Sports car to Bike

Author
Discussion

Revels101

20 posts

140 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
quotequote all
Hooli said:
LordFlathead said:
This. And since when is an Integra a "sportscar" laugh
My first thought too!
A car designed to be fun and engaging to drive and competent on track in standard form at the sacrifice of comfort and practicality, how is it not a sports car?

Opinions are great but without actual experience of the subject matter they hold little value.

As for a 125 being more engaging and fun, if you only every drive in congested cities sure i agree without a doubt. Otherwise no, just no.


LordFlathead

9,641 posts

257 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
quotequote all
It's a shopping car.

You put your shopping in it i.e. it has not been designed from the ground up to be a traditional sports car, like an MGB or an MX5 or an E-Type. If you had said, "it's a sporty car" then that might have been different.

Do a search on here there has been plenty of discussion about what defines a sports car. The last one was over 40 pages long wink

This thread will just go and go hehe

cat/pigeons



Mastodon2

13,818 posts

164 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
quotequote all
Revels101 said:
A car designed to be fun and engaging to drive and competent on track in standard form at the sacrifice of comfort and practicality, how is it not a sports car?

Opinions are great but without actual experience of the subject matter they hold little value.

As for a 125 being more engaging and fun, if you only every drive in congested cities sure i agree without a doubt. Otherwise no, just no.
It depends on your perspective I think. Personally I'd rather be on a 125 any day, and I had a Civic Type R. The DC5 is regarded as being that extra bit better, but it's a very similar experience. Inside a box, on 4 wheels, even a box with a folding roof, is going to have a hard time topping being on the outside, on two wheels. The DC5 is a quick and competent car, and if you only drive cars, it's up there in fun terms - I had a great time blasting about in my EP3, but at the end of the day, they're still not as involving or fun as two wheels. Just my opinion of course.

Revels101

20 posts

140 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
quotequote all
LordFlathead said:
It's a shopping car.

You put your shopping in it i.e. it has not been designed from the ground up to be a traditional sports car, like an MGB or an MX5 or an E-Type. If you had said, "it's a sporty car" then that might have been different.

Do a search on here there has been plenty of discussion about what defines a sports car. The last one was over 40 pages long wink

This thread will just go and go hehe

cat/pigeons
Ever driven one?
The rest is semantics and preconceptions.

Mastodon2

13,818 posts

164 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
quotequote all
Revels101 said:
Ever driven one?
The rest is semantics and preconceptions.
It is a shopping car. I love Type Rs, they are great, but it is part of a line of practical, everyday cars that were reworked into performance versions. If Honda really had wanted to build the DC5 from the ground up, it would look vastly different, wouldn't be front-engined or FWD, and would have more than 4 cylinders. They'd probably call it the NSX.

The DC5 is a great compromise of practicality and performance. Decent sized boot, FWD for safe, easy all weather handling, a fairly frugal, light and small 4 cylinder engine and FWD mean space-efficient packaging meaning plenty of interior room in the car etc. It's not some hardcore track machine - and neither is the DC2 while we're at it, a lack of NVH damping doesn't really make the Integra any less of a practical car.

LoonR1

26,988 posts

176 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
quotequote all
Revels101 said:
Ever driven one?
The rest is semantics and preconceptions.
I bought my (then) wife a new Civic a Type-R in 2005. It was a hoot but not a patch on a bike. Same went for her Impreza turbo bought new a few years later.

EvoBarry

1,903 posts

264 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
quotequote all
Ignoring the semantics over whether the DC5 is a sports car or sporty car for one moment, I've had a DC2 and currently an EP3. I ride my 2002 FZS600 to work and back every day (snow/ice aside) and the car sits on the drive for practical duties. The TypeRs are great cars but they're still cars at the end of the day, my Fazer gets me to work feeling more alive than most cars could. And if the Fazer gets boring I have the K8 waiting patiently for weekend duties smile

Get it done OP, you'll be content with a "normal" car if you have a bike to play with.

LordFlathead

9,641 posts

257 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
quotequote all
Revels101 said:
Ever driven one?
The rest is semantics and preconceptions.
Yes I have, and also a few Civic Type R's so no semantics and preconceptions there then.

I loathe front wheel drive cars with a passion and mostly my cars are RWD V8's. I don't like the whole V-Tec thing, they make bugger all torque downstairs and if you need it you have to wait around for the little motor to build up and do its thing, which by then normally means you've missed whatever opportunity was required.

They rev highly which is against my preference for lots of torque down low and lazy power. Also if you produce big gob fulls of torque down low you tend to use less fuel and create less wear which is why my 5.0 V8 Porsche has done nearly 180k miles and it is still as fresh as it was 20 years ago.

I guess I just hate Honda cars, with the exception of the NSX which is indeed a proper car but that is also because it is not front wheel drive and it is mid-engined.

I absolutely rate Honda bikes though and have had at least a dozen CBR1000 F's, again because they make a lot of torque and are bullet-proof thumbup

Golgarth

380 posts

197 months

Monday 21st April 2014
quotequote all
Once you have done your A2 have a good look at the KTM 390, needs to be dropped 1bhp by KTM to stay in the restriction, but they are a cracking ride. 390 engine in a 125 frame. Town and B road hoot. If you think the 'teg handles well wait till you start hooning on one of them.
Always preferred a unrestricted bike "feel" to a restricted bike, especially the ones with throttle restriction.

Revels101

20 posts

140 months

Monday 21st April 2014
quotequote all
LordFlathead said:
I guess I just hate Honda cars
Enough said i think.

.blue

726 posts

179 months

Monday 21st April 2014
quotequote all
Outliar said:
I love the fact you can't be day dreaming or thinking about work on a bike, you are just present in the moment, focusing on the road and traffic and your riding. Very zen!
Yes! Glad I'm not the only one that says "weird" things like this smile

Revels101

20 posts

140 months

Monday 21st April 2014
quotequote all
Mastodon2 said:
It is a shopping car. I love Type Rs, they are great, but it is part of a line of practical, everyday cars that were reworked into performance versions. If Honda really had wanted to build the DC5 from the ground up, it would look vastly different, wouldn't be front-engined or FWD, and would have more than 4 cylinders. They'd probably call it the NSX.

The DC5 is a great compromise of practicality and performance. Decent sized boot, FWD for safe, easy all weather handling, a fairly frugal, light and small 4 cylinder engine and FWD mean space-efficient packaging meaning plenty of interior room in the car etc. It's not some hardcore track machine - and neither is the DC2 while we're at it, a lack of NVH damping doesn't really make the Integra any less of a practical car.
Is the concept of a lightweight FF small displacement as anything other than a shopping trolley completely un-fathomable?
It's been done many times and many fantastic sports cars exist on the formula.

Is an "M3" (a tweaked 3 series) a sports car because of its displacement, number of cylinders or driven wheels. No, it's the whole package.

Picking at individual elements of a car and defining it though them is completely missing the point.

Anyway, i won't mess up the thread anymore.

To the OP, a 125 won't hold a candle to your current car for much more than a couple of weeks as a new rider. But they are cheap and if it's your first bike then a good starting point to get the feel of things.
I did a direct access a couple of years ago, but still have my YBR 250 as a city commuter where it's great. But i don't get much out of it going out 'for a ride' for that i take the car a DC2 smile


spareparts

6,777 posts

226 months

Monday 21st April 2014
quotequote all
On a bike, you are part of the chassis that loads your mental/sensory experience. That's what makes bike riding the adrenaline rush that it is - whether you are going 30 or 130mph, and the faster you go the greater the visual sensory experience it is.

In a car, you need to load the chassis up and go a lot faster relative to your scenery to get the same 'hit' as on a bike, and then some. A car rewards differently, but in general you need either:
1) a car chassis that loads up really quickly to the limit at slow speeds (eg, Elise/MX5/Ariel Atom etc), or
2) a car that can push the 4 wheeled boundary of speed/conditions/etc to the limit of your 'mental processing power' when being driven at speed.

And you can do (2) in any car, but having over 300hp/ton helps as things start to come at you really quickly.

Outliar

116 posts

136 months

Tuesday 22nd April 2014
quotequote all
.blue said:
Yes! Glad I'm not the only one that says "weird" things like this smile
Yep, there's more where that came from! ;-)

Outliar

116 posts

136 months

Tuesday 22nd April 2014
quotequote all
.blue said:
Yes! Glad I'm not the only one that says "weird" things like this smile
Yep, there's more where that came from! ;-)

y2blade

56,029 posts

214 months

Wednesday 23rd April 2014
quotequote all
RicharDC5 said:
I did this the other way round, sold my GSXR750 for a DC5 Integra. Brilliant car, and probably the best car I will ever own. I bought a Honda C90 in November with the intention of using it as a cheap tourer in the summer, but whenever the weather has been nice I've been on the '90 rather than in the 'teg.

Cars and bikes are too different to compare, but any bike is better than no bike at all! So do whichever test gets you on a bike for the summer.
Good post Richard.

ZesPak

24,421 posts

195 months

Wednesday 23rd April 2014
quotequote all
LordFlathead said:
It's a shopping car.

You put your shopping in it i.e. it has not been designed from the ground up to be a traditional sports car, like an MGB or an MX5 or an E-Type. If you had said, "it's a sporty car" then that might have been different.

Do a search on here there has been plenty of discussion about what defines a sports car. The last one was over 40 pages long wink

This thread will just go and go hehe

cat/pigeons
Ok, so M3 and C63 AMG owners shouldn't call their cars sports cars either?
Let's just agree to disagree here.

muffinmenace

1,029 posts

187 months

Wednesday 23rd April 2014
quotequote all
Is the DC5 a coupe or hatchback?

wobble

Obiwonkeyblokey

5,399 posts

239 months

Wednesday 23rd April 2014
quotequote all
I had been off bikes for a few years and had a Audi S4 and a TVR Cerbera, life was good

had a go on a 675, bought one, sold S4 and Cerbera.

now have a blade and an old diesel Merc, couldn't be happier.

...oh and a aprillia 125 scooter which is a hoot for commuting in the summer and saves a fortune over driving.

biggrin

sc0tt

18,032 posts

200 months

Wednesday 23rd April 2014
quotequote all
ZesPak said:
LordFlathead said:
It's a shopping car.

You put your shopping in it i.e. it has not been designed from the ground up to be a traditional sports car, like an MGB or an MX5 or an E-Type. If you had said, "it's a sporty car" then that might have been different.

Do a search on here there has been plenty of discussion about what defines a sports car. The last one was over 40 pages long wink

This thread will just go and go hehe

cat/pigeons
Ok, so M3 and C63 AMG owners shouldn't call their cars sports cars either?
Let's just agree to disagree here.
I once went to Tesco in a 348.