Photo: Screenshot from Facebook
How do you think these Dutch guys came up with the idea of a self-powered motorcycle swing? Did they gather around a drawing board and, using advanced mathematics and deep notions of mechanics, sketched a carefully measured prototype?
I'm willing to bet that wasn't the case. It probably involved a pub, a few beers and one eureka moment when one of those present at the table started a sentence with "what if...?" One crane, a motorcycle, and a few meters of heavy duty (hopefully) cord later and they were looking at something that looked like taken out of a mad fairground.
The "what if...?" fellow was probably invited to be the first to test his invention, but after he had come off the motorcycle alive and smiling, everyone wanted to have a go. And, quite frankly, you can kind of see why. This thing manages to mix fun and danger in just the right amounts to deliver the kind of thrills you couldn't get on the road without seriously breaking the law.
The idea is simple as it is ingenious. Have the bike hanging just above the ground when it's level, and hop on. Don't wear any protection equipment because there's no police around, so there's no point in that [sarcasm, in case you misse it]. Instead of using your body weight to rock back and forth as you would in a traditional swing, you simply need to make sure the rear wheel touches the ground as you're going forward.
That means leaning back so the bike tilts to the rear, and pulling that gas to give yourself a short thrust. When it goes backward, it would be ideal to have it perfectly level, so it doesn't hit the ground, but that's not likely to happen, so instead the motorcycle will start rocking from side to side as well. That's OK, it only makes it even morenauseating interesting.
Time it right, and you can go pretty high up, but needless to say bikes don't come with seatbelts, so it's all up to you holding on to that handlebar for dear life. Coming to a halt involves much of the same, only this time, the brakes on the rear will slow down the swing when coming from both directions. You have to admit this looks like underwear-soiling fun. Now we're anxiously waiting for the car edition as well.
The "what if...?" fellow was probably invited to be the first to test his invention, but after he had come off the motorcycle alive and smiling, everyone wanted to have a go. And, quite frankly, you can kind of see why. This thing manages to mix fun and danger in just the right amounts to deliver the kind of thrills you couldn't get on the road without seriously breaking the law.
The idea is simple as it is ingenious. Have the bike hanging just above the ground when it's level, and hop on. Don't wear any protection equipment because there's no police around, so there's no point in that [sarcasm, in case you misse it]. Instead of using your body weight to rock back and forth as you would in a traditional swing, you simply need to make sure the rear wheel touches the ground as you're going forward.
That means leaning back so the bike tilts to the rear, and pulling that gas to give yourself a short thrust. When it goes backward, it would be ideal to have it perfectly level, so it doesn't hit the ground, but that's not likely to happen, so instead the motorcycle will start rocking from side to side as well. That's OK, it only makes it even more
Time it right, and you can go pretty high up, but needless to say bikes don't come with seatbelts, so it's all up to you holding on to that handlebar for dear life. Coming to a halt involves much of the same, only this time, the brakes on the rear will slow down the swing when coming from both directions. You have to admit this looks like underwear-soiling fun. Now we're anxiously waiting for the car edition as well.
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