Topic: Oh Baby, it's cold outside! Now it's hot! WTF?? NOW FREEZING - AGAIN!

[Terry in Australia]

Steve,you putting the tire chains on ?  or are you taking the old 4-wheel vehicle out doing donuts/360's ?? ! Lol 

Neither, I'm hitting the booze!

Good idea Steve, and you've got an endless supply of ice for your booze, just outside your door!

[scottly]

Your new build thread?
Make your own power!

I lived off the grid for about 9 years. Wood stove for heat and hot water, solar with batteries and inverter for electric, and generator for heavy loads and backup. I tried wind power, but it was feast or famine, and I gave up on it after a windstorm snapped the mast and guy wires.   

[Terry in Australia]

My cousin did the same, built a beautiful big new house out in the bush, and was horrified at how much to get connected to the grid, so he ran an ancient generator system using a 80 year old stationary engine that had a 12" (single cylinder) bore and a longer stroke, with a massive flywheel, that would sip gas at a tiny rate, (he eventually converted it to propane) as it ran at around 100 RPM. He ran 240V and 28V light globes in every room, as he had battery backup as well. He did run a wind generator to charge the batteries that he built himself, and I don't ever remember a time when he had any power issues.

He sold that place many years ago, and I think the new owners ponied up the dough to have it connected to the grid, but the house was destroyed in the bushfires last year. Pity, it was a nice place, I used to go dirt biking and shooting out there all the time.

[Stev-o]

...  or are you taking the old 4-wheel vehicle out doing donuts/360's ??

The thaw out has begun!  Went out for coffee and doughnuts!!

[Terry in Australia]

Sweet! I’m going for a ride on my “Bitsa” K2 today to see if I can blow it up or not. Gonna be another hot one, so thinking about wearing my Triumph mesh jacket that allows air to flow thru it. It’s about 10 sizes too large now, so probably useless if I fall off, but the thought of wearing my big heavy 30 year old “Brando” jacket that I usually wear doesn’t appeal at all.....

[grcamna2]

...  or are you taking the old 4-wheel vehicle out doing donuts/360's ??

The thaw out has begun!  Went out for coffee and doughnuts!!

 

[PeWe]

Sweet! I’m going for a ride on my “Bitsa” K2 today to see if I can blow it up or not.....
....

Terry, did you fix the transmission or replaced the engine after the sudden lockup?

[Terry in Australia]

Sweet! I’m going for a ride on my “Bitsa” K2 today to see if I can blow it up or not.....
....

Terry, did you fix the transmission or replaced the engine after the sudden lockup?

Yes Per, go to my "Redneck K2 Bitsa" thread and read all about it. Another fail today, and another rebuild starting soon.

[Don R]

Your new build thread?
Make your own power!

I lived off the grid for about 9 years. Wood stove for heat and hot water, solar with batteries and inverter for electric, and generator for heavy loads and backup. I tried wind power, but it was feast or famine, and I gave up on it after a windstorm snapped the mast and guy wires.   

 
 I saw  a video of Jay Leno's steam engines, he has a usable electric power plant that formerly ran an island. Malta maybe?  The local power company was not amused.

[seanbarney41]

...  or are you taking the old 4-wheel vehicle out doing donuts/360's ??

The thaw out has begun!  Went out for coffee and doughnuts!!

ha ha...got pulled over by the cops last night 'cuz  I was drifting my '78 Chevy Van on some deserted snowy streets...no tickets, just told me to calm down and remember to clean the snow off my license plate.

[grcamna2]

...  or are you taking the old 4-wheel vehicle out doing donuts/360's ??

The thaw out has begun!  Went out for coffee and doughnuts!!

ha ha...got pulled over by the cops last night 'cuz  I was drifting my '78 Chevy Van on some deserted snowy streets...no tickets, just told me to calm down and remember to clean the snow off my license plate.

Did they think you were wasted,then found out you were doing that for fun ? 
Tell the police you were testing you tires,to see how they handled certain types of snow..

[ekpent]

  The cops were probably "fishing".  Never know what you may find when you pull people over at random,especially scofflaws like Sean in a potential hippie van 

[seanbarney41]

I really could not blame the cop for throwin' on the lights as I slid past him sideways at full steering lock, probly doing 35 in a 25...he was well hidden.  And to his credit, he did not even bother to make me dig out my paperwork and claimed to be in the area due to a number of break-ins.

[ekpent]

I really could not blame the cop for throwin' on the lights as I slid past him sideways at full steering lock, probly doing 35 in a 25...he was well hidden.  And to his credit, he did not even bother to make me dig out my paperwork and claimed to be in the area due to a number of break-ins.

  Sounded like a pretty cool dude then.

[PeWe]

All that snow makes all folks cool!

[Stev-o]

I really could not blame the cop for throwin' on the lights as I slid past him sideways at full steering lock, probly doing 35 in a 25...he was well hidden.  And to his credit, he did not even bother to make me dig out my paperwork and claimed to be in the area due to a number of break-ins.

Wow...you got lucky!   But of course, pics or it didnt happen...ha!

I hadnt driven is snow in a couple years, forgot how much fun it is.

[grcamna2]

I really could not blame the cop for throwin' on the lights as I slid past him sideways at full steering lock, probly doing 35 in a 25...he was well hidden.  And to his credit, he did not even bother to make me dig out my paperwork and claimed to be in the area due to a number of break-ins.

Wow...you got lucky!   But of course, pics or it didnt happen...ha!

I hadnt driven is snow in a couple years, forgot how much fun it is.

Driving and handling snow streets gives you more skills,imo.

[rb550four]

  I agree that snow driving can improve your ability to drive. We get snow in late Nov. and I slide my dually trucks around snowy roads  until April as a matter of habit,  if you can end up sideways...ya better know how to drive sideways. Some days are more fun than others for sure but I'm willing to give all that fun up for a bit of early spring weather in February or March, sure be nice to have a shorter winter and a longer riding season.

[Don R]

 When my daughter was going to begin driving our dragster we found a snowy parking lot and she learned how to counter steer. We inadvertantly did a wed. night test and tune on a slick track and she got her driving mojo that night.

[seanbarney41]

rb, for sure!  Sliding the daily winter beater is fun but not near as much fun as a nice sunny motorcycle ride...can't come soon enough here.

[Terry in Australia]

I'm glad you guys have concluded that as much fun as riding on snow and ice invariably is, riding a dry road with the sun at your back is much more enjoyable. I did ride my new (to me) Triumph Rocket III with it's stupid rear car tyre to the bike shop in the rain this morning to get proper motorcycle tyres fitted, and that was scary enough, I couldn't imagine riding a bike in snow or ice, so I'd be pissed off if I lived anywhere near that white sh1t, as I like to ride all year around. Looks great on Christmas cards though, and kind of funny here when it's usually in the 80's or 90's on Christmas Day.

[ken65]

I can still remember a Christmas day in Gympie , god knows how long ago.
It was 42c. This was pre air/con days. It was snowing in Tassie at the same time.
Fair enough, tassie is a long way away but still.

[Terry in Australia]

I can still remember a Christmas day in Gympie , god knows how long ago.
It was 42c. This was pre air/con days. It was snowing in Tassie at the same time.
Fair enough, tassie is a long way away but still.

Very true Ken, here in Melbourne, on the 9th of February 2009 (Black Saturday) it was 48 Deg C (118 Deg F) when the state exploded, and almost 200 people were killed in the ensuing fires. Horrible time for everyone, the fires burned out of control for weeks, and many Victorians have never completely recovered. As far as I'm concerned, any day over 75 deg F is a waste...........

[PeWe]

You use winter tires when sliding around on snow?
 
Std summer tires really suck when cold with snow or ice that need different rubber and much deeper grooves, more of them too.

My car has 4wd with Electronic Stabilisation Program (ESP). Good tires needed to handle and stop in time.
Goodyear UltraGrip Ice2 tires.

Driving a car without winter tires on snowy roads here is not legal during the winter period.

[Terry in Australia]

Another good reason to hate snow and ice. We have 5 or 6 cars here, and it would be a nightmare changing tyres to suit the seasons.