Text 29611, 76 rader
Skriven 2009-03-17 16:03:35 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
     Kommentar till en text av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
Ärende: Bikes
=============
Hello Robert,

On Monday March 16 2009 19:27, you wrote to me:

 RB> I wrote normal English, whether you realize that or not.

It is not your English Bob, it is your logic. I have seen people making similar
errors in Dutch. It is not sloppy language, it is sloppy thinking.

 MV>> here, if you do not let the garage do the repairs, yu pay the full
 MV>> price for the inspection. Pass or no pass. Hasve it repaired
 MV>> elsewhere and come back for another test, you pay the full price
 MV>> again.

 RB> Nice way to "earn" money, but not very good for the vehicle owner, who
 RB> gets screwed coming and going. Lucky we don't have such a system here.

Indeed. But of course the whole periodic inspection thing was used  by the
garage lobby to generate extra income. That was velar ftom the start. At leat
to *me*. Nobody ever dared publish a statistic that shows these inspectiosn
actually increase road safety,

 MV>> These gel batteries are very nice, but be advised that on the
 MV>> downside, they do not take kindly to overcharging. if you
 MV>> overcharge a classic lead battery, it starts to "gas". The lost
 MV>> water can ease;ly be replaced by topping it off with demineralised
 MV>> water. With a gel battery that is not possible. So I hope you went
 MV>> easy on the charge.

 RB> I charged overnight at the "motorcycle" setting, and the final voltage
 RB> was 13.something V, so I figure everything is OK.

If you have a "smart" charger, it would be all right. With a dumb s=charger
that just goes on until switched off, you could run a gel battery.

 RB> Now, of course, I have to actually start the thing after not having it
 RB> running for the past 2 years or so. I figure that will be quite a job
 RB> too, but one way or another, I'll manage.

Yes, that will be a challenge. Most engines to not take kindly to standing idle
for two years. You may have to take apart e few bits and pieces that are stuck.
The carburettors come to mind...

 MV>> Batteries do not spoil the liquid so easely. Not the ones that i
 MV>> came across.

 RB> Maybe you haven't tipped a motorcycle over as many times as I have.

It has happened to me. Not very often, but I had it happen. Never had a problem
with spilling liquid form the battery. It may make a difference that the bikes
I had, normally did not fully tip over, they stopped at 30 degrees or so...

 RB> The Bandit is heavy and topheavy - get it a few degrees out of
 RB> vertical and you don't have a chance to prevent it tipping over. Just
 RB> get out of the way to avoid crushing a leg. And when that happens,
 RB> acid runs out. No question.

Hmmm,, in that case I say the gel battery is the right choice.

 RB> I still dream about my Zuendapp 50 cc "Kleinkraftrad" of 1966...
 RB> light, fast and easy to pick up if you did tip it over.
 RB> Naturally such things are no longer made - too "politically
 RB> incorrect".
[..]
 RB> but who cares? Long live the holy environment!

The world changes and so does the way how we look at things. We *are*
overstrechting the environment and we can no longer afford to behave as if the
environment has an infinite capacity to absorb. You may choose to not believe
that and put your head in the sand, but that does not change the facts.


Cheers, Michiel

--- GoldED+/W32-MINGW 1.1.5-b20070503
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