Wow, that must be some bike!

[Rope-Pusher]

India's Eicher set to offer up to $2 billion for Ducati, report says
http://europe.autonews.com/article/2017 ... -ane-daily

Yanno, in China most large cities ban the use of motorcycles. I'm guessing this is a measure to reduce air pollution. It's easier to ban something than to measure and regulate it. It gets all the old two-stroke scooters, and bikes off the roads and encourages people to utilize mass transit.

I don't know if India has similar thoughts but maybe doesn't have the mass transit in place to support workers commuting like China does.

[ClutchFork]

Was never a big fan of Ducati. Their 90 degree V twin is nicely balanced but pushes the gearbox weight back some and lightens the front tire for less that ideal traction up front. They also have some fancy dancy valve drain design, but if I were to buy an India-made bike, the Royal Enfield is the one for me--a beautiful bike. I like retro or even better just to get an older bike. But the one that really has my heart is Yamaha’s 400 model that does NOT have electric start. In my day, electric start was for cars.

[tankinbeans]

I would have thought you'd prefer the rib- and/or wrist-breaker method.

[ClutchFork]

I would have thought you'd prefer the rib- and/or wrist-breaker method.

Problem is that it is hard to come by a crank start car anymore and most of them have a hard time getting up to minimum speed on the freeway.

Some of those hand crank cars were also jawbreakers.

[Rope-Pusher]

I would have thought you'd prefer the rib- and/or wrist-breaker method.

Problem is that it is hard to come by a crank start car anymore and most of them have a hard time getting up to minimum speed on the freeway.

Some of those hand crank cars were also jawbreakers.

Rilly?

I've seen people riding uniclcyles, but how would one, or two, ride a jawbreaker?

Oh, and where might one, or two, kick it to get it started?

[AHTOXA]

I've never owned a Ducati, but there's something viscerally mechanical about the rattle of their dry clutches. Some say the bikes sound broken with them, but I like it.

[Rope-Pusher]

I've never owned a Ducati, but there's something viscerally mechanical about the rattle of their dry clutches. Some say the bikes sound broken with them, but I like it.

...not to mention their desmodronic valve return system

https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/w ... mic-valves

[ClutchFork]

Yep, that's it. Pretty interesting:

desmodronic valve return system

How many of you knew that the old Honda 450 had no valve springs? It was overhead cam (DOHC IIRC). Instead it used torsion bars for valve closure.

[Rope-Pusher]

Yep, that's it. Pretty interesting:

desmodronic valve return system

How many of you knew that the old Honda 450 had no valve springs? It was overhead cam (DOHC IIRC). Instead it used torsion bars for valve closure.

So, there were springs, just no helical compression springs.

[ClutchFork]

Yep, that's it. Pretty interesting:

desmodronic valve return system

How many of you knew that the old Honda 450 had no valve springs? It was overhead cam (DOHC IIRC). Instead it used torsion bars for valve closure.

So, there were springs, just no helical compression springs.

True but normal people (non-engineers like me) would not think of torsion bars as springs!

[Rope-Pusher]

Actually, the steel in a helical coil spring is stressed in torsion as well.....but the steel in a torsion spring, not to be confused with a torsion bar spring, is stressed in bending, like the stress in a leaf spring.

[ClutchFork]

I always found it unsettling that Chrysler cars of the muscle care era had torsion bars for front springs. Somehow if a coil spring breaks the car would still have some support, so it seems, but if the torsion bar snaps, it is just going to drop, no? But apparently it worked, and I understand the front end could be raised or lowered with a quick torsion bar adjustment.

So the torsion principal also works in anti-sway (or stabilizer) bars. Lots of fun ways to use torsion. But when I had a high speed drill bit grab and torsion my elbow, a big bulge formed on my elbow and the doctor drained fluid from it.

[Rope-Pusher]

I always found it unsettling that Chrysler cars of the muscle care era had torsion bars for front springs. Somehow if a coil spring breaks the car would still have some support, so it seems, but if the torsion bar snaps, it is just going to drop, no? But apparently it worked, and I understand the front end could be raised or lowered with a quick torsion bar adjustment.

So the torsion principal also works in anti-sway (or stabilizer) bars. Lots of fun ways to use torsion. But when I had a high speed drill bit grab and torsion my elbow, a big bulge formed on my elbow and the doctor drained fluid from it.

Self-Lubricating - and other big WIN!

Yeah, torsion bar are kinda all-or-nuthin springs......unless instead of one big bar you instead use a plethora of thin metal plates. Then, if one or a few plates break, the other plates are still there to take the load. OK, so maybe this wouldn't be good for an automobile suspension, but it seams tummy that my parent's chest freezer door used such springs to reduce the effort required to lift the door open. Also, on the US Army M-60 tank, one or both hatches on the top of the turret used such torsion plate springs to reduce the force required to lift open the hatch.

[IMBoring25]

My understanding is some of the pickup truck assisted tailgates use them too.

[ClutchFork]

Well, I guess leaf springs are a sort of torsion bar too.

But getting back to bikes, watch these insane hill climbers: