Cars vs. Motorcycles vs. Pickup Trucks: A Lesson In Vehicular Physics.
I like motorcycles. I used to like cars, but now I like bikes. Y’wanna know why I like bikes instead of cars? It’s a simple something called power-to-weight ratio. I mention this because bikes seem to be frequently and dramatically threatened at stoplights by revving sounds emanating from below the hood of a car or pickup truck.
It's easy to determine a vehicle's power to weight ratio: Take a vehicle’s weight, and divide it by its horsepower. Even folks with the "piss on (manufacturer of rival vehicle)" stickers on their rear windows should be able to figure this out.
Let’s say that one vehicle weighs 10,000 pounds and its engine generates 1,000 horsepower. Its power to weight ratio is 1:10,or 10.0 pounds per horsepower. Next, assume that a second vehicle weighs 5,000 pounds and its engine also provides 1,000 horsepower (HP). The second vehicle’s power/weight ration is 1:5, or 5.0 pounds per horsepower. The power/weight ratio of the second vehicle is twice as good as that of the first vehicle. Generally speaking, the lower the power/weight ratio, the better the acceleration. Some forgotten formula including force, mass, and acceleration explains this better than I can right now.
I have a general-purpose/sport-touring-type streetbike that weighs 485 pounds full of fuel. When I’m on it, it weighs 695 pounds. Its engine produces (according to reliable tests) 111.2 horsepower at the wheel. 695 divided by 111.2 = 1:6.25, or 6.25 pounds per horsepower (lbs/hp).
A Dodge Ram 1500 SLT 4x4 weighs 4976 pounds and generates 235 horsepower. Each horsepower needs to push 21.17 pounds down the road. You might say, "Well…yes. But you can increase the engine’s horsepower…," which is true, but even if someone is smart enough to double the power of the Ram’s engine to 470HP and keep it street legal, it will still end up with a power/weight ratio 66% higher than my bike. Even the Dodge Ram SRT10, a 500HP/5150lb monster, has a power to weight ratio of over 10 pounds per horsepower.
A Subaru WRX Sti weighs 3298 pounds and has a 300 horsepower engine. Again, the power/weight ratio is over 10 lbs/hp.
Well, I’m boring the hell out of myself with these numbers, and straying from getting to the point I’m trying to make, which is IF YOU OWN A STOCK (or even moderately modified) CAR OR TRUCK, DON’T RACE A SPORTBIKE! YOU’LL ONLY LOOK LIKE AN IDIOT WHEN YOU LOSE. Well, less of an idiot than any sportbike rider appears to be when he races a pickup truck. Don’t ask me to explain the psychology behind the reason why I can’t let cars and trucks beat me at red lights—I just can’t…