All language subtitles for Mythbusters.S09E13.Bikes.and.Bazookas.1080p.AMZN.WEBRip.DD2.0.x264-CasStudio_track3_[eng]

Do not try what you're
about to see at home.

We're what you call experts.

[ Clang! ]
Ow!

Narrator: On this episode
of "mythbusters"...

* we've been driving
on the freeway *

narrator: Adam and Jamie
go green for science...

I'm actually getting
kind of excited about this.

And kick their
engineering expertise

into full throttle...

When i was a kid, i would've
killed for one of these.

Were you ever a kid?
No.

As they pit bike against car
for the ultimate eco-challenge.

We're just getting started, too.

Gonna be awesome!

Narrator: Meanwhile...

[ Laughter ]

kari, Tory, and Grant...

Come here often?

Raid the arsenal
for an explosive filmic fable...

You're John malkovich.
You don't get any hair.

Narrator:
And unleash the first rpg

in mythbusters history...

[ Laughs ]
Whoa.

Narrator:
To find out if a bullet

can beat
a rocket-propelled grenade.

[ Laughs ]

Mackerel!

Narrator:
Who are the mythbusters?

Adam savage...

Working on these machines
is great for my skin!

And Jamie hyneman.
Are you done
screwing around?

Between them, more than 30 years
of special-effects experience.

Together with kari Byron...

Fire!
Tory belleci...

You ready to get
your head cut off?

And Grant imahara.

Save yourselves.

They don't just tell the myths.

They put them to the test.

Captions by vitac...
www.Vitac.Com

captions paid for by
discovery communications

Jamie, you're a fan
of motorcycles, right?

Ever since i was 16.
Really?

They've had motorcycles
that long?

Here we go.
Okay.

There is a trend, apparently,
going on where people,

including fans of "mythbusters,"

are trading in their cars
and driving motorcycles instead

because they believe

that's the more
environmentally friendly choice.

And what's their logic?

Their logic is simply
that because motorcycles

are generally
more fuel-efficient than cars,

they burn less gas,

and thus they must be better
for the environment.

Sounds sensible.

But there are people that say
not only is that not true,

they claim that motorcycles
pollute far worse than cars.

Well, that sounds like something
we need to investigate.

I totally agree.

There's no doubt both cars
and bikes produce gases

that can be harmful
to the environment.

And supposedly being smaller
and using less fuel

means that bikes produce less.

So, is there fuel to this fire?

Are motorcycles
a greener machine than cars?

Well, clearly, this involves

getting a bunch of different
cars and motorcycles,

testing them, and comparing
the results, right?

Right, but which ones?

I mean, there's
tens of thousands

of makes and models of each.

What do we choose?

Well, why don't we get
some of the most popular models

of the last three decades?

A representative sample,
right...

Some cars and bikes
from the '80s,

the '90s, and the naughties.

The naughties are
2000 till 2010.

[ Clicks tongue ]

That sounds like
a perfect way to do this.

Well, let's get our hands dirty.

Okay. Wa-cha!

Whoa.
Where are we?

This will be
our base of operations.

Let's walk you through
the particulars.

[ Tires screech ]

[ Engines revving ]

These are our test cars.

We've got a car from the '80s,
a car from the '90s,

and a car from the naughties.

We've also got some motorcycles.

We've got one from the '80s...

One from the '90s...

And one from the naughties.

We've chosen them
based on their popularity

within their respective decades.

There is literally nothing fancy

about the route
we'll be driving today...

No tricky maneuvers,
no extreme road conditions.

It is simply a 30-minute drive
spread out over 20 miles

and split 75% freeway driving
and 25% city driving.

So, how are we gonna measure
our emissions?

Well, that's where
these guys come in.

They're from the
clean-air technologies division

of global mrv,

and they've brought with them
something called the pems,

or portable emissions
measuring system.

And basically, you know
when you take your car
in to get it smogged?

Well, that's what the pems does,
except it's more accurate,

and it's real world,

because you put it
in the vehicle,

you stick a probe
in the exhaust,

you hook it up to the engine,

and you drive the car or the
motorcycle around for a while.

And voilà... instant data.

The numbers we get
should be precise enough

to allow us to call
whether the motorcycles

or the cars are better
for the environment.

Narrator: And with six vehicles,
that's a lot of driving.

I'm ready.
All right,
let's do this.

All right, here we go.

Narrator: But thanks to the
wonders of non-linear editing...

Okay, this is bike versus car.

The 30-minute test
for the '80s...

'80s pollution test in 3...

'90s...
2...

and naughties...
1... Go!

Can take place simultaneously.

And we're off.

* dun, dun-dun,
dun-dun-dun *

Adam: A left turn takes us
into the neighborhood,

where we can do
some city driving.

Jamie's keeping up nicely.

Everyone's going
roughly the same speed.

Test is going perfect.

Narrator:
Everything is going perfectly.

And Adam's running commentary
gives us a very special insight.

Adam: [ Burps ]

Ooh, i just burped

and tasted a little bit
of my lunch... enchiladas.

Narrator: As the guys
gather their data...

Adam: I must say, i
never quite understood
the dogs-in-sweaters thing.

I mean, they're cute as blazes,
but i like petting my dog.

I don't like petting a sweater.

[ Laughing ] I'm really glad
we had this time alone

that we can talk.

[ Laughs ]

Narrator: After a few minutes
of city driving,

the freeway portion
of the testing begins.

* i am driving
for scientific testing *

* on the freeway
in northern California *

* I'm followed by Jamie
and following a police car *

* to gather the pollution data

narrator: Eventually, after
30 minutes at each vehicle,

the testing comes to a close,

and Adam finishes how he began.

* we've been driving
on the freeway *

* testing our emissions

* in motorcycles

* and the ca-a-a-a-a-a-rs

* and the ca-a-a-a-a-a-rs

* today

[ cheers and applause ]

Thank you.
Thank you very much.

After a full day of driving,
we've done three runs

with six vehicles

and collected 24 separate
points of data.

Home sweet home.

There we go.

So, that's it?
Yeah.

It's time to head back to
the shop and see what it means.

Next up, the guys are seeing red
with an explosive myth.

[ Explosion ]

You're gonna love this.

Why?

Because after
180 or so episodes,

we've finally found an excuse
to use a rocket launcher.

Yes!
What are we testing?

This one comes
from the movie "red"...

"retired and
extremely dangerous."

Okay, here's the scene.
There's a standoff.

Our hero has a revolver,

and our villain has
a rocket-propelled grenade.

They both fire, and the bullet
and the rpg meet in midair.

The bullet triggers the rpg,
causing a huge explosion,

killing the villain,

and the hero walks away
unscathed.

Narrator: So, that's two
rocket-propelled grenade myths

for the price of one.

Will the bullet
trigger the warhead?

And when it explodes,

would it really be
"bye-bye, rocketeer,"

with only the bad gal
going up in flames?

So, where to start?

All right, two myths, one scene.

Now, the first one is,

can you set off a round
from an rpg using a bullet?

Well, to begin with,
i think we need to match

both the gun and the
rocket launcher from the movie.

Then we point them
at each other and fire.

Simple, right?

Okay, besides being
a logistical nightmare,

you can't shoot
a rocket launcher in California.

But i know a place we can.

Narrator:
Luckily, the team have friends
in high-explosive places,

so they head to the
mythbusters rocketeering h.Q.

Kari: To test the myth
of our rpg handgun face-off,

we've come to one
of our favorites places.

New Mexico tech sort of
feels like a second home.

Why do we love this place
so much?

Well, they have 40 square miles
of testing facility

where they have gun ranges
and bomb sites.

How can it get
any better than that?

[ Imitates bazooka firing ]

Narrator: Well, by throwing in
a license to fire these.

Tory: So, for this myth, we have
three questions we need to ask.

One, how does an rpg work?

Which end does the rocket go in?

Two, what happens when an rpg
and a bullet meet midair?

And three, when they do meet
and the explosion goes off,

who survives?

Narrator: And question one...
How does it work?...

Calls for a little rpg 101
with John myrkle.

John, we've fired a lot of guns
on the show but never an rpg.

Could you fill me in
on the basic components?

Okay, this is the launcher.
It's pretty simple.

It's basically a bunch
of metal tubes welded together.

And this is the rocket.

So, when it fires, it kicks
the rpg out of the tube,

and partway to the target,

the rocket motor lights
and makes it accelerate.

And what actually causes
the fuse to arm?

Setback "g" forces.

When it comes out of the tube,

it goes from zero
to 140 meters per second

in about 6 milliseconds.

So it's experiencing
a lot of g's.

It's time for the practical demo
of exactly how the rpg works.

All right, you guys realize

this is the first time
in the history of "mythbusters"

that we've ever shot an rpg.

Kari: All right,
this is rpg versus trailer

just to see what it does.

[ Laughs ]

Grant:
In 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

[ Laughter ]

What?!
It's gone.

The trailer's completely gone.

That was so fast!

That was so much more energetic
than i thought.

That didn't look anything
like you see in the movies!

That was, like, bang, bang!

[ Laughs ]
Let's check
the wreckage.

Yeah, right.

Narrator: Outside, they find
a trail of rpg devastation,

or should that be
an rpg-devastated trailer?

Wow, that is a scary
amount of destructive
force right there.

Well, now we know
how an rpg works.

Yep, they couldn't have asked
for a better demonstration.

Tory: After looking at
the high speed of the trailer,

we noticed one thing.

After the trailer exploded,
we saw hot molten copper

continue on
and actually burn holes

into the steel armor behind it.

The reason being
is because an rpg

isn't like a typical grenade

that has an explosive charge
that throws shrapnel.

It actually has
an inverted copper cone

that is surrounded
by a shaped charge,

and when that hits the target,
the charge goes off

and actually pushes
that copper out

into a hot molten slug of copper
that burns through steel.

Narrator: So,
not only is the rpg explosion

nothing like the movie,

it also throws forward
a molten copper surprise,

which doesn't bode well
for the hero.

Now we need to see what happens
when a bullet meets an rpg.

The hard part is gonna be
getting those two to match up.

Let's get to work.
That was incredible.

Narrator:
After the break...

So, it's kind of like
soap on a rope

but a little bit more dangerous.

Yeah, a lot more power.

It's the rpg versus bullet
smackdown.

Narrator: The mythbusters
have been behind the wheel

and in the saddle

to find out which is greener,
the car or the bike.

And, finally, the data is in.

So, after some swift consulting,
equating, and calculating,

the guys have
the emissions verdict.

Jamie:
After running the numbers

and looking at the outputs
of pollutant gases

from all the vehicles

and getting some expert analysis
from professor Kent Johnson

of the university of California
riverside,

we came up
with some surprising results.

First up in the mythbusters

motorcycle versus car
data crunch is fuel efficiency.

Across all of the vehicles,
the results were consistent.

Motorcycles use less fuel
than cars.

Which makes sense.

Motorcycles are lighter
than cars,

and thus they require
less energy to push
themselves forward.

And you'd think
that using less fuel

would make them better
for the environment.

But you'd be wrong.

From an emissions standpoint,

let's take a look at
the most populous of the gases

that these vehicles put out...
Carbon dioxide.

It's nasty.

It's a greenhouse gas,

so it contributes
to global warming.

And it makes up 90%
of the emissions

of an internal combustion
engine.

And, because it's a direct
by-product of burning fuel,

motorcycles,
which burn less fuel,

consistently produce less
carbon dioxide than cars.

But the other pollutant gases
we measured

tell a totally different story.

Hydrocarbons, for example,
cause smog,

cancer, asthma, emphysema,
and a host of other nasties,

and motorcycles produce
far more than cars.

Oxides of nitrogen...
Responsible for smog,

lung ailments, and acid rain.

Motorcycles produced
up to 3,200% more than cars.

And carbon monoxide
is an air pollutant

and poisonous
for animals to breathe.

Well, motorcycles produce
up to 8,000% more than cars.

In summary, while we found
that motorcycles

were more fuel-efficient
than cars

and put out a lot less
carbon dioxide,

the amount of polluting gases
they put out

was vastly worse.

This myth is about someone that
traded the car for a motorcycle

because they believed it was
better for the environment.

And they were wrong.
At best, it's a wash.

Motorcycles are just as bad
for the environment as cars.

At worst, they're far worse.

Narrator:
Yep, the data doesn't lie.

The cars are cleaner,

but bikes and mythbusters
go way back,

and they're not done yet.

By combining hyneman ingenuity
with savage savvy,

they're taking this myth
to the Max.

Now, that is
a cool-looking design.

Can they put bikes back on track

by creating the ultimate
clean, green machine?

It's starting to look sexy.

Ktg are taking on an rpg.

And it's got nothing to do
with role playing.

In this movie myth,
the villain is taken out

by their own
rocket-propelled grenade

all because
of a well-timed bullet.

So far, we've seen what happens
when an rpg hits a trailer,

and it turns out, it's not
looking so good for the myth,

because once an rpg detonates,

it fires a stream
of molten copper

through and beyond the target.

But you know what?
This is "mythbusters."
We can't give up here.

What we want to look at next

is what happens
when a bullet meets an rpg.

Can it even trigger?

Narrator: Indeed,
but getting a tiny bullet

to hit the warhead on the head
is tricky.

Luckily,
by joining forces with nmt,

they've come up with a solution.

All right, Leonard, you
built this system. Tell
me a little bit about it.

Well, this was actually
designed, Tory,

from friends of ours
up in huntsville, Alabama...

Artec... and they call it
rocket on a rope.

So, it's kind of like
soap on a rope

but a little bit more dangerous.

Yeah, a lot more power.
[ Laughs ]

More powerful and more deadly.
And here's why.

Now, obviously,
this isn't a real rpg.

This is an inert one,
'cause we're not crazy.

Right here is our launcher.
It's a steel tube.

The rpg will go into that.

Right here is where
our firing pin will be.

Once that starts, pressure
will build up inside this pipe,

and it'll push our rocket
on the sled

down these lines
towards our gun.

That quick change in
acceleration arms the warhead,

and it travels down this line,

which is tensioned
at 3,000 pounds.

So it can handle the rocket

and keep it on a level
and straight path.

When that sustainer motor
kicks in,

that's when we really
start cooking.

Now, at some point
along the line,

the rpg will actually
hit a trip wire

that will activate our gun.

Now, i know this doesn't look
like the gun in the movie,

but it does exactly
the same thing.

And the bullet, which is the
same caliber as in the movie,

will come firing out of here,
right into the tip of the rpg.

Then we'll finally find out what
happens when bullet meets rpg.

Narrator: With their ingenious
rocket on a rope rig primed

and the gun loaded,

it's time to hunker
in the bunker.

[ Door creaks ]

Okay, rpg versus bullet.
Go for launch.

All right, here we go.
In 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Whoa!

Do you think maybe
the bullet disabled it?

I don't know. High speed...
Let's go look at the high speed.

Check the high speed.

Narrator: It all happened
in the blink of an eye.

But it does seem like there was
a trip up with the trip wire.

Tory:
For our first test,

we were not able to hit
the rpg with the bullet,

and there was a couple
of reasons for that.

One, the lines
were not tight enough.

So, as the rocket came
down the line,

it was bouncing around.

By the time
it got to the bullet,

it was actually out of line
with the barrel of the gun.

Not only that,
the bullet didn't even fire.

The trigger
was not sensitive enough.

So, we've made some adjustments.

We've put more tension
on the line.

That way, that'll keep
that rocket stable,

and we have
a more sensitive trigger.

So that way, by the time
the rocket gets to the barrel,

the gun will fire.

And then, finally,
we'll find out,

will an rpg
get set off by a bullet?

Narrator: With the rig adjusted
and a new warhead loaded,

it's back underground
for round two.

Kari: I think it's time
for another shot.

All right, here we go.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Wow.
It definitely exploded.

I don't know if it was
because of the bullet.

Hard to tell.
Let's look
at the high speed.

Oh, this is crazy!

Narrator:
Crazy with a capital "c."

And it looks like they've gotten
bullet versus rpg success.

Hits the trip wire.

It works!

[ Laughter ]

Tory: The bullet
can set off an rpg!

Dude, that's amazing!

All right, so that part
of the myth is confirmed.

Amazing and confirmed

and all down
to an incredible rig.

Now, to nail down who actually
lives and who dies in this myth,

we've got to do a few things.

We've got to find out how fast
the bullet travels,

how fast the rpg travels,

and then we can figure out

where, in the 80 feet between
the good guy and the bad guy,

they would meet.

So that means
we need to get some bullets,

we need to get some rpgs,
and we can go shootin'.

So, for the oxides of nitrogen,
the hydrocarbons,

and the carbon monoxide,

the bikes put out more pollution
than the cars,

but, somehow, i don't feel like
you're done with this story.

No, I'm not, and here's why.

Ultimately, the amount
of pollution that comes
out of a bike

has to be related to the amount
of fuel that goes into it.

And while it's true
that bikes are lighter

and smaller than cars
and so they use less fuel,

they'd use even less
if they more aerodynamic.

Right.
The fact is that bikes

are totally
aerodynamically inefficient.

That upright rider presents
a huge block to the wind.

They're not designed like cars
to slip through the air.

Exactly, and so what
I'm wondering is,

if we made a bike
super streamlined,

could we reduce its fuel usage
to such a degree

that it would actually beat

the fuel-pollution standards
of cars?

You want to build
a super-streamlined bike

and put it to the test.

I do.
I love it.
Let's do it.

Narrator:
The plan is to create

an aerodynamically
efficient bike.

And for that, the mythbusters
fire up the old gray cells

for one heck of a brainstorm.

So, we're making one of those

super aerodynamically efficient.

How do we do it?

Well, it's got to be
some kind of a shell.

Mm-hmm.

And it's got to be lightweight

and pretty much got to
cover the whole thing.

In this concept cyclone...

Something like a teardrop
with the bike in the middle.

A whole load of ideas
are thrown up in the air.

I was thinking more like a tuna,

where the tip can be
a little bit more pointed.

It's kind of like an igloo.

What if this thing
was like a big sphere?

And just like lightning...

One idea strikes them
as the best way to go.

If these are steel...

Like ribs.
Yeah.

Secure it, and then you cut out
an access-port-sized door,

these would be covered
by heat-shrink.

And have not just a design
but a plan, too.

Now, that is
a cool-looking design.

I've never seen
anything like that before.

If we did this and we did this
in a tubular steel,

it's a really nice
divide-and-conquer design.

I love it.
Let's do it.

Okay.

Adam: After a tremendous amount
of back and forth,

we have a plan, and that is it.

With a little bit
of bent tube steel,

some heat-shrink plastic,
and a couple of dozen hours,

i think we'll have
our bike fairing.

Narrator: Later...

Tory: Whoa!

That was intense.

Narrator: But first...

[ Imitating engine revving ]

Adam: * I'm followed by Jamie
and following a police car *

* to gather the pollution data

narrator: It seems that cars
have the edge on bikes

when it comes to being green.

Adam:
We found that motorcycles were
more fuel-efficient than cars

and put out a lot less
carbon dioxide.

The amount of polluting gases
they put out was vastly worse.

Narrator:
So, now the guys are creating
a super-streamlined motorcycle

to increase its fuel efficiency
and minimize its emissions.

Jamie: Now, a lot of bikes
normally have fairings on them,

which are plastic cowlings
that cover the front
portion of the bike

to reduce wind resistance.

In our case, we're gonna get
considerably more involved,

however, and we're
gonna build a fairing

that covers the entire bike,
its passenger included.

A little more crouchy than that.

Narrator: This device
will cocoon the cyclist inside,

making it more aerodynamic,
greener,

and eco-competition for the car.

This is our stripped-down bike,

and very soon,
a bunch of steel like this

is gonna make the frame
for our fairing.

And the frame is gonna be
comprised of two parts.

One... this large,
overarching circle,

which Jamie is
going to ring-roll,

and a bunch
of horizontal ellipses,

which I'm going to hand-bend
with a conduit bender.

Narrator: Getting the
steel frame perfect is crucial,

as the design literally
hangs off of it.

I love bending metal.

Narrator:
Soon, what starts out

as a series
of bent steel rods...

[ Imitates smacking ]

is welded together to become
one half of the fairing.

[ Grunts ]

Wow.

That is a pretty thing.

It is, isn't it?

[ Both laugh ]

I don't care what it's for.
It's just plain lovely.

Jamie: Yeah, let's make
a whole bunch of them.

A little more measuring,
welding, and bending,

and they've got what looks like
a giant hamster ball.

Adam: That is
frickin' sexy, man.

More surface area,
but it's smoother.

Oh, yeah, totally.

Narrator:
With the sphere complete,

they cut out the part
where the bike will go.

[ Imitating engine revving ]

I like it.

When i was a kid, i would've
killed for one of these.

Were you ever a kid?
No.

Narrator:
And since the bike fits snugly,

it's time for the comet
to get its tail.

[ Laughs ]

How about that?

That is friggin' awesome.

It's starting to look sexy.

It's kind of different,
you know?

[ Laughs ]

Narrator:
A perfect teardrop,

but there's just one more thing

to complete
their aerodynamic design.

So, this frame that we've
spent all this time building

isn't what makes this bike
more aerodynamic.

It's actually the skin
we put on top of this frame

that will do all of that work,
and this is our skin.

It is a roughly clear plastic
that shrinks when you heat it.

So, we're going to put it all
over this frame.

Then we're going to
heat it with a blow torch

until it's drum-tight.

And that ought to make this

the aerodynamic, fuel-efficient
bike of our dreams.

Narrator: An aerodynamic bike
of their dreams

and all by reducing
a little thing called drag.

Adam:
We know that the motorcycle
is less aerodynamic than a car,

and that is because of drag.

The best way to visualize drag
is to take a look at this clip.

You see the ink
floating behind the vehicle?

That is a low-pressure
bubble of air

that the vehicle
has to drag around

because it's not
properly aerodynamic.

Our thinking is
that the smooth front

and sharp tail of our fairing

will allow the motorcycle
to slice through the air,

spending less of its energy
driving and saving fuel.

If we're able to save
enough fuel,

the emissions might finally dip
below that of the cars.

That's looking great, isn't it?

Yeah, it is.
It's cooling down right now.

That's when it shrinks,
huh?
Yeah.

And in no time at all,
the fairing is skinned.

[ Laughs ]

That is really,
really pretty.
[ Laughs ]

That just looks
frickin' awesome.

[ Laughs ]

That was worth the wait.

The fairing is finally complete,

and just as guys anticipated,

the bike looks like a teardrop
crossed with a comet.

[ Grunts ]

It's like giving birth
but in reverse.

[ Grunts ]

Lowering the back hatch now.

Okay.

[ Laughs ]

What do you think?

It's not at all uncomfortable
once you're in here.

That's great.
[ Laughs ]

Not at all uncomfortable,

but it's real test
will be on the road.

Coming right up...

It crashed a trailer
and obliterated a bullet,

but how fast can an rpg fly?

Kari: Wow.
It totally penetrated.

It went all the way through.

That is crazy.

Do not try what you're
about to see at home.

We're what you call experts.

[ Gunshots ]

Narrator:
It may seem unlikely...

But the team has proved that
a bullet can trigger an rpg.

Now they need to know where
in the air they would meet.

Ready to do some science?

Oh, you know i am.

Down at the gun range,
first they need to find out

the speed
of the speeding bullet.

So, what we are
trying to find out

is where, between
the two dueling shooters,

the bullet and the rpg meet.

Now, we've set up a scale
80 feet long

just like two
40-foot truck containers

like the scene in the movie.

So, what we're gonna do
is shoot the gun and the rpg,

measure how fast
each of them are going,

then we'll be able to calculate
exactly what point the two meet

and the explosion happens.

Narrator: And just how far away
that explosion is

from the shooter
and the rocketeer.

So, here's how
the experiment's gonna work.

We're gonna use the same gun
they had in the movie...

A Smith & Wesson .460.

Has a muzzle velocity
of 2,200 feet per second.

We're gonna fire it
through this piece of foil,

which will start the timer.

The bullet will hit this plate,

firing the switch and stopping
the timing sequence.

We're gonna do it
at 40 and 80 feet,

and through that,
we should be able to see

where along the path
the bullet and the rpg meet.

Narrator: So, first up,
Tory's packing the heat...

Dude, this thing's so big,
it looks like a cartoon gun.

To find out the speed
of the bullet at 40 feet.

All right, this is the speed
of the bullet from 40 feet.

Good shot.
Let's go see what you got.

All right,
see how fast that went.

Pretty fast.

22 milliseconds, to be precise.

Next, it's Grant's turn
to turn on the firepower.

But I'm not gonna
do this one standing up.

I'm gonna do this one on a rest,

because not only
am i not John malkovich

but I'm not retired, and I'm
only moderately dangerous.

Okay, this is time of the bullet
from 80 feet.

Are you ready?
Ready.

Got it!

See, you're not
mildly dangerous.

[ Laughs ]
You're a bad man.

All right,
let's see how fast it took.

What do we got?

42 milliseconds.

Perfect.
That adds up.

All right.

Narrator:
After a hard day's shootin',

the guys have
the bullet's speed.

Now to the second part
of the equation...

The rocket-propelled grenade.

[ Sighs ]

It's a good day
to be a mythbuster.

Tory:
Got that right.

Grant: So, we know how fast
the bullet flies.

Now it's time for us to find out
how fast an rpg goes.

We're gonna take
our rpg-7 launcher,

set it up on the test stand,
put our scales behind it...

Aah!

And plot the data points.

And from that,
we'll be able to find out

where the bullet and the rpg
are likely to meet.

Narrator: And all that means
is setting up the gauges

just as before.

The rocket is primed,
and it's firing time.

Okay, here we are.

All right, now we can find out

where the bullet
and the rocket meet.

Okay, this is rpg speed test.

In 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

[ Laughs ]
Whoa!

You see flash, boom!
Yeah, you can't
see it traveling.

You definitely need
the high speed.

Let's go do some calculations.

Yeah, let's do some math.

All right, well, let's use
multiple data points

because there's two stages.

You reach 20 feet
in 43 milliseconds,

40 feet
in 83.6 milliseconds,

60 feet at 125 milliseconds,

and 80 feet
at 161.3 milliseconds.

Okay, so,
if we flip this around,

we see that the bullet
and the rpg meet at 64 feet.

So that's 64 feet
from the bullet firer

and 16 feet from the rpg firer.

All right, so,
why don't we set up the rpg

at that point
between the two shooters

and see which one of them
survives?

If anybody.
[ Laughs ]

Go!

Narrator: Next, Adam and Jamie
take to the street.

Hyneman crossing.

Narrator: But will their
green bike get the green light?

Narrator: It's a given that,
if something's aerodynamic,

it'll slice
through the air better.

But does making
a bike more streamlined

also mean it'll become greener

than its
four-wheel counterparts?

Adam: We've coned out
the Alameda runway,

and it is going to be
our closed course

for motorcycle testing today.

And 40.

We're gonna use it to replicate

the exact same conditions
of freeway and city driving

we had for the first round
of vehicle testing.

Jamie's gonna start out
on the motorcycle

and do seven laps

all the way down to the end
of the runway and back,

which gives us 15 miles
of freeway driving,

just like we want.

[ Sighs ]

This is both the start line...

And the finish line
after a bunch of laps.

Then I've marked out
a little city course

of some stop-and-go traffic,

and that Jamie
has to do 25 laps of

to give us the 7 1/2 miles
of city driving we need.

And that should give us
a set of comparable numbers.

No city course is complete
without signage.

And we've got signage.

Hyneman crossing.

Narrator: Yep, first is the
base line for the bike
without its fairing.

But before Jamie
gets on his bike,

why did he choose it
for the beat-the-car test?

Jamie: The name of the game here
was to find a motorcycle

that is as
environmentally friendly

as anything currently available
on the market.

That means it needs to be of
relatively small displacement,

fuel-injected,
have a catalytic converter

and any other pollution controls
available on motorcycles

as of this date.

So that's why
we've selected this bike.

It's a 250cc, late-model,
single-cylinder motorcycle

that meets
all of those qualifications.

And once again, the pems
will sniff out all its emissions

for this base-line test.

Are you ready?
I'm ready.

All right, remember,
7 big laps, 25 small ones.

I'll be counting them down.

Here we go... late-model,
low-displacement bike test

in 3, 2, 1, go!

[ Laughs ]

Oops.
One more time.

In 3, 2, 1, go!

And now we wait.

Narrator: First off,
Jamie goes 'round in circles

at 50 miles per hour
for 15 miles of freeway driving.

[ Horn honks ]

Now it's time
for some city driving.

Then he's in the loop
for the city conditions,

complete with a stop sign and
a 25-mile-per-hour speed limit.

[ Horn honks ]

Finally,
after looping both loops

for 30 minutes in the saddle...

Now... It's a finish line.

Narrator: It's time to get
a readout on the control data.

[ Motorcycle honks ]

Adam:
The results are in.

We have our base line
for our modern bike.

The good news is that

it's the most fuel-efficient
bike we've tested by far,

and it gave the cars
the best run for their money

we've yet achieved.

The bad news...

Its dangerous emissions
are still surprisingly high.

Will our aerodynamic fairing
increase the fuel efficiency,

and will the increase
in that fuel efficiency

dilute the dangerous gases?

I don't know.

But it's time
to bring out the bubble.

Oh.
The prototype approaches.

[ Laughs ]

[ Horn honks ]

Are you ready
for this?
I am... all set.

All right, on the green flag.

Bubble bike in 3, 2, 1, go!

[ Laughs ]

Uh...

Restart!

Bubble bike test in 3, 2, 1, go!

That's the second time he popped
the clutch on the starting line.

Narrator:
After an identical start,

it's an identical course,

starting with a
pedal-to-the-metal blast

of freeway driving.

[ Laughs ]

[ Horn honks ]

Lap one is away.

[ Laughs ]

You know those old films
of, like,

people trying to take off
of cliffs in flying machines

and they crash when they land?

It's exactly what that thing
looks like.

Yeah!

I'm getting to like this.

Narrator: Then it's
science fiction in motion

as Jamie puts the bubble
through its city-driving paces.

It's getting
kind of hot in here.

All right, Jamie, this is
your last lap... last lap.

Narrator: And with that, Jamie's
bubbly ride comes to an end.

[ Horn honks ]

[ Laughs ]

Nice work, man!
You are done.

How'd that feel?

This thing is crazy,
but i kind of like it.

I'll tell you, it looks like

a weird,
kind of primordial airplane

every time it takes off
down the Lane.

It's gorgeous.

Finally, it's down
to the emissions data

to either confirm
or burst this eco-bubble.

I wish we had a second bike.

Then we could ride the two
of them off into the sunset,

you know?

Sure, why not?

Like the sign says,
it's crunch time.

Let's have a look
at the numbers.

All right,
let's take a look and see

how we did
in the fuel-economy category.

Well, the fairing bike
did pretty well.

It got 70.9 miles
per gallon.

It's the best across the board.

Now, i would expect,

because of the increase
in fuel efficiency,

to see a corresponding drop
in carbon dioxide emissions.

Let's call up the carbon dioxide
chart and see how we did.

And there you go...
105 grams.

That's a fraction
of everything else on the chart.

That is fantastic.

Now I'd like to see how we did
in all of the other emissions.

Let's call up the last chart.

Oh.
Not so good.

It is solidly in the middle,

and the cars are still winning,
hands down.

Yep.
Where does that
leave us?

Well, you know, it's tricky,

because if you look
at co2 alone,

the bikes win by a large margin.

But if you look
at all the other pollutants,

then the cars are far better
for the environment.

I think it's got to be busted,
and here's why.

Over time,

cars have made a remarkable
improvement very steadily.

And the bikes, well,
the bikes have gotten better

but not near as much.

Yep, i agree.

At this point in time,

it is not better
for the environment

to trade your car for a bike.

Next up...

I think everybody's dying.

Narrator: The finale
of bullet versus rpg

goes out with a bang.

Narrator:
In the deserts of new Mexico,

it's time to test
the survivability of this.

But before
they bring in the dummies,

there's just one problem.

Oh, i lost my head.

Grant: Okay, John,
so based on our data,

if an rpg shooter and
a gun shooter are 80 feet apart,

the rpg and the bullet
will meet at 16 feet

in front of the rpg shooter.

What do you think about this?

The biggest problem with that

is that the rpg won't be armed
at 16 feet.

It takes a lot farther
to get out.

The rpg's just gonna keep
right on going like a
really big bullet.

Yep, and that's all down

to the two stages
of the rpg's firing system.

The first stage of ignition

throws the grenade
out of the launcher

at around 384 feet per second.

This sudden acceleration
triggers stage two,

activating the rocket propulsion
and arming the warhead.

So, unlike the movie,

the rocket must be at least
60 feet from its target to arm.

So, it looks like the myth
is pretty much busted outright,

but what if it were a fluke?

How could we still
look at this explosion?

We can do this by actually
moving the target

farther away
from the rpg launcher

to a range where
it will actually be armed

and positioning our dummies
in the appropriate positions

for the two individuals.

All right.
Can i fire the rpg?

Mm, we'll see.
Yes!

Right, all is not lost.

For the final parameter
of survivability,

they'll tweak the setup
to simulate a faulty rpg.

This time, the rpg will fire

from 60 feet
behind the stand-in rocketeer.

I think we might have
to increase our budget
on mannequins.

This is a pretty ugly woman.

Come here often?

Narrator:
And just like the movie,

16 feet in front of her

is where the now armed warhead
will trigger.

But instead of a bullet...

Now, this piece of acrylic
is representing our bullet.

Now, we know
once the rpg is armed,

it doesn't take much
to set it off.

Narrator: And, finally,
64 feet from that

is where a gun-toting dummy
will be positioned.

Oh, wait a minute.

You're John malkovich.
You don't get any hair.

Narrator: And for the lethality
of the blast,

well, each dummy
will have two gauges.

All right, what i have here is
a large piece of pork belly.

This is gonna act like
our human flesh.

Looks good. I like that.
It's a nice hat.

Narrator: Firstly,
the gory low-tech version.

Oh, god, it smells so bad!

Tory: It's got muscle,
it's got flesh, it's got fat.

If the shrapnel goes through
this and through the mannequin,

we know that's a kill.

Narrator:
And second, the excitingly named
high-tech version.

Kari: To measure the blast wave
of the explosion,

we're using this...
It's a bikini Gauge.

When you said bikini Gauge,

i had something
totally different in mind.

Now, the way it works is that
we have foil spread over holes

that represent different
tolerances for the overpressure.

When the foil bursts,
that will indicate our number.

Now, if this right here bursts,
that's 20 to 25 psi.

That means
that our shooters died

from just the pressure wave.

Narrator: Well, there's only
one way to find out.

They're bunkering down
for the rpg survivability.

[ Door creaks ]

Okay, this is
survivability test,

rpg shooter
versus bullet shooter.

Kari:
In 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

[ Laughs ]

Mackerel!

Whoa!

That was intense.

Narrator:
Intense is right.

Unsurprisingly,
the rpg detonates

and throws forward a shower
of molten copper and debris.

But did the dummies survive it?

I don't believe this.
She's still alive.

In the movie,
she was totally decimated.

Tory: Yeah,
and that goes along

with what we've been seeing
with these rpgs.

I mean, they're not like
regular grenades.

It's very directional.
But look at that.

Our bikini gauges
are still intact,

which means she would've
survived that blast wave.

Narrator: Unlike the movie,
the villain made it through,

but, more surprisingly,
so did the good guy.

Oh, my god, that is incredible.

He did not get touched.

I mean, he didn't get hit
by one single bit.

Grant: And look, our bikini
Gauge didn't get ruptured.

Yeah, he may have survived
but just by luck.

There was a stream of molten
copper coming straight at him.

If he were one foot over,
he'd be totally Swiss cheese.

Narrator: Especially since,
in the movie,

the warhead would not have been
armed on contact with the bullet

but on contact
with the gun-toting good guy.

Yeah, this is the exact opposite
of what it was in the movie.

He would likely
have been killed,

and she would likely
have survived.

It's busted.
Totally busted.

Hollywood not being
scientifically accurate again.

Huh.

Look, I'll admit it...
I was fooled by Hollywood,

but here's why.

Normally, when we see
an rpg hit something,

there's a big flash,
and then that thing explodes.

But in this case,
the rpg exploded in midair.

There was nothing
to create any shrapnel.

And the bullet
didn't have very much mass,

so there's nothing to stop
that energy in its tracks.

As a result,
all the energy went forward

exactly as it was designed to.

Well, that didn't suck.

[ Laughs ]
No, it didn't.

Another day of work
for the mythbusters.

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