With that bunch you never know...

Post #385,454 by scoenye 1/17/14 7:49:53 PM Reply	With that bunch you never know... They have a habit of playing up the sharp edges by pretending not to know what they just ran into. Hammond is the only rider among the three, but going by the earlier episode where they were to run the length of Vietnam on two wheels, he's quite a bit better than he let on here.
Post #385,459 by static 1/18/14 1:09:04 AM Reply	The producer has a hand in it. It is know that the producer has a hand in their challenges, possibly guiding results, probably encouraging pranks and certainly picking challenges tilted against the cars they've chosen. On the other hand, it is known that the Clarkson you see in the program is an over-the-top version of himself. Not so sure about the other two. I still think Richard simply bit off more than he could chew with that race. He fell a long way behind when he forgot to switch the reserve tank off - if the film team had reminded him of that it would've been quite a lot closer. Wade. Just Add Story http://justaddstory.wordpress.com/
Post #385,464 by Another Scott 1/18/14 9:14:25 AM Reply	Yup. One wonders if they purposefully picked days that had rain in the forecast for that episode... It seems like, a lot of the time, the destruction and so forth is just something they know they have to put in, so they do so. I mean, yeah, they have fun with it but it's so over-the-top and predictable these days. In this case - http://en.wikipedia....orth#Authenticity Authenticity[edit] For various reasons, it was not possible to run a historically accurate recreation of how the race would have gone in 1949. Instead, according to Graeme Bunker, the race was "done just for fun and entertainment".[6] A major restriction was Tornado's maximum speed limit of 75 miles per hour (121 km/h), set as a condition of its current main line certification (although the A1 Trust was planning to have Tornado certified to a higher speed over time). The 'Flyers' of the 1950s would have gone on to speeds of 90 miles per hour (140 km/h) and beyond.[2] A further difficulty was due to water troughs having been removed from the rail network, meaning it was not possible to achieve the post war steam timings of 6 and a half hours.[6] According to Steam Railway magazine, if Tornado had been able to use troughs, the train would have won the race easily.[2] On the plus side for the car and bike, they had the speed advantage of not having to travel through towns and villages exactly as the old Great North Road would have, but instead benefitted from the use of modern bypasses, and the faster A1(M) sections of the A1, where it has been upgraded to motorway standards.[6] However, speed restrictions outside of built up areas were only introduced in Britain in 1965. So if this had been in 1949 neither the car or motorbike would have been subject to any speed restrictions for most of the journey.[citation needed] The best thing about Top Gear is the cinematography, IMO. The rest is meh, depending on my mood. Here's a nice page on a '55 Black Shadow - http://www.mctrader....icleid/85888.aspx VincentÂs countless racing and speed record successes underlined the performance of its high-cam, 50-degree V-twin. In fact, attempts to run a 1000cc ClubmanÂs TT in the Isle of Man foundered after just three races because nothing could touch the Vincents Â in the final 1950 edition, only Vincents took part. Nothing else could compete with these bike created by legendary Australian engineer, Phil Irving. Cheers, Scott.
Post #385,473 by static 1/18/14 6:13:01 PM Reply	Yes. It is, after all, and entertainment program. But one that happens to centre on cars. (And three (ageing) enthusiasts who do know their stuff and aren't afraid of looking like berks on international TV. :-) Wade. Just Add Story http://justaddstory.wordpress.com/
Post #385,479 by Ashton 1/18/14 7:17:14 PM Reply	Wow! nice link; lots of familiars there.. Conway Motors: whence came my spares; from whom I bought my sl.-modified Sprite etc. (And Syd Broomfield there, found me a bed in Shepherds Bush, at start of my Grand-tour.) Surtees' father! George Brown/Nero + Super-Nero and the omnipresent VOC (owners club.) {{sniff}} Brakes: Physics reveals the thermodynamic limits of, even a ventilated 7" drum brake. Turned out that some superior linings appeared, some of us did score the magnesium vented back-plates and that combo made for quite adequate decel --but not indefinitely down-hill at max! natch. Still, merely properly shod and with shoes ground to exact (expanded!) dia. In normal er, hooning--no sweat. There were no disks then (or: they would have been std.) (Going to larger dia was entertained by some of us: too many weight/other consequences nixed that what-if.) I congratulate my parents for spawning moi, timed just-right to partake of these machines which were 'Adventurous' merely to gaze-at ... while-parked. Pur sang ergonomics before the word got coined. (And I thank Cthulhu for overlooking His several opportunities to queer-the-dice and gain fresh fodder.) Vroooom

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