My brother Jordan and I went backpacking last weekend in the Ventana Wilderness, near Big Sur, California.
There’s an amazing moment on a camping trip, usually on the third day, when you become totally okay with living out of a backpack. The skills that you’ve acquired in your regular life are meaningless; what is important is how strong the instant coffee is, and how the trout are biting this morning. You forget about the ticks, fatigue, and no-toilet-paper, and notice the butterflies.
Ron Brown forwarded this article to my email. As much as I hate to admit it, the end is near for the sound of straight-pipes.
“First Look: Brammo Empulse
The electric motorcycle takes another important step forward.
By Kevin Cameron
July 2010
Brammo, Inc., makers of the Enertia commuter bike we reviewed a few months ago, has announced that it has broken through “the dual barriers” of electric-motorcycle range and speed with a new model called the Empulse. The company states that this machine has the capability to sustain (not merely to reach) 100 mph and will be offered in three versions.
Brammo learned from customers that range is a number-one concern of electric-bike users, who would also like greater speed capability; a genuine 60-mile range seemed to be the magic number. So, the company will offer three Empulse models with 60-, 80- and 100-mile ranges, corresponding to batteries of 6-, 8- and 10-kwh. The higher speed will enable these machines to handle freeway conditions with assurance.
Originally, Brammo felt it would be unable to fully develop these heightened performance capabilities in prototype form until some time next year, but a conversation with CEO Craig Bramscher revealed that batteries built to Brammo specs have proven possible to produce more cheaply and sooner than anticipated. This will allow the company to offer the new models ahead of schedule.
Quoting from the Brammo press release, “Estimated MSRP for the Empulse trio when deliveries start next year are: Empulse Sixty $9995, Empulse Eighty $11,995, and Empulse One Hundred $13,995. All three models will be eligible for Federal and State tax incentives. For example, the Empulse One Hundred may cost as little as $7000 in certain states after Federal and State incentives.”
The power to reach 100 mph is not the challenge; we know that 20-hp 50cc GP bikes used to peak at 120 mph. The issue is to control motor temperature at steady high power, which is necessary to prevent its rising to the 250-300-degrees F that can damage winding insulation. The motor in the Brammo Empulse is water-cooled (you can see its radiator just below the steering head), enabling it to deliver high power continuously without overheating. The motor is being built by Parker-Hannifin especially for this application.
Heat in electric motors is generated mainly from the resistance of the wire windings and from magnetic hysteresis loss in the magnetic poles that pull the rotating armature around. Even at 90-percent efficiency, this waste heat accumulates if not removed. One way to deal with it is to program the power supply to reduce power (as disappointing as what happened to Dani Pedrosa when his fuel system went into fuel-conservation mode in a recent MotoGP). Brammo has met the problem head-on with water cooling that actively removes waste heat to limit the rise in motor temperature.
As compared with internal combustion, the energy cost of electric vehicles is low. Bramscher gave the example of 15,000 miles of operation for $100.
Motors and controllers for electric vehicles are already very good. It is mainly the rate of progress of battery capability that limits performance. With the Empulse, the people at Brammo are using that progress to their advantage.”
I went over to Lee’s house to pick up some dead motorcycles the other day.
While he was climbing over the piles of stuff in his shed, trying to search out an old Kawasaki airbox, I noticed something tied to the ceiling. It was over 8 feet long, made of fine, beautiful wood, and looked very fragile and very strong at the same time.
“What the fuck is that thing?” I asked. I had totally forgotten about the decomposing KZ1000 parts we were supposed to be gathering up.
“A…. kayak maybe? I think it’s a folding kayak,” said Lee. It was a leftover from the old legendary second hand- sporting goods store on 10th and Pine, and Lee had been storing what was left of it for over ten years. It was missing some of its most important parts (the hull and deck parts, for starters) but it was mostly there, and it was amazing. A 15 foot boat in two pieces, it was incredibly well made and brilliantly designed, with interlocking aircraft-like aluminum fasteners, a little fabric seat, and some type of sail-part. Lee didn’t know much about what it was, but he could see that I was literally entranced by this thing, so he let me take it home.
I’ve since learned that it is a Klepper Aerius 1 folding kayak, made of ash and birch wood. Kleppers have been the same design for half a century, and of course there is a huge cult following of boat-nerds who think they are the coolest things that float. They are also insanely expensive, and the new “skin” that my boat needs costs more than a complete regular kayak. I’ve been searching and searching for ideas to get around purchasing a new skin, but I didn’t find much info for build-your-own-folding-kayak-skins until I stumbled onto the Folding Kayak Builder’s Manual. It’s a gold mine- free plans and instructions to build your own complete folding kayak! I now have another project, and another reason to learn German.
Andy Schleck makes second place look cool, and also confirms that white helmets rule.
Ian Halcott has a dream. A dream in which boring, cookie-cutter crotch rockets are transformed into elegant, purposeful crotch rockets with sweet little bucket headlights. Stay tuned.
Traveling in top gear on a quiet, residential street on Beacon hill today, I had a moment to appreciate the afternoon. It was finally a sunny day and I was test riding a 1973 CB100. It felt good to be a grease covered, disheveled, thirty-five year old man, hauling ass on a tiny blue motorcycle, and I was doing my job.
Back at the shop, summer is in full effect and we have three “interns” who have joined the Twinline posse. With the roar and stench of the Dyno in the background, randomly flying molten steel, and Stormy’s inappropriate humor, it takes a brave soul to enter these doors, let alone donate a bunch of summer time. A brave soul, or a strange soul.
Jabari
Robin
Brian and Christina
A common cause for the oily puddle under a BMW airhead is a leaky rear main seal, the seal that keeps the oil in the crankcase from sneaking past the crankshaft. It’s a large but ineffective looking ring of plastic, and I watched Stormy ruin two of them today in his R100/7 motor.
Gearbox, clutch and flywheel stuff removed to expose the rear main seal
Prying out the old seal. He would’ve been better off just leaving it in there and putting a towel under the bike.
Once seal is removed, clean with Stormy’s favorite substance on Earth: lacquer thinner
The oil pump is located directly under the main seal. Not replacing the oil pump gasket while you’re in there “would be plum ignorant”
In order to drive in the new main seal, it’s nice to have a huge metal cylindrical thing like this one to hit with a hammer. Also, Stormy says to never put any oil on the new seal before driving it in the groove.
The brand new main seal. Its going to be a very short ride for this little guy.
Within one mile of installing his new seal, Stormy’s bike dumped about a half quart of oil on the ground, in an expensive slug trail from Holgate street to the shop’s parking lot. The Storm’s face fell like Hemingway’s Old Man, when the sharks were tearing at the tuna carcass. It was sad. For whatever the reason, probably because it hadn’t been driven in quite far enough, the seal had ruptured and torn.
The Vintage Motorcycle Enthusiasts meet on Vashon Island once a year, and ride their shiny little gadgets up and down the island’s most treacherous backroads. We cobbled together some bikes at the shop on Sunday morning, and tore out across the West Seattle bridge to catch the 9:00 ferry boat.
I got a chance to talk to Ron Brown, riding his Yamaha trials bike.
Ducati
Aermacchi
Best in show: Norton twin with a sidecar
Allyne’s CB350 Frankenchopper
VME members, discussing the use of whale fat for lubricating hand-cut transmission cogs
