It's getting more complicated enjoy our vehicles on open roads to traffic. On the one hand, because today's sports cars are so efficient in curves that, to enjoy and timidly approach their limits, you have to reach very high speeds; and on the other, because it is easy to come across a helicopter or a tripod that is there to ensure your safety. To this we must add that there are fewer and fewer real sports cars at an affordable price.
The point is that, fortunately, there are still some vehicles relatively affordable price with whom to have a good time on secondary roads without the need to go to driver's license withdrawal rates. Yes, they are few, but some remain. The fact is that, as we have verified during these days, we can obtain that pleasure both on four wheels and on two, testing a Mazda MX-5 and a BMW R nineT Racer. What do you think?
First of all, I want to make it clear that This is not a performance comparison. between two specific models, but rather a comparison of sensations, advantages and disadvantages that a sports car and convertible, such as the Mazda MX-5, offers us compared to a motorcycle, such as the BMW R nineT Racer. But I repeat, we do not want to focus specifically on the models that accompany us, but on the concepts.
Car or motorcycle?
We talk about two ways to feel the road and enjoy it to the fullest without having to resort to very powerful vehicles or, directly, to rent a few batches in a circuit. If today I had to buy a passionate, sporty, fun car with an acceptable acquisition and maintenance price, I would clearly bet on a concept like the Mazda MX-5. And it is that, for something is the best selling roadster on the planet. Of course, for taste, I would not opt for the retractable hard top (MX-5 RF), but for the canvas one, the SF variant.
Anyway, and as the bikers say, no car is capable of transmitting those sensations so pure that you feel when riding a motorcycle. We'll see later if we can absolutely trust that statement, but for now I can assure you that price and fun, or price and feel, whatever you want to call it, clearly falls in favor of the bike. While for an MX-5 you have to pay about 25.000 euros to start, a motorcycle close to 100 hp that already offers a lot of fun costs approximately a third of that amount.
Sensations of a sports car
I must admit that I love it and am a faithful defender of Mazda MX-5 Concept. It is a very car light, of contained dimensions, with a mechanical not too powerful that sends its energy to rear train, a very direct direction and a short manual change of developments. In addition, it does not use large tires or a too rigid setting of the suspensions.
This recipe is a sure hit, and so it has been seen in four generations. Being light, it is not necessary to opt for a very powerful engine that significantly increases the cost of production and fuel consumption; and, in addition, it is handled with agility in twisty areas. If you don't give it a very rigid suspension and very wide tires, it's true that you lose cornering speed, but the driver gains in fun and, at the limit, it's a lot easier to control. Of course, it also makes you more comfortable on a day-to-day basis.
If what you are looking for is enjoy at relatively calm paces and on secondary roads, without seeking maximum effectiveness or fighting against the clock, the Mazda MX-5 or a very similar concept car will be more than enough for you. In the, you feel how it supports in the curves, how the gears engage, the work of the steering, the limits of adherence... Everything. Conversely, if you're looking for track times, you're more than likely going to be disappointed by the Miata, as that's not what it's aiming for.
To top it off, the possibility of fold the roof and travel under the open sky It is a plus to take into account. In a car of these characteristics and with its behavior, having the advantage of opening it when the weather allows it is something very special. In addition to feeling the wind and the sun's rays, you better feel the humidity of the mountains, the aromas and the breeze. Without a doubt, it is a highly recommended experience and something that will convince you.
Feelings of a motorcycle
And what about motorcycles? Well, in this sense, and always from my point of view -yours may be very different-, I think that any motorcycle, with a power of between 80 and 120 CV and that is neither a scooter nor a super sports car, will be able to make us enjoy riding on a mountain road. We can also do it with less horsepower, with 60, for example, but the response when opening gas will be less exciting.
Few cars are capable of matching the sensations that an average motorcycle transmits to you at a calm pace. It's a different pleasure and, although a convertible sports car and a motorcycle seek the same destination, for me, the path to reach it is more special on two wheels.
On a motorcycle you are a true rider, because with your body you order and guide the point where you want the wheel to pass depending on the inclination. All this is done in a very natural and fluid way, with perfect rapport between both parties. On the bike you feel more each wrinkle of the asphalt, you perceive more deeply the work of the suspensions and the weight transfers, you notice how the engine goes into a rage as you give gas and the rev counter approaches the high zone... It is a different feeling, more emotional.
To this we must add that in a BMW R nineT Racer, or in any other similar motorcycle, you also perceive all the sensations that we have previously mentioned with the Mazda MX-5; that is the wind caresses our neck, feel the humidity or the aroma of a road through the woods. Not to mention the disconnection and the pleasure of freedom when you go out to shoot without a fixed destination point.
Advantages and disadvantages of a roadster
in the three and advantages to highlight of a roadster like the Mazda that accompanies us today with respect to a motorcycle I would highlight the greater versatility, because you can also complete a long trip with it without more problems than cargo space or use it as a daily car to go to work, comfort for a moron comfortable of suspensions and the fact of having air conditioning and heating.
In the section drawbacks, according to my way of seeing it, is that the sensations that it transmits are very good and one of the best in cars, but they do not match those offered by a motorcycle. On the other hand, with a roadster we swallow a jam just like any other car. He too higher cost of acquisition regarding a motorcycle.
Advantages and disadvantages of a motorcycle
The and advantages offered by a motorcycle compared to a small convertible car, for me, are the biggest driving sensations and freedom when riding on the open road, most agility to navigate through congested traffic, which translates into great time savings, and the ease of parking in a big city.
As for drawbacks, without a doubt and the most safety is remarkable. It is true that motorcycles have evolved a lot in terms of active safety thanks to ABS and electronic controls, such as traction, but in the event of a collision with another vehicle or going off the road, the consequences are very different. Continuing with more disadvantages, because obviously the meteorology, and more so in much of the Iberian Peninsula, where we went from being very cold to unbearably hot in just a month and a half and, finally, the less versatility of use.
Conclusions
A motorcycle, in most cases, is always more enjoyable when we seek to have fun, release adrenaline and get pure sensations of conduction. However, the great disadvantage of the tiny to maximise security and your enjoyment. in the event of an accident makes, at least the way I see it, a fun roadster like the Mazda MX-5 a better option. However, we must take into account the largest financial outlay at the beginning, that is, at the time of buying the car.
Now, we only have to know your opinion. Do you prefer a cheap, rear-wheel drive convertible or a motorcycle? Let us know in the comments.
I have had an mx5 and a nacked motorcycle for a long time, the article is very good, I would only add that the fact of having to wear a helmet on the motorcycle, better integral, and not on the convertible, the sensations, in this daring comparison are reduced. If we put the safety factor in the balance, both options are compensated even more.
Both the roadaster and the motorcycles are oriented to maximum enjoyment, and in reality, that is what we have come for. 🙂
Hi Cesar.
That was the goal of this test and this video. Talk about passion and driving pleasure, because the performance data and the chrono make little sense on the open road. I also have a half-displacement naked and I have dozens of horses left over to enjoy; although hey, better that they are left over than that they are missing 😉
Regards, and thank you very much!
Biker! And the gloves?
Hi Javier.
You are absolutely right, safety comes first and in this case we were wrong at the time of the recording. To be honest, from the time I left home to the place where we recorded (approximately an hour's drive) I wore gloves, a sanity jacket with protections, and boots. Due to the number of hours of recording at very low speed and the heat... I decided to do it better without gloves, without the boots and without the motorcycle jacket for pure comfort.
The error will not be repeated in the next one.
Thanks in advance!
Thank you very much for the test. I have had a Mazda MX5 and now I have a Honda S2000. Sometimes it crosses my mind to change the Honda for a motorcycle, I have thought about it many times and I have reached the same conclusions as in your article. At the moment, safety in the event of a motorcycle crash is holding me back and the possibility of taking trips with the roadster without depending so much on inclement weather is also important to me.
In addition, the S2000 seems to me the closest thing to a motorcycle of all the cars I have driven, with enough rpm, a lot of sound and great sensations.
My conclusion is that it should have a roadster AND a motorcycle.