care to be an Alien

[st. augustine]

http://www.wimp.com/arielatom/

[biesel]

00:35 - 00:55

[The Monkey]

Thanks for that St Augustine, I had seen this but did not remember the name of the vehicle, been trying to find it ever since. Cheers

[st. augustine]

anyone want to blow this out of the water....the mis-truths?

 

Like why a 600 instead of a 1098/1198?

why the 600 can't seem to brake well on the 1st corner?

any comments on how the driver with the Simpson helmet is running off the tarmac onto the grass?

[John in Leeds]

anyone want to blow this out of the water....the mis-truths?

 

Like why a 600 instead of a 1098/1198?

why the 600 can't seem to brake well on the 1st corner?

any comments on how the driver with the Simpson helmet is running off the tarmac onto the grass?

 

Time to face it mate, the car will be quicker - on the track. I really don't think a litre bike will make any difference.

 

If I remember correctly even go carts were faster on the track than GP bikes. <_>

 

The difference is in the bike's favour on the highway, away from the lights and through traffic. And of course a bike is always cool

[Skeeve]

anyone want to blow this out of the water....the mis-truths?

 

Like why a 600 instead of a 1098/1198?

why the 600 can't seem to brake well on the 1st corner?

any comments on how the driver with the Simpson helmet is running off the tarmac onto the grass?

 

#1: Because the host of Top Gear is notoriously anti-motorbike, by his own admission.

#2: Because bikes' only advantage over cars is acceleration & cost; if you unfairly handicap the bike in this comparison by choosing a model that costs 1/4 what the car does instead of a higher performance model that only costs 1/2, well, you can figure on getting smoked. And this is the only car that can match bike acceleration figures, but the simple expedient of a design that is entirely based on matching motorcycle power to wt ratios!

#3: There is no #3

#4: The Atom is a go-kart on steroids; I like it!

[Mark909]

Jeremy Clarkson is extremely anti-bike. Actually I suspect he is anti anything that does not fit in with his own view of how things should be. The annoying thing is he is quite amusing, just be sure not to take him seriously. I think the car he tests in this video suits him far better than the Atom, at least he does not have to worry about the G forces Clarkson goes to work

 

I think the Atom is really quite a great thing, if you like cars that is. For me the whole issue of top speed, acceleration, corner speed etc are less important than the way a bike makes me feel. But that's just me.

[luhbo]

Is he? Or is this just part of his business image? I think someone's posted he owned several bikes, of course even one or more Guzzis among them. I mean, this guy is not a silly one, and no poor one either, so it's pretty obvious he ownes some stuff like this as well.

 

I remember one of his shows I incidentally could watch around 10 years or so ago. Topic was the decline of the English car industry and whether BMW could turn things around with Rover. This was so brilliant and spot on, with an English speaking Austrian BMW chairman, top interesting mechanical facts about Triumph engines and Morris cars, the then new tiny big Rover 75 (or was it 85) that even my sons still today remember this show, and they were around ten then.

 

Whether he is anti bike or not: four wheels are faster then two, and this monster has 600 bhp per ton if I remember right.

 

Hubert

[John in Leeds]

Jeremy Clarkson is extremely anti-bike.

 

For me the whole issue of top speed, acceleration, corner speed etc are less important than the way a bike makes me feel. But that's just me.

 

It was good to fun to see Clarkson tempted in his Vietnam bike ride - he actually enjoyed it for a time. However he is a twat but losts of people like him so sadly he is influencial.

 

If you do need to see a bike putting it over on 4 wheels I did post a super motard 450 Yam versus a Subaru Impretsa rally car some time back. Great fun!

 

The motorcycle will always do it for me anyway

[Tom M]

Hubert,

Top Gear co-host James May is the Guzzi owner, not Clarkson. I think he has an older Cali.

 

Clarkson is first and foremost an entertainer. His two co-hosts are riders so he gets to generate some yuks being the anti-biker. I think he's pretty good at it.

 

I saw the Top Gear episode where the boys allegedly rode scooters and mopeds across Viet Nam. Clarkson crashed hard, and I'm not even sure he had a helmet on. That ought to give him more reason hate two wheelers, even though it was his own bad riding (hit a pot hole?) and lack of gear that caused his grief.

 

Maybe a faster bike or more importantly a better rider would have helped the bike do a little better against the Atom, but I have no trouble believing that car could smoke any bike on a track without really long straightaways.

 

The Atom looks like a fantastic track car, but it could never be road legal in the US. No airbags, no side impact protection, etc.

[Murray]

I think clarksons hatered of bikes is part of his public persona, he pokes various groups who he feels take themselves too seriously with outlandish borish comments and watches them tie themselves in knots over it and just when they start to settle again he pokes them again. It a bit like a shock jock stirring up people predejucies and fears. He himself probally considers it part of the show that is Jermry Clarkson well thats the way I look at it anyway so now I laugh at the funny stuff and don't care about the stupid crap stirring stuff and when the show ends i turn off the TV and don't worry about it any further. May has a Calli II I think and Hampster has eat breathed and crapped bikes most of his life probally for the same reasons most of us got into bikes, Porsche performance on a Hyaundi budget.

[mike wilson]

If I remember correctly even go carts were faster on the track than GP bikes. <_>

 

Last I heard (admittedly some time ago) carts hold the ultimate lap records _everywhere_.

[John in Leeds]

Last I heard (admittedly some time ago) carts hold the ultimate lap records _everywhere_.

 

If that's the case the Atom is a total Lard Ass - needs at least 1bhp per kg for some proper speed.

[The Monkey]

Cycle World attempted to put this one to rest a couple years back. Their approach was to eliminate as many of the variables as possible. They used the same driver, Kevin Schwantz as he had impressive credentials as a bike racer and subsequent to his bike racing career, ended up in some class of automobile racing in the US (one that required more skill than merely turning left) with more wins and championships in that arena as well. the track was either Laguna or Pahrump, I dont remember, but the gear was a current 1 litre gixxer and a current Z-1 Vette. (I dont know if he was teaching track riding at the time but there was some such reassurement as to his bike abilities still being well above the level of club racing). They radar tested the straights, the entries, apexes and exits at various points about the track. End result was car much quicker primarily due to the rubber footprint. The bike had a couple advantages here or there but the lap time told the story. Look it up those who need to know the kinks and wiggles. It is a hard pill to swallow as 99% of the cagers you run into on the public road are unaware cell phone jabbering nitwits with the synaptic response of a 3 toed sloth. Savages, the lot of em.

[Murray]

Few fifth gear vids

 

 

 

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/503906/bmw_x...ike_in_a_rally/