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Petrol head thread!!!

Started by billy rubin, October 29, 2019, 10:41:33 PM

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Dark Lightning

Well the Harley had a chain oiler. Belt drive obviously changed that source of oil.

Tank

Quote from: Icarus on March 24, 2023, 12:21:02 AM...

I wonder why I like the little Triumph better than the clearly superior Honda and Suzuki bikes.

It's built on a human scale for its riders' pleasures.
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

billy rubin

i like the mechanical accessibility and simplicity of an earlier era of machinery. sometimes its a simple matter of taste, at others its pragmatism.

i can work on an old british machine using a level of skill that i have already acquired. even machines i have nevrr had apart. i understand the designer's mind. not so a ducati, or an aprilia, or anything from japan since the 70s.

 but change is inevitable. not always thought through. i may have mentioned this before, but electric cars will kill the used car market.

a tesla battery is supposed to last 300,000 miles. they cost US$25,000 to $35,000. how much will i pay for a used tesla that will soon leave me with a dead battery? and thats assuming elon is correct at 300,000 miles.


set the function, not the mechanism.

jumbojak

They got a new motorcycle mechanic at work. I haven't met him yet but damn near took him out on the main road when he was going for a test ride. That joker needs to slow down through there. Popped around a corner on a narrow road.

"Amazing what chimney sweeping can teach us, no? Keep your fire hot and
your flue clean."  - Ecurb Noselrub

"I'd be incensed by your impudence were I not so impressed by your memory." - Siz

billy rubin



back in prep mode.



im finally goi g to swap out the 60 year old magneto and install a battery and electronic ignition. hate to do that but im looking for one percent gains now.







still might get something out of riding position. but i dont fold up well anymore. cant get amy more room and still stay within my class.


set the function, not the mechanism.

billy rubin

ill be taki g off the top end and resetting the cam timing. i run way unorthodox settings, exactly the opposite of what the ecperts say. but the experts are slower, so i dont give them a lot of credence.

i raised the gearing when i tested oxygenated fuel last year. didnt help but mileage went from 8 mpg to about 4. breathtakingly expensive too.

so ill be resetting the gearbox back to 21 teeth from 20, and tbe rear sprocket from 43 to 46.

this gives me a drop in top speed from 138 to 135, but im hoping i can get another 100 rpm.





set the function, not the mechanism.

hermes2015

Billy, have you ever made an aluminium petrol tank from the sheet metal? I am asking because I would like to know how you anneal the Al. I'm thinking of doing some sculpting with it. There are quite a few different techniques on YouTube, but I would like to get your perspective on it.
"Eventually everything connects - people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se."
― Charles Eames

Dark Lightning

Hermes, try this site. These guys are ace metal workers. I post there as Dark Lightning, as well.

https://www.allmetalshaping.com/index.php

billy rubin

Quote from: hermes2015 on May 13, 2023, 04:36:51 PMBilly, have you ever made an aluminium petrol tank from the sheet metal? I am asking because I would like to know how you anneal the Al. I'm thinking of doing some sculpting with it. There are quite a few different techniques on YouTube, but I would like to get your perspective on it.

no , i have no knowledger of aluminum.  aside frim copper, i dont know much about annealing.

metal quenching, anneLing, and other treTment is a mystery to me.

its one of those things i pay someone else to know about.


set the function, not the mechanism.

hermes2015

Thank you guys, I appreciate your responses.
"Eventually everything connects - people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se."
― Charles Eames

hermes2015

Quote from: Dark Lightning on May 13, 2023, 06:20:57 PMHermes, try this site. These guys are ace metal workers. I post there as Dark Lightning, as well.

https://www.allmetalshaping.com/index.php

Wow, thanks for the link. That site seems to have a wealth of information and I shall definitely register. I see there are art topics; I can't wait to explore.
"Eventually everything connects - people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se."
― Charles Eames

Dark Lightning

Quote from: hermes2015 on May 13, 2023, 07:15:17 PM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on May 13, 2023, 06:20:57 PMHermes, try this site. These guys are ace metal workers. I post there as Dark Lightning, as well.

https://www.allmetalshaping.com/index.php

Wow, thanks for the link. That site seems to have a wealth of information and I shall definitely register. I see there are art topics; I can't wait to explore.

They're a nice bunch. Take a look at the "Metal Shaper of the Month" project at the top of the splash screen. The guy made those stacks from stainless.

Icarus

Billy, you are well advised to do away with the antiquated magneto.  Modern ignitions are a helluva lot more reliable and more accurate as for spark intensity and timing. I imagine that you may very well be able to get another 100 revs from the better sparks. Beware, of course.  If you get two, three, four hundred, more revs the bottom end may revolt.

I reckon that you already have beehive valves springs and other expensive goodies like titanium keepers and such. And then there are the push rods that must  not be heavy but must not flex in a way that will alter valve timing, and a whole lot more to worry with.

Oxygenated fuel my ass! Forget that voodoo bullshit and use an ordinary and mainly reliable fuel source like Chevron, Shell, Mobil and so on. Do not be tempted to use trick fuel doctored with nitro or other magical chemistry. Avgas with its' higher octane is not advised or needed for use at sea level either.

I am going to worry about you riding that antique piece of shit bike at warp speeds. Last time it was wheel bearings, what next? 

OK, if you are destined to do this dumb shit, then I wish you the best of luck and I also wish that I could be there with you to cheer you on. That's what we petrol heads do.

hermes2015

Quote from: Dark Lightning on May 13, 2023, 07:27:04 PM
Quote from: hermes2015 on May 13, 2023, 07:15:17 PM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on May 13, 2023, 06:20:57 PMHermes, try this site. These guys are ace metal workers. I post there as Dark Lightning, as well.

https://www.allmetalshaping.com/index.php

Wow, thanks for the link. That site seems to have a wealth of information and I shall definitely register. I see there are art topics; I can't wait to explore.

They're a nice bunch. Take a look at the "Metal Shaper of the Month" project at the top of the splash screen. The guy made those stacks from stainless.

It's early morning here and I intend to join today, if I am accepted. I am looking forward to looking around there.

My current interest is in making a 500mm diameter aluminium tray that will be held aloft by a kneeling male figure. It is for a life size bird feeder sculpture, but enough of that now. I don't want to hijack this thread, so will post more in the Art thread.
"Eventually everything connects - people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se."
― Charles Eames

billy rubin

lol, icarus. wheres that AJS? you gave up common sense a long time ago.

yes i have titanium retainers and collets. but the beehives are in my spare head. but tbe tge pushrods are indeed aluminu.m tubes.

no steel except in the followers, which are lightened.

the old fairbanks morse magneto was there for reliability-- nothing to it, so nothing to go wrong. but it runs on a rubber belt that has 4 degrees of spark scatter, and i cant afford it anymore.

ive given up on tbe fuel. the ordinary VP C12 has enough octane, and at 150 bucks for a five gallon can is cheaper than the Q16 anyway.

but what the hell? nobody lives forever, except maybe you. if im going to go, what better way to do it than at 140 mph?

ive already got the wife persuaded to just scrape me up and dump me in the meetinghouse graveyard somewhere.

quaker graveyards are cheap too. just a hole and maybe a rock on top.


set the function, not the mechanism.