motorbikes banned!

[Kris]

[Kickstart]

Hi

Not so much stood still, just moved in a totally different direction to the car world. In the past 20 years bikes have become a hell of a lot more powerful (~50% more for the same engine capacity), yet cars haven't (eg, mid 80s Alfa 75 2L TS was 148hp, 156 2L is around 150~155hp).

At least bikes have got lighter, unlike cars which have so many safety features that their weights have gone through the roof. For example, an Alfasud weighed 862kg, its modern equivalent is the 147 weights around 1200kg.

All the best

Keith
____________________
Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[Kris]

I agree that in terms of performance bike engines are more powerful, but how exactly has the design of the engine changed dramatically over the years? We're still raving about large capacity IL4's that can trace their design back to the 70's...

Surely a DiTech engine would be a definitive step that registers far more than bhp increase..
____________________
NSR125RR - ZXR750H1 - ZX9R E1 - GSF600S - GSF600SK3 - VFR400-NC30 - SV1000N - ST1100-R - CBR900RR-R - GSF1200SK5 - GSF600SK1 - VFR1200FA - GSXR1000K2 - ZZR1400 D8F
www.prisonplanet.com

[Kickstart]

Hi

There have been lots of small improvements. A lot of that taking advantage of modern bearings, etc, allowing engines to be more compact. Fuel injection is appearing on bikes (although still generally crude systems). Trouble is that any new technology needs to be far better just to try and make up for ~100 years worth of development of conventional 4 stroke engines. For example a wankel rotary engine may well have some advantages (has some pretty big disadvantages as well, such as a lousy combustion chamber shape) but it would take billions of pounds to get it to the same stage of development as the normal 4 stroke attained in WW2.

The amount spent on developing bike engines is peanuts really, compared to the car world (and plenty of car companies are financially very poor). For an old example, Aprilia talked about spending £6m developing the Amica around 1990 (first scooter with a catalytic converter), compared to getting on for £1b to develop a new car. All the makers can really afford to do is some minor tweaks each year and paint it a new colour scheme, or add some other fashion statement such as an underseat exhaust.

Many of the makers are proud of their new cast frames for bikes. Bet the real reason for using these is that they are dirt cheap to produce compared to a fabricated frame.

Personally I suspect that in the none too distant future most cars will be bought and sold like washing machines or cookers, with most people not really giving a damn about them. Bikes will be similar. With premium priced ranges of both that most of us will not be able to afford.

All the best

Keith
____________________
Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[tonyyzf]

Right, first off, its not true, I've read the dept of transport remit on motorcycling and they seriously intend to improve things regarding bikes and rider training.

Now, if you were a person who hated bikes how would you go about getting rid of them, lets see, I know! why don't we do a press release telling everybody they're gonna be banned in 2020, by the year 2015 nobody will buy one cos they'd be frightened that they wouldn't be able to get rid of it by 2020. By the year 2020 bikes sales would have dropped so dramatically that the importers would have given up and moved onto something else.

Don't believe everything you read, especially the s*** that MCN use to sell papers, I refuse to buy it on that basis.

[PanEuro1100]

Not a chance in hell they should ban BMW, Volvo and White van men

[Mez]

Maybe they should take action against car and lorry drivers instead of attempting to ban bikers.

I seriously think that when a driver reaches a certain age and/or a certain amount of points on their license, they should be required to re-take their driving test. Also, there should be harsher penalties for speeders, hit and run drivers, etc.

A perfect example would be my mum. On the 16th of September 2002, my mum was hit by a speeding car just at the bottom of our street as she was waiting to cross the road, resulting in a broken leg. While the paramedics were preparing to move her from the road, we heard that the driver was infact a fireman changing into his uniform at the wheel. What did he get for it? 3 points on his license and a 300 quid fine. He should have been taken off the road for a year at least.

Four years later, and my mum still has an ilizarov frame on her lower right leg. Several times, the drivers insurance company have asked my mum to travel 150+ miles, just to prove that she really suffers from resulting injuries.
____________________
My deviantArt gallery - My Youtube profile
Honda CG125 -> Baotian BT49 -> AJS JS125 -> Honda CG125-> Kawasaki ZL400 -> Kawasaki GPZ500

[lee125]

[Raffles_Gentleman Thug]

[veeeffarr]

I agree,

I'm still looking forward to developments to the 125cc 4 stroke engine now two strokes are banned.

[BorderHooner]

What needs to be done, is to ban stupid people from roads.

That goes for bikers and all other transport users.

Heavier penalties for endorsements and convictions. More stringent training and testing. Make all licence holders retake theory and hazard perception tests if they passed before they came in and make annual testing of theory and hazard perception compulsory.

More road safety awareness for pedestrians and in schools, more restrictive cubic capacity for less experienced road users - or compulsory advanced training for higher cubic capacity - on all transport.

Banning bikes will never happen - banning all stupid people from the road will work though.

oh, and ban all this in car gadgetry
____________________
Benelli. Happy as a pig in cacky.

[Walloper]

[brad]

Smoking is being out lawed and is illegal in places alcohol may be next then Big cars, sex, motorbikes, breathing and walking the streets. we may as well all shoot our selves with illegal guns now

[SilvaRizla]

How about banning cars? If there were no cagers on the road there would be a lot less bike deaths
____________________
I'm Ivan Dobski the Meatsafe Murderer only I never done it, I only said that I done it so they'd take the truncheon out of my bottom

[ram_doom]

Screw that, I want the choice. Why limit things when there is simply no need to.
____________________
TL1000s, KDX200

[NSR Mick]

[map]

[_Will_]

The Future King of England is a biker, he might have summit to say along with millions of others.
Nuff said

[skelly]

if they do every biker needs to meet up somewhere and all of them should go on a big ride all over britain

i don't think it will happen though, hopefully
____________________
k.skelly....aprilia RX50 (stolen) | fzr 400 1988. restricted | Bandit 600 | Gsxr 750 SRAD, 1999.

[mr_pete]

"EU proposes banning all bikes that aren't single-cylinder automatics under 650cc."

https://www.bmf.co.uk/press/2006/press366.html
____________________
Sans bike

[scampypants]

i dont trust a polititian who gets sacked from a health service ministerial job for saying that people with alzhiemers can get better,while giving a in a speech to nurses what a cnut. this guy is now a transport minister what chance has anybody in a vehicle got