Posted on 01/16/2011 1:52:05 PM PST by anymouse
The main thing I’ve noticed about motorcycles is their weight makes them far more stable. Take two riders and run them straight at a high sharp curb...one on a harley(which is what i ride) and one on a bicycle, both doing 25mph. The bicycle rider will go over the handlbars and hit face first causing serious injury with the bicycle going flying into the air and be destroyed. A harley will roll over it with no problem to the rider...possibly pop the front tire but probably not and likely a small dent on the front rim.
One time on my harley I was travelling about 70mph on a road that had been scraped for resurfacing. They took about 6 inches off I think, maybe more. There was a manhole cover without any warning or barricade on it. It was sticking up since the paving was scraped down. I hit that sharp edge and went airborn for I don’t know how long. I basically did a handstand on the handlebars and when I came down I was in the superman position, hands still on the handlebars, face down on the gas tank with my feet dragging on the pavement(bouncing pretty hard, I was wearing steel toe boots). The bike never even wobbled. I picked my feet up and pulled my face up to the headlight and sat down and put my feet on the pegs. All while doing 70mph. I didn’t know it but my front tire blew out and front rim was cracked. It wasnt’ until I slowed below 50mph that the bike got dangerous.
The point is, had I done that on a bicycle I’d be dead and probably wouldn’t be suitable for an open casket funeral. On the harley, not even a scratch or a bruise.
On a bicycle, it’s possible for you to wipe out from sneezing hard. A bicycle is that sensitive to your body movements. A harley, no way. You can have an epileptic seizure on a harley and still keep going as long as you don’t fall off.
However, to be fair, I don’t think all motorcycles are quite that stable. Harleys(and the harley look-a-likes) have unusual specs: very long wheelbase, very heavy, and extremely low center of gravity. Those specs will make a bike perform poorly on a racetrack though.
Actually a contemporary of Buzz, Pete Conrad was killed riding a motorcycle about 10 yrs ago. A real shame, as he not only had the “Rright Stuff,” he was a heck of a nice guy. I was fortunate to meet him a few times.
[P.S. Can you imagine Chuck Yeager or Buzz Aldrin getting hurt on a bicycle?!?!?!?? ]
didn’t yeager get hurt on a horse?
One of the apollo or mercury astronauts dumped his corvette in the river the day before a launch. he didn’t tell anyone until after he was in space, IIRC.
"Astronaut Kopra breaks hip"
KTRK TV (Houston)
ABC News is reporting it has confirmation from at least two sources that Astronaut Tim Kopra has broken his hip and it's serious enough that he will likely not make this next space shuttle mission.
More details about his injury, which was caused in a bicycle accident, are expected to come on Tuesday.
Kopra, who was the first member of the International Space Station to Tweet in space, was scheduled as the lead spacewalker for next month's shuttle Discovery launch, but his injury could delay the final mission for Discovery. That was scheduled for February 24.
The latest news about his injury is the latest in a series of setbacks for the mission.
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