It has been 8 years now since that horrible morning in 2001 when a 4 planes, commandeered by cowards, murdered US Citizens and struck at us, hoping to shake the very foundation of this great land.
More info and Images of the new Mercedes-Benz SLS
More news hitting the wire about the SLS!
This time from Road and Track:
First Official Photos: 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
Finally, the disguise has been peeled off of Mercedes‘ all-new supercar, the SLS AMG. And what can we see? Exactly what we expected: a modern successor to the legendary 300SL Gullwing, with a remarkably upright windshield. The front is pure modern Mercedes, a bit on the blocky side with large headlamp clusters, a long hood and a giant 3-pointed star. Of course there are the gullwing doors along with retro strakes on the front fenders. The short rear deck, though, is a bit more squared-off than we expected, reminding a bit (dare we say) of the old Acura CL coupe. A flush-mounted rear wing rises at speed. The driver-focused interior appears nicely done, if slightly understyled, in typical German fashion…..
Here are some specifications:
Mercedes Benz SLS |
|
|---|---|
| Displacement: |
6200 cc |
| Horsepower |
563 bhp @ 6800 RPM |
| Torque |
480 ft./lb. @ 4750 RPM |
| Transmission |
7-speed twin-clutch transaxle |
| Curb Weight: |
3600 lb. |
A gorgeous car. A true homage to the great 300 SL Gullwings. More amazing work coming from Stuttgart. I’d love to put one on my mansion.
Today’s Tidbits – Video, Google and an SLS
Sorry!
Mazda and Google give Laguna Seca the Street View Treatment
Leverkusen, 04 September 2009. The legendary Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in California can now be viewed from your PC on Google Street View. Racing fans can travel the entire circuit – starting at Andretti’s Hairpin to the infamous Corkscrew Curve – from the perspective of a race car participating in the final leg of the 2008 American Le Mans Series. The tour was filmed using a spherical, multi-lens camera mounted to a vehicle, and combined with additional photographic imagery, GPS and other geo-spatial data to produce a true image of the race track at eye level.
Incredible new Mercedes Benz SLS
Finally, one amazing looking car from Mercedes-Benz. An homage to the old SL300, including gull wing doors! If only it were not 177,000 Euros.
Due to be revealed at next week’s Frankfurt Motor Show, the 300SL-inspired “Gullwing” is packing a front/mid-mounted version of the venerable 6.3-liter V8 fitted to the majority of AMG’s offerings, mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox channeling 563 hp and 480 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels. Weight is pegged at around 3,500 pounds, allowing the SLS to run from a rest to 60 in 3.7 seconds. Top speed is 197 mph and optional carbon ceramic discs should bring the party to a halt with supreme authority.
XBOX 360 – Red Ring of Death — Round 2 = FAIL, or did it?
Well, a good fix, but not a long term one, the firs time around.
XBOX 360 – Red Ring of Death — Round 1
So, this time I’m going to implement the X-Clamp fix, a more advanced repair of the box. Here is a video that basically covers what I am doing (this is not my video, I’m a much more exciting person than this dude).
Another relevant video. Between the two, there information is there on executing the ‘fix’ I’m attempting today:
Parts list for implementing the repair:
8 5mm .80pitch 12mm long socket head screws.
36 M5 washers
16 #10 nylon washers
1 vial of Arctic Silver CPU head sink paste
After following instructions from several sites, I used the above parts to try the X-clamp repair. After implementing the repair and hooking the XBOX back up to the TV, the 3 rings of death remain.
Looking over this ‘helpful’ Microsoft support page. Based on it’s diagnostic trouble shooting tree, it *might* be the power supply this time. Great. I guess I’ll have to go to one of those used gaming stores and see if I can get a power brick or at least plug mine into another XBOX and figure out if it’s the brick. Pathetic, overly complex, under-engineered device. Makes me wish I’d bought the PS3 or Wii instead.
I did notice that my XBOX seems to have upgraded cooling components. You’ll notice that the CPU (large block) and the GPU (two piece sink) are quite a bit larger than the ones pictured in the online guides and videos above.
Never the less, it has GPU cooling issues that resulted in the RROD (Red Ring of Death) .
After discussing this with my pal Steve in Reno, he prompted me to do a little more research on exactly which MB I have in this machine. It turns out I have the ‘latest and greatest’ MS fixes for the heat issues (well, except the ‘glue’ used on the Elite systems) implemented in my ‘Falcon’ Motherboard, as noted by Wiki page, here:
Falcon
IBM 65 nm CPU
ATI 90 nm GPU and smaller embedded DRAM chip
All Xbox 360 Premium machines and Arcade machines manufactured August 2007 introduced the new 65 nm CPU accompanied with a new cooler and still 90 nm GPU with the Zephyr cooler. The motherboard is based on Zephyr and requires fewer components (some capacitors and coils removed) for the new 65 nm CPU, resulting in lower costs.
Brand Loyalty – would I re-purchase? — BIKES
On the heels of my first post about what sort of automobiles I’ve owned, and whom I’d purchase from again, I started thinking about the topic in regards to my motorcycles. What has been the top purchaser, what do I enjoy riding most and what would I buy again.
So, here they are ordered by the most frequently purchased brand (the degree of repurchase of Honda shocked me, considering I’m not very fond of them).
7 Honda
2 Ducati
2 Yamaha
2 Kawasaki
2 Suzuki
1 KTM
1 Cagiva (Ducati powered BTW)
My favorite manufacture by far is Ducati. I’ve owned 2, sort of 3. The Cagiva had a 900cc Ducati 2v engine that was really fantastic. I’d still have it if the bike had not been difficult to find parts for, and if there was at least a decent aftermarket.
The big deal for me, for several years has been V-twins. This is cronology of sorts on which Vtwins I’ve purchased and anything else (italics) non-Vtwin in that timeframe.
2002 Ducati 998
2003 Cagiva Gran Canyon
2005 KTM 950S
1994 FZR400
2001 Honda RC51
2008 Ducati 1098
1974 Kawasaki KZ400 (parallel twin)
2004 Suzuki SV100S
Only one of that least 6 bikes was not a V-twin. And the FZR400 purchase was made because.. well those things are just a hoot, reving 15,000 RPM (pretty high for those days, rather pedestrian, even in the liter bike category), plus it was RARE. Very fun machine for certain!
So, what might be next? Hard to say. I’ve always wanted to pickup an MV Agusta F4 (in 1000cc trim, might settle for a 750 if the price was right), or maybe that new BMW S1000RR 1/2 because it’s BMW’s first real race-fucused superbike effort.
In the end, I plan to keep buy Ducati bikes, despite the more rigerous maintenance requirements (and costs), because they are just soooooo fun to ride.
What am I most unlikely to ever purchase again. A Honda. For me, Honda’s have been little more than a stream of problems. Most of them eletrical, but some of them mechanical as well. The least reliable bikes I’ve ever owned where Hondas, the most reliable, the Ducatis. Imagine that.
Here is the list of bikes, mainly sorted by most purchased to least, but not in any chronological, displacement or specific age/MY ordering.
1992 Honda CBR600
2000 Honda VFR
2001 Honda 929
1989 Honda XR600
2005 Honda CRF50
1984 Honda V45 Magna
2001 Honda RC511992 Yamaha FZR600
1994 Yamaha FZR4002008 Ducati 1098 currently owned
2002 Ducati 9982003 Cagiva Gran Canyon 900
2004 Suzuki SV100S currently owned
1994 Suzuki DRZ2501983 Kawasaki ZR900
1974 Kawasaki KZ400 currently owned2005 KTM 950S Adventure
A Perfect Getaway – Movie Review
I was pleasantly surprised at how I liked this film. It was interesting, formulaic (one of the amusing parts of the file is that one character is a film writer that basically lays out the plot for the movie, right at the get-go!). But don’t worry, there is plenty of action.
Set in the Hawaiian Islands, the scenery is impressive. Acting was not Academy Award material, but it was not hard to be drawn in. The characters are affable, and there are some less-than-pleasant individuals that are presented. But that’s to be expected in a film about a murder mystery.
Having caught it on the tail end of a double feature with Inglorious Bastards, I was happy to have stayed and watched this film. I liked it more than the first and would have been happy to pay full price for again, some good entertainment.
My recommendation is to go see this for some light film going. Paying full-price won’t disappoint.
FOR SALE – Mercedes Benz ML430 – $10,500
ML430 Specifications:
2000 Mercedes-Benz ML430 Specifications |
|
| Engine Location | Front |
| Drive Type | AWD |
| Price | $45,000.00 |
| Weight | 4820 lbs | 2186.4 kg |
| Performance | |
| 0-60 mph | 7.5 seconds. |
| 1/4 Mile | 15.8S seconds. |
| Top Speed | 130 mph | 209.2 km/h |
| Engine | |
| Engine Configuration | V |
| Cylinders | 8 |
| Aspiration/Induction | Normal |
| Displacement | 4299.00 cc | 262.3 cu in. | 4.3 L. |
| Valvetrain | OHC |
| Horsepower | 268.00 HP (197.2 KW) @ 5600.00 RPM |
| Torque | 325.00 Ft-Lbs (440.7 NM) @ 2700.00 RPM |
| HP to Weight Ratio | 18.0 LB / HP |
| HP / Liter | 62.3 BHP / Liter |
| Transmission Information | |
| Gears | 5 |
| Transmission | Automatic |
| Dimensions | |
| Cargo Volume | 81.20 in |
| Seating Capacity | 4 |
| Exterior | |
| Length | 182.601 in | 4638.1 mm. |
| Width | 72.401 in | 1839 mm. |
| Height | 71.701 in | 1821.2 mm. |
| Wheelbase | 111.001 in | 2819.4 mm. |
| Tires / Wheels | |
| Tires | 255/60R17 |
Last roadblock to Cafe Race project breached
The last road block, or so I hope, was breached yesterday when I located the elusive ‘Arm & Hammer Washing Soda‘ at Fred Meyer. I’d tried all the other local establishments but they seemed to be a little too ‘high faluten’ for something as old-school as ‘Washing Soda‘.
In parallel with my quest for the chemical, I have been moving along with the body work on the gas tank. It seems to be a never ending process! I have professional body working sanding blocks and papers, and maybe using high quality products is highlighting every little low spot on the tank. At some point I just have to relent and realize this is NOT going to be perfect. I do not have a spray booth, and I can’t use multi-stage paints to get the really professional look. So, maybe a little imperfection will be OK.
This is what it looks like right now after the 5th round of filling and sanding.
The rest of the low spots on the tank I can live with, but the high-spots where I ground down the mounting studs for the ‘Kawaski’ badge, I won’t leave that way. They will look horrible once the paint is applied. I may have to get in there with the grinder again and make some intentional low spots, fill, sand and move on.
Just fore reference, this is what the badges used to look like on this tank before I started:
More updates as they happen!
Amazing urban Trials Riding Skills
Wow.. the first video was interesting, but this.. this was fantastic. Something Europe, looks like Europe.. hard to put my finger on it. Anyhow… this is a shorter but much more engaging clip. Riding on the bridge looked pretty wild!
Syncronized Motorcycle Riding Team
Not sure what to say or think about this. But, it’s amusing to watch, and they show excellent adherence to timing and speed. It’s impressive, weird, and interesting all at the same time.