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Job's a Good Un
#261774
06/29/09 12:40 pm
06/29/09 12:40 pm
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Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 6,041 Kent Garden of England
Kent Shaun
OP
BritBike Forum member
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OP
BritBike Forum member
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 6,041
Kent Garden of England
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Today the Sun, here in Kent, is on full throttle, in fact I'd say it's been up rated to Bloody Marvellous  And this very morning I had to visit a very pretty nurse to get me stitches taken out. My she was a beauty, course I HAD to drop me trousers  As y'all know it pays to advertise  And to get to the clinic I took the Purple Plunger, now I've got an air temp gauge on there and in the Sun it said it was 40c, so I'd say in reality it was in the high 30's, best of all hardly any wind. So back home and the Plastic thing in the garage, I rolled out the Commander, fired it up SECOND kick (Yes Split Ring 2nd KICK) and off into the lanes for a test Bimble, t'other day the Amp meter went from a healthy charge to nothing? So that needed sorting, can't leave for the early morning Ferry with no lights can I, and that Ferry is but a few short weeks away. Now before I took the bike to the lanes, I'd cleaned up and reseated the dynamo wires, them two that poke out, they're supposed to be Yellow & Green. Mine are Blue and Green, and the Green one isn't in the field hole! Best of all the wires are only about 6" long before one goes into a Red & Yellow one, and t'other goes into a Blue one? All extremely dodgy, and NO Grandad didn't do it, so don't start. Well with the two wires fitted and cleaned up, off we went, what a fine ride in the warm Sun shine, just makes you feel so good don't it? But that Amp meter wasn't moving  So back at base I started the ritual I've learnt over the years, and the reason I'm spreading the word. I got me some Meths (Think y'all call it Wood Alcohol) and the lovely Janette's finest tooth brush, dipped the brush into the meths, and with the engine running, cleaned up the dynamo's commutator, that's the copper thing that spins, with the carbon brushes sitting on it. Cleaned it up real good, so it looked like Gold. Left it for a few minutes so that any meths could evaporate. Then checked to see if I had a charge, where I never had, and indeed I had Boxed it all up, took it for a spin, job as they say, is a good un. So that's me now back to working lights on the Commander, I'm all set for that ferry to France and the long ride to Holland. Another top tip from Kent Shaun So Split Ring lad, that's one UP for BSA, let me see I've got THREE BSA's now that I can ride in the dark, tell me again lad? How many Triumph's have YOU got that can do that?... Let me help you out here, you've got two Triumph's and not one, I say NOT ONE of them can you ride in the dark  I think our American chums can remember the panic in Yorkshire, as the Sun was setting and we were miles from the camp site. So don't give me that about you don't ride in the dark rubbish 
I'm from the SOUTH, the Deep South
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Re: Job's a Good Un
[Re: Whisper]
#261796
06/29/09 2:15 pm
06/29/09 2:15 pm
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 12,594 Central Virginia
Lannis

Life member
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Life member
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 12,594
Central Virginia
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Whisper -
Nope, the Brits aren't onto anything dodgy in the alcohol line; "methanol" or "methyl alcohol" or "meths" or "methylated spirits" or "wood alcohol" is all the same thing. It's alcohol distilled from wood cellulose, and it's not remotely related to "moonshine". It's deadly poison in any form, you can't drink it without dying soon.
Moonshine is Ethyl Alcohol, or Ethanol, and it's distilled from various grains and sugars. Moonshiners sometimes used to use car radiators as condensers for their still, and the process would leach lead solder out of the radiator and make the ethanol poisonous too, but ethanol without the lead just makes you drunk and silly.
"Denatured Alcohol" is ethanol with stuff like pyridine and bone oil mixed in, which can't be distilled or filtered out of it, and makes it so bitter and nasty that you'd throw up trying to drink it. It's used as a solvent and as fuel for stoves and lab burners. Winos and real bad alcoholics would sometimes try to strain it through a loaf of bread or something, and MAYBE keep it down, but otherwise horrible.
So the "meths" that Shaun is using to clean his commutator is more like acetone or methyl ethyl ketone than drinkable alcohol.
Oh lord, Floyd's going to be on me again, it's Chemistry 101 this time ....
Lannis
Last edited by Lannis; 06/29/09 2:16 pm.
You can ignore reality but you can't ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.
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Re: Job's a Good Un
[Re: TT John]
#261800
06/29/09 2:36 pm
06/29/09 2:36 pm
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 12,594 Central Virginia
Lannis

Life member
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Life member
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 12,594
Central Virginia
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"....sailing a bit close to the wind .... " ?
I know what "sailing to close to the wind" means, in a sailboat, means that you're steering the boat at too acute an angle to the wind's direction, and are likely to "be taken aback", or shiver the sails and come to a sudden stop and have to "wear around" to get going again.
Back in school, I used to work in the college Chemistry Lab during the summer. I would sign for the shipments of chemicals for the supply room, and we would get cases of U.S. Pure Ethyl Alcohol. Case was supposed to be sealed, but there were always two or three quarts missing, and I wouldn't sign for it. The truck driver sympathized, and told me tales of his days in the Navy, where sailors would get into the fuel for the torpedoes (ethyl alcohol) and "cut" it with grapefruit juice to make a lower-deck cocktail. Sounded nasty then and would probably kill me now.
But how does that relate to the IOM? I'm pretty sure I didn't drink anything there, maybe the odd pint at The Creek ...?
No need in keeping quiet, my behavior can stand scrutiny (I think?)!! Tell it as you saw it, and I'll tell my side! Hope to be back someday, sooner than later ... !
Lannis
Last edited by Lannis; 06/29/09 2:41 pm.
You can ignore reality but you can't ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.
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Re: Job's a Good Un
[Re: ChazzyB]
#261837
06/29/09 4:43 pm
06/29/09 4:43 pm
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 12,594 Central Virginia
Lannis

Life member
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Life member
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 12,594
Central Virginia
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I think that methylated spirit is actually mostly ethanol, but with a dash of methanal (hence methylated) to denature it, so to make it undrinkable, even by Graham. ;-) You's right, in the UK that's what it is, we don't use the term much here. Anything they use to "denature" ethanol has to have a distillation point very near ethanol, otherwise a simple still would make all the mixing alcohol one wanted. Wouldn't be much for me, but I've heard rumors about others ....  Lannis
You can ignore reality but you can't ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.
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Re: Job's a Good Un
[Re: ricochetrider]
#261906
06/29/09 8:37 pm
06/29/09 8:37 pm
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 12,594 Central Virginia
Lannis

Life member
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Life member
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 12,594
Central Virginia
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meth (here in the good old USA) is short for *methamphetamine* which USED to be called *biker crank*, made from ephedrine, power steering or transmission fluid and other things one can buy in any store... ..
read it on wikipedia.
Yeah, SURE you did !!!  Flash will be asking questions in a minute ... ! Lannis
You can ignore reality but you can't ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.
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Re: Job's a Good Un
[Re: Mike Muir]
#261956
06/30/09 2:05 am
06/30/09 2:05 am
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 768 Middle Tennessee
flgoff
BritBike Forum member
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BritBike Forum member
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 768
Middle Tennessee
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Lannis, Your wide range of knowledge on virtually every subject is always a source of shock and awe for me . . . I watch Jeopardy every evening just sure that our resident wizard will show up and make Ken Jennings nothing more than a fading memory.
I dabbled in Chemistry 101 in the late 60's, early 70's, but the results are kind of a blur, and I can't seem to find my notes on the subject.
Floyd (Member: ThreeMustGetBeers)
There are no demons inside my helmet; only the magic of the Universe gliding past my every sense. 1951 BSA C11(Leaky Lena) 2010 BMW G650 GS(Scarlett)
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Re: Job's a Good Un
[Re: Kent Shaun]
#262012
06/30/09 8:15 am
06/30/09 8:15 am
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Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 6,041 Kent Garden of England
Kent Shaun
OP
BritBike Forum member
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OP
BritBike Forum member
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 6,041
Kent Garden of England
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Whisper lad, indeed you did ruin a perfectly good thread  So lad as punishment, you now have to get that camera and show us ALL South Africa  The photos of England & America can be seen every day on here, I've NEVER seen South Africa. So come on lad tell us & show us more, what's the Brit bike scene like down your way? I've heard about the shows that go on over there, when on a Bimble, do you have to watch out for Lions 
I'm from the SOUTH, the Deep South
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Re: Job's a Good Un
[Re: Kent Shaun]
#262033
06/30/09 12:10 pm
06/30/09 12:10 pm
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 220 Cape Town, South Africa
Whisper
BritBike Forum member
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BritBike Forum member
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 220
Cape Town, South Africa
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Shaun
Wish I could. For some reason my (company) PC doesn't let me post pictures.
However if you look at the pictures in your Ricochetrider Dude post, all of these could have been taken in South Africa. Apart from the language on the menus off course.
The Brit Bike scene is pretty vibrant. Having been part of the commonwealth there was a heavy British influence here, therefore lots of British bikes. The police used to ride BSA's before the Japanese took over.
Every major city has at least one Brit Bike club. I know of at least 2 in Cape Town.
These 2 had a combined rally a while ago called the 100 rally. That meant that the combined age of the bike and rider had to be at least 100 years. In other words a 40 year old rider had to ride a bike of at least 60 years old. A 70 year old rider could get away with a 30 year old bike. A 20 year old with an 80 year old one.
There is also an annual rally from Johannesburg to Durban (roughly 400 miles)where the bike has to be pre-1930. Doesn't have to be British though. Very well attended. A time-trial with no tachometers allowed as there were no tachos pre-1930.
Not being a club-person myself I don't get too involved with the clubs. However some of my friends own some pretty rare bikes, a Triton, a couple of Vincents, a Scott Squirrel etc. NOT FOR SALE!
It is also amazing what you used to pick up in the bush in the surrounding countries. Most of them were colonies at some stage and the colonial masters had a lot of money and time to play and imported some pretty fancy stuff, which was left to rot when they left.
Came across a Douglas with sidecar being used as a chicken-coop in Angola once.
Namibia used to be a German colony and there were a lot of old German bikes there.
Swaziland, Botswana, Zambia (Nothern Rhodesia)and Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) were off course English.
Picked up an Ariel Square 4 up in Malawi once for next to nothing.
And because of the climate most of these bikes were in pretty good condition. Away from the coast rust was virtually unheard of.
Up to some 20 years ago there were lots and lots of English bikes available but then the rest of the world caught on and a lot of them were exported. I seem to remember that we sent a Black Shadow to the National Bike Museum in the UK. Or was it a Brough? Memory is not what is used to be.
Then off course we can ride all year round because of the weather. Pretty good roads, unbelievable scenery, mountain passes, twisties, you name it. All within a couple of miles from the city. And not too much traffic when away from the cities.
AND ON TOP OF IT ALL THERE IS USUALLY A PUB TO BE FOUND AT THE END OF THE TRIP! Sometimes even an English one.
And off course beer is about a third of the price than in England.
Yes, in certain remote parts of the country you could run into a lion, or elephant, or jackal, buck are quite common. However not much chance in or near the metropolitan areas.
Then again it's a big country!
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Re: Job's a Good Un
[Re: Whisper]
#262069
06/30/09 3:15 pm
06/30/09 3:15 pm
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 12,594 Central Virginia
Lannis

Life member
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Life member
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 12,594
Central Virginia
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O Dear
I started this thing off as a tongue-in-cheek reference to spirits, in other words drinks. Seems like I opened a can of worms....
"If you drink witblits you wont get wurms!" Whisper - It's ALL tongue in cheek, some of these inside jokes get pretty hard to figure out after we've been daffing with each other for 10 or 12 years ... I'll go along with Shaun, we need pictures. We're getting to know Kent and Yorkshire and Derbyshire and Virginia and Pennsylvania and North Carolina pretty well, we need some bimble pictures from ZA. You can figure out a way around that "company PC" thing. Email them two or three at a time to one of us and we'll post them. Just send some pictures of your commute, or your last weekend run, it doesn't have to be national monuments or Valentino Rossi, just whatever you do ... Lannis
Last edited by Lannis; 06/30/09 3:17 pm.
You can ignore reality but you can't ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.
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Re: Job's a Good Un
[Re: Kent Shaun]
#262385
07/01/09 7:55 pm
07/01/09 7:55 pm
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Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 6,041 Kent Garden of England
Kent Shaun
OP
BritBike Forum member
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OP
BritBike Forum member
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 6,041
Kent Garden of England
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Whisper lad, Lannis is right  If you could find a way of sending some photos in, that would be really good. Even if it's just your ride to work, or going for a coffee. I wager I'm not the only one on here who'd LOVE to see South Africa, then once you've got us all drooling, you could tell us the best place to pay a visit. THEN you could buy the beer  But all that's in the future lad, first things first, get them photos sorted. South Africa has something to do with the Dutch don't it? Well now's your chance Ger lad, teach us some nice words to greet Whisper with as we get off the flight  And nothing with the word Pippen in 
I'm from the SOUTH, the Deep South
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