There are only two days before we are going to Tångarallyt in Sweden. The two bikes are ready to go. Both are ca 1954 models.
The Tribsa are nearly new build, so it needed only new numbers and a wash. The Ariel needed some gearbox "adjustment" and some new mudguard steadies made. Its been used for enduros for ten years now, so some spanner work are expected.
Mr. Bond i presume......
The Tribsa are nearly new build, so it needed only new numbers and a wash. The Ariel needed some gearbox "adjustment" and some new mudguard steadies made. Its been used for enduros for ten years now, so some spanner work are expected.
Mr. Bond i presume......
I now have in my possession another original piece of the Gorilla, a Knucklehead dragbike from the early 1950's, that being the transmission. And a fine piece it is. Simple, effective, and a down right cool piece of drag racing technology/history.
note the huge trans sprocket
"finger" on the shift fork. springs would hold the fork in 3rd gear
shift lever pivots here
That is a pretty long lifespan for any type of racing innovation, and whoever came up with it deserves a round of applause (if anyone out there knows who this person was, please let me know)
So, the transmission is a stock Harley 4 speed case, modified to work as a two speed. Internally, there is mainshaft 3rd and 4th gears, along with countershaft 3rd and 4th gears. One shift fork does the gear change from 3rd to 4th via a handmade top cover that takes the place of the old "jockey" lid.
Back in the 1980's, I was lucky enough to have another racer explain how the transmission worked, so I have not had to spend time scratching my head and speculating. Obviously you would start the run in 3rd gear. A "clutch lever" was hooked to the arm on the shift fork on the custom lid. Once underway in 3rd gear the rider would begin to squeeze the lever as the bike got near the shift point. Once the engine passed its peak and the horsepower started to drop off, it would unload the shift dogs enough to allow the shift fork to slide over into high gear. Clutchless shifting under wide open throttle in 1950! Amazing!
In modern day motorcycle drag racing, you will only see Top Fuel bikes with 2 speed transmissions. Nearly any gas dragbike will have multiple gears to get as much mechanical advantage as possible. Three, four and five speeds are not at all uncommon. So why did this early 2 speed work with even the gas bikes of the time? The answer has a lot to do with the tire technology (or lack of it). There just was not enough traction available to take advantage of any lower gearing. Couple that with the near impossibility of shifting the old jockey lid 4 speed quickly, and you can see why this transmission was a winner. The approach that seemed to work the best was to gear high, and spin the tire through much of the pass.
inside the 2 speed
Her you see my magnesium cambox undergoing surgery at a specialist. It`s nice to know people that have the skill (and time!) to take on a job like this.
The upper bevel gets some attention:
The bearing in the cam box cover was turning in the housing. A jig was made to get it strait:
Machining the housing:
The upper bevel gets some attention:
The bearing in the cam box cover was turning in the housing. A jig was made to get it strait:
Machining the housing:
Recently I wrote about Flow Area and Cam Selection In that post I mentioned Jason's dragbike heads as an example. Well, last week I finished up his heads. I was quite happy with the results, since I picked up 10 cfm from .200" lift and above on the intakes, and 20cfm on the exhausts. I was also able to get the valve to valve clearance so he could leave the 1.7:1 rockers in the engine. One drawback was that we lost a little compression ratio due to sinking the valves. Jason somehow managed to get the bike together for the weekend, and called me Monday with the results.
The bike had been running 10.13's consistantly, but even with a gear change that Jason thinks (and I aggree) hurt him, the bike is now running 9.96's. Congratulations Jason!
Of course we all know that you never want to make more than one change at a time, but in this case Jason didn't have much of a choice. He had found that the bike had been built with a misalignment between the transmission and wheel sprockets. The only sprocket that he could get on short notice to align things lowered his gear ratio. His 60 foot time increased (got slower) and the bike was practically nosing over before the finish line, yet he still lowered his e.t.'s by nearly two tenths. That's kind of exciting!
Now before you "turn up your nose" at e.t.'s in the 9.90's, keep in mind that this is only a 98" engine and Jason is a big guy (over 300 suited up to race).
Jason's dragbike last fall at the Kokesh Drags
We are all looking forward to what a gear change and a little more tuning might reveal!
I have often heard this quote used by conservative talk show hosts to "ambush" unsuspecting liberals. Usually it is offered something like this: Would you agree with this statement; From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need?
Of course the punch line is that if they agree with the statement, they have been unmasked as a sheep in wolf's clothing communist.
"From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need." This is a quote from Karl Marx, and yes communism did arise largely as a result of his philosophy. Yet many of us in this day and age are quite historically challenged (myself included). While most would correctly link Karl Marx with communism, how many of us realize that he lived and died before the actual rise of it. Marx lived from 1818-1883, putting him in the grave long before the communist revolution of the 20th century.
But a history lesson is not the point of this post. What I really wanted to point out is the similarity of this quote of Marx and something from the Bible. But, as Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 1:9 "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun."
So whether Marx knew he was restating a passage of scripture or not, the thought was not original with him. Of course if Marx took the idea from the Bible, then he used it totally out of context.
Acts 2:41-47 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
Acts 4:32-35 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
Hard to deny the similarity isn't it? So.... does that mean all of the right wing conservative Christians are wrong? Does the Bible really promote communism? Hmm....
I have wondered for some time how these passages from the Bible may have affected early 20th century Christians when they were confronted with the rise of communism. When I became a Christian about 9 years ago I became immensely more interested in whether or not any of my forefathers had been Christians (and I am using the term Christian here in the strictest sense, as in born again). One of the ancestor's I considered was my great grandfather LJ Schlattman. Though he died in 1938 he was pretty much legendary in my family. Not only did he homestead land in the 1800's where I grew up , he was the first organist as well as one of the organizers of Pepperton Methodist Church. Later he was a weekly contributor to the newspaper in the nearby county seat. Some of those writings along with a book of his poetry that he had published gave me a much better glimpse into his life than of my other ancestors.
One conclusion that I came to from reading LJ's works was that he tended towards socialism. Adding 2+2 I came to the further conclusion that he may have based this at least in part on these verses from the Bible. At least I hope so. I would also like to think that he may have reconsidered later in life, when history unfolded to show how badly communism worked in practice.
So, is this to say that the Bible is wrong, or the example of the very early New Testament Church given in the book of Acts is a bad one? No, not at all. I will say this though; the only way communism can work is with a church. And I think that statement may need to be narrowed even further; to a church with mostly wheat and only a few tares. Yes, that 1st century Church successfully practiced communism, but even they needed the stipulation added from 2 Thessalonians 3:10 "For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. "
If you could find yourself a Church full of genuine Christians led by dedicated pastors and teachers that walk closely with the Lord, then a modern day commune could work. But if comes down to a secular government, led by ungodly men (not matter how well meaning), well.... not so much.
Of course the punch line is that if they agree with the statement, they have been unmasked as a sheep in wolf's clothing communist.
"From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need." This is a quote from Karl Marx, and yes communism did arise largely as a result of his philosophy. Yet many of us in this day and age are quite historically challenged (myself included). While most would correctly link Karl Marx with communism, how many of us realize that he lived and died before the actual rise of it. Marx lived from 1818-1883, putting him in the grave long before the communist revolution of the 20th century.
But a history lesson is not the point of this post. What I really wanted to point out is the similarity of this quote of Marx and something from the Bible. But, as Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 1:9 "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun."
So whether Marx knew he was restating a passage of scripture or not, the thought was not original with him. Of course if Marx took the idea from the Bible, then he used it totally out of context.
Acts 2:41-47 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
Acts 4:32-35 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
Hard to deny the similarity isn't it? So.... does that mean all of the right wing conservative Christians are wrong? Does the Bible really promote communism? Hmm....
I have wondered for some time how these passages from the Bible may have affected early 20th century Christians when they were confronted with the rise of communism. When I became a Christian about 9 years ago I became immensely more interested in whether or not any of my forefathers had been Christians (and I am using the term Christian here in the strictest sense, as in born again). One of the ancestor's I considered was my great grandfather LJ Schlattman. Though he died in 1938 he was pretty much legendary in my family. Not only did he homestead land in the 1800's where I grew up , he was the first organist as well as one of the organizers of Pepperton Methodist Church. Later he was a weekly contributor to the newspaper in the nearby county seat. Some of those writings along with a book of his poetry that he had published gave me a much better glimpse into his life than of my other ancestors.
One conclusion that I came to from reading LJ's works was that he tended towards socialism. Adding 2+2 I came to the further conclusion that he may have based this at least in part on these verses from the Bible. At least I hope so. I would also like to think that he may have reconsidered later in life, when history unfolded to show how badly communism worked in practice.
So, is this to say that the Bible is wrong, or the example of the very early New Testament Church given in the book of Acts is a bad one? No, not at all. I will say this though; the only way communism can work is with a church. And I think that statement may need to be narrowed even further; to a church with mostly wheat and only a few tares. Yes, that 1st century Church successfully practiced communism, but even they needed the stipulation added from 2 Thessalonians 3:10 "For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. "
If you could find yourself a Church full of genuine Christians led by dedicated pastors and teachers that walk closely with the Lord, then a modern day commune could work. But if comes down to a secular government, led by ungodly men (not matter how well meaning), well.... not so much.
Went for a museum trip with the local vintage motorcycle club. Quite some variety of bikes and cars came along. Some of my favorites.
Velocette update. The Gearbox are in place. The reassemble take some time. I did not take it apart, so it`s a try and fail process. There a lot of bits n`bobs missing and some have had a lot of contact with a hammer.The fotpegs and a few other parts have been damaged. The bike was stolen once, some boys used it in the woods. Still you have to be quite blind to send crocked parts to the painter!
The engine is nearly done. It have obviously seen many miles. Se the state of the sprocket and carb. Nearly everything was worn out, i have replaced the cams, cam followers, cylinder, cylinder head, carb and bearings. It`s back to std piston now. I might try it in the frame soon, but some bits are still missing.
This bike was first used by the police in Philadelphia, US. I think the local police here will say it`s OK to go 10 mph faster than the speed limit on an ex police bike.
I might put bacon slicers on it.....
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