Car Reviewer Rides Pillion On Superbike

Anyone who watches car videos has probably heard of David Patterson, a.k.a. "ThatDudeinBlue." Between his supercharged Ford Mustang, his Nissan 240SX drift car, his project Acura Integra, and countless reviews of viewers' rides, Patterson knows his stuff about cars. When it comes to two wheels, however, not so much. When MotoAmerica invited Patterson to Road Atlanta to take a ride on the back of a Dunlop M4 Suzuki two-seat superbike, he bravely accepted.

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Patterson demonstrates his previous motorcycle experience at the beginning of the video, which involves a slow ride across a parking lot immediately followed by dropping the bike. While he has friends who ride, he is not a rider himself. He's completely honest that he knows "diddly squat" about motorcycles, and comes in with a completely open mind. He says it felt very much like the first car meet he went to when he was very interested in cars but didn't know anything.

Instead of looking at cool cars in a parking lot, however, Patterson suited up (it's fun to watch him awkwardly put on racing leathers for the first time) and hopped on the back of a superbike specially modified to take a passenger, where a professional rider took him for lap of Road Atlanta at speeds exceeding 160 mph. Thanks to track days and drift events Patterson knows the track well on four wheels, and immediately noticed the different lines the pro rider took on a bike. Where rumble strips are nothing more than audible warnings in a car, they shook the whole bike when they rode over them. Mostly, though, being out in the open, exposed to the elements, was a whole new experience for him. I can relate to his experience, having done numerous track days in cars myself but only once hitting the track on a bike.

Due to rain mucking with the schedule Patterson only got one lap, but it was enough to really open his eyes. He understands that motorcycle racing is a truly athletic sport, completely different than a weekend pleasure ride on a cruiser. While it's not likely that Patterson will take up motorcycle racing anytime soon, he seems to have a genuine understanding and appreciation of what it takes to hustle a bike around a track and enjoyed it enough that he wouldn't hesitate to repeat the experience.