Last Saturday I was cruising to a car show with my friend Tom in his Mustang behind me. We both get stopped at the light behind a sport bike. The guy notices "The Buick" and a Mustang behind him in his lane. I could see him peering back through his rear view. I figured he would kick it a little just for fun to let us know who's the boss once we got rolling. In preparation, I pulled it in low as we all leave easy initially.... then I decide to hit it just as I hear him hit it to wind out first. Well I was just starting to merging into the vacant lane to the left at the same time. I make the 1-2 shift while slowly pulling up beside him, a couple seconds later we both brake for the upcoming light. He gives me a hard downward look as I'm sure he is not happy to see me there on his 8. Tom had a good view of it all and said "the guy looked like he all of the sudden needed to be invisible" and he made a quick exit stage right into an available parking lot. :bla: It was good for a big laugh after we arrived at the show. :TU:
good stuff. i like to hear about cars beating bikes. the bikers will tell you that it is impossible until they see tail lights themselves.
Nice! I've had a couple encounters with bikes in my cars. My first was in my '69 Skylark against a slightly suped up '99 Harley Davidson NightTrain. This old man pulls up next to me at the stop light and revvs it up a 'bit, his woman on the back, smiling at me like this is going to be an easy kill. The light turns green, and he's no slouch on the launch as we take off wheel to fender. I start walkin' on him in second gear, and by the time I hit third, his Harley doesn't stand a chance against my 6,000RPM small block with 2.73s. I let off at about 100mph, and he blows by me. We pull into the same parking lot down the road, and he walks up to me and says, "Thanks for not embarrassing me in front of my girlfriend and letting me win." I say, "No problem, Dad." My second encounter was a 'bit funnier. I was in my '73 Charger, and was lined up against a sport bike (no idea what type, sounded mean). When the light turned green, we both took off sort of gentle like, feeling the other one out. Slowly but surely, taking turns, we each gave our ride a little more gas, trading turns keeping up with the other one. I was a little hesitant, as I had just finished rebuilding the engine, and hadn't had any time to tune it in, didn't want to blow it up over an ego boost. That, and I figured the bike would have the advantage hands down. So long story short, this continues on for a couple miles, with no good place to race anyway..............and we both end up pulling into the same driveway. The rider steps off, gives me a weird look, and then starts laughing. He takes off his helmet, and I finally realize we know each other. He then tells me that he was too afraid to try to race me as my car just sounded too badass. After he told me what he had for an engine, I regretted not racing him while I had the chance :spank:
Takes me back twenty year to when I was a bit crazy on top of the two wheels. I had a Honda 550 and my buddy had a 4 door '70 Pontiac with a 400. We decide to see who could best the other... I was several car lengths ahead of him as we crossed the triple digit mark. The next think I know, he pulls off the road onto the grass and before I get slowed down, he's running across the road. His car had backfired through the carb and caught the filter element on fire. That in turn ignited the old nasty grease on his engine, which, by the time I got to him, was dripping down onto the dry grass. I convinced him to help me push the car and try to trample the fire out. Though we moved the car, the wind blew the fire over the fence and into a field. I decided to take the motorcycle 1/2 mile down the road to the closest house to ask them to call the fire department. They came out and at first suspected us of intentionally setting a fire. One look at the engine compartment of his pontiac, though, set the record straight. I'll never forget that day!
went up to the local bike shop told him bout my 10second gn spanking a gsxr 650 and he went on and on about how thtat was impossible. they dont know it till they try it
Back when my license and I were both shiny and new, I worked as a dishwasher at a local steak house, and drove my '66 4-speed to work. One of the cooks had one of the early crotch rockets..I think it was a Kawasaki, but not one of the early KZ1000's. Anyway, he's blathering on about how bad his bike is, and there's no car out there that can beat a bike, yada yada yada. Finally I take the bait, and really didn't think I could beat him, but nothing ventured....Anyway, we lined up after closing, and ran from the light at Stevenson Drive. I smoked him in frst gear, and pulled a 1/4 length on each shift. I couldn't believe it myself. It's funny how bikers use the same excuses as all of the drivers; "my clutch was slipping, my tires wouldn't hook from the power, my carb got a bug down its throat, my headlights were robbing power, etc. Funny how you forget the names, but never the race. Dan
As a rider, I'd say that most of the times, riders lose b/c they don't know how to properly ride their bikes in a race situation and/or have bikes that far exceed their riding capabilities. My last bike was a 1000cc probably capable of low 10's, however, even with 13 years riding experience on the street, I've never drag raced on bikes and know I wouldn't have felt comfortable launching that thing as would be required to get that kinda of time. Also, if you're racing stop light to stop light, there probably won't be enough room for a sport bike to really get going....most sport bikes make their power on the top end. As for Harleys....yawn. Anyway, I would venture to say that typically, depending on the rider & bike, if you have a low 12 second car or faster, you have a good chance against a bike in a street racing scenario. Especially if it's some inexperienced kid on a 600. Who knows though, catch an experienced rider on a new 600, they could surprise you even if you're in a 10 second ride! Regardless, it's always a feeling of accomplishment when beating a bike!
I agree ed1le...most of the time the rider just has no real skills...or the bike is a rat. It really takes nerves of steel to launch a bike...and years of practice. I just upgraded to a 07 Kawasaki ZX-14 from a 04 Kawasaki 636. Best time on my 636 was a 10.88. Full racing exaust, dropped front tooth, swing arm extension, power commander, K&N air filter, etc...Takes a whole lot of car to run with a true rider. My 14 is supposed to run 9s out the box...have yet to break 10s though...it is friggin scary fast...a whole different animal. Now having said that, I have had my tail handed to me by what had to have been a twin turbo charged 350z from a roll. But not being able to ride is no excuse....Nice Kill!!:TU: P.S. Here's a pic of my old 636 Sure do miss that thing.
Agreed also, Liter bikes exceed 95% of the riders capability to ride them. Especially off the line. From a roll you could have your hands full. I have a 1050 Triumph and to keep the front end down takes all your concentration until about 45mph+. Then look out, but with most Buicks you would be 5 car lengths ahead by then. I can beat most Harley's with my Saab wagon. Not saying they aren't great bikes, just typically not fast unless it's a v-rod. They are built for comfort, not speed.
Yeah, my last bike was a TL1000R, Suzuki V-Twin...dynoed 145Hp, forget the torque but it was a lot...talk about hard to keep the front end down! MadMax, what kind of Saab do you have? I used to have an '02 9-5 Aero wagon...loved hurting the feelings of kids in their riced out civics when they got it handed to them by a station wagon!
Sort of like a Buick then? :Brow: j/k ray: I actually have to jump in and stand up for the modified Harley crowd. My father specializes in speed work on Harleys, and has built some insanely fast street bikes in his day. While I won't claim that they'll keep up with heavily modified sport bikes, watching an old man try to keep the nose down on a 10 second Harley is quite the sight :laugh: And while he may not be the speed demon he used be, he still maintains my respect with stories like "I was too afraid to take it past 160 with her on the back." lol
