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[guest7]

Bike motorsport - can we justify the huge amount of effort and resources being squandered on sending testoserone-fuelled racers around racetracks?

What must HRC's carbon footprint be like eh? And let's face it, who needs to ride a V5 engined bike with tyres the width of a small saloon car in the real world?

Why not put some effort into endurance events where vehicles have to cover a distance at the fastest speed for a set amount of fuel?

And whilst we're at it... how many cows have died to provide signor Rossi with multi-coloured race suits?

GC

[andy230]

Hee hee!

I dont normally get into these, but can't really justify silence on this one.

1. "Testosterone-fuelled" - piss off.  I wear stockings and sussies under my 1-piece 

2. Can we justify it.  "We" as a (human) race??  I've thought about this quite a bit, especially in the light of the recent (and fabulous) Solar Garage project.  It does play (slightly) on my mind that racing bikes is terrifically "un-green" (BTW- whats the opposite of green??!)  Anyway, at the meeting 99% have genny's chuntering away all the time (Team Thumper has a big battery, charged by photons flying across the solar system.  For now.  But if we need tyre warmers, we'll need a genny)

Getting to the races - 50 litres of diesel

Racing - 15 litres petrol

Parts- which are just being used up "for fun"

Rubber, etc etc,

And all in a futile attempt to make a number smaller- my lap time.  I am aware that racing bikes gives me an absolutely huge carbon footprint, and its not one I'm very happy about. 

As for endurance events, I dont really have an interest in this.

However, I think we're all agreed that "it can't go on like this".  And it wont.  Motorsport, like the internal combustion engine, will eventually be unjustifyable. And will be made illegal, I presume.  However, for the next season anyway, I'm going to make big sacrafices to do something I really enjoy.

Isn't it like all things?  I couldn't really justify taking an Africa Twin over the Alps (twice) this summer "for fun".  And I'm no fan of the Hampsted mother in her Chelsea Tractor.  However, I dont think they should be banned (yet).  Especially as I too drive an off-road-type vehicle (the DR) into Central London every day.

Nothing is green.  Rock concerts, bikes, landies, or guitars.  I suspect that Thumpers are not particularly fuel efficient.  I'm not saying "to hell with it all, and lets consume", I make an effort with power, recycling, lightbulbs etc.  The "little things" (the "mickle", eh Smudge )do add up.  But we also have to live.  And while it is still socially acceptible, a plan to keep riding bikes and racing them.

And f*** the cows, Graham!!!  My leathers are 20 years old!  Whats your oldest pair of shoes?!   

cheers.

Ramble on, as Planty says...

a

[guest27]

Well - I have been thinking a similar thing - infact thinking about a dual purpose bit of writing about sustainability and petrolheadedness - so we could put it in the Thumper mag and the gardening mag.

As I remember i the 70's petrol crisis there was a suggestion to ban motorsport in the UK - until it was noticed that per hour spent many other sports used more fuel - not the least fishing.  However we do have just the one planet...

I understand the F1 are going to be requiring the cars to return X% of braking energy to the drive of the car - mmmm F1 car with bloody big flywheel?  And I am sure similar things will find there way into bike sport.  We are seeing some of it already in MotoGP where the reducing allowed capacity is making the engineers work real hard on extracting the energy from the fuel and minimising fuel consumption - apparently Ducati are particulaly good on this.

Now consider an alternative.  The problem with fossil fuel is it is cheap so we burn it pumping out the stored CO2 plus other rubbish.  Are we going to vote for a regime in this country that bans the sale of fossil fuels and cripples the economy in relation to - say - France?  Not bl00dy likely I hear you cry.  SO we have a problem with fossil fuels until they run so short that alternatives are cheaper - by which time the CO2 is out there.  We need to address the scrubbing of CO2 from the atmosphere - even if we stop burning fossil fuel right NOW there is still a lot of dynamic complexity to play out in th system, things will probably get worse.

So we need a situation where fossil fuels are too scarce to be viable, but we are not really going to let any of this cheap and good fuel stay in the ground, so actually we need to use it as FAST as we can to force the change in technology to address the problem ASAP.  Could it be that motorsport is bad for the environment in the short term and good in the long term?

As to motorsport dying out - not a chance, may move to other fuels - how many racing machines world wide have been running on methanol for years?  It is just where these fuels come from.

Endurance racing - not sure that this will drive fuel economy - unless you drive down the fuel load allowed - and this will then force up costs driving out the little inventors and leaving us with big business.

Who saw JT being interviewed on BBC1 lastr night by Mr Pinsent... JT made the fireblade look like an overweight cruiser and Mat Pinsent made his look like a 125.. 



R

[Steve H]

This article was quite an eye opener. In some ways it could have a quite worrying outcome.

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1949645.ece

Its not in this article but I'm sure it was also noted that the problem gets worse with global warming as the moose has more grass to eat so more gas is produced.

[andy230]

Skin the mosse, and make me a new set of leathers!!

[squirrelciv]

simplistic answer to the original question is NO! As to doing anything about it...........

Trouble is, as a collective humans aren't known for their care of the planet. Aboriginies apart, we all do our best to rape the Earth for whatever takes our fancy at that particular time, whilst showing off how bloody clever we are at inventing machines to do pointless tasks.

So I shall boycott MotoGP in protest and refuse to ride for any team no matter what they offer However, I may have to watch from time to time to see if my crusade is having any effect.

[bullet350]

all comes down to one fact, bhp sells bikes & mpg doesn't.

all the time the costs (financial only) can be justified by the increased sales it will continue.

pure capitalism.

 bullet350

[Steve Lake]

With regard to the leathers.......they are a byproduct of an already dead animal....which we have all had a hand in killing and eating (well, apart from the vegetarians amongst us)
And as far as i'm aware.....racers leathers are predominently made from kangaroo and kevlar....presumably the deportees eat the roos. (after shooting them from their 4 x 4 pickups by torchlight)

Personally, I do 100 miles a day (mostly by car) 5 days a week......as part of my work....with no chance of using public transport because of the test equipment and tools i need to carry.

So my priority is to try and cut down on this mileage, and use a more econimical vehicle, and there must be millions in a similar position.

I think the argument of accelerating the demise of fossil fuel (and thus accelerating the development of alternative fuels) has some mileage (bad choice of word there!)

banning motorsport is not the way forward.....fossil fuel powered engines will become automotive dinosaurs soon enough

not sure how exciting the racing will be with silent electric powered vehicles.....maybe a noise generator will help.....?

[guest27]

not sure how exciting the racing will be with silent electric powered vehicles.....maybe a noise generator will help.....?

Spoked wheels and cardboard clackers like on push bike when we were kids?

MOTOGP - carbon fibre clackers?

[andy230]

With regard to the leathers.......

Hello Steve!

You mentioned the possibility of a contact who may be able to get me a pair of "second" roo-skin gloves?  What do you reckon the chances are??  Not neccessarily freebies, but possible discount?  Logos on fairing, van, paddock sponsor boards, website, etc??

And how are you fixed for the evening of sunday 19th Nov to get a frame (plus V5) and tank etc?  Or possibly Monday 20th?

Or possibly I may just bring them to london and drop them to you on a later weekend?  My trek for that weekend is:

London
Kidderminster
Derby
Glasgow
Derby
Norfolk
London

Like challange anneka without the lycra!!

Cheers for now, see you soon

a

[guest40]

And as far as i'm aware.....racers leathers are predominently made from kangaroo and kevlar....presumably the deportees eat the roos. (after shooting them from their 4 x 4 pickups by torchlight)

Yer! and it tastes yummy, especially road kill!  It has little or no fat or cholesterol, so you can pig out on a rooroast, roo sausages rooBBQ and roo soup to your HEARTS content. I dont know what the deportees eat, but the natives and later migrants who didn't have to steal a loaf of bread or two(3 got you hanged!), to get here, find it really adds bounce to their night life!
They are so close to Perth, that one can go out and get some with a spear.
The 4wd brigade use shooting them as an excuse to go bush..... hahaha
 

[bullet350]

 if they were serious they'd put a 125cc limit on GP bikes, but allow 'alternative' fuelled vehicles.

 this would force the hand of the big companies, although would track sucess with a non-petrol bike sell petrol bikes?

 its hard to say, since most of us are skint and but bikes once they're 5 years old or more. as such our opinions are worth nowt to the manufacturers. i bought my cbr because it was the right price, i don't particularly like fours. i'd prefer a twin but bmw and harley are too expensive.

bullet350

[guest24]

I like GC's idea of endurance. Just like home life, its endurance rather than speed that counts, so I've been told!

[Richard 003]

Bike motorsport - can we justify the huge amount of effort and resources being squandered on sending testoserone-fuelled racers around racetracks?

What must HRC's carbon footprint be like eh? And let's face it, who needs to ride a V5 engined bike with tyres the width of a small saloon car in the real world?

Why not put some effort into endurance events where vehicles have to cover a distance at the fastest speed for a set amount of fuel?

And whilst we're at it... how many cows have died to provide signor Rossi with multi-coloured race suits?

GC

I read somewhere (in the best forum tradition, I forget where) that one transatlantic plane flight uses as much fuel as the whole F1 car racing season. So it's all relative, isn't it?

[Steve Lake]

With regard to the leathers.......

Hello Steve!

You mentioned the possibility of a contact who may be able to get me a pair of "second" roo-skin gloves?  What do you reckon the chances are??  Not neccessarily freebies, but possible discount?  Logos on fairing, van, paddock sponsor boards, website, etc??

And how are you fixed for the evening of sunday 19th Nov to get a frame (plus V5) and tank etc?  Or possibly Monday 20th?


Dunno about the gloves mate.......think you must have been blagging somewhere else on that one?

any time is ok for the drop off. but best at weekends or monday/tuesday, just give me a call first so's I can make sure I'm about

Cheers
SL

Or possibly I may just bring them to london and drop them to you on a later weekend?  My trek for that weekend is:

London
Kidderminster
Derby
Glasgow
Derby
Norfolk
London

Like challange anneka without the lycra!!

Cheers for now, see you soon

a