Chris Sheppard
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Everything posted by Chris Sheppard
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The ticking over bit only ever seemed a problem with mine when it had the spark arrester fitted. Took that out and it's never been a problem since. If you do run it dry, it's not the end of the world, just pump the primer plenty til it gets resistance and then set half throttle. If it doesn't fire (though it usually does) then start it like you would an old type saw if you'd flooded it. Mine's old enough that it doesn't have the modified breather kit fitted (which they all should have had for a while now) and that's meant to help the running dry bit somehow apparently. From what I've seen on here, most problems people had were with the 560 rather than the 550? It is, think he means set it to half throttle. On the whole I'v not needed to though.
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Aint that the truth - most of the "specialists" are special to say the least Looks like you'll be hanging on to your cash a while then - the reason most won't have IVA/SVA etc is that they'd never get it in the first place. If you want a good starting point at the lower end of the rice bracket, have a look at ex utility. They've usually been worked hard but in my experience have usually been fixed as needed using half decent parts (though that's not to say they all have).
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Exactly - despite how much money's been invested in it, most people are steering clear of it hence they are usually really cheap. The stolen parts side of things doesn't just apply to things like that though - pretty much any used bits could be off stolen ones.
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I can't give a definiteive answer but it would only be a matter of time before either DVLA (or HMRC) caught up with you for tax avoidance. The other thing would be if it was ever involved in an accident and they started looking a bit closer. Always seemed a lot of work/risk to me just to save a couple of hundred quid a year. Hybrids seem to be a lot less popular than they were a few years ago - whey do you think they seem so cheap.......
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There lies the problem - sure it would be a great thing, but it's likely to be prohibitively expensive for most peole to buy too. Simple and reliable is probably a better route. Set up next to the stack and start rolling the already cut rings onto a sideloader and shoving them through into a loader bucket or conveyor etc Maybe even load them onto the splitter with a machine if need be. More often than not, big stuff gets ringed up on site because it's too big to lift any longer - on the whole it's this sort of sized stuff that takes the most time/effort to process in my experience. There's endless machines available for the smaller stuff.
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Something that would deal with typical arb waste already disced up and split it into log sized pieces in one go would be where I'd be heading. There's plenty of options already on the market for smaller diameter stuff into 6/8/10 or a bit more pieces, but to build something that would reliably handle say 24inch diameter, knotty rings of up to around 14" length into 20/30 pieces, I think would sell well. The problem is that the stresses through the knife are huge in that type of system so it would tend to be fairly substantial and be strong enough to cope with bad grain without destroying itself. There's a reason none of the mainstream manufacturers make one and it's not for lack of market
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Yep we do, they had them at ours too. Can't remember exactly but was a good chunk cheaper than 550.
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Fixed that for you But that's where I'd put my £1500 I reckon. We had one a while ago and it was great. Only sold it because we needed something more "normal" for SWMBO to go to work in when she started orking further away Discoveries are great but usually need welding doing on the bodies. Jimny might not tow a huge amount (can't remember exactly but sure it was around 1.25T) but do handle it OK. Better on fuel tan a vitara too. Only problems we discovered to be common (an might only apply to the pre VVT ones) were the bottom pulley delaminates (£100 from suzuki for a new one) and the cam and crank sensors usually go somewhere around 60-80K (about £120 for both). Rot wise, check the rear seatbelt mounts and the boot floor where the litle cubby is - nothing like as bad as a discovery does and dead easy to plate if they did need doing.
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It's a bit like with dogs - it's not so much the breed but the owners I've not so much had bad ones, just ones that were badly kept/maintained/repaired previously using cheap bits. My 90 just keeps on chugging - at 300,000 miles I'm sure it's going to have some sort of major problem before too long but on the whole I never have to touch it. Jap stuff, other than patrol and landcruiser, on the whole just don't seem to stand up to the smae abuse a landrover can take. Think the worst I've had so far was a mark 3 hilux that, whilst it looked great, had a terribly weak engine. I got rid of mine with 90,000 miles on after having already swapped ut to a 2.4td engine at 70,000 miles after a big end going on the original engine, andthe 2.4td cracked it's head another 20,000 after that.
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Got a couple here for him John, PM me your address and I'll get them away to you when I can get to the post office
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As above, try milner offroad. Had their HD springs on both a Hilux and a Landcruiser. They were OK but I did manage to bend one on the Landcruiser. A bettr quality, though more expensive option would be to get some made up locally - not as hard as it maybe sounds as those places do exist. Though to be fair, hiluxes are useless at carrying proper weight - get a defender
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On Par?! Wash your mouth out - the 550 chews up and spits out the 346 If you think the 550 is good, be preapared to have your sock knocked off when you pick up a 560. It's no secret I was very anti new technology when the 560's were first introduced but shortly after picking one up for the first time I was convinced.
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560 all day long. Come on guys, lets make it a grand slam
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If you only buy one thing for it before an enduro, go for a set of wrap around handguards. Busting a lever miles from parc ferme is a pain in the arse. I've had them on every bike I've owned and so far, I've only ever broke one lever since and it was bad enough to break the handguard too MD racing have got some UFO ones on offer at the mo at £13 instead of £44 But like Geoff said, a sump guard's not a bad idea either. Geoff, I remember reading something about the WR 426's having a throttle stop on the side of the carb that didn't let it open as far as the YZ one. It was in an american mag so don't know if it applied to the UK spec ones too? Apparently if you modified the stop it made a bit more top end.
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Looks ace Geoff, looks like it's been well looked after. Are the free adjustments the ones where it gets put to YZ spec on the cam timing and other bits like that? Bit last minute, but we decided we're racing this weekend. There a vintage class been added to the timecard at Graythwaite in Cumbria on Sunday. Meant to be using completely new going on a lot of it so shouldn't be too bad for ruts, but as we've got a 2 day meeting in a couple of weeks I figured I'd best not risk breaking the KTM so dragged old faithful out the garage yesterday and gave it a bit of a fettle. Managed to get hold of a set of original side panels, headlight and a tank that seems to not leak at the mo so it's actually looking something like again. Brakes now sort of work too so other than the fact its gutless, really tappety and burning plenty of oil, it's about ready to race New handguards arrived today too
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Have a natter with Jim@Riko - if you want a petrol one with three point linkage brackets then he'd be the man to make it happen
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Can't help with practice tracks, but RM looks tidy Haven't rode MX for a long time (mainly as I was too slow) but getting back into Enduros again. If you think you're even half fit, go do a proper enduro and you'll soon find out you're not Meant to be racing this weekend in the lakes - there's a vintage class stuck on the end of the modern bikes but my KTM's in bits so it means taking the DR 125 - feel the raw power........ Go shove that yam in the bin Geoff before it breaks and get another CR 500 - you know you want to
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Is that a 3120? Only used one once but did like it.
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Sandals and socks - comfort and style or crime of fashion?
Chris Sheppard replied to Big J's topic in The Lounge
Me too, only thing is it make you look like a builder I'd say sandals were wrong whether with or without socks, but I've never tried them so can't really pass judgement on those that choose to -
Got dragged up to the inlaws on Friday, SWMBO's car broke down on the way home last night and the AA managed to take 10 hours to get us the 100 or so miles we had left to go. Landed at about 4 this morning. Car shopping for me today - great
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I'd agree - I've used a 150 VTR more than any other chipper and never known it block yet.
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need a new groundsaw again, 560xp letting me down :-/
Chris Sheppard replied to jnoon's topic in Chainsaws
Pretty much, but they last forever. Given the choice of the two though, I'd pay the bit extra for the 372 unless the new ones aren't as good as the old ones. -
There seemed to be a lot of "make do with what you've got to hand" from what we could see.
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Going with the boat launching theme, it seems once the Alaskans ran out of trees to fell they started using skidders to launch boats. This place was tiny but they had 5 or 6 big skidders there just for launching little boats. Most still had their blades on and winches too. Looked like the only real mod was a hydraulic ram attached to a drawbar on the back.
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Been getting back into the Alex Cross series of books by James Patterson - two of them got made as films with Morgan Freeman in them (Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider). They're great as they don't take a lot of reading so work well in short bursts. Also reading Four Quarters of Light, by Brian Keenan about his travels in Alaska. Started reading it while we were still out there last week and all I can say is that his findings and ours were hugely different - he's very negative at times, but I find it hard to put down. Still working on Dreaming of Jupiter by Ted Simon - finding it quite hard work compared to Jupiter's Travels. Have to be in the right mood so it's taken months so far
