Having spannered for a few different race bike sizes my respect goes out to the guys and girls who campagn the smaller bikes like the 250 2T’s the 400SS and the monos. These guys carry so much more speed through the turns which at the end of the day is where the skill is eh?Anyone can rip the tarmac up on an R1 down the straight bits;)
Totally - I saw Jonny Blackshaw of the MRO Superteenies bin it coming out the hairpin into Barn at Cadwell(http://www.cadwellpark.org.uk/picts/cadwell-circuit-large%5B1%5D.gif)He was awesome - the Teenies arent supposed to be let back onto their bikes, but he just grabbed the bike before the Marshals could grab him, started it and made the last few hundred years to the finishing line. He came third in one of the most competitive championships there are (Casey Stoner’s heritage)…Big respect…
On some journeys into London from my place (E. Dulwich), I can be as quick on my pushbike as I am on the Firestorm.
Does this count towards the bike bike vs small bike argument?
When you’re riding in traffic, stopping all the time at traffic lights etc… it doesn’t really matter what you’re on… tho you’ll probably have more fun & perhaps feel safer on the bigger bike
totally agree but thats cause you dont stop at the lights - its arguable that that is pretty much the only diffrentiation that your average car driver might make between a bike and a bicycle…but then if i lived close enough to London Id cycle - Id like to see you do the 20 mile stint on the motorway on a bicycle :w00t:
I think people read too much into this idea of a bigger bike is infinitely quicker and therefore better than something smaller. In many cases it isn’t, and you’re effectively just paying out the extra running costs for performance you won’t use.
A good rider is able to make the most of his machine whatever it is, I think it’s a poor rider who blames his machine for his riding inadequacies.
I’ve never been interested in all this big speed ******** personally anyway, to me an old 2 stroke 250 single ridden flat out is more fun than having to ride something bigger in a more restrained way most of the time.
On the 250 you can just lay down all the power as often as you like and explore the handling as you will, with something bigger it’s just a case of opening the throttle - how boring is that? I mean anyone can turn a throttle.
I definitely think a smaller bike is more fun in a lot of ways in London traffic.
Where you’d be frustrated on something larger with a smaller bike you can really enjoy yourself.
And it really is a level playing field whatever you ride in London, the traffic is the limitting factor not the bike.
For me, although I have noted that I am lazier on a bigger bike (something with which you seem to pretty much agree), I adore the ZX10. She is my dream bike - I love the way she looks, sounds, feels - she makes me feel good If that makes me a bad biker, then sod it - I really couldnt give two hoots… I never started this thread saying that bigger bikes were better than smaller bikes, neither was I saying the reverse. What I was saying is that I found benefits, in my performance, on both. But for me, its also important to remember, that whilst they are tools, whilst they can be used to full capacity or not, whilst they require very different kinds of skill, I love them both. In my book, it takes just as much skill to control the vast amount of power on a bigger bike as it does to exploit the smaller amount of power on a smaller bike. The point is, this means that you treat both differently and I think that all of the comments in this thread reflect these notions and the fact that many people feel very strongly on this matter.
I also feel that bikers have to be the most opinionated sector of society, perhaps only equalled by cyclists. But that’s a different post perhaps
I think a big power bike makes a more user friendly road bike and a smaller capacity bike makes a more manageable track bike.
Which is better is down to the perception of the rider.
For example, one rider may prefer the more involved ride of a lower capacity bike on the road where frequent gear changes to run the engine in a usually narrower power band keeps their interest.
Another rider may like the easy and less clinical way you can ride a 1000cc sports bike on track to get at the bike’s performance.