I just don't get the endless posts on performance upgrades
- Thread starter Larso1
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Re: I just don't get the endless posts on performance upgrad
As a long time collector of motorcycles I would say every bike has its place. Yes modern bikes are superior. Yes they are pretty much trouble free. However, most modern bikes lack the character you find in vintage iron. When the speedo says 100 MPH on an old Norton you feel like you are doing a hundred miles per hour! This is not so true on modern machines. There is some self-satisfaction on wrenching on your own bike and having it road worthy. It’s a type of relationship that is lost on modern bikes. Last time I checked a hobby is something you do for fun. And if buying parts and fixing up old bikes makes you happy I say go for it!Larso1 said:
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Re: I just don't get the endless posts on performance upgrad
+1
Torontonian said:
+1
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Re: I just don't get the endless posts on performance upgrad
Don't need no stinkin' boat Rennie. :twisted: 8) ...got my first Triumph in '61, not a Norton in sight turning left on the county fairgrounds :shock: cheers, frank
RennieK said:
Don't need no stinkin' boat Rennie. :twisted: 8) ...got my first Triumph in '61, not a Norton in sight turning left on the county fairgrounds :shock: cheers, frank
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Re: I just don't get the endless posts on performance upgrad
Sorting a few things and keeping em in sync is hardly performace upgradeing , it just seeing its going as it aught to , well enough to see of any whizz bang of the same era .
Shouldve put yoshimuras comments on kickersaki chassis from the book ' Croz ' . If I recall rigt it was ' Horrible ' & Crozes excuse was they didnt know any better then .
Sorting a few things and keeping em in sync is hardly performace upgradeing , it just seeing its going as it aught to , well enough to see of any whizz bang of the same era .
Shouldve put yoshimuras comments on kickersaki chassis from the book ' Croz ' . If I recall rigt it was ' Horrible ' & Crozes excuse was they didnt know any better then .
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Re: I just don't get the endless posts on performance upgrad
I could easily used the approach that I use d on my Seeley 850 , on a more modern bike, however I don't need that sort of scare. There is a young guy here in historic racing who has a Moto Martin frame fitted with a Z900 motor. It is a very competitive bike. However the GPZ900 6 speed box and clutch will fit, and when you have that box, much more radical cams can be used without making the bike a pig. If you then concentrated on handling/suspension/geometry , overall gearing and weight - that bike would probably scare you shitless.
I'm impressed with my Seeley commando, - years back I raced a lot, and I know that my bike has the potential to win. All it takes is the will to ride that hard.
It doesn't matter what bike you ride, what is important is that the opposition has something similar with similar development problems. Then if you outride them, you have achieved. If your bike is under capacity, you have achieved even more.
A class which interests me and is now long defunct is the old TT Ultralightweight. Guys have been killed riding 125cc four strokes such as the MV Bialbero. Top speed is pretty much irrelevant in any race class where there is a level playing field. It can come down to precise tuning and rider skill, and I love that situation.
I could easily used the approach that I use d on my Seeley 850 , on a more modern bike, however I don't need that sort of scare. There is a young guy here in historic racing who has a Moto Martin frame fitted with a Z900 motor. It is a very competitive bike. However the GPZ900 6 speed box and clutch will fit, and when you have that box, much more radical cams can be used without making the bike a pig. If you then concentrated on handling/suspension/geometry , overall gearing and weight - that bike would probably scare you shitless.
I'm impressed with my Seeley commando, - years back I raced a lot, and I know that my bike has the potential to win. All it takes is the will to ride that hard.
It doesn't matter what bike you ride, what is important is that the opposition has something similar with similar development problems. Then if you outride them, you have achieved. If your bike is under capacity, you have achieved even more.
A class which interests me and is now long defunct is the old TT Ultralightweight. Guys have been killed riding 125cc four strokes such as the MV Bialbero. Top speed is pretty much irrelevant in any race class where there is a level playing field. It can come down to precise tuning and rider skill, and I love that situation.
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Re: I just don't get the endless posts on performance upgrad
I'm not being critical, however I've watched this video quite a few times. Although depth perception is tricky, I think on average that I would be hard on the gas coming out of corners about 20 feet earlier. The bike in the video is extremely quick however appears to have a tendency to run wide rather than tighten up its line in the corners. It seems to be more 'point and squirt' than my bike.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QV0wEvhqb5Q
I'm not being critical, however I've watched this video quite a few times. Although depth perception is tricky, I think on average that I would be hard on the gas coming out of corners about 20 feet earlier. The bike in the video is extremely quick however appears to have a tendency to run wide rather than tighten up its line in the corners. It seems to be more 'point and squirt' than my bike.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QV0wEvhqb5Q
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Re: I just don't get the endless posts on performance upgrad
Good link! i enjoyed that...thanks
Good link! i enjoyed that...thanks
acotrel said:
Re: I just don't get the endless posts on performance upgrad
Although almost all this is non-fiction, some of it I have to see as fiction.
Like looking at the crankshaft that Comnoz is making or a centerfold in Playboy, I know realistically i will not experience either, but does that mean i am not allowed to fantasize?
Some things I can get off on, others I can only long and lust for (I do not believe that this is a "deadly sin" type of lust).
This is not a business for me, It's a highend hobby and a love afair. Most things are interesting, other things are redundant and boring, but the right to choose which is which is mine and mine alone just as it is yours and yours alone.
As long as everything stays nice and tidey, we'll be able to keep the confusion to a minimum.
Although almost all this is non-fiction, some of it I have to see as fiction.
Like looking at the crankshaft that Comnoz is making or a centerfold in Playboy, I know realistically i will not experience either, but does that mean i am not allowed to fantasize?
Some things I can get off on, others I can only long and lust for (I do not believe that this is a "deadly sin" type of lust).
This is not a business for me, It's a highend hobby and a love afair. Most things are interesting, other things are redundant and boring, but the right to choose which is which is mine and mine alone just as it is yours and yours alone.
As long as everything stays nice and tidey, we'll be able to keep the confusion to a minimum.
rvich
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Re: I just don't get the endless posts on performance upgrad
I like the comparison of Jim's crank to a Playboy centerfold.
Not only am I likely to have neither in my life, a cynic would say that it would make me look at my life and see it as a failure. However, I fully believe that life is for learning. When you stop learning you start dying. So maybe learning to paint my own tanks isn't going to get me Buddha status, but it sure beats giving up. Maybe I will never make my own crank, but if it inspires me to push my own envelop then it is a good thing.
I still want to know if there is a '74 850 for sale as a result of the original post!
I like the comparison of Jim's crank to a Playboy centerfold.
Not only am I likely to have neither in my life, a cynic would say that it would make me look at my life and see it as a failure. However, I fully believe that life is for learning. When you stop learning you start dying. So maybe learning to paint my own tanks isn't going to get me Buddha status, but it sure beats giving up. Maybe I will never make my own crank, but if it inspires me to push my own envelop then it is a good thing.
I still want to know if there is a '74 850 for sale as a result of the original post!
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Re: I just don't get the endless posts on performance upgrad
Endless post about endless posts. Irony is not lost on this one. :mrgreen:
Endless post about endless posts. Irony is not lost on this one. :mrgreen:
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Re: I just don't get the endless posts on performance upgrad
Larso1 - welcome; great post, stirred the pot.
I have four MCs, two of them far quicker and faster than my Commando and the fourth is a dirt bike, so that makes the Commando the slowest of my street bikes. Still, my favorite is the Norton. And, as for my riding companions, she's their favorite too. They smile when I show up on the Norton instead of the GSXR or the CBR. Why? because an old man on that old bike just isn't supposed keep up; she always surprises, young guys think you have to have 150 horses, sleek plastic and 7 inch wide tires . . . . .
Larso1 - welcome; great post, stirred the pot.
I have four MCs, two of them far quicker and faster than my Commando and the fourth is a dirt bike, so that makes the Commando the slowest of my street bikes. Still, my favorite is the Norton. And, as for my riding companions, she's their favorite too. They smile when I show up on the Norton instead of the GSXR or the CBR. Why? because an old man on that old bike just isn't supposed keep up; she always surprises, young guys think you have to have 150 horses, sleek plastic and 7 inch wide tires . . . . .
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Re: I just don't get the endless posts on performance upgrad
I don't think my Seeley 850 has a lot of horsepower, however I think it would keep up with Kenny Cummins bike in that link I pasted. I suggest it becomes a matter of balance between power and steering. I mentioned that I thought I would be hard on the gas a fair bit earlier with my bike. The bike in the video has lots of guts. If it steered like mine, when you gave it the berries very early coming out of a corner, it would probably step out and hi-side you. It is something I worry about with my bike, however because it has loads of midrange it probably runs higher overall gearing, so any nastiness is pretty much stymied. I actually ride it pretty much on blind faith, anticipating its steering habits. Fortunately it is predictable, however it feels so wrong the first time you gas it hard when you are only half-way around a hairpin bend. It is interesting when you are able to do that - the bike really gets mobile halfway down the next straight because it has had more track over which to get going - (TZ350 fork yokes).
I'd really love to get my bike into a race against other Norton commandos and 851 and 900 Ducatis just to verify its advantages. Unfortunately there is no prospect of that ever happening here unless I arrange it myself.
I don't think my Seeley 850 has a lot of horsepower, however I think it would keep up with Kenny Cummins bike in that link I pasted. I suggest it becomes a matter of balance between power and steering. I mentioned that I thought I would be hard on the gas a fair bit earlier with my bike. The bike in the video has lots of guts. If it steered like mine, when you gave it the berries very early coming out of a corner, it would probably step out and hi-side you. It is something I worry about with my bike, however because it has loads of midrange it probably runs higher overall gearing, so any nastiness is pretty much stymied. I actually ride it pretty much on blind faith, anticipating its steering habits. Fortunately it is predictable, however it feels so wrong the first time you gas it hard when you are only half-way around a hairpin bend. It is interesting when you are able to do that - the bike really gets mobile halfway down the next straight because it has had more track over which to get going - (TZ350 fork yokes).
I'd really love to get my bike into a race against other Norton commandos and 851 and 900 Ducatis just to verify its advantages. Unfortunately there is no prospect of that ever happening here unless I arrange it myself.
Chris
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Re: I just don't get the endless posts on performance upgrad
Hi Acrotel
Kenny made it to England & I was looking forward to seeing how he got on. Unfortunately the weather was crap!!!!!
Got to say I never see which way the Guzzis go when ever they come out & play.
We have some good circuits this season. Donnington is the one I am looking forward to the most,
Chris
Hi Acrotel
Kenny made it to England & I was looking forward to seeing how he got on. Unfortunately the weather was crap!!!!!
Got to say I never see which way the Guzzis go when ever they come out & play.
We have some good circuits this season. Donnington is the one I am looking forward to the most,
Chris
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Re: I just don't get the endless posts on performance upgrad
If ya ever get a dirt bike Commando like me that starts testing acceleration traction before even tipping over into turns to know how much to lay on throttle into it, you'd be a stark raving mad as me of more so even in dangerous public places, so takes lots of self talk not to pull trigger too often w/o kowning what your blasting into unknown. Blind faith is too scary for me Alan so my respects but I'm sticking to full faith fun only. Ride for fun not fear, unless getting paid or something worth while to win.
If ya ever get a dirt bike Commando like me that starts testing acceleration traction before even tipping over into turns to know how much to lay on throttle into it, you'd be a stark raving mad as me of more so even in dangerous public places, so takes lots of self talk not to pull trigger too often w/o kowning what your blasting into unknown. Blind faith is too scary for me Alan so my respects but I'm sticking to full faith fun only. Ride for fun not fear, unless getting paid or something worth while to win.
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