Speeding into the New Year

PREVIOUSLY unpublished information about the nation's speed cameras could be made available to drivers from next April under plans unveiled by the Coalition Government.

Road Safety Minister Mike Penning said this week that he wanted more information about all safety cameras to be made public, and suggested details such as accident rates and the options offered to motorists caught speeding should be made available as early as next April.

“Public bodies should be accountable and if taxpayers' money is being spent on speed cameras then it is right that information about their effectiveness is available to the public,” he said.

“The proposals I have announced today will help show what impact cameras are having on accident and casualty rates and also how the police are dealing with offenders.

This is in line with our commitment to improve transparency of government data so that the public are able to make more informed judgements about the work of local and central government.”

The Association of British Drivers said it welcomed the Government's announcements, which if fully approved will force road safety partnerships to publish more information, but said the scope of the information should go further.

“The ABD have years of experience attempting to get raw data out of elusive partnerships without success. Any data grudgingly released is invariably missing vital information or spun in a misleading fashion. This cannot continue,” said ABD Chairman Brian Gregory.

“Only when armed with the full information can the public see exactly what effect an individual camera has had. Of course, the raw data will also need to be ‘trend adjusted' i.e. casualties will have fallen everywhere over any recent ten year period due to huge advances in vehicle design.”

The Department for Transport said it will be working with police and local authority representatives as well as the Highways Agency to discuss the details of what should be published and how. The final requirements will then be confirmed in time for publication in April 2011.

Anyone expecting a New Year round up of the best cars, roads and things from 2010 should click here.

The Classicaly Modified Yamaha RZ 350

A beautiful RZ350 wit some classic modifications.

PROTON SAGA BARU VS. MYVI

Keputusan undian antara Proton Saga baru dan Perodua Myvi. Antara soalan undian berbunyi begini "Yang Mana Lebih Berkualiti & Tahan Lama (Jimat Minyak)" dan rata2 pengundi memilih Proton Saga baru dan undian ini dimenangi oleh Proton Saga Baru... Mungkin kerana rekabentuk terkini, saiz bonet yang lebih besar menyebabkan ramai pengguna memilih kereta jenis ini. Bagi penulis, Perodua Myvi juga lasak dan jimat minyak tetapi ia lebih sesuai dipilih sebagai kereta kedua kerana ianya tiada bonet belakang yang luas seperti Saga manakala harganya juga agak tinggi berbanding Saga. Apapun setiap individu berlainan citarasa mereka, tepuk dada tanyalah selera anda...

Nota: Poll di atas di ambil daripada sebuah forum terkenal dari Malaysia.

CHEVROLET CRUZE

You’ve seen this before, the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback that was shown at the Paris Motor Show, and here’s the trademark filings from GM with the European patent office. These images confirm that the production model retains the concept’s shape and most of its design.

The front end features the same lower bumper design as the Cruze sedan with round fog lamps, instead of the straight line of LED driving lamps on the concept. The rear bumper design shown here is also more cluttered than the concept’s. The showcar had very distinctive head and tail lamps; we’re not sure if these will survive production.

This global car will wear a Chevrolet bowtie in most markets except a few. GM’s Aussie outpost Holden designed this car, and it will be sold Down Under with a Holden badge.

1987 Rajdoot. India's version of the Yamaha RD350

I lifted this straight off a post over on the 2Strokeworld.com message board. Thosew brakes on the spoked wheels are the BOMB!  Gaurav, if you have any more pictures of this bike or any build pics I'd love to see them!  Thanks!

1987 Rajdoot Yamaha RD350 customized by Speedwayz in India

It is stage 3 ported (done by Mr Sumeet Mehdirata - my tuner and the owner of Speedwayz in India) with rz single petel fibre reeds, yamaha cdi with yamaha r1 coil, xs750 speedo & tacho, carb mod kit with k&n filter, hayabusa hydraulic clutch, hayabusa front disc setup, yamaha r1 rear disc setup.
Currently running on TKR pistons with high compression rings.
Soon i am going to install the zeeltronic vcdi kit and spec 2 chambers.

Thanx
Gaurav 

Quality Streets

Now that Christmas is over, and most of the left-overs eaten, only the least appealing of the Quality Streets are left in the packet here at Bristol Traffic (we've got some Celebrations, but we're hanging on the them for the New Year).

It was the thought of Quality Streets which reminded us of our favourite Bristol example, Gloucester Road. This was the first 'Showcase Bus Route' in the city, and has apparently been a great success - to such an extent that one of the bus-stops near the Prom Club is no longer in service.

Here's a view of this Quality Street, just up from the Prom Club. Note the quality.

We like:

- The Tree. Street trees are good, reflecting proper civic pride.
- The Signage. Important information for motorists is essential.
- The Litter Bin. Vital, with facilities for smokers, too, which is very inclusive.
- The Wheelie Bin. Vital if traders along the road are to survive.
- The Telephone Box. Not everyone has an iPhone, after all.
- The Street Light. Keeps us safe at night.
- The Street Paint. Good for helping us spot the traffic lights, which we also like.

Unfortunately, all this quality is let down by the useless cycle stands, installed as part of the cycling city fiasco. Surely that space could have been used for a decent advertisement display board?

A similar 'Quality Street' scheme is currently proposed for Whiteladies Road. We look forward to it.

PROTON PERSONA JADI KERETA POLIS DI UK

Dasyat juga Proton Persona ni, agak2 kalau jadi kereta Polis kat Malaysia kita bangga tak?

Peter F's Triumph 6T Bobber

This machine was built by someone in QLD and the new owner Peter F bought it on a wing without looking or knowing anything about Triumphs. He had it sent straight down to us as he was told the machine doesn't run.



Information we had was that the motor was re-built but never started.

The beast arrived and it was evident someone had gone to the trouble of doing some nice work but lacked the knowledge to fine tune and complete the project. Nice lines, paintwork and wheels.

Main problems found : magneto not timed in correctly, rusty timing gears (bit scary that 'cause we don't know what else could be inside!), clearances wrong, soft grade fuel line used for oil line, primary dry, clutch problem, chainguard touching chain, no wiring or componentry, saddle not mounted properly - basically slapped together to look good but not function as a motorcycle.

The major problem was it's front end. Bent trees, wrong spring length, fork shrouds not modified to fit correctly, handle bar risers and lever gear clapped out 'el cheapo' rubbish. The axle was not correct for neither forks or hub and this caused tubes to bind and wreck seals plus damage slider components.

Below some shots of the work and final result.

 

 

 

 

Forks removed, the work begins. New fuel, oil lines, petcocks, timing set, gears sorted, header baffles installed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Primary drive system now sorted, electricals installed, chainguard modified.

Front end re-built, shrouds modified, correct axel aligned and front guard fabricated to suit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mini Speedo, Liquid filled oil gauge, 3" mirror, switch gear and all controls set to go!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sparto tailight, Mini di-cast Bullet indicators, 4 1/2" barrel springs...hold on!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Traditional bobber, same height/width wheels, standard oil and fuel tank.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 











Rare Duplex frame, custom rear modified from genuine rigid, pre-unit Triumph..Excellent lines.



Machine now functions and rides as it should and is enjoyed by owner Peter F on a daily basis.

2011 NEW KTM 250 XC-F and KTM 350 XC-F

NEW KTM 350 XC-F 20112011 NEW KTM 250 XC-FKTM celebrated the release of the new off-road models with a proper introduction at Cahuilla Creek MX Park last Friday in front of KTM fans and press.The bikes were introduced to the public by the Factory FMF/KTM GNCC Team of Kailub Russell, Cory Buttrick and Charlie Mullins. All three riders will be racing the 350 XC-F in the 2011 GNCC Series.The new

Kawasaki H2 Engine in an RZ350 chassis.

Interesting bike. Thanks J.A.W.

Fire up the... Mitsubishi ASX

ONE of the best things about driving new cars, I wager, is knowing that you're never going to come across a bad one.

Think about it; no matter what you make of the scores of models on sale right now, not one of them is going to fail to start up on a cold morning, make strange clicking noises when you do eventually set off or - worst of all - shed vital components when you're on the move. All things that have happened on the older machines I've actually owned, so you have to conclude that they just don't make ‘em like they used to. They make them much better.

This what I ended up pondering after driving Mitsubishi's ASX, because it occured to me that all cars, without a whisper of exception are now so startingly good that in fact anything less than class-leadingly excellent is in fact the new bad.

The ASX, particularly the 1.6 petrol version I've driven, is very, very good in all that areas that actually matter to motorists, particularly in how well it's screwed together and the utter sense of dependability it always gives you. The Japanese company's newest model, which comes with two or four wheel drive and blends Golf-esque size and dynamics with off-roader styling cues and practicality, is the kind of car you'd comfortably expect to survive a small nuclear blast.

It's also exceptionally practical, with plenty of room both up front and in the back, a big boot to carry all the things you don't need to hand, and lots of little storage bins and cubby holes for the things you do. It handles nicely too, keeping up with spirited driving whether you're on country lanes or dicing through gaps in busier traffic.

The particular engine I tried goes well enough and is refined enough for longer runs, but in many instances I found it lacked the mid-range punch I would have liked for overtaking, meaning the ASX is one of the few instances where I'd recommend the punchier, torquier diesel version.

But the problem with this car is not that it's bad, but that it's boring, with very little in the conservative styling outside and the unremitting dark grey of the dashboard to inspire you. The ASX is something you'd buy with your head, and it is a clever choice if you're looking for a solid, dependable crossover of a car.

But buy it with your heart? Not a chance.

MODIFIKASI KAWASAKI NINJA RR 150

KAWASAKI NINJA RR 150Since buying this RR Ninja in 2003, Son Kamalludin already dreaming of a ride like motor racing. Even more so if the characters match the expectations Ninja Son. But it also could be confused which way the body changes must be made.Finally, after passing through a long thought, design or style of the jockeys riding in the GP125 class of dragonflies alias reference. "

PROTON PERSONA DI AUTO GUANGZHOU

Cun tak kereta ni? Gambar di ambil dari Auto show di Guangzhou, China. Kereta model Proton Persona yang telah dimodifikasi...

SORRY SEBAB LAMA TAK UPDATE BLOG....

Salam to all readers.... Aku nak mohon maaf kat korg suma sbb lama dh aku x update blog atas sebab2 kerja... So nanti aku akan aktif balik update berita2 terbaru pasal dunia permotoran Malaysia dan Luar Negara... Doakan aku berjaya.... Thanks~

Stunning RD400 Group Shot

Those are some SSSsssexy ass brakes!  From RD400Fiend over on the 2Strokeworld.com  message board.

Distorted Reality

We've been emailed a peculiar image. We're unsure whether it reflects the state of the photographer's mind at the time, or is just an attempt at being arty.

We note, however, that the yellow car is parked at an angel in the 'Disabled' parking bay in Caledonia Place, Clifton.

On closer inspection, though, it becomes clear why Fiat R368MMW needs to park at such a jaunty angle. Some selfish soul has obviously put a traffic cone in the bay to prevent parking here. We suspect this would be someone with one of those really useful blue badges that allows us to park on double yellow lines (we've got a pack of them here at Bristol Traffic  -  if you'd like one just ring the Bristol Traffic Help Desk - most major credit cards accepted).

Luckily for the Fiat, this is Clifton where the standard rules of behaviour do not apply, especially when it comes to parking. So it's possible to park here without a blue badge with impunity. He who dares, wins.

Reader Ride(s)! Megapost!

Keith Montgomery sends in all these beauties!  Not sure if I'm in the right order on all of them.

pics 00002/3 are of a rare in the states 1993 Aprilia RS 50. note single side swingarm.

094/097 are the wacky GIiera "CX" a water cooled e start 125 single-
CX bare-093

289 is a NEW NSR 150 from 2002 i bought/imported it  from a friend in Thailand

1996 RS 250 Aprilia Regianni Replica

KX65 mini roadracer i raced a coupla years ago.

1993 Yamaha R1-Z

1993 NSR250SP Rothmans Replica

This is one hell of a stable!  Thanks Much Keith!

More true grit from the Germans

THE radio news bulletin in the car on the way into Solingen was entirely in German, but I knew it was about the snowy conditions. I understood just two words; “London Heathrow”.

What you see above is a residential street in downtown Solingen, a German city where I'm currently on holiday, in the middle of the same snowy winter we Brits are going through. Don't be fooled by the massive mounds of the white stuff surrounding the parked cars; both the roads and the pavements have not only been gritted, but cleared as well. Something we don't seem to be able to manage in Sefton or West Lancashire.


When it snows in Germany the roads are cleared, the pavements gritted and shoppers put their gloves on and carry on. In Britain the public transport system is paralysed, entire airports shut down, cars crash on icy roads and pensioners slip on the frozen pavements. It’s bizarre, but we Brits as a nation just can’t cope with snow!

Last year I saw first hand how the entire region was caught out by an unusually high amount of snow. Searching questions were asked of the Government and the local councils, who promised that the scenario where entire towns were left ungritted wouldn’t happen again. It just has!

In England I’ve seen buses and trains cancelled, roads which look more like ice rinks, and even milk deliveries being carried out by tractor. Here, the most dramatic things I've seen are a Smart buried nose-deep into the snow, and a very elderly Citroen 2CV going about its business on snow chains.

The way everyone in Germany gets the roads cleared and just carries on, completely unfazed, never ceases to amaze me.

Compared to the chaos we’ve got, the Germans don’t know how lucky they are.

Bristol Engineering Projects - Merry Christmas

This is the season of Christmas cheer, so spare a thought for Bristol City Council's "Bristol Engineering Projects Team". This secretive bunch are the people who put the traffic lights in our roads and re-design our junctions.  We do wonder if occasionally, for a little bit of fun, they are behind all those particularly dangerous and annoying cycle lanes, installed as part of Bristol's failed attempt to become a 'Cycling City'. It’s sad to say but in these straightened times they seem to be running out of road “improvements” to carry out.


How nice, then, to see to see them busily working in Redland Green (a park) and discover that they are now finding new places to practice their art.  We love the fence that they are building across the park to make life difficult for cyclists, especially as there is a real chance that the fence might eventually injure or even permanently incapacitate a few of these freeloaders.  The fence on the Green really represents a great achievement because it has been constructed in such a way that it will make it hard for baby cyclists to learn their despicable habits. Quite literally, it cuts them short in their tracks.  Hopefully, they will all learn to drive instead with Second2none.  That is, if they haven’t been too badly injured by crashing into the fence, or crushing their driving fingers in the finger trapping gates (the gates are particularly impressive and may even prevent a few mothers and buggies from even making it to the playground).

The Bristol Engineering Projects Team appear to have cleverly managed to do the whole thing without even telling Bristol Parks. Let’s hope they can do it again and again so at last we will get some of these scruffy areas fenced in and preferably paved over.


Bristol Traffic applauds councillor Sylvia Townsend for her spirited defence of the fence at a recent Neighbourhood Partnership meeting, especially as she was entirely alone. We don’t attend such things but our spies tell us that the miserable local community objected to the fence one and all and have written hundreds of letters and emails against these forward-looking proposals.  Can you image that some of them even had the audacity to ask what the fence was for?  How mean spirited and narrow minded of them.  Clearly these residents are deluded in thinking that Redland Green is meant to be an open area of park for people to enjoy when we know it represents a great opportunity for highways thinking.

At the other end of the Green some road construction is already happening and a forest of railings going up to catch unwary cyclists and even a few small children.  We’ve been disappointed to see railings and bollards disappearing from roads because the nanny state panders to the whims of busybodies who pretend to care about the serious injuries to pedestrians and cyclists.  Well, we at Bristol Traffic are made of sterner stuff and we salute you councillor Townsend.


Pushed out of the highways maybe, but we are happy to report that highways engineering is alive and well in our parks.  


We feel that parks offer many opportunities. The area inside the fence must have already been earmarked as a car park which will at last make some proper use of this redundant space and who knows, there may even be a traffic light or too. Modest maybe, and we realise that this is a far cry from the major road schemes of the past, but there are so many things to be done in parks that we can be sure that the Bristol Engineering Projects Team won’t now run out of work.


Merry Christmas!

OMG! ATK 700cc Single!

Here is a very short vid of it running:



Pics:

That's a CR500 piston in there!! Holy Crap!

Twisted little triple minibike video.

Stig Blomqvist

713

acrylic on paper 8x12" sold

Swedish rally legend Stig Blomqvist

Lancia Stratos

The Gifts of Distance and Darkness

Of all the gifts I've received over the years, among my most treasured are a couple of lessons I learned from the many kind people in the randonneuring community, especially my friends in the Seattle International Randonneurs. The first lesson is simply this: Any Distance is Biking Distance. All the rules, paperwork, time limits and shiny medals are mechanisms to bring riders together so they can learn this simple lesson from one another. While the main lesson is a simple one, the details of pacing, equipment, nutrition, lore, history and so on are things learned slowly and repeatedly. The details get tested on the road, in every ride and brevet.

Randonneurs have been described as "riders who enjoy riding so much they don't want to stop" and as the distances get longer, randonneurs outride the daylight. If you do a Google search or ask around you will find plenty of opinions that riding a bicycle at night is incredibly dangerous. In fact, there are thousands of bicycles sold with stickers boldly stating "DO NOT RIDE AT NIGHT." And people will tell you "There are drunks on the road!" and "You can't see where you're going!" and the always persuasive "It's just crazy to ride at night!"

Despite the persistent rumor, randonneurs aren't crazy. (Maybe some are, but you don't HAVE to be crazy to be a randonneur.) Because randonneurs ride at night, they know things about riding at night. They know what lights work and how to see where they are going. They know that unfortunately some people do drink and drive and they can also tell you when the bars close and what the traffic patterns are. They can also tell you what mini-marts are open in Stanwood, Washington at 3:00 AM.

And they'll tell you this: It is beautiful at night. It is a quieter, more tranquil, less-populated world. You will see more animals and fewer people. There are far fewer cars on the road. I honestly believe that with good lights and reflective gear, a rider on a bicycle is at a lower risk riding at night than during the busy hours of the day. My rando pals recently rode a couple of overnight Solstice Rides (one on the weekend and one on the true solstice). People can ride their bikes in the darkness and not only survive, but thrive.

These days I'm mostly working on the weekends when the randos ride and I've got more than enough control cards and rando pins in my collection. The medals are just metal, but the lessons learned on darkened roads and the 4:00 AM conversations with my friends are priceless treasures.

You don't have to be a randonneur to ride at night. I just got back from a short, lovely bicycle ride around my neighborhood. The streets were quiet and mostly empty. The few cars I encountered were going the speed limit and their drivers did not seem stressed or distracted by a cluttered, noisy and busy world. I did not feel endangered or threatened or fearful. I felt relaxed and happy. My rando friends showed me this world, a gift we are given every night of the year.

Happy Holidays, everyone. We're given gifts every day and night and the best gifts are those that remind us of how very much we have.

Keep 'em rolling, day and night.

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson

Issaquah WA USA