I think I'm crazy for even thinking...yet speaking such nonsense, but when are bikes going to be too light? Especially bikes that some or most of us use on the street on a regular basis. One would assume that the rain, wind, and other elements encountered during a ride could be adverse to lighter rather than heavier bikes. I'm not complaining, because I like light, but with power on the rise and weight on the fall I pose the question... I understand technological advances such as wet mode and traction control can compensate for dangerous conditions, but one would think that at some point there's enough power and enough weight reduction in the right places. I'm interested in hearing riders thoughts since I lack significant seat time on the Pani.
IMO it's too light if the power and the way it is delivered is overwhelming the chassis technology such as with the last of the two stroke racers. Now that chassis tech has advanced massively and we have huge advances in electronics I reckon we can go a lot lighter than current bikes.
I doubt road bikes will go much lighter than they are now as with current sbk regulations the pani r requires ballast added to bring it up to race weight. But I agree with the Indiana Jones' concern about too little weight as I lost a friend a few years back after a gust of wind blew him under a truck. But I must admit from my experience a bike with less power and low weight is affected more than a bike with low weight and more power.
Sorry to hear about your friend...but these are some of the very things I'm concerned with. More times than not, our bikes are street driven, hence the concern. I'll probably be laughing about this post in a few years when bikes have even more safety equipment, such as parking sensors, backup cameras, and following sensors...but for now the idea is feasible.
I don't mind 'light' I would only draw the line at when it starts to eat away too much at longevity and reliability which is an inevitability eventually
bearing in mind bikers are getting older, these things need picked up sometimes, trust me i know. so no bad thing.
That pani R is very light tho, 160 ish wet? And with 200hp at the rear wheel. Must be mental to ride. To keep the front down you need a longer wheelbase, which makes the bike slower to steer. Not the best combination in a sports bike. No wonder they are all fitted with anti wheelie I'd still love a crack at 150kgs, 150 hp
Get back into your O-level physics mode. Consider first 'Power to Weight ratios' . The less weight, the less power is required to achieve the same performance (Lotus v Bentley). Then go back to consider the 'Coefficient of Friction' between two materials. In principle, F1 racing cars shouldn't need anything better than bicycle tyres, providing that the rubber compound and road surfaces are the same. In reality there are many more variables (sheer force within the compound, impression within the surface grain, geometric deflection within the belting, etc, etc) which makes simplistic comparisons unfeasible. Nevertheless, if one could strap a power source to one's person and obtain effective traction with one's surroundings (power source of negligable mass), you would be in the optimal position as regards the best, most effective, efficient 'biker' you could ever be.
