RDosdorian
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http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=easterbrook/060808&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab3pos2
(about 1/3 way down the page)
Sayonara, Hayabusa: "It remains totally ridiculous, to say nothing of immature, that Ben Roethlisberger, or anyone, rides a motorcycle without a helmet." (From TMQ in August 2005.)
Helmet aside, this is what Roethlisberger was straddling when he wiped out -- a Suzuki Hayabusa, advertised by the manufacturer as "the fastest production bike on the planet." The Hayabusa has a 160-horsepower engine, same as the new Ford Fusion sedan. But the motorcycle weighs 478 pounds, while a Fusion tips the scales at 3,101 pounds. This means a Hayabusa throbs with seven times the horsepower-to-weight ratio of a modern car. Another vehicle with a 160-horsepower engine is the Cessna 172 Skyhawk, with a maximum takeoff weight of 2,450 pounds. Roethlisberger's bike had five times the power-to-weight ratio of an airplane, and minimum-weight criteria dominate aircraft design. The Hayabusa boasts a peak speed of almost 200 miles per hour, but since no street rider ever approaches peak speed, in everyday circumstances what the power is used for is acceleration. The bike accelerates from zero to 100 miles per hour in three seconds, which is astonishing. The new Corvette Z06, the fastest Corvette ever, accelerates from zero to 60 in 3.8 seconds, plenty dazzling enough. But the Hayabusa gets to 100 miles per hour faster than the best Corvette reaches 60 miles per hour. One-thousand-one, one-thousand-two, one-thousand-three -- your Hayabusa is now moving 100 miles per hour.
Like all max-performance bikes, the Hayabusa is basically a big engine with two wheels and a seat. There are no safety mechanisms: no roll bars, no shoulder harness, no impact-absorbing beams, no air bags, not even bumpers. Acceleration of max-performance motorcycles is wildly disproportionate to driving needs. The only real use of the acceleration ability is road rage -- to drag-race from stoplights, cut others off in traffic, speed like mad. Perhaps you've been on a highway when a couple colorful high-performance bikes have roared past you at far over the speed limit. The people on the bikes may be morons, which is their problem. But their antisocial behavior is your problem, since vehicles moving significantly faster than the speed of traffic are a leading cause of accidents.
This column isn't much of a fan of the tort bar, yet wonders why litigators have not put the Hayabusa and similar overpowered bikes out of business. High-performance street motorcycles are socially irresponsible, and designed without regard for the safety of riders. Roethlisberger and others who buy high-performance bikes don't wish anyone harm, they're just looking for an ego rocket. But harm is what they cause, and legislatures should intervene. The Constitution says you've got a right to own a gun and to read a newspaper; firearms and materials related to First Amendment political, artistic and religious expression are the only categories of purchases with specific constitutional protection. Race a mega-motorcycle on a private track? Sure. But public roads are subject to public regulation. Our nation's laws do not confer any "right" to operate on public roads a high-horsepower bike, anymore than there's a "right" to drive a bulldozer down the middle of an interstate. It is past time the high-horsepower motorcycle was regulated off the roads. The intended use of these bikes is lawbreaking!
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(about 1/3 way down the page)
Sayonara, Hayabusa: "It remains totally ridiculous, to say nothing of immature, that Ben Roethlisberger, or anyone, rides a motorcycle without a helmet." (From TMQ in August 2005.)
Helmet aside, this is what Roethlisberger was straddling when he wiped out -- a Suzuki Hayabusa, advertised by the manufacturer as "the fastest production bike on the planet." The Hayabusa has a 160-horsepower engine, same as the new Ford Fusion sedan. But the motorcycle weighs 478 pounds, while a Fusion tips the scales at 3,101 pounds. This means a Hayabusa throbs with seven times the horsepower-to-weight ratio of a modern car. Another vehicle with a 160-horsepower engine is the Cessna 172 Skyhawk, with a maximum takeoff weight of 2,450 pounds. Roethlisberger's bike had five times the power-to-weight ratio of an airplane, and minimum-weight criteria dominate aircraft design. The Hayabusa boasts a peak speed of almost 200 miles per hour, but since no street rider ever approaches peak speed, in everyday circumstances what the power is used for is acceleration. The bike accelerates from zero to 100 miles per hour in three seconds, which is astonishing. The new Corvette Z06, the fastest Corvette ever, accelerates from zero to 60 in 3.8 seconds, plenty dazzling enough. But the Hayabusa gets to 100 miles per hour faster than the best Corvette reaches 60 miles per hour. One-thousand-one, one-thousand-two, one-thousand-three -- your Hayabusa is now moving 100 miles per hour.
Like all max-performance bikes, the Hayabusa is basically a big engine with two wheels and a seat. There are no safety mechanisms: no roll bars, no shoulder harness, no impact-absorbing beams, no air bags, not even bumpers. Acceleration of max-performance motorcycles is wildly disproportionate to driving needs. The only real use of the acceleration ability is road rage -- to drag-race from stoplights, cut others off in traffic, speed like mad. Perhaps you've been on a highway when a couple colorful high-performance bikes have roared past you at far over the speed limit. The people on the bikes may be morons, which is their problem. But their antisocial behavior is your problem, since vehicles moving significantly faster than the speed of traffic are a leading cause of accidents.
This column isn't much of a fan of the tort bar, yet wonders why litigators have not put the Hayabusa and similar overpowered bikes out of business. High-performance street motorcycles are socially irresponsible, and designed without regard for the safety of riders. Roethlisberger and others who buy high-performance bikes don't wish anyone harm, they're just looking for an ego rocket. But harm is what they cause, and legislatures should intervene. The Constitution says you've got a right to own a gun and to read a newspaper; firearms and materials related to First Amendment political, artistic and religious expression are the only categories of purchases with specific constitutional protection. Race a mega-motorcycle on a private track? Sure. But public roads are subject to public regulation. Our nation's laws do not confer any "right" to operate on public roads a high-horsepower bike, anymore than there's a "right" to drive a bulldozer down the middle of an interstate. It is past time the high-horsepower motorcycle was regulated off the roads. The intended use of these bikes is lawbreaking!
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