Posted on 09/21/2004 9:43:55 AM PDT by Lijahsbubbe
Crashing at nearly 200 mph is a disaster for anyone, even if they've got all the protective gear in the world.
This last year, there was talk of racers boycotting the Daytona 200, the premier US motorcycle race. The problem is that the bikes and track are simply exceeding the capabilities of the tires. During tire testing months before the race at Daytona, there were two "catastrophic tire failures" putting both riders in the hospital. Please forgive me, but I'm doing this from memory. I believe that Jason DeSalvo was clocked at 197 when his rear tire blew out. He slid nearly 300 yards, and needed a number of skin grafts. Another rider was clocked at about 185 when his rear tire let go.
I believe that "Z" rated tires are "certified" at up to 150 MPH. Exceeding that, you're taking your life in your hands.
Mark
Neither was the factory-experimental Indian 1948 Chief frame refitted by the Vincent factory with one of their OHV Rapide engines- nearly a decade before Harley offered their 750cc flathead Sportster- any sourpuss slouch.
And what could be done then can still be done now.
The big Moto-Guzzi is a nice highway bike. Rode one from San Diego to L.A. Nice bike.
Not true. The Suzuki Hayabusa was clocked by a motorcycle magazine at 203MPH, bone stock (before Suzuki began putting electronic limiters on them to keep them below 197mph). The bike has one of the lowest coefficient of drag, and with some very minor upgrades, can easily reach 220MPH, given a long enough straight.
Mark
You reckon he can take defensive driving and get out of the ticket? LOL
How well does a motorcycle suspension keep the wheels on the road at high speed? Note that the wind resistance gets proportional to V**3 in this range. It's not a horsepower problem, but a suspension problem to keep the rubber on the road. (Not to mention, how does one steer or brake.)
Sorry, but MotoGP bikes do this all the time, and that's on a road course. I believe that Ducati currently holds the record at 217MPH. Given a long enough straight, and with the right gearing, they've got the power and aerodynamics to hit over 250MPH.
The Suzuki Hyabusa has been able to exceed 200MPH for quite some time, at least before Suzuki stated putting a limiter on them. Now I believe they're limmited to 197MPH.
Mark
Yup, Guzzi is nice bike...I'm painting an OLD one now. I just did touch-up on a Ghezzi-Brian....that's a totally cool bike too.
You brought back for me a memory of a long-gone pal lost to cancer, similarly fond of his early 60s XLH. He found the larger gas tank handy for long road trips.
May you enjoy your Sporty as much as he did his.
"Given a long enough straight, and with the right gearing, they've got the power and aerodynamics to hit over 250MPH."
The BS just keeps getting deeper with you guys.
Can someone a bit smarter and with a better grip on physics numbers tahn me please explain to these guys how HP requirements go up almost exponentially with each extra MPH...
I was at Daytona in early 90's....Polen did three laps around the tri-oval on a friday practice...tire men were LIVID...he was clocked at 203 mph...this was over 10 years ago. His tire chunked apon slowing down for the pits. If I'm not mistaken, his Duc was only pushing out in the area of 150 rwhp. Most attribute this high speed to the small frontal area of the duc (888)....as well as a rather large set of gonads.
There is a third part to that speed equation. Traction. One of the top speed limiting factors at Bonneville is traction on the salt. If the aerodynamic resistance equals the driving tires traction, the vehicle will go no faster. The driving tire will just spin.
On asphalt, another problem arises, that of the tires ability to withstand the centrifugal forces that are trying to tear it apart. Going fast is easy, faster is harder.
Ever look at the frontal area of a Duc GP bike...they make the jap bikes look like Orca.
Even 999 predecessor (998) had the frontal area of a 250 cc two stroke.
Check it out before you write something else about BS.
just kidding ;)
I'm no professional, but I did some amature road racing a number of years ago (including falling off at a bit over 100MPH, not too much fun!), and I've currently got a Ducati 900 SuperSport. Given my size and weight, I doubt that the bike will ever exceed 140MPH with me on it, and frankly, I have no wish to go that fast any more.
I've taken it to about 110 on the straightaway at Heartland Park racetrack in Topeka (the 1/4 mile drag race portion of the track, and there's a 90 degree right, and immediate left at the end of that straight. Yikes! Thank goodness for Brembo brakes. I also got it up to about 135MPH on I-35, and really don't ever want to do that again. As bad as the wind blast can be at 70MPH, it's nothing compared to that at 100MPH, and by the time you get to 110, it's getting really brutal. You need to keep as much of yourself out of the windstream as possible. As I'm a pretty big guy, and my bike is pretty small, I got beaten up something fierce.
Actually, the faster you go, the more stable the bike is (and the harder to turn).
Mark
Yep, an extra quarter-second brings it down to about 193.
It in large part depends on weight, and gear ratio. I can assure you the HP requirement for a motorcycle to achieve 205 mph is a fraction of what it takes to achieve the same speed with a 2 ton car.
....oh yea, not that this adds anything relevant to this thread. butt....
Never let a French man design an Italian bike.
Ducati enthusiasts will know what I'm talkin' about here....
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! PIEEEEREEEEEEE TREBBBBBLEECHHHHHHHHH!
Maybe the kid was a distant relative of Valentino Rossi :-)
GO!!!!!!!
"Maybe not anymore. But Honda and Yamaha are sure copying the looks of Harleys in order to stay in business. They can't stay in business with just Rice Rockets. The fatality rate precludes return customers."
Don't be asinine. The US (and Canada) is the only place where cruisers (at least ones of more than 250cc) sell in any large numbers. The Japanese make most of their money selling non-cruiser bikes, of which there are many genres other than just race-replicas, which is I assume what you mean by "Rice Rockets", in Japan and Europe. But in this market, well if people want chromed up bikes with boat-anchor engines, by God that's what they'll sell them. Also you should check the fatality rates these days for returning bikes (RUBies) on big cruisers - not good - it takes skill to operate a motorcycle, especially one that weighs 700 or 800 lbs and has limited ground clearance.
There was a thread on FR a few years back about a story (complete with pictures) where the rider of the motorcycle was doing approximately 150 mph in a 35 zone, while pulling a wheelie.... and he basically cut the car that turned out in front of him in two. Was a pretty interesting thread :)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.