It has been a slow summer for 'challengers'. Maybe its the heat. Maybe said heat has been making me oblivious. Either way, I haven't had a good automotive adrenalin rush in the form of a challenger for quite a while, until this morning.

While on my way to grab some Sunday morning coffee with the boys, I am scooting along heading for the freeway. When I glance in my rear view, make out a motorcycle ...and he's reeling me in pretty quickly. Now, if your not familiar with the rear view from a Challenge Stradale..... you look through a perspex window with 2 carbon fiber cross members. This always makes accurately assessing what's back there, a bit of a guess. It's not as bad as an F40, but still tough. Knowing how fast I was going, and how quickly he was gaining on me, made me wonder if it might have been one of our local gendarme, so I slowed. However, as he approached it was clear that it was some sort of Japanese sport bike.

I didn't pay much attention, until he pulled even with me and threw a wheelie. We are about 200 yards from a decreasing radius on ramp that you really have to finesse to get right. Let's see watcha got, kid!

I have to admit as said KawaSuziyama began to lift his front wheel, I kind of anticipated his next move, and blipped down 3 gears, to give me a fighting chance..... and if he's like most squids, that decreasing radius corner will have him crying for mommy if he over cooks it.

He drops the front wheel down and starts in ernest for the corner, but I'm right in the meat of the power band and on the gas! ..... he ain't going anywhere, and we've got a technical corner coming.

I place myself so that all I need to do is lift to set the chassis as I turn in for the apex, and roll onto the loud pedal. As anticipated, squid boy turned in a bit too soon, and with a Challenge Stradale firmly planted (albeit on a different line) on his rear wheel, he had to lift because he turned in too soon, otherwise he would have been heading for the weeds. Perhaps, he didn't think I stood a chance. Maybe, he should have been checking the road, rather than his mirrors that were full of Ferrari. Either way, I was threatening to gather him up, so I gave him a bit of room to get things straight.

He is on the outside of the corner, and I am once again in the power band and on it! He wasn't going anywhere, and we are now approaching speeds on a bike where as wind resistance builds, the size of one's attachments needs to build as well. This is usually where they are tucking and trying to not be too overwhelmed. He was tucked, and probably a bit overwhelmed.

He begins to fade on the near side of a ton and a half. Whereas I am just upshifting to 5th, and my downforce is coming into play........ I walk away, with him still trying and probably sweating. I don't lift until see that the double ton is drawing near. The KawaSuziyama was just a spec.

I drop back down to a reasonable pace, and here comes KawaSuziyama boy. I kind of thought that he was going to do the fly by. But instead, he pulled next to me, raised his visor and gave me a nod and a thumbs up. I returned the gesture. All this fun has ruined my perfectly timed commute to the coffee shop. Much to my buddy's surprise, I was waiting for them.... for a change!

 

Very entertaining and detailed report. Certainly a properly specced and driven car like yours will have the edge through most corners.

 

Great story, and it's always nice when the guys actually make the effort to acknowledge their bikes aren't always invincible. Most crotch rocket owners dont realize what some cars are capable of from a roll.....and that their advantage diminishes rapidly as their speeds increase. Ive done a decent amount of 80-140/160mph roll ons with bikes and I've never been "dusted".....most recently an R1 from 80-150ish.....he was glued to my drivers side door up to about 140.....then I was slowly pulling away from him before we had to get out of it. And just like your victim, he pulled beside me at the next light, raised his visor, pointed to the v12 badge on the side of my car and gave me a thumbs up....all the while shaking his head in disbelief. Just for the record this was in my tuned 220 65. And nothing against sport bikes, love em......hence my board name. I was one of those "green" guys for many years....

 

Not many street going guys can do the curves on a bike. I have a modded GSXR1000 and it gets positively stomped by some friends with 1000+ rwhp cars. It's fun to get the jump on them, though, until the turbos get spooling.