I have this friend....

[CDP]

who doesn't want to admit it, but he raced another vehicle something fierce on a public road today.

He usually never falls into this type of behavior, and knows full well it's dangerous and unsafe for him and the other drivers on the road. But sometimes as we all know life gets a little boring and we want to insert little episodes of the movie Bullitt into our real life.

So there he was minding his own business on the Merritt Parkway (CT), at the southern end where it's nice and curvy. And so the catalyst pulls into the picture. A Mercedes ML63 AMG with all the bells and whistles.

The SUV pulls up real close on the 2 lane, just a couple feet from the cage in front, and decides to ride the center dash line to keep anyone from passing him on either the right and left, looked like a young guy, maybe Dad's car, maybe trustafarian, who cares.

So my friend decides to squirt out of this clusterfuck of metal, and does so leaving the parade in the rear view. But here comes something, something angry, and very fast, it's the Mercedes, and this guy ain't playing. He drove like he wanted to die, like he would sooner kill himself than have the motorcycle pass him.

So into the walled sweepers, both vehicles doing in excess of 125mph on a road that just ain't straight. The bike then decides he would rather have the 2 ton vehicle in front of him than up his ass behind him, so he pulls over for a split second to the right lane. The Merc shutters from behind, diving in an all out brake to avoid punting the bike. The young driver's eyes in the rider's rear view were like white saucers.

Then my friend hears through all the commotion the sound of the AMG, it sounds like a race car, all 503 horsepower, grunting and snarling through the traffic. This kid is driving this thing like a lane splitting motorcycle. The bike pursues out of sheer principle if not a hint of competitive stupidity.

At one point they reach 138mph in a sweeper, the Merc doing a full tilt tire squeel into the left banker, the bike fully laden with a weeks worth of travel gear in all 3 oversized containers. The rider pushing all his weight into the left peg, shoving the end of the left grip, countersteering, the rear wheel feeling kinda squishy and starting to slide. The suspension at zero give, fully compressed.

At this point the chase has gone on for approximately 20 to 30 minutes, so my friend smartly decides to take the red glasses off and let him go, counting his lucky stars that he still has a license. He says softly in his helmet; we will meet again Mr Mercedes, but probably not. You are not long for this earth man.

[SHIVA]

I'd put that in the K1200GT section as a Ride Report...

PS: never let cagers win, unless they are crazy...

[CDP]

I'd put that in the K1200GT section as a Ride Report...

PS: never let cagers win, unless they are crazy...

This cage was just plain faster than the bike -


http://www.mbusa.com/models/main.do?modelCode=ML63

The bike could've taken the car off the line, but the all out speed of that Merc was incredible (508 horsepower).

ps- this guy was indeed crazy.

[SHIVA]

kewl story and great write up...

[whitey222]

...any decent car with a decent driver will outrun a bike in the twisties. It's all to do with the amount of rubber on the road, and less to do with ponies under the bonnet.

Still, rocketing away from expensive european sportscars at the lights is a lot of fun. Not that I condone such immature behavior.

[Jamie (RIP)]

You are correct there Graham.

Although I must state that this Forum does not condone street racing nor are the views expressed by individual members necessarily in line with the Forum’s mission statement. Now with formalities out of the way…………….

also think it’s a principle thing not to let an over eager sportscar driver experience the satisfaction of outrunning a bike on short stints, and they almost always think they can even if they don't drive a full blown sportscar.....the likes of the 2 litre turbocharged jobbies. Someone I know very well, who incidentally also rides a K1200S, had a brush with such a Lambo driver the other day and on pull away, up to a fairly decent speed, the K outran the Lambo – or so I’m told.

On the open road at speeds of 200 and plenty, the car simply flew by the bike in a flash – again so I’m told.

One lesson I have learned very early, is not to take on a sportscar in the twisties……not on any bike…..your are going to come off second best……either way.

Always good to pick the opponents. The German versions with the 250km/h restrictions make for ideal customers.

but as you also said, not that I would ever display such immature behavior

[SHIVA]

sport bikes 0-60mph 2.8 seconds
million dollar sport cars 0-60 around 4 seconds.

we always have them at stop lights. S

[SHIVA]

Although I must state that this Forum does not condone street racing

I am not sure what you are talking about Jamie. We condemn motorcycle pussies and those who ride like one and we condone spirited riding in all its incarnations. This is not a F650 discussion forum, it's the K and S bike forum. We are the home for the most ferocious BMWs on the planet.

When it comes to hot toys people are in two categories:

1- You can be like one of those ladies who drive a Porsche Cayenne Turbo and never ever go above 70MPH and basically drive it like a Minivan.
2- You can be a healthy, skilled male rider who uses his toys the way they were designed to be used.

I pick 2. Which do you pick?

[Jamie (RIP)]

Well you read my post and you decide which one I’m picking.

Although tongue in the cheek, I was simply saying the “correct” thing to protect the forum before openly punting illegal activities.

If it’s not a problem with you, it certainly is not a problem with me……makes it easier, won’t have to think about covering the bases in future before writing

[SHIVA]

Of course I knew you'd pick 2. it's not a problem. people used to bench race at pubs and bars and now they keyboard race on BBs. I have no issues with it... S

[whitey222]

We condemn motorcycle pussies and those who ride like one and we condone spirited riding in all its incarnations.

Luv your work Shiva !!!
You should put that quote on the website's front page.

1- You can be like one of those ladies who drive a Porsche Cayenne Turbo and never ever go above 70MPH and basically drive it like a Minivan.

Which reminds me of a funny experience...

Last year, I popped into a service station for fuel. At the adjacent pump was an obviously well-to-do lady in a late model BMW M3.

She hailed me over - "You look like you might know something about cars" she said (despite the fact that I was on a bike ) "Do you know what this means ?". She pointed to a warning light on the dash.

Me: "You're running low on oil, pop the bonnet and I'll check it for you".

Her: "How do I do that ?, my husband usually looks after that kind of thing."

I opened the bonnet, briefly drooled at the German powerplant inside, and checked the dipstick.

Me: "It's a tad low alright. You just need to add another litre - Come inside and I'll show you which brand of oil to add."

Her: "I don't think you can't just use any brand of oil !!, it's a BMW !!!"

Me: "No problem, I'm sure there will be a high performance oil in the shop that will be suitable".

She insists on calling her husband at home to seek his extensive mechanical expertise. Apparently hubby also drives an M3 - they bought the two cars together! Sadly, Hubby has no idea what weight of oil to use either... His owner's manual only mentions BMW branded oil. He insists on calling BMW's 24-hour Assistance Line before risking his wife's engine on a lowly non-BMW branded oil. BMW Assistance set him straight, and we buy a litre of the stuff I was going to get 15 minutes earlier.

Her - looking at the shaft she earlier watched me extract the dipstick from: "How are you going to pour the oil into that tiny tube without making a mess ?".

Me - trying not to laugh out loud: "I'm not... the oil goes in here."

Her - "ha ha, you can tell I don't know much about cars"

Me - in my head "No shit !!!"


Anyhow, the oil went in and the warning light went out. All was right in the universe once more. She thanked me and offered me some cash to buy lunch. I made the obligatory polite refusal, but accepted her money when she insisted.

She drove out of the driveway at snail pace, and I knew then and there that hubby probably drives the same way.

I couldn't help but feel sorry for all the real drivers out there who dream about owning such a car, but can't afford one. The world is an unjust place.

[FreedomRider]

I couldn't help but feel sorry for all the real drivers out there who dream about owning such a car, but can't afford one. The world is an unjust place.

I SOOOOO agree.

Ya get some capitalist profiteer in a new BMW M3 driving 6.7 miles round trip a day from his Spyglass Hill home to his Newport Center Drive office and the car never gets above 57MPH. When I DRIVE it's a VW Golf TDI, and I can guarantee a minimum of 150 miles before I roll back into my garage. Granted; feeding that 8000 RPM V8 at today’s gas prices would suck harder than the throttle intakes on the M3; but I could sure appreciate the performance and comfort far more continuously and gratefully than Mr. Hedgefund EVER will.
Shit!! I'd be deliriously happy with a 330d

[scrannel]

Two observations on all this:

1) My son and I were coming down from No. California, through Big Sur, in our new C6 convertible. A kid in a 911, passes everyone, (almost took out a bike) and plants on my ass. Son looks at me, knows I can drive. I do nothing, and chimpanzee finally passes. I explain to him about pearls before swine... If you know you're an excellent driver you don't have to prove it to fools, because then, you're the fool.

2) Bikes can't beat sports cars? My wife beats AMGs every day on her Vespa on the way to market on Pacific Coast Highway. They're jammed in traffic and she just splits the lanes! And you know, sometimes the AMGs are still there when she's coming back.