2022 Yamaha 135LC Fi V8 - from RM7,798
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[UPDATED] The first video is a Bonnie and Clyde style of Mat Rempit stunt, with a motorcyclist dude and someone presumably his girlfriend doing stunts together. Looks pretty dangerous, but this seriously looks like it needs ALOT of practice.
The second video is a solo flight. Watch how he overtakes the car towards the end of the video while still performing his little stunt. I won’t spoil it for you by telling you what he does. Videos are after the jump.
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DynoJet manufactures motorcycle dynamometers, or dynos as they’re more commonly known as around these parts. There are a few types of dynos, but the kind that measures power at the wheels are called chassis dynos. Chassis dynos measure horsepower and torque produced when a vehicle’s wheels spin its dyno rollers.
DynoJet organised the first Dynojet Horsepower Challenge for motorcycles in March this year. Sometime late last year I was contemplating for a short while the purchase of a used Kawasaki ZZR1100 which made 150 horsepower. That never happened. The ZZR1100/ZX11 held the title of fastest production bike for nearly a decade. The idea of 150 horses on something that light was pretty much bordering madness for me, but wait till you hear what the winner of the dyno competition was making. A mind-blowing 701.32 horsepower. Yup, the winning bike, a Suzuki Hayabusa was runing on methanol and had a custom NRL turbocharger bolted on to it’s 1.3 litre engine which made 160 horsepower in stock form at 10,000rpm.
The owner of the winning Hayabusa also clinched the second place spot with his other Hayabusa which made 606 horsepower at the wheel. From the scoreboard, you can tell that turbocharging a Hayabusa is likely the most popular and effective way to create mega horsepower on a bike. Two other turbocharged Hayabusas made 559.02hp and 445.16hp each.
Anyway, I’ve put a little video after the jump. It’s a recording of a turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa. Not the same 700 horsepower monster, but an entertaining watch nevertheless.
Following the footsteps of Yamaha with their 2-Trac two wheel drive system for motorcycles, Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM has developed it’s own version and has been testing it on a motocross bike.
KTM says the results are good, allowing the bike to accelerate much harder out of corners due to less slippage. However, it’s harder to take the inside line around a turn due to both wheels being powered, which causes the bike to run wide and straighten up. Kurt Nicholl of KTM says the system would benefit amateur riders more than professionals because pros have gotten used to riding with the back wheel slipping most of the time.
KTM’s two wheel drive system uses a mechanical/hydraulic system to distribute torque between the front and rear wheels. How exactly does it work? There is a small hydraulic motor inside the front hub, powered by hydraulic fluid pumped through the two tubes running down the fork leg. You can see the tubes in the image in this post. The motor drives the front wheels.
One of the major problems with this system is weight, it adds 6 kg to the bike, and half of that is directly on the front hub. KTM says reducing the system’s weight to 2 kg will revolutionize bikes the way Audi’s quattro revolutionised car drivetrains.
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Audi and KTM working on lightweight baby TT
German marque Audi and Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM are working on a yet to be named Lotus Elise fighter, similiar to Volkswagen’s EcoRacer concept. The photoshopped artist’s impression above is based on the Pontiac Solstice.
Rumours are that a 2.0 litre turbo FSI from the Volkswagen/Audi stables will be powering the sub-750kg lightweight car. The light weight would likely mean a carbon fibre chassis, and that together with the 2.0 TFSI’s 200 horses and above of power will give the Audi KTM roadster a 0-100km/h sprint of less than six seconds, while maintaining good fuel economy.
Despite the 2.0 litre TFSI engine rumours, I personally think Volkswagen’s 1.4 litre twincharged engine is also suitable for this car, especially if it focuses on lightweight and fuel economy. A 1.4 litre engine would definitely be lighter than a 2.0 litre, allowing for easier engineering of weight balance. The current 170hp is more than sufficient for a sub-750kg car, and if that is not enough, 200hp versions of the 1.4 are on the way.
A video of an accident between a Toyota Yaris and a very lucky motorcyclist. Apparently the motorcyclist had a green light while the lady in the Toyota Yaris had a red light. The accident purportedly happened in Greece.
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