Wow, that's some serendipity right there. Ever find out why it got sold in the first place? Your story made me realize that maybe another reason I appreciate Honda is that I don't know the first thing about mechanical engineering. I'm at about the level of Lego Technics/Erector Set. Break something on a Honda? No problem. I've heard people say this kind of thing in a lot of scenarios, kind of a "you don't know how good things can be until you've had a taste of what good really is". I can see that. Anything in particular that's stopping you from building that thing? I bet that building it would be tons of fun, especially if one had some idea of what one was doing! I would like to learn more about mechanical engineering for the sake of riding and knowing how shit works in general. I was talking to a lady not long ago about whatever and she mentioned that her son was attending MMI which is much more full on than what would suit my needs, but it's cool that it's out there and that the graduates are well-regarded. I guess I could ask various friends who are engineers to give me a hand if I run into problems at some future time, but then again, my friends with engineering backgrounds seem to think they can take just about anything apart and put it back together the right way, whether or not that's really the case.Only downside is once you've acclimatized to owning a Benelli you start thinking that things like a Vyrus or a Bimota might not be so crazy.
Fear. There's a certain amount of "oh shit if it breaks I'm fucked" that I, too, suffer from. The beastie did 5,000 miles in three months back and forth from work so when I was done with that gig, I parked it and vowed not to ride it again until it'd had its oil changed, its chain tensioned and its fuel injection rebalanced. Then, of course, I also changed out the pipe, put crash bobbins on and gave it heated grips so right now it's suffering from some serious I-don't-have-time-to-finishism. Benelli, in their infinite kindness, put up the shop manuals as PDFs. I printed mine full color using my wife's discount. It's an impressive document - a 3" binder of tweaky Italian Engrish. But it also gives you the fortitude to do obnoxious things like exchange the fuel injectors for Densos. The 25,000 Euro price tag (without engine)? The lack of a garage to build it in? Lots of things. Besides, I can't ride more than one motorcycle at once and the one I have is a peach. Engineers, as a general rule of thumb, know fuckall about taking things apart. I was stunned to learn that of the entire UW department of Mechanical Engineering, I was the only person in my graduating class that had ever repaired a vehicle large enough to ride in. In my opinion, the best way to learn how to wrench is to own a VW Bug. The parts cost nothing, you can take the whole thing apart with a Leatherman and there are enough gotchas in the design that it will not instill you with a sense of awe for "superior German engineering." Build a dune buggy or sand rail. You'll learn. ALL HAIL CHENOWTHEver find out why it got sold in the first place?
I'm at about the level of Lego Technics/Erector Set. Break something on a Honda? No problem.
Anything in particular that's stopping you from building that thing?
I guess I could ask various friends who are engineers to give me a hand if I run into problems at some future time, but then again, my friends with engineering backgrounds seem to think they can take just about anything apart and put it back together the right way, whether or not that's really the case.
That is seriously shocking. Was that unusual at the time? I wonder what it's like now across the US . . . Now there's an idea. My car is just about to die on me and this "cold-spell" isn't helping things at all. I really, really hope I can sell it to some parents looking for a first car for their kid, come spring. I really, really, really hope I can sell it for close to what I spent on getting it to pass inspection.Engineers, as a general rule of thumb, know fuckall about taking things apart. I was stunned to learn that of the entire UW department of Mechanical Engineering, I was the only person in my graduating class that had ever repaired a vehicle large enough to ride in.
In my opinion, the best way to learn how to wrench is to own a VW Bug. The parts cost nothing, you can take the whole thing apart with a Leatherman and there are enough gotchas in the design that it will not instill you with a sense of awe for "superior German engineering." Build a dune buggy or sand rail. You'll learn.
Dunno. Gotta keep in mind: when I started in college, "fuel injection" was something that you didn't mess with. You could chip a modern car and make it go faster but a 350 with TPI was pretty much the shit. Fast forward 20 years and a buddy of mine is reliving his Landcruiser fetish and he's got yet another with a 327. Lo and behold, a 350 with TPI is still the shit. It's like car culture hit 1992 and just sorta stopped. I mean, even the ricers don't really go for modern rides anymore. The stupid stereo twits will buy something new and put eleventy seven LCD screens in it, but if you're actually dealing with the mechanicals you're probably working on a '98 Prelude. Presuming you're working on it at all. The kids aren't buying cars, and they aren't driving anywhere, so why would they give a shit?That is seriously shocking. Was that unusual at the time? I wonder what it's like now across the US . . .
I have noticed that I meet more and more people who say they don't drive, though I've wondered if that was merely an effect of meeting people in large cities. The concept of the self-driven car is appealing, especially if it could work as a kind of modular public transit, but I've got a feeling that such cars are a bit further off than the articles suggest.
I don't think it's the "driving" aspect so much as the "$20,000 and $400/mo in insurance just to be allowed to legally put the keys in" aspect. That and it's so much less of a tribulation to be stuck at home. Backintheday we found new bands by reading about them in magazines, then driving an hour to the music store to make a deposit, then driving back two weeks later to pick up our CD. Youtube is a definite improvement.
The laws are not so strict where I'm from, but I take your point. I love Youtube, but it bums me out that there are so many things that get in the way of frequent social interaction between people here. Plus, I always enjoyed going to the record store and just digging for whatever. I guess I don't have to deal with "holier-than-thou" record store employees anymore, just those bonkers comments sections.