LOTUS KELUARKAN KERETA SPORT BARU

Memang gempak! Lotus mula mengeluarkan kereta2 sport mrk untuk menguasai semula pasaran kereta sport ini. Dengan rekabentuk terbaru dari Lotus ini mampu menyaingi kereta2 mewah lain seperti Ferrari, Lamborghini dan sebagainya. Ianya akan dilancarkan tidak lama lagi. Kereta2 mewah ini dipertontonkan kepada umum di Paris Motor Show.

Lola T70

679

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acrylic on paper 8x12" sold

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Lola T70 1967
Surtees & Hobbs
Nurburgring 1000km
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MINI Countryman goes hardcore

EARLIER this week I suggested MINI’s newest model - the four wheel drive Countryman - wasn’t really in the spirit of its cult classic predecessor.

BMW are obviously keen to prove otherwise because they’ve just revealed a hardcore rally version, which is much more like it.

With the same red colour scheme and foglight-heavy frontage as the Monte Carlo rally winners from the 1960s and stylised union flag on the windscreen, you can’t help feel the car’s makers are going for a bit of a Paddy Hopkirk nostalgia in their attempts to win the 2011 World Rally Championship.

What do you think?

Brooks Saddles and Saddle Position

I've often said that if there was one perfect bicycle saddle we'd all be riding it. The truth of the matter is bikes are different, riders are different, riding positions are different, riding styles are different and guess what? Different saddles work better or worse for various folks. That said, if you hang out with high mileage folks you'll find a lot of them who swear by Brooks saddle. You'll probably find some that swear at Brooks saddles as well. As near as I can tell, neither group is 100% right or wrong.

Brooks are tensioned leather saddles. Sheldon Brown has a great article describing the great comfort virtues of leather saddles here. Sheldon notes, "A leather saddle, like a good pair of shoes or a baseball glove, softens with use, and molds itself to fit a particular person's shape." The unique comfort factor is what makes the saddle worth the expense, weight and break-in period. However, if you're a vegan, that dead cow thing may be a deal breaker for you. I totally expect some entrepreneurial vegan to start a company making a Brooks-style saddle made of tensioned rattan (or some other sustainable, eco-vegan substance) any day now. It's an untapped market.

What prompted me to write this piece, despite Sheldon's excellent article on leather saddles and his wise words on saddles in general, is that I wanted to call attention to the issue of saddle set-back. One of the virtues of Brooks saddles is their classic design, they have basically remained unchanged for decades. And there, my friends, literally, is the rub.

Brooks saddles were designed when bikes had much slacker seat tube angles than what is common today. My 1972 Peugeot PX-10 was considered "racy" in its day and it had a 72 degree seat tube angle. It was easy to get a Brooks saddle back far enough in relation to the bottom bracket for comfortable riding. A modern bike, say a Surly Long Haul Trucker, in the same 52 cm size as my PX-10 has a 73.5 seat tube angle. Basic trigonometry tells us that given the same seat post but a steeper seat tube angle, the clamp area is going to be further forward on the modern bike. Modern saddles have longer rails to address this issue but the classic design of the Brooks keeps it from moving back. And if the saddle is too far forward, you'll tend to sit on the metal frame rather than the tensioned leather and wonder why anyone could ever think a Brooks saddle is comfortable.

There are some solutions out there. Velo Orange makes the Grand Cru Seat Post specifically with this problem in mind. A Brompton Saddle Adapter Pin used with a straight post and a seat clamp allows even more adjustment but it's a more complex solution. Sella Anatomica makes a couple of changes to the classic Brooks design, adding a cutout to the leather and longer rails to address the set-back issue. Like Brooks saddles themselves, the Sella Anatomica saddles have received mixed reviews.

A comfortable saddle is key to enjoying your bicycle riding and a Brooks or other leather saddle might be just right for you. If you can get it on the right spot on your bike.

BTW, I've logged thousands of miles on Brooks saddles, having ridden them on PBP, BMB and various other brevets and tours. These days, my butt is totally happy on WTB saddles but your mileage may vary.

Keep 'em rolling,

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson

Issaquah WA USA

ASTON MARTIN V8 VANTAGE N420 2011

Kereta Austin Martin keluaran terbaru iaitu Vantage N420 akan dilancarkan dipasaran UK tidak lama lagi. Mengikut sumber dipercayai, kereta ini diperkuat dengan enjin 4.7L V8 dengan kuasa maksima sebanyak 420PS (313kW/426PS). Kereta Austin Martin N420 ini boleh mencapai kelajuan 290kph, dan pickup nya pula untuk mencapai kelajuan dari 0 hingga 100 KM/H selama 4.5 saat! Perghh....kompom laju kete nih.....bila la bleh beli... :S

Fire up the... Mitsubishi Shogun

IT'S big, brash, and an unapologetic throwback to another age, but by gum you'd want it on your side in a fight.

Mitsubishi's latest Shogun is the perfect car should you ever decide Southport needs a regime change, so indomitable are its looks, build quality and hard-as-nails off-roader stance. Paint the letters ‘U' and ‘N' onto the bonnet of the very white 3.2 diesel version I tested and you could even pass yourself off as a peacekeeper, because this is exactly the sort of tough trooper of a vehicle the United Nations swears by. It's good enough for them, but is it still good enough for us?

Clamber up into the seven-seater cockpit and you'll be impressed not only by the vast amounts of space it offers, but also by the fit and finish of the interior itself - flashy it isn't, but you get the impression it was built for tougher jobs than the school run. In fact, the only passengers who will be complaining are the rearmost ones, because you'll struggle to keep anyone over six feet tall happy in the third row of seats for long.

Out on the road the Shogun drives exactly how you'd expect a tall four-wheel-drive weighing it at three tonnes to, with the 168bhp V6 pulling well enough but being lumbered by the way the body rolls into the corners. The handy rear camera helps make parking a doddle and the oodles of torque are perfect for towing trailers and caravans, but you'll never escape the sheer size of the Shogun.

But it's biggest problem is the same one which affects all of the really big off-roaders, because buying one of these is bound to attract the unwanted attention of bystanders, who don't care what you have to tow or carry. Driving a Shogun - or a Discovery or Grand Cherokee for that matter - seems to attract an endless series of dirty looks, flicked fingers and scathing remarks.

The Shogun is tough as nails, unstoppable on the rough stuff and a titan of the towing world. But politically correct it isn't.

As published in The Champion on October 6, 2010

LAMBORGHINI SIXTH ELEMENT CONCEPT

This is believed to be Lamborghini’s Sixth Element concept, the car that the company has been teasing about for the past few weeks. It does seem genuine as the vehicle here has the things that were shown in the teaser images, such as the red interior and the wheels.

The concept is believed to be made entirely out of carbon fiber, except for the mechanical bits. Weight is figured at about 999 kilograms and power is rumored to come from a V10 engine which can help propel the concept to the 100km/h mark in 2.5 seconds, up to a top speed of 350km/h.

Why the Sixth Element designation? Apparently the name was inspired by the periodic table of chemical elements, were carbon has an atomic number of six. Official information and images should be coming up real soon, stay tuned!

Source

Some Nice Build Pics And Video Of A Georgous French Suzuki TR750 replica ...

You can see more here. All in french though.

EXAGON FURTIVE eGT

Hari ini saya nak bercerita pula tentang kereta elektrik yang bakal dipamerkan dalam Paris Motor Show. Kereta ini mempunya tempat duduk 2+2 boleh laras dan ditambah dengan kuasa dua motor Siemens elektrik. Terdapat beberapa sumber mengatakan kereta Exagon Furtive ini mampu mencapai kelajuan setinggi 250KM/H!! Dengan kepantasan 100KM/H selama 3.5 saat sahaja! Nampaknya kuasa elektrik pun mampu mencapai kelajuan sepantas ni...

Death on Fishponds Road

Bristol lost a teenager on Monday: Junaid Nazir age 16, killed on Fishponds Road -in front of his own house. A taxi driver was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, then released on bail. We don't know any other details.

One of our contributors went past the site on Tuesday evening -here are their comments:

This was an awful thing to happen, an awful thing to see. Junaid's friends and family were there -all of them utterly devastated. He left to go to school at Filton College, and instead of coming home after another day at school, he never came back. All his dreams are gone, all that is left are memories.

Every time his family leave the house, they are going to pass the place where this child -their son, their brother, their cousin - died.

It was really heartbreaking to be here, I tried really hard to get a photo of the flower and not all the friends and family, -as that wasn't right. They were very welcoming, but it's hard to cover this. No schoolkids should be placing flowers to mourn the needless death of one of their friends.

Afterwards, I went down Fishponds Road -never fun- then turned into Roygate Lane, then onto the railway path. Suddenly I'd gone from the friends and family mourning the death of a sixteen year old to the late summer peace and pleasantness of an almost Dutch walking and cycling route into the city. Yet what point is it in having such a lovely facility if you can't even get across a road 300 metres away alive?

The whole Bristol Traffic team extends our condolences to the family and friends -it will take a long time for everyone to come to terms with this, and -based on personal experience- nobody will ever really get over it. You can never forget.

We'd also like to hint to Evening Post that when they put up articles on tragic events such as Junaid's death, that either they disable comments or they monitor them so all four regular mad commenters don't just repeat their own prejudices -again, and again, and again. This is not the place for them.

Our normal service will be resumed in a few days. In the meantime, there is a growing monument in Fishponds to a failure of the entire "road safety" industry. Consider visiting it.

Yamaha Jupiter MX New Color 2010

Yamaha Jupiter MX 135ccNew yamaha Jupiter MX 135 CC lineup of Yamaha confirmed about to announce by PT Yamaha Motor Kencana Indonesia (YMKI) at Jakarta Motorcycle Show (JMS) 2010 that it would be held on 3-7 November 2010. The bike is 2010 New Jupiter MX 135 cc. 2010 New Jupiter MX 135 cc would come with the same as the old one including the engine still adopt the old one, but YMKI would make

Kawasaki Ninja Special Edition

Kawasaki Ninja Special EditionJakarta Motorcycle Show (JMCS) 2010 will display the Kawasaki Ninja Special Edition. "JMCS are special moments to display specific products," said Basuki Freddyanto, Manager of Marketing & Research Development Kawasaki Motor Indonesia. "Kawasaki Ninja is in demand in Indonesia is going to experience some re-touch for perawajahannya more exotic," added Freddie.

Fire up the... Peugeot 3008

PEUGEOT'S 3008 is the platypus of the car world, and that's not a criticism of the way it's styled.

Although it's one of the more smartly-styled models from the French firm's fast-expanding range, the smaller sister to the seven-seater 5008 is going to give you a headache if you look at it for too long, because it gets increasingly tricky to fathom what it is. Is it a big hatchback or a small people carrier, and - if it's the latter - why's it been given just the five seats?

It's a question being posed by a growing number of car manufacturers, who between them have founds lots of you who need more space than you'd get in a Golf or Focus, but don't want to go to the expense and trouble of getting a full-blown MPV.

Unlike the 5008, where you never quite forget that you're at the wheel of a people carrier, the smaller and sportier relation shrink-wraps itself around you, a feeling helped by the intuitive controls and the surprisingly sprightly feel you get from the steering and suspension. It's not a stealth trackday contender by any means, but nor is it something which is going to let you down through a lack of communication on a slippery country lane.

But it's on the inside where it impresses most, with not only a generous helping of space both up front and in the back, but a big boot and plenty of hidden cubbyholes for the kids to hide things in. Stylistically it feels a generation further on than the 308 hatchback it's based on, with a quality finish throughout.

Both it and the very similar 5008 we tested earlier this summer make a more convincing buy than the clumsy MPVs of old - including Peugeot's own 807 - but despite the sportier drive I'd still go for the seven-seater, because in this market you never know when you're going to need the extra seats. If you don't, you might as well buy a normal hatchback.

The good news is that no matter how confusing the 3008 is, it's far from being a bad car.

As published in The Champion on September 15, 2010

Welcome Back

Bristol is a University City. In fact we have two of them.
Bristol is a Universities City!

So it's great to welcome back our important student population at this time of year.

Of course, to achieve a place at any University you need hard work, intelligence and determination. And probably parents with the same qualities, but we'll let that debate simmer in the main-stream press.

Here we see what could be intelligent students arriving (or possibly retuning), helped out by their intelligent parents (we refer to the cars, not the residents of Clifton navigating a route between them).

How do we know this?

Well, it's because of their amazing assimilation of Bristol's unique parking rules within hours of arriving in the City. Yes, the cars may sport number plates such as CE08WZC and CA09OKD, both apparently purchased in Llandow (that's in Wales, for those of you who failed Geography GCSE), but the entire family have worked out, within minutes of arriving, that:

1. In Bristol pavement parking is the norm.

and

2. In Bristol parking on Zig-Zags is the norm. Even within spitting distance of a local Police Station, and for ages (check the exif time flags of the photos if you like - I managed to eat Tiger Prawns and consume a pint between clicks). The synchronised hazard warning lights are a neat trick, too.

We welcome this fresh influx of intelligencia to our flock, and encourage them to use our cycle lanes for parking, our pavements for parking, and our Downs for parking.

Remember, these students are the makers and shakers of the future - we ignore them at our peril. Thank goodness they didn't turn up here with bicycles.

Scooter, off-roader or broken steering rack - which makes the best Mini?

WHEN is a Mini not a Mini?

That's the question I've put to myself over the past week after immersing myself in three new variations of the small car, and I'm still not sure if I've found the answer. BMW are banking on stretching their smallest model as far as it can go, but is bigger really better?

First off, the Countryman, which despite having had nine months to get used to the idea is still a stretch too far for MINI (I always cap up the remake, just as BMW still insists we all do). Having now driven it on the best motorways, fast thoroughfares, bendy B roads and knobbly car parks North Yorkshire can throw at it I can tell you that it's a solidly-constructed, quite stylish rival to the likes of Nissan's Quashqai, and despite the addition of four wheel drive feels more handy hatchback than junior off-roader. As much as it annoys me to say it, it's a good car.

But is it a Mini? At more than a metre longer than the 1959 original, not a chance.

Yet while BMW can do bigger, MINI can do smaller, which is exactly what they're toying with by sticking Britain's most famous car badge on a scooter. For the record, I actually think this is an excellent idea, particularly as I always regarded the Mini as a four wheeled graduation from the Mods 'n' Rockers world of the original Vespas and Lambrettas of the Sixties.

If the Countryman is a sop to the miserable modernity of taking Chelsea tractors on the school run, an electrically-powered scooter seems to somehow hark back to the defiant sense of mischief which made the original Mini so much fun. Cool, cheap and clean to run, I reckon this is a much better attempt to expand the MINI brand than a bloated off-roader.

But there's one Mini, new or old, that's always going to be better than any other. Mine.

You probably thought I'd forgotten about the one car that appears alongside every Life On Cars entry, but the truth is that until now it's been sat around on a driveway in Southport, sulking because its steering rack is so broken it actually made the car dangerous to drive. But it's back, and - thanks to spending a weekend with a mechanic friend changing the car's single worst component - it now drives better than I've ever known it.

It still looks tatty but it now drives in a way even a 2010 Countryman can't; it drives like a Mini, which means it flits telepathically from corner to corner the instant you flick the tiny steering wheel. It might be slow, unreliable and not terribly safe, but it's far more fun, cleverly packaged and admired by passers by than a certain car launched by a certain German company in 2001 could ever hope to be. I like the new MINI, in the same way I like the remade Italian Job, an awful lot, but I'll always love the timeless original more.

The honest answer is I don't know when a Mini isn't a Mini. But I definitely know when one is.

The Hodaka Mini Rat

How freaking Cool is that!

Thanks to suzukijoe

GP Singapore 2010

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acrylic on paper 8x12"

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Maestro Alonso

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not only did Fernando win the Singapore grand Prix

he sat on pole

led every lap

and got fastest lap

all he needs now is to lead the championship

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i'm just happy to paint these cars in the dark

with all thousands of wonderful reflections...
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Western Power Distribution: showing who has the power in Abbey Wood

We loves Abbey Wood, S. Gloucs. Our part of the city. The council provides those off-street bike lanes which the cycle campaigners demand, missing the point that their purpose is to provide parking

Here it provides it for the car RV10LZF apparently associated with Western Power Distribution -whose vans are parked off-camera to the right of the photo below. Everyone is apparently working on some electricity substation issues behind the MoD site.

Parking over a bike/pedestrian path like this is not just about getting your car off the road, or away from the double yellows, it's about making a statement. It says I am important, you are not. Which is why we are very worried about some worrying emails we are are being forwarded from the MOD-land. Very worried indeed. More another day. Today though, we, the motorist, are in charge. First we give them their bike lanes, their pavements, to get them out the way, then we use them too. Lovely.

KERETA F1 LOTUS-PROTON TERBAKAR

Malang sekali apabila kereta Formula 1 Lotus Racing yang dikendali Proton telah terbakar. Ini telah membuatkan Proton menarik semula jentera tersebut. Adakah kumpulan 1Malaysia ini akan menarik semula penyertaan mereka? Harap2 tidaklah.. Kami doakan pakar2 Lotus dan Proton dapat memperbaiki jentera F1 ini secepat mungkin.

Secret Clifton Down Shopping Centre Parking

dichohecho points us at this secret parking space hidden behind Sainsbury's on Whiteladies Road, which is also handy for that fine beveraging factility, the Alma Tavern.

This will let you combine a swift pint or two in the beer garden with some Saturday shopping, without having to deal with the shopping centre's own car park, or the now-paid-for railway parking area.

Steam Punk Metal Head.

Filip Sawczuk has a talent in making old metal come to life.

His Triumph Bobber (previous article) is typical of this.

But Filip is a true to life artist who sees things as they are.

No arthouse antics, just plain and raw industrial beauty.



Check him out here:



http://www.filsawczuk.com/





       

PROTON WAJA LANCER BARU (NEW SPYSHOT)

Lagi gambar terbaru Proton Waja baru ataupun Proton Impian. Ini adalah beberapa gambar yang diambil secara 'senyap' untuk tatapan. Ia menghangatkan lagi spekulasi yang ada sekarang tentang keluaran terbaru Proton Holdings mengenai Proton Waja gantian ataupun Proton Impian. Walaubagaimanapun pihak kami masih mencari detail tentang harga pasaran yang akan dikeluarkan oleh Proton Holdings untuk kereta Proton Waja Lancer ini.

KUMPULAN LOTUS RACING DIKENALI TEAM LOTUS

Secara officialnya team Lotus Racing kini dikenali sebagai Team Lotus. Itu adalah gelaran terbaru pasukan kereta lumba Formula 1 milik Proton ini. Team Lotus akan memulakan perjuangannya dilitar2 lumba seperti di Singapura, Malaysia dan sebagainya. Inilah kumpulan 1Malaysia kebanggaan negara Malaysia iaitu Team Lotus. Marilah kita sama2 memberi sokongan kepada team ini.

Full Metal Jacket

Customer Filip has been heavily modifying a Triumph T100sc. This is his first bike and we can't stress how enthusiastic and determined this guy is. No matter what problems arrise, he refuses to give up.

Some hard lessons learnt along the way (trusted a dodgey mechanic and the first engine re-build stung him hard), also a few people claiming to be able to tackle jobs they are not capable of - welding for one...

But that's all in the past as this beast is now coming along nicely!

We have been offering advise and supplying parts for this build from it's humble begginings and it's good to see it in it's finishing stages.

The following is basically how the machine arrived to us, but i will get the early stage pics because the amount of work involved to get it to a roller was quite amazing - especially for the fact that Filip built 90% of it in his flat living room!!











                    

Filip was right to be suspicious about the previous "engine builder".



When we started to strip down this abused 500cc, we were astounded to say the least!

The head was painted gloss black, but they didn't remove or mask the valves, springs etc. The exhaust valves were burnt and the guides worn.



Removing the paint was very painstaking as they painted the head without removing tar, grit and the usual contaminents.

In a nutshell, they pulled the head off, quick degrease and painted everything as it is.

The barrels now off and we found new piston rings installed on standard old, worn and damaged pistons. The bore also had scores and was not honed.



With the timing cover off we have come to the conclusion that the cases have never been split...Hope at last! I say hope because if no

one has touched the bottom end then the chances are that the damage stops here.

Just when we had our hopes up we removed the inner and outer g/box cover and we were shocked beyond belief...The picture tells the story.





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The gear cluster looks like it's been in a sewer, no wonder Filip was worried that his gears were not shifting by hand and k/starter won't work!



I'm amazed at the fact that the bloke who "re-built" this engine ever thought that he would fool anyone into attempting to fire it up!

SHAME!!!









                                                           The Re-build:

We Hydro Tech blast alloy parts and polish covers, it's the best way to go, if you want details, please contact us for more details regarding this process.

 

 

 

This is how a Triumph alloy head should look.

It wasn't easy to get all the crap off it but well

worth the effort.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chemical cleaning and balancing is imperative to any engine re-build.



Crank, rods, cams and pinions installed and cases now ready to marry.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If your engine is not this clean during the re-build, then you're not doing it right.

Take your time, have plenty of white cloth rags

hanging about and keep wiping!

Next - Rings gapped, pistons to conrods to take bored, honed and painted barrels!

Don't forget to cover the cases when installing the piston circlips. That's the last thing you need. Dropping a circlip down the cases...





 

 

 

At this stage we like to triple check everything... And everything is perfect!

Getting close, we have re-built the head, rocker assys completely and torqued it down to the barrels.



The gearbox and clutch assy are also assembled.

The engine is now ready to fit onto the motorcycle.



It does help to have someone help guide or lift to avoid any damage to the frame or other components - not to mention personal injury.

Time now to align the engine, tighten bolts and double check everything.











We are very pleased with the result so far and Filip is preparing a headlight bracket and other odds and ends.

The next stage is the exhaust and elecrical system. Carby and Dizzy are also ready to install.

Carb, plumbing, headers now mounted and Filip seen here wrapping the pipes with heat tape - Dirty job but someone has to do it.

Today is Filips' day!



Wiring all done, oiled up and ready to go.

God only knows the last time this bike was ridden, but one thing i can say is that Filip didn't want to stop riding!

This little competition engine pulls along just fine and the

bike is actually quite comfortable.



Video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HXs4GxXnmY

Lot's of hard work here and some heartache but once the job is done the end results should speak for themselves.