What makes a performance bike?
A funny thing happened on the way into an apex the other day, according to Guido…
It seems that the more test machines I ride over the years, the less certain I become about what actually makes a good performance bike. Now you would think the answer would be bleeding obvious: get whatever Valentino Rossi or Casey Stoner are riding, stick lights and a rego plate on it and there’s your answer. A no-brainer…
Once I would have agreed, but now I’m less convinced. Don’t get me wrong – I love bikes with lots of horsepower and attitude (just have a gander at the contents of my garage some time, with Hannibal the 200-plus horse Hayabusa being a case in point) – but I suspect there’s a lot more to it than that.
Yes, Valentino or Casey’s rocketships are demonstrably unbeatable in that environment and (here’s the catch) in those hands. Remove either, or particularly the latter, and you start to develop problems. To a mug like me, a Yamaha M1 MotoGP machine might as well be a Massey Ferguson tractor, because I’d be too busy looking for somewhere soft to crash to actually use more than a tenth of its potential.
Something which brought this home was the last two test bikes I did photo sessions on: an MV Agusta F4 1000, plus a Triumph Scrambler, which on the face of it have sod all in common.
One is a fire-breathing four-pot Italian sports bike, while the other is a very traditional Brit all-rounder twin.
The Agusta may not have quite the numbers of the very latest Japanese gear, but it’s no slouch and is right up there in many areas. It’s got a fairly full-on bum-up and head-down ride position, radial mount brakes, over 160 horses, not much weight, firm suspension --- all those things we’ve come to expect in a sports bike. And it was great fun to ride. I was immediately on familiar territory, with the purposeful layout and generous power delivery. Throw in the sexy finish and a legendary name on the tank and what more could you want? Buggered if know…
But here’s the weird thing. A couple of days later I was on a Triumph Scrambler and had damned near the same experience. The upright seating position was immediately familiar, the brakes did the job, the power delivery was easy-going and always there, and it had a legendary name on the tank. What more could you want?
The pleasure gained from each was really defined by how you ‘mined’ for it. In the case of the Agusta, it was a matter of mastering a very fast piece of kit and deriving satisfaction from getting that last corner just right. On the Triumph it was revelling in its easy manners and willingness to have a go at just about anything. Quite different approaches, but both ending up with that late apex grin on the dial.
Experiences like that are confirming my long held-suspicion that if it’s got an engine and two wheels, the details from there aren’t all that important. And they raise the level of frustration that there is only so much money and so much time to buy and really enjoy these things…
You’re always welcome to get in touch via the palatial MT offices at locked bag 12, Oakleigh 3166, or on the wire at guy.alllen@traderclassifieds.com.au.
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