Training Wheels on Scooter Keep you Balanced.

Not ever in my nearly three decades of riding have I seen, considered or thought of training wheels for a motorcycle. But what a great idea!

Recently, when visiting the Scooty website located in India, and having a look over their product line (see article here) I discovered a scooter featured in their line with -‘training wheels'. As you can see in the pictures below, the wheels are attached onto the centre stand- a very interesting concept! I suppose these small wheels and brackets wouldn't really be that difficult to design and it all makes perfect sense. Naturally very handy and useful for the learner who has not had any experience balancing a two wheeler, namely a bicycle.

I frequently encounter this very challenge in rider training —students with no prior bicycle riding experience. Unlike when training someone to ride who has not ever driven a standard stick shift car, training a new student to ride when they've not yet learned to be stable on two wheels is much harder. They need to not only balance on two wheels but at the same time manage/cope with the additional weight of a motorbike.

I think the big question here is however —do the training wheels work? They really don't appear that strong. Nevertheless, I'm certain this manufacturer wouldn't provide them if they didn’t do the trick. And remember, this scooter is 80cc and similar to many smaller scooters, are not that weighty.

The wheels and their small attachment can be removed once the rider is safe to ride alone. Personally, I think these training wheels a great idea! And you might already know this--I'm for anything that'll help someone learn to ride and enjoy motorcycling!

Merry Christmas

Image sources, here and here

I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, a new year full of happiness, prosperity, smooth-running engines, rust-free Fulvias, low fuel prices, freedom from government interference etc!

A bientôt

From The Heart of One Motorcycle Rider to Another-Last Minute Gift Suggestion.

Are you like me, a last minute holiday shopper and one who has a preference for shopping online? Isn't it great how much easier and more efficient it becomes each passing year !?? Practical and a cinch shopping by way of your own computer!

On every rider’s list are items from gear, gadgets, parts and other stuff which in all honesty, we can often live and ride without. However, in other countries doing without is an unfortunate part of everyday life. It's during this seasonal occasion we have the opportunity to celebrate generosity and give thanks to the little things; thinking of those less privileged than ourselves.

“Riders for Health” makes a perfect gift of kind on behalf of your rider friend--or as I practice, as my own personal gesture this time of the year. And it's so easy, I do it simply online.

Riders for Health are an international non-profit organisation that is providing health-care to rural African villages using motorcycles and motorcycle ambulances.By providing health-care door-to-door, the organisation is hoping to help fight the spread of AIDS. The project has resulted in reducing the disease and illnesses by getting patients much-needed medicine. And let's not overlook the huge number of women trained to ride and as motorcycle mobile care givers!

Riders for Health's vision is of a world in which the poor do not suffer and die for lack of access to health care and other vital services simply because they are isolated by distance or terrain. They manage and maintain the vehicles used in the delivery of health care and other vital services to rural communities in Africa.

From gasoline for a support worker to a helmet or t-shirt –there are many ways to contribute.
Get online and donate your support now!

Best wishes for a wonderful holiday time!

A Bit More Fanalone

Well, well, unbelievably there has been a bit of progress on what will be a long project - owing to a variety of reasons (laziness is not one of them).

First of all, a couple of snaps of the rather crowded engine compartment. A lot of these modifications were carried out after the car left the workshop at Evolution Engineering in 2001. Amongst the mods are an hydraulic brake servo and a Peugeot master cylinder, the original Lancia item and its replacement being as usual, useless - as with my own car which uses a FIAT Regata item. There is also a lot of complex wiring - too complex in my view.

The point is that all the work carried out, which I must say was largely pretty good was performed by someone who didn't know anything about Fulvias. If you are planning to have something done on your Fulvia, then consult someone who knows his way around these fascinating cars!

Of course some dismantling had already been done when I made
this photo - it doesn't always look quite like this!

Dismantling a modified car is always more time-consuming, though mine isn't too bad, but there I have the advantage of knowing what was done.

The bloke who (later) modified the Fanalone decided that it would be a good idea to alter the run of the petrol feed pipe. He cut off the original at the bottom of the bulkhead and then threaded a copper extension through the sub-frame; this was a pain to remove, and I promise it will not be going back!

With the sub-frame finally out of the car, I have decided to do a spot of engine dismantling in situ as I am rather limited at home for workbench space.

Oily, as might be expected after 26 rallies plus other sorties!
The engine is to be rebuilt

A closer view of the head. Fanalone experts will spot the "error"
which of course will be rectified. Come on experts, what is it??

On removing the carburetters and inlet manifold I was amazed at how clean my modified ports (which I hadn't seen for years) were. Since the above snap was made, I have removed the steering box which sadly is scrap: it had been "adjusted" by somebody who did not have the benefit of instruction on the subject from Harry Manning as I did. Fortunately the owner always found the steering rather too heavy and as there is a good S1 1300 'box available, this will be fitted. In any case Fanalone steering boxes are pretty much rocking-horse droppings aren't they?

There is a spare gearbox from a car alleged to have covered only 80,000km (50,000 miles) which will probably be fitted in pace of the existing one which is not nice to use. My Renault 5 GTX which has covered over 290,000km has a gearbox that Fulvia owners could only dream about - and it has perfectly-chosen ratios and is still silent despite shocking neglect!

A bit of objectivity can be useful sometimes.

Another joy is that a bottom ball joint must be replaced so I shall be looking for a "Porta-Power" to borrow, as with the sub-frame out I shall not have the weight of the car to help me with the dreaded front spring. A friend of mine will remember the enormous TWANG when attempting to lift the spring with a bottle jack... The jack ended up about 20 yards away, with a nasty groove on its shaft, fortunately without killing anybody. You have been warned!

Incidentally, it was with the same friend that I removed a sub-frame assembly complete from a Fulvia in 38 minutes. Oh to be young again!

A bientôt

Hello again

Well here we are again; I have had nothing of interest to say about our favourite car for some time, this being the raison d'être of this blog, but this is about to change for a spell.

The lady who owns the rally Fanalone for which you might recall I built the engine and other bits and pieces, has decided that after 26 rallies without an overhaul, the time has come for a proper look.

So I am taking out the subframe which will provide an opportunity for a good clean up and also easy access to the steering and suspension components. The engine will be dismantled too.

I shall make photographs of the process which will be a fairly long one and comment here and there about stuff that I find.

More in a few days.

A bientôt

Off-Topic - "Dictionary Syndrome"

Hello.

"Off-topic" - I mention "dictionary syndrome" in my title, because I came across a fascinating article whilst searching for something else.

The article, which concerns cars that are propelled by propellers, appears on a site with the curious name of Dark Roasted Blend

Here's a sample of what you will find there:

Picture source: Dark Roasted Blend

The picture shows one Count Bertrand de Lesseps, intrepid man, demonstrating his "Auto Aero" car in 1912; so intrepid is he that he is even smoking a cigarette...

Dark Roasted Blend's raison d'etre is "Weird and Wonderful Things" and I can promise, they are not lying! Definitely one to bookmark and well worth a visit.

À bientôt

Not the "Sound of Silence"

A bill has been introduced into the US Senate which is an instruction to the Department of Transportation "to conduct a study to devise and require a "non-visual alert regarding the location, motion, speed, and direction of travel of a motor vehicle"." This of course concerns the growing number of electric cars.

The idea is that blind people could be unaware of approaching vehicles and thus could be at risk of injury. This story is reported in The Register.

Fair enough, but there'd be no problem with my Fulvia, how about yours? If it must be electric then I would opt for a couple of 100W amplifiers, suitable loudspeakers and a decent recording of a V16 BRM

A bientôt

At long last!

... I have a sort of Internet connection.

I was very slack in not providing regular updates about the Fanalone which is now running, quite nicely in fact, though it will need a cylinder head overhaul before too long. This will be in a while as the owner and I are going on a super trip to Corsica soon in the company of the Scuderia Lancia Integrale. These photos from last year should give you an idea of what's in store; I am very much looking forward to the trip as I am sure you can imagine.

Meanwhile just to show I'm not making it all up, here's a phone camera snap of the Fanalone's subframe assembled:

This time I have two little suggestions some of you might like.

First a close-up from the above shot:

In about 1985, I bought a special spanner from Harry Manning, which happily I still have, for undoing those blasted carburettor nuts. Someone who has worked on the Fanalone though had a brainwave: he found M8 nuts that have "built-in washers" and are just 10mm across the flats; one can undo them with a ¼" drive 10mm socket; hurrah. I think that the nuts are fitted to Peugeots and of course they are lighter than the 13mm originals. Incidentally, I used 12mm AF Mercedes-Benz exhaust nuts on my car but these are much better.

As for the second idea this time, this arises from the following revolting picture - could almost be the subject for a competition:

No, it's not some sort of repulsive fruit de mer, it's the remains of a lower ball-joint rubber from the Fanalone. As regular readers will know, the car competed in 26 rallies; the owner had experimented with various brake pads, one set of which resulted in smoke and blue discs... The rubber which as you may know is VERY close to the brake disc was simply cooked and had become brittle resulting in greasy brake discs... Not good. So I have renewed both bottom ball-joints and to provide some protection for the rubbers, fabricated a couple of simple heat shields which I hope should help. And one does not want the changing of bottom ball joints to be regular work does one?:

Yes I know it's not truly artisanale metalwork, but they don't touch the discs and they should do the job!

Finally, yesterday I went to a drag race meeting in Geneva - worth it to see a couple of 1500HP monster "saloons" doing sub- 9 second runs over 400 meters, but the reason I mention this is because the following car was there; sounded great and did a very respectable 13-second run. Perhaps one of my Italian readers can tell me what the words on the back window mean?

A bientôt