They say that the one who drives a motorcycle carries not so much his body as his soul. For some, a two-wheeled mode of transport is simply a compact means of transportation, but for others it is a true friend and faithful companion. Those who are not possessed by the thirst for speed “with the breeze” claim that this is a kamikaze transport and skeptically watch the flying aces, not seeing any difference in them.
Understanding the definitions that owners give to their iron horses and being able to distinguish a driver on a motorcycle from a driver on a bike is not an easy task for the uninformed. A beginner or potential motorbike rider asks this question like no one else, because both the choice of device and the model of behavior on the road depend on it.
What is a motorcycle?
The motorcycle is no longer a novelty, and everyone can imagine it. The first two-wheeled vehicle with a motor appeared more than a hundred years ago and since then it has only become more sophisticated and popular.
The definition of a motorcycle today is: a two-wheeled vehicle driven by an engine with a displacement on average of 50 to 2000 cc. , the driver of which controls it in a sitting upright position, and the direction of movement is regulated by a steering wheel directly connected to the front wheel (without a gearbox).
For each purpose, a different type of motorcycle has been invented, and this is not surprising, because this type of transport is popular in completely different circles. From low-power mopeds to sports and super-fast professional units. Among them, some are suitable for urban use, heavy and comfortable ones are ideal for long trips, and there are even “dirt mixers” for absolute off-road use.
The classic remains unchanged - a two-seater, medium-powered and sometimes with a sidecar, with metal and plastic “body” parts that provide only the necessary minimum. It is comfortable for the driver to sit on it, since there is no need to lean forward or backward. One headlight illuminates the path, and at the rear there are brake lights. There is an instrument panel, side mirrors, a large fuel tank, and the engine is not very powerful, but reliable. With such characteristics, you can use a motorcycle every day for commuting to work, and take a friend fishing with you on weekends.
Motorcycle with sidecar
Pitbikes
Pitbike is an amazing mini-motorcycle that appeared as the fruit of the evolution of the bicycle. Initially, this vehicle was used during racing to provide maintenance to competition participants. But later the pits became full participants in minimotocross and minisupermoto races. This type of transport is often chosen by novice motorcyclists in order to gain the necessary riding skills with a minimum of risks and without overload.
This type of transport is also good for teenagers. Using a pit bike as an example, a novice motorcycle enthusiast learns to change gears, feel the clutch and brake safely, hone control on different surfaces, and understand the operation of all components and systems. Adrenaline fans also love pit bikes, because such vehicles are optimal for honing various tricks.
Main characteristics of pit bikes:
- compactness;
- lightness;
- powerful motor of small cubic capacity – 50–150 cm3;
- versatility - the ability to drive both on regular roads and beyond;
- ease of transportation and storage;
- can be used by young and adult motorcyclists weighing up to 130 kg, including novice riders;
- small diameter of the rear wheel - within 12 inches;
- ease of use and maintenance.
What is a bike?
Everything is clear with a motorcycle, but what then is the bike?
Everyone hears the word “bike,” but rarely does anyone think about its similarity to a motorcycle. The first association is, for some reason, a hairy man with a beard and dark glasses, a bandana on his head and black leather on his body, growling with the engine of... a motorcycle! No, he will say with confidence that this is a bike, not a motorcycle.
Bike
The word “bike” came into our speech from English, and translated means “bicycle”. Only later did the word come to be applied to all two-wheeled vehicles, including motorcycles. This word is associated with a whole movement of motorbikers pursuing a certain culture.
Calling any motorcycle a bike will not be a mistake, because in fact, it is a synonym that came from another language. But this word has taken root so well that today it has a special meaning both in the case of a bicycle and a motorcycle.
True motorcyclists, also known as bikers, take their iron horse with them everywhere. Their bike is not just transport, it is the personification of freedom and a means of self-expression . It follows from this that the owner will not only pour gasoline into a real bike, he will put his soul and all his love into it. Such a motorcycle will not be like others, it will be special and, perhaps, will bear a proud name!
Difference in engines
Standard view of the engine of a Chinese pit bike. The photo shows our Regulmoto 125 cc.
Pit bikes mostly come with a 4-stroke engine, it is easier to maintain, but under serious loads it is more fragile than a 2-stroke cross bike.
Cross-country models are equipped with separate oil cooling, while pit bikes have only air cooling. This all affects the price . Well, the more parts, the greater the likelihood of breakdowns!
Most pit bikes have only air cooling.
You can see the additional cooling on the motocross bike. You can’t go anywhere without it, the loads are too big.
Similarities between a bike and a motorcycle
Having found out that a bike, in principle, is a motorcycle, it is not difficult to identify common features:
- This is a two-wheeler.
- The design consists of a frame and wheels, a fork and steering wheel, rear shock absorbers, a seat for 2 people, a motor and a fuel tank.
- Designed for movement or transportation.
- The driver's seating position is vertical.
- The driver is required to have equipment and driving skills.
All these features are common to bikes and motorcycles. But there are still differences that allow you to recognize the bike even without a driver.
Distinctive features
But the classes have many more distinctive features. In addition to the fact that in terms of speed indicators they are at opposite poles, a number of other parameters are distinguished.
For this purpose, classes are considered separately. And you can start with a cross-country one.
What is characteristic of a motocross motorcycle?
A typical representative of the junior cross-country type is the HONDA CRF 125.
Cross-country motorcycles are designed for racing and moving around the city on one is not very convenient. A racing track is like a stadium. There are stands for spectators, a central field (often this is where team garages and all kinds of official equipment are moved) and running tracks, or in the case of motorcycles, driving tracks. Only, unlike the stadium, the latter are not paved.
In order to participate in races, any motocross motorcycle must meet the requirements of racing, which bear little resemblance to traffic rules.
The motocross motorcycle has:
- full-size spoked wheels;
- tires that are similar to those used in enduro, but the requirements for cross-country tires are an order of magnitude higher;
- large working stroke of the pendulum and fork ( 200–300 mm ).
Cross-country motorcycles are characterized by an inverted fork. There, less dirt gets into the rod.
The latter is most often of an inverted type, for better handling.
In addition, the characteristic features of such bikes are the reduced size of the steering wheel and a loud exhaust due to a lightweight and sometimes completely absent muffler.
Now, by the way, cross-country racing on pit bikes is gaining popularity.
But the main thing is that although such a bike does not require a license, operating it requires special skills.
What is inherent in a pit bike?
Unlike a cross bike (this is how “cross motorcycle” is abbreviated), you can ride a pit bike in the park, at the dacha, or even on the playground (naturally for a child).
This “transport” has:
- compactness and light weight;
- ease of control;
- low cost upon purchase;
- easy and inexpensive maintenance.
But this also includes small wheels and safety. Children's cars are also distinguished by a greater possibility of customization to suit the level of vehicle ownership and understanding of control features.
How is a bike different from a motorcycle?
As mentioned above, the owner works on his bike and does not allow it to remain in stock form, unless, of course, this is required, and the bike does not initially look like a cool rocker truck.
The bike has distinctive features in the following categories:
- Appearance.
- Motor power.
- Driver style.
Biker
External differences
The classic-style bike is distinguished by its beauty; leather and chrome elements predominate on it; a protective windshield can be installed for comfortable long trips. The bikes are often painted in dark colors, the seat is made of black leather.
Differences in technical characteristics
Technically, a bike is more advanced than a motorcycle. This is expressed in a forced engine, an improved exhaust system, chrome-plated spoked wheels and wide tires. The large exhaust pipe produces a pleasant sound of a noble engine. A classic bike is a reliable, stylish unit that attracts attention.
Moral aspect
Undoubtedly, the difference between a motorcycle and a bike is that a motorcycle will never always be with its owner. The biker, who is constantly on his “friend,” is recognizable by his characteristic clothing, which is comfortable for riding without all-round metal protection and will ensure proper safety. Also, if lovers of motorcycles and speed are young people from 20 to 30 years old, then the owner of the bike will not change him for the rest of his life.
Auto and motorcycleComment
Road
First of all, all devices belong to two large groups. Let's start with something closer to us - with motorcycles for riding on good asphalt roads. The name does not mean that they are not suitable for moving over rough terrain, but these bikes perform best on high-quality specialized trails.
Standard, Classic or Roadster(Standard Motorcycle/Naked Bikes/Roadster)
The standard type of motorcycle is the most common due to its simple design and suitability for any purpose.
(Naked motorcycle Suzuki GS500E)
Ergonomics (driver's seating position) is quite neutral, there is no pronounced forward or backward tilt. The seat height is closer to the middle of the range, around 80 cm, and suits almost everyone. The device can be equipped with a luggage compartment/bag, different seat options, and a straight or slightly curved steering wheel. These things combine to make it a good first all-round touring bike. It usually does not come with a large protective fairing on the front.
There are also motorcycles in the Neoclassical category - these are modifications of old cars in a modern way while maintaining the original design.
(Ural in retro style)
The Ural with the photo above can also be classified as a Naked Bikes group. Devices of this category do not have special protection that would hide their motor and all other internals; they are simply naked (Naked). Another distinctive feature is the round headlight.
As for the power characteristics, the motorcycle of the classic group has engine displacement variations from 125 cubic meters (some sources set the initial bar at 50, since up to this point the equipment applies only to mopeds) to 1000 cubic meters. The drive is standard, V-shaped. If we talk about internal combustion engines, then both 2- and 4-stroke engines are often used. Weight varies from 75 to 250 kg.
You can buy Ural on Avito at completely different prices. The average cost of a motorcycle is about 100,000 rubles. But you can find an option for both 10 thousand and 900 thousand.
(Electric motorcycles: City Slicker and Zero SR)
With electric versions everything is more complicated, and this applies to all classes that will be presented in the article. The field is only developing, and it is difficult to single out any specific strength indicators. Now the power reserve of each individual model varies greatly and depends on the price: the more expensive the bike, the better and larger the battery. For example, here is our story about comparing two motorcycles: City Slicker for $2,000 and Zero for $16,000. We can only say that the maximum speed of such devices currently reaches 250 km/h.
Cruiser
The Cruiser (or as some call the Cruiser) is made in the style of American cars from the 1930s to the early 1960s, such as Indian and Harley-Davidson, the latter largely defining the category.
(Harley-Davidson Street)
Most motorcycles are equipped with a V-shaped engine with a large volume of up to 1000 cc, although there are other configurations. The motors are tuned for low torque, which makes them less demanding to drive because they don't need to be accelerated as often.
The rider positions himself on the bike with his feet forward and his arms raised high enough so that his back is straight or slightly leaned back. At low and medium speeds, the Cruiser will be more comfortable than other motorcycles. However, riding for long periods of time on the freeway can become tiring due to trying to resist the force of the wind, which hits the rider directly in the chest. The vehicles are limited when turning due to insufficient ground clearance.
Sports bike handling
As has been said many times, the task of sports motorcycle manufacturers is to make them as powerful as possible, but at the same time more comfortable to ride at high speeds. To improve handling, the fork mounting angle has to be minimized (“wobbling”). However, we figured out how this can be avoided.
Therefore, sport bikes have a steering damper, which is installed at the factory. It is somewhat similar to car shock absorbers. Thanks to the damper, steering vibrations are dampened and steering control is also controlled, thereby preventing the motorcycle from falling.
Since sports motorcycles reach high speeds, they are equipped with a very good braking system. As a rule, the brakes on sports bikes are disc brakes, which have radial rigid mounting of the brake calipers, with the presence of carbon petal discs and reinforced brake lines.
A lot depends on the tires. For racing, slicks are used, where there is no tread pattern at all, or in some cases, special tires that can provide maximum control and braking of the motorcycle.
