The term does not necessarily mean riding motorcycles, mind you. It is usually used as a referring term for using motored vehicles of whatever kind. Not included is using public transport, since the subject does not control the vehicle. So the keys here are engine and control.
Modern world gave rise to motoring, especially since the advent of black gold. No matter how we think about it, our modern civilization is based on that limited resource. I agree other than oil we have a crucial dependency for electricity, but at times this Alessandro Volta's invention does depend on oil. Especially when no renewable natural resources are in sight.
Motoring in its simplest sense, is basically about internal combustion. It is just explosions inside cylinder blocks done by blasting air and fuel, which in turn push the pistons down. The conversion of linear movement from the pistons into rotational forces of the crankshaft really is the point. Whether that power is directed into some sort of drivetrain (which could be deemed complicated, as it involves gears and shafts) and into wheels is another distinct matter, albeit having a close relation.
It is amazing to see how that simple thing shapes the world. Jet engines might have the advantages over long distance, but piston engines are the solution for most of the job. We expect to buy goods in supermarkets, which often are sourced from somewhere else. In Singapore, without some vans or trucks, we can't get the veggies and beefs and lots of other things delivered from other places. The economy won't move if the buses were not having their diesel engines installed. I have to go to places walking, shaving more fat from my rather skinny frame.
Aside from the boring stuff, I rather like the idea of motoring. Well, I prefer bicycling, but in some cases it just doesn't make sense going to airport 120 km away by pedalling an MTB. I'm no Lance Armstrong, or my dad. Carrying bulks on bikes also can make someone looks rather short on cash (if you are not bothered, then okay). Short distance however, I prefer to be on that non-motored vehicle, except if it is raining.
It also introduces to humankind a concept called 'speed', or 'velocity'. At best, before Karl Benz invented his single-cylinder engine, horse was the primary main transport mode. It was also painstakingly slow and uncomfortable, at least if compared to our modern cars or motorcycles. But then, during the flow of time, we can see those monster-horsepower machines which can move in a time warp. Bugatti Veyron, Koenigsegg Agera, and Pagani Zonda R, just to name a few.
But speed accompanies fun. Some guy in Bike magazine (or somewhere else, I forget) did say that modern motorcycles are made with more power, acquired with the ever-increasing engine revolutions, not necessarily with more cubic capacity. Humankind revels in the sensation of going faster. Not the faint-hearted and dull type obviously. At times they are the best form of entertainment. Mind you, the faster you go, the more petrol you burn.
Motored vehicles also give us the freedom of fiddling. Suspension, carburettor jets, brakes, tyre pressure, to name a few I did fiddle with. Not always successful or satisfying in result, but acquiring something that suits our taste with our own efforts certainly is exciting. But most of the work done in my bike is from my dad, to be honest. I just made a mess of it.
Unfortunately, we might have to accept the fact that motoring will come to an end, eventually. The very essence of internal combustion, which is petrol, is thinning in quantity. Humankind now have to extract oil not from the usual ground or sea, but sapping it from sands. I read about them in NatGeo a while ago, and it seemed bloody dangerous. Financially expensive, and even more taxing to the natural environment.
As environmentalists often claim, burning is not good. Greenhouse gases, lung-threatening, and ice-melting substances are accused to come from the exhaust pipes of our motored vehicles. Something that makes the important throbbing or roaring sound from the engine's firing order into our ears' excitement. At the very least it indicates whether the engine is working or refusing to rotate.
Electric engines are not in sight, to worsen the matter. Yes we have the Tesla Roadster sports car and the Zero motorcycle, but they are still pale in comparison to definitive names like Lotus or Honda. Furthermore, the problem of charging and short distance ratio muddled the situation. And if the source of electricity is still from petrol blasted in generators, what's the difference?
Some suggests wind-powered vehicles. So in the future kites are the hot stuff. Or sailing cars, treading its way on the road while occasionally adjusting the mast and sail. It will get worse if the road is ascending (or hill-climb as they say in Pikes Peak or Initial D), or if there is no significant moving air.
Porsche proposes something more mechanical, and have actually implemented it in their 918 RSR hybrid. A flywheel capable of spinning up to 40,000 rpm is installed, absorbing the rotational forces when the car brakes, and by a flick of a button, transferring kinetic power to the front wheels, adding a few more ponies. But, critics argue that the spinning flywheel can get dangerous if it snaps out of its shaft, and cuts the head of the driver. Might need an anti-bomb case there.
None of them has actually works, in some sense. Limitations expel them from nearing the performance of petrol engine, which needs no other source of power, as it is the source of power. It is the primary force of moving the vehicle. And if it is need refilling, it can be done in a jiffy. Not if the car has a million gallon fuel tank of course. That's the biggest problem I think, being compared to petrol engine. We still cannot live without the useful characteristics of petrol-powered vehicles. Even we lamented diesel for its slow-reacting trait, compared to the instant whiz of gasoline.
Though my paragraphs show that the future is bleak, I might get it wrong altogether. Honda had made its Clarity car which runs on hydrogen. The substance is said to be the most abundant in the world, and emits nothing than water if 'blasted' in the engine. And the best thing is, it's almost free. Still, the bugging problem is how to separate it from other molecules, as hydrogen is known to coexist with other substance. Sandpaper might not work so well with this stuff.
In the end, I am no engineer or scientist. All that is made just from my blurred analysis from news stream. My interpretation might be or completely wrong. But I do believe that without petrol, our world would stop running. We would have to revert back to horses or bicycles. Or if you prefer something with more flash, skateboard that is. Personally, I still can't chuck out the dependency on petrol, especially when having fun with my motorcycle on curvy roads. One thing we can do though, is save it. At least until some baldy-beardy guys come out with some working solution.
Up to the task?
Sunday, 6th March 2011
No comments:
Post a Comment