1955



2010 Mercedes SLS AMG Gullwing







That thing looks Bad Assed.

I cracked up just reading the name of this place.

That Will Buff Out.

It's a virtual "Glad that wasn't me" experience.
Although, I do resemble a few of those experiences, thankfully not this one,





H/T to our other Blog Buddy, Just An Earth Bound Misfit, I.

In a runaway Toyota, SHUT. THE. FUCKING. CAR. OFF!

...

The 2009 Lexus ES 350 shot through suburban San Diego like a runaway missile, weaving at 120 miles an hour through rush hour freeway traffic as flames flashed from under the car.

At the wheel, veteran California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor desperately tried to control the 272-horsepower engine that was roaring at full throttle as his wife, teenage daughter and brother-in-law were gripped by fear.

...

That's all. Turn the fucking key and the engine stops, and you coast to the side safely. WTF? Is this so hard?

Cross-posted at the Brain.

This is what happens when ya listen to Grampa's tales of his motorcycling adventures in North Africa in '42...

Thanks to Winterbiker, Germany.

Every old Britbike came standard with one or at least had one sometime during its life, but I never knew there was a patent on it! Norton must have made a lot of money on this over the years from licensing fees and royalties...

Norton's 1949 500 ohv single.

Thanks to 828cc, UK. Lotsa short clips of cool old rides.

Crick to embiggen

Visitors surround Yamaha's new concept bike, the "Super Tenere", which features a traction control system, anti-lock brakes and other advanced technologies, at the Tokyo Motor Show in Chiba on October 21, 2009. Futuristic concept cars, plug-in hybrids, zero-emission electric vehicles and even a hydrogen-powered scooter jostled for the limelight as the Tokyo Motor Show kicked off on October 21.

Cars, bikes, oddball concepts, and pretty girls. Photos and not much of an article.

Still testing the camera mount. Vibration level seems OK at cruising speed, still need to rubber mount it before old-fashioned long-stroke single vibrates modern electronics to bits. Heh. Moved it closer to center of bike, now it picks up too much wind noise, not enough exhaust note. I'll keep after this 'til I get it. It's fun.

This ride is out of my neighborhood and north on California SR 89 to the Hobart Mills turnoff. Note all the dirt haulers. That's a major industry around here.

Please enjoy a ride in the Sierra Nevada sun.

I never noticed the vibration before I saw it on the video. Now I do.

Note: No speed limits were seriously damaged during the filming of this video.

Thanks to me.

Dealernews

Harley-Davidson plans to discontinue its Buell product line and divest its MV Agusta unit.

The move, approved Oct. 14 by Harley-Davidson's Board of Directors, is part of the OEM's new business strategy to drive growth through "a single-minded focus of efforts and resources."

Translation: Even though Buells are better motorcycles than Harley-Davidsons ever thought of being, the clowns that want H-Ds aren't buying them, and the guys who want cutting-edge sport and adventure bikes aren't either.

Also, an awful lot of H-Ds were bought by guys who cashed out during the housing bubble and that's over. Their bikes are expensive and they're hurtin' for customers.

MV Agusta apparently hasn't worked out too good for 'em either, probably for about the same reasons. I remember the last time H-D went with an Italian motorcycle company, Aermacchi, who brought us the H-D Sprint and other models that were eventually bulldozed, quite literally, into the dustbin of history. Duck, here it comes again!

Harley-Davidson, Inc. purchased 100 percent of MV Agusta Group shares for about $108 million in August 2008. At the time, MV was retailing 5,800-some bikes through a worldwide network of about 500 dealers.

H-D says it will immediately commence efforts to sell the business, which is based in Varese, Italy.

See a video from Erik Buell at www.Buell.com.

The guy looks like he just had his world jerked out from under him. He has.

Too bad, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. On the flip side, it looks like Mrs. G's got a classic.

Go granny, go granny, go granny GO!


Let that be a lesson to all you young whippersnappers out there.
Granny will get yer ass with a 9.74 in the quarter.

Counterpoint to the post just below this one, or perhaps therapy after it, here's some big guys making big guy bikes:

Thanks to fowkes1968, UK.

Update:

Here's a Triumph dealership that knows what it's doing!

I knew about this, but just discovered this video:

Exclusive video inside the Loncin motorcycle factory in Chongqing, China where the BMW650GS engine is manufactured and then shipped to Germany.

For More details, full coverage and photographs visit www.bikeland.org

Here's a factory tour.

Here's one on engine and final assembly. Other than BMW.

Thanks to Bikeland, Anaheim CA.

China is the world's largest producer of motorcycles but I would say that most Chinese motorcycle production is meant to provide little sneezers to replace bicycles, donkeys, water buffaloes, and camels in an emerging Asian market. There are Chinese bikes and scooters here in the U.S. but they haven't caught on in a big way. The word I left out is 'yet'...

They're dirt cheap, but have no dealer network to speak of, and no track record as to reliability, parts availability, etc. For the most part they're funny lookin' too. The same could have been said of Honda and the Japanese motorcycle industry fifty years ago.

Also see: China wants to be your friend. Interesting. Scroll down for some cute if not overly endowed girls. Motorcycles too.

Put yer glasses on or click it to make it big.

I'll try anything once ...

I've had this in my bookmarks for years. If you like droll English motorcycle humor carried to wretched excess like I do, you will want to go see "Home of the Hurley-Pugh Owners & Enthusiasts Club". The site is very extensive, very, very clever, and is obviously a product of many truly wonderfully sick minds!

It will take days to see the whole site as once you get into it you'll want to see everything! Believe me, it's worth the effort.

Note: Hydrate well before going to the site. Don't even think about having anything to drink in the same room with you.

Also, if you think of the 'gh' in '-Pugh' as 'ke' you'll get the joke quicker.

On "Adjusting the Pugh-O-Spark magneto":

Magneto clearances should be checked at the regular 500 mile major service intervals.

Gaining Access

First remove any leg guards, fairing panels, engine bars and/or auxiliary fuel and oil tanks that may be blocking access to the engine. Such additions depend on the model. In the case of the Gentleman's Twin-Outrigger Combination, remove both sidecars. Remove the cylinder head and cylinder. Finally, remove the seat (remembering to "safe" the ejection charges if fitted), fuel tank, main oil tank, carburettor, spark plug, battery and starter motor.

On H-P's test rider:

Steerforth - An Appreciation

...of Captain Eric 'Killer' Steerforth MC, the famed Hurley-Pugh development rider and six-times TT challenger. Educated at Eton, a variety of crammers and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, 'Killer' soon became well-known within his circle for his robust attitude to discipline and his enjoyment of the more esoteric field sports. A fine horseman, he was renowned throughout the Rutland country for his keenness to be in at the kill, often joining hounds on the ground and tussling them for a crack at the fox.

After a gallant career in the Army, serving throughout the First World War on the Western Front in a variety of roles, ranging from command of a rifle platoon at First Ypres, to command of a company on the first day of the Somme, to command of a battalion at Paschendaele, to a platoon command in Flintshire after an incident at the Bull Ring in Arras,
...

Who can forget that rangy, black-shirted figure on the howling Hurley-Pugh Manxman Excalibur Clubman as it wallowed through Ramsey, spreading its characteristic slick of waste oil over the road behind it, or the unforgettable sight of the tall figure, in its trademark long black leather coat, playfully shooting at the Scunthorpe apprentices with a Mauser Model 1892? Who will ever forget his Christmas party game of 'Pin The Tail On The Hebrew'? Certainly not Nat from Assembly!

Just go. Enjoy.

Well, I've had my Royal Enfield for fifteen months now, and it's been stock for too long. I added a set of OEM accessory leather saddlebags, and they look nice and work fine, but that was for utility. It's time to start making it a little different. Gotta start somewhere.

I got my Royal Enfield Online Store e-flyer a coupla weeks back and they had an aftermarket Ace Air Canister* air filter that reached outta my monitor and grabbed me by the stackin' swivel. It came on the big brown truck yesterday.

*While I was gettin' that link I wrote a short review of the product. They 'accepted it for moderation'. We'll see if they print it. It was generally favorable.

Here's the stock setup:

Click photos to embiggen

It took about two minutes to peel the stock parts out, and then I discovered, cleverly hidden out of sight - oh, the horror! - the most terrifying oxymoronic two words in motorcycling to come so close together:



Note to Lucas: Put the lawyers back in the box. I kid...

It was a pretty straightforward swap, although I did have to re-engineer the new bottom bracket a little. The canister missed it by about half an inch. 'Re-engineer' is a pretty high-falutin' term for grabbing the little aluminum strap with a Crescent wrench and tweaking it sideways.

The whole job took about fifteen minutes if ya don't count throwing tennis balls for my pup. Hyar 'tis ready to rock 'n roll:



I plan to replace the mickey mouse-lookin' wingnut on the top with a nice chrome dome nut. Clear the decks, Mountain Hardware, here I come! I could probably get one on my next trip to the Buell dealer, but I'd rather pay one dollar than ten. Heh.

Its makers claim that the air filter will increase performance, but frankly I doubt it. It probably won't even increase intake noise, as underpumped as these stock engines are. I have a replacement for the next part in, the one between the air filter and the cylinder head, that may in fact hop it up a little. Then there's that muffler...an' that barely bumpy li'l camshaft...an' those clogged-up as-cast ports...an'... More on all that as it develops unless they find a cure.

The Ace Air Canister looks real good. I think bikes should have round lines instead of square ones just like women, and for me this product does that.

Update:

The new air filter actually does increase the performance a little. My seat-mounted jeans-encased dyno doesn't print readouts, and you wouldn't want one if it did, but I can feel better acceleration and the exhaust note is slightly crisper.

I just got my weekly email from Ford Racing (still keep my finger on the pulse) and the photos of the 2010 Cobra Jet Mustang at the track are out. The engine makes me drool.

Click to increase displacement.

Looks like they had to lube the shock towers to slide that motor in there. Heh ... More at Ford Racing.

More on the new Cobra Jet here.

I got this post from this blog. This is probably some corollary to Murphy's Law:

Royal Enfield motorcycles delight in making you look like a fool in front of friends, loved ones, and, especially, attractive members of the opposite sex. How does an inanimate object know that, instead of merely trying to go someplace, you are trying to show off your ability to kick start a mighty beast into life?

I don't know. But my Royal Enfield Bullet knows. To foil me it has moved its own kill switch into the "off" position, and developed instantaneous fuel starvation or flooding.

The fortunate thing is that when the friend, loved one or attractive person gets bored and wanders off, the Royal Enfield will cheerfully return to full operational duty. It's not disloyal; it just wants to keep you humble.

All true.

Yesterday me'n Mrs. G went up to Portola to visit with our friend Steve Storz and watch his sons demonstrate trials riding at the annual Portola Railroad Days shindig.

The 50-mile drive up there was pretty uneventful except for about one second of stark terror. A doe ran across the road in front of us. If she'da waited another quarter of a second, we'da had venison for lunch, car service. It was all over before my reaction time let me do more than lift my foot off the gas pedal. It was close enough that I looked for hoofprints on my pickup later. Whew!

We caught up with Steve and the boys at the local skate park (video with me 'n Steve discussing the day) near last year's venue in between shows. The demo area had been moved to a vacant lot right downtown so we moved our rig over there and watched the show and visited. "Downtown" is sort of a relative term. Portola ain't New York City. The main street is off the highway, so it wasn't much of a problem for them to close off the street for the Railroad Days event. If you were driving down Hwy 70 you'd have to get really creatively lost to find it!

Here's Eric Storz doing a show. You can see Mrs. G wearing a red T-shirt. I was wearing a Storz Performance T-shirt and had been seen canoodling with Steve, so for all intents and purposes, I was sort of a quasi-official member of the team. One of the Railroad Days staffers saw her standing where she was, sort of off limits to the general public (or the sane!), and asked me if she was with me. I said yes, and that she had been run over by motorcycles lotsa times (true) and not to worry. Heh.



Things don't always go as planned. In this one, Demo Team member Ian Delaney does something that probably wasn't in the script:



Of all the things motorcycle riders want to be famous for, that wasn't it, but folks all over the world will see that one! Heh.

He wasn't hurt, still being of the age where he's made out of rubber, and it probly worked out pretty good, all things considered. The Demo Team is sponsored by Ryan Young Products, which is the importer of the Shercos the Storz boys ride, and Ian rides a Montesa. I can see Ian's picture with his sled on top of him in the ad now - "Don't let this happen to you! Ride a Sherco!"

The show was very popular and the lads spent some time autographing posters for the spectators afterwards. We stuck around long enough to watch 'em load enough gear in Steve's F-150 to make a gypsy proud, and they lit for home and so did we.

There's some more videos of the Demo Team at my YouTube Channel. The Portola setup wasn't as video- or spectator-friendly as it could have been (Steve said that setting it up was like watching three women rearranging furniture), but nobody seemed to mind. Here's a much better video than mine that Steve took at a Demo show at Moto Expo in Del Mar last year:



Me'n Mrs. G had a great time. Steve's kids and their friend Ian are fine young men and solid trials competitors with great futures in the sport. We feel fortunate that they come this close to us once in a while so it's easy for us to go visit. The video camera is icing on the cake.

Oh, yeah, we stopped at Los Dos Hermanos on the way home for enchiladas rancheras and chicken fajitas. The perfect end to a perfect day.

Real good, but who's gonna buy the fucking thing?

General Motors announced on Tuesday morning that its Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car had delivered a fuel-economy rating of 230 miles a gallon — which sounds outrageous. With that kind of gas mileage, you could practically drive from Los Angeles to Las Vegas on a single gallon of gas, or for around three bucks.

...

Of course the range on pure electric power is about 40 miles, and then the gas engine kicks in to keep the battery up. That's fine, it's still pretty economical and most people drive less than 50 miles in a day, so driving it should still be inexpensive.

I'd like to know who can afford to buy one with a price tag of $40K?

Ein Volks auto ist 'es nicht.

Honda, Toyota, Ford, and Chevy make hybrids (I'd stick to the Japanese brands if you're in the market) a lot cheaper which are also economical to buy, drive, and repair (something unknown about the Volt). The Chevy Volt is nothing more than a cachet vehicle; something with which the well-to-do can show off their 'greenness'. Hopefully, GM will use the technology to make small sedans in the $12 - $15K range that will be more accessible to the masses. Thing is, as GM has done for the last 30 years, it looks like they've already missed the boat:

...

Team Nissan is referring, of course, to the electric vehicle in the photograph above (and the video below). The LEAF, which will go into production next year – with a tentative release date of 2012 – is expected to be much cheaper than the Volt. How much cheaper? Nissan isn’t saying. Wired, for one, thinks the cute-as-a-button car could come in at $25,000 – some $15K cheaper than the Volt.

...

Toyota has had electric vehicles for the better part of the decade and Honda is also producing their own version. It's probably a safe bet the Japanese will do them better.

And if you do want to spend a lot for an electric, Herr Daimler has a car for you:

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Daimler plans to roll out a Mercedes-Benz model that runs on electricity in 2010, its chief executive said in a newspaper interview.

"We plan an electric Smart for 2010 and for the same year a Mercedes (electric) model as well," Dieter Zetsche told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in comments to be published in the Saturday edition.

Daimler currently has in London a fleet of 100 first-generation Smart cars that run on electricity.

...

I'm sorry to say, as reports have claimed, that if GM has staked its survival to the Volt, there won't be many sunny days ahead.

Cross-posted at the Brain.

Mad Max to the nearest white courtesy phone, your truck is here.







I wouldn't want to see this thing in MY rearview mirror!

Pics courtesy of English Russia, they have some very cool stuff there.

My good buddy Indian sent me this. This guy built a radio controlled Ford 23T in 1/3 scale:



And because my mind works in strange ways, a little companion music:

Donna Summer - On The Radio

Very short video showing an old fart (same age as me) puttin' the stretch on the other riders big time.

These engines would probably seize just about instantly if ya fired 'em up below 9000'!

#12, Eddie Mulder on his 1969 Triumph Bonneville, following with a ten second gap #80, Keith Speir on his 1969 Triumph "Eddie Mulder Special" and two other riders (sorry - I didn't see who) closely packed, riding in the Vintage motorcycle division, Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC) 2009.

Thanks to Philol0gy. More PPIHC vids there.

Duh.

I woulda never guessed.

Companies that make Indian motorcycles come and go. Go read about the latest iteration of this old brand, and watch a pretty good video.

The video is worth watching just to hear Susan Carpenter call herself "a little bit of a whore...". Heh.

Shorter: OK bike if you like that sort of thing. Too much money.

I won't vouch for the translation, but I thought this was funnier'n shit.



The Ewan and Charlie reference explained a little here and here.

Thanks to loveyourGS.