I can't end the day on such a serious post as the previous one, so here's a unicycle drag event for your viewing pleasure:

 

 

4 hours ago, ballpoint said:

I can't end the day on such a serious post as the previous one, so here's a unicycle drag event for your viewing pleasure:

 

 

 

One of our better known 3 cyl motorcycles from days gone by ..

Top bike tagged as a 1969 so must be close to being one of the first .? 

And a 1975 one of the last .. Jesus nearly 45 yrs .. 

And another well known 3 banger Ago's 500 .. 

120° 3 cyl MV roller bearing crank .. 

Is that not a piece of art .. 

 

Check out any " Top 10 fighter aircraft " especially WW2 and the Spitfire and Mustang are usually in there near the top .. But some military aviation historians will tell you the FW190 is or should be right up there also and for one very good reason .. Contemporary designs of the day transmitted the movement by the pilot on the joystick and pedals to the control surfaces such as the ailerons , rudder , tailplane etc via cables , pulley's ( including ratio ) etc .. as we all know a certain amount of movement can be lost through slack on cables especially if the movement has to be relayed thru a number of pulley arrangements like wing ailerons have .. This ultimately translates as hesitation and loss in movement of the surface relative to movement of control .. To overcome this the FW190 used rods , shafts , rocker and quadrant arms to convey what the pilot input into the stick .. this made for a very responsive agile plane that was eminently " flickable " and one that even the Spit' could not match in many aerial manoeuvres .. Kurt Tank the designer also placed great emphasis on lightness of control and damping of the surfaces to minimise airflow effect over them making it easier to fly .. Many Luftwaffe pilot's described it as truly birdlike in flight .. Originally fitted with BMW's 801 radial ( identified by the short nose wide cowling ) and then constantly updated before moving to the later long nose versions fitted with supercharged Daimler or Junkers Jumo inverted V12's as the altitudes and speeds increased as the conflict progressed .. Numerous versions including interceptor-fighter , f-bomber and some were fitted with four 20 mm cannon beside the standard M G's for ground attack particularly after the Russian campaign got underway where they were very effective in some of the battles there against Soviet armour .. 

Top one is early radial engine version .. 

Lower with D B V12 .. 

 

@Justgrazing,

 

If you want a good read, check out the book "Stuka Pilot" by Hans Rudel.  He did amazing things in a Stuka, lost a leg but kept on flying, ended up in a FW190.  (About like going from a Toyota pickup to a Ferrari, I'd imagine.)  I read it when I was a kid, never forgot.

 

" Hans Ulrich Rudel, the most highly decorated German serviceman of WW2, and the only one to be awarded the Third Reich’s most prestigious medal which was specially created for Rudel by Hitler himself, the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. Shot down over 24 times, Hans Rudel is credited with destroying over 500 tanks, 2,000 ground targets, the Russian battleship Marat, two cruisers and a destroyer, and was so successful against Russian forces that Joseph Stalin put up a 100,000 ruble ransom on his head. His flying record of over 2,500 combat missions remains unmatched by any pilot since. Until his death in 1982 Hans Rudel remained a loyal supporter of Adolf Hitler, and National Socialism. Hans Rudel remained a complex character, but arguably one of WW2’s most heroic figures. "

 

That boy could fly!  He put one of the two bombs down that sunk the battleship Marat.  Hitler wanted to ground him due to his injuries, but Hans told him to go pound salt.

I agree about this topic, it's excellent, almost 170 pages and counting speak for itself.

 

I am not into old vintage bikes myself, well I mean ownership but want something that you just go out and start and ride away.

 

I like looking at the old bikes, the pure forms and not looking like some kind of alien insect like many modern bikes. 

 

No wonder new retro bikes are selling like hotcakes lead by Triumph.

 

Also that we can drift slightly off topic and discuss cool machines is very good. I myself love machines, love to watch air-crash investigation, reading/watching documentary about 2WW naval battles, air battles and so on.    

Superb little Frera 250 ..

Ganna 350 with an engine that has been up before in other bikes .. 

Bag of Haribo's to the first to get it .. 

 

Going by the massive flywheel , Single cylinder 4 valve JAP , with twin exhaust ports.

On 9/13/2019 at 11:35 PM, Justgrazing said:

I'll bet VocalNeal never thought it would run this long when he kicked it off ..

I just liked the look of the original bike so I posted a picture. Who knew...

6 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

...Bag of Haribo's to the first to get it ..

If it's a bag of sugar free Haribos, you are an evil person.  Have you read the reviews on Amazon?  Some of the funniest stuff I've ever read.  https://www.amazon.com/Haribo-SUGAR-Classic-Gummi-Bears/dp/B006J1FBLM#customerReviews

1975 Laverda 750 SFC.  " Built between 1971 and 1976, the SFC or “Super Freni Competizione” was an homologation-special with an engine full of race-spec parts that pushed power to 80hp and road-legal lights and signals tacked on as a nod to streetability. "  More info on this restored unit & pics:  https://raresportbikesforsale.com/tangerine-dream-1975-laverda-sfc-for-sale/

 

This is “the real thing”, numbers on the register and it is the rariest and most desiderable model of the serie, the “Elettronico” of 1975. On top of this it has a works race history being raced by Giuseppe Uberti Foppa (works Laverda rider listed also in the SFC register book) at the 500kms of Monza in 1975, with certification signed by him.

The bike was restored in the Factory in the early 80’s and kept as a jewel since, totally original genuine parts, even the fiberglass body, throttle, all small bits, no repro’s or nos.

 

"... it is the rariest and most desiderable model of the serie ...

 

I gotta get me some of that!

On 9/15/2019 at 2:37 AM, Justgrazing said:

 

And another well known 3 banger Ago's 500 .. 

120° 3 cyl MV roller bearing crank .. 

Is that not a piece of art .. 

 

 

 

Just don't think that is period MV crank and rods.

More like later race spec parts - billet steel crankshaft and billet steel rods.

Bit like wot is in my Trumpet;

 

 

 

19 hours ago, ktm jeff said:

Going by the massive flywheel , Single cylinder 4 valve JAP , with twin exhaust ports.

What massive flywheel?

 

Now THAT is a massive flywheel....

 

Bike Flywheel you say? Ha. your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries,

 

 

OK back to bikes?

 

26 minutes ago, thaiguzzi said:

Just don't think that is period MV crank and rods.

Probably isn't mate but it turned up in a load of stuff tagged MV and I thought that is a near thing of beauty so I'll be having that .. 

On subject of 3 bangers below is a pic of a new gen' 3 pot GM unit sporting all the latest tech .. 

Direct petrol injection .. 

Variable valve timing ( purple arrows for the solenoids ) ..

Note the exhaust manifold ( yellow ) has but one outlet all the ex' ports from the cyls merge into one in the casting process .. 

Dual chamber intake manifold .. 

C o P ignition .. 

Circular component on r/h side of fwd camshaft housing is a vacuum pump for brake assistance ..

It is physically quite big if you look at a 1000 bike engine and not as powerful as even the most docile thou' bike at 80hp .. 3 bangers are all the fashion now in the city car sector as the wisdom see's them as more fuel and emissions efficient .. 

 

 

"That's not a three banger...

 

... This is a three banger!"

 

And this is a flywheel!

Pastel colours being in here's a pallete .. 

Early 50's Novy Villiers 250 .. 

Same Puch 350 .. 

Spitfire in an official paint job .. Anyone wanna take a guess at why some were painted pink .. 

 

Another non-biking, but definitely engine-related post.

 

90 Inch bore Cornish beam engine at the London Museum of Water and Steam (formerly Kew Bridge Steam Museum). Cylinder bore 2.28 m (90 inches), stroke 3.35 m (132 inches), volume 13.68 million cc (840,000 cubic inches) . That's BIG!!

 

 

Engine spec. - https://waterandsteam.org.uk/our-engines/cornish-engines/grand-junction-90-inch-engine/

 

The biggest working engine of its type in the world. It's a single-acting engine used to pump water. Steam is admitted to the cylinder on top of the piston to lift the counterweight and water pump plunger (slow movement of the beam in the video) and exhausted. Counterweight then drops (faster movement of the beam). The 'driver' is an enthusiastic volunteer worker.

 

My last UK employer, an engineering consultancy, hired the place for a day as a 'thank you' for a big project successfully completed and had all the operational steam engines working for us. Fantastic day. Since I started my working life as a seagoing marine engineer before changing to building services, these old engines were a special treat.

 

Steam-ups are a fairly regular thing and the museum is well worth a visit if you're in the area.

 

EDIT: Sorry, couldn't attach the video I really wanted to but if you want to watch, search Youtube for "Grand Junction Ninety Inch Engine"

Sorry post error

31 minutes ago, MartinL said:

Another non-biking, but definitely engine-related post.

 

90 Inch bore Cornish beam engine at the London Museum of Water and Steam (formerly Kew Bridge Steam Museum). Cylinder bore 2.28 m (90 inches), stroke 3.35 m (132 inches), volume 13.68 million cc (840,000 cubic inches) . That's BIG!!

Second time lucky. Here's the engine in operation.

 

 

Caproni Cento flat twin .. Put this up a few pages back but this one in that gunmetal colour is cool .. 

Caproni Vizzola WW2 Fighter .. Never went past prototype stage and to be honest reading the spec's it weren't all that anyway .. Good pic's are rare though there are some write-ups on it .. 

 

4 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

Bike Flywheel you say? Ha. your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries,

 

 

OK back to bikes?

 

 

4 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

Bike Flywheel you say? Ha. your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries,

 

 

OK back to bikes?

 

Dont blame me , ive been turned into a newt.  I got better.

2 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

Pastel colours being in here's a pallete .. 

Early 50's Novy Villiers 250 .. 

Same Puch 350 .. 

Spitfire in an official paint job .. Anyone wanna take a guess at why some were painted pink .. 

 

I shall have another go. Desert camo - same as SAS "Pink Panther" Landies.

Just now, ktm jeff said:

I shall have another go. Desert camo - same as SAS "Pink Panther" Landies.

You're guess has been registered  KTM .. I'll keep schtum' until the other guys have a go if they are thus inclined .. 

4 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

Spitfire in an official paint job .. Anyone wanna take a guess at why some were painted pink .. 

 

Pink= best camouflage when good cloud cover

 

Admitted, Goggle is your friend, first time today I heard about a pink Spitfire

2 hours ago, ktm jeff said:

I shall have another go. Desert camo - same as SAS "Pink Panther" Landies.

 

1 hour ago, guzzi850m2 said:

Pink= best camouflage when good cloud cover

 

Admitted, Goggle is your friend, first time today I heard about a pink Spitfire

Correct Guzzi 850 .. painted pink to blend into dusk and dawn skyline usually for photo recon' as far as I'm aware and K T M Jeff was pretty close with Pink Land Rover's and B P also got it also with the vid' .. But good game , good game as Brucie might say .. 

 

I shall have another go. Desert camo - same as SAS "Pink Panther" Landies.

Nope. They were spy planes that flew at dusk/dawn.


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All part of the admission price at the Goodwood Classic meet' a lowflying Spitfire down the straight .. 

 

1959 Mitchell 50cc 4 cyl stroker .. 

Check out the size of the carb's and hanging piston compared to the size of a plug , the fledgling expansion chambers and the clutch assembly .. Oh and the tank ..