Tokyo Auto Salon, January 2012.
I was keen to see what it is really like to sit on a MotoGP bike, so many people mention that they’re very small machines. And they’re right!
I consider myself an average size guy at 5’ 11”, maybe a bit heavier than average weighing in at 83Kg. I always used to think of MotoGP in terms of relating it to production sportsbikes, but now I’ve seen for myself - they’re nothing alike. Not that anyone really needed to be told that, but it’s shown me just how extreme MotoGP really is.
I tried to tuck in as best I could, but my backside is firm up against the rear seat pad, my elbows and knees are not fitting well together, and there was a really limited amount of room to move front-rear in the seat. This is a racing motorcycle at the extreme!
To help put the size in proportion I’ve posted a photo of Matt Mingay and Casey Stoner below. Mingay posted this on Facebook over the holidays when Monster Energy threw a bit of a beach party. I’ve seen Mingay in person and he’s pretty much the same size as me, but what’s really interesting in this photo is that we get a direct size comparison with Stoner. Think about that next time you see Stoner on his MotoGP bike.
