I really liked the article you did on Chrysler's Tomahawk Motorcycle (DN 10.20.03). It provided a lot of technical information about a project that up to this point I'd only seen represented by vague publicity photos. But I do have a question: was the transmission case really machined from a billet of aluminum that weighed 10,000 POUNDS? They must have left a lot of chips on the floor from that one . . . the whole BIKE only weighs 1,500 lb. For reference, 10,000 lb of aluminum is a little over 60 ft3, or a cube larger than a kitchen table.
Rick Oleson, Design News Reader
Editor's response:Your incredulity is warranted. Chrysler does indeed start out with a 10,000-lb, but they mill 25 major parts from it—not one, as the article misstated.
As a motorcyclist and engineer, I have to say that the Tomahawk is a great exercise in mechanics but it is an absurd motorcycle. There are several existing automotive-engineered motorcycles, such as the Boss Hoss, that are better motorcycles than the Tomahawk but are still relegated to the status of oddities. The sheer bulk and configuration of this machine makes it, at best, a dangerous oddity. Rumor has it that a professional motorcycle racer tried to ride it and fell off before reaching 25 mph. The 0-60 time of 2.5 seconds is common among powerful REAL motorcycles and was first accomplished, if memory serves, on the 1985 Kawasaki Ninja 900. The hottest production motorcycle today is the Suzuki Hayabusa, with a 1300cc (79.3 inch3) four-cylinder inline engine. Aside from the comparable 0-60 time, it does 0-100 in 4.8 seconds and the quarter mile in 9.9 seconds at 147 mph. Additionally, it can turn and handle well and sells for under $11,000. It also has a practical top speed of 194 mph, clocked by a radar gun. There are several others in this class that handle better, accelerate as well, and sell for about the same money. All of these hot bikes weigh between 450 and 550 lb, ready to ride. These are REAL motorcycles and are more than most riders can utilize.
As an avid motorcyclist with a collection that ranges from Desmodromic Ducatis to a turbocharged Suzuki GSX-R750, I felt compelled to comment on your Tomahawk article. It was a joke—a bad one. The Tomahawk is as much a motorcycle as it is an airplane. In fact, I was whisked back many years, to when my dad took my brother and me to see the movie "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines." During the introduction, they showed several misguided attempts to get a machine off the ground. Among the dismal failures was a (4) wheeled contraption equipped with an auger-like, vertically-mounted, spinning, reciprocating "propeller." The whole thing was jumping up and down violently, unpredictably, and totally out of control. It would be logical and fair to slip a black-and-white film clip of the Tomahawk into that introduction, as it would blend in nicely. Tomahawk is further proof that some of us have too much time, and too much money.
I must respond to the homeschooling myth propagated in the letter "Social Hour" in the Mail section of the 10.20.03 issue of Design News. Contrary to the author's assertion that homeschooled students "don't get the socialization to be effective outside of the academic world," these students are actually more socially adept and show more social poise (on average) than their public/private school peers. My own experience and studies reported on in national magazines (in articles not necessarily favorable to homeschooling) bear this out. This may be explained by two factors: 1. In general HS students spend much time one-on-one with adults (both parents and other adults); and 2. In general, HS students spend a lot of time with other students of varying ages. On the other hand, traditionally schooled students spend most of their time with other students of the same age group and in classrooms with a student-to-teacher ratio of 15:1 or greater. These factors make HS students more comfortable with a variety of people of all generations. Homeschooled students play in bands, sports teams, boys/girls clubs, talent shows, etc.—both designed for high school students and in the larger community.
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