Chasing an Acura NSX yesterday

[JulesMaximus]

I rode up to the town of Julian yesterday with a friend of mine (he was on his 2007 Multistrada). Gave me a chance to really put my bike through its paces since I installed the Ohlins rear shock. Heading out to Ramona I had clear road in front of me for a few miles and just a bit past the Wild Animal Park you start this climb that has a lot of twists and turns. I saw this guy in a dark grey late model Acura NSX parked on the side of the road and before I got to him he pulled out and took off, I could barely keep up with him. He was gapping traffic ahead to get a clear bit of road to play with and he was really on it. Wish I had my GoPro with me for that.

After chasing him for a few miles we caught up to some slower traffic and he pulled over at one of the turnouts, presumably to turn around and make a couple more runs, he gave me a wave as I went by and I gave him a thumbs up. Gave my buddy on the Multistrada a chance to catch up to me.

Man those cars handle well. I think it was a 2005 or thereabouts. Really clean car.

 

[BUTCH1]

I rode up to the town of Julian yesterday with a friend of mine (he was on his 2007 Multistrada). Gave me a chance to really put my bike through its paces since I installed the Ohlins rear shock. Heading out to Ramona I had clear road in front of me for a few miles and just a bit past the Wild Animal Park you start this climb that has a lot of twists and turns. I saw this guy in a dark grey late model Acura NSX parked on the side of the road and before I got to him he pulled out and took off, I could barely keep up with him. He was gapping traffic ahead to get a clear bit of road to play with and he was really on it. Wish I had my GoPro with me for that.

After chasing him for a few miles we caught up to some slower traffic and he pulled over at one of the turnouts, presumably to turn around and make a couple more runs, he gave me a wave as I went by and I gave him a thumbs up. Gave my buddy on the Multistrada a chance to catch up to me.

Man those cars handle well. I think it was a 2005 or thereabouts. Really clean car.

That and a car has an advantage in turns because it's 4 wheels give it more contact area with the road vs a bike, if it was more of a straight run you would probably have blown his doors off..

 

[SpatiallyAware]

That and a car has an advantage in turns because it's 4 wheels give it more contact area with the road vs a bike, if it was more of a straight run you would probably have blown his doors off..

It's far more complicated than that.

On the street, especially in the mountains, it's much more about who has bigger balls and a smaller brain.

 

[Fenixgoon]

It's far more complicated than that.

On the street, especially in the mountains, it's much more about who has bigger balls and a smaller brain.

this.

 

[BUTCH1]

It's far more complicated than that.

On the street, especially in the mountains, it's much more about who has bigger balls and a smaller brain.

Top Gear did an episode of a bike vs car, the bike was a fast crotch-rocket driven by a pro and the car was a brand new Vette driven by Tanner, they pointed out that in the turns the Vette had the advantage of better grip but in the straight parts of the track the bike's extremely fast acceleration and high top end gave it the advantage, here's the vid, interesting watch..http://www.streetfire.net/video/police-z06-vs-triumph-triple-top-gear-us_part-1_2394438.htm

 

[JulesMaximus]

Top Gear did an episode of a bike vs car, the bike was a fast crotch-rocket driven by a pro and the car was a brand new Vette driven by Tanner, they pointed out that in the turns the Vette had the advantage of better grip but in the straight parts of the track the bike's extremely fast acceleration and high top end gave it the advantage, here's the vid, interesting watch..http://www.streetfire.net/video/police-z06-vs-triumph-triple-top-gear-us_part-1_2394438.htm

Well, we were on a winding mountain road with rock walls on one side and guard rails and cliffs on the other. I'm sure the guy driving the Acura didn't want to bin his sweet NSX and I didn't want to die so we weren't exactly going at track pace but we were having a bit of hooligan fun.

He still was able to open up a bit of a gap on me. Maybe 50-60 meters at most. He definitely wasn't dusting me on what few straights there were but I wasn't pushing as hard as he was in the corners.

We both had a blast though that's for sure.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

The top gear video was a triumph 1050. A good bike, no doubt. And a hoon machine.. As shown by the rider who was breaking the rear loose in every corner. But sort of weird they didn't do the comparison with a proper supersport. Especially since it was up against a modified z06. Nothing against the 1050 tiger but it's really nothing compared to a true supersport in power and especially handling.

There have been a number of car vs bike races on tracks over the years, and it really depends on the track. You're right, generally cars are faster through a corner. But a bike will eat up short straights generally enough to compensate for the lost speed. Long straights, however, and the car will start to overtake due to poor aerodynamics of motorcycles.

In my younger days I had no problem running with turbo 911, z06, etc on liter supersports. I'm confident a nsx would be no problem at all unless it's a super technical road with tight corners.. like the dragon.

But, on the street, if one person is willing to really risk their life they will win - sports car or bike.

 

[MongGrel]

I actually chased behind one of those in my old jeep sport and there was a Corvette and I forget what was going across the bridge at the time, I think might have been a newer Camero and something else at the time.

I floored it and followed for awhile but was coming up to the hump at the time, was fuy watching everyone just floor it.

The guys in the NSX had the top down even in a convertible model, I had my Jeep Sport floored for a bit and was keeping up pretty well actually.

Was a Kodak moment I have no pics of he he.

The NSX was pretty much pulling away from everything at the time.

 

[OverVolt]

I actually chased behind one of those in my old jeep sport and there was a Corvette and I forget what was going across the bridge at the time, I think might have been a newer Camero and something else at the time.

I floored it and followed for awhile but was coming up to the hump at the time, was fuy watching everyone just floor it.

The guys in the NSX had the top down even in a convertible model, I had my Jeep Sport floored for a bit and was keeping up pretty well actually.

Was a Kodak moment I have no pics of he he.

The NSX was pretty much pulling away from everything at the time.

Dat vtec and top end torque plus aerodynamics.

 

[AMCRambler]

290 hp stock and 3150 lb curb weight. Either that guy knows how to drive or you were not trying very hard.

 

[Greenman]

An old Yugo will out handle most bikes. It's all about lateral acceleration, and bikes won't take as much of it as cars.

 

[senseamp]

It's far more complicated than that.

On the street, especially in the mountains, it's much more about who has bigger balls and a smaller brain.

I ride my bicycle in the mountains and every few months I ride by some cranes and ambulances "fishing" out a motorcyclist who went over the cliff. Letting your balls run the show can be a pricey proposition.

 

[OverVolt]

..

 

[roguerower]

It's far more complicated than that.

On the street, especially in the mountains, it's much more about who has bigger balls and a smaller brain.

100%

 

[xBiffx]

Sorry Jules, this thread has determined that your brain is bigger than your balls. :\

 

[thomsbrain]

Csaba Csere has written all you need to know on the bike-versus-car topic:

http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/car-vs-bike-dodge-viper-gts-vs-yamaha-yzf1000r-comparison-test

Grip and the ability to easily manage surprises like gravel mean more in the mountains than 0-60.

 

[BUTCH1]

Csaba Csere has written all you need to know on the bike-versus-car topic:

http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/car-vs-bike-dodge-viper-gts-vs-yamaha-yzf1000r-comparison-test

Grip and the ability to easily manage surprises like gravel mean more in the mountains than 0-60.

Interesting read, he does make a point that even with the best rider available a small, unexpected patch of sand can send a bike off the track in a heartbeat, also I was LOL about the Viper throwing a rod after 3 laps, "likely caused by grit in the oil gallery of this pre-production example"..Yikes, pre-production or not your talking about a $73,000 machine and that's 1996 dollars to boot, one would think they would have properly cleaned the engine internals before assembly..

 

[BUTCH1]

The top gear video was a triumph 1050. A good bike, no doubt. And a hoon machine.. As shown by the rider who was breaking the rear loose in every corner. But sort of weird they didn't do the comparison with a proper supersport. Especially since it was up against a modified z06. Nothing against the 1050 tiger but it's really nothing compared to a true supersport in power and especially handling.

There have been a number of car vs bike races on tracks over the years, and it really depends on the track. You're right, generally cars are faster through a corner. But a bike will eat up short straights generally enough to compensate for the lost speed. Long straights, however, and the car will start to overtake due to poor aerodynamics of motorcycles.

In my younger days I had no problem running with turbo 911, z06, etc on liter supersports. I'm confident a nsx would be no problem at all unless it's a super technical road with tight corners.. like the dragon.

But, on the street, if one person is willing to really risk their life they will win - sports car or bike.

The video describes the bike as "140HP and gets to 60 in 2.8 seconds" I don't know enough about bikes to comment but that sure sounds like a lot of power and speed. I could imagine the guy who lost the 'Vette in a drug bust must be totally bummed, not only did he lose close to $100K in car, he had to see his baby converted into "the fastest cop car in the world" LOL...

 

[JulesMaximus]

Sorry Jules, this thread has determined that your brain is bigger than your balls. :\

I didn't need a set of calipers to determine that. :sneaky:

 

[BUTCH1]

I didn't need a set of calipers to determine that. :sneaky:

You have a family and a life, no need to prove to anyone your riding skills by risking flying off the side of a mountain.

 

[SearchMaster]

You have a family and a life, no need to prove to anyone your riding skills by risking flying off the side of a mountain.

+1.

Have fun, be safe.

 

[manimal]

+1.

Have fun, be safe.

exactly. If you guys ride in packs make sure to tell the younger less experienced riders its not a race and you dont have to prove anything. I used to ride with guys who absolute nuts but I stopped because they were cop and trouble magnets..

 

[JulesMaximus]

You have a family and a life, no need to prove to anyone your riding skills by risking flying off the side of a mountain.

:thumbsup: Which is why I let him go.

exactly. If you guys ride in packs make sure to tell the younger less experienced riders its not a race and you dont have to prove anything. I used to ride with guys who absolute nuts but I stopped because they were cop and trouble magnets..

I ride in very small groups of guys I know very well. I'm not trying to prove anything to anyone. We all ride our own ride and if one of us wants to take off for a couple miles at a brisk pace we know we'll catch up at the next group of cars or turn off. We're all about the same age and we've known and ridden together for years.

 

[Viper GTS]

Interesting read, he does make a point that even with the best rider available a small, unexpected patch of sand can send a bike off the track in a heartbeat, also I was LOL about the Viper throwing a rod after 3 laps, "likely caused by grit in the oil gallery of this pre-production example"..Yikes, pre-production or not your talking about a $73,000 machine and that's 1996 dollars to boot, one would think they would have properly cleaned the engine internals before assembly..

The real issue was oil starvation due to extended high-g cornering. It was eventually a known issue on early Gen 2 Vipers but wouldn't have been known at the time of the article:

http://www.vipersoftheworld.com/showthread.php?687-Racing-and-oil-starvation-issues

When the Gen 2 Viper came out we started to see some issues. Turn 9 at Willow Springs flat out in a GTS with a pro-driver a piston rod let go. The changes to the new Viper made it faster than ever, but the diet Dodge put the Viper on reduced the oil capacity and size of the oil pickup in the pan, that combined with more power, lighter and better suspension and new sticky Michelin tires, the increased G-Loads achieved forced the oil right out of the pan. A market opened up for modified oil pans that used baffles to keep the oil around the oil pickup and in 1999 The Viper received a deeper oil pan and increased oil capacity. The hard-core racers went to dry sump systems.

Viper GTS

 

[BUTCH1]

The real issue was oil starvation due to extended high-g cornering. It was eventually a known issue on early Gen 2 Vipers but wouldn't have been known at the time of the article:

http://www.vipersoftheworld.com/showthread.php?687-Racing-and-oil-starvation-issues



Viper GTS

Well that makes more sense than saying it was a "pre-production" model so they didn't bother to clean the engine internals before assembling it, geez, even a plain-jane daily driver has better quality control than that..