Horsepower is a measurement of power. With electricity one horsepower equals 746 watts.
James Watt wanted to measure how his steam engine compared to horses so he determined that a horse could turn a mill wheel 144 times in one hour or 2.4 times in a minute. The wheel was 12 feet in radius, therefore the horse travelled 2.4 x 2pi x 12 feet. Watt judged that a horse could pull with a force of 180 pounds so......
He rounded the number to 33,000 ft/lbs per minute.
So however you want to look at this measurement it is a very arbitrary figure.
I vote we stop using the term and just call it 'power' . We need a new way to measure it though.
Anyone have any thoughts?
Penny and Rick have owned many motorcycles starting in 1974 with Hondas, then to Suzukis, Gold Wings and ultimately Spyders.
74 Honda 360T (pair); 78 Suzuki GS 1000 (pair); 82 Honda Aspencade; 84 Honda 400; 87 Yamaha 1100; 99 Honda Valkyrie; 01 Suzuki Burgman(triked); 02 Honda GL 1800(triked); 10 Spyder RTSE; 11 Spyder RTSM; 12 Spyder RTSL (pair); 20 Spyder RTL (current)
Bob is not far off, but kilowatts would be more appropriate 1 hp =.75 kw. But Roger raises a good point, is it change because horses are not really part of the equation? What about other arbitrary units, knots for example. I'm pretty sure sailors no longer count the knots on a rope going over the side to measure speed.
I have to agree with the poster, technology should never stand still.
It's horses for courses.
No one horse is the same, so how can horsepower be an accurate measurement with todays technologically advanced engines.
I have no idea how this could be achieved as I struggle converting centimetres to inches.
Alan:
2013 Spyder ST Limited
TBR Black Series Slip-On Exhaust with M-5 Carbon Canister and P1X power tip and black bolt kit Fox Podium shocks BRP Carbon black sports rack & backrest Custom Dynamics LED converted taillights & black tag bolts WrapMySpyder carbon dash kit & GT stripes & graphics Bestem USA carbon side fairings, belt guards & under tail Procoat NZ powder coated wheels Hydrographics NZ carbon dipped front suspension covers, billet caps and dash surround Spyderpops 3D SS Grille set
I believe a "knot" is traveling a nautical mile in a hour. that one has ben around for a while.
Metric, American and among others Whitworth sizes for wrenchs and things. Meter stick anybody ?
Many Americans have no idea what a 5 liter engine size is in inches.
Many American things are already metric to be able to sell in other coutries.
Several years ago, there was push to make everything metric here in America. One big complaint was how will I every be able to p[ut gas in my car in liters ? How many people put 5 gallons in anymore ? Stationed in German, we bought gas with coupons, 5 liter and other sizes
Oldmanzues
I believe a "knot" is traveling a nautical mile in a hour. that one has ben around for a while.
Metric, American and among others Whitworth sizes for wrenchs and things. Meter stick anybody ?
Many Americans have no idea what a 5 liter engine size is in inches.
Many American things are already metric to be able to sell in other coutries.
Several years ago, there was push to make everything metric here in America. One big complaint was how will I every be able to p[ut gas in my car in liters ? How many people put 5 gallons in anymore ? Stationed in German, we bought gas with coupons, 5 liter and other sizes
Oldmanzues
Yes a knot is traveling one nautical mile an hour, but before more modern technology, a rope was tied of in knots a specific distance apart and they counted the number of knots that went over the side in 30 seconds to determine the number of nautical miles per hour travelled. It is coincidence that knot sounds like naut. So me no longer use knots to measure knots
Stationed in German, we bought gas with coupons, 5 liter and other sizes
Oldmanzues
Happy days. I was stationed in Germany as well, Soest & Fallingbostel with the British Army, remember the petrol coupons and travelling home to England with a boot full of fuel in jerry cans.
We used to love doing exercises with the yanks, they would swap anything for the kit we had.
Alan:
2013 Spyder ST Limited
TBR Black Series Slip-On Exhaust with M-5 Carbon Canister and P1X power tip and black bolt kit Fox Podium shocks BRP Carbon black sports rack & backrest Custom Dynamics LED converted taillights & black tag bolts WrapMySpyder carbon dash kit & GT stripes & graphics Bestem USA carbon side fairings, belt guards & under tail Procoat NZ powder coated wheels Hydrographics NZ carbon dipped front suspension covers, billet caps and dash surround Spyderpops 3D SS Grille set
I vote for Spyder-Power. It works like this:
The original Spyder motor produced what? 96 horsepower? So, each spyder-power is equivalent to 96 horsepower. Let's give up on all that overly complicated math type geek stuff: nutons, horse power, foot pounds, cc, cubic inches, and on and on. Let's put it in terms that are REALLY important: SPYDERPOWER!
Dan
2012 Viper Red Rt
upgrades:
Baja Ron's Anti-Sway
Diamond-R Arm Rests
Gloriders
High mount brake light
chrome front fender garnish
Bad Boy Horn
Chrome Deflector Rack
Chrome Scuff Nose Accent
Handlebar Grip Fringe
Gremlin Bells
I vote for Spyder-Power. It works like this:
The original Spyder motor produced what? 96 horsepower? So, each spyder-power is equivalent to 96 horsepower. Let's give up on all that overly complicated math type geek stuff: nutons, horse power, foot pounds, cc, cubic inches, and on and on. Let's put it in terms that are REALLY important: SPYDERPOWER!
You're a little off on hp for the original spyder.
it's kind of world wide. I grew up metric and never got used to inches. Again metric is pretty much world wide. It does include engine sizes. But horse power is world wide. Changing it world wide would be tough...I like the vision of 100 horses pulling me along...
Gene and Ilana De Laney Mt. Helix, California
2012 RS sm5
2012 RS sm5 , 998cc V-Twin 106hp DIY brake and park brake Classic Black
Knots is also almost universal in american aircraft airspeed indicators and specs. Although some of the older ones read in mph, most of the newer ones read in knots. It would be nice if the whole world could settle on one system of measurement and one language, but I don't see that happening