Top Gear @ 8.30!!!!!

[coolrado 0]

Dressing up in a leather gimp suit to go and ride a bike isnt my idea of fun :lol:

 

its even worse when you see a couple in matching leathers :lol:

 

there is no way anyone is going to convince me that bikers look cool :wink:

whether its the hairy arsed mullet haired hells angel type or shrink wrapped racing bike rider type it just isnt a good look :wink:

[bcstudent 0]

All the Top Gear car vs. bike races are staged. Did anyone see the Yamaha R1 vs. Porsche Carrera race on one of Clarksons videos? What a load of old toss that was!

 

How many here in the Atom camp actually have a full bike licence and have owned a modern sportsbike? NSR125s certainly don't count! :roll:

[CoxyLaad 0]

like i said "on the track", ok in a drag race or track with very few corners the bike would trounce the atom but it has been proved many times that a car will beat a bike around a proper track .

 

I think you are dead wrong there. The big difference is that it takes a hell of a lot more skill and commitment to get the best performance out of a bike, whereas in a car any old muppet can put in a half decent lap. Look at clarkson....

 

the bike has two small contact areas wheras the car has four wide contact points so more grip to play with

 

so? The bike weighs a lot less and needs a lot less absolute grip, couple that with the fact that the bike is a lot narrower than a car - for example these traffic calming areas, cars have to do a hard right then a had left, a bike is narrow enough to drive straight through the middle without turning. works the same on the track.

 

i have often been driving up and down the a5 following bikes who are struggling to stay on the road for some of the sharp corners wheras i could have taken them faster in the rado but get onto the straight and the bike dissapears, but if i wanted straight line speed, knackered knee caps and to look like a human condom i would buy a bike, but i dont so i will stick with cars :wink:

 

Again you were probablies following a biker who is using about 15% of the bikes potential. You try and keep up with a proper rider (read loonatic) on a real bike, you wouldnt stand a chance. The only advantage a car has over a bike is that wider more stable footprint, which allows much later braking into corners, a bike can only brake to the point where the back wheel is lifting off the floor.

[coullstar 0]

Dressing up in a leather gimp suit to go and ride a bike isnt my idea of fun :lol:

 

its even worse when you see a couple in matching leathers :lol:

 

there is no way anyone is going to convince me that bikers look cool :wink:

whether its the hairy arsed mullet haired hells angel type or shrink wrapped racing bike rider type it just isnt a good look :wink:

 

If you buy a bike just too try and look cool then you deserve to crash. There are plenty of posing twats out there thats like too think they can ride fast. The plain simple fact is that for £4k you will never have as much fun with a vehicle (on the road) than a bike. As already mentioned its too easy to drive fast in a car and it is totally sanitised. I have yet too see someone on a post such as this, that has had a bike, and still thinks a car is more fun. I dont care if a car beats a bike round a track etc.

 

When you have driven/ridden both then you can really comment on what is more fun. I have driven plenty of fastish cars and there is no way in hell that I could go faster than the bike or have near as much fun.

[M777CUSGTI 0]

Dressing up in a leather gimp suit to go and ride a bike isnt my idea of fun :lol:

 

its even worse when you see a couple in matching leathers :lol:

 

there is no way anyone is going to convince me that bikers look cool :wink:

whether its the hairy arsed mullet haired hells angel type or shrink wrapped racing bike rider type it just isnt a good look :wink:

 

If you buy a bike just too try and look cool then you deserve to crash. There are plenty of posing twats out there thats like too think they can ride fast. The plain simple fact is that for £4k you will never have as much fun with a vehicle (on the road) than a bike. As already mentioned its too easy to drive fast in a car and it is totally sanitised. I have yet too see someone on a post such as this, that has had a bike, and still thinks a car is more fun. I dont care if a car beats a bike round a track etc.

 

When you have driven/ridden both then you can really comment on what is more fun. I have driven plenty of fastish cars and there is no way in hell that I could go faster than the bike or have near as much fun.

 

My opnion, thats all im trying to get across :wink:

[CoxyLaad 0]

Haway then Coolrado, have you ever ridden a bike before in your life?

 

I'm interested cos you are very opinionated on the subject.

[coolrado 0]

sorry if my comments seemed a bit arsey yesterday (a bit too much festive spirit) :drinking: just re-read it now :oops:

well if you can call a gs550e (my own) and a gsxr1100 (my brothers)bikes then............ yes

i suppose i just never caught the bike bug it was just cheap transport for me, and i saw too many family members and friends being badly injured after being knocked off their bikes by inconsiderate car drivers.

i have nothing against bikers and allways make way for them to pass in traffic and pull over for them when they want to overtake.

i just prefer cars and the atom is just such a pure car and if you look at the competition with any where near those performance figures its a bargain and it dosnt deserve to be slagged off really, who cares if it has a rice engine its a good engine for a car that light (certainly better than the crappy old ford engines in most kit cars)

but you cant deny a lot of bikers look rediculous in matching leathers :wink:

[M777CUSGTI 0]

but you cant deny a lot of bikers look rediculous in matching leathers :wink:

 

Amen :wink: :lol:

[CoxyLaad 0]

sorry if my comments seemed a bit arsey yesterday (a bit too much festive spirit) :drinking: just re-read it now :oops:

No bother - Us bikers are not the sensitive type lol

 

 

well if you can call a gs550e (my own) and a gsxr1100 (my brothers)bikes then............ yes

i suppose i just never caught the bike bug it was just cheap transport for me, and i saw too many family members and friends being badly injured after being knocked off their bikes by inconsiderate car drivers.

 

Aye that is true, you are a lot more vunerable on a bike, but I suppose it teaches you proper roadcraft, as the punishment for complacency is a bit drakonian to say the least

 

i have nothing against bikers and allways make way for them to pass in traffic and pull over for them when they want to overtake.

i just prefer cars

 

Thats fair enough, I can see both cars and bikes as very exciting passtimes. They arent going to be everyones cup of tea

 

 

and the atom is just such a pure car and if you look at the competition with any where near those performance figures its a bargain and it dosnt deserve to be slagged off really

Ah but this is the point! non of us were slagging it off, christ I would love one, and would probablies sell my bike for one, I and others were just pointing out that clarksons hatred for two wheels had tainted that review somewhat with a dodgy 'Shock Horror' car V bike test which in my opinion was a staged stunt, heavily weighted in the atoms favour.

 

 

who cares if it has a rice engine

not me - I love the vtec engines.

its a good engine for a car that light (certainly better than the crappy old ford engines in most kit cars)

have to agree. they dont produce great torque low down but they dont really need to in a car that light.

but you cant deny a lot of bikers look rediculous in matching leathers :wink:

LOL no you get no argument from me there :lol: I much prefer a set of black 2 piece leathers over the glare of a power ranger suit. :D

[coolrado 0]

went to oulton park with a mate of mine for a sports car track day (was supposed to be driving but had put my back out after falling out of a lorry.....dont ask) they handed him a white p*ss pot helmet, white overalls and white boots :wink: he ended up looking like a giant sperm :lol: so i suppose its not just restricted to bikers

[CoxyLaad 0]

LMAO! :lol:

[GIXXERUK 0]

When you have driven/ridden both then you can really comment on what is more fun. I have driven plenty of fastish cars and there is no way in hell that I could go faster than the bike or have near as much fun.

 

got to agree with coullstar, and CoxyLaad, on all they have said...

 

why the chose a 600rr i dont know and an unknown rider who wasnt really pushing it

 

its much much more difficult to ride a bike fast than it is to drive a car(i dont mean straight line) , bikes take balls to ride fast

 

its wrong to diss what you dont know

 

clarkson is extremely biased when it comes to bikes , too lanky to fit one i reckon and too tarty to ride one

 

"crappy ford engine " - so youre saying you wouldnt want a noble !!

[coolrado 0]

"crappy ford engine " - so youre saying you wouldnt want a noble !!

 

erm....no

i meant the crappy OLD cvh engines most people put in cheapo kit cars the noble is a bit different :wink:

[GIXXERUK 0]

the cvh engine where the valve seals go crap weekly lol

[coolrado 0]

i allways thought it was the tappets on fiesta's that made the ticking noise after a few years, but after a mate of mine started re-building the fiesta engine in his quantum he found out its actually the cam lobes that wear, appearently they made them out of really cheap metal and they wear like hell :lol:

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Missed this thread! The show was pretty cool as usual and that washing machine car had me in stitches, he's a funny bloke that Clarkson! Didn't like those two arrogant fashion advisors at all though, but they certainly shut Clarkson up with the small dick remark - he had absolutely no come back for that, LOL!

 

Yeah I'd agree about the Atom, it was definitely staged, just as the Evo v Lambo comparison was. You could plainly see the bike and the Lambo were both on a leisurely cruise next to their competitors!

 

And on bikes in general - after taking my bike test a few years ago and jumping on a CBR 600 (later 110bhp flavour) I cacked myself and haven't ridden since, LOL! The acceleration is insane and utterly addictive. I just didn't like having to be extra vigilant and studying the road surface, wiping splatted wasps off my visor, the neck strain from 70+ mph winds etc etc.... A hard days thrash on a bike is exhausting and my clutch wrist used to feel like it was going to fall off!

So as much as I love bikes, they're not for me! I just don't trust myself on them either.... too much easily accessible speed!

[coullstar 0]

 

And on bikes in general - after taking my bike test a few years ago and jumping on a CBR 600 (later 110bhp flavour) I cacked myself and haven't ridden since, LOL! The acceleration is insane and utterly addictive.

 

You should try the Busa then. It will snap your head clean off.

[CoxyLaad 0]

LOL kev - bikes certainly take a degree of self control, I found myself going faster and faster on my zzr, to the point where it was getting stupid, so I sold it bought something with a little less top end performance.

 

On a side note - has anyone watched that series The Long Way Round? with Ewan magreggor and his mate going round the world on a couple of BMW GS1150 bikes? wow, looks amazing! and them bikes are something else.

[RadoAds 0]

Reading the book now after watching the series on sky what a journey!!!

[Supercharged 2]

On a side note - has anyone watched that series The Long Way Round? with Ewan magreggor and his mate going round the world on a couple of BMW GS1150 bikes? wow, looks amazing! and them bikes are something else.

 

Just bought the DVD for my Dad for xmas, very good indeed and alot better than the book, He's got an R1150GS with all the options, ABS, heated grips and so on... They were actually using the GS Adventure which you have to be 6ft tall minimum to be able to ride, they were also loading them up with stupid amounts of gear!!

[ben16v 0]

i`m guessing you`ve all seen the ghost rider vids??

 

he`s a loony,

[bcstudent 0]

jimsG60, did you ever get hold of the Ariel Atom segment you were after? I've got the whole episode in AVI format (approx. 342MB) if you want the whole thing, or I can just rip ot the bit you want.

[Jim 2]

I was downloading it veeerry slowly off the net but ended up giving up. If you fancy ripping the Atom segment out, i'd be grateful... I don't actually NEED it for any specific reason, but the expression on Clarksons face was just too hilarious to not have a copy of it in my little car video clips collection :)

[bcstudent 0]

Leave it to me....

 

That's handy actually because I haven't got enough webspace left to host the whole episode!

[bcstudent 0]

The Atom segment is currently available at this link for all those interested - it's 62MB and runs for 9m 21s. It'll probably be there for several days.

 

** Edit ** The resolution is 512 x 282 and the quality is very good in case you were wondering....