Traffic Light GP - motorcycle launch control
We all do it. Even if we don’t admit it. Traffic light racing. Silly and purile maybe, but when another bikes lines up alongside and the lights turn green, you going to just let him go? How to do it. And the best bikes to do it on...
Posted: 7 June 2009
by John Hogan
Anyone that has ever pulled up at a set of lights on a motorbike has experienced the feeling. Acceleration. It’s what bikes were made for. There’s someone next to you with the same idea. I’m gonna beat you. Whether you care to admit it or not, we all race away from traffic lights. Even if you decide not to get involved, you secretly knew you could beat that rider over there. As such, you’re still involved. There’s a genuine rush to be had from tramping away first from a set of lights, but why do we enjoy it? We spoke to Martin Poole from Pro Performance, a sports science consultancy. Martin has helped top level racers conquer their pschyological barriers, so he was the perfect person to explain why we race.
“That genuine rush that you seek is called ephinerine, also known as adrenaline,” he says. “It’s a chemical produced by your body that prepares you for action. Oxygen flow to the brain is increased, your heart rate quickens and your pupils dilate. It’s commonly referred to as ‘Fight or Flight.’” And that’s what you’re doing when you get the butterflies at the lights when someone else pulls alongside. Are you going to fight him, or roll over and let him win?
“Whether you win or lose you will want more,” continues Martin. “Beat someone from the lights and your body will start to associate the feel-good-feeling because you got the adrenaline, and it will send you out to look for more. Get beaten and your body will forge a link between adrenaline and the need to compete to try and feel the feeling again. But as you get older your body doesn’t accept the influx of adrenaline in the same way as when you were in your prime.” Which explains why older riders don’t feel the need to race away from every set of lights. You’ve got no juice left in you.
So if you are going to race away from every set of lights like Casey Stoner, best equip yourself with the right hardware. We chose our bikes, and riders, from the cross-section of motorcycling. Representing sheer straightline speed, Kawasaki’s ZZR1400. Proper heavy fast thing. In the sportsbike corner is Honda’s CBR1000, the most technically-advanced Japanese superbike currently available. You want pure muscle? Triumph’s Rocket III has got more guts than most know what to do with, while Suzuki’s daft-looking B-King packs Hayabusa punch. And just to test whether acceleration is all about massive horsepower or more about the rider behind the throttle, we threw in a 675cc Street Triple.
Our test riders are as varied as the bikes themselves. From one of the fastest drag racers in the UK, Steve Venables, to staff and a lad who’s only just learned to ride, we wanted to find out who is quickest on what. Ready? Because the lights just turned amber...
Continue the Traffic Light GP - Kawasaki ZZR1400
Steve Venables The best drag racer in the UK. Proper, proper quick off the lights
Simon Bowen Old hand at riding anything, quicker than he looks. And older
John Hogan Reasonably experienced, though not as quick as his boots suggest
Ben Cope Internet legend who would race the wind if nobody else was about
Luke Williams Only a year road-riding, so by far the least experienced of the lot
 MPG, price, review, for sale, parts, forum, specs, top speed, tyres, specifications, bhp, kawasaki zzr1400, suzuki bking, honda cbr1000rr fireblade, triumph street triple, rocket 3, rocket iii, horsepower, pictures, seat height, oil, uk, exhaust
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Discuss this story
So the ST3 is nearly half the price of some of these bikes, near as dammit as quick (indeed, quicker than most of them), sounds better, handles better in most real world situations, doesnt necessitate dressing up like a gay Power Ranger to look like you fit the bike, and gives you a lot more satisfaction, and better value for money... Minor uprated clutch and some lightweight parts for pennies and then you are humiliating litre sportsbikes with all the top end rush and no low down triple grunt.. Plus - you dont look like a muppet in an out and out sports bike in town (where these traffic light GP actually occur...!) where your handling at slow speed and visibility is compromised compared to a more upright position.. I take that as a "real world" win all round.. no thanks to the other bikes (other than the zzr1400 as a second bike for all round work with emphasis on longer distances).. So clearly, it IS what you do with it that counts.. Half the bhp and torque does not appear to count for much in the real world.. weird huh.. 
Posted: 10/06/2009 at 15:43
SD you're completely right...the Triumph gets the 'real world win'...if your world consists entirely of 'traffic light GPs'... Me, I'm a grown adult and as such couldn't care less about such frivolities. I need my bikes to work every day, I need my engines to last more than 10000 miles and my paint to last more than a year, I need my bikes to go round corners and on motorways, and most of all I like to scream the tits off them without constant fear of breaking them Quote from a Triumph dealer I spoke to about a 675 'don't rev it too hard...it don't like that too much...we've had a few go pop (this was a loan bike while mine was in for service)'.
Posted: 10/06/2009 at 19:35
I'm not sure I can stand the excitement of an impending argument with another Triumph nutcase. It always starts with some ridiculous post about how much better Triumph's are than anything else, ever. They MUST be insecure to make such posts. Or work for Triumph. It must be one of the two, anything else makes no sense. Because in reality, they are a bit crap.
Posted: 11/06/2009 at 09:34
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