Don't try this at home

KenH said:

So, the KLR wheelbase has the same source as the diameter of the space shuttle solid fuel boosters? Did you know standard rail gauge is a function of the width of two Roman war horses' butts?

True!

Click to expand...

actually no, that's trivially true in the fact that all wagons and carts used generally the same wheel spacing and the first rail roads used modified horse wagons, and Roman war wagons used the standard wheel spacing.

woodsguy said:

Sounds easier said than done for me! Interesting tho.

Click to expand...

Hmmm? Definitely a lot easier on a TW200 than the heavier bikes. Practicing stoppies on railroad tracks will probably get most riders hurt and tear up lots of bikes. Learn to do stoppies on pavement, then go to old rail beds that still have the wood and gravel, then try rails. Some folks think it is easier to put the back wheel over first, but with practice it can be done with either wheel first.

focus frenzy said:

actually no, that's trivially true in the fact that all wagons and carts used generally the same wheel spacing and the first rail roads used modified horse wagons, and Roman war wagons used the standard wheel spacing.

Click to expand...

The track of the Roman chariots was determined by what fit the horses. Hundreds, thousands of chariots left ruts. Vehicles with different tracks were not nearly numerous enough to leave ruts and provided a rough ride when driven over the Roman chariot ruts. Therefore, tracks were pretty much standardized to fit the ruts of the Roman chariots' as those were the vehicles that made the tracks. The standardized track of Roman chariots definitely predated the standardization of tracks on other vehicles, no question about that. You are correct that wagon parts were used for the first engines, and the first train cars were simply wagons with different steel bands around the wooden wheels, but the track of most was determined by the width of Roman war horses' rumps. The clearances of rail vehicles were related to their standardized track, the tunnels along the tracks upon which the boosters were hauled to Florida were determined by the clearances needed by the cars, so the diameter of the solid fuel boosters was limited to what would fit through the tunnels. Therefore, the diameter of the solid fuel boosters was determined by the width of a pair of Roman war horses' rumps.

If only there was a way to know where a train might be, they could be more easily avoided......