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200 Series General Forum for the Volvo 240 and 260 cars |
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Any Advice?Views : 13518 Replies : 248Users Viewing This Thread : |
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May 19th, 2020, 06:24 | #231 | |
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Like many dads - I worry too much about my boy :-) Stay alert, Alan |
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May 19th, 2020, 06:37 | #232 | |
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My thinking about off road riding is that one is never doing 95MPH, almost every time I fall off (and if one doesn't fall off at least once during an outing one isn't trying hard enough) the impact (with a tree/bush/ground) speed is well under 5MPH once ameliorated with the brakes/MX boots etc :-) I wasn't implying hitting a tree on a bike is safe, just that the speeds are much lower off road (and so the 1/2mv^2 is much lower, that is the important bit). The impact speed is often much higher on the road because the objects (cars, vans, lorries etc) are moving as well, so the closing speeds are far higher. Whilst important in a Volvo 244 weighing 1500KG, it is far more important on a bike weighing 150KG attached to a very flimsy rider. Dan thinks I'm a bit of a hypocrite discouraging him from road bikes whilst having 4 bikes myself - and I agree with him. Ho hum. Stay alert. Alan |
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May 19th, 2020, 12:53 | #233 |
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The subtle difference between being a hypocrite and not is that you have about 4 decades of experience of the way roads etc have changed, not to mention the present attitude of most drivers who all seem to be visually impaired and/or suffer a neck disability as they can't turn their heads to look around to see what's happening before turning or whatever.
I assume you've indoctrinated Dan with the benefits of "the lifesaver" - the over-the-shoulder look to verify what the mirrors are telling you just to be on the safe side? The biggest unseen hazard these days that i've experienced is diesel spills - can't see them but you can certainly feel them! On two wheeled transport, it would have you off and sliding down the road, in a car the back or front may twitch a bit but usually you get away with it.
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May 19th, 2020, 20:03 | #234 | |
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You are right though, remembering to do things like look over one’s right shoulder, and looking ahead for problems only come with experience and (sadly) a few close shaves. Diesel spills are great problem for bikers - particularly on roundabouts. They are a big thing on a machine with two tyre contact patches the size of a fingernail - the coefficient of friction tending towards zero with no notice is a harrowing experience. When Dan and I are driving around I always point out things that would be big issues on a bike - drivers pulling out without looking, drivers changing lanes without looking or indicating, drivers muscling into spaces where there there really isn’t enough room, tailgating, potholes on roundabouts, oil spills,,, unfortunately they happen all too often. I think Dan is convinced, which just means it will cost me a lot to buy him cars :-) Stay alert, Alan |
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May 19th, 2020, 21:16 | #235 | |
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Took the 760 out for a spin today to get petrol (interim top up to check on the consumption) and some shopping. I'd been stuck behind two cars doing about 35-40mph in a 60 limit on a road where not only is it safe to do that, it's safer to do that than 30! It's one of those roads where you need to ease out to have a look, even while maintaining a safe distance behind the car you're about to overtake because there are lots of areas of dead ground and some double bends in the distance. However being a fast road, those double bends actually need to be considered much closer. As i've eased out to have a look, my left eye catches the rear view mirror in the corner of my eye. Some muppet in a white van that was tailgating me had decided he was going to overtake as well - no signals though. A bit of split-second thinking on my part, indicator on, moved completely out and floored it about 35-40mph which kicked it down into 2nd so may have been 45-50mph in actual fact. Meanwhile Numb-Nuts behind still hadn't indicated but had moved out and floored it. As he was driving a Pugrot van, no prizes for guessing i left him standing but i didn't ease off the loud pedal until after it had gone into 3rd at about 90mph then eased the power back gradually for the bends. That little half-mile burst probably put a dent in the economy figures i got - 23mpg over the past couple of weeks, if i hadn't done that i would have probably been a lot nearer 26mpg but either way, a vast improvement over 16mpg! Also i've sorted the ABS problem i had and it rolls easier now. That might also improve my economy. On this occasion, for me, the right course of action was to do what i did. Another time it might have been wiser to pull back in and bide my time. It's one of the things only experience can teach you and while being on two wheels does teach experience, the learning curve can be very painful! Much safer in a car!
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May 20th, 2020, 08:46 | #236 | |
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The issue is exacerbated on a bike - if one makes a mistake then the outcome is more likely to be catastrophic than in a car. Indeed if someone else makes a mistake over which the rider has no control (cars pulling out etc) then the result can be equally poor. I love riding bikes, and in 42 years of riding have not had an accident on the road - but hundreds if not thousands of near misses, some avoided by judgement and quick thinking - others just be good fortune. The roads have become so busy, and vehicles so much faster over the last 40 years that the risks are much higher now. Bike brakes and tyres have improved enormously, but at the same time the bikes have become so much faster (0-60 times under 3 seconds are entirely possible on sports bikes). I suspect Dan will gravitate towards bikes at some point - mainly because I ride them. If I can restrict him to to slow but interesting bikes for a while I'm hoping that will satisfy his curiosity enough. I'm thinking of this 45 year old Suzuki Bloop that he learned to ride around the field in Norfolk when he was about 12: We still have the bike (and it is still on the road, tax and MoT exempt but a nice reliable bike that looks like someone stepped off it in 1986) - sort of cool in its own way. It is good news about your fuel consumption - notwithstanding your van incident, and the ABS as well. Stay alert. Last edited by Othen; May 20th, 2020 at 09:00. Reason: Spelling error. |
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May 20th, 2020, 09:21 | #237 | |
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It was the late Bill Blydenstein who felt that mid-range torque and the 30-50, 40-60 and 50-70 acceleration times in top gear that were the hallmark of a true performance road-car; the 2.6litre FE Victor was quicker in the mid-range than SAAB's vaunted 99 Turbo.
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May 20th, 2020, 09:34 | #238 | |
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A 2.6 litre Victor FE? Was that a typo or are you referring to the stroker kit to increase the capacity?
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May 20th, 2020, 18:25 | #239 |
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The 2.6 was Blydenstein's final development of the Vauxhall slant-4; the original long-stroke was a 2.5 litre one but the 2.6 litre unit superseded it. The ultimate would have been a 2.6 with a Stage-3 head (big valves, and gas-flowed ports and manifolds) running with twin Strombergs or EFI.
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May 20th, 2020, 20:09 | #240 | |
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