my name is mwd

The other night I watched the MotoGP documentary film Faster, which follows the 2001 and 2002 MotoGP seasons. 2001 was the last year that the world championship was run on 2 stroke 500cc enginers, with everyone moving to 4 stroke 1000cc enginers for 2002. Popular opinion with the riders appears to be that the 500s were more fun to drive, despite the 1000s being faster.

In the intro to the film there’s lots of quotes from various riders, including this one from Valantino Rossi, who happened to win both the aforementioned seasons (and every one since…):

“When you first get on a 500, it’s like fuuuuuuuck!”

Said with a wicked grin.

This reminds me of my first day on a bike. I did my first lesson in a large car park on a 125cc bike. In the morning I really struggled. Bikes are so alien to operate; all the controls are in the wrong place, and you use them differently, particularly the clutch control, which is really unlike a car (you often play around biting point on a bike for fine control, not advocated on a car). A real rub head/pat stomach moment. By mid morning I was swearing I’d never crack this. However, by early afternoon I was pootling about the car park, somewhat lacking grace, but getting along. The 125 is quite easy to ride, and seems all you could need for commuting. But then in the afternoon, I was sat on a 500cc, and there went the neighbourhood.

The 125 seemed adequate, but the 500 was just unreal. The acceleration compared to a 125 is just amazing. We were told they could out accelerate a Porsche 911, which was a bit lost on me as I’d never driven a 911, but fuck, yeah, they didn’t half shift. After my first lap around the car park, accelerating down the two long straights, never getting above second all the same, I pulled up next to the instructor, and he just laughed and asked if that was a grin he spotted under my helmet. Oh yes. Even for beginners, Rossi’s statement holds :)

At the time I was having to keep my bike learning somewhat quiet, so it was hard to share the excitement. But there you go, it was fun, and (when bikes work) it still is.