My 3-Horsepower Diet

This is not to say that I'm obese or anything, but... I'll confess, I can use to lose a few... but hey, who can't? ... right?  Statistics show that upwards of 30% of all Americans are overweight, if not outright obese.  So, with the whole New Years resolution thing staring down my hamburger I went against my better judgment and made one... Yeah, you got it... Even though a cliche, I vowed to drop some weight this year. 

Uggg!!  What have I done?! Gone are the chips and salsa, gone are the late night Oreos and milk, gone the ice cream with Hershey's chocolate sauce that I SWORE was necessary for my clinically relevant (yet, self diagnosed) calcium deficiency... no more snacking... all gone!  My sweet-tooth has definitely fallen on unrequited hard times!


This is all fine and good, but I was going to need some motivation and find it quick to keep me "on the wagon"... and fast!  I didn't really care that much if my jeans were to no longer cut off my circulation while driving, and so what it I were to actually see muscle definition where once there was nothing but bulging adipose beneath lose skin, so what it I no longer jiggled while I brushed my teeth, and so what if I lost the man boobs?... well, OK... losing the man boobs would be nice.  But what I needed, what I desperately needed was motivation.  POWERFUL motivation!  Something relevant to MY life.


And then it came to me... I once heard a statistic, although unproven and possibly nothing more than an urban legend, that suggested a weight drop of 7 lbs. in a motor vehicle would translate to the equivalent of an available horsepower increase of 1.  

Could this be true?  It certainly made some sense.  Reducing the payload of any moving vehicle HAD to improve performance - but by how much?  This concept was fully embraced by  the "bobber" movement of the '40s and '50s and the "cafe racers" of Britain during the same period.  Strip your bike, down tossing off as much unnecessary weight as possible, to improve performance. Sounds pretty straightforward.

Stripping my bike would have been an option for me if my Moto Guzzi V11 Sport  were not already stripped down, nearly naked.  Short of refinancing our home to free up enough discretionary cash to fund carbon fiber wheels, and other insanely expensive modifications.... it just wasn't going to happen.  So, the only viable storehouse of excessive mass was.... well, me!  But, could I shed sufficient mass to make a difference without having to shrink to the size of Michelle Kwan without her skates?


A little research was in order!   There is in fact a plethora of information on reducing rotational weight (i.e. flywheels, cranks, connecting rods, gears, etc. - essentially all rotating engine and transmissions parts) as a means of effectively improving engine and drive train output and efficiency.  And there is an equal amount of information on reducing unsprung weight, that is, everything beneath your suspension (wheels, tires, etc.) to improve handling.  But, surprisingly not so much on freeing up horsepower by shaving weight.  However, we know it's true!  Tracking power-to-weight ratios are huge in considering the performance of motor vehicles and since this is a rather simple principle, 

(Note:  Simple is in the brain of the beholder!!) there should be a rather straightforward formula not requiring the assistance of Sir Isaac Newton himself to figure it out!



After considerable research (nearly 15 minutes!!) at the undisputed repository of all knowledge (Wickipedia and assorted moto fora), I ran across the following post on a Ducati forum.

DISCLAIMER: The potentially flawed physics formulas to follow are not the responsibility of this fellow... blame it on the fora!

Since:  Force = mass x acceleration (F=ma) or:  a = F/m; and given that Force at the rear wheel is a linear function of  horsepower (Hp), rpm, gearing and rear wheel radius, and given that mass and weight are directly related.  Keeping constant acceleration,  then varying vehicle weight would require that:

F1/m1 = F2/m2.  

Substituting w for m and Hp for F you get:

Hp1/w1 = Hp2/w2 

and

Hp2 = (Hp1 x w2)/w1

 or

w2 = (Hp2 x w1)/Hp1

If you want to know the change in weight that would result in a horsepower change of 1

then:

delta w = w x [Hp1/(Hp1+1)] - w

My Moto Guzzi V11 Sport (stock) weighs in at 483 lb dry, (less ~20 lbs for modifications) add 58 lbs fuel and lubricants giving a total wet weight of 521.4 lb.  Factor in gear (boots gloves, jacket, helmet, riding pants) and me... +230 (I have some REALLY heavy gear!!), that brings total weight to 751.4 lb.

Horsepower on the V11 after mods (high compression pistons, PowerCommander, custom exhaust and K&N filters) comes in at an estimated 110 Hp.

Solving: w = 751.4 x (0.991) - 751.4 

w = -6.77

So, I need to shed 6.77 pounds to realize the equivalent on an 1 Hp increase in power. Not too unreasonable!

What you will find in this equation is that 6.77 is not a constant.  In fact with, lower initial weight and higher horsepower, the drop in weight to realize an effective gain in 1 Hp is considerably less than on a bike and rider combination weighing in at 751.4 lb!!

Consider Michelle Kwan (93 lb?) on a BMW s100RR (wet weight 451) and 193 Hp

w = 544 x (.995) - 544

w = -2.72

Given my current "state of the flesh", I think I can use to gain 3 Hp!! Now, THERE is motivation I can get behind!!  A genuine incentive that motivates me!!  

Whose counting pounds dropped when we can be contemplating an increase in available horsepower?

So, each time I see a Snickers bar, a bowl of peanut M&Ms, a sack of Oreos... (insert favorite guilty consumable pleasure here...  I'm going to remind myself with my new mantra...

All together now... say it with me all you horsepower-hungry lazy lard asses ...

"NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS ADDITIONAL HORSEPOWER FEELS!"

-LD

 

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Daydreaming

 Disclaimer:  What follows is not a literary critique  of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - I don't think I have that in me!  There will be NO metaphysical heavy lifting!  To do so would risk a cerebral aneurysm (i.e. brain strain!).  - Just a few personal observations.

Like many of you my age, I read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Robert Pirsig), for the first time soon after it was published in the early 70s.   I honestly picked up ZAMM expecting to learn some of the finer  - more Zen-like, if you will - details of motorcycle maintenance.  Boy, was I naive at 21!  After about 100 pages and incessant forward skimming, it was clear that this was NOT going to be a metaphysical substitute for a shop manual, as I had hoped it might be.  Instead (at the time) I found it to be a bit of a slow read about an old dude  - all twisted in knots over his job, his kid, his friends his mental state - who was sorting through these issues on a motorcycle trip.  While at the same time on a quest to capture the philosophical essence of what defines quality.   It was pretty heavy stuff for a 21 year old in the 70s.  If you recall, if you can still recall … we were all wrapped up in Vietnam, the Stones, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix (already gone too soon), scoring good weed, and staying in school to avoid the draft.  So, at the time, Phaedrus (Persig's protagonist), was a bit more like Wolfman - our friend of a friend who was permanently altered, seemingly, from his drug excesses and trying to find his way back - rather than someone I could honestly relate to.

I recently reread ZAMM and, true to the original reading, I still found it to be a slow read (Note to self: my reading acuity is the suspect common denominator here!!).  But this time I could somewhat relate to Persig’s protagonist.   More on that in a moment…

This time I found the Sutherlands (Persig’s characters that epitomized the romantic view of life) a bit unrealistic, especially in a world that is WAY more technologically advanced than that of the 1970s… In part, what strikes me as so unlikely is that someone so seemingly fearful of technology, as defined by John and Sylvia Sutherland, would ever ride a motorcycle, let alone tour on one.   At the same time, in some small way, I could now also relate to John Sutherland.  Despite having my own technical background and some skill at general motorcycle maintenance, I share John's romantic view of the world.  A world where things work the way they are supposed to and all that's required is child-like trust that all is right with the world.  A world where we all get along, do the right thing, and be nice to each other!  As crazy as that sounds I honestly start each day with that (unrealistic) romanticized optimism for the world.  That is, until the first rude driver on my commute gives me good reason to think otherwise!  In addition, like John Sutherland, I own a BMW motorcycle and because of the manufacturer’s outstanding reputation, I expect it to run for thousands upon thousands of miles without any surprises.   And (unfortunately), like John, given the complexity of modern computer-controlled engines, I would be stuck by the side of the road if the CPU decided to go belly up on me, despite my better than average knowledge and skill at basic motorcycle maintenance. 

What struck me most about my re-reading of ZAMM is that I found myself having real empathy for Persig’s protagonist. Although he and I are very different - I’m a bit more about “don’t worry, be happy”  than I perceived Persig’s character to be -  there remains a soul connection that was hard to get my head around.   Thirty-eight years ago I was annoyed with the guy, today, I may have become that guy! … fundamentally all wrapped up over life, love, kids (grand kids!!), job, and the pursuit of….  well, something....  and using my motorcycle and the joy of riding as my tool, my soma, to unravel the knots in my soul.

But unlike Persig’s character, I don’t think of myself as needing to over analyze the physical relationship of the "man-bike-nature" or pursue the "metaphysics of quality" to solve my dilemmas.  For me, it’s more about riding, being out on the road, and the sensory overload accompanied by the endless daydreaming characteristic of any ride.

In any given minute, innumerable idle thoughts race across my mental visor in astounding continuity.  And sometimes, there is nothing at except the wind, the sounds, the smells.

“Lets see how long for a 6^th gear roll on from 60 to 80….. 1, 2, 3, 4… OK, too easy… lets see about 80 to 100…”

 "...what kind of mileage am I getting? … wow, only 41… OK I AM doing 80, lets see what I get at 60… cruise on, reset mileage on computer…"

"What did that hawk just pounce on?…snake!  Cool, love to see him try and eat that!!"

"... he really had some nerve ... who the hell does he think he is?... next time he comes in my office with that load of crap I'm tossing him out!"..."

"man, the new pipe sounds sweet!  lets get it up to 6000 and have a listen… OK, better downshift to get there under 90!... nice…"

"...here comes a tunnel… (downshift, throttle on) now lets get a good listen….. SWEET!"

"I've GOT to pee.... how far to next town?... too far... got to pull over... don't think about it..."

"... sweet truck! must be a '96 F350 single cab...diesel, oh, yeah!!"

"... it was 28 degree when we started out this morning and I had 36 psi in my rear tire, now it's 85... let's see pV=nRT...assuming constant volume... or can I?"

"...God, what a beautiful road! want to make sure we come back this way on our way home..."

And so it goes for miles and miles and miles.  The meditation of the road...it's intoxicating, addictive, and wonderfully therapeutic!  Just thinking of it makes me crave a fix!  -LD

 

Freedom Ride: A Tribute to MLK

My ride today takes me to some of the most enduring and significant symbols of freedom and justice in the American experience; places rich in history and places right in my own backyard.  

Lawrence, KS, the town where I live is, to some extent, a product of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, the legislation that, in part, would allow expansion of slavery into these new territories only by a majority vote of territorial residents.

Seizing the opportunity to spread slavery to the new territories, Missouri (already a slave state by the Compromise of 1820),  was positioned to influence the same outcome in Kansas.  

Not wanting this to happen, New England abolitionists, led by Amos A. Lawrence, planned an emigration to settle the area as a free territory.

In June of 1854, Dr. Charles Robinson and others, including Colonel James Blood, traveled to the the territory to survey the area between the Kansas and Wakarusa Rivers for a pioneer settlement.

Founders' Rock, in Robinson Park, Lawrence, KS

On July 17, 1854, 29 members of the first pioneer colony left Boston for the Kansas territory, arriving in what would become Lawrence on August 1, 1854.  The purpose of the settlement, to establish Kansas as a state free from the "the national stain" of slavery.

Pioneers' Stone Inscription

"To the pioneers of Kansas who in devotion to freedom came into a wilderness, suffered hardships and faced dangers and death to found this state in righteousness"

 After the first pioneers arrived in Lawrence, a second party of 67 was soon to follow.  The neighboring Missourians, hoping to also influence the outcome of the territorial settlement, were caught off guard by the rapid appearance of "Free State" settlers.

Home of Colonel James Blood, Lawrence, KS

Soon, border violence between pro-slavery militia from Missouri and abolitionist free-staters broke out all across the northeastern corner of Kansas along the Missouri border.

Meanwhile the town of Lecompton, just northwest of Lawrence, was named the territorial capital and pro-slavery sentiment in the new government was at odds with the majority of territorial settlers.

Historical Marker on US40 west of Lawrence along the Oregon Trail

A pro-slavery minority attempting to control the destiny of the Kansas territory drafted a pro-slavery constitution for Kansas and rigged the ratification vote to pass it.  The fraudulent vote was so obvious that President James Buchanan was forced to reject the pro-slavery constitution.

Meanwhile the region had become a magnet for abolitionists and pro-slavery militias and other combatants from around the county.  Chief among the abolitionist radicals was John Brown who has staged a number of bloody raids in the area.  

John Brown

On June 2, 1856, John Brown led 25 abolitionists against a much larger pro-slavery group led by Captain Henry Clay Pate and defeated them at the Battle of Black Jack, a settlement just east of Baldwin City, KS.  This battle is now considered by many to be the first battle of the Civil War. 

Black Jack Battlefield

The Battle of Black Jack was, in part, a retaliation by Brown and Lawrence abolitionists for the

sacking of Lawrence which took place less that two week earlier when Samuel Jones, the deposed pro-slavery sheriff of Douglas County, led 800 pro-slavery southerners in an attack on Lawrence that resulted in the destruction of the Free State Hotel and the two city printing presses.  The town was looted and the home of Charles Robinson, the future first governor of the State of Kansas, was burned to the ground.

Eldridge Hotel today, Lawrence, KS

The Eldridge Hotel, on the site of the Free State Hotel, destroyed in the sacking of Lawrence, May 21, 1856.

After 3 failed attempts to draft a constitution for Kansas that would satisfy territorial voters and the Federal Government, a 4th version called the Wyandotte  Constitution, outlawing slavery, was ratified.  Kansas was admitted to the Union under the Wyandotte Constitution on January 29, 1861.

On April 12, 1861 the Civil War began, although the Kansas-Missouri border war over freedom and civil liberty had been raging continuously for the previous 7 years.

*********************************************************************************************

The events of those years leading up to the Civil War are so ingrained in the history and culture of our community that I am  often reminded of our city founders' commitment to freedom and justice, not to mention the sacrifices they and their families made - many, the ultimate sacrifice.  They died that all Americans would share the same rights and freedoms as they enjoyed.   

It's especially significant today, on the day we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., that the struggle for freedom should be celebrated.

Growing up, as I did, in the South during the 1960s you were never far from the daily reminders of Jim Crow and the American apartheid.  My hope is that we never forget the the cruel injustice of racial discrimination - that we will always be mindful of the sacrifices of so many that brought us to where we are today and that we continue to recognize how far we have yet to go.  -LD

Confessions of a "Molecular" Motorhead

Kansas "motorcycle roads" is a bit of an oxymoron, but there are a few really nice stretches of road in our state - though somewhat few and far between.  Riding west of Lawrence (KS) on US Highway-40 is one of those little gems “close to home” for me and thus, I find myself riding it frequently.   Just before the Douglas-Leavenworth County line the road starts to bend with decent regularity.   If you are like me, my senses begin to heighten just by the sight of the twisting road ahead.  Down shifting to engine-brake into the approach of a tight right turn, I look deep into the curve, apply a touch of front brake, counter-steer to lean the bike into the curve and hold steady on the throttle.   Once beyond the apex of the curve, I roll back hard on the throttle settling the rear suspension and lightening the front wheel as I pull away hard from the curve.  The deep, resonant exhaust note coming from the 1100 cc V-twin Moto Guzzi rumbles through my body and puts a grin on my face revealing my pure delight.  The 3-year-old in me says:…“Let’s do it again”!!

I’ve always loved motors and motor vehicles.  I think every kid loves to see things move and if they move under power of their own on-board motor, then this is extra special!   

Imagine my delight when, as an undergraduate student majoring in microbiology I learned that few, if any,  cellular processes occur without the intervention of motors – very tiny motors – molecular motors!  Motors composed of protein rather than metal, these sub-nanoscale mechanical devices function very similarly to the more familiar “conventional” motors that provide locomotion on the human scale.

Molecular Motor at the Base of a Bacterial Flagellum

There are a number of different molecular motors found in nature but my favorite has to be the one that powers bacterial locomotion.   The vast majority of bacteria (those that can move) are propelled by the rotation of a curved proteinaceous appendage called a flagellum (or flagella, pl.) that serves as a type of propeller.  The flagellum is driven by a reversible rotary motor at its base spinning at astounding rotational speeds as high as 1,700 revolutions per second or, 102,000 rpm!!!  Energy for motor rotation is supplied by transmembrane electrochemical gradients of either sodium ions or protons.   The electrochemical gradients are generated by a variety of mechanisms including oxidative metabolism, fermentation, and light, in the case of photosynthetic bacteria.    Imagine that! – solar-powered microbes!   The resulting electrochemical capacitor drives the motor that spins the curved flagellum, like a spinning corkscrew, and propels the bacterium at surprisingly stunning speeds.

BMW S1000RR

On a scale basis, the high rotational speed of the motor and the efficiency of the flagellum as a propeller translates into straight-line speeds of locomotion that far exceed that of the fastest of mammals. Speaking of speed, the BMW S100RR of the microbial world is the obligate predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio.   This tiny (1.4 microns in length) microbe possesses a single flagellum that propels it at speeds approaching 100 cell lengths per second.  If Bdellovibrio were the size of a typical motorcycle (~2 meters), it would be traveling at 200 meters per second or an incomprehensible 447 miles per hour!   

Bdellovibrio "T-Boning" an Unsuspecting E. coli at 100 Body Lengths/Second

Why would Bdellovibrio have evolved to become the “land speed record holder” of the microbial world?  Well, one answer might be the way that Bdellovibrio finds and eats it’s prey (other bacteria!).  Guided by chemotaxis, a form of “directional sniffing” Bdellovibrio finds its prey, propels itself towards the unsuspecting bacterial target at blinding speed and penetrates the target bacterial cell body by the sheer impact of the collision.  It’s somewhat analogous to a car being “T-boned” by a speeding sport bike…. Not a pretty sight! Once inside its prey, Bdellovibrio grows as a long filament approximately 20 times the length of a normal cell.  The filament separates into individual cells, each of which grows it’s own flagellum and the newly formed baby Bdellovibrio bust out of the prey carcass and speed off like hyper-sportbikes to slam into another bacterium thus, initiating a new lifecycle.  The high efficiency of the Bdellovibrio motor/flagella combination and its speed of locomotion are subjects of intense investigation.

So, the next time you are  zipping along your own favorite local US-40 enjoying the ride, grinning ear-to-ear, think about being passed by a motorcycle-sized bacterium traveling over 4-times your speed!!   -LD

The Year In Review That Wasn't!

I really love this time of year!  All of the festivities surrounding the holidays, the family gatherings, the holiday lights, traditional Christmas carols sung loudly in the shower, remembering the reason we actually celebrate Christmas, and the warm feelings of Christmas' past (selectively devoid of all the actual family drama and tragedy).  All good stuff!  Good feelings, culminating with a crescendo of New Years Eve.  Still good.... Then!  Then, begins the onslaught of those dreaded "Year in Review" stories.  And they are everywhere!  It used to be that only the national network news agencies would do their pieces, Now every "Local News Action Channel-5" from here to Timbuktu has gotten in on the business.  It's as if the Christmas decorations all come crashing down to the cacophony of so-called-news pieces polluting the airwaves and doing real harm to the environment by consuming an additional 4 pages of local daily newspapers.... As if(!)....our sleepy community has 4 pages worth of publishable "year end highlights" to report!

Must we?...Really??

First, its the natural disasters, then politics, then the financial and/or personal scandals, then the sports reel in reverse then, the combination of all of the above, and finally, the sad parade of those that passed during the previous year, most of whom I really don't know.... do you?

Are we somehow obliged to recall the year now behind us simply because someone (as famous and they may have been) said: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
Are we really going to see a repeat performance Chaz Bono on "Dancing with the Stars" if we forget about it? God, I hope not because until 2 seconds ago I had forgotten about it!

I guess for me the past is just that... the past.  There is nothing we can do to change it and little we can do to change our reaction to it (well, short of years of expensive psychoanalysis).

I've had friends and acquaintances through the years (OK...family members too... but, none of you that are reading this), that live in the past.  Everything out of their mouths seems to be something that happened long ago.  I'm not passing judgment here... that obviously works for them.... I'm simply reporting the facts and trying to understand... But whether it's 10 years ago, last month, or yesterday.... by my account, it's gone! Never again to be here and now.  

Finito!  

But, that's not to say we don't learn from the past.... For instance, I'm never having the super-sized Margarita at On the Border ever again!  Too much sweet stuff, not enough Tequila!

And, I'll never again forget to take my toiletry zip-lock bag out of my carry-on luggage... you'd have thought I was Osama Bin Laden's nephew!

Maybe it's the eternal optimist in me that wants to believe that right now is the place to be.  Tomorrow will come in time, but right now I have the chance to make a difference. Right now I can be kind to someone.   Right now I can tell someone I love them (I love you guys!! - honest I do...- no really, I do!).

Right now I can do something that I may not be able to do tomorrow....

Right now, I really need to go for a ride and set my agenda for the year... and then, maybe change the oil in the Guzzi!  -LD