Zenith Motorcycles

Zenith is an English motorcycle. famous for the early Gradua gear designed by Fred Barnes. this gave Zenith an advantage over cruder single speed bikes of the day. in fact many clubs banned the use of Zeniths so equipped from their races and hill climbs. if you look at the handle on the tank top that is the control handle for the Gradua. this gave the Zenith two speeds a low and a high by changing the diameter of the belt drive pulley while at the same time sliding the rear wheel back and forth in order to keep belt tension constant. later Zeniths went to regular geared type of transmissions with chain drive. the first picture is a 1912 Zenith Gradua. the second pic is another Gradua equipped 1918 Zenith 680cc JAP twin with a sidecar and 3rd is the other side of the same bike. fourth we have a 1924 Zenith and sidecar with a 1000cc flathead JAP. you can see on this one there is no Gradua control handle. and last is a 1936 Zenith with a 500cc single. the last Zeniths were built in 1948. or maybe 1950, i have read both dates.

Abandoned Six Flags

Pictures from Six Flags Amusement Park in New Orleans. After the devastation of the hurricane Katrina, this is what an once crowded amusement park looks like . Looking pretty much like straight out of a zombie apocalypse type movie, there have been countless graffiti artists marking everything in sight. I have never been to Six Flags, but I might want to go to this one...
Via: Disappearing Dead

Random Pics

Jeremy Clarkson deserves this since he hates motorcycles and being in Isle of Man.

armored ship Thursday on Saturday

this week for armored ship Thursday we have one of the men who commanded ironclads on the Mississippi during the Civil War. Commodore William David"Dirty Bill"Porter. born in 1808 he was the eldest son of Commodore David Porter a naval hero of the War of 1812. his younger brother was Admiral David Dixon"Black Dave"Porter and his step brother was Admiral David G. Farragut both famous Civil War Admirals of the USN. William D. Porter served as a light house inspector and official until court martialled in 1855. he was re-instated as a Commander in 1859 and in 1861 was assigned to the Western Gunboat Flotilla on the Mississippi. there he was put in command of the armored gun boat USS New Era. he promptly changed her name to USS Essex the same name as his father's ship in the War of 1812. at the Battle for Fort Henry one of the Essex's boilers was pierced by a 32lb. shot and exploded blowing Porter overboard. he was hauled back aboard with severe burns but still directed the operation of the Essex from the pilot house. he oversaw the repair of Essex from his sickbed and resumed active command after the repairs were finished and Essex was back on duty. he took part in the naval operations at the siege of Vicksburg where USS Essex was in action with the ironclad CSS Arkansas of the CSN. later Arkansas was sent south to help Confederate forces in Lousiana. Arkansas was followed by Essex who came across the Confederate ironclad after her starboard engine had failed and she had drifted ashore. not being able to either steam or bring a gun to bear CSS Arkansas was set afire and scuttled by her own crew. Porter claimed credit for the destruction of the Arkansas. some have disputed his claim but if he and the USS Essex had not been on hand the Arkansas instead of being destroyed would have been repaired and back in sevice against the Union. i think his claim is well deserved. after this the Essex and Porter took part in the fight at New Hudson. Porter was promoted to Commodore in July, 1862 and relinquished command of USS Essex in September, 1862. he spent the rest of his life on shore duty. this was only a short time as he died of heart problems in May, 1864. Union Secretary of the Navy "Uncle" Gideon Welles said of Porter that he was courageous, daring, troublesome and reckless. i have never been able to find out why he was called "Dirty Bill" probably because he was not very popular with some of the other naval officers and some politicians as well i suspect. the first picture is of Commodore Porter himself. note the watch chain dangling from his vest. it has a small key hanging from it indicating that he uses a key wound pocket watch. next is a picture of USS Essex. third is a picture of Essex firing on the burning and sinking CSS Arkansas. fourth is Essex tied up to the river bank with awnings deployed as protection against the sun. last is a drawing of Essex in the river with other Union warships in the distance. probably off Vicksburg.

Shanghai Kittens Update

Joker is doing splendidly. He’s gained weight, has been bathed and treated for fleas, and has made friends with the staff at the vet clinic. The tech told me that he “is very lovely” and that they “all love him”. So far, people on the internet (via Tumblr, mainly) have donated $300 USD to help get the cats home. The interesting part about this bizarre quest is that all of the money has come from strangers. Only one family member has donated money, while all of my sorority sisters, my parents’ acquaintances, and others have not contributed at all while telling us that we’re crazy for doing this. All kinds of people from every corner of the world are willing to help these cats. I’ve received donations from young anime fans from as far away as Lithuania, who are giving $20 from each paycheck from their after-school jobs; a teacher in the Philippines; a biker; and so many others. It’s amazing that the internet can bring all these people together to help four baby cats.

Via: Oh, murdering

I knew those sorority sisters are self-centered.

A biker?

She has gotten more problems since then.

Here is the issue right now. Kittens cannot receive a certificate of health from the Chinese government until they have been vaccinated against rabies. Rabies vaccines cannot be given to kittens until they are at least 3 months old. They must be certified 30 days before leaving the country. Therefore, at this point in time, there is no possibility that Joker and the other cat will be leaving the country with me when I leave on August 14.

However, I am not giving up. I am researching the cost of a transportation service who would take care of all these necessities for me, including transporting them to and from the government vet and where he is currently boarded, taking them to the airport for shipment, and providing kennel(s) for their transport.

It’s expensive. But again, Lau is my responsibility. I’m not going to abandon him in China after all of this. He has someone in the US who is waiting to bring him home and love the fur off of him, and I’m going to get him there one way or another.

As of today(7/30/2011), the donation has reached $600. However since she will not be with cats when they will be transported, price has bumped up significantly.

"The price of DTP origin service for two cats to be shipped via cargo from Shanghai to DEN, Denver, US is RMB23,112.00. This rate includes:

1. 900.00 for two #1 flight crates with water-dispenser, food bowl and cushion, whose size is 60 x 39 x 40cm (two pets must be in two crates.)

2. 1000.00 for Vaccination and Microchip Implantation (500.00 per cat)

3. 500.00 for Vaccination service

4. 920.00 for export health certificate by the official (460.00 per cat)

5. 500.00 for health check service

6. 1600.00 for Customs declaration sheet (800.00 per cat)

7. 1800.00 for Customs clearance

8. 1800.00 for export service on the departure date

9. 2000.00 for Handling fee by the agent

10. 12092.00 for airfreight from Shanghai to DEN by CO

USD Price: $3586.48

Holy shit. I better donate more By the way, you can use credit card to donate through paypal even if you don't have paypal account

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Happy 64th

He was a man of men, back in 80's. Seems like a failing idol now...

ROYAL DE LUXE / EL XOLO

From Friday 27 to Sunday, May 29, 2011, a huge crowd followed the adventures of the Giants Royal de Luxe in the streets of Nantes...

Royal de Luxe is a French mechanical marionette street theatre company. They were founded in 1979 by Jean Luc Courcoult. Based in Nantes, the company has performed in France, Belgium, England, Germany, Iceland, Chile, Australia and Mexico.

Caturday-Bad (ass) Kitties

Fastest -Trailer

Switzer Porche 911 VS GSX1300R Busa

I think the rider missed the gear.

Art o' Bicycle Final Friday - CLOSING

Final Friday participants can get a look at the seventh annual "Art of the Bicycle" event at Go Away Garage, 508 S. Commerce. The show will include customized and artistic bikes on display as well as bicycle-inspired art. A bike will be given away by raffle at 10 p.m., followed by a bike ride around downtown. The show will be open from 7 to 11 p.m.

Via: Kansas.com

Hope you all enjoy. By the way, there is a time conflict with next show, so this is the closing for this bike show. Means this is your last chance

GYROCAM, Kaw Zx10R, Nurburgring

If you ever played Sony's Grand Tourismo games, You have probably driven the longest course in the game, Nurburgring. This video displays what is like to ride a superbike around the ‘Ring with Gyro cam . The lap time of 7 minutes and 50 seconds is pretty fast. Worth watching whole thing.

Car Dealer Code

Via :JustaCarGal

I have never bought anything from a dealer. I probably never will. I wonder motorcycle dealerships use the same code...

From Archive

Kirk Anderson and his friends

Early 1960's

Whizzer Sportsman and Ambassador

i of course rode somebody's Whizzer when a child. can't remember whose though. i never knew they made the Sportsman or Ambassador until i saw a Sportsman at the Art of the Bicycle Show. i liked it, i sat on it, but sadly, i don't think i could ride one very far with my screwed up knee. they started making them in 1949 after people began to see the one Whizzer designer Donald White made especially for his boy. people apparently called the factory and said they wanted one too. the Sportsman had no pedals like the regular Whizzers and had 20" wheels and a smaller frame. it had a 4 stroke 138cc engine that put out 3bhp which was good for a top speed of 40mph. the Sportsman had a single speed with a clutch. for one year there was a deluxe Sportsman which had a two speed Bi-Matic semi-automatic transmission. it was somewhat troublesome so was not used after that. in 1951 and only that year another Whizzer with no pedals called the Ambassador was made. it had 24" wheels and larger frame and all had the Bi-Matic transmission. the Sportsman was produced from 1949-53 and a total of 4876 were produced. 1128 Ambassadors were produced in 1951. these little critters were very stylish and even though i don't fit on one very well i would like to have one. i bet i could make it a little ways before my knee gave up. the first pic is an ad for the Sportsman. second pic is an Ambassador and the last three of course are Sportsmans.

Nice Office

Via: Lost:Beta

From Ko Art Shop

According to Reuters, artist Roongrojna Sangwonprisarn, 54, creates his artworks from recycled spare parts from used cars, motorcycles as well as bicycles. With four shops in Bangkok named "Ko Art Shop", Roongrojna also exports his artworks to clients all over the world.
Via: MSNBC photoblog

Fabio and His Bikes

There are a few things I wonder about.

1)How does he keep up with all those keys?
2)shit load of money on bikes but cheap tarp shed to store some of them?
3)Is he still making money being a model to buy bikes?
4) How the heck do you take good care of 200+ bikes

Buckman on wizzer