Chris Harris on his new 1299S Pani

Chris Harris on his new 1299S Pani

Author
Discussion

BlackPrince

Original Poster:

1,271 posts

168 months

Wednesday 26th August 2015
quotequote all
https://grrc.goodwood.com/road/drives-and-rides/ch...

Interesting that he got one less than a year after passing his test. I haven't ridden the 1299 or the 1199 but in his position and possibly even mine now, I'd have gone for the 899 but his money, etc.

I for one think its great. If more supercar owners got into bikes even just to ride their 1199 Superleggera, or even 1299S or MV Agusta F4RR through Knightsbridge and then home again, there'd be a bit less antipathy and perhaps even hatred for bikes.


LiquidGnome

551 posts

120 months

Wednesday 26th August 2015
quotequote all
This bike would scare the crap out of me. Looks amazing though.


BlackPrince

Original Poster:

1,271 posts

168 months

Wednesday 26th August 2015
quotequote all
LiquidGnome said:
This bike would scare the crap out of me. Looks amazing though.
Irony being you've probably been riding longer than Harris, so it probably scares the crap out of him more than it would you and he owns the bloody thing

LiquidGnome

551 posts

120 months

Wednesday 26th August 2015
quotequote all
BlackPrince said:
LiquidGnome said:
This bike would scare the crap out of me. Looks amazing though.
Irony being you've probably been riding longer than Harris, so it probably scares the crap out of him more than it would you and he owns the bloody thing
I have indeed...5 times longer! He is obviously a very experienced driver though so he's probably better equipped than most new riders to handle that kind of performance. 205hp though!! Madness...

Mastodon2

13,818 posts

164 months

Wednesday 26th August 2015
quotequote all
BlackPrince said:
LiquidGnome said:
This bike would scare the crap out of me. Looks amazing though.
Irony being you've probably been riding longer than Harris, so it probably scares the crap out of him more than it would you and he owns the bloody thing
But the point of the article is that they're not scary to ride though..

BlackPrince

Original Poster:

1,271 posts

168 months

Wednesday 26th August 2015
quotequote all
Mastodon2 said:
But the point of the article is that they're not scary to ride though..
Fair enough but I somehow doubt that Chris has given it the berries the way an experienced rider would be able to. I don't think its possible to make something which has 2 wheels and a better power to weight ratio than all but the fastest Koenigsegg, not scary to ride at all [by comparison w/ the car world that is]

Kawasicki

13,041 posts

234 months

Wednesday 26th August 2015
quotequote all
BlackPrince said:
Fair enough but I somehow doubt that Chris has given it the berries the way an experienced rider would be able to. I don't think its possible to make something which has 2 wheels and a better power to weight ratio than all but the fastest Koenigsegg, not scary to ride at all [by comparison w/ the car world that is]
it's got full abs, traction & wheelie control...what is left to be scared of.

BlackPrince

Original Poster:

1,271 posts

168 months

Wednesday 26th August 2015
quotequote all
Kawasicki said:
it's got full abs, traction & wheelie control...what is left to be scared of.
Are there any vehicles, 2-wheeled or 4, sold in 2015 that are scary by your definition then?

On the BMW S1000RR I test-rode that had all the electronics on, it still lifted the wheel (okay a bit) when given the berries, to a lot of riders that would be scary

legzr1

3,843 posts

138 months

Wednesday 26th August 2015
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Indeed.

And all that trickery means you get out of one corner and approach the next at quite a decent rate.

moanthebairns

17,918 posts

197 months

Wednesday 26th August 2015
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Eh utter socket...is it not tool.

Kawasicki

13,041 posts

234 months

Wednesday 26th August 2015
quotequote all
BlackPrince said:
Are there any vehicles, 2-wheeled or 4, sold in 2015 that are scary by your definition then?

On the BMW S1000RR I test-rode that had all the electronics on, it still lifted the wheel (okay a bit) when given the berries, to a lot of riders that would be scary
I haven't driven a car or ridden a bike that I found scary in a long time. Scary for me is a significant chance that something will go wrong, in an unpredictable manner.

So a shed of a car with a steering rack that could fail on the way into a bend in a forest at 50 mph is scary. A motorbike in excellent mechanical condition with 300 bhp that has been set up by engineers to be very predictable and easy to ride is not scary, it's fun. Of course I need to slow for poor conditions/corners/traffic, but besides that what else is there to be scared of?

LiquidGnome

551 posts

120 months

Wednesday 26th August 2015
quotequote all
Kawasicki said:
I haven't driven a car or ridden a bike that I found scary in a long time. Scary for me is a significant chance that something will go wrong, in an unpredictable manner.

So a shed of a car with a steering rack that could fail on the way into a bend in a forest at 50 mph is scary. A motorbike in excellent mechanical condition with 300 bhp that has been set up by engineers to be very predictable and easy to ride is not scary, it's fun. Of course I need to slow for poor conditions/corners/traffic, but besides that what else is there to be scared of?
That is a fair point. I would certainly feel out of my depth on a such a powerful bike though.

LoonR1

26,988 posts

176 months

Wednesday 26th August 2015
quotequote all
Kawasicki said:
I haven't driven a car or ridden a bike that I found scary in a long time. Scary for me is a significant chance that something will go wrong, in an unpredictable manner.

So a shed of a car with a steering rack that could fail on the way into a bend in a forest at 50 mph is scary. A motorbike in excellent mechanical condition with 300 bhp that has been set up by engineers to be very predictable and easy to ride is not scary, it's fun. Of course I need to slow for poor conditions/corners/traffic, but besides that what else is there to be scared of?
Not even a dirt bike at weekends?

Kawasicki

13,041 posts

234 months

Wednesday 26th August 2015
quotequote all
LoonR1 said:
Not even a dirt bike at weekends?
OK, you got me there.

I had a dirt bike for a few years, I sold it late last year. It scared me a few times, mainly because I'm not a very good rider and there is no safety net besides a good helmet and the will to not spend a lot of time in hospital/be there for my wife and kids.

I also drove a few cars in the last few years that scared me. Mostly because they weren't very good, or because I thought I was the first person to actually try something in that particular car.

Anyway, I still stand by my opinion that a high performance motorbike with well tuned state of the art safety systems is not scary. I would be much less concerned riding at my (not great) level on a panigale than an original R1.

LoonR1

26,988 posts

176 months

Wednesday 26th August 2015
quotequote all
Kawasicki said:
OK, you got me there.

I had a dirt bike for a few years, I sold it late last year. It scared me a few times, mainly because I'm not a very good rider and there is no safety net besides a good helmet and the will to not spend a lot of time in hospital/be there for my wife and kids.

I also drove a few cars in the last few years that scared me. Mostly because they weren't very good, or because I thought I was the first person to actually try something in that particular car.

Anyway, I still stand by my opinion that a high performance motorbike with well tuned state of the art safety systems is not scary. I would be much less concerned riding at my (not great) level on a panigale than an original R1.
I ink you're overplaying the value and impact of the electronic aids on modern bikes. They won't save you from yourself and they can't beat the laws of physics. They make some things easier, but also some stuff harder. I spent today at Donington in my roadbike to see how it compared to my trackbike and the TC was too intrusive and stopped the rear spinning when I actually wanted it to.

Either way, I'll guarantee that a well sorted bike will still scare you when you're doing 150 and are 100 yards from a brick wall directly in front of you wink

gwm

2,390 posts

143 months

Wednesday 26th August 2015
quotequote all
From the article it sounds like he has just tootled around on it, so no wonder it feels safe and easy. It'll be that one time he takes a bit of liberty and he freezes up that it'll scare him. Like Loon says, the electronic aids can't stop you from riding into oncoming traffic cos you've gone too fast round a corner.


Richyboy

3,739 posts

216 months

Wednesday 26th August 2015
quotequote all
IMO 1299 is easier to ride than the 899. If you stick the wheelie control on a high setting, you can pin the throttle in first and the front stays down. Also you can grab the brakes in the corner and the cornering abs will hopefully take care of you in the dry. The danger is to your licence probably, how far you twist the throttle (but its a nice bike to ride at normal speeds).

SteveSteveson

3,209 posts

162 months

Wednesday 26th August 2015
quotequote all
gwm said:
From the article it sounds like he has just tootled around on it, so no wonder it feels safe and easy. It'll be that one time he takes a bit of liberty and he freezes up that it'll scare him. Like Loon says, the electronic aids can't stop you from riding into oncoming traffic cos you've gone too fast round a corner.
Ye, that's what a lot of new riders with an attitude of "I have driven fast cars" or "its only as fast as you want to go" don't seem to realise. Fast bikes might be safer than they have ever been, but ultimately nothing but experience will prevent you from panicking when you go in to a corner a little to fast or highsideing by grabbing a handful of break when the back slips mid corner. No matter how much of a driving God you are and how good bikes are fast bikes can still bite and small bikes are much more forgiving.

He may be fine, but buying that bike is just willy waving, unless he has been riding a lot of miles on smaller bikes in the mean time. Saying "it feels safe" completely misses the point and the risk. No modern bike should feel unsafe or frightening under normal use. It's when things go wrong or you push it that shows what the bike is about.

Esceptico

7,334 posts

108 months

Thursday 27th August 2015
quotequote all
Modern superbikes are like modern supercars: very easy to ride/drive at normal road speeds and their electronics save you from many sorts of cackhanded behaviour. I've driven a Ferrari 458 and it is no more scary or difficult than a Ford Focus. Actually easier to drive as there is no clutch and manual box to worry about.

Similarly my S 1000 R can be a complete pussy cat: smooth throttle response, soaks up the bumps, lets you do nice (low) power wheelies and the TC helps in slippery conditions.

If you drove/rode normally (ie obeying speed limits and not exploiting the grip available in corners) they can be driven/ridden by those with very average or even less than average ability with no problems at all. At least with supercars that is how most are actually driven (to buy a new Ferrari 458
the size of your bank account is much more important than your driving ability - which is good because lawyers, accountants and bankers are not necessarily brilliant drivers!)

If you drive/ride supercars/superbikes and try to make use of all the performance available then they are very different beasts and as noted above by Loon and others, they can very quickly highlight your shortcomings and no amount of electronics is going to get you around a corner if you have massively overestimated the entry speed or save you from a suicidal overtake.

rat840771

2,023 posts

164 months

Thursday 27th August 2015
quotequote all
You give my old analogue GSXR too much beans out of a corner, it could spit you off!

I'm intrigued to know how good these aids are at preventing high sides etc, I can only assume that you can bank it over into a corner and be a lot more aggressive and let the aids do the work ( can you drift like stoner). If I had paid north of £14k for a bike I wouldn't like to test out that theory. Ill never forget Pedrosa being spat off in a race as some sensor had been damaged on the bike, this highlighted how dependent they are on the electronic aids.