Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Dec 20, 2020 11:10:50 GMT 1
I have read a full and frank version of Ecclestone's biography. I also have Max Mosely's book. He worked with Ecclestone for years, was a dubious character himself, but he knows Bernie as a snake! The opinion of Ecclestone that I have as a result leads me to regard anything he says with as much respect as I would give to something by Michale Gove, Dominic Cummings and the rest of Boris' gang of professional liars. He has cheated, stolen and finagled his way to the top of GP racing, with every decision that was not forced on him made in the interests of his own finances. I'm for Lewis. He sees a wrong and calls it out. Ecclestone speaks when he sees that there is something in it for him. Always has.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Dec 13, 2020 11:34:45 GMT 1
Middle age?.... Oh yeh, those were the days. I remember when I were middle aged, you could buy a brand new bike for less than the price of a phone............. And so on endlessly.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Nov 20, 2020 11:00:30 GMT 1
"Bike is probably only suitable for basketball players". But the footrests are so high that he would have his knees touiching his ears!
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Nov 16, 2020 15:02:52 GMT 1
I heard of these quite a while ago, and was inspired to call my bike after them, using the original Japanese name. The Japanese giant hornet is called "Suzumebachi", which translates literally as 'Sparrow-bee'- in other words a wasp as big as a bird. I have the name in both Chinese and Kanji characters on the bike.( I have Japanese friends too!) My bike is yellow and black and there is definitely something wasp-like about it. If you look you can see a graphic of a giant hornet done by an ex-student of mine on the belly pan. I don't imagine that the press in the USA can cope with Suzumebachi, so they become 'murder hornets' there. I don't think I'd call a bike that! YPVS L by Dave Boothroyd, on Flickr
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Nov 14, 2020 11:24:27 GMT 1
It looks as though the back wheel is mounted half way along the swing arm!
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Nov 8, 2020 11:45:06 GMT 1
Long before most of you were born, sixteen year old learner riders could ride anything up to 250cc. I'd saved up every penny I could get, and was going to buy a BSA Bantam, but at the back of the showroom of Kings of Oxford in Leeds, I saw a Triumph Tiger Cub. It had dropped bars, aluminium mudguards, and a rev counter. It also had a horrible leopard skin seat cover.(You thought hipster brown was bad!). Unfortunately the £15 I'd saved up was not enough to buy it. I was telling my Granny about it and she said "You get yourself it lad" and gave me the extra £3.00 I needed. It turned out to have been set up for sprinting, high compression, MX cam, big carb, straight-through exhaust. It would rev to 10,000 rpm and top 90 on the road. Brakes and handling were alarming. But starting on that bike set me off on a long, long series of modified and tuned bikes. Fifty eight years later I ride a YPVS hybrid. These early experiences leave their mark! TIGER CUB AS I BOUGHT IT
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Nov 2, 2020 10:35:07 GMT 1
I don't know why you ask. The right colour is the one you want it to be. When it comes right down to it, you never see the seat when you're riding it. and that is what a bike is all about. Cheers Dave
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Nov 1, 2020 11:09:19 GMT 1
If the question means "Did I have a watercooled Yamaha?" Then yes I did. It was my 80cc race bike, an 80LC with a YZ80 engine. If it means did I have a non-powervalve 250 or 350 twin, it's "No". I bought one after 2000. 80cc Race bike.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Oct 17, 2020 9:29:49 GMT 1
In that case you might be lucky in N.I. There used to be a class for 200cc singles over there. A common trick was to use half a TZ 350 to make a single. Somewhere there must be people with pipes from those bikes. I know. I made dozens of sets of cones for them to weld together to fit whatever frame they had. I also got a visit from two men in dark suits who were interested in why I kept sending parcels of steel tubes to Belfast during the Troubles- but that's another story! Luckily one of them was a biker, so it was OK.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Oct 8, 2020 9:45:02 GMT 1
"baw hair less ". No much less than that, a couple of gnat's maybe or 0.46 smidgeons in the new measurements.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Sept 27, 2020 10:36:13 GMT 1
The other thing is that you can lift the ramp itself onto its side if you need the space. A fixed wooden one is just that, fixed, and when you are not using it , in the way.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Sept 16, 2020 11:41:07 GMT 1
Took my Kawasaki for its MOT yesterday, and there was this little pretty. Full -on Kenny Roberts graphics. It's not mine and I don't know who it belongs to,
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Sept 15, 2020 10:29:48 GMT 1
Same here. I have had two, but the only problem I had with it was when some vandal broke the perspex on the first one. So I bought another one. It took a bit of working out to get the high temperature warning light to work with the temp sender on the head- it needed some extra resistors in the wire. I've actually made a replacement neutral light sensor, with seven contacts instead of only one, because the speedo has a built-in gear indicator, but I have not got round to connecting it up yet. I'm very happy with it. I'd recommend them. At the price it's crazy just to dismiss tthem.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Sept 10, 2020 9:34:11 GMT 1
I have a very minimal headlamp shroud on my F2. I think it was intended for a quad or enduro bike, though since I also have a FZ600 tank and seat on it, it's not really a fair comparison. Let's have a look Dave Here it is. The Japanese logo is the bike's name, which means "Giant Hornet" Suzumebachi
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Sept 4, 2020 9:41:19 GMT 1
Eeek, thats a face that only its mother could love :/ Is there any other aftermarket headlight/fairing that actually looks half decent on any of 'our' bikes I wonder I have a very minimal headlamp shroud on my F2. I think it was intended for a quad or enduro bike, though since I also have a FZ600 tank and seat on it, it's not really a fair comparison.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Aug 24, 2020 10:23:39 GMT 1
I guess you must have the post 2006 forks. The ones that I took off my 2001 model RS125 definitely have a very soft spring and the damper on the right (brake caliper) side, and just a strong spring on the left one. This is not just theory or memory, I've just been in the garage and tried them! The comment about the springs being soft came from a friend based on his experiences racing one, also a pre 2006 model.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Aug 23, 2020 10:28:31 GMT 1
They are a little odd in that in true Aprilia fashion, they have the spring in one leg and the damper in the other. I'd guess they would be a bit soft on an F2. On the other hand if you want a pair of them to try for a fitting, I have a pair that need rechroming that you can have for £15 plus postage. Message me if you would like them. Cheers Dave
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Aug 17, 2020 9:54:27 GMT 1
I'm a third generation metal worker, so I have quite a lot of taps, many of them inherited. In imperial sizes, there are Whitworth (coarse), British standard fine (BSF), British Cycle Thread (very fine), even one or two gas thread taps, which are tapered, and of course the US standard, UNF (which are an average of Whit and BSF so that = Unified). Then there are the B.A taps and dies for the very small threads used in model making. I have a nice set of metric taps and dies, containing both Metric coarse and Metric fine. There is also a plastic drawer with a selection of 'modified' taps that have been ground for various special tasks. I can honestly say that I have used almost every one of those types of tap and die during years of making things, mending things and building bikes.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Aug 16, 2020 10:00:32 GMT 1
It's not normal. It might be a blockage in the pipe, or a problem in the right hand cylinder, or a leaking gasket, or an ignition problem, or the right carb could have a blocked jet, or an air leak, or...... You need to do some tests. You've found the symptom, now you need to do the diagnosis, then the cure. Try the good old standard tests. Compression Test, a leakdown test, Swap the plug leads, clean the carbs. If you still have standard pipes with removable baffles, take out and clean the baffles. By that time you will know whether you need to lift the heads to check for a broken ring etc. Cheers Dave
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Aug 15, 2020 10:38:42 GMT 1
Yogi, I understand how grown-up life can change your priorities and leave little time for riding, and sometimes having money in your hand can be more important than a garage full of wonderbikes, and credit to you for facing up to it. I just wonder if you might be able to do what I did when I was selling a Vintage bike a few years ago. There is a dealer not too far away that has a 'museum' display of classic bikes and specials in showroom condition. I asked if I could display the FB in his museum, and he was fine with it, for a 1% commission. That way it only gets seen by people who are interested in buying- why would they be in a shop otherwise? As it happens the bike sold for a good price before it got the the shop, but it might be worth a try. Your Yam special (sorry, I still use the older word!) at ten grand would look really reasonable next to a £25,000 998 Ducati, or a £17,000 Kawa 750 triple.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Aug 9, 2020 10:09:38 GMT 1
I have a Boxford Lathe, which came with a three phase motor. I could have changed the motor, but then found that I could get a three phase speed controller /Inverter for half the price. I've never used the change wheels to set the speed range since.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Aug 7, 2020 10:58:27 GMT 1
Ironically, someone who knows a lot more about organic chemistry than I do explained that vinegar, or more scientifically, acetic acid is what is responsible for causing rust in tanks when the ethanol in the fuel degrades over time. It turns into vinegar and corrodes the steel. A sort of chemical version of 'the hair of the dog'. I do prefer phosphoric acid, though if you spill it, it does make your concrete garage floor fizz a bit!
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Aug 1, 2020 10:45:28 GMT 1
A few years ago we went to a place in France where they make things like that. I'd post a video of the giant Elephant if it was easier to do that sort of thing on here.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Aug 1, 2020 10:40:20 GMT 1
There was an article in the paper that I read this morning about the DVLA problems, and to summarise, if you are just waiting for weeks and then your paperwork turns up, you are one of the lucky ones. There are people stuck with no ID, because their driving licence has been lost, sent 'log books' for someone else's vehicle... you name it! They are struggling very badly over there!
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Jul 21, 2020 10:31:58 GMT 1
Well, not really, but there are problems if the battery has failed in some interesting ways. If the charge coils or the battery are creating, and the battery is drawing, a lot of current, the 'back EMF' from that can distort the magnetic field of the flywheel, so that the peak magnetic force does not pass the ignition coils at the right time. That makes for a weak spark. Even though the system is self energising, battery problems can effect it. "Back EMF" is not quite the right phrase. What it means is that when the movement of a magnetic field close to a coil generates a current in the coil, the coil itself then becomes an electro-magnet, whose magnetic field opposes the magnetic field that created it.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Jul 19, 2020 10:37:27 GMT 1
If your speedo actually worked and you could see that the engine picked up speed but the bike did not, then you'd know for sure that the clutch was slipping. But with the warning light and no speedo, I'd say that is a bike that is not ready to go just yet. Needs work sooner rather than later.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Jul 15, 2020 9:51:00 GMT 1
I have this mischievous impulse to call them and ask whether the Norvin has matching numbers!
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Jun 27, 2020 10:46:35 GMT 1
I don't think that even Alan Millyard would take that on. It would be easier to make a completely new crankcase, machined to fit an existing transmission from a four stroke than to make the changes you'd need to make to the crank, the seals, the bearings, the cylinder spacing, the induction passages. I have considered playing around with the idea of a big V6 outboard two stroke design, to produce a high torque, relatively slow revving bike engine, but I don't have access to that sort of facility any more. It's just that I happen to know that you can get a 250hp V6 outboard motor to fit in a GSXR 750 frame....... (it's best not the think about fuel consumption!)
I've seen one of those in a jet ski too, and even spoken to the man who rode it. and seen the terror in his eyes as he remembered how small a mile long lake was at that sort of speed- note that a jet ski will not steer when the throttle is closed, and does not have brakes!
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Jun 23, 2020 9:36:30 GMT 1
Found something but it is in French !
www.yamaha-community.fr/rd375lc-1980
I can translate the whole thing for you if you want, but to cut it short, it has a OW31 750 top end, Campagnolo wheels, a specially made tank for extra capacity, and a very respectable racing heritage.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Jun 16, 2020 10:01:25 GMT 1
The main reason is for accuracy. On an engine that is tuned right to the edge of detonation, with optimum squish clearance and compression , you need to be sure that the head is always exactly the same distance from the top of the barrel. Unless you gauge your head gaskets every time you lift the head, and take extreme care to avoid the head gasket from protruding into the combustion chamber, or leaving a a gap between the bore of the cylinder and the bore of the gasket, you are better advised to use O rings. They improve heat transfer and even out the temperature gradient across the head joint too. On the other hand, very few engines are set up that closely to detonation, especially on the road, it probably does not matter. So if you are looking for that last quarter of a horsepower, you know which way to go.
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