mike wilson

It _nearly_ rings my bell, though.

??? It reads like any other BFG post.

I was asking about your material of choice. Need to be quick, as the stuff will start growing soon.

There is so much trouble from spam these days that many ISPs have taken to blocking whole areas of web addresses. If that's the case with you (you will need to get someone who has had a mail blocked check with their ISP for you) then your ISP needs the redhot poker treatment, as it is blatantly sitting on its thumbs instead of throwing these tossers out. Another possibility is that some webcrawler software has harvested your email address and it is being spoofed - used as a false "return" address. In which case, the problem is entirely yours. One recent problem another list had was that the list software was automatically returning spam to the spoofee and this mail was, of course, being listed as spam by the receiving ISP, causing the mailserver address to be blacklisted. It's all a gigantic balls up but which is caused at heart by ISPs not blowing these scum out of the water at the first infringement. The only way that's going to happen is if normal customers don't tolerate it.

Paypal thinks I have an account, so won't let me create one, but won't let me log on to it.... If we go that way, I would have to send cash to someone in the UK to pay for me.

My Guess: Top three lines are torque curve, relating to scale off the picture to the right. Bottom three lines are horsepower, relating to the scale on left. red = standard machine green = same machine minus cat dark blue = the machine in question The percentage increase at peak is not so much but there is an appreciable increase in lower rev HP and (much more so) torque.

Blackthorn?

That's not the only problem. These machines are a stopgap for a year or so before the youngster gets a car. They are virtually a throwaway item, not designed for even the most basic maintenance.

I live in hope.

Count me in for two. Patches or (xxxl) shirts, I'm not bothered.

I do the blurt but not from thoughtlessness. Having seen the colour of the grease coming out compared to new stuff going in, I feel happier knowing that as complete an exchange of lubricant as possible has taken place. To return the seal to some form of working (my joints are all internal, so it's not quite as important) I work the joints in all directions whilst massaging the seal. It's as much fun as chasing sheep and far less energetic. The end result doesn't make me feel quite as good but it's more satisfying intellectually.

Until recently (about 10 years ago, ahem) there was a place in the UK where you could stand about 100yards away from tanks firing on the ranges at Lulworth. It was fascinating to see the difference in trajectory between the smaller, lighter guns and the big stuff. The former had trajectories like a lobbed grenade. Even better fun was to stand behind the crowd and watch every one of them leave the ground each time the big tanks fired. I first found the place when I was riding past and thought my engine had expired in grand fashion.

OPRA Rondine 500? GRB Rondine 500? Gilera Rondine 500? All approximately the same machine (appearance-wise) over a 3-4 year period, as the company changed hands. Better pictures here: http://www.motocikli.com/povijest/OPRA-Ron...-cilindras.html http://www.gilera-saturno.com/history.htm

OPRA Rondine, a supercharged, watercooled four, designed 1933, later sold to Caproni (the aircraft manufacturer) and from then, in 1936, to Gilera, on the condition that Taruffi, the rider, joined also. The design originated in the early 1920s in a company named GRB, after the initials of the founders. The other thing is a "creatore del gelato" or "macchina del gelato".

Rumour has it that the Peacemaker was more accurate thrown at the person than fired. The brass framed stuff is only fit for ornamental use. Yes, please.

Er, no. The port shape is friggin' awful. By definition. You are trying to get air to do something you want, not what it wants. Ergo, all port shapes are bad. Some are worse than others, though. Classic bad things about this: firstly (and probably most important) it is not straight. Much, if not most, of the problems associated with airflow are due to change of direction. Secondly, it changes diameter. Not only where you note but before the bend also, where the valve guide is. Thirdly, it is of a fixed length. This means that it will work best at a certain rpm. All others are compromises. Nowadays, there are probably computer modelling programmes that will design a port according the the inputted parameters. Previously, it was suckitandsee (not forgetting to take notes) and trialanderror. Some rules of thumb came from that, along with knowledge about the behaviour of flowing gases in restricted spaces. Some of those rules will be what drives the computer programmes but I suspect there will still be situations that defy computerisation. Conventional wisdom would decree that the port shown needs the bend straightening as much as possible, the two obvious diameter changes removing and some shaping to direct the air somewhat as it enters the combustion chamber. All this needs to be done with knowledge of the rest of the induction and exhaust system (more generally agreed wisdom is that it is equally necessary to make sure the gasses can get _out_ at least as fast as they get in) including the camshaft and desired use. The above would be for outright power. Note that the waisting just behind the valve seat is sometimes put there deliberately to speed up the air when the valve is just opening. This helps cylinder filling at a time when the airflow is low. Some decades ago, Cycle magazine ran a feature on reworking the cylinder head of a SR500 Suzuki. They had carefully decided the desired outcome and the parameters to change, spent numerous hours with grinders and epoxy (it's not always about making holes bigger....) and flowbench work. They came out with a noticeable increase in HP, related to a distinct increase in flow at all valve openings. The suprising result was that, messing around with one of the lolly (popsicle) sticks they were using to apply epoxy, they were able to exceed their best flow figures by a considerable margin by just shoving it in the hole at random. They couldn't work out how to hold it there....... All this is not to decry your efforts. FWIW, there may be something you could try before you start cutting metal. I would see about getting rid of that awful bulge on the outside of the bend. It looks like an arthritic knee. Some epoxy, filling that, would make the port slightly straighter and might make an unexpected difference to flow rate. Without seeing the location of valve and guide it's difficult to judge but that would be my starting point on the evidence so far.

I've got a nine month old sprog. They haven't had secondary useage since since August 12th 2005....

That money is being used to support our boys and girls in Afghanirac. Bought a whole Allen key.

http://www.ketupa.net/rdigest2.htm Only the condensed books, since 1961. The lucky, lucky bastards.

Doesn't it hurt when a bee hits your nipple at 80mph?

FYI, BSL (Bearing Services Ltd) is on the Team Valley Trading Estate. If you are ever stuck for a bearing PM me, as I live no more then 10 minutes from the store.

guzzitech.dk is your best source of this sort of stuff. Buy the DVD.

You don't need stamps for email.

Looks like one of those Reader's Digest/Shopper survey things that promises you the chance to win a holiday in Hawaii or £250,000 if you will only answer these 150 questions about which bogroll you buy and do you follow Coronation Street, answering which will guarantee a flood of junk mail that makes your hallway appear like the beach with the wreckage from the recent shipwreck in south Devon strewn all over it, none of which will pertain to your abiding interests in life, asking such stupid questions as "Do you ride a motorcycle? Choose from: BMW, Harley Davidson, Honda" with no box for "none of the above" leaving you to ponder on the exceedingly narrow view of life and the world that some people have but not for long as there's always something more interesting to do, so you just fill it in at random and wonder why, for two years after, you get money-off vouchers for the Daily Telegraph.

I couldn't take the hate mail any longer.