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In the middle of the last century, in the 1950s, the biker movement arose in the United States, which gradually penetrated into Europe. The main distinguishing feature of its participants is that for them the motorcycle becomes a way of life.
In the middle of the last century, in the 1950s, the biker movement arose in the United States, which gradually penetrated into Europe. The main distinguishing feature of its participants is that for them the motorcycle becomes a way of life.
The roar of motorcycle engines and two-wheeled bullets emerging here and there are the same sign of spring as the perky chirping of birds and vitamin deficiency. In recent years, more and more townspeople are gradually changing to iron horses, and there are several reasons for this.
Unfortunately, for many years, motorcycles in our country were mainly the official transport of rural district, provincial traffic police inspectors and a cheap alternative to transport for out-of-town outings. Several million domestic models "Izh", "Ural" and "Dnepr", "Minsk" and "Voskhod", together with the Czechoslovakian "Java" and "Chezet" helped to somehow resolve the shortage of VAZs, "Muscovites" and even more difficult for mere mortals Volg.
But even then, two-wheeled transport was respected for the fact that it was significantly ahead of its four-wheeled relatives in cross-country ability. Rear-wheel drive or front-wheel drive, ground clearance, wheel diameter and tire width - let the cars be measured with these parameters. A motorcycle without a sidecar does not need to try to force a deep puddle - it will just go around it. A narrow path is enough for him, and if he stalls in the sand of the beach, it will be much easier to push him out than to free a car from captivity.
That is why motorcycles quickly gained popularity as a suburban transport - for fishing trips and summer cottages, for exciting trips in nature. And when the traffic on the streets and avenues of our megalopolises choked with the first traffic jams, it turned out that in the city the motorcycle has its undeniable advantages.
And the motorcycle is also unique in that it makes it possible to feel both mentally and physically the joy of free movement and flight. True, to ride on two wheels with a motor, you still need more skill than driving a bicycle - especially if the motor is very powerful. Much more powerful than most ordinary people can imagine, whose acquaintance with motor vehicles is often limited to mini-scooters (scooters) and mopeds, father's "Java" or "Ural", calling bikers "choppers" and very common nowadays products of hardworking Chinese.
Taste and color
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| The BMW-R61 motorcycles proved their endurance and reliability in the harsh military conditions of the Second World War. |
Could the leaders of BMW back in 1929, having decided to master a new production of motorcycles for themselves, imagine that their "iron horses" would glorify the company all over the world? True, the first laurels had an ominous shade: the BMW-R61 and BMW-R71 models (with which our Ural was later "copied") became a very popular means of transportation among the Wehrmacht soldiers who traveled all over Europe on them, from the English Channel to the Volga, and who fought them in Africa. And together with the participants of the mysterious German expeditions, several of these machines even climbed into the mountains of Tibet. But besides the image of a "fascist motorcycle", they had another, more worthy reputation - endurance and reliability. And after the war, BMW motorcycles became as legendary as the American Harley-Davidson.
Today BMW does not seek to flood the market with cheap technology in order to compete with Asian manufacturers in quantity. The company still relies on traditional German quality and offers some of the finest (and most expensive) motorcycles in the world. In its lineup you can find light SUVs "enduro", and heavy duty bikes, squeezing out on a good road 200 km / h. They are just what we are interested in!
The names of the three popular models of this company - K1300GT, K1300S and K1300R - are so similar that a beginner will even think that this is the same car in three versions. Well, they really have a lot in common: the engine, the frame, some of the chassis. But actually, these three motorcycles have different purposes.
GT is "Grand Tourers", large, powerful motorcycles designed for long journeys. In the West, they are also chosen by the police. The driver has to spend a lot of time behind the wheel, and sitting in a bent state is exhausting. Therefore, the design provides for the maximum possible comfort for him and the passenger. The saddle is designed for a straight fit and has a peculiar backrest on which you can lean your lower back. Its height, as well as the distance to the handlebars, are also different in different models - they depend on who sees the ideal position of the rider, who is protected from the incoming air flow by the high front fairing shield. Since a motorcyclist, perhaps, will hit the road, say, in a denim suit, which the headwind will tend to rip off him at all costs, the motorcycle is sometimes supplied with side shields. Moreover, on a number of models, the flap has an electric drive for adjusting the tilt.
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| A timeless classic - the legendary Harley Davidson motorcycle. 2006 Road King CustomN
Photo: nitot flickr.com/nitot |
On a long journey, rarely anyone embarks light - therefore on the "grand tourer" there are luggage "suitcases": two on the sides and one behind the passenger seat. Comfort can even be complemented by heated seats and handles. And if the set of amenities is simply off scale, then the motorcycle is solemnly awarded the status of "Lux Tourers". However, if you take and rip off all these fairings, luggage boxes and other unnecessary, in your opinion, parts to facilitate the car, then we get a classic "chopper" - that is, a "gutted" bike.
R - aka "Roadster", aka an ordinary "road builder", that is, a classic multi-purpose motorcycle designed mainly for the city and good suburban roads. Like Java-350, which was very popular in the USSR. Modern roadsters have a sporty look and are much more frisky. So, BMW K1300R is a car with a four-cylinder engine with a capacity of 173 hp, squeezing out 195 km / h, capable of breaking out of an intersection and accelerating to “hundreds” in three seconds, leaving astonished drivers far behind.
S - "Sportsbike", a sports bike, the fastest production two-wheeled car. It was they who at one time began the technological race for records of power and speed, for a very long time standing out against the background of their fellows with futuristic outlines and a frightening number of horsepower. But what was fantastic yesterday has become commonplace today: manufacturers of "tourer" and "roadster" also increased the power of their engines, borrowed technical ideas from "sport bikes". Moreover, often (as is the case with our three BMW models) companies produce several models for different purposes on a common basis. That is why today speeds of 190-210 km / h are becoming the norm for both sports and road motorcycles. But there are also models, when you look at the speedometer of which you might think that this is some kind of joke. And for them we will go to the Land of the Rising Sun.
Flying Japanese
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| 1972 star bikers: Gary Lloyd with Bulltaco on the left and Bill Rowland with Yamaha on the right.
Photo: lslphoto flickr.com/lslphoto |
The huge company "Honda" was born in 1946 as a factory with an area of 162 m2, converting engines from military generators into motors for bicycles. Five years later, its founder, a modest businessman Honda Soichiro (Soichiro Honda, 1906-1991), launched the production of his own full-fledged motorcycles. And already in 1959, "Honda" opened an official representative office in the United States. By the mid-80s, 80% of the produced motorcycles on the world market were Japanese. Many of the world's leading countries even had to take special measures to protect their own companies from bankruptcy. Alas, they did not yet know that the invasion of the "Chinese" was ahead of them. However, the latter are still very far from Japanese motorcycles.
The secret of the firm's success was that from the very beginning, Honda relied on sports bikes, which were then used for racing. But Mr. Soichiro understood that if civilized racing cars were popular with buyers who wanted to rush down the highway, they would also love ultra-fast motorcycles. And he sent to the United States a light 1962 CL72 and a large Honda CB450 - which became the very motorcycles that practically ousted their own models from the American market. It is interesting that for the SV450 they could not create special tires and main drive chains for a long time - the 68-horsepower engine was too powerful for ordinary ones. Oh, if they only knew what kind of monsters would burn tires on the asphalt a few decades later! The Honda CBR 1000 RR Ten Kate Edition, one of the jewels of the company's current lineup, squeezes two hundred and one horsepower out of its seemingly modest liter engine! At the same time, the number of its revolutions reaches 11,500 rpm (and this is far from the limit for sportbikes).
Yamaha Torakusu (Torakusu Yamaha, 1851-1916) once dreamed of musical instruments, and was very successful in their manufacture. Even now, the guitars and synthesizers that he founded are listed among the best. Yes, only the war made its own adjustments. After it, the Japanese for a long time had no time for pianos and double basses, so they decided to get out of the devastation by releasing motorcycles. There was not enough strength to develop a new model, and “Yamaha” simply copied its first motorcycle from the German “Dkw Rt125”. Things went well, the company took up its own developments (although it did not stop "borrowing"). Today, she is proud of the Yamaha YZF-R1 motorcycle, which can accelerate to 250 km / h.
The history of another company began with the fact that a hundred years ago Michio Suzuki (Michio Suzuki, 1887-1982) made a loom for the needs of the family. Yes, he did it so well that the neighbors bombarded him with orders. For many years "Suzuki" was known as a manufacturer of equipment for the textile industry, and only in 1953 decided to try herself in a new role and released a motorbike. Suzuki motorcycles originate from it, among which the GSX1300 Hayabusa (175 hp) stands out as a bright star, which is considered the fastest production motorcycle in the world - it accelerates to 330 km / h.
Not everyone dares to sit in the saddle of such a bike and twist the throttle. However, sports motorcycles are incredibly popular all over the world, especially among young people. The "super sport" class, of course, does not fit well into urban conditions, and a long journey on it will not be comfortable at all (try not to unbend for a couple of hours). But on the other hand, having found a suitable track for high-speed races, their owners can experience several minutes of unforgettable sensations.
Tsar motorcycle
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| Photo from netcarshow.com |
From time to time, designers come to an obsession to create something "the most - the most", in front of which all other achievements of technology will be just miserable crafts. "The most-most" ship, tank, cannon, bell, dump truck. This idea was also visited by the designers of Chrysler, who created in 2003 the most powerful motorcycle in the world, the Dodge Tomahawk. Monstrous power, monstrous speed and equally monstrous price - this is how this technical work can be characterized.
It was based on a 10-cylinder 500-horsepower V10 engine with a displacement of 8300 cm3, which was created for trucks. Its dimensions are such that the motorcycle itself is an engine (a huge "box"), to which wheels are attached in front and behind, and on top there is a gas tank, a handlebar that seems ridiculously small and a place for a motorcyclist. It is the place, not the saddle: you can ride this monster only while lying on your belly. From the side it looks like the rider is flying in an embrace with a super-heavy cannon shell. This is not an exaggeration - theoretically, the speed of a motorcycle can reach 640 km / h, but no one has yet dared to test this in practice. The only daredevil who found himself stopped at around 485 km / h, prudently deciding that this would be enough.
The Dodge Tomahawk motorcycle looks more like a flying bullet. In theory, it can accelerate to 640 km / h. Why build such machines? Most likely for promotional purposes only, to highlight the company's technical ability. Dodge Tomahawk is a kind of souvenir, released in several copies, and it costs crazy money - the original price was $ 555,000
You don't have to be rich to own a super motorcycle. This was proved by the British engineer Nick Argil, who assembled the RapomV8 with his own hands - the most powerful piston motorcycle in the world. The idea came to him spontaneously: his truck crashed in an accident, the engine from which he decided to use for a new hobby. Finding like-minded people, he set to work. As a result, they came up with something like a biker "chopper" with a huge engine, on top of which there is also a turbocharger - helping it to develop a power of 1200 hp. They stopped there: the tsar-motorcycle is being rolled out to various exhibitions, but there are no people willing to set a speed record with it.
It would seem, where even further? But the enthusiasm of loners knows no bounds. Especially in Australia, where Mad Max's fellow countrymen live (Mad Max, 1979). One of them pushed his company to create a motorcycle with a jet engine (power 3800 hp), which, however, only efficiently accelerated on the spot, blowing an impressive jet of hot gases. And another Australian, Ray Bauman of Perth, spent three years converting a Caterpillar mining truck into the world's largest Monster Motorb motorcycle. Who does not need to go around cars - he can simply ride on them with his giant wheels.
In general, all motorcyclists are incorrigible in their optimism. Therefore, they like to feel fresh air with their whole body, and not just with their nose, and they are not afraid of vitamin deficiency.
