Some days are better than others!

The northern part of the north island of NZ is currently in the grip of a drought but on the positive side, it's meant calm, warm days which are perfect for outdoor activities.  Having been retired for almost exactly 2 years, we have time to use these days more or less how we want!  All days are pretty good but yesterday was a bit special!

It started with jumping on the Street Triple first thing in the morning and riding 50 kilometres over some hills and down the coast to a nearby town to pick up some electronic goodies.  Warm, sunny, virtually nothing on the road in either direction.  In short, it was one of those spiritually uplifting rides that makes you at one with the universe.  Not fizzing with excitement, just perfect harmony if you get my drift.  The first picture shows the road I travelled on so you can see why I love it so much.  The photo of me was taken by a friend last year when I still had the Blackbird but the scenery hasn't changed!

 

In the afternoon, the tides were favourable and Jennie was keen to go fishing so we launched just down the road from our house and anchored in the commercial mussel farm just offshore.  The conditions were so magnificent that it wouldn't have mattered if we didn't catch anything but catch we did!  Both Jennie and I had our 20 lb lines broken early on in the expedition so there were clearly some big fish around!  We ended up with Jennie out-fishing me 8 snapper to 4 but at least I salvaged some honour with the heaviest fish of the day. I publicly apologise for my appalling dress sense  in the final photo but it's my lucky fishing gear!

After riding in the morning, fishing in the afternoon followed by filleting and a very pleasant dinner, sleep came easily; as it does when you've had a fulfilling and carefree day.  Days like this are good for the soul!

Innovation ain't what it used to be!

I suppose that having ridden for more than 40 years, you notice trends and can compare them with past periods of time. Looking backward doesn't mean I yearn for the bikes of yesteryear though as today's bikes are clearly superior in most respects.

To obtain performance increases in modern bikes, for the most part; it seems to mainly involve buying bolt-on goodies from specialist sources from around the world with perhaps less personal innovation to get that all-important boost or edge.

However, I have a (maybe half-baked) theory!  Less money and lack of easy access to tuning equipment or expertise may have driven greater self-reliance and an innovative approach in the past.  Nosing through some bike photographs I took a few decades ago, I thought I'd post a few of them and comment on some of the innovative features on these bikes.  With one exception, they're drag bikes, partly because I was campaigning a short-stroke Triumph drag bike called Icarus at the time (see: Growing up a bit) but also because they're a great example of interesting ways of pursuing outrageous performance!

Super Nero

The Vincent V twin-powered Super Nero was what might be described as the ancestor of "modern" drag bikes in Europe.  Its builder, George Brown, was a talented road racer in his earlier days who worked at the Vincent factory at one stage in his career. It's hardly surprising therefore that he chose this power plant for a series of  bikes, culminating in Super Nero.  George was a sprinter, as opposed to drag racer, preferring the battle against the clock over numerous distances as opposed to against a competitor over the quarter mile. The Vincent V twin had its origins in the mid 30's and it's testament to George's development skills, aided by a big supercharger  and alcohol-based fuel that Super Nero set a number of world and national records throughout the 60's in both solo and sidecar configuration. Over 4 decades later, Super Nero's performance is still incredible.  Over the flying quarter mile in 1968, he averaged 182 mph in both directions to set a new world record and in 1970, he averaged 190 mph in gusty and wet conditions.

His persistence in continuously improving Super Nero was legendary and his tenacity was further demonstrated by taking on the international motorcycling body, the FIM.  The FIM had an arbitrary age limit of 55 for international competitors and George had already exceeded this whilst he was still chasing international records.  His persistence paid off and the age limit was lifted, allowing George to set his 182 mph record at the age of 58!  Truly innovative and inspirational.

Alf Hagon's JAP

Alf Hagon was a champion grass track racer who got into quarter-miling in the early days of the sport in the UK.  Alf's bike also used a V twin with pre-WW2 origins; a British JAP.  His innovation was to build the bike as a real lightweight (some might say flimsy!) to increase power to weight ratio and whilst the early version had a 2 speed gearbox, the final version had a single speed countershaft and spectacularly smoked its slick for almost the entire quarter mile!  Alf also showed considerable balls by laying over the exposed cylinder heads, especially as drag motors can be likened to hand grenades with the pin pulled!  His ingenuity paid off in spades when in 1967, he achieved the Holy Grail of quarter-miling at that time, the first ever sub-10 second bike run on UK soil.  Even more remarkably, it was on a runway in indifferent condition, not a specialist drag strip.  Later that year, he became the first motorcycle in history to set an official 2-way quarter mile world record in the 9's.

Alf didn't rest on his laurels though. In 1968, he took his bike with higher gearing to a British air base with a 9000ft runway.  On what was essentially an unfaired bike with minimal suspension, he clocked a staggering 206.54 mph; becoming the first Englishman to exceed 200 mph.

It's funny how innovation seems prevalent  with V twin motors!  As well as Englishmen George Brown and Alf Hagon, Kiwis Burt Munro and John Britten also enjoyed considerable success on the international stage with their V twins; albeit some decades apart!

Pete Allan's Twin Triumph

Although twin-engined drag bikes made their 60's debut in the USA, Pete Allan was arguably the first UK drag racer to have one which ran both competitively and reliably.  Coupling the two motors together was not a straightforward exercise because of power pulses putting enormous stresses on the drive chains but Pete's beautiful engineering largely overcame this.  The American twins of this era were normally aspirated and used nitromethane to develop big dollops of horsepower.  Pete's bike used both nitro AND a big supercharger to produce outrageous horses!  The photo clearly shows the massive intake to the supercharger and the pressure release valve between the two engines (the rear engine has the head reversed to minimise intake piping and fuel condensing).  The pressure release valve also had considerable value as a safety device in event of a backfire when starting the bike on rollers!  Pete Allan emigrated to Australia in the early 70's and also competed at the highest level there. He's still well-known for his non-riding involvement in the drag and custom bike scene.

Twin-engined bikes are still on the drag race scene but are arguably more of an oddity than performing right at the top.  Probably the most famous and successful twin drag bike of all was The Hobbit, campaigned by John Hobbs from 1975 to 1979.  It had twin superchargers fed with nitromethane and at its peak, was covering the standing quarter mile in a fraction over 8 seconds with terminal speeds of around 180mph.  All this from engines which had their roots as early British road bikes!

Vic Phillip's Impulse drag bike

In the early-mid 60's,  Japanese 4 cylinder road bikes had yet to be launched but it was clear that multi-cylinders could offer significant horsepower advantages compared with twins or singles.  One of the early believers was Vic Phillips who built a sidecar drag bike using a tuned 1000cc Hillman Imp motor.  I lost touch with progress early in its development but as with the other bikes and builders mentioned here, it was a highly innovative approach with limited resources.  What's more, the standard of engineering was superb, one example being the flawless hand-made fairing.  The photos were taken by me at Santa Pod dragstrip, close to where I used to live prior to emigrating.

Money sure helps, but it's sheer hard work and clever thinking which carries the day!

Impulse from the front

Ag's Barra (Angus McPhails Barrow translated from Scottish English!)

When sprint/drag bikes are mentioned, the mental image is of big capacity monsters producing equally monstrous horsepower.  However, there are a number of smaller capacity classes where arguably; it is harder to achieve a favourable power to weight ratio compared with the big 'uns.  Angus McPhail raced a tuned 250cc Arial Arrow.  Conscious of the need to shed as much weight as possible to offset the relatively modest power of the 250cc engine, Angus went for a tiny hand-crafted monococque alloy frame, tiny wheels and equally tiny front suspension to minimise weight.  At least he didn't have far to fall if things went pear-shaped!

I'm a bit hazy on exactly how fast the bike was but if I remember correctly, it set a number of British records over several distances.  However, the main point was that it was yet another example of ingenuity rather than money yielding good results.

The next photo is of Icarus, my ultra-short stroke supercharged Triumph.  Details  HERE
(photo taken by Pete Miller).

Icarus

The final example of ingenuity is not a drag bike, it's a circuit racer developed by the Triumph Factory.  The name has been proudly carried forward nearly 4 decades to grace Triumph's current 675cc sports bike:

The 1960's 500cc Triumph Daytona Factory Racer.

The Daytona 200 has been America's premier motorcycle race for several decades and it's fair to say that the earlier days were a Harley Davidson benefit with the factory-backed bikes cleaning up virtually every year.  The US bike market was where Triumph had its greatest sales and a win at Daytona would have a huge impact on increasing market share.  Doug Hele, chief development engineer of the Triumph factory and a US dealership set about building a twin carburettor 500 based on the Tiger 100 which was light, powerful, having a low drag coefficient to take it to around 150 mph and be very manoeuvrable for the tight infield turns. In 1967, Gary Nixon blitzed the field to take line honours and to celebrate, Triumph released the first Daytona road bike the same year.

The photo taken at Mallory Park in the UK shows a works Daytona raced by chief tester Percy Tait.  Note the huge amount of tread on the race tyres and the foam-lined brackets to isolate the carburettors from vibration and fuel foaming.  The bike's light weight and superb handling gave Percy many short circuit victories against the likes of Agostini on the MV Augusta 500 as well as other aces on factory machinery.  In 1969, it was even entered into the Belgian GP as a one-off which Percy led for several laps; eventually finishing second to Giacomo Agostini.

Well, there we are - money undoubtedly helps, but it's smart thinking (REAL engineering!) which can win the day when the money isn't there!

Wheel alignment - improve your handling at no cost

About 7 years ago, thinking about the impact of good wheel alignment stirred what Jennie laughingly refers to as my brain!  I'd had some new tyres fitted and wasn't happy with the handling.  New tyres always feel a bit odd until you get used to them anyway but in this instance, the turn-in to corners felt different depending on whether I was going into left or right-handers.  It bothered me enough to use the time-honoured string line method of checking and sure enough, the rear wheel was significantly out of alignment.  The improvement was noticeable when properly aligned.

Moral of the story: Correct wheel alignment makes a big difference to the handling if it's accurate. You shouldn’t rely on a new rear tyre being correctly aligned when fitted at a tyre shop unless they have good gear and maker's graduations on the swing arm are not necessarily to be trusted either. There can be enough play in the components to throw alignment out.  In addition, each time the chain is adjusted, you run the risk of shifting the alignment. Using string lines works just fine, but is time-consuming to set up and care is required to take the actual measurements (Not to mention tripping over them at regular intervals or having the cat decide that the string is there for entertainment purposes!)

After this episode, I got to wondering about using the same principle as string line alignment but substituting the string for a laser instead. No cumbersome setting up and hopefully nothing for the cat to attack. The prototype rig was constructed in 2004 and intentionally made from materials which I already had at home and it has been so successful that I've never got round to making a fully adjustable one to cater for a range of tyre widths. There are multiple permutations on the design shown, and also variations in the way it can be used. However, let's go through the principles with a few photos and you can decide whether it's worthwhile building one and if so, whether you want to improve on the design. Click on the photos to enlarge them.

Rig construction:

The rig is constructed in two parts: the laser beam emitter/support bracket (blue) and the laser light target (white).  The laser emitter is a cheap laser pointer combined with a pen, but single purpose laser pointers can be obtained cheaply from electronics and office supplies shops etc.

The support bracket is constructed from MDF. It should be recessed in the top to provide stability to the laser pointer. In this case, two 3mm pieces of MDF were sandwiched to a wider piece of MDF. The pointer is held in place with elastic. A spring clothes peg is used to keep the laser switched on. The centre line of the laser is 90mm above datum, which is close to the maximum height that can be used for a Honda Blackbird on its centre stand with a 6mm ride height spacer under the shock absorber without interfering with the laser beam. (You can use a bit of wood under the centre stand to get better clearances if this is an issue).

The laser target is constructed from a piece of straight dressed timber painted white, with Perspex end-pieces. The overall length is 500 mm, the height above datum of the timber surface is 80 mm and the height of the Perspex end-pieces is 130mm. The timber is 58mm wide with a centre line marked on it. The centre line of 29mm equates to half the difference between the widths of the front and rear tyres I use. If this is different for other tyre combinations, it doesn’t really matter as a steel rule can be used to measure how far away the laser beam is from the edge of the front tyre.

Both end-pieces have a vertical line scored in them with a scriber. The score lines are on the inside faces of the Perspex. This helps to slightly scatter the laser light on the line and make alignment easier (much like a rifle sight). The target end piece has a strip of black insulating tape behind it to make the laser easier to see.  The second and third photos show the target being struck by the laser beam.






































How to use the rig:
The first photo in this section simply shows the general arrangement of the rig.

Prior to commencing the alignment process, spin the front and rear tyres to look for any significant oscillation on the widest part of the tyre wall. The laser beam can be helpful for this purpose. If the rims are in good order and the tyre has been fitted properly, it will be negligible. If any movement is >1-2mm, then position the wheel so that the laser is roughly at mid-point of the oscillation.

Align the front wheel as close as possible to the centre line of the bike by eye. The target part of the rig is then pushed up against the front tyre. It can be held in place with light elastic if there is any concern over possible movement. The laser emitter and support assembly are placed at the back of the rear tyre so that the beam just kisses the widest part of the tyre front and aft.  This will take a bit of practice with a small diameter beam to make the fine adjustments, but isn't difficult. The photo shows shows the inner part of the beam just touching front and aft rear at maximum tyre width.

Turn the forks until the laser beam lines up with the lines on the Perspex end plates, or runs parallel with it. This is shown in the next photo. In the latter case, measure the distance from the beam to the widest part of the tyre.

Move both parts of the alignment rig to the other side of the bike without disturbing the front wheel . If the distance of the laser beam from the widest part of the tyre is identical to the measurement on the other side of the front wheel, then it is properly aligned.  This is shown in the following 2 photos which show the laser beam striking the centre line of the target on both sides of the bike.  If not, then tweak one of the adjusters and re-check alignment.  Just a reminder, the centre line of this prototype is half the difference of the maximum (inflated) widths of a 180 section rear tyre and a 120 front.  It wouldn't be hard to make an adjustable one or simply measure any variation with a steel rule provided that alignment on both sides of the bike is identical.

Re-check the alignment when tightening the rear axle to ensure that nothing has moved. A suggestion to increase the interval between full alignments is to scratch some small alignment marks on the swing arm and adjusters if the stock ones are inaccurate. Eccentric adjusters for chain tension require a slightly different approach but the principle is identical.

Well there we are - a simple (and cheap) device which will allow you to check and set wheel alignment accurately.  My instructions are probably as clear as mud but if you have any doubts, build a simple 2-dimensional model from a bit of card to sort out the principles.  They are straightforward, but visualising them and having something in your hands at the same time might be even easier.

If all else fails, you'll find my email address near the top of the blog. I'll do my best to help if you get stuck!
















Addendum:
When I sold the Blackbird and bought a Street Triple which had different width tyres, I experimented with a different approach to the front wheel "target".  Instead of a piece of straight wood with "gunsights", I simply used a tape measure which was placed at the maximum width of the front tyre, both at the rear and front to make sure the front and rear tyres were parallel.  This is is repeated on both sides of the bike to determine the degree of misalignment and/or offset.  As with the methodology listed above, it's simply a matter of subtracting the difference between front and rear tyre maximum widths and halving the result to get the calculated offset on one side.  The photo and sketch below show the methodology for the Michelin PR3 tyre which I was using at the time.

No riding this weekend, something even more important!

This blog is unashamedly about motorcycling but this post has nothing whatsoever to do with bikes apart from the event which prevented me from riding this weekend, haha!

Our younger son Kerryn and his fiancée Becky returned to NZ a few weeks ago after 5 years working in the UK. It's been a wonderful week. On Thursday, he heard that he landed a senior job with a food company in Auckland and Becky is short-listed for 2 top property management jobs. However, the most wonderful bit was that they got married on Friday and Jennie and I couldn't be more proud of two fabulous kids who are absolutely devoted to each other. It was also the first time that Kerryn, his sister Victoria and brother Lyndon had all been together for 6 years and that was very moving. Also very moving is that a number of the Merton Rugby Football Club in London that Kerryn played socially for also came half way round the world for the wedding! This crusty old biker must be going completely soft as I filled as many handkerchiefs as Jennie!

The ceremony was at a natural geothermal hot spring on the Coromandel Peninsula where we live and Becky walked in to the song "Growing up Beside You" by Paolo Nutini. I'd never heard it before and it triggered more waterworks - just lovely. It's on YouTube if you've never heard it either.

With all the troubles in the world, it's the best feeling in the world to see two young people who are bright, funny and possessing strong personal values making such a great start.






























Our 3 kids: Lyndon, Victoria and Kerryn.  Enormously proud of their achievements.  Lyndon is an Occupational Therapist, Victoria is a Psychologist and Kerryn is a Food Technologist.

Death of a Triumph engine

I've just been sorting through some old photos and the one that's attached here still makes me wince!  In my early motorcycling career, I had a pre-unit construction Tiger 100 500cc twin . (See: The passion really starts to get hold)  The previous owner had lavished a lot of care on tuning the engine, with 10.5:1 compression pistons, E3134 sports cams, tuned exhaust and so on.  After owning it for a couple of years, I discovered a small crack at the bottom of one of the cylinder liners.  The crack didn't look recent but to be safe, I decided to have a new pair of liners fitted and a local company undertook the work.

Carefully put it all back together and commenced carefully running it in.  A week or two after the rebuild, I was going up a steep hill a few miles from home and it felt sluggish so decided to pull over and have a quick check.  Peeked in my rear view mirror before stopping and saw an awful lot of smoke - oh sh*t!  Got towed home, stripped the motor and holy heck.....

The resolution of the photo isn't all that good (you can enlarge it by clicking on the photo) but the arrows mark the obvious damage - it's an excellent example of cause and effect.

The cause is that the new steel liners had gradually rotated in the alloy block.  Each liner has 2 cut-outs at the bottom to give clearance to the con-rods when the crankshaft and rods are at half-stroke.  As the liners rotated, they gently shaved the con-rods, depositing fine alloy powder throughout the lubrication system until the motor seized (the effect!).  The broken piston is testament to that!!

I wasn't confident that I'd be able to get every trace of the powdered alloy out of the oil galleries and wasn't about to have it happen again, so gave the motor away for basic parts and got an inexpensive bog standard second hand replacement which ran perfectly until I sold the bike a few years later.

Putting new liners in an alloy block involves chilling the liners and heating the block to ensure a good interference fit.  I've got no proof, but did wonder if the people undertaking the work perhaps skimmed the bore in the alloy block to make fitting a little easier.  Of course, this was denied and I had to wear the problem.  

However, it's incidents like these that ultimately give us a better understanding of things mechanical, even though we don't see it like that at the time!

Global driving standards or the lack of 'em...... grrrr

I need to get something off my chest with a bit of a rant so bear with me!

The Coromandel Peninsula where we live is a motorcycling Mecca - around 300-odd km of loop road comprising of twisties, sweepers and stuff-all straights; running by the coast and over a mountain range.  A technical, challenging road if ever there was one, particularly as a lot of it is relatively narrow with more than a few blind bends.  It's what every experienced rider craves and it doesn't disappoint.  On the downside, it has breathtaking scenery which means that it draws tourists both domestic and international to add to the local population.  Even then, it can hardly be described as overcrowded on most occasions.

Me, decking everything on the Blackbird!

Idyllic you might say and to a large extent, it's true but there's one big blot on the landscape.  The big blot is the motoring public on 4 wheels trying to kill me at every opportunity!  I take a dim view of that and am known to get a mite testy.  All I can say is that I'm forever grateful that my advanced rider training instructor spent an inordinate amount of time on situational  awareness or I might not be writing this!


Tourist vans, rental cars, 4x4's towing boats (but only if the driver has a baseball cap and moustache - why is that???) - they're all out to get me but how, you may ask?  The favourite form of assassination is by straight-lining/offsiding corners, that's how!  Doesn't matter if you're closing on them from behind or they're coming towards you, show the knuckle-draggers a corner or a sequence of bends and they'll cut it, irrespective of what else is on the road.  Even better if a corner is completely blind. The look of complete surprise on their faces when they discover someone else occupying the correct lane on a collision course beggars belief - INCOMPETENT BASTARDS!  Sorry, built up quite a head of steam there!

Let's have a think about the business of straight-lining. In the UK for example, straight-lining (or whatever local term fits) is taught as an advanced riding technique to improve sight lines, less risk of binning it in adverse conditions and a whole heap of other advantages.  There's a critical word I've left out and that word is BUT! The BUT comes in association with the words ADVANCED and JUDICIOUS  in knowing when to apply the straight-lining technique.  In other words, let the average member of the motoring public go straight-lining and you have the potential for serious injury or death through poor situational awareness.

In NZ, you risk a hefty fine and demerit points on your license for straight-lining -  "failing to keep in your lane".  Given the propensity for straight-lining being used by people who are simply lazy or terminally stupid, perhaps staying well in your lane is good insurance.  I must admit that I use the technique a lot less than I used to although I do still shift position all over the road to get the best possible view when preparing to overtake or get a good forward sighting of conditions.  The debate about whether to straight line or not ran to 11 pages or so in the Kiwi Biker forum thread: Straight-lining corners or not? with good points raised by both sides, plus the normal amount of crap by people who can't be bothered to think deeply enough to put a good argument together.

I don't think there is a completely watertight argument on either side of the debate but do think there's something upon which we can all agree. The level and quality of instruction received when first learning to drive a car or motorcycle is woefully inadequate, at least in NZ and probably elsewhere.  This translates into putting other members of the public at risk as well as the perpetrators, especially you and me as more vulnerable motorcyclists. There are situational awareness techniques plus some others which are only taught at an advanced level, yet are simple enough to be taught to learners so why don't we do it to reduce the road toll?

Handling potentially dangerous industrial equipment usually requires high level training to operate it and yet operating a road vehicle where the consequences and high cost of accidents are beyond dispute only requires pretty basic instruction to get rolling.  Sounds crazy when you put it like that, doesn't it?

Anyway, rant now over and I feel better for it, especially as Jennie and I went out in the boat this morning and caught 9 snapper (6 for Jennie, 3 for me which is par for the course but who's complaining when there is great seafood going into the pan!).

Catch you later.....

New bookcase triggers a nostalgic bike episode!!!

Well, the title of this post sounds a bit preposterous but it's absolutely true!! Jennie and I recently commissioned a local craftsman to make us a 1.8 metre high oiled solid macrocarpa bookcase (the first picture shows it freshly unloaded from the trailer today!).  In anticipation of its arrival, I started sorting through a few old boxes of books that haven't been opened since I don't know when and looking on storage shelves to see what should go in the new bookcase and what can go to the local charity shop.

Rustic macrocarpa bookcase

Sorting through old books wasn't exactly a riveting prospect but then Karma stepped in as it sometimes does in times of need!  Within a minute or so of starting rummaging, what should pop up but two Triumph maintenance manuals which haven't seen daylight for decades.  Not any old Triumph manuals, but one for the second bike I owned back in the 60's - a 3TA 350 (plus the T90, T100 and Speed Twin).  The other manual covers all Triumph twins manufactured from 1945 to 1962.  This latter manual says 10 shillings and sixpence in the flyleaf so I'm assuming that this was a 60's purchase too!  What's more, they're in pristine condition - not an oily thumbprint to be seen on any of the pages which is a bloody miracle!  (The handful of scanned pages I've posted here can be enlarged by double-clicking on them).  Also see HERE for a link to the fun to be had with the oil pressure relief valve!

As you might imagine, sorting books stopped immediately and has yet to re-commence as I leaf through these wonderful documents which have triggered so many memories.

This brings back memories

An even older manual

The first thought was how few special tools were required to completely strip the engines, which was just as well for an impoverished trainee mechanical engineer  who's bike was his only form of transport!  However, reading how to replace the tappet shafts brought a wry smile. The manual exhorts owners to buy a special tool (an overpriced skinny bit of split pipe with a chamfered bore if I remember correctly) to stop the O ring seals on the shafts being damaged on re-fitting and causing oil leaks.  To be honest, I think the Triumph Marketing Department had their collective tongues firmly planted in their cheeks when selling this tool.  Despite every care, mine still liberally dribbled oil all over the cooling fins.  However,  the wonderful smell from the weekly application of Gunk brand degreaser to remove it did offset the annoying effects of the leak to some extent!

Beware the unwary!

Although sprung hub Triumphs were a little before my time, I've heard chilling tales regarding the maintenance of these hubs and have posted a picture from the manual to show how they went together (err... or were abandoned in this state).  At the heart of this frightening device were blocks of rubber held in place by wicked springs under compression which would have taken the weight of a main battle tank.  I wonder how many owners on-sold their bike to some unwitting sucker rather than face rogue springs ricocheting round the shed destroying the contents and causing severe bodily harm.  Looking at it in a dispassionate manner, I suspect that military scientists used the Triumph Sprung Hub as the basis for modern anti-personnel weapons like the Claymore.

Modest horsepower - an understatement

The other photo is part of the tech data sheet from the Triumph 350cc 3TA which I owned after selling my Suzuki 50.  The data sheet records a mere 18.5 bhp and allowing for Marketing Department hype, it might have been rather less.  Anyone reading my earlier account of being given a hiding by a newly-released Yamaha 100 twin would have seen the writing on the wall for the British bike industry and it was mainly that incident which caused me to sell it and buy a Tiger 100.  More power, but just as many oil leaks despite my best efforts!  Thank God it wasn't a Tiger 100A though.  Joe Lucas wasn't called the Prince of Darkness without good reason but the Energy Transfer ignition system fitted to the T100A was a triumph (no pun intended) of poor design and had owners spending more time running alongside the darned things than actually riding them.  Still, I suppose that fitness levels increased dramatically.

Before we finish these musings,  I also noticed that the headlight bulb was a 6 volt 30/24 watt Lucas item.  How we found our way anywhere in the dark without colliding with large, solid objects is probably testament to the ummmmm... modest performance of the bike and comparative lack of traffic rather than the headlight actually being effective.  Still, we lived through it all and are wiser (a debatable proposition) for having owned early British bikes!

Wonder what else I'll find in these fabulous books with their charmingly optimistic instructions?

East Cape Adventure

I've just been round the East Cape of NZ (a total of 1346 km) with 3 great friends (Andy from Auckland, Richard from Ohaupo and Davey from Whitby) as a preliminary warm-up for the 1000 miles in 24 hours Grand Challenge ride later in the year.  It was over the weekend rather than in one hit but it was the first time everyone had ridden together on a longish haul so it was a good opportunity to check riding compatibility.

The East Cape is largely deserted and is therefore fantastic for bikes with over 80% of the ride being challenging, twisty roads on the coast and up through the hills.  The scenery is pretty spectacular too as you'll see from the attached photos and the full set at: http://picasaweb.google.com/geoff.james74/EastCapeEscapeFeb2010#.

Apart from nearly having my head taken off by a hawk with a wingspan of over a metre, it was hard, fast riding with trusted company and no dramas.  The sort of riding that is perfect for the soul and I'd do it all again today.

The Street Triple more than held its head up against the bigger bikes I was with and was pretty comfortable too.  However, for the Grand Challenge, I think that I might fit an Airhawk cushion seat cover as standing on the pegs to relieve numb bum became quite frequent on the last part of the journey home!

Classic race bike weekend, Auckland NZ

Just had a wonderful weekend.  On Friday, we hosted a Blackbird owner and his wife (Steve and Debbie Downes) from the UK as part of their month long holiday in NZ. Actually, he's just sold it as a concession to Debbie's comfort and bought a Pan-European!  Lovely couple and we really hit it off.

This weekend also happened to be the Annual 3 day long International Classic Race Bike Festival at the Pukekohe circuit in south Auckland. I haven't been for many years and what a treat I've been missing!  Over 250 riders and bikes from all over the world come along, many of them in successive years because they enjoy themselves so much.  Kevin Schwantz, Giacomo Agostini, Paul Smart, Peter Williams, Stan Woods and Lea Gourlay have all been here and are unbelievably approachable. It's incredibly laid back and for the $25 (10 pounds, $20 US) entry fee, you get a beautifully produced programme and unlimited access to the pits.  It's fantastic to see enthusiasts running an event where the public aren't ripped off - quite the reverse in fact.I've attached a few photos to the blog as a "taster".  If you'd like to see the full set, here's the link: PukekoheClassic2010 .  If you're ever planning to come to New Zealand on holiday, make sure you're here for this annual event!!!

 

 

Next weekend should be an absolute ripper too.  I have a 3 day "boys weekend" riding round the North Island's East Cape.  Approximately 1300km round trip of largely deserted twisty roads.  Can't wait!!!

Street Triple vs. Blackbird - some thoughts so far

Coromandel Peninsula, NZEdit Pages

There are few absolutes in life excepting the laws of physics (and some of those are a bit shaky too).  The same goes for motorcycles and how they're regarded across the spectrum of bike owners.  It's principally what they're used for which defines how good they are, apart from the occasional genuine lemon which sinks without trace.  Also, an inexperienced motorcyclist is probably going to have a different view of a bike when stepping up in capacity than an experienced rider who is heading the other way - just like me in fact!

The decision to move from a Honda Blackbird owned for 8 years to a Triumph Street Triple was for a number of reasons but the main driver centred around increasing age, short legs and a heavy, tall(ish) bike in the shape of the Blackbird. I’ve loved that bike with a passion. It’s seen me through long distance events like the Southern Cross round NZ in 5 days ride and Grand Challenge 1000 miles in 24 hours, through to racetrack behaviour round East Cape with the lads and even occasionally pootling along with Jennie for a laid-back cruise. From the outset, a conscious decision was made NOT to replace it with a pure sports bike as it would be all too easy to make direct comparisons with something that became part of my soul. Dissatisfaction and regret lies in that direction!

However, one of the non-negotiable criteria after owning a ‘bird was something with errr… “decent” performance.  A lighter, more nimble bike might be more suitable for the area we live in but that didn't mean that horsepower had to be substantially sacrificed too.  In previous posts, I've mentioned the circumstances which lead to buying the Triple but having now covered just over 2500 km from new, it's probably worth giving a broad outline of my thoughts so far.

Let's start with something which has only dawned on me since letting the 'bird go......  the realisation that I didn't entirely trust myself to ride sensibly on it.  Sure it was fast and had blinding acceleration but there's more to it than that.  It was the absolute ease with which it built speed and to be honest, the only time you really felt that you were starting to get involved was at a pace seriously above the speed limit.  This also meant being the fastest thing on the road on many occasions and slower traffic could become a nuisance. Passing other traffic at pace, even done safely; can also bring unwanted attention and I'm probably fortunate to have escaped any serious interrogation by the authorities during Blackbird ownership.  It's a fair comment that self-control is all that's required to moderate speed but with a bike which is built for cruising at twice the legal speed limit in NZ, easier said than done as it's all too easy to cut loose; hence the comment about not entirely trusting myself.

Tongariro National Park, NZ

For a couple of weeks after switching to the Triple, probably also accentuated by observing running-in protocols, there was an odd feeling about moving to a smaller capacity bike.  If  I'm perfectly honest, this was probably due in part to a touch of testosterone (bigger is better) or as Jennie would succinctly put it: "Little Willy Syndrome".  Fortunately, that quickly passed!

In terms of specifics, the first thing I really noticed was the light weight of the Triple, plus the centre of gravity is noticeably lower than the 'bird.  Whilst the difference is less noticeable when riding, the biggest benefit to me is manoeuvring it when standing alongside the bike.  Our house is at the end of a steep drive with lots of off-cambers and relatively little flat ground. Not being tall, I always had to take a lot of care when walking the 'bird out of the shed backwards in case it got away on me - no such worries on the Triple.

On the road, the short wheelbase, geometry and light weight makes direction-changing a piece of cake.  The 227kg dry weight of the 'bird, even with substantial suspension changes meant that in the tight stuff, a bit of preparation and precision was required regarding lines.  The 167 kg Triple simply doesn’t seem to care; it’ll handle anything even if you’re a bit sloppy and need a second bite.  It makes even an average rider like me look good!  The OEM Dunlop Qualifiers (French, not Japanese made) fitted to the Triumph stick very well in dry conditions but are less effective than either the Avon Storm or Avon VP2 in the wet.  That's not to say they're a bad tyre though.  They also tend to want to "drop" into a corner rather than roll in a controlled manner - another plus to both Avons and it will be VP2's (Sport or Supersport as per photo) that go on when the Qualifiers are worn out .

Both bikes have excellent brakes but the light weight and short wheelbase of the Triumph makes it prone to unloading the rear end under heavy braking.  I first discovered this when anchoring up for a steer that decided to bolt onto the road from an open paddock gate.  The rear brake was useless with the tyre an inch or so off the deck but it still pulled up quickly and with no drama, the only side effect being a seriously elevated heart rate! 

In terms of handling uneven surfaces, the 'bird evens them out more effectively whereas the Triple jumps about a lot more but is still faster in the tight stuff.  The jumpiness is not in a scary way but it doesn't seem so well-planted as the 'bird.  The comparison is probably a little unfair as the 'bird had a top of the line Penske shock and modified front forks whereas the Triumph OEM suspension is clearly built to a price.  Had the Honda retained its OEM suspension, the comparison would have been a lot closer.  The Triumph is not really suitable for 2 up riding over longer distances (say 600+km in one haul).  The minimalist rear seat and high pegs would soon take their toll and a passenger would also compromise luggage-carrying ability.  Those limitations are just fine for my current needs though.

On the open road away from the tight stuff, the 'bird wins every time.  Better protection from the elements, big lazy donk making long distance high speed cruising an effortless affair.  The higher revs of the Triple for a given speed were slightly disconcerting during early ownership but like most things, you get used to it.  It will be interesting to reflect on long distance suitability when the 1000 miles in 24 hours Grand Challenge has been undertaken later this year!

Most modern big bike owners will rarely explore the top end of its speed capability and in most circumstances, the incredible acceleration and roll-on capability is the key to making real progress.  This is where I thought that the Triple would seriously lose out but I was in for a real surprise!  Using dyno data from "Bike" magazine and dividing by dry weight, the Blackbird delivers ~ 0.62 bhp/kg and amazingly, the Triple delivers a shade under 0.6 bhp/kg - not a lot of difference, especially where wind resistance at higher speeds isn't a major factor! It also delivers ~85% of maximum torque at 3000 rpm, making it unlikely that you'll ever be caught in the wrong gear when wanting to overtake in a hurry;  another "plus" in the real world and gives a significant advantage over pure 600cc sports bikes.  With a 0-100 km time of 3.3 seconds and a top speed in excess of 230 km/hr, it's no slug at either end of the performance spectrum, compared with the Blackbird's 2.7 secs and around 290 km/hr at the top end!

With longer distances between towns than in Europe for instance, a decent range is important to a lot of Kiwis; especially if you have a preference for long haul riding.  The Blackbird was always good for 300+ km between fills on most outings.  The Triple is still pretty good though and with moderate control of the right wrist, 280+ km is achievable.

In terms of ergonomics, the Triple is more comfortable at moderate speeds with the small Italian Barracuda aftermarket screen proving to be quite effective and the relatively high, wide bars of the Triumph also keep the load off the wrists on longer journeys.  The 'bird is clearly superior at higher speeds because of better protection. Seat-wise, there's probably not much to choose between either bikes in standard trim BUT the Rider brand seat I fitted to the 'bird for long distance events was a design of sheer genius.  Ride for as long as you like and the result was always the same - no "numb bum" whatsoever.

In terms of finish and attention to detail, the Triumph doesn't appear much different from the legendary build quality of Hondas in most respects.  Only time will tell whether the paint holds up as well but I've taken the precaution of having 3M clearfilm applied in the high wear areas as insurance.  The only poor bit of engineering I've discovered on the Triumph is where the headlight brackets attach to the inside of the chrome shells -  a rust trap if ever I've seen one! A preventative spray of the inside of the headlight shell with chain wax whilst I was fitting a bulb upgrade is good insurance in my humble opinion.  Whilst on the subject of lights, both the Blackbird and Triple lights are "adequate" for night riding in unlit areas, but not really up to it when the unlit areas are twisty too.  The headlight design of the 'bird with a sharp beam cutoff was an issue, but largely fixed by fitting 100W bulbs.  The OEM bulbs in the Triple gave a good spread but simply weren't bright enough.  I'm not game to fit 100W bulbs because of the small headlamp volume but switching to Osram Nightbreakers have made a substantial improvement and we'll leave it at that for the time being.

The only other noteworthy comparison at this stage of ownership is an audible one!  I loved the standard exhaust cans on the Blackbird.  Their quietness didn't attract unwelcome attention and somehow seemed to make the bike's performance even more outrageous.  The howl from the airbox when giving it a handful was also pretty impressive.  With the Triumph being naked, the whistle from the injectors and cam chain is a bit more intrusive at low speeds but the snarl from the airbox when the throttle is opened is guaranteed to give even a 60+ year old a hard-on and should be bottled and sold as an alternative to Viagra!

Finally, it really is true what all the motorcycling journalists say.  The Street Triple is a lunatic of a bike which encourages immoderate behaviour.  Part pit-bull, part lairy teenager with spots; it wants to have a go at everyone and everything.  It might even hump your leg if you stand close for a bit too long.  I really don't know why but so help me, even at 60 plus years of age, I'm finding myself swept along by its "fu*k you" attitude!

So there we have it.  Two bikes that I absolutely love but built with a different "fitness for purpose" in mind. For where I live now and the type of riding I normally do, the Triumph is close to the perfect choice if I'm only going to have one bike in the garage.  That's not likely to change with the various toys I've already got!

Update:  More about the Triple in more recent posts, including 1000 miles (1600 km) in under 24 hours HERE, accessories, tyres and laser wheel alignment. Use the search bar near the top of the blog.  There is also a long-term review in an August 2010 post HERE.

An Introspective Day

One of my close friends and Blackbird-riding buddies has developed a serious medical condition and is about to commence treatment.  I rode up to Auckland yesterday and joined up with our other close riding partners/mates to spend the day with him.  You can't but help have some trepidations but as it turned out, we all had a ball with plenty of banter flying and non-stop laughter.  Not the sort of banter and laughter to cover a potentially awkward situation, but the honest, straightforward and disarmingly direct conversations which you can have between true friends.  I feel both humbled and incredibly privileged to have friends of that calibre.  None of our riding group are at all religious and it seems somewhat hypocritical but we'll be offering up a few prayers over the coming months.  The prognosis is good and we'll be there to keep his spirits up.  It does, however, reinforce the notion that you should never put off anything that you really want to do in life.

On a happier note, I took our daughter Victoria for a ride today.  It's been 4 years since she came on the back of a bike and she's as good as her mother - you'd hardly know either of them are on the back.  Victoria graduated with a Masters degree in Psychology late last year and works with prisoner rehabilitation in the Justice system - we're incredibly proud of her.  She's feisty and scares the hell out of me.  I'm picking that the prisoners tread warily too!