Any Motörbike riders here?

Kittyfrisk

Talking of boots...
Cowboy's bought in Paris, Les Halles market, 1981, concho's my own addition.


Engineer's bought in New York 1990 (daily go-to for bike riding for years).

AK99

Dominic said:

Just work on the Dirty Sanchez for now

Had to google that. Depending on which definition you go with - and who's playing - that could be a lot worse than the Anchos

AK99

Kittyfrisk said:

Talking of boots...

Engineer's bought in New York 1990 (daily go-to for bike riding for years).

Those look like exactly the sort of thing you'd want if you ever needed to deliver a truly righteous stomping. Proper gear

(And if that's a recent photo, zero visible wear on them 33 years down the line later into the bargain!)

Kittyfrisk

AK99 said:

Kittyfrisk said:

Talking of boots...

Engineer's bought in New York 1990 (daily go-to for bike riding for years).

Those look like exactly the sort of thing you'd want if you ever needed to deliver a truly righteous stomping. Proper gear

(And if that's a recent photo, zero visible wear on them 33 years down the line later into the bargain!)

I'm not a stomper (romper or otherwise...) & the photo was taken today 
The soles are now worn so thin that I could braille read footrest rubbers while wearing the boots.
Re-soles are not possible as apparently they would tear the uppers away.
Carolina brand non steel toes too, for those that observe such things.

Dominic

great quality obviously
You can re-sole them......they've told you a load of old cobblers

Kittyfrisk

^ I wish that were true, but if you check out the pic, there are tears/splits that run from the leather uppers downward.
There is a lack of sound material to attach to & the flexing is problematic as the sole would rip the uppers.
Anyway, it's all academic as I have some other 'Walker' brand USA Engineers (company now long defunct) if I need them.
Sadly (actually, I mean really fucking annoyingly) rampant arthritis has curtailed my riding days...
Fair play to all of you that still do  

PS  Once upon a time (roughly up to the millennium) 'Crafted with pride in America' meant something about high quality, not just a marketing phrase.

Dominic

Surely you can just get a glue-on sole pad thingy.....doesn't have to be stitched .....wont be as proper but still works

Kittyfrisk

Yeah, but the new sole is less flexible, so the leather upper takes the strain... & can't.

ALR

I've just been for a pleasant ride around the Peak District. I went to Cromford (just outside of Matlock) to get a photo at the station, which is where the cover for Oasis' Some Might Say single was taken. Then an ice cream at Tagg Lane dairy before over the Langley to see if the Hanging Gate pub is still open. It is!

Does anyone else get around this area?

Haych

ALR said:

I've just been for a pleasant ride around the Peak District. I went to Cromford (just outside of Matlock) to get a photo at the station, which is where the cover for Oasis' Some Might Say single was taken. Then an ice cream at Tagg Lane dairy before over the Langley to see if the Hanging Gate pub is still open. It is!

Does anyone else get around this area?

I have relatives that live not so far from the Peak District.  I last went there last August on the bike for a few days, had a blast.  Winnats Pass was mind-blowing, had to do that one a few times while I was there.

Kittyfrisk

An interesting watch (or possibly not depending on your opinions of Guy Martin &/or rotaries).

Skip to 12:50 for the post ride comments & sweary bits 

cruxiform

Kittyfrisk said:

An interesting watch (or possibly not depending on your opinions of Guy Martin &/or rotaries).

Skip to 12:50 for the post ride comments & sweary bits 

Loved that. Fantastic engineering.

Bike wise, I still have my Triumph Sprint 1050 and it's giving me loads of smiles. Engine is a peach but electrical issues can be a problem with these bikes.So, I've fitted upgraded starter cables, a new battery (with a 230 CCA), Mosfet rectifier and a new stator. All hard wired together, eliminating the connectors than can melt and the rectifier is hard wired to the battery too. It's never let me down so far. I can't afford a newer bike so have to make the best of this one. It doesn't disappoint though.



Was going to the TT but changed plans so trips this year are Scotland, Ireland and the French Alps in September.

AK99

Sounds wonderful (the bike, not Gazzer). Anyi dea what's going on with the air bypass thing into the exhaust ??

cruxiform

AK99 said:

Sounds wonderful (the bike, not Gazzer). Anyi dea what's going on with the air bypass thing into the exhaust ??

Turbos work in a similar way don't they? Might explain the massive power. Happy to be corrected though.

Kittyfrisk

Cooling according to Crighton's site.
https://www.crightonmotorcycles.com/the-machine
I nearly had a trouser acceleration event after seeing that gear cluster...

AK99

Ah interesting stuff.

Looking at the cross sections with the rotor opened up, looks like it flows air through the inside of the rotor to cool the tip - you can see what looks like cooling fins on the inside below each tip. Not unlike the way some 4-stokes have jets of oil directed onto the underside of the pistons to cool them. That's clever.

Haych

It doesn’t sound particularly exciting to me, sounds more like the nitro engined model aircraft my dad used to make and fly. 

An interesting machine all the same though. 

Maybe this will be of interest to rotary enthusiasts:

https://youtu.be/-3HBAvkc4a0

Again, purely for interest, I’m not for or against wankle engines, in principle they are a marvellous idea, they’ve never really caught on though.  

JEM

Brian Crichton is an incredibly talented engineer and I have very fond memories of watching Spray and Nation racing the Norton rotaries at Mallory Park, not to mention Haslam on one at the Donington GP.

Having said that, while his dedication to the rotary is admirable I do think he's been going down a dead end for years. The advantages will never outweigh the downsides. Ultimately they're too delicate and inefficient to ever reach the mainstream. Even Mazda have finally given up on them.

And lets face it, internal combustion engines of all kinds are now on borrowed time.

AK99

Haych said:

 I’m not for or against wankle engines, in principle they are a marvellous idea, they’ve never really caught on though.  

I don't know exactly why Haych - but that somehow contrives to sound even slightly worse than Wankel engines..

(Just dawned on me btw why 'Rotary engine' is the preferred term from manufacturers these days)

LastMantra

Dominic said:
 

I look at these Gas-Gas modern trials bikes and they're so different......don't even bother with a seat and smaller than a decent electric pushbike.

The latest trials bikes are amazing, and what some of the riders can do with them is mind blowing! 
Trials has changed a fair bit over the years as bike and rider have improved.