Petrol head thread!!!

[billy rubin]

two days off. im stressed out for various mundane reasons, and so im going to spend two entire days on therapy: carburetters.

i have a 1972 triumph with a stumble off idle that a richer slide does not correct. its my commuter these days, some 50 miles a day to work and back. its been a test bed of experiments for the 47 years ive had it, and the ovrsize carburetters seem to be the problem.

so i im swapping out the 34mm mikunis for 30 or 32mm versions of the same instrument. i already know what jetting to install because ive run 32s on it for some 35 years, and only put on the 34s 10 years ago. ill see if the smaller carbs help, then i have some filler discs ill install under the carburetter slides to see if that corrects some of the low-throttle turbulence that causes the flat spot.

if it helps, i might put the spacers in the 34s and see if theyre acceptable. the bigger carbs let the machine run faster on top end, but i dont typically go any faster that 80 mph on the commute and so the smaller ones might be fine.

carburetters relax me in ways that other people find in music or other arts, perhaps. i dont know why. its like racing-- at the end of the day on the track, my heart rate is way down.

go figure

[Tank]

Our neighbour had his sporty little hatchback stolen a couple of weeks back. That's a pain but they have two cars. The other being a rather nice BMW. The BMW died the day after the theft! Three warning lights on the same day. He got £750 for it from a dealer.

So no car.

Turns out the people the work for, Leeds City Council, have an arrangement to fund buying cars. One catch. They have to be electric. So they now have a fully electric Mini Cooper.

The world turns. 

[billy rubin]

is it still the case that gasoline engines are to be phased out by 2030?

[The Magic Pudding..]

.

[Tank]

is it still the case that gasoline engines are to be phased out by 2030?

I think it is currently the case that new petrol/diesel engine only vehicles will be phased out in 2035. However that does not include hybrid types. So petrol + battery cars will still be available new and the used car market will still support petrol/diesel engine only vehicles.

[Icarus]

two days off. im stressed out for various mundane reasons, and so im going to spend two entire days on therapy: carburetters.

i have a 1972 triumph with a stumble off idle that a richer slide does not correct. its my commuter these days, some 50 miles a day to work and back. its been a test bed of experiments for the 47 years ive had it, and the ovrsize carburetters seem to be the problem.

so i im swapping out the 34mm mikunis for 30 or 32mm versions of the same instrument. i already know what jetting to install because ive run 32s on it for some 35 years, and only put on the 34s 10 years ago. ill see if the smaller carbs help, then i have some filler discs ill install under the carburetter slides to see if that corrects some of the low-throttle turbulence that causes the flat spot.

if it helps, i might put the spacers in the 34s and see if theyre acceptable. the bigger carbs let the machine run faster on top end, but i dont typically go any faster that 80 mph on the commute and so the smaller ones might be fine.

carburetters relax me in ways that other people find in music or other arts, perhaps. i dont know why. its like racing-- at the end of the day on the track, my heart rate is way down.

go figure

the 34s are too big I suspect. air velocity through the venturi is the determinant of whether the discharge nozzle is doing its thing. You know all that of course but are you are willing to sacrifice some low speed performance in favor of the haul ass mode.

The 34s have an area of 1.28 times larger than the 30s. Those mangy old Amals have no throttle pump like a....Holley 4412.

[billy rubin]

i did swap them out for what turned out to be 32mm ibstruments and the stumble is gone. excellent low end throttle response now. maybe less of a rush on the top end. ill have to see over the next few days.

the new slides that ill modify for the spacers just came in the mail today theyre a drop in modification so ill get them arranged today and then decide what to do. people tell me they work but i want to run the 32s without them for a few days to compare to the 34s.

i was looking through one of my carburetter boxes and discovered two more 30mm amals. i have no idea  where they came from, so now im curious about dropping them on to see what theyre like. its beenen 40 years since i ran a pair of those on this machine.

[billy rubin]

my number two son is out riding my number one motorcycle for the first time.

thats the one i bought when i was 21 years old with all the money i had saved from working on texas instruments geophysical boats in the caribbean and off south america. rode it all over oklahoma, took it to 10 000 feet in the rockies riding to graduate school in arizona, commuted with it on the california freeways for a decade, only 37 000 some miles in all those years but all of it with a high level of emotional involvement. 47000 total miles on it now.

now im passing the torch. in 47 years only one other person has ever ridden that machine, and only for about ten minutes. this year both the number three and the number two sons have been able to take it out.

not a particularly fast machine, as it only has some 50 horsepower and only goes 118 mph set up for the land speed races, screaming top end. but its the oldest relationship i have with a motor vehicle, and now i get to train the kids to run it.

so long as they dont fall down on it at 115 mph like i did.

[Tank]

Passing the torch.

[Anne D.]

Your son looks quite pleased, Billy. Nice machine.

I finally donated my 2003 manual subaru impreza wrx hatchback & bought a new-to-me 2020 manual subaru wrx sedan. Still getting used to the computerized gadgetry but really enjoying everything pretty much working and no scary grinding metal sounds as I take a turn on the highway.

[billy rubin]

annie, you can still find a manual machine as new as 2020?

theyre almost impossible around here.  is that a subaru thing?

[Anne D.]

I guess so. I wouldn't drive anything but a manual. They're so fun. Apparently Honda is still making them too.

[Tank]

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/usa/here-are-20-best-cars-a-manual-gearbox-available-us

[billy rubin]

i prefer them too, because all my vehicles are ancient, and a manual transmission is $800 and a four hour swap, while an auto costs thousands of dollars. plus its easier to get an auto with a manual unstuck from the snow than one with an automatic.

i bought an old economy chevrolet a year ago for $5000. within a few months it needed $4800 of suspension. then the automatic transmission died. put in a used transmission for $3200, with a guaarentee. three months later the used transmission died,. put in another used one for $800 under the guarentee. three months later the third transmission died. i was offered yet another used transmission for $3200. no.

currently its in another state waiting to have the third transmission completely rebuilt. its been in line there for over a month, and they havent touched it yet. only three places work on automatic transmissions within about 50 miles. two have such bad reputations that the third is backed up 20 vehicles.

repairing computer-controlled automatic transmissions is beyond me expertise, so im stuck. ive been riding the old motorcycle to work for months now, but the leaves are turning.

[Tank]

Is there much traffic on your journey to work?