Carbon fiber nanotubes.. Thoughts?

[bobkoure]

Nice ride.
And, of course, you live in bikers paradise... I'd like to be there on a bike, well, now.
It is a bit of an adjustment going from right-side to left-side traffic patterns - but not the way most folks might think. In both cases, most roads have camber, so in right-hand traffic, you usually have a "bank" on your side of the road in right hand corners - and usually a negative one in lefts (just like reverse banked turns on the track, but often unexpected). In left-traffic, the situation is reversed and there's a real tendency to go into right hand turns 'way too hot. If you've driven in right-side-traffic, you've likely experienced the opposite (too hot in left turns).

Winter here involves ice on the roads, which is bad for anything that camber steers - and Duc crash-repair parts are pricey. I've a M900 and a 907ie in the garage, but no pictures handy (sorry). A replacement tank for the M900 is over USD1200, for instance.

Oh - I worked in a dealership too, but this was long ago - it was Triumphs (Meriden), Vincents and Velocettes. The latter two were out of production at the time, but we were "the place to go" in New England if you needed work on 'em. Had a series of Ducs and Guzzis through that period (just was being contrary)

On my first visit to NZ I was astonished at the number of Vincents about - one on every corner, it seemed. Then I spoke with one of the Vincent riders in a restaurant and discovered that there was a worldwide get-together of Vincent riders happening in NZ that month. If you were working in a dealership you likely remember.

[Bevel]

Interesting thoughts on cambers, never thought about that. I have been put off riding on the right after my boss got caught out on the wrong side of the road in the US and died.

The 907ie was the only paso worth buying, they finally got the design right and then stopped production, crazy italians.

A vincent is the only old english bike I would like to own, what a awesome piece of engineering. Did you know a firm in Australia are building brand new Vincents with the latest technology. Cost around AUS $100,000. Snapped this one at a classic meeting. It even has a starter motor.

Vincent.jpg

[bobkoure]

Sorry to hear of your boss.

Very pretty bike - looks a bit more like an Egli than a Shadow or a Rapide, though.
Of course, the motor was most of the "interesting bit" on a Vincent - along with the humpback tank, girder fork, and under-seat spring box. Then there's the servo-driven clutch, which, I think, was the way it was due to high motor torque and the state of clutch friction materials in the 1950s - IMHO the oddest part of the bike. Maybe they "left that part out" on the new repros.

Come to think of it, the clutches on the earlier bevels, in spite of being dry clutches, were surprisingly un-wonderful. All fixed now through materials science, of course. I had a 450 bevel (single) with a clutch like an on-off switch that had a tendency to break rear wheel spokes. I think that was the same clutch as in the round case twins.

Oh - one of my riding buddies had a Black Prince - fully enclosed engine and frame - not 'way dissimilar to the Ducati Paso series.