Month: February 2003

2002年度運輸論文檔案。將與摩托車直接相關者，簡錄如下：

台灣大學土木工程所
設置機車停等區對號誌化交叉路口之影響評估 林明志

交通大學運輸科技與管理學系
家戶特性與汽、機車持有數及使用量關係之研究－以台北市為例 陳鴻文

交通部運研所新書通報：

What kind of motorcyclist are you? Take this easy test and find out! 1) When you ride by a cop, do you expect:
a, A return of your friendly wave
b, A day in traffic school
c, A high-speed chase

2) What type of motorcycle training have you had?
a, MSF and ERC; b, Superbike school; c, Bike dealer showed me how to shift

3) Proper riding attire is:
a, Aerostich suit; b, Torn red, white, and blue racing leathers; c, Oakley blades

4) Which do you spend the most money on?
a, Gas; b, Tires; c, Plastic

5) How did you pay for your bike:
a, Cash; b, Credit; c, Mom

6) Who is your favorite famous motorcyclist?
a, Malcom Forbes; b, Eddie Lawson; c, Mike Tyson

7) Do you pass other vehicles:
a, Only when legal; b, Only when safe; c, By forcing them off the road

8) What was the first modification to your bike?
a, Premium tires; b, A loud exhaust; c, A neon paint job

9) When you give someone their first ride on a motorcycle, they:
a, Compliment you on what an enjoyable time they had; b, Clutch your stomach with a death grip; c, Invariably fall off

10. After a close call, do you:
a, Evaluate what you can do to avoid this in the future; b, Promise yourself you’ll settle down; c, Brag to your friends

11. A helmet should be:
a, DOT or SNELL approved; b, Replaced after a crash; c, Bungied to the back of the bike

12. Riding in groups can be advantageous because:
a, It makes you more visible to other motorists; b, There is always help when someone crashes; c, There is always someone to race

13. Which is the worse accident you’ve had:
a, Tipped bike over on steep driveway; b, Low-speed fall in gravel-filled turn; c, Rear-ended police cruiser

14. Which calendar do you own:
a, Honda Street Rage; b, GP Racers; c, Bikes, Babes, and Bikinis

15. A pre-ride inspection consists primarily of:
a, Checking the operation of the controls and the condition of the brakes; b, Checking the tires and footpegs to see how far over you’re getting; c, Checking your hair in the mirror

16. When sitting at a stoplight you should:
A, Keep your hands on the controls and scan your mirrors
b) Try to anticipate the green light
c) Rev the engine to attract attention (狂拉轉速)

17. Is your speed governed by:

a) The posted speed limit.
b) The laws of physics.
c) Who’s around to show off to.

18. What motorcycling skill do you most value?

a) Counter steering
b) Hanging off
c) Burnouts (抓前煞放離合磨後胎)

Analysis of answers:
If you answered (a) to most questions, you are the consummate gentleman
biker. Regardless of the marque you ride, you are consistently kind to
children, animals, and other living creatures. You contribute generously
to charity, and attend the annual Policeman’s Ball without fail. You ride
to work in a three-piece suit, protected by your Aerostich riding gear.

If you answered (b) to most questions, you are an avid rider who truly
feels the need for speed. You are keenly concerned with trying to identify
new riding techniques that will put you at the front of the pack, and
enjoy practicing late braking, late apexing, and late nights with equal
enthusiasm.

If you answered (c) to most questions, you are more than likely the
quintessential squid. Uninsurable, and loved only by yourself and Mom,
not even a sledgehammer could knock sense into your thick skull.

TITLE: Road Warrior Booty: Prize Structures in Motorcycle Racing
AUTHOR(S): Maloney,-Michael-T; Terkun,-Kristina
AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Clemson U; Clemson U
SOURCE : Contributions-to-Economic-Analysis-and-Policy. 2002; 1(1): na
ISSN: 1538-0645
DOCUMENT TYPE: Journal-Article
PUBLICATION YEAR: 2002

剛才在查資料庫(Webspirs)時，誤打誤撞，發現這篇有趣的論文。內容談到摩托競賽中獎勵制度的結構問題。 ABSTRACT: This research reports the results of an analysis of prize structures among competing firms paying tournament wages. In motorcycle racing, sponsors compete in an auction for riders using tournament prizes as bids. Since racers can only ride one bike and wear one helmet, they are forced to choose among sponsors of similar products. We find that in the face of competition, sponsors are forced to lower the incentive intensity of their prize differentials as rival sponsors post larger purses. Our test offers new corroboration of the Lazear-Rosen tournament model. Other researchers have found that workers respond to bigger prize differentials by working harder. We find that firms recognize this and also recognize that in the competitive labor-market equilibrium this extra work must be compensated by offering higher expected wages through bigger purses. Our results complete the theoretical circle: workers respond to the incentive effects of tournament wages and firms anticipate this behavior when making tournament wage offers.

BMW of North America, LLC 在日前捐給美國五角大廈六輛特製的 R 1100 RT-P 摩托車，準備成立有史以來第一支摩托車縱隊。此舉是 BMW 為了因應 911 事件後，美國各地區對於機動性巡防武力需求激增，所做的長期捐贈計劃之一。自 911 後, BMW 已捐了為數不少車款給受創嚴重的社區與紅十字會，並且在 MIT(麻省理工學院)設立獎學金，以嘉惠學生。

BMW 為目前世界上最大的警方用車輸出廠，估計約有 80000 輛不同車款在全世界一百五十個國家服役。

反觀國內的總代理泛德在前日對於開放機車長度上限(2.5米)議題上所有的動作，以公眾的角度觀之(非廠商)，格局就顯的略小。註：請參考 Motorways 論壇相關討論

資料來源：PR Newswire

California Superbike School 今年將會在十二的國家巡迴開課，分別是 US, England, and Australia, Ireland, France, Spain, Germany, Greece, Norway, Sweden, Malaysia, 還有 Philippines. 其中在美國加州、英格蘭和澳洲三地為永久駐在所，開有分校。學校發起人 Keith Code 為三本車界著名書籍之撰寫者：

資料來源：PR Newswire

Cannondale, 一家令人敬重的自行車廠商，其公關部門在本月24日表示他們將停止生產 cross, atv 車種(motorcycle), 並且已經向法院申請二輪事業部的破產保護。

資料來源：MountainBike.com

Sunday Morning. No Blogging at Motomosa.

the title refers to
the human spirit of achieving balance, like riding a motorcycle. For me, the
site is a way to keep myself in balance by expressing my thoughts.

It was one of those interesting discussions on a motorcycle newsgroup…

The first poster said:
“Sorry, but a “motor” is an electrical devise that produces rotary motion using a series of electromagnets to repel each other, and rotate the shaft. It’s an ELECTRIC MOTOR. You do not “rebuild” a motor
You do not “pull the motor”
You do not “start” a motor
You do not “modify” a motor
and you do not “seize” a motor!!!

Instead, you rebuild the ENGINE
You pull the ENGINE
You start the ENGINE
You modify the ENGINE
and you seize the ENGINE!!!

The correct term is “Enginecycle”
Only ELECTRIC “motorcycles”, may be called MOTORCYCLES!!!”

Joe

…..to which came the reply:
“Well, mot is latin for move. So you can go around saying enginecycle, I’ll stick to bike or motorcycle. Who knows maybe it will catch on… nah.”

crom

…and:
“A few early attempts at two-wheeled locomotion – Gottlieb Daimler is thought to have invented the real motorcycle in 1885.

Us Germans have been calling it Motorrad for a while now. We don’t seem to differentiate between engines and motors. We have an Ottomotor, Wankelmotor and Elektromotor. However a steam engine would be called a Dampfmaschine.

So that was another answer to a question that nobody had asked. :-P

Cheers,”

Alex

…Of course someone had to ask:
“I hate to get all “Beavis and Butthead” but…

…he did say “Wankelmotor”!? ;-)”

Clint

…to be told:
“Not to worry, I am used to it, there are a couple in just about every classroom:-)

Let’s call it a rotary engine/motor then.”

Alex

:Well that’s a relief! I though it was just my kids. They even snickered during a discussion of medieval technology. “Clockwork” being the word, I think, that got them going.”

Clint

… logic came into it:
“They’re called “motorcycles” because they go:

motormotormotormotormotormotormotormotormotormotor

I thought everyone knew that.”

Tom Faller
mutter, mutter, mutter…

… as did commercial interests:
“I’ll call Harley and tell them they need to change their name from ‘The Motor Company’ to ‘The Engine Company’.

Thanks for your help.”

…luker

…until finally someone put it quite succinctly:
“Please consider searching Ebay for a life. There are usually several available
at most reasonable prices.”

Valued Customer

發生在美國亞利桑那州鳳凰城(Phoenix, Arizona)的例子. Anthony Curto, 30歲, 很明顯的是因為想要『教訓』某一位女性的小卡車駕駛者，而死於輪胎下。

根據警方的調查, Anthony 在小貨卡前突然緊急煞車，才會導致這宗意外。當地的電視台和目擊者指出，他沿路持續騎在由這位女性駕駛的小貨卡和前車中間，刻意擋在白色分向線上(不讓後車超過)。後來突然失控，倒地，永遠不起。

這又是一位因為衝動，想要『教訓一下』後面來車而喪身的例子。鳳凰城當地報紙的標語寫著：Road Rage Kills Motorcyclist. Road rage 包含了許多愚蠢的成份，而且大多是幼稚的行為。台灣的車輛密度頗高，都會更是密集，因此 road rage 就非常容易發生。要完全地避免是非常不簡單的事。

想想看，我們騎車的，再怎麼樣也是『吃虧』。真的不小心摔下去，傷亡嚴重者，絕對是我們. Road rage 會傳染給當事的兩方，而且會讓我們自己成為道路的定時炸彈。

好好的騎，安全的騎，採取保護性(防衛性)騎乘的態勢。將車子的美感和引擎的韻律騎出來。告訴其他道路的使用者，什麼才是真正的騎士。

Quiet Efficiency: the hallmark of the expert.

相對於一般常說的身心障礙，上次跟 Jedi 在討論 disabled 議題時，突然想到『能障』一詞。這不是什麼機能障礙的簡寫，而是說我們是否容易『為己之所能而障』，卻常常忽視了一些不同領域中，非常基本的東西？比如說，運用科技的是誰？或是，知識管理的目標是 “enable knowledge creation, sharing, distribution, archiving, indexing, and…..”, 可是到底是誰在『創造』知識的？

再拉回摩托車上面。我們常騎車的，或是曾經感受到那『振奮人心動力』的人，要如何運用一般人經驗界的語彙，來讓他人了解『摩托車的美好』？

這是否包含了『人』這個因素？

建議閱讀 Ilya 的一篇文章。還有，國外有個 Disabled-Motorcyclist mailing list(身障者趨向專屬 mailing list), 也可以 訂閱。

美國海軍為了測試車子的 safety, 真是無所不用其極！
Here’s some wild pictures.

Naval Safety Center – Photos of the Week
http://www.safetycenter.navy.mil/photo/archive.htm

There’s only one specific to motorcycles:
http://www.safetycenter.navy.mil/photo/photo15.htm But a bunch about cars driven into the most amazing places and positions:

In Too Deep
http://www.safetycenter.navy.mil/photo/photo70_1.htm

Submerged Underwater Vehicle (SUV)
http://www.safetycenter.navy.mil/photo/photo70_2.htm

Hole in One
http://www.safetycenter.navy.mil/photo/photo56.htm

Seeing Yellow?
http://www.safetycenter.navy.mil/photo/photo50.htm

Got Gas?
http://www.safetycenter.navy.mil/photo/photo49.htm

and boats:
Bizarre Boating Blunders
http://www.safetycenter.navy.mil/photo/photo43.htm

How not to stop your speed boat
http://www.safetycenter.navy.mil/photo/photo10.htm

and airplanes:
Breaking the Ice
http://www.safetycenter.navy.mil/photo/photo64.htm

and forklifts carrying bombs!:
Ain’t This Da Bomb
http://www.safetycenter.navy.mil/photo/photo36_1.htm

有車友針對政府對於重車騎乘的環境沒有『多花一點心力』，我提出一點看法…

針對有網友建議 Motomosa 可走學術路線，還有詢問有沒有拼裝車的文章，我回了一文，請車友參考：

拼裝車方面：Lamborghini 和 Porsche 也都有作 tractor 和 lawn mower, 德國當地老農民(走過二戰的)在拼裝這些農機車方面相當有心得(Auto, Motor und Sport 常有介紹)。而且，這些拼裝農機車也非常有『文化』的地位。台灣這邊，親身經歷的大概就埔里打鐵街十五年前，還有農民去訂作拼裝車，和 Discovery Channel 的 Junkyard Wars? =D

學術方面：Motomosa.com 不太會走學術的路線(至少在五年內)，所以份量不夠是一定的。我在想，這方面的研究路線有沒人想要一輩子鑽研的？會不會餓死(I am not a post-graduate!)。但台灣很缺這方面的人文專才，應該是確定的。

我的 target 族群是所有的摩托騎士，以後會走一般文獻(書、雜誌), 英文版則是準備給老外車友看的，所以沒辦法去作國內蒐集並評論 dissertation/thesis 的工作(peer review?)。但如果大家認為有什麼可以改進的地方，也請跟我聯絡，不吝指教。=)

全國博碩士論文的方面：I’ve tried(back in 1998), 現在可能寫機車的 scope 會大一點。當時大多數的論文(1000多篇)是採取 engineering-based 的途徑，而這對於台灣的畸形道路文化能有什麼樣的助益，我個人表示存疑。可參考交通部運研所在重車開放前所研擬出來的東西，就相當令人惋惜。我的另外一文有提到。

我跑過美國 Department of Transportation 的圖書館，但是找到台灣留學生寫的論文，走非 hard science 路線的，也是很少。

其他：我正在想辦法要把東西怎麼一步一步的放上網，本來是只想架英文的…

國內近期第一篇關於機車與性別科技的報告已經出爐了，摘要如下。感謝研究同學的提供：

我的報告題目是「台灣機車的性別與科技」，主要的資料來源是「中華民國機車研究發展安全促進協會」出版的「台灣機車史」、三段訪談（分別是一位機車行老闆、一位機車愛好者/機車網站站主及一位機車研發部門技術員）、交通部統計資料與我們這學期唸過的部分論文。

機車最早期是由十九世紀初的歐洲人將腳踏車裝上動力引擎而發展出來，台灣的第一輛機車則是在日據時代出現，當時是日本人將動力引擎裝上腳踏車而來。台灣在日據時代沒有自製機車的能力，而是由國外進口，進口國亦不限於日本，歐美國家也很多，只不過由於地緣與歷史的關係，與日本合作較為緊密。後來的國內三大機車生產廠－三陽、光陽與山葉，都是由進口貿易商轉型的，合作對象也都是日商…

光復初期的機車買主大多集中在高收入族群，如醫師、建築師與營造商等，主要原因是售價昂貴。當時的國民所得約只有兩百美元，一輛機車要價上千元，不是一般大眾所能負擔得起。即使是高收入族群，也不只是為了炫耀而買機車，而帶有實用的考量在。在這個階段，機車是種奢侈品，是身分地位的象徵。由於光復初期家計大多由男性負擔，機車使用者幾乎沒有女性。

政府在1950,1960年間為了外匯存底考量，鼓勵國內生產機車，機車能量產，售價壓低，使用者才慢慢普及。近三年我國才剛達成全車自製的目標，但技術仍落後於歐美與日本等國。我國的技術長期受日本影響，日本在1958年時推出骨架較低，使用者不必跨油箱坐的款式，由於設計輕巧，在日本大受女性歡迎，台灣當時也有引進，同樣是熱賣。這種機車被泛稱為速克達(scooter)，與油箱在前、形象較為男性化的motorcycle做區分，我國機車業界泛稱前者為「文車」，後者為「武車」。文車的骨架低，使身材較為矮小的人與著裙裝的婦女容易上車，車身輕巧好移動與配備自動排檔，也使婦女在採買家用品時相當方便。

我的受訪者普遍認為機車起初並沒有特定為男性設計，一位受訪者說女性早期也有人騎武車，只不過沒有被記錄下來，另一位說設計者當初沒有考慮到女性使用者是因為設計者本身與早期使用者（initial users）都是男性。台灣在1978年推出了第一輛專為女性設計的機車，名為「蘭蒂」，推出一年後即攻佔了50cc機車一半的市場。

1980年後機車使用者年齡結構降低，本來只是一家之主通勤或載貨用的機車，普及到家中其他成員，除了家庭主婦之外，十八歲以上的孩子也漸漸以機車代步。使用者的多元使機車製造商在設計上努力推陳出新，希望討好最多的消費者，產品週期也因此變短。廠商固然有預設產品的權力，但產品是否能存活，靠的是使用者的詮釋。除了少數廠商推出的旗艦款式之外，大部分的機車款式都可以算是使用者與產業共謀的結果。機車設計者的力量也不若以往一般大，而是可以被挑戰的。近年來機車的許多新設計就是這種互動下的產物，像是針對女性設計的小型重型機車，或是省力支架，甚至未來機車上還會加裝現在汽車才有的衛星導航系統，人能在機車上完成的事情變多了，人一坐上車，就成了活生生的cyborg。

一般人對機車的印象是不安全，但交通部的統計卻顯示機車的肇事率比任何一種汽車都還要來得低，受訪者認為負面印象是源自媒體報導車禍與飆車，這個印象也影響了機車在台灣人心中的地位，只寧願單純地把它當作是一個過渡到汽車的交通工具。即使台灣機車密度高，卻沒有如歐美一般有專屬機車的文化。受訪者建議台灣可以仿效「鐵道文化」的發展，召喚使用者的經驗與回憶，進而建立人與機車的良好關係。台灣女性則相較於其他國家，有較多的機會接觸機車，因此可能會比較有表達意見、影響設計的機會。

若欲進一了解，請參考台灣 STS 虛擬社群的性別討論版。

今日的 Taiwan Economic News(free access, registration required) 刊出了國內幾家大廠一月份的摩托車銷售數字。據報導, Kymco 即將於四月份推出一款新的速客達，而 SYM 也即將引入德國 Sachs.