Petrol head thread!!!

[Tank]

Being dead doesn't worry me, only the mode of transition.

[billy rubin]

oh yes.

i also have agreements with my wife not to waste any time or energy on keeping me around if i flatline. i have no interest in life if i am somewhere else or nowhere, but i would prefer to save her from the decision by just tearing myself to bits on a racecourse somewhere.

interestingly, my 19 year old son has difficulties with this. when i was his age i was much more comfortable with death than he seems to be now.

anyway, the wife is of a different opinion, because she is a better quaker than me, and is perfectly happy to lie forever in a comatose state. i told her she wasnt getting the plug pulled so long as there was any brain activity and that has just pissed her off because she wants me to off her if she stops moving, i guess.

not happening.

[Icarus]

At 19 of course he is more interested in living than not living. At 19 he has many happy bridges to cross and ..........probably plenty of yokes to bear.

[billy rubin]

for the last six weeks or so ive been taking the triumph bonneville to work.

we have two cars in the shop, and i leave the decrepit minivan for the wife and son, and take the old motorcycle to work in the predawn. not a problem except for the wildlife. i generally see two or three whitetails, some of whom jump into the road in front of me, and also a pair of red fox pups which choose the last minute to dive across the road.

i love riding the motorcycle, because i am not getting any younger, and every day you dont ride a motorcycle is a day of your life you will never get back. but my motorcycle is some fifty two years old, and i would like to have a backup.

my new motorcycle is only twenty seven years old, but it pukedits oil through the rocker box breather the other day so its parked until i figure out why.

this weekend ill see if i can figure out why the 1969 BSA has low oil pressure. if i can solve that problem ill have another option.

else its the 1970 norton, which is quite reliable but has a short kickstart lever, and my right knee is not what it used to be. race-version longer levers are available, but theyre 175 quid

[Icarus]

The kicks starter can be lengthened with a hack saw and a few inches of metal added.  Ugly perhaps but better than a broken leg.

Last time I hurt my leg was while trying to crank a 175 Honda single. My racing buddy had jacked the compression up to about 400 to one. That damned thing caused me to use some extremely foul language. Spart retard for starting would have been useful.

[Icarus]

Speaking of leg injury, here is my tale of woe.  The genius who removed the stock exhaust from the TR5 had attached twin pipes with stubby mufflers.   The left hand muffler interfered with the kickstand and the stand would not fully retract. OK, he used a torch or something to bend the kickstand shaft into a new position. The bike now leaned over precariously when parked.

I was pushing the bike back inside my garage and foolishly left the kickstand down. The pad at the end of the shaft gouged the back of my right leg........... about three liters worth of blood and 21 stitches at the hospital emergency room. Alright I lied about the blood loss, only about half a liter which is more than is comfortable.  The 21 stitches are real. I am scheduled to have the stitches removed this coming Monday.

[Recusant]

Still picking up scars; I salute you Icarus! 

[billy rubin]

ouch

[Tank]

Croft British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) prep, practice and qualification day 27th July 2024.

[Icarus]

^ Lots of minis there. Not as quick as the Porsche but just as much fun.

[Icarus]

Damn we have metric, SAE, and Whitworth bolts and nuts.........what is a poor mechanic to do ?

https://imgur.com/gallery/advice-please-WDvoGjL

[Dark Lightning]

[billy rubin]

plus your threads can be whitworth, british standard, cycle engineering, and british associated.

and metric.

and SAE.

[Asmodean]

That there rather-speedy-looking British Opel right there. *point*

...Is that not a front wheel drive car, sporting a rear wing? If so, what be the purpose? Does it improve handling? Reduce drag? Both? Neither? It must be said, it does look like it belongs, regardless.

[Dark Lightning]

^ Looks good, 'tis true. I bought a new Toyota Corolla in '04- the CE model, which is the least expensive. I liked the "Type S" which has some air effect equipment attached. But I bought mine for mileage, and hauling all that extra weight around, and the extra wind resistance wasn't going to help that.