So we were bsing about motorcycles at work and a buddy made this statement.
All these new ****** rockets are just cheaper versions of gp bikes. Yet the way they make em cheaper is to take off all the stuff that makes them handle better yet they are almost identical in power and speed. Which he indicated was fng dumb. What do the rest of yall think?
So we were bsing about motorcycles at work and a buddy made this statement.
All these new ****** rockets are just cheaper versions of gp bikes. Yet the way they make em cheaper is to take off all the stuff that makes them handle better yet they are almost identical in power and speed. Which he indicated was fng dumb. What do the rest of yall think?
I'd say he was ill informed. The BMW as do Ducati, Aprila and KTM bristle with control and "handling" technologies developed in racing. Yamaha's R1 is also cutting edge.
What has happened is a electronic revolution with traction/wheelie control nannies and electronic/dynamic/active suspension systems that subsidize naivety, ignorance and inexperience. Sadly BMW has nearly abandoned their proud history of innovative 'mechanical' engineering IE: Drive shaft, Tele-lever and Duo-lever front suspension in favor of glitzy, Gee-wiz electronic bullocks that is much more cheaply produced and prohibitively expensive for the consumer to later repair/replace.
I agree with the assessment that he is misinformed. There are huge differences in power production, for example. GP bikes in the liter class (MotoGP) develop on the order of 300+ hp. Few of the bikes for sale in the showroom get to 200 hp.
The weights are lower too, and so the speeds on the longer straightaways at many tracks can approach 215 mph. Few showroom ****** rockets are capable of 215 mph, even downhill with a tail wind, let alone on a relatively short "long straightaway."
The handling stuff is all included in a typical high end showroom bike though. There are fueling programs, weather programs, suspension and handling programs, ad nauseam.
One more thought on this....
The showroom bikes cost maybe $15K on the low end to maybe $40K on the upper end.
A MotoGP bike is millions of bucks. The parts are exotic as a rule. And they're typically prototypical, i.e. there are only a few parts made at a time.
Maybe your friend is thinking of FIM Superbikes, or some similar class of racing machine. Those are typically very close to the stuff available in showrooms, and in fact, there are very few differences as a rule between what gets raced and what you can buy. However, this is not GP level. GP for motorcycles in owned and run by Dorna in the form of MotoGP.
Your friend is way off line, the tyres alone on the GP bikes would break the bank for most of us, the average rider could not handle the GP bikes, the GP bikes against what we peasants buy is like night and day now remember the big three probably more now have a gentleman's agreement not to have any bike faster than 186mph(BS)
Your friend is way off line, the tyres alone on the GP bikes would break the bank for most of us, the average rider could not handle the GP bikes, the GP bikes against what we peasants buy is like night and day now remember the big three probably more now have a gentleman's agreement not to have any bike faster than 186mph(BS)
What a maroon, you want stupid fast with shyte for brakes and suspension he is about 45+ years too late!! Now days even the most basic of bikes are so much better tuned to have everything work together harmoniously. They hey day of riding on the edge of death for me was 1969/70 when I had a Kawa H1. Stupid fast going straight, wobbly as crap in the corners and you prayed that no one pulled out in front of you because there was no way you were stopping.
What a maroon, you want stupid fast with shyte for brakes and suspension he is about 45+ years too late!! Now days even the most basic of bikes are so much better tuned to have everything work together harmoniously. They hey day of riding on the edge of death for me was 1969/70 when I had a Kawa H1. Stupid fast going straight, wobbly as crap in the corners and you prayed that no one pulled out in front of you because there was no way you were stopping.