DDolfelin Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I can't claim that credit, Don. Although I've pushed this little project through, there is a small band of church affiliated people at the core of most efforts... And ... this is a village! Anyone who lives in a similar place will know there are all sorts of undercurrents and inertia to overcome. There are only 30 houses altogether. As I've lived in Wales for less than 200 years, I'm something of a newcomer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium eldavo Posted September 22, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 22, 2011 Morning All, Dubious looking oktas in place. Hope it brightens for a bit of golf this afternoon. That's some serious Italian tail pipe Gordon. Bags of fun I have no doubt but will it start when it rains? Have a good one all. Cheers Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony_S Posted September 22, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 22, 2011 Morning all. Up late this morning (not well during night, OK now) and have dealt with the email Aditi left for me (she was too kind to wake me up this morning) requesting that I sort out a mysterious formatting problem with 3 pages of her dissertation. Now done that so I can log on to RMweb! Gordon, perhaps the local Maserati dealer has some good offers on at the moment! Or I could have let you drive Aditi's Clio when the exhaust manifold cracked, it sounded very sporty! Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixoh8sixoh Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Morning all! I recognised the Maserati badge. Don't often see any truly special cars where I live but driving back from Durham to Edinburgh one day last year a Pagani Zonda passed me going the opposite direction. Fair made my day, seeing that! How about that one for your next test drive Gordon? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I've driven a late sixties Maserati Bora (space frame, DOHC V8, multiple LARGE Webers). It was like a road going Le Mans car. I do miss pumping Webers to get a car going. Yesterday I caught three rather large Whitetail Deer amongst my Wife's Vegetable plot. Grabbing my large spray bottle of Black Bear urine I managed to save her Zucchini's and Peppers......the dog thought I smelled interesting for the rest of the day...... I'm listening to Modelrailradio and there's an interesting discussion going on re watching the trains go by and Operations between professional layout designers in the 'States (it's #44, a recording). Later, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony_S Posted September 22, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 22, 2011 Yesterday I caught three rather large Whitetail Deer amongst my Wife's Vegetable plot. Grabbing my large spray bottle of Black Bear urine I managed to save her Zucchini's and Peppers......the dog thought I smelled interesting for the rest of the day...... I'm not sure how Robbie would behave if he had to put up with deer in the garden. He is quite certain about how to deal with squirrels and foxes. Is black bear urine collected from the wild population of bears or from zoo animals? It must add a certain piquancy to the ratatouille though. I'm sure I read somewhere that lion dung is very effective at deterring herbivorous garden visitors. Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixoh8sixoh Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I was going to ask how you got the black bear urine... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Yeah, well I didn't spray the actual veggies with it, Tony - I did a barrier of about 20 trees - and me, of course. The deer "melted" away, like they do. I did see the Coyote again which I don't mind as I hope he is keeping the Rabbits down. My garden is like a freaking menagerie, come spring it's one huge ######..... Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I was going to ask how you got the black bear urine... Carefully. Alternatively buy it at a store You can literally buy anything over here.... Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon s Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Remind me not to have Zucchini in the States if that's what they use as a deterrent... Oh well, back to the normal cooking car. No noise, no nuffin'. Just like a big pudding. No Zonda's at the toy shop, but they do have a rather nice Nissan Skyline GT-R. Mmmmn... . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony_S Posted September 22, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 22, 2011 I've driven a late sixties Maserati Bora (space frame, DOHC V8, multiple LARGE Webers). It was like a road going Le Mans car. I do miss pumping Webers to get a car going. ... I'm sure I've never driven any Italian manufactured vehicle. Even when we hired a car in Italy it was a Renault. (It broke down at the top of the Simplon pass, fortunately I had a Swiss Army penknife and could sort it out). My Dad had a Fiat Mirafiori but I never drove it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony_S Posted September 22, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 22, 2011 No Zonda's at the toy shop, but they do have a rather nice Nissan Skyline GT-R. Mmmmn... . When I was doing the "sort out a car for MiL" task recently I asked my BiL if there were any financial limits I had to consider. Apparently I do cars, he does money! When being told that "money was no problem, just get her what she needs", I did look at Gordon's recent exotic driving experience photos and wonder if I could get one of those with me as second named driver. However I was sensible and did recommend the Toyota Yaris rather than the Ferrari or Aston Martin. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium skipepsi Posted September 22, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 22, 2011 I did have an italian motorcycle a moto guzzi le mans it was fast and noisy and went round corners with more style than me but the exhausts were painted black and rusted often, however the only electrical fault was the indicators habit of pointing downwards instead of staying level. It was that reliable that on a whim I went up to Aberdeen one day in the rain/sunshine of a british summer. Can you tell I wasn't married at the time? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I'm sure I've never driven any Italian manufactured vehicle. Even when we hired a car in Italy it was a Renault. (It broke down at the top of the Simplon pass, fortunately I had a Swiss Army penknife and could sort it out). My Dad had a Fiat Mirafiori but I never drove it. Most Italian "exotica" of that era had appalling, heavy clutches which made them a nightmare around town. The Bora had a beautiful light clutch which certainly made it easy to drive. Best, Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Mick, The Guzzi Le Mans was a good bike. What I liked about Guzzi's in general was that they kept the things relatively small. I saw an original Bonneville the other day in NYC and was shocked by how petite it was compared to the gargantuan Japanese fours on either side of it. Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium skipepsi Posted September 22, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 22, 2011 (edited) Pete it is something the Japanese never seem to recognise that mass is as much of a hindrance to top speed as air flow. Big British bikes had around 60bhp and could manage around 125mph flat out my Japanese 900 needed a third as much power again for its extra 10mph. Ok I bought it because it didn't cover me in oil and it could run flat out without breaking but it was over 500lbs and handled like a pig, a definitive point and squirt machine. Edited September 22, 2011 by skipepsi Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 (edited) Mick, Totally agree. They (the Japanese) have lost the plot along the way - and over here their prices are comparable with new Harley - Davidsons, so they've lost that too. Give me a nice lightweight 750 twin with a modern motor...... best, Pete. Edited September 22, 2011 by trisonic Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon s Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 The only Italian car I have owned was an Alfa 164 Cloverleaf. Absolutely loved it and the 3.0 V6 was a wonderful engine. Biggest problem was with the dealer network who were total rubbish. Eventually I found a small independent Alfa specialist who were great, but still have to agree that Italian electrics in the 80's were a law unto themselves. Every petrol head has to own an Alfa at some time in their lives.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Max Stafford Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Interestingly, I drive Italian on a daily basis. I've had a Fiat Grande Punto 1.4 for the last five years and I love it . It's reasonably nippy and although I've had to replace part of the steering column and some of the auxilliary wiring, it has in fact been a good, reliable car and comfortable too. Nice looking too, with its Giugiaro input! Tony, now Matthew's back and thinking about alternative transport, this one's for you...! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxfzm9dfqBw Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony_S Posted September 22, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 22, 2011 I could do with a visit from bicycle repair man. I gave my old Motobecane racing bike to my nephew, Matthew couldn't ride it and I wasn't likely to but although I was trying to clear the garage, Matthew acquired an old bike from his uncle. My nephew had "serviced" it. It was at this point I suggested he studied something more theoretical at university than engineering as was his plan at the time. Anyway a bike that doesn't look too smart is just what Matthew needs for riding to university. I've got all the bits to make it safe for him and assuming I'm more mobile tomorrow I'll sort it out. Every time I look at a bicycle the technology for brakes seems to have changed. Although the bike is a bit tatty it has front and rear suspension and lots of gears. Yesterday we got new brake bits, lights, pump, a lock, new helmet and reflective jacket. Matthew said the bike he hired in Vietnam had a handy shopping basket but he refused my offer to buy one for his bike here. I've got to work out how to transport the bike to Leicester. I've got a Halfords bike carrier that used to fit on the hatchback door of the Scenic, I'll see if that goes on the back of the Freelander. My version of the Freelander doesn't have the spare wheel mounted on the door so I suppose it should work. Matthew was in hall last year and didn't need to take bedding so the car wasn't quite full but I suspect it will be rather full this time. Google Streetview seems to have a new picture of the house Matthew will be renting, The last one had a council van parked outside with workmen putting up seasonal decorations on the streetlamps. Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDolfelin Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 (edited) I'm not exactly a petrol head but I did own a secondhand bag of bolts called an Lancia Flavia (?). Looked good, made a lot of noise but went at forty miles a fortnight compared to a 3L Capri I had at the same time. Edited for stupidity. Edited September 22, 2011 by DDolfelin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDolfelin Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I see Blackpool is expecting a boom due to discovery of Gas Deposits. That's illuminating. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium NGT6 1315 Posted September 22, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 22, 2011 Evening all... Had a full plate this week and been too wrung out to chime in. I also had two additional practice lessons today and will hold a final one tomorrow. I'm sure I will miss the people at school as they were all great... In any case, I think sleeping in will be high on the list for this weekend! Well, at least I'd like to do so, but I really am a lark rather than an owl, so you may yet see me on here in the early hours... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 (edited) Tony-S, As somebody who lived in Cambridge, where the bike is a ubiquitous beast, I'd recommend 3 locks - one for each wheel, and one for the frame to railings/lampost/etc - or a very long, preferably welded-link or high-tensile steel wire, chain that will go through all three with a single lock. It was quite common to see chained up bikes with missing wheels! And NEVER, EVER leave it with lights attached - they won't be for long! Edited September 22, 2011 by shortliner Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony_S Posted September 22, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 22, 2011 Tony-S, As somebody who lived in Cambridge, where the bike is a ubiquitous beast, I'd recommend 3 locks - one for each wheel, and one for the frame to railings/lampost/etc - or a very long, preferably welded-link or high-tensile steel wire, chain that will go through all three with a single lock. It was quite common to see chained up bikes with missing wheels! And NEVER, EVER leave it with lights attached - they won't be for long! Thank you. We bought a lock that has a cable long enough to go through everything. The nice chap in Halfords explained all the logistics of the many locks they had. In case of theft we have also added the bike to his insurance. Even when I was a child, lamps would disappear from unattended bicycles. The modern light sets are quite tiny (but not cheap) compared to the traditional variety. Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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