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Jim Silly-Balls posted:It’s bizarre how before a certain year, motorcycles were mechanically nearly unrecognizable compared to modern bikes. I believe this is the fundamental nature of bike design, if you're doing it right it will always be a certain way because that way is the best compromise between engineering integrity and meat interfacing. Even drastically different bikes today aren't really that different because small alterations in the fabulously complex stew of geometry and configuration can have a big effect on the meat interface without having to reinvent the fundamentals. Prior to the sixties they were stumbling in the dark, then when everyone figured out roughly what an ideal bike should be like and had a target to shoot for the spread became narrower. Then not-poo poo tyres arriving in the 80's made people care about brakes and suspension and the ripples from that only settled around the early 2000's, just in time for the electronic aid revolution + thin wall casting making every bike smaller and lighter. Every iteration has come closer to the hypothetical ideal even as technology has made it possible to completely divorce function from appearance.
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Dec 4, 2020 19:12
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| # ? Jun 6, 2024 12:41 |
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Case in point: old bikes used to use wicks as main jets. WICKS LIKE LITERALLY CLOTH JAMMED INTO A HOLE IN THE CARB. then we invented jets. A piece of metal with a precise hole in it used to correctly meter fuel and we haven’t changed that basic premise. Fuel injectors push fuel through many tiny holes in a piece of metal but the core concept is the same Really really old engines didn’t recycle their oil. They just pumped it from a tank, through the motor and onto the ground. It’s mind blowing how different things used to be
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Dec 4, 2020 19:19
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Jim Silly-Balls posted:Case in point: old bikes used to use wicks as main jets. Ok, now I really really need someone to recommend a big old illustrated book about the history of ICE generally and/or motorcycles specifically.
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Dec 4, 2020 19:28
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I also want that. Bezos save us!
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Dec 4, 2020 19:52
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Jack B Nimble posted:Ok, now I really really need someone to recommend a big old illustrated book about the history of ICE generally and/or motorcycles specifically. You could start with this wikipedia page, and the one about its engine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daimler_Reitwagen You think metering fuel with a wick instead of a carb jet is wacky? This thing used "hot-tube" ignition, which means there was a six-inch sealed metal tube sticking off the top of the cylinder head, with a blowtorch pointed at it and heating a spot on the wall of the tube red-hot. During the compression stroke the intake charge would get pushed up into the tube and the hot wall would light it off. You adjusted the ignition timing by moving the blowtorch up and down so the hot spot would be in a different place and set off the charge a bit earlier or later. 
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Dec 4, 2020 20:01
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Jack B Nimble posted:Ok, now I really really need someone to recommend a big old illustrated book about the history of ICE generally and/or motorcycles specifically. Kevin Cameron's 'classic motorcycle racing engines' is a good primer if you want to understand bike ICE's + read a bunch of incredible anecdotes.
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Dec 4, 2020 20:02
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Jim Silly-Balls posted:Really really old engines didn’t recycle their oil. They just pumped it from a tank, through the motor and onto the ground. I'm not an expert but it seems like that would be a bad idea when you're on a machine with two wheels and no traction control
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Dec 4, 2020 21:06
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MomJeans420 posted:I'm not an expert but it seems like that would be a bad idea when you're on a machine with two wheels and no traction control Old harleys did it and dropped the outgoing oil onto the chain. I guess it also helps that every bike with total loss oiling was probably slow as hell too
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Dec 4, 2020 21:44
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MomJeans420 posted:I'm not an expert but it seems like that would be a bad idea when you're on a machine with two wheels and no traction control Dealing with the traction loss from the oil mist landing on the back wheel was part of the racing strategy in board track competition.
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Dec 4, 2020 22:27
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Slavvy posted:Dealing with the traction loss from the oil mist landing on the back wheel was part of the racing strategy in board track competition. I can't tell if you're serious because this sounds ridiculous but is simultaneously exactly the kind of stupid bullshit I would expect from racing
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Dec 5, 2020 10:29
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Deadly serious, they usually had white tyres and just about every period photo of one moving/just been ridden you can see the rear tire is considerably grubbier than the front. There are loads out there but I like this one because nobody has bothered to clean up the engine, it's like he's literally just finished the race.
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Dec 5, 2020 19:43
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Slavvy posted:Kevin Cameron's 'classic motorcycle racing engines' is a good primer if you want to understand bike ICE's + read a bunch of incredible anecdotes.
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Dec 5, 2020 20:47
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   A brisk 15° morning greeted me at the conclusion of my second 16 hour workday in a row.
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Dec 6, 2020 11:13
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Renaissance Robot posted:I can't tell if you're serious because this sounds ridiculous but is simultaneously exactly the kind of stupid bullshit I would expect from racing Up until the 20s most bikes had a manual oil pump that you had to remember to pump every once in a while, and up until the late 50s racers at tracks with straights long enough to get away with it would remove the mechanical oil pump and return to the hand pump to save weight and parasitic losses. Total-loss oiling was also common for packaging and weight reasons in aero engines right up until the 60s - until WW2 and closed cockpits, the pilots would get the exhausted oil right in the face which was unpleasant to start with, but the most common high-performance oil at the time was castor oil (it's where Castrol gets its name), meaning WW1 pilots had the shits pretty much constantly. That's something they don't mention in the Biggles books.
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Dec 6, 2020 12:16
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Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester posted:Seconding this, I think it's my most favorite book that I own. Highly recommend getting a copy if you can afford it, last I checked they were going for $300+ in good condition  I got mine for free holy crap.
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Dec 6, 2020 19:03
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goddamnedtwisto posted:the most common high-performance oil at the time was castor oil (it's where Castrol gets its name), meaning WW1 pilots had the shits pretty much constantly. Now you know why they wore those pretty white silk scarves
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Dec 6, 2020 19:18
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Sagebrush posted:Now you know why they wore those pretty white silk scarves Nah, I'm pretty sure they had toilet paper even then.
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Dec 6, 2020 19:50
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Sagebrush posted:Now you know why they wore those pretty white silk scarves Do I wanna know what misguided half understood argument led to that av?  My son's first bike.
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Dec 6, 2020 20:44
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I pissed off someone in AI by saying that it's sexist to use "oval office hairs" as a measuring unit, so they decided to blow the lid off my own hypocrisy when I called Subarus princesses that break down when you look at them wrong.
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Dec 7, 2020 04:02
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Sagebrush posted:I pissed off someone in AI by saying that it's sexist to use "oval office hairs" as a measuring unit, so they decided to blow the lid off my own hypocrisy when I called Subarus princesses that break down when you look at them wrong. 
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Dec 7, 2020 04:08
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I knew Sagebrush needed to be cancelled when he painted those CB350 wheels white
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Dec 7, 2020 04:14
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That's a pretty pathetic attempt at a title, they didn't even use red text.
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Dec 7, 2020 04:21
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Sagebrush posted:I pissed off someone in AI by saying that it's sexist to use "oval office hairs" as a measuring unit, so they decided to blow the lid off my own hypocrisy when I called Subarus princesses that break down when you look at them wrong. Oh ffs are those crybabies still at it
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Dec 7, 2020 04:51
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Sagebrush posted:I pissed off someone in AI by saying that it's sexist to use "oval office hairs" as a measuring unit, so they decided to blow the lid off my own hypocrisy when I called Subarus princesses that break down when you look at them wrong. I hate when people call my bike “she” but at the same time I love my forester how dare you.
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Dec 7, 2020 05:08
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Rolo posted:I hate when people call my bike “she” but at the same time I love my forester how dare you. Idk man, early gen Foresters in various states of disrepair are all over Facebook for under a grand and while I theoretically like them, that’s... gotta say something.
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Dec 7, 2020 12:02
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Revvik posted:Idk man, early gen Foresters in various states of disrepair are all over Facebook for under a grand and while I theoretically like them, that’s... gotta say something. Subarus with the EJ25 SOHC motor WILL blow their head gaskets. 96-04 naturally aspirated Foresters have that motor. I disagree w/ Sagebrush's statement, but I've never owned any car that broke down when I looked at it, my two Subarus included. I'm pressing my luck now though, since I own a Jeep w/ the 2.0L turbo motor. </derail>
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Dec 7, 2020 15:42
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Sagebrush posted:I pissed off someone in AI by saying that it's sexist to use "oval office hairs" as a measuring unit, so they decided to blow the lid off my own hypocrisy when I called Subarus princesses that break down when you look at them wrong. I can change your title but it’ll be to this, real monkeys paw situation here. 
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Dec 7, 2020 15:46
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Jim Silly-Balls posted:I can change your title but it’ll be to this, real monkeys paw situation here. lol
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Dec 7, 2020 16:03
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Jim Silly-Balls posted:I can change your title but it’ll be to this, real monkeys paw situation here. A+. Love it.
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Dec 7, 2020 16:17
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Jim Silly-Balls posted:I can change your title but it’ll be to this, real monkeys paw situation here. Do it anyway.
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Dec 7, 2020 17:22
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I'm jealous
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Dec 7, 2020 17:42
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Jazzzzz posted:Subarus with the EJ25 SOHC motor WILL blow their head gaskets. 96-04 naturally aspirated Foresters have that motor. Subarus are more common here than anywhere else in the world (besides glorious nippon) and I can confirm they have a general reputation as unreliable, finicky pieces of poo poo and are easily the worst Japanese brand. They are also always extremely well represented at the DIY wreckers.
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Dec 7, 2020 18:13
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I refuse to believe that any place has more subarus than Denver. I swear it was 70% subarus last time I was there. They have dedicated Subaru garages that have foresters they’ve turned Into tow trucks by cutting the back off them. It’s nuts
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Dec 7, 2020 18:25
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Jim Silly-Balls posted:I refuse to believe that any place has more subarus than Denver. This is the entire front range, not just Denver. I didn't know about the forester tows though, that's just silly. What a lucrative business. My favorite Subaru reaction is from James May on Top Gear a few years ago: "They're not making a new Impreza this year? What will the yobbos drive??"
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Dec 7, 2020 18:51
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lol nissan is the shittiest japanese brand by far. you're deluded if you think it is anything else
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Dec 7, 2020 19:36
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right arm posted:lol nissan is the shittiest japanese brand by far. you're deluded if you think it is anything else Someone forgot that Mitsubishi exists To be fair, everyone forgets that Mitsubishi exists
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Dec 7, 2020 20:18
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right arm posted:lol nissan is the shittiest japanese brand by far. you're deluded if you think it is anything else Nope, I was a car mechanic for years before I turned to bikes and subarus are so far and away the worst Japanese car it isn't even close. Terrible to work on and often break down in ways atypical to Japanese cars.
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Dec 7, 2020 21:01
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Jim Silly-Balls posted:I can change your title but it’ll be to this, real monkeys paw situation here. Please do. You can put the quote in the text if you want too
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Dec 7, 2020 21:19
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Jim Silly-Balls posted:Someone forgot that Mitsubishi exists lol I honestly thought they they stopped selling in the USA
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Dec 7, 2020 21:31
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| # ? Jun 6, 2024 12:41 |
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Slavvy posted:Subarus are more common here than anywhere else in the world (besides glorious nippon) and I can confirm they have a general reputation as unreliable, finicky pieces of poo poo and are easily the worst Japanese brand. They are also always extremely well represented at the DIY wreckers. I only see two kinds of Subaru in the UK: rally replicas in blue and yellow, and kei trucks. And not many of either.
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Dec 7, 2020 21:48
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