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the next evolution in motorcycles will be cornering ability. Even the best can't do much what with the lean angle (reducing tire contact patch) and the enormous effect of engine drag (in a car, in an overrev gear situation, the car will push the engine, but on a bike, the engine will "overrev" the rear wheel, causing a nice fishtail that can highside you badly if you're not careful). This happened to me tonight on a tight U-turn - down shifted one too many gears and the back broke loose. Spooky.
slipper clutches and the like are patch fixes. What we need is a bike with two wheel drive and two wheel steer - a GT-R of motorcycles. swingarms front and rear, shaft drive. variable torque to the front (in tight turns I've wished for the front to pull me through), and HICAS rear, either turning with or against the front wheel. 240 sized rubber front and rear. It'd probably add 200 pounds (making for a 600 pound bike) but the moving real wheel would compensate for handling deficiencies from weight shifting - more carlike, less bikelike. I think computers have come a long way from 1989, such that a HICAS and ATTESA computer, using a gyroscope and G sensors, could more predictably control handling.
Anyways, back on topic. I think it would be pretty straightforward to build a GT-R Enzo beater. R32 shell. Stripped interior. OS Giken drivetrain (3 liter block plus 6 speed sequential), GT-RS turbos. Lots of suspension work - the parts are all there, no one seems to order them though (pillowball tension rods are, next to my turbos, the most important upgrade I've made). Some direct port wet nitrous, not a whole lot, for 1000-4000rpm, just in 1st, 2nd, maybe a little in 3rd gear, just to get the Disco Potatoes cookin' and dancin'. 265 or 275 DOT race slicks.
That'll edge out (not kill, the Enzo is a very fast car mind you) the Ferrari on both the dragstrip and the track. Top speed (like a 4km drag race) might be problematic. No ricer wing of course. Hmm. Of course gearing would have to be capable of hitting 220mph. Maybe have the nitrous kick in again in 5th and 6th gear - depends on how much the 0.40Cd drag coefficient hurts the R32 in the 150-200mph range. And such a car could be built for under 50 grand easy.
And why the R32 as a base? It's so blindingly obvious....the R32 is the best handling GT-R, it's got the most race-tuning experience and data behind it, and it's the lightest GT-R. You could negate the weight advantage of the Ferrari, and then just need 200-300 more hp to ovecome aerodynamic issues.
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1991 BNR32
2007 BMW F800S
1999 Suzuki Hayabusa stage one turbo (not running yet)
2009 Mercedes-Benz B200 Turbo (ordered)
2010 BMW S1000RR (first deposit in Korea placed)
There are only three true sports: mountain climbing, auto racing, and bullfighting. Everything else is merely a game.
Last edited by kismetcapitan; 8th September 2007 at 08:33 PM.
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