Video: Watch a 125cc drag bike obliterate a 1,000cc superbike in a drag race
14th February 2024
Ben Miles
If you turn up to a drag race with an engine nearly one tenth the size of your opponents, you would normally expect to be absolutely trounced. But if the reverse was true and...
Whether the rider in our video today knew he was about to watch the smallest bike he’d ever seen become even smaller in the distance or not, we'll simply never know. But, without really spoiling anything (why would we even share the video if the 1.0-litre bike won?), that’s what he was about to experience.
The 125 is obviously purpose-built for going extremely fast in a straight line. For one thing its got absolutely nothing it doesn’t need. No bodywork, no thick tyres for cornering, no complex setups for slowing into a corner. Just a tiny engine, a tiny bike, and wheelie bar nearly as big.
The other key here is a mixture of reaction time and simple clutch behaviour. The 125 rider goes instantly and is able to release his clutch and go without even thinking about it. Green light, 125 gone. The superbike on the other hand obviously takes slightly longer to get going. With no wheelie bar and what we can only assume is a pretty standard clutch, it looks like a lot more of a handful than the nimble little drag machine its up against.
The bigger bike is probably catching its tiny opponent by the line, with its substantial power overcoming all obstacles. But the tiny machine is just too far ahead. The result, in reality, was always a foregone conclusion. But do keep watching, to see the look of absolute disbelief on the faces of the people standing by who we can only assume came with the superbike rider.
