Factory Floor | journalistic photograph from the mid-seventies on the assembly line at Meriden. This was when the workers had a sit-in and production ground to a halt. A guttering flame.
October 9, 2019
Rotring
Technical Tracker by Triumph | accurate linework in this engineering illustration of a fast looking oval dirt machine.
September 16, 2019
Luddite not I
Technology | Now that we are well into the Twenty First Century everything gets fettled with Apps (applications). The Tiger being such a technologically inclined machine you can plug in your laptop with an ECU reader and delve into the program gubbins. Here the throttle bodies can be balanced – a far cry from balancing a pair of Amal carbs! Error codes checked, service intervals set, ABS brakes bleeding, sensor readings, instrument testing… it’s magical!
August 28, 2019
Woman Strong
Racer, metal fabricator, mechanic, TV personality Jessi Combs was killed while trying to push the envelope for a women’s speed record. She died tearing across a dry lake bed in Oregon in her rocket powered car at over 400mph. A strong talented person, she was an encouraging inspiration to girls and women nationwide. RIP Jessi Combs (1980-2019)
August 2, 2019
Pork
Bacon | Hogs can be other bikes too! Here’s a perfectly well engineered custom machine which has an adapted 3 cylinder Diesel engine that can be run on bacon grease. This was commissioned by Hormel Foods who make Spam.
Watch it in action here: Black Label Bacon Motorcycle
July 17, 2019
Mirrored Moon
On Reflection | all photography releases by NASA shows how beautiful the ventures into space truly are. The LM Eagle reflecting the cratered surface is like a delicate Faberge egg balanced over a rugged plain.
July 16, 2019
Nosecone
Moonship Cutaway | beautiful technical illustration of the Command Module. The three astronauts traveled to the moon and back in the claustrophobic confines of this vessel. Though in zero-g it became very slightly more voluminous. They also had the Lunar Module which was docked to the nose of the LM for more elbow room. The CM is the only piece of hardware that made it back to earth.
July 15, 2019
Standing Room Only
LEM | Lunar (Excursion) Module. Three days after embarking on the Trans Lunar Injection the Apollo spacecraft entered orbit around the Moon. Separating from the Command Service Module the LM descended to the surface with the Commander and Pilot standing at these controls in their full spacesuits. The descent and landing is well documented as one of the coolest pieces of flying by anyone anywhere. Like landing a telephone box, using the computing power of a Casio scientific calculator, onto a grey dust surface under a black sky…. with diminishing fuel and alarms going off.
July 11, 2019
Apollo
Command Module | Fifty Years ago this month three intrepid explorers headed off into a lunar rendezvous with destiny. Backed by countless engineers, scientists, mathematicians, computers (women who crunches the complex equations for orbital mechanics), skilled laborers, wives, budget analysts, lingerie manufacturers (the space suits required impeccable needlework); they headed beyond the surly bonds of earth atop the mighty Saturn V rocket. The cramped confines of the Command Module ‘Columbia’ took them the quarter million miles to our closest neighbor in the skies.
July 10, 2019
Essential Characteristics
Specifications
Engine Type Liquid-cooled, 12 valve, DOHC, in-line 3-cylinder
Capacity 800cc
Bore Stroke 74.1 mm / 61.9 mm
Compression 11.3:1
Max Power EC 95 PS/94 BHP (70 kW) @ 9,250 rpm
Max Torque EC 79 Nm @ 7,850 rpm
System Multipoint sequential electronic fuel injection
Exhaust Stainless steel 3 into 1, high level stainless steel silencer
Final drive O ring chain
Clutch Wet, multi-plate
Gearbox 6 speed
Frame Tubular steel trellis frame
Swingarm Twin-sided, cast aluminium alloy
Front Wheels 36-spoke 21 x 2.5 in, aluminium rim
Rear Wheels 32-spoke 17 x 4.25 in, aluminium rim
Front Tyres 90/90-21
Rear Tyres 150/70 R17
Front Suspension WP 43 mm upside down forks, adjustable rebound and compression damping, 220 mm travel.
Rear Suspension WP monoshock with remote oil reservoir, hydraulically adjustable preload, rebound damping adjustment, 215 mm rear wheel travel
Brakes Front Twin 308 mm floating discs, Nissin 2-piston sliding calipers, Switchable ABS
Brakes Rear Single 255 mm disc, Nissin single piston sliding caliper, Switchable ABS
Instrument Display and Functions TFT multifunctional instrument pack with digital speedometer, trip computer, analogue tachometer, gear position indicator, fuel gauge, service indicator, ambient temperature, rider modes (Road/Sport/Rain/Offroad/Rider configurable) and clock.
Width Handlebars 845 mm
Height Without Mirror 1390 mm
Seat Height 840 – 860 mm
Wheelbase 1545 mm
Rake 24.3 º
Trail 95.3 mm
Dry Weight 204 Kg
Tank Capacity 19 L
Constant Speed 56mph 90kph 77.4 MPG
Constant Speed 75mph 120kph 53.6 MPG
June 18, 2019
Bolt from the Sky
Lightning | The evening sun gave a stark outline to this brat-Bob Yamaha spied in a Home Depot parking lot. Somebody is obviously having fun out there! I bet it grunts like a mongrel straining at the leash.
June 5, 2019
ATGATT
Helmet | Job Done! Wearing suitable safety gear is of prime importance when selecting your riding garb. And the bonce is your main body part that needs the best protection. I never skimp on this component. The Bell full face lid I got a couple of years ago took last weekend’s spill in workmanlike form; with scrapes, scratches and no doubt a thumping from the road. It’s retired now, as a helmet should be after a crash, and will be replaced.
March 31, 2019
Zzzzzzzz
Nessun Dorma | The aria from Puccini’s opera Turandot was famously used for the BBC coverage of the World Cup in ’90. Sung in true maestro style by Pavarotti it was also used by Pirelli tire manufacturer in their late 80’s advertising campaign. Direct translation from the Italian is “None shall sleep” so using it for a tire seems appropriate. So, back to the matter at hand: these are the two tires I got for the Tiger from old new stock at Motoworks yesterday. Knobbly treads for a bit better traction on gravel. I need to go look for some back roads now! Heidenau K60 Scout up front and Continental TKC 80’s in back. This combination is meant to be a good balance for compromise between asphalt and loose dirt.
February 11, 2019
Wrenchin’
Oily hands and a 10mm socket – just read about the passing of the creator of the global mechanics phenomenon, known as the Haynes Workshop Manual, John Haynes (1938-2019) aged 80. The step-by-step photographic and illustrative descriptions of dismantling and reassembly was conceived whilst he was a public schoolboy recording the renovation of an Austin Seven into an Austin Seven ‘Special’. The first published book in ’66 was for an Austin Healey Sprite. Hundreds of manuals for cars and motorcycles later the library stretched from the Solo’s Millennium Falcon, Kirk’s Enterprise to NASA’s Space Shuttle, and Apollo.
February 6, 2019
Bookworm
D-I-Y Sometimes you need some ken to be familiar with your interest. A ubiquitous Haynes Service & Repair Manual is an essential reference tome for any self respecting biker.
