Single sided swing arm, frame design, block/trans, exhaust, it all adds up.
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premie, quit trying yer methods of laying her down and strip'n precious metal off of her!premier said:
Why? Less metal = less weight, right?cheapbastard said:premie, quit trying yer methods of laying her down and strip'n precious metal off of her!premier said:
G
" Less metal = less weight, right? "
I used to weigh the metal I removed from engines by porting - even ground off every bit of casting flash and casting boss I could remove to reduce weight.
Now I just take the porting shavings and drop them in water to figure what volume they displace.
Weight 101:
Let's say a rider weighs 200 pounds, and the bike weighs 450 pounds. Then using an old racer's "rule of thumb" and calculating backwards - each 2.32 pounds removed from the bike (or rider) makes the bike 0.1 seconds faster in the quarter mile. Where can you remove 2.32 pounds easier - the bike or the rider?
This is why a 20 pound lighter rider can be considerably quicker - especially out of turns.
Adding 2.32 hp has the same effect - roughly. Power-to-wieght ratios are not as accurate for acceleration as torque-to-weight ratios.
Now IF that same 2.32 pounds you removed is rotating weight (wheels, chain, sprockets, brake rotors (For kahulka), crank, rods, pistons, etc.) it can be 50-100% more valuable. Depending on how far from the center of rotation the weight was removed. Inertia is a big deal - especially in the first two gears.
"I used to weigh the metal I removed from engines by porting - even ground off every bit of casting flash and casting boss I could remove to reduce weight.
Now I just take the porting shavings and drop them in water to figure what volume they displace.
Weight 101:
Let's say a rider weighs 200 pounds, and the bike weighs 450 pounds. Then using an old racer's "rule of thumb" and calculating backwards - each 2.32 pounds removed from the bike (or rider) makes the bike 0.1 seconds faster in the quarter mile. Where can you remove 2.32 pounds easier - the bike or the rider?
This is why a 20 pound lighter rider can be considerably quicker - especially out of turns.
Adding 2.32 hp has the same effect - roughly. Power-to-wieght ratios are not as accurate for acceleration as torque-to-weight ratios.
Now IF that same 2.32 pounds you removed is rotating weight (wheels, chain, sprockets, brake rotors (For kahulka), crank, rods, pistons, etc.) it can be 50-100% more valuable. Depending on how far from the center of rotation the weight was removed. Inertia is a big deal - especially in the first two gears.
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