Comments on: My Motorcycle Weighs 40 Pounds, How Much Does Yours Weigh? (With Video) (Bike Reports) (News) http://www.motorcycledaily.com/2010/08/my-motorcycle-weighs-40-pounds-how-much-does-yours-weigh-with-video/ Motorcycle News, Editorials, Product Reviews and Bike Reviews Tue, 21 May 2013 02:58:48 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: Timo2Fiddy http://www.motorcycledaily.com/2010/08/my-motorcycle-weighs-40-pounds-how-much-does-yours-weigh-with-video/comment-page-1/#comment-3665 Timo2Fiddy Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:19:51 +0000 http://www.motorcycledaily.com/?p=10518#comment-3665 Is the internet so full of info that we are running out of new things to talk about. This is a waste of time. You can call it new and carbon fiber and such, but it's still the same old WORTHLESS technology. Until a motorcycle, or vehicle, will comfortable cruise at 75mph, go 200 miles on a charge regardless of load or speed (provided we are not grossly overweight pigs), takes less than 30 minutes to charge, cost the same as a gas powered motorcycle, and have a fuel to energy cost conversion rates similiar to fossil fuels, then it will never be mainstream. On the bright side BRAMMO is getting damn close. Timo2Fiddy = 65MPG regarless of speed, $3500 new, 100mph top speed, 200 miles per tank, my weight 210 Is the internet so full of info that we are running out of new things to talk about. This is a waste of time. You can call it new and carbon fiber and such, but it’s still the same old WORTHLESS technology. Until a motorcycle, or vehicle, will comfortable cruise at 75mph, go 200 miles on a charge regardless of load or speed (provided we are not grossly overweight pigs), takes less than 30 minutes to charge, cost the same as a gas powered motorcycle, and have a fuel to energy cost conversion rates similiar to fossil fuels, then it will never be mainstream. On the bright side BRAMMO is getting damn close.

Timo2Fiddy = 65MPG regarless of speed, $3500 new, 100mph top speed, 200 miles per tank, my weight 210

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]]> By: Rick Hermanns http://www.motorcycledaily.com/2010/08/my-motorcycle-weighs-40-pounds-how-much-does-yours-weigh-with-video/comment-page-1/#comment-3146 Rick Hermanns Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:28:51 +0000 http://www.motorcycledaily.com/?p=10518#comment-3146 This thing looks strangely like Gottlieb Daimler's 1885 Einspur! Both Germany made...strange! This is certainly not revolutionary but is at the most, evolutionary. 70K makes this a boutique item at best. The market always decides the success or failure of product development. The problem with "green" products is the need for subsidies. There should be no need to subsidize a product with true market appeal. Good luck to these brave souls! This thing looks strangely like Gottlieb Daimler’s 1885 Einspur! Both Germany made…strange! This is certainly not revolutionary but is at the most, evolutionary. 70K makes this a boutique item at best. The market always decides the success or failure of product development. The problem with “green” products is the need for subsidies. There should be no need to subsidize a product with true market appeal. Good luck to these brave souls!

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]]> By: Justin http://www.motorcycledaily.com/2010/08/my-motorcycle-weighs-40-pounds-how-much-does-yours-weigh-with-video/comment-page-1/#comment-3060 Justin Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:18:54 +0000 http://www.motorcycledaily.com/?p=10518#comment-3060 And for those who truly seek an explanation as to why this thing could cost $70k... CFRP has two traits that potentially make it very expensive to work with: it is an engineered material, and it is an organic material. Firstly, as an engineered material, the internal structure can be optimized to the application to the Nth degree. That means not only ensuring that the structure has the requisite strength, but also designing the members so that the forks and chainstays have the desired elastic modulus, i.e. so that the bike has a 'suspension'. The boys over at UBC GmbH, who actually make this bike, obviously took N to a high value to get this light weight. I mean, I have an aluminum-frame huck bike that weighs almost this much. Tons and tons of man-hours and computer-hours were spent to create this and they're only selling six hundred. Secondly, as an organic material, it responds well to artisanship. The more experience you have working with the stuff, the more closely you can get to replicating what was designed on the computer. My German has a lot of holes in it but it looks like they've been making F1 cars for the last nine years. Anyhow, people spend almost ten grand for a mass-produced carbon road bicycle. Your cheap tennis rackets, golf clubs, and even your motorcycle racing bodywork are probably way over-engineered for their applications. You just don't care because the strength:weight ratio is still far better than anything else. Well, these guys decided to care and this is the result. And for those who truly seek an explanation as to why this thing could cost $70k…

CFRP has two traits that potentially make it very expensive to work with: it is an engineered material, and it is an organic material.

Firstly, as an engineered material, the internal structure can be optimized to the application to the Nth degree. That means not only ensuring that the structure has the requisite strength, but also designing the members so that the forks and chainstays have the desired elastic modulus, i.e. so that the bike has a ‘suspension’. The boys over at UBC GmbH, who actually make this bike, obviously took N to a high value to get this light weight. I mean, I have an aluminum-frame huck bike that weighs almost this much. Tons and tons of man-hours and computer-hours were spent to create this and they’re only selling six hundred.

Secondly, as an organic material, it responds well to artisanship. The more experience you have working with the stuff, the more closely you can get to replicating what was designed on the computer. My German has a lot of holes in it but it looks like they’ve been making F1 cars for the last nine years.

Anyhow, people spend almost ten grand for a mass-produced carbon road bicycle. Your cheap tennis rackets, golf clubs, and even your motorcycle racing bodywork are probably way over-engineered for their applications. You just don’t care because the strength:weight ratio is still far better than anything else.

Well, these guys decided to care and this is the result.

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]]> By: Justin http://www.motorcycledaily.com/2010/08/my-motorcycle-weighs-40-pounds-how-much-does-yours-weigh-with-video/comment-page-1/#comment-3058 Justin Wed, 18 Aug 2010 12:40:12 +0000 http://www.motorcycledaily.com/?p=10518#comment-3058 Well, I have spent enough time 'constructively criticizing' Harley Davidson. Sometimes you just need to remind yourself that nobody cares about your opinion on a certain topic. At least here, I'm not aggravating my friends. Well, I have spent enough time ‘constructively criticizing’ Harley Davidson. Sometimes you just need to remind yourself that nobody cares about your opinion on a certain topic.

At least here, I’m not aggravating my friends.

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]]> By: Tom barber http://www.motorcycledaily.com/2010/08/my-motorcycle-weighs-40-pounds-how-much-does-yours-weigh-with-video/comment-page-1/#comment-3036 Tom barber Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:47:00 +0000 http://www.motorcycledaily.com/?p=10518#comment-3036 I think that Justin is right. People just to complain about what they see here, and other sites as well. It just seems to be humans nature to put down other people and the stuff that thay do. The anonymous nature of the Internet invite this behavior. I think that people who feel inadequate, which most people do, go through life trying to compensate by putting other people down. I think it would be interesting to know whether the people who tend to put this kind of thing down are the sort of people who similarly like to build stuff. I like to build stuff, but I've never built anything like this. An obvious question is whether people who put down stuff of this sort do so in part out of envy. I think that Justin is right. People just to complain about what they see here, and other sites as well. It just seems to be humans nature to put down other people and the stuff that thay do. The anonymous nature of the Internet invite this behavior. I think that people who feel inadequate, which most people do, go through life trying to compensate by putting other people down.

I think it would be interesting to know whether the people who tend to put this kind of thing down are the sort of people who similarly like to build stuff. I like to build stuff, but I’ve never built anything like this. An obvious question is whether people who put down stuff of this sort do so in part out of envy.

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]]> By: grafight http://www.motorcycledaily.com/2010/08/my-motorcycle-weighs-40-pounds-how-much-does-yours-weigh-with-video/comment-page-1/#comment-3028 grafight Tue, 17 Aug 2010 20:57:18 +0000 http://www.motorcycledaily.com/?p=10518#comment-3028 Tom, I will be the first one to applaud something really innovative and interesting, but to me there's nothing to see here. True innovation happens when someone solves an existing problem in a new way. Yes, high weight is a problem and using CF is a "solution" but then we all knew that, didn't we? We also knew it would be impractical and too expensive. We didn't need these guys to prove it. If they had made it practical and cheap, now THAT would be something! Tom, I will be the first one to applaud something really innovative and interesting, but to me there’s nothing to see here.

True innovation happens when someone solves an existing problem in a new way. Yes, high weight is a problem and using CF is a “solution” but then we all knew that, didn’t we?

We also knew it would be impractical and too expensive. We didn’t need these guys to prove it. If they had made it practical and cheap, now THAT would be something!

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]]> By: Justin http://www.motorcycledaily.com/2010/08/my-motorcycle-weighs-40-pounds-how-much-does-yours-weigh-with-video/comment-page-1/#comment-3010 Justin Tue, 17 Aug 2010 11:44:08 +0000 http://www.motorcycledaily.com/?p=10518#comment-3010 It's the internet. If people don't have anything bad to say, they don't say anything at all. It’s the internet. If people don’t have anything bad to say, they don’t say anything at all.

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]]> By: Tom http://www.motorcycledaily.com/2010/08/my-motorcycle-weighs-40-pounds-how-much-does-yours-weigh-with-video/comment-page-1/#comment-2987 Tom Mon, 16 Aug 2010 23:59:07 +0000 http://www.motorcycledaily.com/?p=10518#comment-2987 I don't quite understand all the negativity. The price is ludicrous at face value, so what is the point of making a point of that? Pretend that the price was not disclosed, and that it is not even for sale, since in practical terms, it is not for sale. Then what you have is, here is something that someone builds that is very high tech, and where notwithstanding that it is not the least bit practical, it is nonetheless very interesting just for the pure technical endeavor. What's not to like? Do people react the same way to all that stuff that you read about in Popular Mechanics? If so, then how do they sell those magazines? Bottom line, this is good stuff. No one is asking or expecting you to fork over %70,000 to buy one, so just relax and appreciate the fact that any new technology that lowers weight and that improves performance has to begin life in a form such as this. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner will be the world's first large commercial airplane employing major use of composites. They would have gotten here eventually, but it is almost certainly the case that this stage came about much sooner than it otherwise would have, as a result of people like Burt Rutan building those canard wing, composite designs several decades back. People who push the technological envelope always deserve to be applauded and appreciated. I don’t quite understand all the negativity. The price is ludicrous at face value, so what is the point of making a point of that? Pretend that the price was not disclosed, and that it is not even for sale, since in practical terms, it is not for sale. Then what you have is, here is something that someone builds that is very high tech, and where notwithstanding that it is not the least bit practical, it is nonetheless very interesting just for the pure technical endeavor. What’s not to like? Do people react the same way to all that stuff that you read about in Popular Mechanics? If so, then how do they sell those magazines?

Bottom line, this is good stuff. No one is asking or expecting you to fork over %70,000 to buy one, so just relax and appreciate the fact that any new technology that lowers weight and that improves performance has to begin life in a form such as this. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner will be the world’s first large commercial airplane employing major use of composites. They would have gotten here eventually, but it is almost certainly the case that this stage came about much sooner than it otherwise would have, as a result of people like Burt Rutan building those canard wing, composite designs several decades back. People who push the technological envelope always deserve to be applauded and appreciated.

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]]> By: Austin ZZR 1200 http://www.motorcycledaily.com/2010/08/my-motorcycle-weighs-40-pounds-how-much-does-yours-weigh-with-video/comment-page-1/#comment-2985 Austin ZZR 1200 Mon, 16 Aug 2010 22:40:24 +0000 http://www.motorcycledaily.com/?p=10518#comment-2985 OK. I really like the new layout of this website (compliment)but I am tired of looking at this 70K ridiculousness. It's not made out of gold, there is nothing revolutionary here (as the article states) and the Euro is lower against the dollar than it has been in a while. Why the $60K premium for this thing? I'm all for electrics but I'll be happy when I see a V-Max or something of its sort reappear on your splash page... OK. I really like the new layout of this website (compliment)but I am tired of looking at this 70K ridiculousness. It’s not made out of gold, there is nothing revolutionary here (as the article states) and the Euro is lower against the dollar than it has been in a while. Why the $60K premium for this thing? I’m all for electrics but I’ll be happy when I see a V-Max or something of its sort reappear on your splash page…

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]]> By: fazer6 http://www.motorcycledaily.com/2010/08/my-motorcycle-weighs-40-pounds-how-much-does-yours-weigh-with-video/comment-page-1/#comment-2981 fazer6 Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:58:13 +0000 http://www.motorcycledaily.com/?p=10518#comment-2981 And I don't think segways suffer from regulation, they suffer from having a really small market, which they do well in. I use one, but I happen to be in an environs that lends itself perfectly to what it was designed for, and the regulations are perfectly in line with that intended use as well. And I don’t think segways suffer from regulation, they suffer from having a really small market, which they do well in.
I use one, but I happen to be in an environs that lends itself perfectly to what it was designed for, and the regulations are perfectly in line with that intended use as well.

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