Sport: Projectile
Ghost Riding Competition   (+2)  [vote for, against]
See who can get their bike going the furthest without a rider.

The competition would be held on a long stretch or road, possibly a drag strip. The competitors would ride their bikes up to speed and jump off letting their bikes continue riderless for as far as it can before falling over.

The exciting part would be seeing how riders would get off a bike going full speed without killing themselves. The rules would be they could wear any kind of footwear they want that doesn't have wheels and they'd have to dismount without falling.

We did this as kids so it's WKTE, but the idea of making it an official sport at motor raceways hasn't been done before as far as I know.
-- doctorremulac3, Jun 05 2019

Would parachutes be allowed ?
-- 8th of 7, Jun 05 2019


Nope. The entertaining part would be seeing somebody successfully (or not successfully) get off a bike going 50 miles per hour without wiping out.

You can wear a helmet, knee and elbow pads.

I'm trying to find the bike speed record and only see stuff upwards of 200 miles per hour with people slip streaming behind cars or doing down hill. By that measure I can fly at over 200 miles per hour at least until I hit the ground.
-- doctorremulac3, Jun 05 2019


We agree that contact with the ground is definitely the tricky part.
-- 8th of 7, Jun 05 2019


You say parachutes are not allowed, but in fact an ejector seat and a parachute would be a useful, and fun, feature on a motorbike. If a car pulls out of a side junction ahead of you, and you know in an instant that you're about to hit the side of the car at full speed, activate the ejector seat which hurtles you 50 metres up in the air, after which you parachute safely down onto the burning wreckage of your bike.

If you're really not allowing parachutes in this idea, my choice then is a suit covered in airbags which explosively inflate as you jump backwards off the bike.
-- hippo, Jun 05 2019


//We agree that contact with the ground is definitely the tricky part.//

At the risk of celebrating barbaric entertainment it would also be the entertaining part.

Now if you really want to be crazy you could just cut out the bike all together and.... ugh, this is crazy. I'll post it as a separate idea.
-- doctorremulac3, Jun 05 2019


I would watch this [+]

Does doing a somersault count as a successful dismount, or as a wipeout?

// an ejector seat and a parachute would be a useful, and fun, feature on a motorbike //

Yep. I've thought, though, that a whole-bike, ballistic, and retractable parafoil would be good. Then you could fly over the obstacle, land on the other side, and do it again the next time. You'd need a bit more warning, though. Maybe make it automatic, like car airbags, based on the bike's quicker judgement of whether you're going to hit something, rather than being something that the human rider has to activate. Being reusable, as well as gentler than airbags, and affording some control during the event, it should be less of a big deal if it goes off when it doesn't need to.
-- notexactly, Jun 21 2019


" Does doing a somersault count as a successful dismount, or as a wipeout? "

I took a traffic school class taught by a retired California Highway Patrol motor officer. He advocated vaulting as a crash survival technique.

Just before impact, (this part is important) let go of the handlebars, stand up on the foot pegs and jump.

The goal is to turn one somersault in the air and come down running on the other side of the offending vehicle.

So yes, I believe that should count as a successful dismount - at least, if the rider lives. Extra points if you are able to stand up before they place you in the ambulance.

Moto Guzzi for me today ...
-- normzone, Jul 04 2019


Well, you'd certainly get bonus points for surviving.
-- doctorremulac3, Jul 05 2019



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