The lights and smells of Manhattan ensnare millions of humans every year, and if you’ve been you know the joint is always an adventure to get around. Watch two bad haircuts race a pair of powersports machines around the island to find out what’s the, uh, “best” vehicle for the trip. What could go wrong?

[: BRP lent us these vehicles in the interest of getting some exposure, obviously. We took them up on it because, as far as I know, Spinelli really wanted to ride a jet ski.]

Jalopnik founder-turned-TV personality Mike Spinelli has been handed a Sea-Doo GTX Limited iS 260. It’s got a supercharged engine that sucks down sea water and spits out almost 300 horsepower. With a top speed over 60 MPH and stabilized hull designed to handle it, this is one ass-hauling watercraft even with a blogger and a cameraman weighing it down.

On the flip side I’m gonna try to prove roads rule with a Can-Am Spyder F3-S. That’s powered by a Rotax 1330cc three-cylinder engine rated to 115 horspower, put down to the rear wheel through a six-speed sequential manual gearbox. The Spyder maintains its tripod-posture with double A-arm suspension, Fox shocks, and three tires that look a lot closer to what you’d get on a sports car than a motorcycle.

The guy who delivered it described the riding experience as “like snowmobile for the pavement.” I’d put it somewhere between that an a tilting motorcycle arcade game.

The challenge: both vehicles leave a boat launch in New Jersey at the same time, take one “counterclockwise” lap around the island, and see who can get back to the parking lot first. Obeying the laws of the land and water along the way, of course.

Since we can’t ride the Can-Am Spyder on the beach, and Manhattan doesn’t even have a beach (does it?) we “racers” aren’t exactly parallel for long. So we sent a camera with each vehicle and recorded two separate adventures; the Can-Am’s trip as featured on Truck Yeah! and the Sea-Doo’s as featured on /DRIVE.

We’re trying a little experimental movie magic to link both YouTube videos together, so you can see different sides of the same story a la what I’m told is called “the Rashomon effect.” Check out both and be sure to speculate on whether or not Spinelli stuffed socks down his wetsuit! Or, be constructive for once.

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