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Too much logic!I'll be in Changi, (The airport, not the prison!) in about twelve hours. Pity I don't have more than three hours, we could catch up!Next time...... Pete
I don't pretend to know any more than Joe average but out of interest, would re phasing the front engine so that front left fires 180 deg later than rear left therefore giving 180 deg intervals throughout 720 deg, result in a more measured torque load on the drive line so as to remove some of the shocks down the stream ? I remember Troy Bayliss' Ducati could be re fitted with a Big Bang configured engine essentially two v twins side by side. He said it was easier in the rain but lunched itself with monotonous regularity. Now if I'm not mistaken (probably am), but I think they went to a "long bang" some bloody how by getting one bank firing a bit further apart and got better longevity, but I might be talking rubbish there.
My dad was an apprentice trained motor engineer. When he went into the navy during the 39-45 he became a ship's engineer. He could mend or rebuild just about anything, and if a part wasn't available he could make it. He was also short of patience, and if things weren't done as he wanted, rather than teach, he'd shout.I'm mix-handed, which I think is why I'm clumsy. By the time I was six I'd come to associate motor mechanics with being shouted at. As a result I avoided his workshop and never picked up any of his skills. But I benefitted from them. He'd buy write-offs and get them back on the road. We shared a Norton Dominator 88 that he got this way, and my little Yamaha AS1 was also one of his finds. Nothing he ever steered me and my sister toward let us down.Actually that in itself was a problem. My Vespa had nude, bicycle type handlebars, very old-fashioned in 1963. He found me an Austin A30 when all my friends were driving Minis and Ford Anglias. Eventually I got a job that included a car as part of the package, and so broke free of his bargain vehicles. My poor sister and her husband have never managed to buy a car they actually wanted. He'd always find, and talk them into yet another really good buy. And it always was a good, reliable vehicle.He died six weeks ago, aged 94. Maybe now they'll be able to choose their own car.
On a scale of 1-10 I am around a -1. GliderJohn
I've thought about this from time to time but have not formulated a definitive answer, until now.I believe I have a fairly high level of understanding things mechanical and a decent level of diagnosing problems with the exception of electrical issues ( I don't associate electrical skills with mechanical and see them as altogether different).However, regardless of whether anyone believes it or not, I am extremely unlucky when it comes to fixing problems. For example, I might figure out my fuel pump, water pump, radiator or fill in the blank is at fault, and I need to replace that part. But inevitably I will break off a fastener, ruin something at either side of the bad part or create another problem, sometimes even more serious, when I try to fix the original. This happens with almost every endeavor I try.Therefore, if I can afford it, I try to let a shop or mechanic fix my problems even if I know what they are and have the right tools for the job.Just to give one example of many, I almost always change my oil, filters, etc. This is a simple job -right? I once was changing oil on my 2001 F-350 diesel. It had a huge oil filter, mounted straight down under the engine in an easy place to access. I spent four hours trying to remove it and finally got the remaining base off by fabricating a special "tool" to fit in the holes of the metal base so it would turn and come off. A one hour job turned into over a half day, and this is what happens nearly every time. Look at my signature line. A good day is when nothing breaks.
The family relationships angle on this topic is fascinating. My dad wasn't handy at all, though he was fond of painting rooms and bookshelves. He was the oldest son and the one our immigrant family groomed for college, so he was set to studying rather than tinkering. But my mother had great hands -- she could paint and sculpt, do electrical repairs, worked as a chemist and darkroom technician. All my uncles, on both sides of the family, were skilled union mechanics, carpenters, masons, plumbers, electricians etc -- during the war they were Seabees, B-29 crew chiefs, navy steamfitters etc. Because we only saw the rest of the family at Xmas and for a few days each summer, I didn't get to watch them at work, but I must have inherited the idea that anything mechanical or electrical could be fixed or even built, and was always happy to dive into a project and learn by screwing up. I built a lot of proper flying model planes, modified my bicycles etc before acquiring motor vehicles, and eventually renovated a couple of houses, as my own contractor, to profitable effect. I can often figure out a simple way to substitute for a specialized tool I don't have, or a more direct way to wire a circuit. Execution may not be pretty, but eventually it works.
However, regardless of whether anyone believes it or not, I am extremely unlucky when it comes to fixing problems. For example, I might figure out my fuel pump, water pump, radiator or fill in the blank is at fault, and I need to replace that part. But inevitably I will break off a fastener, ruin something at either side of the bad part or create another problem, sometimes even more serious, when I try to fix the original.
The phasing is a requirement to keep primary drive chain harmonics manageable...180 phasing has been tried but the "push and pull" of the two engine trashed the chain quickly....This was figured by others 50 years ago...If I had more time, money and skill I would try out alternatives ....like a gear drive.... Back on topic, I built the bike to suit my skill level .............
I am getting better at it, it all comes down to putting in the time to get decent at and then master a skill. Malcolm Gladwell's book "Outliers the story of success" is a good read and details how it takes 10,000 hours to master any skill.Yep 10,000 hours. For a full time job, 7 1/2 hours per day that equates to about 1400 hours per year, 7 years +/- to master a skill, and that's just one skill!I think I am at the decent stage of mechanics, but to be really good at it I will need at least 10 more years.
It probably takes less than 10,000 hours to learn how to make a good quiche, and more than 10,000 to master Beethovens 5th symphony, they're both skills, but I guess I get your point.
For a full time job, 7 1/2 hours per day that equates to about 1400 hours per year, 7 years +/- to master a skill, and that's just one skill!
The traditional term of apprenticeship, dating from the Middle Ages, was seven years. A kid whose parents signed him on as apprentice to a master at age 12 became a journeyman at around 19-20.
Fully skilled at seven years sounds reasonable but that depends on the workman...or doctor or pilot, or......
So then... How long to become a " fully skilled" nuerosurgeon or a fully skilled scientist operating the Hadron collider or maybe a "fully skilled" toast maker. The point is, it's at best a BS argument to assign a number to how many hours it takes to Aquire a skill, it depends on the skill. Now as for Pete Roper's "shaved ape" example, no one could argue the validity of that statement when it applies to rooting up the tuning on a Norge, but who would starve first in the jungle with no prepared food, I'd take the skills of the Ape in that situation. It's a garbage premise.
