On The Track
During our test day at Glen Helen Raceway, Ox pushed both the bike and truck to their limits. As unbelievable as this may sound, lap after lap, both the truck and bike finished with the exact same time, 53.1 seconds. Dirt Rider Editor Jimmy Lewis took a turn around the track on the bike to see how we would compare to Ox, finishing with an impressive time of 53.2 seconds. His time behind the wheel of the SuperLite was around 20 seconds behind Ox, but in his defense, Jimmy is a bike guy first and foremost.
Both the bike and truck had advantages and disadvantages on the short course track. The bike accelerated quicker through the flat sections and whoops but did suffer from its suspension being set up for Baja, resulting in a lack of stability coming through turns. Having four tires on the ground helped the truck drift through corners with ease and being setup for this terrain, the truck did not suffer any suspension-packing issues, soaring over each jump. In the end, the bike slightly outran the truck into the turns, where the truck caught the bike every time.
Ownership Rights
As much as we begged, Jeff didn’t let us take his SuperLite or CRF450X home for the weekend. So, we don’t feel it would be fair to talk about how each of these machines did away from the track. Having owned both bikes and trucks over the years, we can assemble a list of what we think are the good and bad points of owning both vehicles for the average Joe. To be fair, we chose the same number of each for both even though we could think of another 10 reasons why we love trucks.
We staged a flat drag race to see which would win in a straight line. The bike has a sligh
Dirt Bike: Pros & Cons
- + Lightweight machine that can go anywhere if you have the skills
- + Lower initial cost versus a truck
- + Easy transport
- + Less maintenance
- + Cheaper to race
- - You are more likely to get injured
- - Takes more time getting suited up, even for short rides
- - Riding alone is not advised
- - Need to constantly watch out for much larger vehicles on the trail
- - A small problem could stop your entire ride
Prerunner Truck: Pros & Cons
- + In addition to safety belts, race seats, and a helmet, you’re surrounded by a rollcage
- + You can take friends for a ride
- + Easy to carry additional fuel and supplies for long excursions
- + Possible to drive your truck to the desert and back
- + Air conditioning and heater
- - Higher cost of maintenance and fuel consumption
- - Initial build cost can be very high
- - Expensive to race
- - Can be difficult to work on
- - Tow cost if you break down
Power to Weight Showdown
After the day concluded we were curious about power-to-weight ratio and if that was the reason the bike kept pulling away from the truck in the flat. The bike did end up with a slight advantage, but not by much.
SuperLite truck weight: 2,550 pounds
SuperLite truck horsepower: 250 hp
JCR/Honda CRF450X bike weight: 279 pounds
JCR/Honda CRF450X bike horsepower: 56 hp
Jeff “Ox” Kargola weight: 200 pounds
Truck power to weight ratio: 0.0909 hp/lb
Bike power to weight ratio: 0.1169 hp/lb
Curious what the bike guys had to say? Head out to your favorite newsstand and pick up the September issue of Dirt Rider. We have a new found respect for our bike friends. We first thought the short-course truck would make short work of the bike on the track. We’ll still choose a truck on any given day, but it wouldn’t be horrible to have a bike in tow as backup.
-
The SuperLite flew through corners with ease, never needing to let up on the throttle. Hav
-
After the day was done, Jeff pulled out his trick bike and put on a show. Not many guys ca
-
|
|
General Tire
1800 Continental Drive
Charlotte
NC
28288
800-847-3349
www.generaltire.com
|
Superlite Champsionship
9716 South Virgina Street
Reno
NV
89511
1-888-787-3761
http://www.superlitechampionship
.com
|
JCR Honda
160 Iglesia
Suite 103
San Clemente
CA
92672
http://www.jcrhonda.com
| |