I saw a thread on another board that referenced a Ferrari 550 race car going up against a stock Aprilia and whipping it, hard. I couldn't see the video, but it was something like 11 seconds difference. Huge. Here's the link:
That started a discussion about car v. bike and speeds. They said that a bike might be able to out-accelerate a car in a straight line, and brake harder, (power to weight and all that), but that a car would kill a bike in corners because the car has more of a contact patch and can hold more lateral acceleration and it has to slow down less than a bike in corners, carrying more speed. Their verdict was that bikes are at a HUGE disadvantage in corners compared to cars.
Now I know bikes are "slow-in, fast-out", (which is familiar ground to me, cutting my teeth on 356s and 911s), but this got my brain thinking: how much of a disadvantage would a bike be on your "average" autocross course?
I'm a member of the local Porsche club and they have autocrosses at least once a month. I was thinking of popping down there some time on my bike and see what kinda time I would turn. Just for kicks, you know? But I'm wondering how the old Honda will stack up against the four-wheeled competition, assuming I got my sh*t together. I would imagine the bike's power-to-weight would be a sight better than most of the cars, but autocross courses are usually short and all about cornering, which is fine, but if cars have an easier time of it, then what kind of disadvantage would the bike be at?
For reference, they posted the fastest times at the Laguna Seca track. The fastest cars whip the fastest bike:
2006 Lap Times
750hp F1 Toyota _ 1:06.309
650hp ALMS P1 Zytek 06S _ 1:13.731
500hp ALMS P2 Porsche RS Spyder _ 1:14.030
600hp ALMS GT1 Aston Martin DBR9 _ 1:21.012
250hp Honda MotoGP Bike _ 1:22.843480hp ALMS GT2 Ferrari F430 GT _ 1:23.611
500hp Grand-Am DP Crawford-Porsche _ 1:23.712
