OFF-ROAD ADVENTURE Dual-Sport riding in the high Sierras. 10.28.2009
Off-Road Editor Ryan Dudek is not putting soap in the fuel tank of his Husky TE310 dual-sport bike. But it does look that way...
How high is too high? Something on the order of 10,000 feet is getting close, at least on one of the tougher off-road trails in the Sierra Nevada Forest near Yosemite.
It's called the Dusy-Ershim OHV Route, and the trail works its way from about 8000 feet to a little over 10,000. Four-wheelers—serious ones with huge tires, short-wheelbases, winches, hand-tools, etc.—take 2-3 days to cover the 30 miles. We did it on dual-sport bikes at a leisurely pace in less than 6 hours, with a nice lunch stop to refuel our bodies. And in the case of Off-Road Editor Ryan Dudek, he also topped off his small-fuel-tank Husqvarna TE310, using gasoline he carried along in gallon jug formerly used for dishwashing soap! At the end of the ride, after so long rock-bashing in first and second gears that my clutch hand felt near death, the last scenic bit was an easy ride up "Chicken Rock," a gorgeous granite dome overlooking Courtright Reservoir.
It was there that Dudek found this incredible ledge, off which he proceeded to fly his Husky a few times! Our riding buddy, Yamaha's Derek Brooks, decided to cruise to an excellent viewpoint and add to the stunt show. My borrowed 1997 Honda XR440 (Al Baker's XR's Only big-bore kit) probably wouldn't have survived, and I am pretty sure I wouldn't have, either. The 10,000 feet we saw on the trail was pretty high, but that extra 10 feet Dudek was using to get back down, well, that high was too high!
—Mark Hoyer
CHARLES BRADLEY KING Taking engine oiling in a new direction. 10.14.2009
I have discovered tidbits of the life of Charles Bradley King (1869-1957). He was the first to build and operate a car in Detroit and a mentor of Henry Ford. He later manufactured a car called the "Northern" and was for some time involved in automotive matters. He was a mechanical engineer from Cornell, among other things, and in 1908, he went to Europe for two years to study its auto industry.
King is chiefly remembered in engineering circles for the redesign he made of the Bugatti U-16 (twin straight-Eights) aircraft engine, rights to which the U.S. had bought late in World War I. In particular, he eliminated Bugatti's favored oil system, which used flanged rings to collect oil thrown off the main bearings, then channeled this oil to the crankpins.
In the 1920s, Rolls-Royce research showed that when everything was right, a pressure of approximately 30 psi could be achieved at the crankpin by these means. In the Bugatti U-16, it was not satisfactory, so King redesigned the engine with a system that tapped into main bearing oil, delivering it through drillings in the crank cheeks to the crankpins. This system was entirely successful.
As Duesenberg was the company chosen to build these U-16 engines (by war's end, 40 had been built and extensively tested, but none was ever flown), they adopted this system for their production auto engines, as did many others. It remains the usual form of crankpin oiling to this day. Bugatti himself persisted with his flanged rings until the classic Type 35 Grand Prix car, roller rods for which were oiled in "Kingly" fashion.
King had many interests in history and the arts, and he eventually gave up auto engineering for the most part.
Like you don't already waste enough of your time—or more likely your company's—surfing the web in search of moto-related sites...well, here's another one for ya.
But, and work with me on this, www.bikeexif.com is actually a time-saver. See, webmaster Chris Hunter scans the Internet for, his words, "a daily dose of the coolest motorcycles." That way, you don't have to. Ergo, efficiency!
Hunter is an expat Brit living in Sydney, Australia, where he runs a new Moto Guzzi V7 Classic. He works as creative director of an ad agency during the week, and tends to his site evenings and weekends. "I'm passionate about design, photography and classic motorcycles," he says, "and BikeEXIF is a way to combine all three—and connect with other people who share the same interests."
Hunter's tastes run toward café-racers and street-trackers, but the site has a healthy smattering of racebikes, classics and customs—see the gallery—including some CW "American Flyers" alums and even a certain Von Dutch Triumph chopper undergoing restoration.
Rather than the usual rudimentary online photo album, there's well-written info about each machine with links to owners/builders, and photo bug Hunter even includes image information when possible. That's where the EXIF comes from. It stands for Exchangeable Image File Format, the particulars captured by a digital camera when a photo is taken.
Anyway, a nicely done site, updated regularly, worth your while. Just keep an eye out for the boss...
