5 Reasons Why Motorcycles Are Better Than Cars!

Some car drivers love their car. I’ve had a few cars in my time though and haven’t really loved any of them. And I know that plenty of other folk out there could say exactly the same. For a lot of us, a car is just a tool, good for getting you from A to B. A bike, on the other hand, is more of a toy. Sure, some use their bike to get from A to B, but plenty of us only ride our bikes for the sheer thrill of it. And for the love of our bikes. That’s because motorbikes are better than cars.

There are loads of reasons motorbikes are better than cars but, in case you don’t know what they are, and you’re still unsure about whether or not to bin the fart-box off and enter the world of two wheels, in the interest of public service we‘ve put together a list of the top five reasons motorbikes are better than cars. And here it is

1) They Look Cooler

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, don’t they, and it most certainly is. But if you were to ask any beholder from here to Timbuktu what the most beautiful road vehicle is, he would probably say something like Ducati’s new Panigale V4 SP, or MV’s Brutale 1000 RR. He would, by no means, say the Nissan Qashquai, or the Kia Sedona; it just wouldn’t happen. Every car on the street these days looks virtually the same. They’re just a box made from metal and glass with a wheel at each corner. They have looked the same for years and I, for one, am sick of the sight of them.

It’s a whole different kettle of fish in the motorbike world, though. Yes, they’re just and engine and a frame with a wheel at either end, but every one is different. Like a priceless artwork, one fleeting glance at any motorcycle can evoke emotions that you never new existed. Feelings you’ve never felt. Can a car do that? Can you even remember what the last car you saw was? I can’t. I can’t even remember what colour it was, that’s how memorable an experience it was. Automotive designers are going to have to do a whole lot better.

2) They’re Cheaper

I know that some would say that over the years (particularly recent years), the cost of certain bikes has started to get a bit silly (especially at current COE prices and that mind-blowingly expensive ARF for Class 2 bikes, a Ducati Panigale V4R at S$132,000, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!). It’s true that they aren’t as cheap as they once were, but what is? But when you compare the price of bikes to that of cars… Yikes! That’s when you realise we aren’t doing two bad, over here in Motorcycle City. Ok, I’ll admit that some cars are in the same ball-park, price-wise, as bikes. But let’s face it, why would you want to?

On the other end of the motorcycle price spectrum, at the S$50,000 mark, you can pick up all the bike you’ll ever need. Whether it’s a BMW S 1000 RR M Sport, the bike that blitzed the opposition on both the road and track elements of 2020, or a cruiser, roadster or adventure bike from just about any of the major manufacturers. If you want to match the performance of S$50,000 superbike (like the aforementioned BMW S 1000 RR M Sport), in a car, you’d need to spend ten times the amount on something really special. I think we can all agree that compared to bikes, cars are a right old rip-off.

3) They’re More Versatile

Yes I know you can’t carry your golf clubs round on the back of your bike (well not easily anyway). But I still maintain that bikes are a lot more versatile than cars. They really are the machine that lets you go anywhere, from tarmac to dirt and everything in between.

Anything really does go, for us motorcyclists, as I’m sure anyone who has given it a go will vouch for. Whether it’s getting down and dirty on the MX track, or packing your rucksack and roll bag full of pants, socks and packets of three before heading for the hills, there’s always a bike for the job. In fact there are some bikes capable of doing it all. Take KTM’s 1290 Adventure for instance, which is just as happy drifting around on a dirt track, as it is plodding along on the open road.

4) They’re Faster

For some, this this alone means motorbikes are better than cars. As previously touched upon, yes, you can try and match the performance of a superbike. But you’d have to spend hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions of dollars, to achieve it. Most of us will never be able to afford that. Some of us will never be able to afford a S$50,000 superbike, either, because that’s still ALOT of money. But many of us, at some stage in our lives might just be able to afford a second hand superbike. These days it’s certainly possible to pick up a 200bhp, 200mph bike for less than S$10,000.

But it’s not just the superbikes that are fast. Take your average roadster, or cruiser; you’re still talking 200+km/h. I know that is doable in a car, yes, but not the kind of cars most of us drive. And even kids’ bikes are fast. When I turned 18 and was allowed to ride a bike on the road, the Aprilia RS 125 that I opted for would eat all my mates cars alive on the Friday lunchtime race to McDonalds; the Toyota Corollas and the Honda Civic didn’t stand a chance.

5) The People are Better

Unless you’ve got some Monster Energy stickers and some flashing neon lights on your shitty VW Golf (or some similar abomination), you’re probably not going to park up in Wheelock carpark to exchange bullshit stories about police chases with your spotty little teenage buddies. In fact you are probably not going to go anywhere with the sole intention of talking about cars. Because that’s, well, boring, for want of a better word. Bikes on the other hand, well that’s different. They’re cool and there’s way more to talk about; that’s why we love going to bike shows, meeting people at workshops, or chatting to strangers at Sepang. The most unlikely characters can be brought together (and often are) thanks to the common interest that is motorcycling.

Everyone’s your friend at the Singapore bike show or Candy Motors. There’s certainly no pomposity amongst bikers, such as you might expect at a car race.

And that is why motorbikes are better than cars.