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HD Motorcycle Bites the Dust

950 views 7 replies 7 participants last post by  EBMCS03 
#1 ·
First things first.......a BIG hello to this board!! I have posted a few replies, but this is my first POST. Nice to know there are other M5 fanatics out there!

I bought my beast in January for my 40th, after owning a 528i for two years........I finally gave in to reason. It was destiny, since the Lynchburg dealer had a 2002 in the showroom without a buyer!!! Can you believe it??

Ok, so back to the topic at hand. Anyone who knows me knows I don't like loud noises. On my way home one day I pull up to a stop light in the RH lane. Wouldn't you know it, A HD Sportster pulls up along side with a modified pipe, and its loud. The two lane road merges into a single lane about 1/2 mile ahead, and I'm thinking there is no way this guy is going to get in front of me, so I can hear is exhaust all the way home.

So I non-chalantly depress the SPORT button (I really baby this car) and wait for the light to turn green. Green light, I accelerate assertively to make my intentions known. At this point I can't see him but I can hear him accelerate hard........so I floor it. The poor guy never had a chance, after a few seconds I'm quickly approaching 80 mph and he let's off the gas, resigned to defeat.

Up ahead there is stopped traffic, so I get on the brakes. He pulls up behind me with a disgusted look on his face, and takes the first possible turn-off. Safe to say that he'll have lots more respect for all BMW's, but especially the ones with that little M5 badge.

My car is not only faster and better looking than his bike........its also alot quieter:hihi:

God I love this car!
 
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#2 ·
Just don't expect similar results against a Suzuki Hayabusa or really any bike with those cute little windshields. Hell, they'll blow away a McClaren F1. The M5, while fast for a car, only wins against velocity-challenged bikes like those from HD that also most often carry driving-skill-challenged riders.

Speaking of which, it's been a while since I've owned an open-class sport bike and I just got a bunch of bike magazines. I think I hear them calling me from the showroom floors....
 
#3 ·
I think one of the motorcycle mags, maybe motorcyclist, recently had an all out shootout between a Z06 vette and a Suzuki GSXR1000(currrent liter bike champ, best handling, lightest, fastest) Needless to say the vette got its "pushrod" handed to it in a bad way.

-LOU
 
#4 ·
bernhtp said:
...only wins against velocity-challenged bikes like those from HD that also most often carry driving-skill-challenged riders.
Now there's a nice, broad generalization! Even velocity-challenged HD bikes--my Road King Classic, for example--can take virtually any production auto from 0-60. It's a simple concept called power-to-weight ratio.

And as for 'most often carry(ing) driving-skill-challenged riders,' let's try not to judge people's skill by the type of vehicle they own. That's as silly as guessing the kind of person you are by the town you live in. So what does living in an Exxon-planned, white-bread suburb of Houston say about you?;)
 
#5 ·
This is interesting, since up until 3 weeks ago i would have thought that most any bike on the road would surely eat most production cars up given the power to weight ratio. However, to my surprise i found this to be questionable. As i know this is probably not the area to post this, i will give you the short version as i was very surprised at the results.

Late one night coming home, i jumped on to the freeway only to end up behind some kind of lime green crotch-rocket sport bike in the left lane - i'm not really sure what it was as it was dark out. It was a 4 lane road and this is how the picture played out: Left lane - him & me, middle lane- another car and that was it for about 2 miles up ahead. After the bike just sat in the left lane for a little while with no intention of moving right, i decided i was going to have to get behind the car in the middle lane in order to pass him. As i moved over into the middle lane i noticed he started speeding up, i guess to thwart my intentions of getting in front of him. So being the "egotistical Bimmer Driver" that the epinions article claims i am, i down shifted into 3rd and decided i was going to have to move over into the 3rd lane to get around him and the other car. While doing so i noticed the bike down-shift and speed up as if he wanted to go. At this point the testosterone kicked in and i floored it and the race was on. As third gear wound out i was about 3 car lenghts in front, then comes fourth and those 3 car lenghts turned into what seemed to be 8 :byee55amg. After i hit 120mph there was no need to keep pushing as it was clear who was in the left lane now. Now at first i thought he didn't give it everything he had, but as he pulled up next to me i got the typical thumbs up, signaling a good race.

I guess what i am wondering is could this just be the exception? Was he just an unskilled rider? Or are there many other bikes on the road that can't hang with us?
 
#6 ·
Having come from riding one of those infamous crotch rockets myself, I can say this with absolute certainty; those things are no slouch when it comes to getting up to speed. Many of those bikes with 750cc or higher will probably eat our beasts for breakfast if done properly. I had a R1 myself which had 1000cc's and that thing was just so fast it was unbelieveable to me. I'd never ridden anything nearly as fast before and so you could say it was a life altering event for me. So, in simpliest terms, it's possible that given circumstances where engine sizes may be lacking, the beast may win. :D

I'll still choose to drive the beast anyday over those crotch rockets. Still an unbeatable mix of speed and luxury in serene style.

Kind of funny, when I first saw the title of this thread, I thought that HD had gone bankrupt or something. :rolleyes:
 
#7 ·
Teutonaddict said:

Now there's a nice, broad generalization! Even velocity-challenged HD bikes--my Road King Classic, for example--can take virtually any production auto from 0-60. It's a simple concept called power-to-weight ratio.
From the most recent Cycle World (the only mag I have at my desk), the cruisers reviewed have anemic acceleration for bikes:

Brand and Model 0-60 1/4 mile top speed
BMW R1200C 4.8 13.88 117mph
Moto Guzzi Cal EV 4.6 13.48 119
Triumph Bonneville 6.1 15.12 100

In contrast, a couple of sport bikes:
Suzuki GSX1300R 2.47 9.89 186 (limited)
Kawasaki ZX-12R 2.59 9.93 186

These figures are with professional riders. It takes FAR more relative skill to achieve near optimal results for a bike rider than a car rider, so I would expect the average M5 driver to blow away the average rider on any of the cruisers above.

I don't have the performance figures for the HD Sportster, but my bet is that it has a 0-60 in the high 4s or low 5s. It only gets worse with the 1/4 mile time and top speed. Again, I would expect the average M5 driver to beat them.

Of course, when you get to the sport bikes, the M5 driver will hear a whhhhiirrrrr and quickly see a vanishing dot in the forward distance.

And as for 'most often carry(ing) driving-skill-challenged riders,' let's try not to judge people's skill by the type of vehicle they own. That's as silly as guessing the kind of person you are by the town you live in. So what does living in an Exxon-planned, white-bread suburb of Houston say about you?;)
First of all, it was Kingwood that was planned by Exxon, and not The Woodlands. The white-bread still applies, however, assuming you are characterizing the racial makeup. I thus accept the generalization.

In terms of driving skill, I do find a big difference between the average rider ona liter-class sports bike vs. a cruiser just as there is one between the average driver of a 996tt and a Suburban. The reasons are obvious. People who love performance, are enthusiasts, and who work on their driving skills, tend to buy faster vehicles.

Then there is the natural selection factor. If you have been driving a Suzuki Hayabusa aggressively for the past year, the fact that you are still alive proves an awful lot about your driving skill (or at least your luck).
 
#8 ·
Ahahahahhaha Thats great!! That biker didnt know what hit him...
Of course i wont expect any of these results with a real bike with the driver intentionally wanting to race... Real bike or kids bike... u dont expect a car to be able to give it a good run. Congrats again MTHUZST! :thumbsup: :cheers:
 
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