Quote:
Originally Posted by RidinSunshine
Jenny Craig...  Now that one is funny . Although he did say they traded bikes and it was the same. Maybe he has too many tools in the saddlebags? Our mechanic told us that you lose a hp for every seven pounds. |
He may be a good mechanic, but he's not so good at physics. Horsepower cannot be equated with weight. Top speed is limited by horsepower, of course, but it takes no more horsepower to keep 200 pounds moving at a hundred miles an hour than it does 100 pounds--
provided that the wind resistance is no greater, that is.
Tools in the saddlebags won't make a difference to top speed, but rider's girth can.
That's because the bulk of the horsepower at top speed is being expended on moving air out of the way. Any increase in wind resistance requires more HP to maintain a given speed.
Weight
is related to acceleration, however! It takes more power to get a heavy weight up to speed
in a given amount of time than a lighter weight; or for the same power, it will take longer to accelerate the heavier weight. This relates to torque as well.
However, in the question at hand, the issue seems to be getting the advantage at full speed, not in acceleration. So I would conclude that it boils down to either attaining lower wind resistance, or else getting a few more HP out of the engine. Laddy, do you have any accessories that you could remove from the Rocket to try to decrease your wind profile?
