Where's the motorcycle?

[jtr1962]

I found this. Interesting reading. Top speed for the Suzuki Hayabusa is ~190 mph, and they did indeed manage that with careful attention to aerodynamics as I expected. Quarter mile is 9.95 seconds at 143.18 mph, and this on the world's fastest production bike. So much for being able to reach 155 mph in a quarter mile.

Other tidbits from this article:

For 2000, just as Kawasaki readied their own 200mph missile, and under threats of speed and horsepower limits from around the world, Suzuki and other manufacturers agreed to place a 189mph limit on their production bikes. The '99 Hayabusas, in copper or black, were the ones that slipped through the crack. Top speed is now "limited" to 189 mph.

At 189 miles-per-hour, you travel 278 feet in 1 second. Three miles in 60 seconds. From Minneapolis to Duluth in less than 45 minutes.

Testing the 2000 Suzuki Hayabusa last summer, I learned a lot of things about traveling at 189mph. At least four miles of straight, visible, empty road is a necessity. It helps that road is flat and of good quality because large undulations that you'd never otherwise notice, are transformed into launch ramps at high speeds.

While 160 is comprehensible and comes very easy on this bike, anything over that gets weird. Just as aerodynamic drag increases exponentially with speed, so does fear.

The last quote from an apparently very experienced motorcyclist. Now if he feels this way, then certainly these kinds of vehicles have no business in the hands of some "Joe Sixpack" weekend cyclist with a massive inferiority complex.

And apparently I'm not the only one thinking of mandatory horsepower limits either. Interesting.

 

[gadget_lover]

I think the point of the thread is that it is possible to hit 155 in city streets. It is possible with commercially available bikes. It's quite likely that people doing such stupid things don't do it often. Sudden stops (even from only 65 MPH ) tend to change your driving style or kill you (which also impacts your riding style).

It does not really matter whether a person hits 145 or 165. When you hit a mass when moving fast things tend to go bad quickly.

BTW, I did some quick searches on the web, and found that the force of the imact would have been 480680 foot lbs assuming 227 fps and 600 lbs. A 357 magnum with a 300 grain bullet at 2600 fps is only 4503 ft. lbs. The bike had 100 times the force of a 357 slug and that was spread over a surface area of what? 100 times the cross section of the slug?

The bike hit with enough force to flip the VW and yet it only traveled 10 feet. This does not track. I saw an accident in front of my house where a small pickup hit an SUV at about 30 mph. The SUV flipped when it hit the curb and slid 20 feet. I figure the motorcycle would have had almost 4 times the kinetic energy of the pickup and that the VW weighed much, much less than the SUV. Something does not add up.

Of course, there's also the fact that the plastic tailpiece is still in place and pretty much aligned with the rear wheel. I can't imagine that happening in any serious impact. It's a neat graphic display anyway.

Daniel

 

[markdi]

there is a turbine engine powered motorcycle

320 rear wheel hp

0 to 200 mph in under 15 seconds

 

[Warhead]

Made me think of my V65....**in a sense**. Would hit 100 near the top of second gear, but didn't corner well under 45.

 

[Mike Painter]

I think the point of the thread is that it is possible to hit 155 in city streets. It is possible with commercially available bikes. It's quite likely that people doing such stupid things don't do it often. Sudden stops (even from only 65 MPH ) tend to change your driving style or kill you (which also impacts your riding style).

It does not really matter whether a person hits 145 or 165. When you hit a mass when moving fast things tend to go bad quickly.

BTW, I did some quick searches on the web, and found that the force of the imact would have been 480680 foot lbs assuming 227 fps and 600 lbs. A 357 magnum with a 300 grain bullet at 2600 fps is only 4503 ft. lbs. The bike had 100 times the force of a 357 slug and that was spread over a surface area of what? 100 times the cross section of the slug?

The bike hit with enough force to flip the VW and yet it only traveled 10 feet. This does not track. I saw an accident in front of my house where a small pickup hit an SUV at about 30 mph. The SUV flipped when it hit the curb and slid 20 feet. I figure the motorcycle would have had almost 4 times the kinetic energy of the pickup and that the VW weighed much, much less than the SUV. Something does not add up.

Of course, there's also the fact that the plastic tailpiece is still in place and pretty much aligned with the rear wheel. I can't imagine that happening in any serious impact. It's a neat graphic display anyway.

Daniel

Almost every accident I've ever been on had one or more things that "didn't track". From the kid that was thrown out of a car, traveled more than 60 feet through the air and when his dad got there was cleaning sand out of his shoes and wanted to do it again to the barely bumped car with the dead guy in it. I know of one head on where a baby was found, unharmed on the street between the two vehicles and everybody else was dead.

If, as all those who argue that this could not have happened this way, it could not have happened why would the people who "staged" it believe that it could? Why not "stage" something more believeable?

 

[gadget_lover]

It may or may not have been real. The report that the car only moved 10 feet may be in error. The fact that it was going 155 instead of some lower speed may be embellishment. I don't know. All I can say is that the stated facts do not track well with my experience.

As for why someone would stage it incorrectly? Based on countless project meetings, I can attest to the tendency of projects to focus on certain details while ignoring others. A team tasked with building a credible display may well have decided that they needed parts of the motorcycle to be readily identifiable. They may have simply forgotten to break the plastic or to mis-allign / shatter the alloy rear wheel.

And of course, the project probably went to the lowest bidder who does shoddy work.

Daniel