[AGL] BMW boxer twin

[Gerry]

Jon,
Your occasional comments on cars are amusing but sad. I have owned more VW's
than you and never had one blow up, seize up, come unbolted, or otherwise
fail on the road. I suspect that you have a heavy foot and a limited
understanding of how one should be driven, ideally. Of course I have not had
nearly the number of wrecks you confess to either. You must be very hard on
cars and try to bend them to your wishes rather than operate them as they
were designed to be operated, or maybe you are just a clueless driver. BTW,
the first new car I ever bought was a 1959 VW. Oh yeah, I did blow up a
power lawn mower engine one time, mowing a wet lawn...made me sad.

When I was a boy we were too poor to own a car, finally got one when I was
in high school, an old one. As a result of this I have always treated my
cars like treasures, taken the extra step to understand and maintain them,
and tried to diagnose any existing problems before they turn nasty, and
nurse them when they need care. This doesn't mean that I drive slow and
avoid traffic, I love to drive fast, even did some low budget racing at one
time. You have to understand what the capabilities of the car are, what the
ideal torque curve is, what the tires and shocks will allow in the way of
cornering and braking, anticipate what moves you might make next, etc. Ah
well, enough, I don't imagine I could change your driving habits at this
stage of your life. But I do cringe when I hear your confessions, a sharp
contrast to the automotive experiences I normally read about.

Hope I never buy a car that you previously owned, if there is one that isn't
already in the junk yard...What are you driving these days? A Hummer?
G


----- Original Message -----
From: "Jon Ford" <jonmfordster at hotmail.com>
To: <austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>
Sent: Sunday, December 03, 2006 11:09 AM
Subject: Re: [AGL] BMW boxer twin



> Mike--

> I heartily agree about the advantages of water cooling. I've had some VWs

> seize up on me, never had this problem with water cooled. I've owned about

> 10 VWs and a couple of Porsche's. Another problem with the engines is that

> the bolts holding the cylinders together tend to pull out at high

> heat/speed, ruining the engine. At least this has been my experience. I

once

> spent three or four days of my vacation in a cheap Motel in Ponca City,

> Oklahoma waiting for the local yokels to rebuild my Volkswagon bug , which

> admittedly was an older one with a rebuilt engine in it.

>

> Jon

>

>

> >From: "Michael Eisenstadt" <michaele at ando.pair.com>

> >Reply-To: survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the

> >60s<austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>

> >To: "survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the

> >60s"<austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>

> >Subject: Re: [AGL] BMW boxer twin

> >Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2006 08:48:39 -0600

> >

> >Opposed cyclinder air-cooled engines (no radiator needed) are also used

in

> >small airplanes, Volkswagon bugs, Porsches, Chevy Corvairs and Suburus.

> >Subaru closely copied the Volkswagon engine adding watercooling and a

> >radiator. Water cooling is more efficient and quiets the engine noise.

> >

> >----- Original Message -----

> >From: <blacky at cbn.net.id>

> >To: "survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 60s"

> ><austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>

> >Sent: Sunday, December 03, 2006 12:35 AM

> >Subject: [AGL] BMW boxer twin

> >

> >

> > > >

> > >> Hans-- I was passed today by a fast, smooth-running BMW two-banger,

its

> > >> two

> > >> huge cylinders sticking out from the right and left side of the bike,

> > >> just

> > >> in front of the rider. My question is--why would anyone design a bike

> > >> with

> > >> the cylinders sticking out like that when it seems like if you laid

it

> > >> down

> > >> in a wreck or just hit some loose gravel and lost control you would

be

> > >> likely to destroy the engine?

> > >

> > > Easy one. The design offers PERFECT BALANCE: you can stand a nickel on

> >the

> > > engine and rev it up without the coin falling over. Beautifully

smooth.

> > >

> > > It also offers good air cooling as the cylinders are out in the air

> > > stream.

> > >

> > > As for falling over cylinders never tear off: there's too much heavy

> >metal

> > > down there. They can also protect legs (rather more valuable than

> > > motorcycle bits).

> > >

> > > It is difficult to ground the cylinders in a tight turn on

high-adhesion

> > > pavement but it can be done. No big problem.

> > >

> > > I've always wanted a beemer twin but never owned one (40 other bikes -

> > > almost all Japanese sports models). The design first came out in the

> >1920s

> > > but is still elegant and stolid kraut engineering.

> > >

> > > Ask the expert if you want an opinion, nyaah.

> > >

> > >

> > > BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB

> >

>

> _________________________________________________________________

> Share your latest news with your friends with the Windows Live Spaces

> friends module.

>

http://clk.atdmt.com/MSN/go/msnnkwsp0070000001msn/direct/01/?href=http://spa
ces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mk

>

>