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>Motorcycle companies: I know you can do this so please stop faffing around and get on with it. Maybe they really can't do it. Cars are doing some pretty impr
by magduf 8y ago
>Motorcycle companies: I know you can do this so please stop faffing around and get on with it.
Maybe they really can't do it. Cars are doing some pretty impressive things with their engines these days with regard to fuel economy and performance, but they also sell orders of magnitude more units, and can afford to dedicate enormous engineering resources to engine development to achieve that performance. Motorcycle engines, like lawn mower engines, seem to be permanently stuck technologically in the 1970s.
- VBprogrammer 8y agoThe Honda NC700 is about as close as you'll come. Its basically half of the Honda fits engine in a motorcycle. The problem is that motorcycles are rearly sold on practicalities alone. Also, there is a bit of a diminishing returns element. My motorcycle (SV650) had an engine originally designed in the 90s, slightly modernised with some electronics and it gets 60+mpg comuting to West London. If it got another 10mpg it'd save maybe £2 a week in fuel, which means the return on investment time is basically infinite.
- magduf 8y ago60+mpg (assuming US gallons here) isn't that impressive; that's just slightly better than a Prius. But most motorcycles seem to do much worse, more like 40mpg (US). My car gets about that, while being many times heavier. Motorcycles generally have terrible fuel economy considering their size and power.