We're reaching a crossroads where superbikes aren't always the fastest-accelerating machines on the road anymore. Getting these bikes off the line anywhere near their quoted 0-60 mph times takes a lot of skill, even with the launch control systems fitted to newer bikes.
But some electric vehicles have the same or faster acceleration times to 60 mph, and all it takes to get there is stamping your right foot. This is borderline dangerous, as we've seen some EV drivers who have little experience and something to prove, try to take on motorcyclists who don't want to race.
But that's a story for another day.
What we need to find out is whether the semi-attainable superbikes are still up to the task of dismantling sporty EVs off the line. Enter six-time World Superbike (WSBK) winner Jonathan Rea on his $33,000 Yamaha R1 GYTR, on which he drag races his brother in a Porsche Taycan GTS.
The R1 GYTR is very similar to a regular R1M, putting out around 200 horsepower and stopping the scales at around 440 lbs. We're not sure what the R1 GYTR's 0-60 mph time is, but Rea states that on his WSBK he can hit 60 mph on his WSBK-spec bike, which "is about 2.7 seconds if I nail the start right."
The Taycan, which cost more than $173,000, hits 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, thanks to the 590 HP on tap and its launch control feature. The thing is, Rea won't be using any electronics to aid his start. It's about feel. And all it takes to ruin a good quarter-mile time on a 200 HP superbike is for your clutch engagement to be off by a few millimeters.
But this is Jonathan Rea, the most winningest WSBK rider of all time. And he shows there's still a place for superbikes amongst the EVs with sub-four second 0-60 times, as he smokes the Taycan not once, but twice.
But the most interesting part of this video to this writer is how enamored Rea's father-in-law was with the Taycan's acceleration, only for Rea to go so much faster and feel almost nothing. He gives us a rare insight into how a top motorsport athlete perceives speed compared to one of us normies.
Rea explains that he took his father-in-law out in the Taycan GTS and let him experience the launch control,
In fact, my father-in-law was here this week and I did it for him just on a little back road here. Like 0-60, it made him feel sick, like really sick... and when I see the footage... from the Insta X4 camera on my rear seat unit, it was mad how much I dropped the car, and that doesn't feel fast, like that does not feel fast on a motorbike.
The question this leaves me wondering is for the motorcyclists among us.
When you get behind the wheel or into the passenger seat of a fast car, do you feel the same exhilaration as most people, or have you been spoiled by the performance of motorcycles? Let us know your thoughts.
