Re: COMP: Breeding a Better Engine

From: Everitt Mickey (evmick@pnv.net)
Date: Sun Jun 18 2000 - 20:28:43 MDT


-----Original Message-----
From: GBurch1@aol.com <GBurch1@aol.com>
To: extropians@extropy.com <extropians@extropy.com>
Date: Sunday, June 18, 2000 4:55 PM
Subject: Re: COMP: Breeding a Better Engine

>In a message dated 6/18/00 4:06:48 PM Central Daylight Time,
spike66@ibm.net
>writes:
>
>
>> I notice the motorcycle world going back to push rods, which shocks
>> me, but I assumed the reason was to imitate Harley Davidson. Have
>> you seen the Japanese Harley clones? Yamaha is building one that is
>> so Harley-like you need to be right next to it to tell the difference:
>> pushrod, fat bob tank, softtail-like back-end, air cooled 98 CI Vtwin,
>> even a belt final drive. They must stopped. I want one. {8^D spike
>
>Uh oh. We've now identified an unbridgeable gap between us, Spike old man.
>Back in my biker days, I decided there were three kinds of bikes and three
>kinds of bikers: "Profilers" (Harley-style, low-cut seats, long
rake-angles),
>"Cafes" (tucked-in, racer-style) and "In-betweens" (classic "straight"
sport
>bikes and touring bikes). Although for practical reasons my wheels were
>always of the latter category (since during most of that time a bike was my
>only wheels), my heart was in the middle category. Had I not gotten out of
>bikes, I'd be driving a "katana"-style bike today. I always considered
>Profilers to be ill-considered pieces of "street jewelry", designed to look
>good from the side but having evil handling manners, mainly due to the
>rider's constricted position and the overly-long wheelbase.

i dunno about all that....yet....but I'm looking into it.

It appears that there are more than three types today. There are the Hawgs
(radically customized Harley's and their clones), the Dressers (Sport
bikes?) ....thousand pound plus sportscars with two wheels...or three
....the "Cafe Racers" (Katana?).....or "crotch rockets" and perhaps another
class....the "cruiser".

I think the cruiser category is what Spike might be talking about.....I
think it's what I'm looking for too. I looked at a mad cow yesterday.
Kawasaki Vulcan it was....they come is several displacements from 500 to
over 1100 cubic whatevers......

One variant is the "Drifter" which is seriously retro. Skirted fenders,
wide comfy seat....long wheelbase (sixy plus inches)......

Then there is the Honda Shadow, the Cow (?) Valkarye.....and others....it
seems bikes is making a comeback.....in fact I read a mag about it and they
talk about "re-entry" riders......people (like me) who years ago used to
ride...but got out of it....and now are returning to their origins.....

Dunno....I'm sure there is some serious policitcal/social/relegiouis/ethical
commentary to be derived from all this...

EvMick <------looking for a sickle....



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