Why a Car Enthusiast Should Like Motorcycles

Cars and motorcycles, they really couldn't be any more different from one another. Apples and oranges, cats and dogs, men and women, are all things which are similarly dissimilar. So why bother and ask the question why a car enthusiast should, or would, like a motorcycle? The obvious answer for many of you would be that there are no reasons since the two are so contrasting. However, being a huge car enthusiast and also an avid motorcycle rider myself, I've come to a realization as to why I love bikes.

We’re in a time where all classes of cars have been injected with steroids. A time where a grandmother’s sedan can have more power than a Ferrari of yesteryear. This has made it more and more difficult for enthusiasts to exploit the limits of their cars to have fun. If they were to, they’d either be sentenced to death for excessive speeding, or they’d instantaneously crash their cars, because the majority of drivers aren’t Ken Block. So, to tame all of those steroid-enhanced horses, clever engineers have developed so many electronic driver’s aids, that I would literally bore you to tears if I wrote them all out along with their ludicrous acronyms. These driver aids, coupled with hybridization and the near elimination of clutch-and-shifter manual transmissions, have led to a duller driving experience. Unless you’re an Arab Sheikh, you’ll most likely never experience the truly fun and pulse-raising hybrids like the P1, 918, and LaFerrari.

Car enthusiasts exist because at some point in their life, they've had a visceral experience with a car, making them feel a certain way. Whether it was the satisfaction of nailing several manual shifts in succession, hearing the engine and exhaust scream in unison towards redline, having a surge of adrenaline as the car takes a little unexpected shimmy while going around a corner, or seeing in person the beautiful design of a mid-90’s Ford Musta… I’m only kidding. Many of these raw experiences are becoming harder and harder to encounter with new cars. You want to nail shifts in a modern day car? Sorry, but the only thing you may ever nail in today’s car is a girl, because 7+ gear transmissions controllable by steering wheel mounted paddle shifters are the new thing. You want to listen to your engine’s delicious intake/exhaust sound like the e46 m3’s? Too bad, turbocharging and downsizing of engines are here to stay. The one thing that is still largely unaffected is the ability to gorge your eyes with beautiful cars. But who knows, that too may change one day. And what’s with the development of autonomous driving? Are they joking? Do we not waste enough time as it is “socially connecting”?

This all helps me explain why motorcycles are great and should be appreciated by car enthusiasts. They are possibly the last bastion of the man + machine connection, where every minute input has a definite result. Move the handlebars a millimeter, and the whole bike moves. Pair that with your body, which you maneuver around the bike when turning, and it really is man and machine working together in perfect harmony. Gears are still changed manually, and driver focus is required at all times. It’s no place for texting, tweet-booking, or snap-gramming with a girl you will never get. Also, motorcycles allow the rider to enjoy over 14,000 revs, with every single one of them ready to bring you as much joy as possible. And how illogical is it to dump thousands and thousands of dollars in a car to make it faster, when someone on a bone-stock superbike – purchased for a fraction of the cost as your highly tuned car – will blow your car into the middle of last week? Unless, of course, you’re one of the aforementioned Sheikhs with a P1 at your disposal. There has always been some sort of divide between car and motorcycle enthusiasts, with each party vehemently arguing their side is better. But now, we may have entered a time where car nuts and bike riders can sit at the same table, for I have brought us together.