[Racer X 69]

And for @lesmore49 and @MarkJerling, the story of a Kiwi who built some amazing motorcycles, and turned the bike racing world on its ear.

You Tube

You Tube

[StiffLegged]

And for @lesmore49 and @MarkJerling, the story of a Kiwi who built some amazing motorcycles, and turned the bike racing world on its ear.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w3VQB7dTFoM

There’s also Burt Munro, another Kiwi, who set the under-1000cc motorbike land speed record when aged 68. This record still stands! Anthony Hopkins made a great film about Munro, titled The World’s Fastest Indian.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burt_Munro

[lesmore49]

@lesmore49 a bit of automotive art for your eyes.

All the way from France.

Inline 6 ?

I agree completely. There are automobilia parts out there that are pure, beautiful automotive art.

I love the look of some headers.

The Honda 400cc four cylinder to me, has one of the most attractive exhaust system I've come across.

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8...1q5UiQdq-RVwhe

Then there is the Ford 'Bundle of Snakes' exhaust system. Another beauty.

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8...r9p6tvVZ5MmgEQ

I also find some engines that are not only efficient power generators, but also works of art. The Ducati motorcycle single cylinder , made from the 1950's to the 1970's, is one such.

Redirect Notice

[lesmore49]

And for @lesmore49 and @MarkJerling, the story of a Kiwi who built some amazing motorcycles, and turned the bike racing world on its ear.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w3VQB7dTFoM

John Britten. I recall reading about the man and his machines . Some thought his bikes were world beaters. They were very impressive motorcycles.

One bike that impressed me from the get go, was a factory built bike, but what a complex, sophisticated motorcycle.

The Honda CB 1000, an over head cam, inline six, 6 carburetors, mounted transversely . A friend of mine back then, had one. He also had a Mike Hailwood edition Ducati , and a Yamaha SR 500 big single, like mine.

He had excellent taste and a not inconsiderable budget for motorcycle exotica back then. I had a beer budget, and he had a champagne budget, but even so, he chose wisely.

[lesmore49]

There’s also Burt Munro, another Kiwi, who set the under-1000cc motorbike land speed record when aged 68. This record still stands! Anthony Hopkins made a great film about Munro, titled The World’s Fastest Indian.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burt_Munro

I recall reading in 1960's Hot Rod magazines about about old Burt. Quite a character and an amazing man, both as a rider and motorcycle mechanic/ customizer.

We have his movie on a CD. Great movie well done, by Anthony Hopkins...who to my mind is one of the best actors out there.

[lesmore49]

Thanks #2.

I've been working at The Big Shed coming and going everyday, 45,000 people (OK, they aren't all there at the same time, but the exposure rate is high, heck, I've been sent home three times for Covid contact tracing quarrantine).

People have caught it and died from exposure there.

So I guess I can consider myself fortunate that I made it this far.

I have had a chronic cough since late February. A week or two back I was severely fatigued, I thought from all the coughing. Then everything smelled of ammonia, but I never lost my sense of smell. My appetite was poor, even the act of eating, the feel of the food in my mouth was unappealing, although food and drink tasted as good as anyday (ice cold water is always a treat, but even more so to cool and soothe a raw throat).

Never had a fever, but the doctor freaked out because it was 99.1. Come on, 98.6 is normal, less than one degree is not a fever.

The worst is over, I think.

Funny thing, last week I gave myself one of those home test kits.

Negative.

I should run one this evening, eh?

Oh, and Paxlovid?

Three pills, 400mg total, twice a day, same time everyday, for five days.

When I took the first dose, I noted an odd but not necessarily offensive taste (nothing as bad as the Prednisone). About thirty minutes later a nasty taste formed at the back of my tongue, spreading forward. A sip of water washes it away but it comes back in a short time.

This is going to be a long five days.

One of our family members just got diagnosed with covid. His job requires a lot of interacting with people. We're hoping for his rapid recovery too.

I appreciate the detail you have provided. It gives me a good idea of how things progress with covid.

Thx for the info and I'm pulling for both you and our family member to beat this thing, quickly.

Les

[Racer X 69]

One of our family members just got diagnosed with covid. His job requires a lot of interacting with people. We're hoping for his rapid recovery too.

I appreciate the detail you have provided. It gives me a good idea of how things progress with covid.

Thx for the info and I'm pulling for both you and our family member to beat this thing, quickly.

Les

Did I mention that my 85 year old mother tested positive too?

What next, Mrs. Racer?

[Racer X 69]

Perhaps you should take Mary Poppins' advice.

Tried a sip of water at first. When I became bloated on water I tried a cough drop. Sometimes a spoon of honey.

They all work great, until they are gone. Then the taste is back.

Blecchhh!!!!!

[Racer X 69]

Inline 6 ?

Yes.

I’m building an engine for the brown 72 240Z I have.

Like this:



I’m looking at ITB ( individual throttle bodies) and direct crank fired ignition with coil on plug.



It will be an evolution from the 2.4 liter race engines I’ve built, a balanced and blueprinted engine, ported, cc’d and flowed E31 head.

I’m looking at a different cam grind, with more lift, duration, and overlap than what I’ve been using. The larger, mandrel bent exhaust, electronic fuel injection and direct ignition should be just the ticket.

[lesmore49]

Did I mention that my 85 year old mother tested positive too?

What next, Mrs. Racer?

Very contagious. That's for sure.

[lesmore49]

Yes.

I’m building an engine for the brown 72 240Z I have.

Like this:



I’m looking at ITB ( individual throttle bodies) and direct crank fired ignition with coil on plug.



It will be an evolution from the 2.4 liter race engines I’ve built, a balanced and blueprinted engine, ported, cc’d and flowed E31 head.

I’m looking at a different cam grind, with more lift, duration, and overlap than what I’ve been using. The larger, mandrel bent exhaust, electronic fuel injection and direct ignition should be just the ticket.

Beautiful flow on that exhaust system and I like the blue stacks on the intake system.

I like the look of mechanical devices ....as 'art'.

But, I know not everybody agrees with me.

Case in point.

Talking about automobilia as art, and housing it inside, where it can be appreciated at any time......reminds me of a situation, before I got married.

I was a bachelor, had a house with a sliding back door. I built a little wooden ramp and at night I would push my Yamaha SR 500 up the ramp, into the living room, and under the chandelier in the dining room.

I didn't have a garage or a shed, eh .

When I was selling the house, the real estate lady told me that I needed to remove my motorcycle from the interior of the house, as it was going to cause buyer resistance...oh...and put that crash helmet away from the kitchen counter...as that wasn't a good look either.

BTW, with all the speed parts installed on your engine, what do you figure the power will be...and how much over stock ?

[tim60]

Beautiful flow on that exhaust system and I like the blue stacks on the intake system.

I like the look of mechanical devices ....as 'art'.

But, I know not everybody agrees with me.

Case in point.

Talking about automobilia as art, and housing it inside, where it can be appreciated at any time......reminds me of a situation, before I got married.

I was a bachelor, had a house with a sliding back door. I built a little wooden ramp and at night I would push my Yamaha SR 500 up the ramp, into the living room, and under the chandelier in the dining room.

I didn't have a garage or a shed, eh .

When I was selling the house, the real estate lady told me that I needed to remove my motorcycle from the interior of the house, as it was going to cause buyer resistance...oh...and put that crash helmet away from the kitchen counter...as that wasn't a good look either.

BTW, with all the speed parts installed on your engine, what do you figure the power will be...and how much over stock ?

The real estate stylist lady should have just told you to go out on the motorcycle when you had inspections. That would deal with all the needs:
1. Helmet off counter.
2. Motorcycle somewhere away from property.
3. You away from the place during the open inspection.
4. You enjoying the benefits of your motorcycle asset/liability.

[Racer X 69]

Beautiful flow on that exhaust system and I like the blue stacks on the intake system.

I like the look of mechanical devices ....as 'art'.

But, I know not everybody agrees with me.

Case in point.

Talking about automobilia as art, and housing it inside, where it can be appreciated at any time......reminds me of a situation, before I got married.

I was a bachelor, had a house with a sliding back door. I built a little wooden ramp and at night I would push my Yamaha SR 500 up the ramp, into the living room, and under the chandelier in the dining room.

I didn't have a garage or a shed, eh .

When I was selling the house, the real estate lady told me that I needed to remove my motorcycle from the interior of the house, as it was going to cause buyer resistance...oh...and put that crash helmet away from the kitchen counter...as that wasn't a good look either.

BTW, with all the speed parts installed on your engine, what do you figure the power will be...and how much over stock ?

I used to park a motorcycle inside a duplex I lived in. There wasn't a covered place outside to park it, and other residents had no tolerance for a bike taking up an entire parking space made for a car. The kitchen door was at grade, and I didn't have a kitchen table, so I laid a rug onthe floor and the bike went there.

As for the L24 engine, stock they were rated at 150 hp. The engines I've been building for racing were estimated at 220 hp by the guy who does the cylinder head work (I've never had one of these engines on a Dyno). With the more free flowing exhaust, electronic fuel injection and more precise direct ignition, and slightly more radical camshaft profile, it should be getting closer to 275/300 hp.

The only way to know for sure is Dyno time, but that costs money.

[Tako Kichi]

I love the look of some headers.

The Honda 400cc four cylinder to me, has one of the most attractive exhaust system I've come across.

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8...1q5UiQdq-RVwhe

I bought a Honda CB400F almost as soon as they were released in the UK and put many thousands of miles on her before I traded her for a 3-wheeled Reliant Supervan III because I wanted to get out of the cold and snow for the winter! That was a big mistake as I still miss the 400F and I would rate it right up there amongst my favourite bikes alongside my last one, a BMW R65LS I sold when I emigrated from the UK.

I took part in the National Motorcycle Rally on the CB400F one year which required participants to ride a route while stopping every so often at checkpoints to get a card stamped to validate your chosen route. All participants started in different places around the UK and the challenge was to create their own route that ended at the same place, ideally with a total ridden distance of between 600 and 620 miles in a 24 hour time span (without exceeding the speed limit, including the average overall speed!)

The finish was 150 miles from home so after riding 600+ miles in 24 hours I had a brief rest and then rode another 150 miles home again! The bike ran almost faultlessly and the only mechanical issue I had was a broken speedometer cable on the way home from the event! The three other bikes I was riding with, a CB750F (with 4 into 1 pipes) and a pair of Suzuki GT550 3-cylinder two-strokes (ridden by a visiting pair of Canadian tourists!) did not fair so well. The CB750F had a pair of punctures at different times (one front, one rear) after running over some thorn branches a thoughtless farmer had left in the road and one of the GT550's had a faulty alternator that would not charge it's battery so once it went dark it's battery had to be swapped out with the other one at every stop so one bike could charge a battery while the other one drained one!

My only other issue was rider related rather than bike related as I became aware of my girlfriend (later my #1 wife) pounding vigorously on the top of my crash helmet while I was traveling at 70+ MPH on the motorway. Apparently I had fallen asleep on the front and was wandering and weaving from lane to lane and it was only her sense of balance, as a rider herself, that was stopping us from ending up as a red smear up the roadway! Needless to say I woke up real fast and the rest of the journey went without incident but I think she had an advantage as she had been asleep on the back of the bike from dusk to dawn and had been held in place by the side panniers and rear top-box and the fact that I had fastened both our motorcycle jacket belts together, end to end, so she was effectively strapped to me for the entire time she was asleep!

Fun times!

[lesmore49]

I used to park a motorcycle inside a duplex I lived in. There wasn't a covered place outside to park it, and other residents had no tolerance for a bike taking up an entire parking space made for a car. The kitchen door was at grade, and I didn't have a kitchen table, so I laid a rug onthe floor and the bike went there.

As for the L24 engine, stock they were rated at 150 hp. The engines I've been building for racing were estimated at 220 hp by the guy who does the cylinder head work (I've never had one of these engines on a Dyno). With the more free flowing exhaust, electronic fuel injection and more precise direct ignition, and slightly more radical camshaft profile, it should be getting closer to 275/300 hp.

The only way to know for sure is Dyno time, but that costs money.

Reading your post about parking your motorcycle inside the duplex, sounds like to a certain extent, the two of us might of been cut from the same bolt of cloth.

That is a significant boost in power, and I wouldn't be surprised if your modded engine put that power out at the rear wheels on a dyno.

Many say that the most perfectly balanced engine, is an inline six cylinder.