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Bikes Are Faster Than Cars?
Ride Date 8 February 2025
It's mid February, a cold day in Wales, and the roads are that awkward mix of dry bits, moist bits and wet bits. I'd estimate it's about 2-3 Celsius. I'm riding with 3 friends along the A5 from Betws-y-Coed eastbound. We're moving along, not breaking any speed limits but flowing well given the conditions.
Not quite wet, not quite dry. Moist?
I'm leading and my friends are behind. I glance in the mirror once more, expecting to see 3 lights and the vague outline of motorcycles behind as has been the case these last few miles. I'm marginally surprised to see the lights and outline of a car instead.
Why am I marginally surprised? Typically at this pace even with the suboptimal road conditions we'd be catching up with a car not being caught up by a car. I look again. It's a Tesla, I don't know the models well enough to say which model but it's a "quick" one. Aah, that explains it.
I slither around a few more corners then on the next straight I pull to the left and wave the car past. The driver passes me with a "thank you" flash from the indicators, and then they're gone through the next few bends. My friends are once again behind me and we continue without issue.
"Bikes are quicker than cars" is a statement I've heard often enough, but it's wrong. It would be better to say "Riders of motorcycles are often enthusiasts and a notable proportion of them ride enthusiastically, while most car drivers are not enthusiasts and drive merely to get places at a steady pace". This is not to say there are no drivers that drive enthusiastically. In relation to the number of cars on the road it's just that most of them do not drive enthusiastically.
An "enthusiastic" rider - this one sadly lacks any skills.
So - in the hands of a skilled rider and a skilled driver - which is quicker?
From 0-60mph in a straight line for the most part motorcycles still have the edge - but MUCH less so these days with the arrival of electric cars such as Tesla. The Model S Plaid can do 0-60 in 2 seconds which - like it or not - is quicker than any off-the-shelf motorcycle I know of. Most sporty leccy cars are in the 3-4 second range which is as quick as most motorcycles.
What about the bends? Cars have more rubber on the road and therefore more available grip. Yes they have more weight too which greatly increases the side forces on the tyres through the bends - but this is compensated by the weight pushing the tyre into the surface harder. There are some terribly complex mathematics at play here including car tyres being harder but most scientific stuff I'm aware of shows that - overall - cars have more grip.
There's another important factor at play here too - risk.
Firstly the number of tyres on the road. If I lose grip on either of my tyres mid bend and "committed" I'm off. A car needs to lose grip on 3 tyres before a slide. I'll let you think about it a moment... OK - got it? So a grid, a spot of oil or diesel, a patch of gravel, a pothole, all these things are a big problem for a rider - they are still a problem for a car but less so.
See that, at warp factor 9 that'll have you off that.
Secondly if it does go wrong a car will provide some level of protection for the driver, all we riders have is luck and helmets.
I am not a fast rider, far from it. I can, given the right conditions and mood, make healthy progress and I do enjoy an enthusiastic ride from time to time. Even with my lack of outright pace when I'm on a dry country lane with plenty of bends I am prone to getting "stuck" behind cars as many riders are. I'm sure you get "stuck" behind cars too from time to time. Ideally, in a perfect world without hunger and famine, a courteous driver should allow you to pass safely when the road conditions are appropriate.
But beware - one day you may find that you the rider are in fact the one holding up the enthusiastically driven car. When the road conditions are appropriate you too should allow them to pass safely. You might be surprised to see just how fast an enthusiastically driven car can be.
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Reader's Comments
ROD¹ said :-
Bikes in general have a better power to weight ratio. Cars will corner much faster than bikes when the driver has the skills to drive them.
When it comes to driving/riding at high speed the car benefits from better shape to reduce drag, and of course if we look at F1 the use of downforce.
06/03/2025 11:35:00 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
One of Guy Martin's TV programmes looked at this - comparing a (slightly old) F1 car witha BMW Tyco superbike. The car was faster in most instances. Both Ren (motorcyclists tend to be faster) and Rod are of course correct on the road. There's a short version of the Martin programme here:
https://youtu.be/6njgZ_7yLQc?feature=shared...
06/03/2025 14:21:49 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I can imagine the Tesla driver was having a nicer moment. Climate control set at 21c and Greatest Hits Radio adorning the interior. Plus 4 lovely big tyres to grip and grip and grip.
But it cost him a lot more than you Ed to cover that same distance. Have you seen the price of tyres for them things?
I don't think I would get much of a thrill from driving an electric vehicle such as the 2 second wonder you mention. Aren't they a one trick pony, initial shove and then a bland delivery of electrons. Dunno, enlighten me. Plus.....Musk! I'll say nowt, where's me chainsaw.
But who is quicker, down to the driver/rider innit.
Upt.
06/03/2025 14:35:40 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Musk - urgh, power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.
I have actually driven an electric car. Actually, no, I've actually driven an electric quadricycle. Oh yes, I have driven the Citroen Ami, the odd little 28mph max "voitures sans permis" thingy. It feels like a big go-kart with a cheap plastic roof on. Surprisingly useful for nipping to the shops, a good laugh until the novelty wears off, and sillier than a Blackadder disguise. My mate's gotten one.
I have yet to drive an electric car or motorcycle. I would like to and Zero send me the odd emails suggesting I could take a test ride but there's no dealers near me. I've just checked again - there's a dealer in Wakefield which ain't too far away... we shall see.
07/03/2025 07:27:08 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
That Citroën is hideous. It may look Chic in Milan, they look blummin stupid on a forecourt in Wallsend because no one will buy em. Hideous, I hope you wore a disguise.
Hideous!
Upt.
07/03/2025 09:13:06 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Now now Upt'!! Calm down. I think they're funky in a left field quirky kinda way. While not exactly suitable for touring or people who live out in the stix like you - they're great for nipping to the shops.
I am trying to persuade my mate to go and visit his sister in law up on The Isle of Lewis - using the Ami. With a range of 30-40 miles I estimate he could be up there in 2 weeks... and then 2 more weeks to get back. Proper adventure and you'd meet some random strangers as you ask them if you can plug into their mains for a couple of hours.
07/03/2025 11:04:02 UTC
nab301 said :-
Quote Ren "But beware - one day you may find that you the rider are in fact the one holding up the enthusiastically driven car."
That day for me came years ago Ren , In a straight line on public roads, everything passes me because no other road users appear to observe posted speed limits...
As for the Citroen Ami , locally over 10k euro , car licence required , car road tax required , no car test (mot) required ? 3yr 40k kms battery warranty and one month body panel warranty?
Nigel
07/03/2025 15:12:53 UTC
Glyn said :-
Having decided to finally get rid of my ridiculously unreliable Range River Evoque (with equally ridiculously awful dealer service) I thought Electric might be the way to go. So off I went to try the Polestar 2. Impressive performance and nicely put together but had to take a look at the Tesla3 before parting with the money. I came home later that day without being a Range Rover owner, hooray, but driving a Merc SLC200. Somehow the electric didn’t seem to be a proper car yet. Next time maybe. In the meantime the performance from my BMW K1100 bike gets me places quick enough (when the roads are clear).
08/03/2025 18:29:31 UTC
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