Monday, August 20, 2007

Jerry Pinto in Hindustan Times writes about motorcycles from a car seat

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=cc38c824-a59d-49a4-97e5-684efc218a51&&Headline=The+Motorcycle+Diary

The Motorcycle Diary
Jerry Pinto

July 22, 2007

"...The motorcycle has always been a phallus substitute. Even if you think Freud was a dirty old boy with his mind in the toilet, you have to only look at the way that these machines have been marketed to know that there is a deep grammar connection between the idea of masculinity and the motorcycle. The car now seems like some old man’s idea of an extended self. This here bike, steel-hard, inner-thigh-hot, vibrating deeply, protruding from between your legs? Sounds like something familiar?
[ever heard of seat-of-the-pants? - Arunesh]
You might argue that masculinity has been redefined in the last twenty years, that it is now about responsibility and stewardship and keeping the promises you make. Tell that to a young man who can’t think beyond his testosterone.
Thus the cinematic cliché of the woman who peels off her helmet to reveal a mane of flowing hair — her breasts have been disguised by clever camera angles in her hunched stance on the bike — always plays with the notion of gender. Not what you expected, right?
But at least, she’s young and bodacious.
Imagine if a little old lady shook her salt-and-pepper curls out of the helmet.
That would be unthinkable.
[equally unthinkable as the fact that motorcycle clothing is primarily protective and if it is androgen den why call it a cliche? - Arunesh]
After all, the motorbike is also associated with youth. Think back to Marlon Brando as Johnny, the leader of a biker pack. Halfway through The Wild One (1953, dr László Benedek), someone asks Johnny, “What are you rebelling against? His answer has the iconic quality of a quotable quote. “Whatcha got?” he sneers. The bike film got bigger in Easy Rider (1969, dr Dennis Hopper), with two young men sashaying their way through America, redefining what the continent meant, showing it to be a nation of dropouts and drug lust and thoughtless violence. [went to sleep all four times i tried to watch easy rider and i can vouch for the fact that the only thing a sashaying bike signifies is 'fishtailing' - Arunesh] And from there, on and on, past many deaths and much screeching sound effects to The Motorcycle Diaries (2004, Walter Salles) with Gabriel Garcia Bernal playing Che Guevara. The association between youth and the counter-culture and the motorbike continues.
Granted, young men will always lust after motorbikes. Death is always a subtle and seductive mistress to the adolescent because life, in the form of good loving sex has not had its chance, to make a claim. Our social structures are also geared to help them prefer death to life. Which do you think is the four-letter word a child should not use? Give you a hint. It’s a verb, transitive. Did you think of the verb ‘to kill’? To threaten someone with death is not transgressive. To mention death is not a social solecism. It is common for a child to say, “I’ll kill you if you tell her what I told you” or ”I’ll kill you if you mess with my comics” and no parent will twitch. The F word however brings on recriminations and tears and horror.
And so on the roads of every major metropolis and B town, there is a bunch of tearaways who are generally all-but virgins. As they rip through traffic, as they throw themselves into the wind, the older, the wiser shake their heads and wonder at how cheap life seems to be to them.
Especially surgeons. I was driving with one when a young man on a motorcycle cut in front of us.
“Donorcycles,” he said. “We call them donorcycles.”
“Would a helmet help?”
“Of course it would. But you have to have it on. Your pillion should have one on too. Or you might end up dead. Why don’t you guys write about this?”
I have.

(The writer is the author of Helen: The Life and Times of an H-Bomb)

wind in your hair



open jaw





Monday, August 6, 2007

Google Torque

me: Hi, gud evening, hope I not disturbing u
arunesh: nope
me: I cleaned the Jikov carb yesterday & the reason for excessive smoke was that It was set at 4th notch from top
arunesh: which means the needle was set to ride lower in the slide?
me: I now have set it to second notch from top of needle now it doesn’t smoke as much
arunesh: oh ok
listen, needle is just for amount of mixture and still has nothing to do with the smoke
me: but could it be that more oil & petrol mixture was supplied than the amount of air getting in?
Ok, I also want to know a method where excessive carbon from the engine can be removed
arunesh: listen, you have put oils of different types
me: since I have ridden the bike with lot of carbon & smoke & it’s a new engine?
arunesh: will take time to burn off, and when it does, where do you thing it will go - in carbon and smoke, of course
me: no I have used only castrol 20w40 with petrol & at a 50ml per liter
arunesh: mustard oil?
me: just 10 drops
arunesh: bring oil ratio down to 25ml per liter
me: but it’s a new engine rite
arunesh: 100 ml plastic corex cough syrup plastic bottle equals 4 liters amount
me: ok that’s a good measure I shall do that from now on
I will measure using the cough syrup bottle
arunesh: 50 is far too much
either stop worrying about new piston and concentrates on smoke, or leave extra oil in petrol and ignore smoke. seems to me you are trying too many things at once - not scientific enough
back in 10 mins
me: ok

arunesh: so?
me: see I now need ur view what I should be doin That’s Why i am asking u what should be my action?
more fuel mixture or less smoke?
arunesh: simple, if bike starts, ride it
takes time to settle after major surgery – heart transplant
bring oil down to around 25 for sure
me: yaa no starting prob, but spark plg needs frequent cleaning,
arunesh: it will spare your plugs from oil fouling
me: Ok oil 25ml
arunesh: exactly, simplest to carry extra plug in pocket
pop in the new one and clean araam se
is the piston noisy?
saw points
me: Yaa how’s it?
arunesh: need more info
we will keep talking, relax
like i said, bike starts okay, 50 of problem solved
me: ok any time u r having time is ok with me
arunesh: then if say you find there is less top speed, more pick up on one setting, you make note of that, go back and try the other way, and make note of changes in performance
slowly you build up a bank of knowledge
understand why i want you to go out and ride your bike?
me: yaa i shall do it
I have not the settings after I do change the points settings
arunesh: but please, do not touch things without first reading, searching online, and learning about it.
me: should i do thast?
arunesh: obviously,
for example, you think the air is controlled by the needle, you bloody fool, and the needle goes into the main jet at the bottom of the carb. i called you a bloody fool, because if you had sat for 2 hours JUST looking at it, you would see it
for air, you have seen the curve cut into the slide on the filter side? ?
also save these conversations
put them on your blog
me: I know that I am saying the mixture won’t be right
arunesh: okay about mixture, young paduwan (star wars) but you still have lot to learn about how a carb works
relax, I meant share the info with others and help fellow y-bikers
you don’t have to blo for my sake :)
anyway
arunesh: the air, my dear is controlled by the cable adjustment screw on the top
That decides how high the cutaway on the slide is and how much air is coming into the carb
are you following me?
let me put it this way
when carb is flooded
you open to full throttle and turn of fuel and kick, right?...?
or open plug and kick to clear extra fuel in cylinder or carb
on full throttle
me: Yes I have removed the spark plug to clear the excess fuel
arunesh: what I want to say is that the air for the fuel goes in from the small hole at the bottom of the carb passage, where it joins the rubber boot. Right?
me: Yaa I have seen two small holes
arunesh: good, you have been looking at the carb:)
me: :)
arunesh: those holes are controlled by the two screws on the side of the carb( not the one at the bottom, which adjusts the idling)
me: ok one is with a spring tension & other is like a screw
arunesh: one screw has no spring on it, it should ALWAYS BE FULLY SHUT [Jikov carbs specifically]
it is the air screw
the one with the spring is the fuel/air MIXTURE screw
me: Ok i have kept it slightly open
arunesh: turn it in for more petrol, turn out for more air in mix
me: the first screw
arunesh: are you following me?
the spring one on the side is the mixture screw
me: Ok i have to turn the screw with spring to control
arunesh: the one which juts out (not the one at the bottom which also has a spring - there are only two with springs)
me: ok got it
arunesh: hey, do you have a carb before you right now?
me: I know bottom is for idling
Yaa i have
arunesh: by the way,. on the rx100, the screw is the opposite, turn out for more fuel, in for more air
okay, now the setting for this mixture screw is ...
...
...
...
...
...
...
me: ya
arunesh: ...
suspense...
....
...
...
:)
me: tell me please
arunesh: 1 and a half to 1.85 turns out from fully closed
then you do two steps to further tune
1. bring idling down
2. turn mixture screw IN OR OUT just a small fraction, whichever way makes the engine speed up so that the low idling does not make it shut down (you have to be prepared for kicking, tuning, kicking, tuning, etc)
arunesh: 3. repeat steps 2 and 3
the idea is to find the lowest idling for the mixture
arunesh: Got it?
sleeping?
me: no i am reading twice to follow
arunesh: thisishowall carbs are tuned in same 2 steps
me: ok 1 1/2 twist & get idling down with idling screw
arunesh: there are 3 rules/dangers
ready?
me: ok
arunesh: i hope you are saving this stuff
me : yes it gets save automatically
arunesh: good, mail it to me tomorrow
me: ok
arunesh: I'll put it up at
yezdidiaries.blogspot.com
me: yaa pls do that
arunesh: 1, Do not touch your carb!
Too Many idiots fiddle with whatever they are given that can be played with - the carb is a very difficult thing and is designed by engineers who are way, way above those who design the rest of the engine
me: ok
arunesh: therefore ONLY touch your carb after you are sure all other systems are running fine
the mechanical and moving parts system
the electrical system
there are 3 systems on a bike
the third is the fuel system
me: ok
arunesh: 2. Two strokes don’t usually idle properly
they hunt and peck at the fuel and miss a beat here and there
me: ok
arunesh: Listen for (magic word) the "beat" of the engine - 19 or whatever, akshay is brilliant at tuning the beat
that’s why we work.
3. Do not let the two-stroke engine four-stroke!
me: yes i have noticed that He tell me all stuff i need
to check
arunesh: I once made the mistake of pulling my first bikes idling so far back that it was four-stroking!
me: how do u notice that it is four stroking?
arunesh: You need to research and read and spend more time in the library before you understand number 3.
but it is a danger!
still, you must suffer for your own actions
and your bike too
me: ok i shall do some research & read more books
arunesh: so spend some time in the library and come back in a day or two with your learning and we shall close the topic
me: Before I do some thing I take advice
arunesh: but please, do one system at a time
me: ok I shall always do that
arunesh: notice, i stayed away from topic of points?
me: yes u never touched that topic ,,
of points
only last time u scrapped me
arunesh: because you seem to be doing things to the carb and i need to stop you from that
If bike starting properly, points can wait a bit
you must have done something right there :)
me: no only yesterday I changed the setting the settings of carb never touched since two months
Yaa had replaced the points after July 7th ride as I tried to set it right & broke one of the terminals
of the points
arunesh: i like the black out look of your bike
me: Thanks, Iove color black
arunesh: been fighting with akshay to let me make one roadking all black, except for the engine and the logo plates
sick of cleaning old chrome
besides, have you noticed, our bikes looks sexy after sunset?
me: but black is more difficult to maintain as every dust is more visible
arunesh: easy to touch up scratches and all
use the engine spray paint that they use for cars. its yellow can with heatproof paint
paint
matt finish like blackboard paint
black nail polish is also good for touch ups
comes with built in brush in bottle :)
me: ok, this i need to try as the tank has scratches
:)
arunesh: let it be, wear your scars with pride
some times i don’t understand why everyone wants an old bike to look like it just came out of a showroom, on one level, it is a totally fake look
me: Engine is done with mat finish
12:34 AM arunesh: That attitude is called 'rustoration' and is different from 'restoration'
me: No for me I wanted black as it looks good
arunesh: means engine must run and be factory spec, and clean but let the age and dignity show in the scars and paint
12:35 AM me: u can see my bikes old paint in orkut album I have it
yaa old look makes the bike more dignified & i believe in that


-- Regards Abhijith.V