COMBINED CARS + MOTORCYCLES SUPER MEGA :awesome: THREAD

Been watching Car throttle videos on youtube.. has a bit of that ole Top gear vibe before clarkson and the gang left.

 

Goodwood live stream!

 

Some interesting news for the small engine sport bikes in 2017 market.


KTM has already the updated RC390
Honda has a CBR250RR and CBR350RR in the works, US will be getting the 350cc parallel twin version and supposed to have around 35hp
Suzuki is bringing a GSX250R into the market, displacement being as a low as it is, I dont see it fairing very well because the competition is really stepping it up.
Yamaha supposedly doing a slight CC boost among updates to things like suspension, looks, and brakes

Kawasaki is rumored to be going all in with a ninja 250/300cc inline 4 cylinder with around 38hp.

 

Bought a car.

 

My old car has become my new project. Whatever time and money I have extra will be put into getting this thing back into shape. My long term goal for it is to get it to "show quality" (not going all original or completely tuned 350 etc, just pretty with the V6 she has) and then taking a trip down to Florida to give it back to my little brother. He sold it to me years ago when he moved down there and he still misses it, so it's going to be a birthday present one day. Might be in this thread looking for advice/venting about rusted GMs a bit more often when I really get this rolling.

 

Sadly, there will be no Manor Racing team this year as they have gone into administration.

Original: http://www.manorracing.com/news/17-01-06/manor-racing-commences-administration-proceedings

Spoiler: MANOR RACING COMMENCES ADMINISTRATION PROCEEDINGS

The Directors of Manor Racing have today taken the difficult decision to place the team’s operating company, Just Racing Services Ltd, into administration. Geoff Rowley and Phil Armstrong, partners of FRP Advisory LLP have been appointed joint administrators.

The decision comes after several months of discussions with investors in an effort to secure the best future for the team: discussions that had recently progressed with a particular investor to the signing of heads of terms. Unfortunately, the investor was unable to advance a final agreement in a timescale that would have avoided impacting upon the team’s 2017 racing programme and the Directors have had no alternative but to place the team in administration.

Stephen Fitzpatrick, owner of Manor Racing since January 2015, said:
"Today’s decision to put the team into administration represents a disappointing end to a two year journey for Manor.

"Over much of the last year we have been in discussions with several investor groups, and had finally agreed terms of a sale to an Asian investment consortium in December. This would have provided the team with a strong platform for continued growth and development. Unfortunately time ran out before they could complete the transaction. Not wishing to repeat events of the past, we resolved in 2015 not to start any season that we did not know for certain we could complete, so we have taken the difficult decision to put the team’s operating company into administration.

"When I took over the team in 2015, the challenge was clear; it was imperative that the team finish in 10th place or better in 2016. For much of the season we were on track. But the dramatic race in Brazil ended our hopes of this result and ultimately brought into doubt the team’s ability to race in 2017.

"I look back on 2016 with pride in what Manor accomplished in what was the most successful year in the team’s history. I would like to thank the team for their constant hard work, determination and passion. We made a huge amount of progress on and off track but ultimately it was not enough."

2016 SEASON PROGRESS
(Bahrain Grand Prix) 2014 2015 2016
Delta to pole 4.125s 6.142s 3.313s
Delta to fastest lap 4.805s 5.448s 0.966s
Highest position during race 17th 16th 7th
Cars behind at finish None None Sauber, Force India, Renault
As a similar barometer, in Austria Manor Racing qualified 19th ('14), 19th ('15), 12th ('16) and of course raced to P10 in ‘16.

QUALIFYING
5 times into Q2 (Austria, Spa, Italy, Mexico, Abu Dhabi)
No. of times Manor Racing out-qualified 1 Sauber car in 2016: 13
No. of times Manor Racing out-qualified both Sauber cars in 2016: 9

RACE STARTS
- WEH was 2nd best driver at gaining position on the first lap of every race having gained +35 positions in the first lap so far this season (an average of 1.94 per race). Only beaten by Alonso with +43 positions. Esteban was 5th on the list with +27 places gained (average of 3.38 per race)

SPEED
Top of the speed traps 9 times in 2016 in Qualifying (using GPS data).

RELIABILITY
Only 3 retirements from 42 starts in 2016 due to technical problems
We have been classified at the end of more races (32) than our main competitors Sauber (31), McLaren (31) and Haas (30)

 

speaking of small engine bikes. Suzuki is getting in the small sportbike market in the USA.

Will be the GSX250R. Will be around 30 to 50 lbs heavier then the rest of the competition at a wopping 392 lb curb weight. a 248 cc engine that came from the gw250 with around 25 hp and 23 tq... and at 4500 dollars. plus shipping. and the rest of the idiocy of what ever your dealer tries to add on



also.. for the kicker... made china from what ive heard. get your chinese suzuki motorcycle here.

it doesnt look bad.. I really like how it looks.. but.. they are way behind the rest of the competition right now. this is now the lowest bottom bike.. was the honda cbr300r..
now its this.

 

So I'm in somewhat of a dilemma right now on where to go.


So many bikes to choose from as I have almost saved enough to buy out right in cash.

The main thing is I could buy one new bike or I could get two used for the same price and they would both only have around 500 to 2k miles which is technically brand new.

The new bikes I'm looking at are the Suzuki sv650 and Kawasaki z650.


Used wise. A Yamaha r3, Honda cbr300r, Honda cb500f. Royal enfield either a classic or continental gt.


I also really like the Kawasaki z125 pro, so I could get a used bike and a new z125 to fool around with.


Right now I'm more leaning towards a used 2016 Honda cb500f and new z125. The CB is very capable and it's a Honda so it will last forever. The z125 I can just mess around on it and most of the time 45 is the max speed any way so it's now like I can't use it for most things around town. But it's so small which makes the other options more sound.

 

For some reason I'm having a helluva time finding parts for my 86 Grand Prix. Every site that sells replacement parts doesn't seem to carry anything for fourth gen grand prix and I can't even find what I need on eBay. So I'll come to you guys for help/suggestions.

 

Junk yard.

Look for cars that also used same parts. Going to need to research which other cars share the parts you need.

 

All the junk yards around here crush anything beyond 20-25 years old. The biggest issue I'm having is finding a header panel and front bumper. My girlfriend's dad used to do body work so I might be able to salvage the bumper it has, but the header panel is beyond saving. I believe it shares parts with Monte Carlo (Chevy), Cutlass (Oldsmobile), Grand National and Regal (Buick). The problem is they each have different front ends. While sharing all the other parts and general look.

Potential Edit: A co-worker said he knows of a junkyard that has a few older cars somewhere in Delaware. I'll go check it out and let you know if I find anything.

 

Good luck with that, my uncle has a mid 80's Grand National and a Monte Carlo and was always complaining about how hard it was to find good body parts. He put in new performance parts for the motors, so parts for those were not a problem.

On another note, I decided to get parts to fix my 08 Buell 1125R so I could ride it when I got home in July, but was just "asked" to extend out here in Iraq until October, so maybe the weather will cooperate and I will get a couple weeks of riding in before it gets too cold.

 

The little Starlet that could.

 

Not sure where to put this but this threat seems good.

So I am looking for a new to me vehicle. I prefer a truck or suv since I live in a rural area that gets lots of snow and has wildlife issues (deer, stray cows + horses + sheep) Mileage is not important. Comfort and reliability would be nice. Budget is about 20k.

Been looking at Toyota 4Runner's but only like the body on the latest style.

Any suggestions?

 

Subaru outback or baja. I think they don't make the baja anymore.

toyota tundra or hilux.

Jeeps can be hit or miss.

if you see lots of snow. Would try to get something with 4wd or fwd.