Heh, I think I'm about 0.68 red-bikes, plus or minus (and incidentally me and the Mrs together are more than one red-bike, which is one reason to upgrade to something bigger - the little one struggles two-up). That makes me about 0.5 yellow-bikes.

(and Gail, a little research would give you a number in kg, if you cared enough to do it)

nevertheless, for the purposes of our little calculation, your weight is a constant, and would have no effect on the original question.

True, although because it's added to the weight of the bike, and is a different proportion of the total weight in each case, it might change the answer if the question asked for the power-to-weight ratio of the bike+rider package...

Instead of the bike-only 9:4, you get a bike+rider 10:4, which makes the Yellow look even more likely to turn you into a donor :-)

/Bevin

All true, if power and weight were the only variables in the comparison... It appears that even if engine size and weight were the same between the two bikes, the yellow bike would likely outrun the red bike. Slightly better aerodynamics with cowling and fairing and although I can't tell for sure just from these pictures, slightly better geometry and rider position possible.

And some of the donor-cycle commentary comes a bit close for personal comfort at this point in time for me. I am recovering from dumping my bike almost 6 weeks ago. Not quite back 100% but much better. Broken collar bone, seriously bruised and torn ribs, and bruised hip. Full face helmet sacrificed itself doing its job, so I avoided any head, neck and face trauma. (I went down face first and slid on my head about 30-40 feet.)

Ride safe!

Tom

All the gear all the time, Tom: nice work, and best wishes on the recovery.

We do love the ambulance guys very much, and forgive them their teasing and occasional scolding... the stuff they have to see and deal with I would hate. And considering that the yellow bike does sub-11 second quarter miles standard from the shop, and I almost bought it for under 6 grand, there is plenty of potential for young guys to do themselves harm. Heck, there's potential for us old guys to do ourselves harm too, but we're a bit better at riding defensively and riding to the conditions. Stuff still happens though, as your spill shows.

What a terrible spill Tom. Hope you are doing well. We are privileged to still have you here on CA.

Unfortunately it isn't just the skill of the biker - there are some pretty stupid car drivers out there...

Tom - great choice of helmet! One of the first questions out of the ER doc's mouths is "were they wearing a helmet?"

/Bevin

Who cares about the math, the yellow bike is way more awesome looking dude.

The old vs young thing is so true! I had my motorcycle license when I was 16 before I had a car drivers license. Luckily I didn't have a fast street bike like the kids now run. I got myself in quite enough trouble back then with 200cc. As I recall all my spills back then were all due to my own stupidity, lack of experience, judgment, testosterone overload, or whatever. As an old guy, this is my second major spills in last 7 years, both due to car drivers' fault.

And the right gear saved a lot of skin for me and much more. At least one of the EMT's that came for me was a biker, so they were sympathetic.

And Redwood, thanks. It really is good to be around for awhile longer!

Tom