I am a spannering god!

That'll be a whoosh, will it?[/QUOTE]

<slaps forehead>

No kickstart problems either then?

 

<slaps forehead>

No kickstart problems either then?[/QUOTE]

<VVBG>

 

I'm so with you on that, especially on the food & tools front.

And in my next lesson I shall learn to apply this to vehicles as well...

Heck, not even the BMW dealers have figured that one out.

 

Of course, the engine could have been ran connected to a set of 'bench'
carbs and exhaust rather than in its permanant chasis.

 

The only relevant cost here would surely be time and labour (plus fuel
and oil I suppose, oil probably being the biggest cost if it wasn't
reused)?

The cost of the rig could be ammortized across however many engines run
through it (lots)

You're of course right, unless this is all part of the quality system;
understanding the power output at certain engine speeds or something.

I think you're probably right.


However, talking to the Japanese about quality is interesting, they
really didn't understand the concept of "just get the fucking thing to
market and compromise what needs to be done for economic reasons". They
were completely quality obsessed, however maybe that was a reflection on
the Japanese I dealt with.

 

Back when the were still making air-cooled beetles, VW would run every
engine on the bench for half an hour before fitting them to the cars.

VW reckoned that their engines were shipped "run-in".

If the engine has been pre-run, why would anybody want to do the 600-mile
oil change service?

 

I remember watching Ducati engineers run up every bike before it was
crated - but that was 25 years ago.

<Thinks>

Doubt much has changed.

 

Lots of reasons. A ten-minute run-up isn't the same as a proper 600-mile
shakedown. A hell of lot (relatively speaking) of engine wear takes
place when the lump is brand new and bedding in, and the oil gets
contaminated, badly, quickly.

 

same here.

I buy whatever bike I want at the time from wherever is selling it
cheapest.

I even bought a bike from Motorcycle City, once.

 

I quite like the idea of kick-starting bikes - but it's incredibly
frustrating if it won't start on the kick.

really? I've had loads, including one bike with no electric start.
Fortunately, that bike (RGV250) is very easy to kick over. My R30, on
the other hand was a complete **** to start unless it was already
fully warmed up.

 

I used to work in a Kawasaki dealer too, new bikes were indeed shipped
with no oil [1], but did have coolant in them.

[1] They had big 'NO OIL' stickers on the petrol tank.