Cycling vs Car vs Boat

[Jono Garton]

I would be interested in your thoughts on the following-

When you cycle, do you cycle at the point of which that you are about to have an heart attack? If so it probably your partner answering this question!

When you drive your car, do you drive it constantly on the red line for long periods of time? If so how long does you car last?


I'm guessing you probably answered no to the above, so why do people drive their ribs at the red line with throttle as far forward as it will go for long periods of time. In my opinion its amazing how long outboards last giving they are thrashed, don't run on a smooth surface like a car, not used for months and then thrashed again. I suppose we buy the biggest engine our budget can provide and then hope for the best on the speed????

Your thoughts are appreciated.

Jono

[iandl]

Originally Posted by Jono Garton

I would be interested in your thoughts on the following-

When you cycle, do you cycle at the point of which that you are about to have an heart attack? If so it probably your partner answering this question!

When you drive your car, do you drive it constantly on the red line for long periods of time? If so how long does you car last?


I'm guessing you probably answered no to the above, so why do people drive their ribs at the red line with throttle as far forward as it will go for long periods of time. In my opinion its amazing how long outboards last giving they are thrashed, don't run on a smooth surface like a car, not used for months and then thrashed again. I suppose we buy the biggest engine our budget can provide and then hope for the best on the speed????

Your thoughts are appreciated.

Jono

Like that question ....cycling ...being a fish supper champion i would have a heart attack getting it out the shed ..so i dont

car.......i probobly would redline in every gear if the roads allowed but speed cameras and other sunday drivers dont allow it. being locked up on a Rig for 2 weeks at a time .....you need a release and roads nowadays are too congested ......not sure how long it would last but its something that will never get tested on British roads anymore....racing cars seem to re engine quite frequently

motorcycle...I had to get rid of before i killed myelf cause i did redline every gear, full handfuls every time ....the older i got the slower my reactions were so i swapped it for a pram

Ribs .......its a release !!!! with no speed cameras ...yeeeeha

Ian

[bedajim]

Bikes
Slower than I used to spent some time in hospital more sense now

Cars

Red lined a few to often blown a few up and had to pay, got a diesel 4 cab now not too fast for the cameras

Boats
Not really red lining most of the time my body won’t let me and I have a rev limiter called the wife also can’t walk home from a broken outboard, I went for the biggest outboard I could so as not to hammer it so much

Skis (snow) to add another
A fast as my nerves will let me 84 kph on gps so far (I’ve got a crash helmet now)

I find as a rule I have a comfort zone for whatever I'm doing and it seems to be getting smaller as I get older which also means less living near to the red line

[Jimbob]

Interesting questions

I cycle to keep fit, i go out at a fair pace but just to get the heart pumping, i like it when its a nice day and prefer to running as you seem to "get" somewhere.

Cars, i used to have some really nice cars and have to say, i did like to zip arounf. When i got the ML jeep, i had to slow down, simply because it was expensive on fuel, and is getting really expensive on fuel. As i have no boat at the moment i use it to go to work, but at the weekend we use the mini, much more fun. Never red line usualy sits at between 2000/3000 revs

Ribs, when we had the little humber, i used to go flat out when i could, but that was about 25 knots, when we had the scorpion we could go much faster, but after a while, i prefered to slow down afterall i was on holiday and quite liked discovering places. I must say i when out with a mate a few weeks ago on a rib, we did about 55knots, which was fun for a couple of minutes, but prefer a slower pace

Maybe everything in moderation

[prairie tuber]

I think the open water is one of the last vestiges of freedom. If it weren't for the congested roadways and traffic laws I'd run my truck as fast as is safe (to the redline if the conditions allow).

I used to race my bicycle on the velodrome and the road, so I used to pin it at the redline and beyond. I now have to concede that my 'equipment' is no longer capable of that (though my bicycle is perfectly fine).

No question that alot is expected of an outboard given how it is subjected to continuous high rev use while being jarred around. The two things going for it is the unlimited supply of new incoming cold water for coolant. Also with the older outboards, the simplicity of a carbeureted 2 stroke helps immensely.

[waverunner]

Originally Posted by Jimbob

Interesting questions

I must say i when out with a mate a few weeks ago on a rib, we did about 55knots, which was fun for a couple of minutes, but prefer a slower pace

Maybe everything in moderation

Sounds like you are ready for your pipe and slippers.

[BogMonster]

I don't redline anything for long periods though I regularly cruise at 75-80% rpm in the boat which would be rather too high for my liking in a vehicle. I broke an old Metro I had when I was at university and I am sure it was by using lots of revs for too long (old 4 speed box - Durham to the south coast was painful 6hr trip!) and it was an expensive lesson which had a lasting effect. I like using the revs especially with the V8 because of the wonderful noise, but not going too near the redline and not for any length of time, and I guess the same is true in the boat. Anyway I think mine sounds thrashy over about 4500rpm so tend to stay below that most of the time - in theory mine will do 5000-6000 WOT though the current prop limits it to about 5200, which I prefer. I agree that it's kind of odd that people thrash the nuts off outboards for long periods because you wouldn't do it in anything else.

Haven't had pedal power since I discovered motorbikes aged 14 and not looked back since

[ian parkes]

I'm guessing you probably answered no to the above, so why do people drive their ribs at the red line with throttle as far forward as it will go for long periods of time. In my opinion its amazing how long outboards last giving they are thrashed, don't run on a smooth surface like a car, not used for months and then thrashed again. I suppose we buy the biggest engine our budget can provide and then hope for the best on the speed????

Your thoughts are appreciated.

Jono [/QUOTE]

I don't like thrashing any engine for long , but i think in comparison to road vehicles boats are so slow and screwing that extra few Knots seems to be important to some people . Also an outboard is relatively low revving and doesn't sound as bad at WOT as a car . Plus there are no cameras i guess

[Jimbob]

Waverunner,,,,,,it does seem that way when i read again this morning

i really must get on and get another rib, i have no reason to delay

[Ian M]

Speaking as someone who used to take two strokes to the red line regularly (Yamaha TZs etc) there is nothing like the sound of a two stroke at the red line first thing in the morning!
For me, I think that is the difference. Our boats are means of entertainment, a form of recreation, toys if you like. As such, we max out the entertainment

[Top banana]

im with you jimbob, everything in moderation, body wont take the abuse any more,apart from taking the mother in law on a leisurely cruise last year.
needless to say shes never asked to go for another one

[waverunner]

Originally Posted by Top banana

im with you jimbob, everything in moderation, body wont take the abuse any more,

Best get that stenna stairlift ordered matey

[shirehorse]

We all have different levels, different limits and different goals thats what makes us human we must live life as we see the road in front of us.

[Bigfoot]

My old car, the good ol' KA didn't have a rev meter, and so it was interesting when trying to drive properly, bit different with the new Volvo XC70!. As to my bike, my woman can never keep up so don't ever get the chance to pedal more than 0.2 mph!

[ADS]

I used to cycle as fast as I possibly could on the way home from school etc, I guess now I go at a reasonable pace but not too fast.

Car- see's the redline quite regularly, only once its warmed up and it receives regular oil changes.

The RIB I haven't taken it flat out yet as it would probably chuck me out! The old rib I used to take to WOT quite regularly.

[RichardB]

Originally Posted by Jono Garton

I would be interested in your thoughts on the following-
When you drive your car, do you drive it constantly on the red line for long periods of time? If so how long does you car last?

But is driving at WOT strictly the same as redlining (max revs)? Will an outboard with the 'right size' prop actually redline the engine?

I'm pretty certain my (old petrol) car could easily sustained 5200 to 5500 rpm - it would certainly do 4500 - for hours on end. Trouble is that would have been about 120mph so I never tried - so why not same for an outboard?

Can you actually 'damage' an engine just by driving it at sustained high revs as long as it's well within its cooling capability, has well maintained lubrication and is warmed up properly? Of course it has to be true that the engine must be sustaining more wear than it would in the same period at lower revs but is the rate of wear materially higher (eg wear sustained per 10,000,000 revs).

Last time I (accidentally) really redlined the car's engine the engine to over 6500 rpm the management system rather brutally cut the power itself - to my surprise and embarassement

[fred bolton]

Jono Does this mean you are going to buy a push bike?.

A car I would redline if no cops and cameras

As for the the boat I did my PB level2 in Pwllheli and one of the "slim" tutors said "you can slow down you know"