Tomorrow we leave for the California Melee! Just checked, the start in San Francisco is 435 miles from here, so we will drive the GTV 870 miles just getting to the event and back. Should be a blast. Alfa is running great.. just have to pack.
Kamis, 09 September 2010
Kamis, 02 September 2010
Alignment bogus-ness and knowing what you are doing.
About a week ago I put new tires, shock and brakes on the truck and had the wheels aligned as well. Driving the truck, I wasn't completely sure it was tracking properly. But we have a good amount of traffic in Southern California, so I wasn't completely sure, I might have been just feeling the crown of the road. At any rate, it was easy to bring the truck back in and have them check the alignment. The report:
No. Look at the difference between the left and right: 0.31 degrees before. And 0.28 degrees after. That 0.03 change isn't significant. Uhm, maybe they just should have turned the steering wheel about 15 degrees? And sure enough, on the drive home I noticed the steering wheel center is off a bit. Sigh. Does anyone pay any attention to what they are actually doing? I mean, all they did is move the steering wheel with this adjustment.
There's no harm done, and I now have tight wheel bearings. And I was probably just feeling the crown in the road as the truck handled about the same on the way home. But I'll be annoyed at the steering being off center for a bit until I forget about it.
- first they said the alignment was fine... but the wheel bearing were loose, particularly on one side. Well, loose wheels bearings would mess up the alignment, so I asked to see before they sold me new bearings. When we entered the garage, the mechanic was tightening the bearings, so I didn't actually need anything new.
- they aligned the wheels again
- and they gave me the report showing the "change" in Toe:
- before: Left 0.32 deg Right: -0.01 deg
- after: Left 0.14 deg Right: 0.14 deg
No. Look at the difference between the left and right: 0.31 degrees before. And 0.28 degrees after. That 0.03 change isn't significant. Uhm, maybe they just should have turned the steering wheel about 15 degrees? And sure enough, on the drive home I noticed the steering wheel center is off a bit. Sigh. Does anyone pay any attention to what they are actually doing? I mean, all they did is move the steering wheel with this adjustment.
There's no harm done, and I now have tight wheel bearings. And I was probably just feeling the crown in the road as the truck handled about the same on the way home. But I'll be annoyed at the steering being off center for a bit until I forget about it.
Bosch 36618-02 drill review and 3M Headlight Lens Restoration System test
Well, I tested my new Bosch 36618-02. I also compared it with my old Makita 6233D. One of the Makita's batteries died, leaving me with just one. And I didn't want to buy a new battery for my old drill. So I bought a new drill, the Bosch.
Here of pic of the new Bosch next to the Makita.
In short, I like the new Bosch. Compared to the old Makita:
The new drill was much better. Frankly, the extra speed was a big factor. The 3M system even says in the directions that you need a 1200 - 1600 RPM drill. Now maybe my old Makita has slowed down, but the Bosch did work much better. So I quickly stopped using the old drill. The project had me run down 5 batteries from full to empty. I only have 2 batteries, so I did have to recharge them. It seemed to take approximately 30 - 40 minutes to recharge the batteries. Unfortunately, I ran down the drill batteries faster than that. Given I had to start and stop and change sanding pads, get a drink, etc., I'm not really sure how long the drill ran on a charge. I'd guess about 15 minutes, maybe 20, of continuous sanding. I would have liked it to run longer, but then I guess that would require the larger batteries that would take longer to charge... so I'm not sure what to think about that. As it was, I only had to take a 10 minute break and the spare battery was ready off the charger and I could swap the batteries and keep going.
Here's an after picture of the headlight.
The headlights really did come out great. So I really recommend the 3M kit. It is a scary process as the first thing you do is sand the whole lens until it is opaque like frosted glass. But it all works out in the end. The only issue I had was the small round lights protrude from the rest of the headlamp and there are some tight corners and recessed spots that are hard to get to with a sanding disk. I ended up gouging the plastic in a couple spots. But it's not visible from 3 feet away. And having the clarity restored is an important factor for having good functional headlamps, and that was my goal. I should note that if you have normal flat headlamps, or headlamps with just a simple curve and no recesses this would be a simple project and be much quicker. I'd estimate that you could do the first headlight in 45 to 60 minutes and then the second in maybe 20 to 30 minutes. The first one taking longer as you figured everything out. Complicated curves like on these took me a while, being especially careful.
So in summary, I like the new drill. And the headlamps came out great.
Here of pic of the new Bosch next to the Makita.
- The Bosch runs faster (1600RPM vs 1300RPM)
- The Bosch has more torque
- The Bosch has a brake, it stops right away when you release the trigger
- The Bosch has many more torque settings
- The Bosch appears to have a more steel at the nose of the chuck. That seems more robust
- The Bosch is lighter
- My only complaint is that the Bosch's Lithium Ion batteries are only 1.3Ah. But you can get a bigger battery if you want.
The new drill was much better. Frankly, the extra speed was a big factor. The 3M system even says in the directions that you need a 1200 - 1600 RPM drill. Now maybe my old Makita has slowed down, but the Bosch did work much better. So I quickly stopped using the old drill. The project had me run down 5 batteries from full to empty. I only have 2 batteries, so I did have to recharge them. It seemed to take approximately 30 - 40 minutes to recharge the batteries. Unfortunately, I ran down the drill batteries faster than that. Given I had to start and stop and change sanding pads, get a drink, etc., I'm not really sure how long the drill ran on a charge. I'd guess about 15 minutes, maybe 20, of continuous sanding. I would have liked it to run longer, but then I guess that would require the larger batteries that would take longer to charge... so I'm not sure what to think about that. As it was, I only had to take a 10 minute break and the spare battery was ready off the charger and I could swap the batteries and keep going.
Here's an after picture of the headlight.
The headlights really did come out great. So I really recommend the 3M kit. It is a scary process as the first thing you do is sand the whole lens until it is opaque like frosted glass. But it all works out in the end. The only issue I had was the small round lights protrude from the rest of the headlamp and there are some tight corners and recessed spots that are hard to get to with a sanding disk. I ended up gouging the plastic in a couple spots. But it's not visible from 3 feet away. And having the clarity restored is an important factor for having good functional headlamps, and that was my goal. I should note that if you have normal flat headlamps, or headlamps with just a simple curve and no recesses this would be a simple project and be much quicker. I'd estimate that you could do the first headlight in 45 to 60 minutes and then the second in maybe 20 to 30 minutes. The first one taking longer as you figured everything out. Complicated curves like on these took me a while, being especially careful.
So in summary, I like the new drill. And the headlamps came out great.
Senin, 30 Agustus 2010
cordless drills
My old Makita cordless drill just died. Well actually, its still running. But the chuck is failing and one of the two batteries is completely dead. The other battery is getting weak. This thing is indispensable in my garage for everything from polishing components to the usual hole drilling.
After a bunch of research I just ordered a Bosch 36618-02.
I also considered the Panasonic EY6432GQKW (approximately $200). This is maybe best rated of the "prosumer grade" (my terminology) drills. But the NiMH battery, while probably stronger than the Lithium Ion batteries of the competitors just looked too bulky to me. But its supposed to be a great drill and my old Makita with NiMH batteries was great... at any rate I skipped it.
Makita BDF452HW is the other competitor (approx $185), but it had some bad reviews of the chuck and batteries. And in person looked cheap to me. It didn't look like a worthy successor to my old Makita.
So I'm trying the Bosch above. At $155, I could get a third battery for another $50, and still be in the price range I'm willing to spend. So my main concern, battery life, seemed to be best addressed with this unit as I'm pretty sure three batteries would do better than the two of the competitive units above.
Thats my summary, FWIW.
After I get it I intend to polish my truck headlights to remove the fogging. That should be a good test, and I'll report back on how it works out.
After a bunch of research I just ordered a Bosch 36618-02.
I also considered the Panasonic EY6432GQKW (approximately $200). This is maybe best rated of the "prosumer grade" (my terminology) drills. But the NiMH battery, while probably stronger than the Lithium Ion batteries of the competitors just looked too bulky to me. But its supposed to be a great drill and my old Makita with NiMH batteries was great... at any rate I skipped it.
Makita BDF452HW is the other competitor (approx $185), but it had some bad reviews of the chuck and batteries. And in person looked cheap to me. It didn't look like a worthy successor to my old Makita.
So I'm trying the Bosch above. At $155, I could get a third battery for another $50, and still be in the price range I'm willing to spend. So my main concern, battery life, seemed to be best addressed with this unit as I'm pretty sure three batteries would do better than the two of the competitive units above.
Thats my summary, FWIW.
After I get it I intend to polish my truck headlights to remove the fogging. That should be a good test, and I'll report back on how it works out.
Rabu, 25 Agustus 2010
Motogiro d'Italia 2011
Well, Club Terni has announced the 2011 Motogiro!
Motoclub Terni Motogiro
Of course there are two of these now; DreamEngine2 runs an event too.
A short history...
Club Terni started running the revival event back around 1989. In 2001 Ducati spun off an organisation called DreamEngine to run the event with Club Terni. Ducati was interested in the marketing benefits. In those days DreamEngine ran the hotels and tourist stuff, and Club Terni ran the competition and road stuff. DreamEngine did bring a Ducati bias to the event, and that certainly brought many Ducati fans. That lasted through 2007 and then Club Terni and Dream Engine split ways. Around this time Ducati stopped making a big sponsorship of the event as well. And then DreamEngine disolved and DreamEngine2 was formed. Now there are two Motogiro events held in Italy. At this point it appears that the Club Terni event is the FMI (the Italina Motorcycle Federation, like our AMA) certified event. I've never been to the Club Terni event, but have heard good reports. And it sounds like people had a great time at the DreamEngine event too. Although I haven't personally been able to compare the two, I suspect the DreamEngine2 event is still a bit more Ducat and tourist focused and the Motoclub Terni event might be a bit more Italian (less English spoken and more Italian riders). But that is just my guess.
DreamEngine makes a big deal about the name Motogiro and you can see some noise about related Italian lawsuits on their website. But it appears that that trademark is for the "trapezoidal logo with motogiro printed inside it" and that Terni is being allowed to continue to use the actual word Motogiro as well. Which seems sensible, as this is a generic term in Italian, roughly translated "motorcycle tour" in english. Regardless of the lawsuits, its great there are two events now. But I hope the market can really support both.
I'd really like to go and try the Motoclub Terni event, as I remember those organizers fondly...
Motoclub Terni Motogiro
Of course there are two of these now; DreamEngine2 runs an event too.
A short history...
Club Terni started running the revival event back around 1989. In 2001 Ducati spun off an organisation called DreamEngine to run the event with Club Terni. Ducati was interested in the marketing benefits. In those days DreamEngine ran the hotels and tourist stuff, and Club Terni ran the competition and road stuff. DreamEngine did bring a Ducati bias to the event, and that certainly brought many Ducati fans. That lasted through 2007 and then Club Terni and Dream Engine split ways. Around this time Ducati stopped making a big sponsorship of the event as well. And then DreamEngine disolved and DreamEngine2 was formed. Now there are two Motogiro events held in Italy. At this point it appears that the Club Terni event is the FMI (the Italina Motorcycle Federation, like our AMA) certified event. I've never been to the Club Terni event, but have heard good reports. And it sounds like people had a great time at the DreamEngine event too. Although I haven't personally been able to compare the two, I suspect the DreamEngine2 event is still a bit more Ducat and tourist focused and the Motoclub Terni event might be a bit more Italian (less English spoken and more Italian riders). But that is just my guess.
DreamEngine makes a big deal about the name Motogiro and you can see some noise about related Italian lawsuits on their website. But it appears that that trademark is for the "trapezoidal logo with motogiro printed inside it" and that Terni is being allowed to continue to use the actual word Motogiro as well. Which seems sensible, as this is a generic term in Italian, roughly translated "motorcycle tour" in english. Regardless of the lawsuits, its great there are two events now. But I hope the market can really support both.
I'd really like to go and try the Motoclub Terni event, as I remember those organizers fondly...
Every step is a battle... more
Interesting that I just posted about that line "Every step is a battle". So I'm working on the motorcycle hauler, my 2003 Nissan Frontier. I ordered new Yokohama Geolander tires, Bilstein shocks, and Hawk brake pads from Tire Rack about $700. Brought them all the big O tires. The Brake pads were the wrong ones, and I needed new rotors. So I bought new rotors and pads from Big O, and returned the Hawk pads to the Tire Rack. All good. Big O charged me another $700. Oof. Today I spent some time bedding the pads in. Interesting process documented here. It all seemed to be going ok and I took a break (pun intended) while I had a unrelated appointment. Then I was driving home when... a horrible squeal came from the front of the car. I was immediately very concerned, assuming maybe a caliper had fallen off or a pad slipped loose or who knows what? I pulled over and then carefully tried to move the truck and the sound came back. I got out and inspected things, and they all looked ok. So I tried again, same problem... and then I tried turning off the air conditioner... and the sound stopped. Maybe a pulley or the compressor seized? Well I was still a bit spooked as this all happened right after changing the tires, shocks and brakes! So I drove carefully to my mechanic, and on the last mile tried the AC again... so squeal... but no cold air either. Hmm. Well an hour later and my mechanic called, the compressor has failed and it necessary to replace the drier at the same time. Another $700. I'm beginning to remember why I thought renting a truck when I really needed it was cheaper than owning...
Kamis, 19 Agustus 2010
GTV rattle update
Well, after poking around with the rattle (described a couple posts back) that I attributed to my throttle linkage. I brought the car to my experts at APC. The car needed some other servicing, and its alot easier for them to get under the car, as I don't have a lift. Ends up it was a good choice. The exhaust was cracked, and that was causing some extra vibration. My throttle linkage was probably shaking with the extra vibration caused by the cracked exhaust. But the rattle is gone now, thank goodness. This throttle linkage has been a lot of work... you can see my earlier story from when I replaced the bell crank and heim joints on the throttle linkage here.
Also, they found some of the front suspension linkages had been loosening and they tightened that up. And of course I let then do the oil change and we put in a fresh battery. The car seems to be running great now. Definitely quieter, a little smoother and just a dream. So I should be all set for the late summer and fall events.
And I saved myself some real frustration chasing the rattle myself. I hadn't even considered a cracked exhaust as a possible factor. Sometimes its best to enlist professional help!
Also, they found some of the front suspension linkages had been loosening and they tightened that up. And of course I let then do the oil change and we put in a fresh battery. The car seems to be running great now. Definitely quieter, a little smoother and just a dream. So I should be all set for the late summer and fall events.
And I saved myself some real frustration chasing the rattle myself. I hadn't even considered a cracked exhaust as a possible factor. Sometimes its best to enlist professional help!
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