huh?

[onearmedbandit]

True words Biff, but half of what makes it exciting is knowing there is almost always a bit more you could wind it on....

[Nutter34]

What's your point?
The same can be said for cars too and many other things....
Technology moves on and these are the results....

I'll agree that most of these bikes are way out of most peoples' abilities but so is your average computer, just used for surfing the net and emails.....

That aside, it's argueable that some people buy the bigger bikes as much for performance, as they do for looks, or rideability. Two mates bought 1000's for looks and rideability, one a Blade and another an R1. Neither want to thrash/rev their bikes, as a modern 600 tends to be. Also, some people just don't like nakeds or cruisers......

Just my 1c......

[Big Dave]

What's your point?

so is your average computer, just used for surfing the net and emails.....

It won't kill you.

[Edbear]

It won't kill you.

You both make good points. My 80hp is plenty for me and so's the handling thus far. My first "car" was 1950 Bradford with cable brakes and a 2-cyl 8hp engine. it did about 40mph, was made of wood and tinfoil and couldn't stop in a hurry no matter how many feet pushed the pedal through the floorbords! but I loved it! Now our Nissan Pulsar auto easily tops the old "ton", has 4-wheel ABS disc brakes with decent tyres, airbag anad so forth. Power has risen unbelievably in the past few years for bikes especially, but so has the handling and braking ability. Could anyone do a "stoppie" on a T500? I think the brakes went away completely on the first 100mph emergency stop! However, I think the most danger comes from the incredible acceleration from today's bikes and people find themselves arriving at a corner way faster than they thought and it's too late to realise then that you needed to be 20-30k's slower at that point! I was tapped out in third on my "F" one day out Riverhead, passing a couple cars, thinking I was going pretty quick when an R1 blasted past like I was in reverse! Kept him in sight for about 4 seconds! Yep, he could ride, all right and had 70hp over me, but I did think that it would be curtains for him if a tractor pulled across the road... They are rather unforigving at 'ton-up' speeds and no matter how powerful your brakes are, you're a certain gonner then! GP riders are freaks of nature! I can remember being in awe of old Kenny Roberts spinning up the rear while elevating the front out of a corner many years ago! Now Valentino! I just shake my head at some of the stuff he does on a bike! Seems to defy the laws of physics!

[Lou Girardin]

Too true Biff. You can almost sense the willies shrinking as some people read that.

[Pwalo]

I still love sportsbikes though. Unfortunately even a modern 600 is probably overkill on NZ roads. (I'd love one of the new GSXR 600s).

Mind you I guess that you could always drive the K5 1000 like an auto car. Never need to get out of first on the commute.

[skelstar]

I think Im struggling to see your point (not saying there isnt one).

I think what you say is right but are you saying thats its too much? Theres plenty of examples of technology exceeding the physical capabilities of Human Beings. Who needs to go 300km/h?

[Finn]

This is the reason why I live my life in a pure oxygen bubble with my pet gerbil. I am immune to the dangers of living.

[imdying]

This topic needs a little perspective... they said all these things about the Fireblade when it first came out. It's a widowmaker, you can't possibly use all that power, it keeps smacking you in the face with the triple clamps in first and second, you need to be a race god to get the best from it, it's too powerful for the road. Now it's a big (somewhat evil) pussy cat. 10 years from now the GSXR1000K6s of the world will still be awesome (as the early blades still are), but big evil pussy cats still.

But can we really sustain the levels of performance incease? Who wants a 250bhp 130kg GSXR1000M3? 1:1 power to weight is one thing, but in 10 years time they could double that. Superbikes have the potential to become more scary than fun.. what then? They concentrate on 190bhp 120kg 600s? That's still freakishlly powerful. Can one really enjoy such a road bike? Are our toys destined to be either outlawed, restricted, or relegated to history?

[bugjuice]

that's why I'm happy with my 636. It'll poop over older 750s and thous of yesteryear that were considered the best on the road of their time.. And the bike would still out-perform me, any day of the week. The 636 is geared for 107 in first, which breaks every speed limit in NZ, and there's 5 more gears to go. The thous are geared for 140+ in first..

I do wonder how much further power-wise, bikes will get. There's only so much that can be put thru a small single contact patch of rubber..

either way, I'm more than happy with my bike, any more power and I think I'd start to worry about pushing it, instead of enjoying pushing it