Alligator (motorcycle)
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Alligator (motorcycle)
The Alligator is a feet forwards motorcycle built by Dan Gurney Alligator Motorcycle Company which is the motorcycle division of the former driver/racing team owner's All American Racers workshop in Santa Ana, California. Although not the first of such design, it is unique for its unconventional low-slung seating position which allows for its low center of gravity. History The bike design traces itself back to the pioneering era when Gottlieb Daimler designed a similar prototype in 1886, since then the conventional seating position has been used on all bikes with the exception of the few bikes like the commercially successful Ner-a-car and unsuccessful Quasar. The bike design was first instigated when Gurney took a 1976 Honda XL350 as a base to develop the first design evolution known as the A-1 (a.k.a. "Grandpa Gator") and was completed in 1980. The bike was named after the reptile of the same name, due to the bike's long, low appearance and was also chosen to reflect the No ...
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Feet Forwards Motorcycle
A feet first (FF) motorcycle is a class of motorcycle design which positions the rider with their feet ahead, like a car, rather than below and astride, as with conventional bikes. As there are other types of motorcycle (e.g. choppers) that have a 'feet forward' position, an alternative term sometimes used is advanced single track vehicle. The name "feet first" (also referred to as "feet forward") was first used by Royce Creasey''Hi-tech'', R. Creasey, Bike Magazine October 1979. History Designers have experimented with the feet forward riding position since the early days of motorcycling. In 1909 P.G Tacchi designed a four-cylinder machine with a 700 cc 'L' head air-cooled engine, an enclosed shaft drive and a bucket seat. The machine was known as a TAC-Wilkinson, and was manufactured by the Wilkinson Sword Company''Motor Cycles - a historical survey'' by C.F Caunter, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1982 Ten years later in America Carl A. Neracher designed the ...
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Motorcycle Fairing
A motorcycle fairing is a shell placed over the frame of a motorcycle, especially racing motorcycles and sport bikes, to deflect wind and reduce air drag. The secondary functions are the protection of the rider from airborne hazards and wind-induced hypothermia and of the engine components in the case of an accident. A motorcycle windshield will usually be integrated into the design of the fairing.Tony Foale, ''Motorcycle Handling and Chassis Design'', , Chapter 5: "Aerodynamics" The major benefit of a fairing on sport touring and touring motorcycles is a reduction in aerodynamic drag, which allows for reduced fuel consumption and permits higher speeds at lower engine rpm, which in turn increases engine life. A motorcycle may have a front fairing, a rear fairing, a belly fairing, or any combination of these. Alternatively, a single fairing may partially or fully enclose the entire motorcycle, and may even enclose the rider. History The importance of streamlining was known ver ...
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Motorcycle Manufacturers Of The United States
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: Long-distance motorcycle riding, long-distance travel, Motorcycle commuting, commuting, cruising (driving), cruising, Motorcycle sport, sport (including Motorcycle racing, racing), and Off-roading, off-road riding. Motorcycling is riding a motorcycle and being involved in other related social activity such as joining a motorcycle club and attending motorcycle rally, motorcycle rallies. The 1885 Daimler Reitwagen made by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in Germany was the first internal combustion, petroleum-fueled motorcycle. In 1894, Hildebrand & Wolfmüller became the first series production motorcycle. Globally, motorcycles are comparably popular to cars as a method of transport. In 2021, approximately 58.6 million new motorcycles were sold ar ...
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Chromoly
41xx steel is a family of SAE steel grades, as specified by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Alloying elements include chromium and molybdenum, and as a result these materials are often informally referred to as chromoly steel (common variant stylings include ''chrome-moly'', ''cro-moly'', ''CrMo'', ''CRMO'', ''CR-MOLY'', and similar). They have an excellent strength to weight ratio and are considerably stronger and harder than standard 1020 steel, but are not easily welded, requiring thermal treatment both before and after welding to avoid cold cracking. While these grades of steel do contain chromium, it is not in great enough quantities to provide the corrosion resistance found in stainless steel. Examples of applications for 4130, 4140 and 4145 include structural tubing, bicycle frames, gas bottles for transportation of pressurized gases, firearm parts, clutch and flywheel components, and roll cages. 4150 stands out as being one of the steels accepted for use in ...
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Carbon Fiber
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon composite, or just carbon, are extremely strong and light fiber-reinforced plastics that contain carbon fibers. CFRPs can be expensive to produce, but are commonly used wherever high strength-to-weight ratio and stiffness (rigidity) are required, such as aerospace, superstructures of ships, automotive, civil engineering, sports equipment, and an increasing number of consumer and technical applications. The binding polymer is often a thermoset resin such as epoxy, but other thermoset or thermoplastic polymers, such as polyester, vinyl ester, or nylon, are sometimes used. The properties of the final CFRP product can be affected by the type of additives introduced to the binding matrix (resin). The most common additive is silica, but other addi ...
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1967 Belgian Grand Prix
The 1967 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on 18 June 1967. It was race 4 of 11 in both the 1967 World Championship of Drivers and the 1967 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 28-lap race was won by Eagle driver Dan Gurney after he started from second position. Jackie Stewart finished second for the BRM team and Ferrari driver Chris Amon came in third. Excluding the Indianapolis 500, this is the only win for a USA-built car as well as one of only two wins of an American-licensed constructor in Formula One. It was also the first win for an American constructor in a Grand Prix race since the Jimmy Murphy's triumph with Duesenberg at the 1921 French Grand Prix. Race report Jim Clark led off the grid from pole position and maintained that position for the first 11 laps and was 20 seconds ahead of Jackie Stewart and Dan Gurney when he had to come into the pits for a plug change, which cost him two minutes. Stewart built up a ...
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Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, which became the FIA Formula One World Championship in 1981, has been one of the premier forms of racing around the world since its inaugural season in 1950. The word ''formula'' in the name refers to the set of rules to which all participants' cars must conform. A Formula One season consists of a series of races, known as ''Grands Prix'', which take place worldwide on both purpose-built circuits and closed public roads. A points system is used at Grands Prix to determine two annual World Championships: one for drivers, the other for constructors. Each driver must hold a valid Super Licence, the highest class of racing licence issued by the FIA. The races must run on tracks graded "1" (formerly "A"), the highest grade-rating issued ...
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Weslake
Weslake & Co also known as Weslake Research and Development was founded by Harry Weslake, described as England's greatest expert on cylinder head design, with premises in Rye, East Sussex, England. Weslake is most famous for its work with Bentley, Austin, Jaguar and the Gulf-Wyer  Ford GT40 Mk.I. Early days Harry Weslake was born in Exeter in 1897 to Henry John Weslake, a director of Willey and Co, gas engineers, whom he would join from school. At 16, he modified a Rudge Multi to race at local hill climbing events. In World War I, he joined the Royal Flying Corp, against the wishes of his employers Willey & Co, who wanted him to continue his apprenticeship. When he was demobbed in 1919, he had already received his first patent with his father in 1918 for a device to improve carburettors. However both his parents died shortly after, and with no link to Willey's, Weslake left and set up a workshop with 3 others in Exeter. The workshop marketed his Wex carburettor design, which w ...
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Alligator
An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additionally, several extinct species of alligator are known from fossil remains. Alligators first appeared during the Oligocene epoch about 37 million years ago. The name "alligator" is probably an anglicized form of ', the Spanish term for "the lizard", which early Spanish explorers and settlers in Florida called the alligator. Later English spellings of the name included ''allagarta'' and ''alagarto''. Evolution Alligators and caimans split in North America during the early Tertiary or late Cretaceous (about 53 million to about 65 million years ago). The Chinese alligator split from the American alligator about 33 million years ago and probably descended from a lineage that crossed the Bering land bridge during the Neogene. The modern ...
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Dan Gurney
Daniel Sexton Gurney (April 13, 1931 – January 14, 2018) was an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner who reached racing's highest levels starting in 1958. Gurney won races in the Formula One, Indy Car, NASCAR, Can-Am, and Trans-Am Series. Gurney is the first of three drivers to have won races in sports cars (1958), Formula One (1962), NASCAR (1963), and Indy cars (1967), the other two being Mario Andretti and Juan Pablo Montoya. In 1967, after winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans together with A. J. Foyt, Gurney spontaneously sprayed champagne while celebrating on the podium, which thereafter became a custom at many motorsports events. As owner of All American Racers, he was the first to put a simple right-angle extension on the upper trailing edge of the rear wing. This device, called a Gurney flap, increases downforce and, if well designed, imposes only a relatively small increase in aerodynamic drag. At the 1968 German Grand Prix, he became the first dri ...
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Honda XL350
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a production of 400 million by the end of 2019, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than 14 million internal combustion engines each year. Honda became the second-largest Japanese automobile manufacturer in 2001. In 2015, Honda was the eighth largest automobile manufacturer in the world. Honda was the first Japanese automobile manufacturer to release a dedicated luxury brand, Acura, in 1986. Aside from their core automobile and motorcycle businesses, Honda also manufactures garden equipment, marine engines, personal watercraft, power generators, and other products. Since 1986, Honda has been involved with artificial intelligence/robotics research and released their ASIMO rob ...
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Quasar (motorcycle)
The Quasar is a semi-enclosed feet forward motorcycle, created by Malcolm Newell and Ken Leaman, who made a number of similar vehicles. It repurposed an 850 cc four-cylinder inline engine used in the Reliant Robin three-wheeled light car and is capable of cruising at 90–100 mph (145–160 km/h) and exceeding 100 mph in favourable conditions. Design In the Quasar, the rider sits feet forward or feet first, changing the usual position of the rider from on top and straddling the vehicle, to inside and sitting down. Unlike most motorcycles, the Quasar is a cabin motorcycle with a roof which goes over the rider. While normally not a problem, tall riders with larger, more modern helmets may have trouble fitting inside although it is also possible to carry a passenger with an intimate squeeze. In the front of the bike the laminated glass windscreen had car-style windscreen wipers and a heater. The use of a semi-enclosed 'cockpit' caused blind spots wher ...
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