Motorcycle
A motorcycle called a bike, motorbike, or cycle, is a two- or three-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycle design varies to suit a range of different purposes: long distance travel, cruising, sport including racing, off-road riding. Motorcycling is riding a motorcycle and related social activity such as joining a motorcycle club and attending motorcycle rallies. In 1894, Hildebrand & Wolfmüller became the first series production motorcycle, the first to be called a motorcycle. In 2014, the three top motorcycle producers globally by volume were Honda and Hero MotoCorp. In developing countries, motorcycles are considered utilitarian due to lower prices and greater fuel economy. Of all the motorcycles in the world, 58% are in the Asia-Pacific and Southern and Eastern Asia regions, excluding car-centric Japan. According to the US Department of Transportation the number of fatalities per vehicle mile traveled was 37 times higher for motorcycles than for cars; the term motorcycle has different legal definitions depending on jurisdiction.
There are three major types of motorcycle: street, off-road, dual purpose. Within these types, there are many sub-types of motorcycles for different purposes. There is a racing counterpart to each type, such as road racing and street bikes, or motocross and dirt bikes. Street bikes include cruisers, sportbikes and mopeds, many other types. Off-road motorcycles include many types designed for dirt-oriented racing classes such as motocross and are not street legal in most areas. Dual purpose machines like the dual-sport style are made to go off-road but include features to make them legal and comfortable on the street as well; each configuration offers either specialised advantage or broad capability, each design creates a different riding posture. In some countries the use of pillions is restricted; the first internal combustion, petroleum fueled. It was designed and built by the German inventors Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in Bad Cannstatt, Germany in 1885; this vehicle was unlike either the safety bicycles or the boneshaker bicycles of the era in that it had zero degrees of steering axis angle and no fork offset, thus did not use the principles of bicycle and motorcycle dynamics developed nearly 70 years earlier.
Instead, it relied on two outrigger wheels to remain upright while turning. The inventors called their invention the Reitwagen, it was designed as an expedient testbed for their new engine, rather than a true prototype vehicle. The first commercial design for a self-propelled cycle was a three-wheel design called the Butler Petrol Cycle, conceived of Edward Butler in England in 1884, he exhibited his plans for the vehicle at the Stanley Cycle Show in London in 1884. The vehicle was built by the Merryweather Fire Engine company in Greenwich, in 1888; the Butler Petrol Cycle was a three-wheeled vehicle, with the rear wheel directly driven by a 5⁄8 hp, 40 cc displacement, 2 1⁄4 in × 5 in bore × stroke, flat twin four-stroke engine equipped with rotary valves and a float-fed carburettor and Ackermann steering, all of which were state of the art at the time. Starting was by compressed air; the engine was liquid-cooled, with a radiator over the rear driving wheel. Speed was controlled by means of a throttle valve lever.
No braking system was fitted. The driver was seated between the front wheels, it wasn't, however, a success, as Butler failed to find sufficient financial backing. Many authorities have excluded steam powered, electric motorcycles or diesel-powered two-wheelers from the definition of a'motorcycle', credit the Daimler Reitwagen as the world's first motorcycle. Given the rapid rise in use of electric motorcycles worldwide, defining only internal-combustion powered two-wheelers as'motorcycles' is problematic. If a two-wheeled vehicle with steam propulsion is considered a motorcycle the first motorcycles built seem to be the French Michaux-Perreaux steam velocipede which patent application was filled in December 1868, constructed around the same time as the American Roper steam velocipede, built by Sylvester H. Roper Roxbury, Massachusetts. Who demonstrated his machine at fairs and circuses in the eastern U. S. in 1867, Roper built about 10 steam cars and cycles from the 1860s until his death in 1896.
In 1894, Hildebrand & Wolfmüller became the first series production motorcycle, the first to be called a motorcycle. Excelsior Motor Company a bicycle manufacturing company based in Coventry, began production of their first motorcycle model in 1896; the first production motorcycle in the US was the Orient-Aster, built by Charles Metz in 1898 at his factory in Waltham, Massachusetts. In the early period of motorcycle history, many producers of bicycles adapted their designs to accommodate the new internal combustion engine; as the engines became more powerful and designs outgrew the bicycle origins, the number of motorcycle producers increased. Many of the nineteenth century inventors who worked on early motorcycles moved on to other inventions. Daimler and Roper, for example, both went on to develop automobiles. At the turn of the 19th century the first major mass-production firms were set up. In 1898, Triumph Motorcycles in England began producing motorbikes, by 1903 it was producing over 500 bikes.
Other British firms were Royal Enfield and Birmingham Small Arms Company who
BSA Gold Star
The BSA Gold Star is a motorcycle made by BSA from 1938 to 1963. They were 350 cc and 500 cc single-cylinder four-stroke production motorcycles known for being among the fastest bikes of the 1950s. Being hand built and with many optional performance modifications available, each motorcycle came from the factory with documented dynamometer test results, allowing the new owner to see the horsepower produced. In 1937, Wal Handley lapped the Brooklands circuit at over 100 mph on a BSA Empire Star, was awarded one of the traditional Gold Star pins for the feat; that inspired BSA to produce the BSA Gold Star. The first Gold Star was an M24 model, it had an alloy 496 cc engine, an Electron alloy gearbox, a rigid frame made of light tubes devoid of sidecar attachment lugs. This model continued up to the start of World War II. After the war, the all alloy 348 cc B32 and 499 cc B32 Gold Star were released, with a large list of optional components. Once ordered the bike was assembled by hand, the engine bench tested.
They were 20 lb lighter than head B series single. They were successful in the 350 class from 1949 to 1956, they could be specified in tourer, trials, ISDT, racing or Clubmans trim. The YB is taken from the beginning of the engine number – YB is 1948, ZB is 1949 on; the 499 cc B34 Gold Star had a different design main bearing. The 350 continued. Plunger frames were available as an option. In 1950 both received larger front brakes. In 1952 the 500 gets a new Bert Hopwood design head, the 350 had a new head of that design the following year. In 1953, a swingarm duplex frame was introduced,although rigid and plunger frames were still available, along with an improved gearbox. An optional CB engine was given more and squarer finning, a stronger crankshaft, a shorter connecting rod, oval flywheels, improved valve gear, an Amal GP carburettor; the DB Gold Star had an improved oil feed to the crankshaft, finned front brakes. If the buyer specified Clubman cams and timing, he received a special silencer. At the end of this year the BB and CB models were discontinued.
The 350cc DB32 continued in production until 1962. The 500 cc DBD34 was introduced in 1956, with clip-on handlebars, a finned alloy engine with a newly designed head, chrome plated fuel tank, 38 mm bell-mouth Amal carburettor and swept-back exhaust; the DBD34 had a 110 mph top speed. The Gold Star dominated the Isle of Man Clubmans TT that year. Models had an ultra close-ratio gearbox with a high first gear, enabling 60 mph plus before changing up to second. Amongst the options available were a tachometer and a 190mm full width front brake that gave a larger lining area than the standard 8" single sided unit. A scrambles version was offered. Production ended in 1963. In 1954, BSA wanted to win the prestigious Daytona 200 race. During the 1950s, the race was run on asphalt and on the beach at Daytona. A team of works prepared A7 Shooting Stars were entered; the race was won by a Shooting Star with a Gold Star in 3rd place. A replica of the works Gold Star was offered to the public; the specification included a rigid frame.
Engine modifications included using a 350cc head, which had a better downdraught angle, machined to 500cc dimensions and fitted with a large inlet valve. The engine produced 44bhp; the model was offered in subsequent years. A swining arm version, known by the factory as "USA Short Circuit" was produced in 1956 and 1957. In 1956, Chuck Minert won the Catalina Grand Prix on a modified Gold Star. Modifications included a larger fuel tank, an air scoop on a 19" front wheel. US west coast BSA distributor, Hap Alzina, persuaded the factory to produce a replica named after the race; the Gold Star Catalina was manufactured from 1959 to 1963. Towards the end the Gold Star was only offered in scrambles. In 1963 Lucas ceased to produce the magneto used in the B series, that line of singles was ended; the demise of the Lucas magneto was a prime reason that BSA and Triumph reconfigured their pre-unit-construction parallel twins into engines with integral gearboxes converting the ignition system from magneto to battery & coil.
The Gold Star was not considered for progression to unit-construction, instead the 250 cc BSA C15 was developed into the 500 cc B50. Although the B50 never attained the kudos of the DBD34, a B50 fielded by Mead & Tomkinson once held the class lap record in the Production TT, as well as gaining results at the 24-hour endurance races the Le Mans Bol d'Or and at the Montjuïc circuit in Barcelona. CCM used BSA B50 bottom ends in their early specials. BSA Gold Stars won the following Isle of Man TT races. List of motorcycles of the 1930s List of motorcycles of the 1940s List of motorcycles of the 1950s List of motorcycles in the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu Bacon, Roy H.. BSA Gold Star and Other Singles. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9780850454475. ASIN 0850454476. Bacon, Roy H.. BSA Singles Restoration. Andover Norton International Ltd. ISBN 9780957066526. ASIN 095706652X. Bacon, Roy; the Illustrated History of BSA Motorcycles by Roy Bacon. Ramboro Books PLC. ISBN 1 85648 232 4. Gardner, John. B. S. A. Gold Star.
G T Foulis & Co Ltd. ISBN 9780854294831. ASIN 085429483X. Golland, A.. Goldie: The Development History of the Gold Star B. S. A. G T Foulis & Co Ltd. ISBN 9780854292332. ASIN 0854292330. Prew, George; the Gold Star Book. Wilson, Steve. BSA Moto
Motorcycle frame
A motorcycle frame is a motorcycle's core structure. It supports the engine, provides a location for the steering and rear suspension, supports the rider and any passenger or luggage. Attached to the frame are the fuel tank and battery. At the front of the frame is found the steering head tube that holds the pivoting front fork, while at the rear there is a pivot point for the swingarm suspension motion; some motorcycles include the engine. In the early days, motorcycles were little more than motorised bicycles, frames were tubular steel. While the use of steel tubing is still common, in modern times other materials such as titanium, aluminium and carbon-fibre, along with composites of these materials, are now used; as different motorcycles have varying design parameters, there is no single ideal frame design, designers must make an informed decision of the optimum choice. In Europe and the USA, steel tubing was the default material until recent times. All the major manufacturers used steel tubing.
ExamplesNorton Featherbed frame Most Ducati Motorcycles Honda CB750 ExamplesHonda VFR750 Yamaha YZF-R1 ExamplesDucati Desmosedici Ducati 1299 Superleggera MotoCzysz C1 Examples1988 Elf ROC-Honda Elf5-NSR500 500 cc Grand Prix Ducati 1199 Superleggera Examples1971 Titanium Husqvarna Inter-AMA Motocross ExamplesBimota SB8K, composed of two aluminium alloy beams and carbon fibre plates MV Agusta F4 750 Serie Oro and aluminium Greeves 250DCX Sportsman, with cast alloy "downtube", tubular steel rear subframe and semi-monocoque spine. The motorcycle engine is suspended from a single spine. Spine could be a solid structure. ExamplesHonda CB92 Benly MZ TS250 The motorcycle engine is held in a single cradle with a single spine. Examples Honda CG125 The motorcycle engine is held in a double cradle with a single spine and single downtube. ExamplesSuzuki GSX250 Suzuki TS50ER The motorcycle engine is held in place within a pair of separate cradles; the Norton Featherbed frame was the classic example, but many "duplex" frames have a single spine beneath the tank.
ExamplesNorton Manx Suzuki TS50X Also called Beam or twin spar, two beams wrap around the engine to join the steering head and swing arm in the shortest distance possible for better rigidity. Beams are made of pressed metal; the trellis frame employs the same concept but uses welded members to form a trellis instead of pressed metal. Examples1885 Daimler Reitwagen Honda CBR1000RR Yamaha FZR600 The frame is pressed or stamped from sheet metal to form a car-type semi-monocoque; the frame may be pressed, or may have just a pressed aft section connected to the steering head by a conventional steel tubular spine. Both the Super Cub and the Arrow have pressed steel forks, instead of conventional telescopic forks. ExamplesAriel Arrow Honda Super Cub More common in the car world, a monocoque frame comprises a structure where loads are supported through its external skin. On bikes they are used exclusively on racing motorcycles. Examples2000 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R 2006 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14 2012 Ducati 1199 If a "monocoque" frame uses additional support, such as tubes or longerons, the frame is more properly called a "semi-monocoque".
An example is Peter Williams' semi-monocoque Norton racer. A trellis frame connects the steering head to the swingarm pivot as directly as possible using metal tube arranged in triangulated reinforcement. Using lattice girder principles, a trellis frame is constructed of round or oval section metal tubular segments that are welded or brazed together. A well-designed trellis frame should provide a strong, lightweight structure that simplifies placement of engine & components, gives good access for maintenance. Although construction of a trellis frame needs a more complicated process than, say, an alloy beam frame, it requires only a simple jig and a competent welder. No heavy capital outlay is required, so a trellis frame is ideal for a model that may be made in small numbers. For this reason, the trellis frame has found favour with European manufacturers, Ducati in particular; some motorcycles, such as the Yamaha TRX850, have hybrid frames that employ alloy castings at the swingarm pivot area.
Another variation is to suspend the engine from a trellis frame, but have the swingarm pivot cast into the rear of the engine. ExamplesMost modern Ducatis Suzuki Bandit 400 1989 Model Honda VTR250 KTM 690 Enduro KTM 1290 Super Duke R For rider comfort, a motorcycle's engine can be mounted on rubber bushings to isolate vibration from the rest of the machine; this strategy means the engine contributes little to frame stiffness, absorbing rather than dissipating vibration can lead to stress damage to the frame, exhaust pipes, other parts. Instead, if the engine is rigidly mounted to the frame, vibrations pass to and are dissipated via the whole frame, the rider. Rigid mounting allows the engine to contribute to the overall stiffness of the frame, it becomes possible to mount the swingarm directly to the engine rather than the frame, avoiding the need for frame members extending downward to the swingarm pivot. By increasing the number of mounting points between the engine and frame and stress can be better dissipated in the frame creating a triangle between the swingarm in the rear, the cylinder head at the top and the lower crankcase area at the front.
If a rigidly mounted en
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Grand Prix motorcycle racing refers to the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by FIM. Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start of the twentieth century and large national events were given the title Grand Prix, The foundation of a recognised international governing body for motorcycle sport, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme in 1949 provided the opportunity to coordinate rules and regulations in order that selected events could count towards official World Championships as FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix, it is the oldest established motorsport world championship. Grand Prix motorcycles are purpose-built racing machines that are unavailable for purchase by the general public or able to be ridden on public roads; this contrasts with the various production-based categories of racing, such as the Superbike World Championship and the Isle of Man TT Races that feature modified versions of road-going motorcycles available to the public.
The championship is divided into four classes: MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 and MotoE. The first three classes use four-stroke engines; the 2019 MotoGP season comprises 19 Grands Prix, with 12 held in Europe, three in Asia, two in the Americas, one each in Australia and the Middle East. A FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix was first organized by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme in 1949; the commercial rights are now owned by Dorna Sports, with the FIM remaining as the sport sanctioning body. Teams are represented by the International Road Racing Teams Association and manufacturers by the Motorcycle Sport Manufacturers Association. Rules and changes to regulations are decided between the four entities, with Dorna casting a tie-breaking vote. In cases of technical modifications, the MSMA can unilaterally enact or veto changes by unanimous vote among its members; these four entities compose the Grand Prix Commission. There have traditionally been several races at each event for various classes of motorcycles, based on engine size, one class for sidecars.
Classes for 50 cc, 80 cc, 125 cc, 250 cc, 350 cc, 500 cc solo machines have existed at some time, 350 cc and 500 cc sidecars. Up through the 1950s and most of the 1960s, four-stroke engines dominated all classes. In part this was due to rules, which allowed a multiplicity of cylinders and a multiplicity of gears. In the 1960s, two-stroke engines began to take root in the smaller classes. In 1969, the FIM —citing high development costs for non-works teams— brought in new rules restricting all classes to six gears and most to two cylinders; this led to a mass walk-out of the sport by the highly successful Honda and Yamaha manufacturer teams, skewing the results tables for the next several years, with MV Agusta the only works team left in the sport until Yamaha and Suzuki returned with new two-stroke designs. By this time, two-strokes eclipsed the four-strokes in all classes. In 1979, Honda, on its return to GP racing, made an attempt to return the four-stroke to the top class with the NR500, but this project failed, and, in 1983 Honda was winning with a two-stroke 500.
The championship featured a 50cc class from 1962 to 1983 changed to an 80cc class from 1984 to 1989. The class was dropped for the 1990 season, after being dominated by Spanish and Italian makes, it featured a 350cc class from 1949 to 1982, a 750 cc class from 1977 to 1979. Sidecars were dropped from world championship events in the 1990s. From the mid-1970s through to 2001, the top class of GP racing allowed 500 cc displacement with a maximum of four cylinders, regardless of whether the engine was a two-stroke or four-stroke; this is unlike TT Formula or motocross, where two and four strokes had different engine size limits in the same class to provide similar performance. All machines were two-strokes, since they produce power with every rotation of the crank, whereas four-stroke engines produce power only every second rotation; some two- and three-cylinder two-stroke 500s were seen, but though they had a minimum-weight advantage under the rules attained higher corner speed and could qualify well, they lacked the power of the four-cylinder machines.
In 2002, rule changes were introduced to facilitate the phasing out of the 500 cc two-strokes. The premier class was rebranded MotoGP, as manufacturers were to choose between running two-stroke engines up to 500 cc or four-strokes up to 990 cc or less. Manufacturers were permitted to employ their choice of engine configuration. Despite the increased costs of the new four-stroke engines, they were soon able to dominate their two-stroke rivals; as a result, by 2003 no two-stroke machines remained in the MotoGP field. The 125 cc and 250 cc classes still consisted of two-stroke machines. In 2007, the MotoGP class had its maximum engine displacement capacity reduced to 800 cc for a minimum of five years; as a result of the 2008–2009 financial crisis, MotoGP underwent changes in an effort to cut costs. Among them are reducing Friday practice sessions and testing sessions, extending the lifespan of engines, switching to a single tyre manufacturer, banning qualifying tyres, active suspension, launch control and ceramic composite brakes.
For the 2010 season, carbon brake discs were banned. For the 2012 season, the MotoGP engine capacity was increased again to 1,000 cc, it saw the introduction of Claiming Rule Teams, which were given more engi
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, it is sometimes used or colloquially to refer to remotely operated vehicles and robots, as well as medium-sized or smaller vessels, such as the midget submarine and the wet sub. Although experimental submarines had been built before, submarine design took off during the 19th century, they were adopted by several navies. Submarines were first used during World War I, are now used in many navies large and small. Military uses include attacking enemy surface ships, attacking other submarines, aircraft carrier protection, blockade running, ballistic missile submarines as part of a nuclear strike force, conventional land attack, covert insertion of special forces. Civilian uses for submarines include marine science, salvage and facility inspection and maintenance. Submarines can be modified to perform more specialized functions such as search-and-rescue missions or undersea cable repair. Submarines are used in tourism, for undersea archaeology.
Most large submarines consist of a cylindrical body with hemispherical ends and a vertical structure located amidships, which houses communications and sensing devices as well as periscopes. In modern submarines, this structure is the "sail" in American usage and "fin" in European usage. A "conning tower" was a feature of earlier designs: a separate pressure hull above the main body of the boat that allowed the use of shorter periscopes. There is a propeller at the rear, various hydrodynamic control fins. Smaller, deep-diving and specialty submarines may deviate from this traditional layout. Submarines use diving planes and change the amount of water and air in ballast tanks to change buoyancy for submerging and surfacing. Submarines have one of the widest ranges of capabilities of any vessel, they range from small autonomous examples and one- or two-person vessels that operate for a few hours, to vessels that can remain submerged for six months—such as the Russian Typhoon class, the biggest submarines built.
Submarines can work at greater depths than are practical for human divers. Modern deep-diving submarines derive from the bathyscaphe, which in turn evolved from the diving bell. Whereas the principal meaning of "submarine" is an armed, submersible warship, the more general meaning is for any type of submersible craft; the definition as of 1899 was for any type of "submarine boat". By naval tradition, submarines are still referred to as "boats" rather than as "ships", regardless of their size. In other navies with a history of large submarine fleets they are "boats". According to a report in Opusculum Taisnieri published in 1562: Two Greeks submerged and surfaced in the river Tagus near the City of Toledo several times in the presence of The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, without getting wet and with the flame they carried in their hands still alight. In 1578, the English mathematician William Bourne recorded in his book Inventions or Devises one of the first plans for an underwater navigation vehicle.
A few years the Scottish mathematician and theologian John Napier wrote in his Secret Inventions the following: "These inventions besides devises of sayling under water with divers, other devises and strategems for harming of the enemyes by the Grace of God and worke of expert Craftsmen I hope to perform." It's unclear whether he carried out his idea. The first submersible of whose construction there exists reliable information was designed and built in 1620 by Cornelis Drebbel, a Dutchman in the service of James I of England, it was propelled by means of oars. By the mid-18th century, over a dozen patents for submarines/submersible boats had been granted in England. In 1747, Nathaniel Symons patented and built the first known working example of the use of a ballast tank for submersion, his design used leather bags. A mechanism was used to cause the boat to resurface. In 1749, the Gentlemen's Magazine reported that a similar design had been proposed by Giovanni Borelli in 1680. Further design improvement stagnated for over a century, until application of new technologies for propulsion and stability.
The first military submarine was the Turtle, a hand-powered acorn-shaped device designed by the American David Bushnell to accommodate a single person. It was the first verified submarine capable of independent underwater operation and movement, the first to use screws for propulsion. In 1800, France built a human-powered submarine designed by the Nautilus; the French gave up on the experiment in 1804, as did the British when they considered Fulton's submarine design. In 1864, late in the American Civil War, the Confederate navy's H. L. Hunley became the first military submarine to sink an enemy vessel, the Union sloop-of-war USS Housatonic. In the aftermath of its successful attack against the ship, the Hunley sank because it was too close to its own exploding torpedo. In 1866, the Sub Marine Explorer was the first submarine to dive, cruise underwater, resurface under the control of the crew; the design by German American Julius H. Kroehl incorporated elements that are still used in modern submarines.
In 1866, the Flach was built at the request of the Chilean government, by Karl Flach, a German engineer and immigrant
Motocross World Championship
FIM Motocross World Championship is the premier championship of motocross racing, organized by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme divided into two distinct classes: MX1 and MX2. Race duration is 30 minutes plus 2 laps per moto; the series runs 18 events with two motos at each round. The Motocross World Championship is a worldwide motocross series sanctioned by the F. I. M.. It was inaugurated in 1957 using a 500 cc engine displacement formula. In 1962 a 250cc class was added and in 1975, a 125cc class was introduced. Prior to 1957, the championship was known as the European Championship. In 2002, the F. I. M. Changed the displacement formulas to reflect the changes in engine technology and as a move towards environmentally friendlier four-stroke engines; the new MX1 class became the premier class, allowing two-stroke engines of up to 250cc and four-stroke engines of up to 450cc. The MX2 class allowed four-stroke motors of up to 250cc; the MX3 class allowed two-stroke engines of up to four stroke engines of up to 650cc.
Note: Pink background denotes European Championship only. Without the European Championships. Last updated: 30 September 2018 Last updated: 17 September 2018 Including the European Championships. Last updated: 29 September 2018. Last updated: 30 September 2018. Countries that have held Grand Prix as of the 2018 season. 2018 Motocross des Nations Countries in bold hold a Grand Prix. FIM Women's Motocross World Championship List of AMA motocross national champions Supercross World Championship List of Trans-AMA motocross champions List of Motocross riders Hawkstone Park Motocross Circuit Cwmythig Hill Motocross Circuit Official website
Motorcycle sport
Motorcycle sport is a broad field that encompasses all sporting aspects of motorcycling. The disciplines are not all races or timed-speed events, as several disciplines test a competitor's various riding skills. Motorcycle racing is a motorcycle sport involving racing motorcycles. Motorcycle racing can be divided into tarmac-based road disciplines and off-road. Track racing is a motorcycle sport where individuals race opponents around an oval track. There are differing variants, with each variant racing on a different surface type. A road rally is a navigation event on public roads whereby competitors must visit a number of checkpoints in diverse geographical locations while still obeying road traffic laws. Speedway is a motorcycle sport in which the motorcycles have no brakes. Land speed is where a single rider accelerates over a 1 to 3-mile long straight track and is timed for top speed through a trap at the end of the run; the rider must exceed the previous top speed record for that class or type of bike for their name to be placed on the record books.
See— for an example. Enduro is not racing, because the main objective is to traverse a series of checkpoints, arriving "on time" in accordance with your beginning time and the time it is supposed to take to arrive at each checkpoint; the courses are run over thick wooded terrain, sometimes with large obstacles such as logs and sudden drops. A competition based upon points for acrobatic ability on an MX bike over jumps. Known in the US as Observed Trials, it is not racing, but a sport nevertheless. Trials is a test of skill on a motorcycle whereby the rider attempts to traverse an observed section without placing a foot on the ground; the winner is the rider with the least penalty points. Time and observation trials are trials with a time limit; the person who completes the route the quickest sets the "standard time" and all other competitors must finish within a certain amount of time of the standard time to be counted as a finisher. This is combined with the penalty points accrued from the observed sections to arrive at a winner, not alway the quickest rider or the rider who lost the less marks on observation but the rider who balanced these competing demands the best.
One of the most famous time and observation trials is the "Scott" trial held annually in North Yorkshire. Indoor trials held in stadiums which by their nature use man-made artificial sections in contrast to outdoor trials which rely on the natural terrain. Long Distance Trials in the UK are events for road-registered motorcycles. A course of 80 to 120 miles is plotted by the organiser, taking in roads and Byways Open to All Traffic; the event is not a race and riders are required to follow the course by using a RoadBook compiled by the organiser. Similar to car Autocross, Motorcycle Gymkhana is a motorcycle time trial sport round cones on a paved area; the winner is the competitor. Time penalties are incurred by putting a foot down, hitting a cone, or going outside the designated area. Similar to football, but all players are riding motorcycles, the ball is much bigger. Motorcycle Polo first began as an organized sport in the mid-1930s. In France, there are organized motoball competitions, the sport was included in the inaugural Goodwill Games.
In the United States the completions are held on off-road courses, where one competitor at a time attempts to ride up a steep hill 45 degrees or more. In some cases, few riders complete the course and results are judged on the distance that they manage to achieve. Of those that do complete the course, the rider to reach the top with the shortest elapsed time wins; the motorcycle of choice in the early decades was the Harley-Davidson 45 cubic inch model due to its high torque at low rpms, similar to farm engines. For years the national competitions was held at Mount Garfield near Michigan. In other countries, notably the United Kingdom, completions take place on tarmac courses closed public roads, with the machines used for competition being similar to those used for other road disciplines. Sanctioning bodies
