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What's the point of the weight ratio? If a 20kg motorcycle can do 4kW why is that a concern?
by Dylan16807 1y ago
What's the point of the weight ratio? If a 20kg motorcycle can do 4kW why is that a concern?
- pizzalife 1y ago> If a 20kg motorcycle can do 4kW why is that a concern? Because it would go too fast.
- Dylan16807 1y agoThe alternative that follows the rule is a 40kg motorcycle that can do 4kW. Is there really going to be a significant speed difference?
- pizzalife 1y agoThe 20kg bike would accelerate roughly twice as quickly as the 40kg bike. Accelerating super quickly is not safe.
- Dylan16807 1y agoA motorcycle accelerating at full speed without a rider is very dangerous no matter how many horsepower. I don't think that should be the test method. Also twice the power doesn't give you twice the acceleration as you pick up speed. Each mph takes more energy than the last.
- BobaFloutist 1y agoOn the other hand, getting hit by a 20kg bike would hurt a lot less than a 40kg bike at the same speed.
- throw0101c 1y agoThe latest generation of RAV4 has power of 176 kW (236 hp; 239 PS): * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_RAV4#Sixth_generation_(XA60;_2025) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_RAV4#Sixth_generation_(... A fairly recent iteration of BMW S1000RR motorcycle has 152 kW (204 hp; 207 PS): * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_S1000RR#2019_(K_67) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_S1000RR#2019_(K_67) * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fastest_production_motorcycles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fastest_production_mot... One can set lap records, the other cannot. Power-to-weight can determine performance a lot (it's why high-end sports cars often use carbon fibre).
- Dylan16807 1y agoI don't think you can compare a car and a motorcycle that easily. Especially at high speeds where air resistance is so important.
- throw0101c 1y agoThe current-gen Miata is 135 kW (181 hp; 184 PS): * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazda_MX-5_(ND) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazda_MX-5_(ND) It's about ~third of the weight of the RAV4. Which one do you think accelerates from zero faster (not even reaching "high speeds")?
- Dylan16807 1y agoNow adjust things so the driver weighs more than the car and we'll be close to motorcycle territory. And even here it's like 6 versus 8 seconds for 0 to 60.
- throw0101c 1y agoSo the Miata gets there faster even with a >20% power disadvantage. I think that shows why power-weight is important.
- Dylan16807 1y agoIt does something, but it's not so important when you make the weight difference smaller and then strap on a rider that weighs more than the vehicle. I'm asking why there's some kind of significant safety issue and why it's around .1kW/kg vehicle weight in particular, not whether it does anything whatsoever.
- BizarroLand 1y agoI mean, you can, but it's not apples to oranges. I would feel like a car with 200hp would be a sporty fun car to drive, but I will go down fighting if you tried to force me to ride a 200hp motorcycle. Then again, that's in the 1000+cc category so it would be a big sporty bike, but still, that's a capital S Scary amount of power for the average non-thrillseeker like myself.