6 ms·
I ride bikes and from a practical standpoint, along with small size and manoeuvrability, the acceleration (a result of torque) is one of the most useful attribu
by bartread 7y ago
I ride bikes and from a practical standpoint, along with small size and manoeuvrability, the acceleration (a result of torque) is one of the most useful attributes. Much moreso than top speed, or even speeds significantly in excess of the posted limits.
Bikes don't tend to have high torque in general, but their light weight and gearing are designed to maximise what torque they do produce. This means there are quite a few that will do sub 3 seconds to 60, and sub 5 seconds is practically the norm.
What this means is that you can more easily get past, and through, traffic because you can safely take advantage of gaps that no car can. Also, that sense of having your arms ripped out of their sockets and hanging on for dear life is fun.
Still, there's something to be said for going really fast as well: the feeling of the world blurring past you, and the road or track flowing and snaking underneath you like mercury, is hard to beat (if sometimes a little terrifying).
- bscphil 7y agoI assume you're talking about electric bikes or motorcycles? This confused me a lot for a while because I don't usually see those referred to as "bikes". > This means there are quite a few that will do sub 3 seconds to 60, and sub 5 seconds is practically the norm. This was the give-away - pretty sure very few humans can do 60 mph on a bicycle, unless they're drafting.
- blocked_again 7y agoMotorcycles are referred as bikes in many countries. And bikes are called as cycles.
- dksbzmx 7y agoIt’s actually pretty common in general. I refer to my motorcycle as a bike in the US. Frankly my favorite is the European “moto”
- chrisseaton 7y ago> I don't usually see those referred to as "bikes". ‘Bike’ is short for bicycle. Motorcycles are also bicycles so they’re also bikes.
- vonseel 7y agoHmm, I'm not a biker but I always assumed your legs determine statistics like acceleration on a bike. Learn something new everyday...
- hazeii 7y agoBikes like Harleys and BMW twins have plenty of torque, where bikes like Kawasaki Ninja's major on power (peak torque at high revs). Hence Harleys and BMW's are first off the line at the lights (no need to build revs) but the Ninja's will come steaming past seconds later. There are some fun youtube videos demoing bike performance, e.g. Ninja H2's doing 0-250MPH in 26s [0], outdragging a Bugatti [1] and outpacing an F1 car and an F16 fighter at the same time. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_n7ru1e-rg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_n7ru1e-rg [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi5_GQ78wM8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi5_GQ78wM8 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ESq00zi7bU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ESq00zi7bU
- dksbzmx 7y agoJust rev your engine before releasing the clutch and you’ll have as much (wheel) torque as you need (within power limits of the engine and tires).
- sniglom 7y agoYou cannot compare just engine torque numbers, without adjusting for gear ratios, wheel size and sprockets. As another commenter said, you rev a Ninja (just like a sports car) and launch it using the clutch.
- hazeii 7y agoI believe I did point out that on Ninja's (I have one) you need to build the revs; you can't just dump the clutch and go like you can on a BMW Boxer or a Harley (which I also have). Hence the Ninja is generally slowest away when the lights change (but is by far the quickest bike overall). In fact bicycles are fastest off the line, since they produce max. torque at 0rpm (just keep weight on a pedal, release the brakes to go). But acceleration is modest, so motorbikes and cars will soon go past. And of course electrically-driven vehicles are also capable of producing torque at 0rpm, hence their acceleration advantage.
- whamlastxmas 7y agoTry a ZX14 before lumping all Ninjas together :)