Car vs bike (Caterham R500 vs Ducati) - part one by Autocar.co.uk

Is the new R500 faster than a superbike? For more Caterham news and reviews visit www.autocar.co.... For part two visit • Car vs Bike (Nissan GT...

[@themorganator]

Great video guys, keep em coming!! How much air!! That was insane!

[@chubbycatfish4573]

This would make a kickass car chase scene in a movie.

[@justins21482]

since the moment ive saw my first caterham, i have wanted one! geez these are just super cool little cars. Im not really one for bikes anyways. If i want to go super fast in a straight line, I'll def buy the R1 that i want but for driving on twists....give me this little firecracker of a caterham

[@atsugnam0]

@speedcrazy94 Cornering speed is not a function of power to weight. It is the limit of total traction, the more traction, the more lateral G. Lateral force is proportional to the speed and inversely proportional to the circle diameter. So more traction means you can acheive either: a tighter turning circle at the same speed, or a higher speed through the same circle. Cars have about 8-10 times the total rubber on the road, so can come in hotter and exit faster from corners regardless of weight

[@gordonfrew]

lol....good video! Really does show how quick a caterham is! Fair play Steve!

[@pigpenpete]

"Is the new R500 faster than a superbike?" I don't know, race it against a superbike and we might find out.

[@RobManser77]

It’s been done in magazines for the mk1 R500 vs the then new R1. I think the 7 was about a second quicker per minute around a twisty race track. Long straights are what kills the performance - the aerodynamics on a 7 are awful.

[@g.stephens263]

Right car, wrong bike. Road racing with what we used to call a "Scrambler" type of motorcycle. Should have given the rider a Panigale R. More HP, better brakes, and better tires. No denying the Caterham is quick, but it runs out of breath at the top end. The Ducati doesn't!

[@Merlin2Stage2Speed]

I've heard of a chap in Aussie who is building a lightweight Caterham with a Mitsubishi 4G63BT 2.0 litre turbo engine ex an Evo 8, but upgraded to 550 brake hp at the flywheel. Runs 25 lbs of boost which kicks in at only 2,900 rpm. Biggest problem is where to locate the enormous intercooler.

[@Miata822]

A Motard is a dirt bike with street tires, NOT a "superbike." the Duc Hypermotard is a crazy fun bike, a wheelie machine, but it is not a race bike. give it a try with any actual sport bike made for road course racing before you get cocky!

[@harold-sweat-head8111]

A bike is never going to compete against a car.

[@M16-d5b]

im a bike supporter and on the straight the superbike would kill that, but through tight corners that hypomotard would be quicker

[@zagan1]

The rules might ban TC in F1 but the teams don't follow it as they have ways around the TC checks. A rumour from the time claims that some team had the idea of using the pressure in the airbox as a reference for the car's speed. The FIA experts failed to spot that such a pressure meter was used not for telemetry but rather for traction control. When they worked this out, the FIA banned air pressure compensation but obviously a lot of other possibilities were there for grabs.

[@DrBoyton]

Crikey! How much air did he get at 2:20!! Love the R500

[@deldia]

@supersevenn I wasn't disagreeing with you but if you're going to make an argument at least make it watertight. It would not suprise me to hear that bikes are slow on Nurburgring but I have a feeling bikes are not uniformly slower. How do you think a car would perform on the Isle of Man TT circuit? I'm not sure.

[@whateverrandomnumber]

High speed tracks demand high speed motorcycles. And a hypermotard is not meant to be used in this kind of track, it's rather about agility and tight turns, not high speed turns. I'm pretty impressed with the Caterham's start by the way!

[@tommymech]

SmartRsSoul: Actually, I think I'm right that the R500 has a slightly better Power to Weight Ratio than the Ducati. The R500 has a PWR of around 525bhp per tonne (better than even a Veyron) whilst the Ducati is almost bang on 500bhp per tonne (or 370Kw per 1000Kg). In fact the because the weight Ducati gives is a dry weight for the bike and Caterham is a wet weight (I believe) the PWR advantage the Caterham has is even greater. 2x fat wheels to put the power down is also very advantageous.

[@tommymech]

The road you mention is not in the Pyrenees but south of Massif Central. I don't know it but the area is good. The Pyrenees are enormous and between the French and the Spanish side you can find every kind of road challenge you want and much more besides. Speed Triple - handling, power, brakes (less ache on the 180s) - very quick on most roads. At the end of the day its always horses for courses - but for this test, we agree, the wrong horse (as I said in my first post tho, Dickson impresses).

[@gixxer450]

sorry for butting in but just to point out another factor is that cars can slide or drift through the turns allowing it to keep more speed through tights corners, bikes cant really do that, except for supermotards.

[@3wheeling28]

Best compromise - get yourself a threewheeler such as a Grinnall Scorpion. Handles and stops like a car and goes like a bike. Great fun.

[@tommymech]

I believe that the R500 has a slightly better Power to Weight Ratio than the Ducati. The R500 has a PWR of around 525bhp per tonne (better than even a Veyron) whilst the Ducati is almost bang on 500bhp per tonne (or 370Kw per 1000Kg). In fact because the weight Ducati gives for the bike is dry and Caterham give a wet weight (I believe) the Caterham's PWR advantage is more than 25bhp per tonne. 2x fat wheels to put the power down is also a big help. Caterham R500 costs £36k (Sterling).

[@Kneedragon1962]

Perhaps I have tickets on myself, but I think I'm moderately handy on either two wheels or four. I like cars but I love bikes. As a general rule even a fairly slow bike will out accelerate all but the fastest cars. Some performance cars have very good brakes and will stop hard for lap after lap. Most don't. You can induce brake fade on a bike, but it takes some doing. Almost any bike will continue to stop well after most cars have had complete brake failure.

[@PBOR505]

Big deal you were racing against a dirt bike, try it against a Ducati super bike you would be nowhere

[@Pablosammy1]

+Peter B Why do bike riders always... ALWAYS... have to be on the defensive in the comments section on videos like this?

[@johnkoster462]

that ducati is no superbike ! take a real bike like a 1199 but that car is fast! nice!

[@gonakaya7009]

It's great video. But I'm still amazed how great Ducati rider was!!

[@dynoroad]

It doesnt really matter on those roads, almost all bikes above 100 hp are equally fast to 100 because of throttle limitations when you get to bigger bikes, that means you cant open the throttle as much because the bike would then "flip". So the hypermotard is quite good for the test. But if we did like a track test then more suitible veichles would be a 1098r and a Caparo T1, almost the same power/weight and race spec.

[@tommymech]

Its in the braking that the R500 scores massively over a bike - Steve Sutcliffe emphatically says this in the video. You also have to have a very high skill level to beat a well ridden bike even in an R500. The driver here is Steve Sutcliffe chief editor at Autocar. He is also an experienced racing driver with real ability. Not many could have driven the R500 this well at Millbrook. Same with the bike - very good rider indeed but this Duke not the best challenge to the R500.

[@chrssgreen]

2.18 Fantastic......This Caterham really flies......

[@JANNOSPR]

@samr500 I tend to agree. Watch any track video of a supermoto and they outhandle superbikes. This is mainly due to their lightweight. This bike was also designed for alpine roads as well. Physics are in favour of 4 wheels making cars always potentially quicker. Motorcycles only have a weight advantage which is equates to good acceleration but because bikes have poor aerodynamics their upper speed and post 100mph acceleration is comprimised.

[@gengiz]

if any of you have raced bikes and been to the track you would know that the supermotos turn alot quicker than a superbike I should know i ride and own a few and they always get me in the twisty sections as they are just more agile and lighter and thats why I think they used the 1100 supermoto this time as it was quite twisty

[@StigRossi]

@gengiz If you ride and "own a few" you should know that this is NOT a supermoto! The Aprilia SXV550 is a supermoto, the Suzuki DRZ400SM at a stretch is one, the CCM R30 is one, this is a big heavy bike that is based on the Multistrada and is a fashion statement. I own a Multistrada and have ridden an HM and the HM is just as big and heavy as my bike. Not suitable for anything but posing! (The HM IS a good bike tho, just not for this test)

[@tommymech]

The 'test' was set up to favour the car - no doubt (tho I never mentioned gonads). A superbike would not beat the r500 v. easily here but easy power and torque count(re-read all my comments). I live near the Pyrenees which has v.many long 'Alpine' like sections (not short tracks like Millbrook), know the Alps fairly well as well as the Massif Central. Raced cars, know how fast something like the caterham can be on 'Alpine' road and how hard you work on a bike to keep up/stay ahead.

[@CatchtheBreeze85]

would have been much fairer to put that type of bike up against a Focus RS or something similiar. Its a good little bike (matching the Caterham on corner apex speed here) but with 90bhp from an air-cooled motor and very restrictive pipes as you can hear it's never going to keep up with a car that laped the Top-Gear test track faster than a Veyron is it?

[@TehRacooonODoom]

@gengiz Except you really don't need quick flicking on this course. There are very few chicane-like sections, and a superbike has much better steady-state traction and straightline speed than a supermoto. This course could be roughly compared to isle of Man, and you don't see supermotos dominating there, do you?

[@JANNOSPR]

The 7:28 R1 time was on the 19,100 Nordschleife (now set at 7:10) and the R500 on the 20,600m circuit. Looking at the times, the quick cars are much faster than bikes on the Nurburgring. Bikes will always have a power to weight advantage however cars will always have traction and aero advantages. Physics dictate that a car can be faster in all areas than any bike when taken to the extreme and I challenge anyone who disagrees. (I ride bikes and cars so I am not bias, just facts!)

[@Kneedragon1962]

Under ideal conditions a bike and a car have more or less the same mid corner speed. Under less than perfect conditions, the car has an edge. The more unpredictable the grip, the bigger the edge. A car can go from max cornering left to max cornering right in about half a second, which no bike can do. The cars advantage gets bigger the higher the speeds get.

[@benjyboba]

If you look at a gp bike and there tyres then u can see that they have tons more surface area when lent over due to the shape of the tyres. Bikes need a serious racer and alot of setting up to make the difference. Bikes are also much more fun and its only tight corners they suffer on. Brakeing could be done quicker and later than that rider did it but it was on a road without run off. Anyone seen the "1098 vs car" vids on you tube on track. Most bikes do make most of the time on the straights.

[@letskeepearthgreen]

everyone complaining the motard is too slow and an R1 would be better, when the R1 couldnt stand a chance in these tight corners. Supermotos, bikes mad for slow tight corners, couldn't win. But oh, "R1 would kill it on the straights" wow, youre right, this is unfair now.

[@deldia]

@supersevenn That may be the case by a ZX-6R is only a mid-range bike. A ZX-10R has approximately 50% more power.

[@kiminicooper1]

I agree. I still think the car would win, but it seems much more likely you'd run into a R1, or something else with about 160-170hp wanting to take you on. Of course to keep things fair, the bike has to use street rubber...

[@lawrencekellyuk]

The engine in this bike is a development of the 70's 900 SS's engine. It's an air cooled twin that wasn't considered powerful when it was new 30 years back. Compare its 90hp/200KG weight to a 160hp/210KG superbike, you can see that there's a bit of a difference. The answer to the question in the video title, is the new R500 faster than a superbike, is no, not even nearly, so autocar decided it would be better to put it against ducatis parts bin special.

[@ltu42]

Wrong, Caterham is a small scale manufactured car, they are abailable both as kits and as readymade cars. It fulfills all the legal requirements raised to new cars. It has a modern Ford engine that passes the emissions requirements, it has standard lighting, seatbelts, a roll bar, theft prevention devices (ignition key), solid brakes and steering. It has nothing to do with EU loopholes, they are also street legal in US and especially in UK.

[@redafrodude0330]

That guy driving the ducatis knees were skimming the ground on each turn!

[@CatchtheBreeze85]

the car is slightly faster in a straight line, as you expect against an an air-cooled V twin bike. the fact that the bike pulled away on some sections on mid corner speed alone is very impressive, shows how wrong the old cars will always be faster in the corners line is. better in the brakes maybe but not mid corner anymore

[@sotaros93]

four wheels are always faster than 2 IN CORNERS because they can brake a lot later and turn in faster as they have more traction. of course i am not talking about a comparison between a truck and a moto gp bike and you can't really compare 2 wheels with 4. to be brief bikes are usually faster on a straight line and cars go faster through corners.

[@deldia]

You did say people were fools to think bikes are faster yet I've given you a real world situation. Isle of Man is one instance and it's not a bike track - it's real world where 99% of these things are used. Thanks for a good honest debate.

[@bliglum]

@TedSe7en Yeah, I've heard those 7's are a half ton of pure fun! I've also heard good things about the Ariel atom..Never driven either one, closest thing I've driven to it was an elise, but it was the standard n/a variant, and a bit lacking in power. But it sure could carve up some corners!

[@pjbadgersuw26]

The 7:28 time you stated was done on the shorter 19,100m section rather than the full 20.832m.

[@StigRossi]

Ahhh the irony of Tim Dickson now writing and working for Autocar magazine!

[@3wheeling28]

On a twisting road a car will always beat a bike. Look at the times for any hillclimb in the country and compare the times for a west field or caterham (road legal) with the best times for a bike (race). The caterham is at least half a second faster up Shelsey Walsh and Prescott. The fastest bikes are supermotos - usually Honda CRs or KTMs of between 450 -550cc. Superbikes don't going around corners well enough. The highest placed Yamaha R1 is 25th in the national hillclimb championship.

[@benjyboba]

I think your find that bike could have gone a hell of a lot quicker. I've not met a car that can leave me through the corners yet. I was once on the back of a little ducati 600 and we were keeping up with one of these cars through all the turns quite easily. If I ever meet one that leaves me, then ill let you know.

[@lambdavi]

The 36K Caterham is a road-legal racing car, hand made to order. The 10K (not 100K) Ducati is a road-spec bike out of the showroom. Two professional drivers were used. Given Mr. Average has been driving a fwd car for the last 20-25 years, I sincerely doubt anybody can power oversteer through corners. This clip is shows what the producers wanted to show. Get an average driver and an average rider and the results will be very different.

[@blindmaninchains]

Bike magazines have answered the "Supermoto v Superbike - which is faster down a twisty road?" in the past. The superbike is always considerably faster. I would like to see a KTM RC8 or a 1098S or a 2008 Fireblade up against the Caterham. Great vid though guys!

[@2WheelDerness]

@Wasakracker155 man...that`s not a superbike...it`s a supermoto bike...it`s not made for high speed... and the pilot was not very good.

[@tommymech]

Extremely fast bikes (0 - 100mph in less than 6 seconds) are probably within the financial reach (purchase, insuring, running) of many of those who have posted here. I would also guess that any road car capable hitting 100mph in less than 9 (nine) seconds is far out of the financial reach of the vast majority of people posting here. Even J Clarkson (No 1 bike hater) on the TG Vietnam trip started to appreciate two wheeled fun (and he was riding a scooter!!). Bikes are simply amazing.

[@zagan1]

@luckplat F1 certainly does have traction control or the cars would spin out all the time. they have removed a lot of the extra stuff by the ECU so the F1 racing is closer other wise it'd be only 2-3 teams winning probably only Williams

[@CunningStuntsGoFast]

the bikes in corners story is bullocks , on a bike you have to lean in orderto get the center of gravety on the inside of yr corner , the faster you corner the further you must bring it in , and thats just limited on the angle the bike can lean plus that bit extra that a cyclist does with hanging his body inside . the amount of rubber on the ground and therefore grip is not important , as bikes have enough grip as long as they dont fall .

[@tommymech]

If your roads have potholes so big that it'd cause a road bike to crash then you won't be going anywhere far in a Caterham either. Assuming reasonable West European (non-autoroute) roads then normally where there is traffic even a moderately quick bike will leave any car, including the Caterham, trailing. That's not to say that the Caterham is anything but brilliant but (unless you are rich) its soooo expensive for what is really a toy. A very fast bike is more thrilling and only £8k.

[@remedyz0801]

no cause the point of the argument was to get across that if your looking for a bike that will performe aswell as even the RST then your looking at like less than half the price. and i will be seriously suprised if any road car would get any were near a RC8 R on roads like this !

[@Le_Sourpuss]

The biggest factor for braking in a bike is the rider. If a sportsbike has abs it will seriously outbrake most cars. it's difficult for a car to brake quicker than the abs model fireblade for example :) You have to have a good light car to outbrake an abs fitted sportsbike. I think they they should show that in a video :)

[@rkd350z]

in the tight course, Supermotos are pretty daamm quick especially with 1100cc

[@djdrift88]

the rider is Tim Dickson from two magazine and he tests tires for continental

[@gweflj]

looking at the track I think the Caterham would probably be slightly quicker than any superbike. A little bit more of a straight in there and could go the other way. Great video.

[@bagafatcat]

great vid. this is not a superbike. it is a v-twin supermoto try the 675 daytona, which is stil not a superbike but does the job even better on the narrows .

[@benjyboba]

I just thought id say look on the ducati site and your find the hypermotard has just won a mountain race with the s model. Its a good bike and it even competed with factory bikes too.

[@benjyboba]

Ive rode a 1098s and it feels so light its unreal. The rider is the main difference. The power on the 1098 would kill a hypermotard even on that type of road. Most riders though couldnt get the most out of either bike and on the road not many are stupid enough to even dare push the machine to the limits. If valentino rossi was riding that bike he would have left the car behind. A 1098 raced a car with 600 hp and won it round a track.

[@identiticrisis]

I know this is an old video, but it is still an interesting point of comparison today. Not so much in terms of enjoyment for the money, but simply as two different driver / rider focused toys, albeit very different sensations in the details. Obviously the average driver will always drive a car faster than the average rider can pedal a bike, especially under braking and corner entry. The R500 sounds utterly nasty, it's a bit of a beast - I think I'd actually rather bank on the Ducati for engine reliability though! And to that end, although the 1100 is (/ was) a wicked little hammer of an engine, it is still only an air / oil cooled twin. Even the 848 donk of the same era would have been a step up - should have got either one of the old Streetfighters instead of the Hyper. In fact a modern-day rematch with either of the current Streetfighter machines (or other another brand's equivalent) would be interesting.

[@deanohit]

Well, fair is fair, it would make sense to have both the driver and rider professionals, able to push the limits of both car and bike safely.

[@montini007]

I myself am not bike hater, I do like fast (affordable) cars like Imprezas. The reason I don't ride a fast bike is because 1. I don't have the skills (I can learn it tho) and 2. I have a small one man business and cannot afford a fall that leads to some broken bodypart or worse. That is why I like fast cars the most. Right on one thing : Supercars are for superwealthy people which is less than 1% of people posting here on YT. Fun to look at but unreal for most of us

[@GustavMeyrink]

Top speeds: Barichello 325km/h Stoner 346km/h There is actual overtaking in bike racing! Bikes are more fun and I, as a person watching, WIN!

[@recklessted]

Straight lines are the only thing that motorcycles have going for them. Four wheels will always be better for corners, braking, and weight transitions.

[@pazzoallaguida]

in a track (as in a normal road....)a car generally turns very faster than any sort of bike...medium range-speed corners are the place where bikes lost less,or even gain something sometimes..but bikes don t have deportance..i make u a typical example,R-130(suzuka),an official moto GP bike goes all over it at 210...a normal FRcar like Z4 or 911...or 350Z i don t know..can make practically the same...a formula1 make it at 295-300....for a whole lap there M6 safety car spends around the same...

[@tommymech]

benjyboba: In S.France(47)we have some closed public road races / sprints every year where (amongst others)superbikes and hypermotards race against the clock. The superbikes post much faster times than the hypermotards and the roads are very twisty, undulating and with poor surfaces. Put a good pilot on a GSXR 1000 against the Caterham and it would have been much closer and the bike may have won (maybe). Really fast cars = v.v. expensive but fun Much faster bikes = cheap + even more fun

[@lerch25]

the guy on the bike is f-ing crazy! I kept picturing him getting flattened by that car.

[@tommymech]

Have you ever ridden a powerful bike fast? If not, how do you know its not difficult? IMO the only petrolheads who hate bikes are those who haven't got the coordination / bottle to ride bikes (J Clarkson for example). There is something special about bikes. Its hard to explain but the fact that one M. Schumacher has taken up motorcycle racing and is a keen biker should tell you something. The r500 is a rich man's toy - for the vast majority who want one it'll only ever be a fantasy.

[@monkiboi7]

It would be nice if, just for once, a car mag actually matched the bike and car. The Hypermotard is NOT the typical type of bike to race against an R500. A better choice would've been an R1 or GSXR. Even a 750 GSXR. Sometimes a car is going to be quicker than a bike, Veyron, Atom even the GT-R, is called physics.

[@amapolishplummer]

Hey dude am thinking of getting a Honda CBR1000RR so, but also am thinking of getting a Caterham R500, and also Bikes are for people who cant afford fast cars like Ariel Atoms, Caterhams, Westfields, ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Bugatti, SSC, Porsche and Radical.

[@FerrAnBarderA]

I do not beleive at all about this video, but in any case I thing it is not possible compare emotions, and is this that the cars and motorbike give to riders. i love both machines.

[@benjyboba]

The hypermotard dont win by high hp. It wins through usability and hp dont mean acceleration is usable. The torque is incredible and the traction and chasis allows it to be used. That rider wasnt cornering anywhere near the bikes capabilities. A r1 cant get away from me on my old 80 hp bike in the twistys. Ask any proper racer where quick lap times come from. Its getting grip and getting out of the corners quick and on them roads it is all corners. That bike can win with the right rider.

[@zagan1]

It's about the same sort of times, the F1 cars are only slightly faster but take away their traction control and the rest of the engine control and the MotoGP bike fly past. As the Bikes don't have any traction control etc. alas though on the open road a bike will trash all cars. I'll put it this way, when you can sit on a bike in 6th gear and still pull away quicker than a car at the lights, I have no idea why people in cars bother trying to beat bikes.

[@robbo1911]

@Ratava252 exactly :) also you have to remember, these guys have actually raced a millbrook.....on a bike.....racing a car......in front of the cameras......:)

[@tom2812]

The whole point of using that bike in the test is that it has been designed specifically to be fast on that type of road.

[@chippyarcher]

i have a robin hood caterham styled kit car and its absolutely gr8 fun also i went in a caterham r500 at autosport motorshow it waz amazin if u want gr8 fun out of ur car make sure u get 1 of these man there excelent its more fun thn any car or bike ive been on and av been on a few bikes aswell

[@txturbo930]

Nice run! All four wheels off the ground too!

[@deanohit]

I think you have that the wrong way around, the S is the sport model, the R is the full HP race model.

[@zagan1]

Maybe those limiters are only in the US, but trust me an R1 goes a hell of a lot faster than 185mph off the shop floor, I don't care about drag runs they don't mean much. an Honda CBR600RR will do 265kph = 165mph stock. (personally myself a number of times) a kwaka 636 does 300kph = 186mph stock. That's real top speed runs as well, these limiters people talk about are myths made up. The Australian limited (ADR) speed is meant to be 200kph, yet these bikes go a long way past that.

[@dombou70]

2 x as many wheels, yes. Contact patch at the back is ~ 6cm wide, and around 3cm on the front. R500 has 12cm wide tyres on all 4's. Okay so maybe not 8x but close enough to 5x assuming same sized tyres on bike vs car (which is close enough for this insanely inaccurate comparison)

[@tommymech]

However good the Hypermotard Duke may be its only got 90hp. A superbike has at least 160hp. The road here is actually quite wide and the surface looks good so its superbike territory. Caterhams will corner faster most times because they can drift and cars can brake later as well. But, a 1098 or a gsxr 1000 would have made up a lot by sheer acceleration where the Hypermotard wasn't noticeably faster than the r500. Also, Sutcliffe sitting, helmet off, by car, bike goes by in background = fantasy.

[@truthpig]

Why do these comments always end up in a 'bikes are better than cars, no, cars are best' argument? I don't get it, we're all petrol heads, fans of going fast, cars AND bikes are both great for different reasons. Petrol heads of the world should unite and at least agree on this one thing - we all hate pedestrians with their faces glued to the phone and stupid bloody cyclists?? oh and speed humps, I really hate them....

[@SomeGuy_Somewhere]

I don't cover my head in unrefined petroleum... I'm not a petrol head

[@Firemarioflower]

+truthpig No we're not. Bikes are for gay people, if you're a petrolhead you like CARS, not bikes. Yes we hate them. But motorcyclists are not much better than those groups. If you make a mistake that wasnt on purpose and you get in their way accidentally they get pissed of (by their tiny willly) and kick your door mirror off. We hate bus drivers as well. Basically, everything that doesn't respect motorists. Which is a lot, sadly.

[@truthpig]

Firemarioflower Nobody has ever kicked my mirrors off mate, but then I know how to use them. And what exactly is wrong with the way bus drivers behave? Would it be fair to say you haven't been driving very long? It does sound like you haven't quite figured it out yet, but that's ok if you're still only 18, most young drivers are pretty clueless due to lack of experience, I know I was an absolute menace at that age, but at the time I thought I knew it all.....

[@Firemarioflower]

truthpig Bus drivers don't take notice on byciclists and motorists and cut in line sharply before their front end or front wheel. Which creates dangerous situations. And they think they can do anythign because they are allowed a seperate lane. Why do young motorists always get the blame for everything? It's not about experience but about insight, manners, responsibility and feeling for the car. I wasn't talking about myself but íve seen many videos where ppl got their mirrors kicked of and motorcyclists who are very very rude and foul mouthed.

[@mikesavage8793]

+Firemarioflower "Basically, everything that doesn't respect motorists." Respect is earned, many motorists have earned it. You haven't.

[@tommymech]

The point being made was that the hypermotard Ducati was the wrong bike against the Caterham. 0-60mph?? Since when does 0-60mph have any relevance in the real world of biking? The reason the gixers, R1s, CBRRs etc etc are so good is that they are quick everywhere (accel, bends, brakes) and you don't have to wring their necks to go very fast which wouldn't be the case if they didn't have such stonking bhp and mid range torque. Full 160bhp not useable here but its still relevant - oh yessiree.

[@dombou70]

R1 has 203 kg (with fluids) + 72 kg driver (average weight of male) + 150bhp = 545bhp/tonne. R500 has 506kg (with fluids) + 72kg driver (average weight of male) + 263bhp = 455bhp/tonne. So clearly the bike has superior straightline go, is cheaper, and probably cheaper to maintain. But not all of like bikes; not all of us want an arse where our face was if we come off it. I guarantee most R1 drivers would chicken out well before an R500 driver on a twisty road, and that says enough :P

[@gebezeira]

My friend had the R1 2008 (the old version with 180hp stock) The speedometer from the R1 stops to raise at 299 km/h, but the rpm keeps goin up. So the top speed is around 305-310 km/h. But then he decides to upgrade his "scooter" K&N - Air Filter +4-8hp Akrapovic - Fiber carbon exaust pipe +10hp -8kg ECU - Power commander +8hp 203 hp on dyno Top speed: 321 km/h Just crashed it at 80km/h... *LOL* Now he´s going to buy the new Ninja ZX-6R. He don´t wanna brake the 260km/h barrier anymore... =P

[@rakerholm]

@cavilli Yes, and the power to weight on the car is 1,92 kg per cv on the car, and 1,81 kg per cv on the bike. ;-) I think thats why autocar used the duke. And besides, supermotards are probably alot quicker than a superbike on that twisty roads.

[@benjyboba]

Im sure that bike can go alot faster round the bends with the right rider onboard. Put valentino rossi on board. I dont think that valentino would risk pushing the bike too hard without the run off space. Do it on track next time. Nice video though, it was good to watch and entertaining.

[@GustavMeyrink]

I googled for the latest top speeds actually recorded at Catalunya Circuit. Last time I watched an F1 race I was bored to tears. Must have been Monaco or Hungary.

[@dpstarcom]

its kinda possible becuz the bike has cornering on his side and it takes less strain on the motor to get to those high rpms becuz theres less weight

[@yukiotakata]

one of the best test ive seen. bias?maybe,but fun as hell.

[@dombou70]

A car with equal power to weight will always be quicker then a bike. 4x as many wheels, 8x as much rubber on the ground, the ability for suspension to work WITH the tyres, and downforce.

[@StigRossi]

@u941812 I know, but I was just thinking that the guy on the Motard, COULD have likely brought ANY bike. I mean its not as if the autocar guys were like "hey wanna come over for a car v bike shootout? And bring a HM not a proper superbike". This test is invalid anyway regardless of who made the decision to bring the HM. The GTR v 1098S test is much better

[@The12Nurse]

I was like wooow!! when the R500 got airborne...I bet the drivers balls experienced zero gravity for a moment there...

[@Huskymotard88]

The end is a farce, there wasn't so much difference since few seconds before. do it against a Tm 660, if you can! or with an husaberg, like suggested before. They are real racing motorbikes!

[@stuttgurth]

On top gear they have the ariel atom stomping a cbr600rr on a track and the r500 cang hang with that.

[@tekgooroo]

A lot of idiots try to oversimplify the equation by saying that 4 wheels beats 2 in braking and handling, but what it actually boils down to is contact patch to curb weight. This is a lousy comparison video and I happen to love the R500. The R500 is dedicated to racing. A true track day car. Try this against a WSB or GP Bike and there will be no contest. You can't match the power to weight ratio of a bike or the weight to contact patch. However an F1 car will stomp any bike in existence because