Category Science

 A chopper is a customized bike with a low seat, high handlebars and long front forks. The rider leans back, as if in an armchair. Choppers first appeared in the USA when Harley owners chopped up parts of bikes to make much lighter and faster versions.

Amazing! Chopper motorbikes and tricycle motorbikes a popular with motorbike gangs called Hell’s Angels. Hell’s Angels wear all black – black leathers and black helmets.

Is it true? Chopped scooters are used for drag racing.

Yes. A drag race is a race between two motorbikes along a short, straight track. Some drag racers compete on chopped scooters, which are scooters with a beefed up engine and a long frame.

Who reached 345 kph on a Triumph?

Johnny Allen rode a cigar-shaped Triumph bike at 345 kph across the Bonneville Salt Flats in America in 1956. Triumph named their most famous bike the Bonneville after this feat.

Who put three engines on a motorbike?

Russ Collins put three engines on to his Honda drag racer in the 1970s. Drag bikes need a huge amount of power for maximum acceleration, and some models are even powered by rocket engines!

Picture Credit : Google

TT races are held every year on the public roads of the Isle of Man, part of the British Isles. TT stands for Tourist Trophy, because, when the races started in 1907, they were for touring motorbikes.

Who raced on wooden boards?

Early motorcycle races used to take place on wooden bicycle tracks. Imagine the splinters if you fell off!

Is it true? All motorbikes have brakes.

No. Motorbikes built for speedway racing have no brakes, and only one gear. These races take place on oval tracks made of dirt, sand, grass, and sometimes ice. The riders slide round the bends at each end of the track.

Amazing! In high-speed crashes, motorbike racers sometimes skid across the ground at 250 kph! So racers wear leather overalls to protect them in case they fall off. They also have tough knee pads sewn into their leathers because their knees touch the road as they lean into bends.

What is a superbike?

A superbike, such as this Ducati, is a very fast motorbike, normally with an engine of 750 cc or bigger. The word ‘superbike’ was first used to describe the Honda CB750 of the late 1960s. Superbikes are designed for high-speed racing but can also be used for touring on public roads.

Picture Credit : Google

Trials bikes are designed for riding on steep, rough and rocky ground. They are ridden in motorbike trials, where riders have to ride over obstacles without stopping or putting their feet down to balance.

Amazing! Trials bikes can make short hops up almost vertical rock faces. The rider needs good balance and expert control of the clutch and gears.

Which bikes have knobbly tyres?

Trials bikes and motocross bikes have tyres with a deep, knobbly tread around the outside. The tread helps the tyres to grip the wet and muddy ground during competitions.

Is it true? No one has crossed the desert on a motorbike.

No. Riders often take part in motocross competitions held in deserts. There are also long-distance desert motorbike rallies, such as the Paris-Dakar rally which crosses the dusty Sahara Desert.

Which motorcyclists wear armour?

Riders in motocross races wear tough plastic body armour to protect them in case they fall off, or are hit by other bikes. They also wear long, tough boots, helmets and goggles to keep mud out of their eyes.

Picture Credit : Google

A motorbike’s engine is between the two wheels, attached to the bike’s frame. Above the engine, just in front of the driver’s seat, is the fuel tank. Exhaust pipes carry waste gases from the engine to the rear of the bike.

Are motorbike engines all the same shape?

The shape of an engine depends on how many cylinders it has and how they are arranged. A v-twin engine has two cylinders in a V shape. A straight-four has four cylinders in a line.

Amazing! The biggest engine on a motorbike is a 1600 cc engine on a Yamaha superbike. The engine is as big and powerful as the engine in a family car.

What is a two-stroke engine?

A two-stroke engine is a simple petrol engine often used on small motorbikes, mopeds and scooters. Larger motorbikes have a four-stroke petrol engine. Two-stroke engines use more fuel and make more pollution.

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A scooter has small wheels, a small engine near the rear wheel, and a gap in the frame for the rider’s legs. They are cheap to run and good for nipping around busy towns and cities.

Amazing! You can buy toy motorbikes which are models of real bikes, with tiny engines and the same controls as a full-sized bike. They’re not allowed on the road though.

Which is the best-selling motorbike ever?

The 50 cc Honda Super Cub, which went on sale in 1958, is the biggest selling motorbike ever. This little bike is cheap to run, and is still popular all over the world.

Is it true? The scooter is a recent invention.

No. Scooters became popular in Italy in the 1950s, and in the 1960s they became very trendy. They were ridden by young British men called mods, which dressed in green parka coats and customized their scooters with lots of mirrors and flags.

Which scooter fits in a car boot?

The American-made Autoped, which was produced in 1915, could be folded up to fit into the boot of a car. In recent years, as traffic has become busier, fold-up scooters have become popular again for cheap and speedy travel.

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A drive shaft is a rod which carries power from a bike’s engine to its rear wheel. Some early bikes, such as the Belgian FN of 1906, had drive shafts instead of belts or chains. The shaft turned the wheel using gears.

Amazing! In the early 1900s, women always wore dresses, even when they rode on motorbikes. So some bikes had a dress guard made of string which stopped dresses getting tangled in the engine or rear wheel.

What were leather belts for?

Most motorcycles today use a chain to drive the rear wheel. But many motorcycles made before 1910 used a thick leather belt instead. Belts were unreliable, as they wore out quickly, often broke and even slipped in the rain!

When was a drive chain first used?

Most modern bikes have a flexible metal chain which carries power from the engine to the rear wheel. Chain drives were introduced on some bikes in the early 1900s, such as the 1905 Scott. Chains are made up of dozens of short pieces linked together.

Is it true? Belt drives are still used today.

Yes. Most modern bikes use a chain drive, but some have belts instead. The belts are made from rubber, strengthened with fabric. Belts are lighter than chains and need less maintenance. A few modern bikes have drive shafts instead of a chain or belt.