Quote:
Originally posted by Moonduck
Look closer. It has a severely offset triple tree.
<SNIP>
Yeah, pretty much. While they claim it to be raide-able, and regardless of safety, it just looks so bloody uncomfortable that I don't think it would be ridden simply from that standpoint alone.
As to "Crazy fundamentalist rednecks trying to be engineers", I think they probably either are engineers or have on-staff engineers. They're frames are well designed and well-made, and the normal ones have obviousl been designed for actual riding, unlike this obvious showpiece YHWH bike.
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Just because they make bikes in any quantity doesn't mean they have engineers. I think motorcycle builders are pretty safe from litigation, as motorcycles are inheriantly more dangerous than cars, and rider error is the cause for a significant majority of accidents.
Let me list a several companies which do not have engineers but produce streetworthy bikes :
West Coast Choppers & Orange County choppers... ( West coast is trying to hire a mechanical engineer now, according to their site.. how often do you hear Paul Teutel go "Hey, call the engineer and ask him what the ultimate stress of our steering head is so we know how beefy to make it") ... and they DONT have engineers on staff... they don't need em. Any of tons of small chopper shops who build a frame with normal rigid geometry and put the rake 8 degrees over ( We have several here in Louisville ) don't have engineers and don't need em, they have tons of experience. It is possible to make a roadable bike at home... you just overbuild the hell out of it by using the strongest and thickest components availible and underpower it. If they were using anything but the overglorified harley lawnmower engines ( Harley engines : 130 hp in the most extreme race-gas state of tune ) then there would be some serious issues to deal with, namely, belt explosion and RUB squids trying to go faster than what they are able to handle. ( Honestly, how many people 25 or younger can afford to buy a $37,000 chopper? )
But... with YHWH you are dealing with a different breed of beast, and good thing it is not for public consumption.
99.9% of choppers built are based off some year Harley ridgid frame and they add in a wider tire and 4-8 degrees more of rake, and put in a 103 ci motor and that encompasses most every chopper ever made. Yes, it handles like shit compared to a van even, but it capable of handling on real roads. But eventually, one of these bikes (Like the YHWH ) is going to be released to the public , and it is so damn long that you have to scrape parts ( which would probably be a 20 degree lean with that thing). I mean, look at it, based on common sense.
The YHWH is unsafe because :
Extremely long... 10 feet? 11? Care to park it? Nope. I wouldn't.
Turning radius at any given speed for any given 2 wheeled vehicle is based on lean, speed, and length... I"ll put a link up to the site on my next post. That things turning radius is probably in the mile range. A longer bike has to lean more than a shorter bike.
Extremely low to the ground + extremely wide with the transmission and controls jutting out a foot and half... If I could find a few from the back I could probably calculate how far it could lean to a couple of degrees. My guess is 17 degrees before tearing off a $400 lever or bashing the transmission in. That might be able to take a turn 20 mph slower than any stock bike.
Linked brakes are good for RUBS. I agree completely. In my MSF, I was the only male there that hadn't ridden before the class. One guy who claimed to have rode for 3 years nearly broadsided my bike when he couldn't stop fast enough as he was only using the rear brake. This same guy failed the braking test several times, as HE WOULDN'T USE THE FRONT BRAKE FOR SHIT!!!!!!!!!!! Hell, I feel more uncomfortable using the rear brake as I'm afraid of locking it and high siding it....
I stopped , in the rain, in 14.8 feet, which would have passed in dry. These guys who drove their bikes to class even couldn't brake from 15 mph quickly. Sad. And they were beat on their brake test by 280 pound women who have never ridden before.
They should have engineers... but don't. You know another company that doesn't have engineers, but has sold a product for years and sells out every production bike they make? Here is their site :
www.bosshoss.com ... Designed by a Tenesseee mechanic.