Tech

Diesel Motorcycles

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We’ve been saying it for years, the future of vehicles is likely not hybrid, it’s TDI – Turbo Direct Injection Diesel. Thunderstar seems to agree, having just developed a three-cylinder, 1200cc, TDI motorcycle. Weighing in at 455 lbs, ready to roll, it produces 90hp and 150 ftlbs of torque in stock trim.

Thunderstar TDI Motorcycle

The engine is a VW 3 cylinder diesel (from the VW Polo), recast to fit the motorcycle. Apparantly these things don’t go very fast, the current speed record for diesel motorcycles being 85.46mph. (Diesel KLR650 Sets Speed Record)

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Blog

Offroaders – Friday Times Article

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They were on their way to Khuzdar from Karachi, following the old camel trail, when they came across a wizened old local. He was surprised to come upon this caravan of jeeps on this little used dirt track and asked them where they were headed. To Khuzdar, they said. The old man stared at them in stunned disbelief- “sahib, aap ko malum nahin key Khuzdar tak to eik bohut achhi sarak jati hai.” But given the choice, the members of Karachi’s Offroaders Club would rather choose a dirt track than a tarred road.

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Tech

Pass the lab coat

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bq.. New passenger-car diesel engines from the Ford-Peugeot Citroen alliance will require workers to be trained to work in a sterile environment. The common-rail diesel design, requiring all cylinders to be injected with fuel at the same pressure, needs a dirt-free environment to ensure there is no blockages in the fuel lines.

*”With the old tractor-type diesel engines it didn’t matter too much about a bit of dirt, but these new engines have much less tolerance of any dirt particles, especially in fuel lines and the fuel head,”* a Ford U.K. spokesman says.

Such attention to detail will require workers in high-tech environments to labor under sterile conditions and powerful lighting. They will be required to wear white coats and protective footwear.

>> ‘Pass me the lab coat; I have diesel engines to build’:http://wardsauto.com/ar/auto_uk_hone_ford/index.htm

Whatever will local mechanics do? Especially when the majority of workshops in this country look like ‘this’:http://offroadpakistan.com/pictures/neza_e_sultan/workshop_at_mashkell.html? Common rail diesels are now becoming common in all the new diesel cars and suvs. A 28,000 psi encounter with a bit of dirt is not going to be pretty…

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Travels

The 1945 Mekran Earthquake

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In 1945 when there was an earthquake off the Mekran coast which resulted in thousands of deaths from the subsequent tidal waves, or tsusami as they would now be called. There were reports from aircraft flying in from the west of volcanic eruptions in Las Bela province, Baluchistan. I didn’t believe the volcanic eruption story as the geology wasn’t right so I and friend Peter Wolf took leave and went on a private expedition to see what had happened.

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Tech

Hot under the Bonnet

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The following article is the elaboration of a post that I made in the forums a while ago. My good friend KO insisted I turn it into a tech article as a reference for those who are not regular visitors around here.

Proper cooling for an engine is like oxygen for us – you don’t care about it until you’re not getting enough of it. That’s why cooling systems tend to go unnoticed until something bad happens, usually accompanied by a lot of huffing, hissing and steam. Continue reading Hot under the Bonnet →

Tech

Jeep rebuilders

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There was a time when Jeeps were only owned and maintained by the either the Landlords for a visit to the lands or shikari’s (hunters) or contractors engaged in construction/mining in remote areas. With the introduction of Pajeros and Land Cruisers a more comfortable approach to the wilderness was available to the not so outdoors kind. Pakistan Army, the single largest possessor of Jeeps gradually phased out the American Legend and replaced its fleet with Toyotas, the auctioned Jeeps found their way in the driveways of enthusiasts, sparkling and shining rebuilt by a few master professionals.

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Khunjerab 2000

Day 29: Islamabad

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22 July 2000

Travelogue:

It would be a lazy day today as we would all rest and recuperate from the tiring drives that we had endured. The boys woke up late in the morning and ordered breakfast from the guesthouse, bread with butter and jam. We had breakfast in the room. The washing arrived in bundles that had been sent to the dhobi the day before, Amjad’s wife had kindly arranged the “dhobi” for us. The excess baggage such as the tent and warm clothes, fishing rods etc, which were not needed for the rest of the trip were packed in neat cardboard boxes and Hamid had his office boys deliver the boxes to the TCS who would ship it to Karachi. This would lighten the load on the vehicle. I sent two boxes of fishing and camping equipment by TCS to Karachi.

We drove to the shopping centers in the late afternoon and bought pearls as presents for the folks at home. Anika wanted to go to the “Hot shots” shopping mall in the evening. The shops cater for the kids with good quality fashion wear such as jeans and T-shirts, they also sell nick knacks for the kids and Anika enjoyed the shops.

That night’s food was at Pappasalies restaurant the delicacy of Islamabad. The vehicle was packed before I went to bed that night so that I would not need to do much in the morning. We would be driving to Sialkot tomorrow to visit Taimur’s relatives and to see the Hilbro surgical factory. The drive on the Motorway would be quite different from the long grueling drives in the mountains.

4×4 Offroaders Club of Karachi