Thoughts on driving and riding.
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| The Plymouth on the street, Photo taken during the previous owner's last drive. |
I have owned the Plymouth for a little over a year, and I've put approx. 600 miles on it during that time. Although I was familiar with driving manual transmission cars, it takes a while to familiarize myself with the idiosyncrasies of this particular vehicle. Age has given it it's own set of peculiarities and foibles. Besides, it was restored forty years ago, and wear has certainly taken place in the forty years since then.
First some numbers.
The engine is rated at 95 hp. @ 3,600 rpm.
Torque is rated at 172 ft.lbs @1200 rpm.
What does this actually mean? How is this significant?
It has an effect on how the car is driven.
The owner's manual states the speeds that the car should be shifted at. This is important as there is no tachometer in the instrument panel.
The manual states that it should be started in first gear, accelerated to 5-10 mph. then shifted into second. Maximum speed in first gear should not exceed 24 mph.
At 15-20 mph. the car should be shifted into high gear.
Maximum speed in second gear should not exceed 43 mph.
These suggested maximum speeds are to prevent over revving the engine. These old engines do not breathe very well and they are usually tuned to run out of breath before they can achieve harmful high rpm. Even so, operating the engine at it's higher rpm range reduces fuel economy and increases engine wear.
The manufacturer states that the top speed is approx 80 mph. I don't know if my car could reach this speed in it's current condition, ( I would be a bit afraid to try it, at this point!) though I have seen 70 on the speedo once or twice. This is just a bit reassuring as I know that the engine is not winding itself to death at 55-60 mph.
1,200 rpm. is only twice the idle speed. That means that the engine has the majority of it's torque available at quite low speeds. Regardless of gear. Maximum hp. is available at three times the rpm of the torque peak. This means that full power is available at all driving speeds. At approx 55-60 mph. the engine is producing close to peak hp. This means that it is capable of accelerating to deal with traffic conditions.
Old cars are pretty low geared, the engine only has "adequate" levels of power, and it needs to use all of it to cope with driving situations. There isn't a lot of reserve power available. The car was designed for typical driving conditions at legal speeds.
There is a long, fairly steep hill located near my house that I frequently drive up. The speed limit is 40-45 mph. As long as my car is going the speed limit, it has no problem maintaining that speed, However if I encounter vehicles travelling slower than that, maybe 35 mph. I will have to downshift into second gear, and hold my speed to no higher than 40 mph.
On my trip to Casa de Fruta I mentioned that there was a long uphill section of freeway. I was traveling at 55 mph. and the Plymouth had no problems maintaining that speed. It could still accelerate up to 60 mph.
The manual states that if you are in a higher gear and the engine is "laboring" you should downshift to a lower gear. The term "laboring" is another term for "lugging" and this is very detrimental to an engine. If stepping on the accelerator doesn't produce an increase in speed, then a lower gear is needed. Lugging causes extreme pressure loads on the bottom end of the engine.
Luckily second and high gear are both synchronized, down shifting is pretty smooth with a bit of rev matching.
You might wonder, Is there ever a condition where a car might not have enough power to climb a hill?With almost every modern car the answer is no.
We are talking about major highways and streets. They are designed to limit the steepness of the roadway. There are old roads that alternate back and forth, in a zig zag pattern, as they ascend a grade to reduce the steepness of the climb. These roads are referred to as "switch backs." Mt. Hamilton Rd. near the summit is like this. It was designed this way so that horse drawn wagons could climb the road to reach the observatory at the top of the mountain. I have ridden over this road many times on my motorcycles over the years.
In the past, this was sometimes the case. It was said that often a Model T would have to climb a hill in reverse, as that was the lowest gear available. I have also experienced trying to ride my 5 hp. Honda 50 up Lincoln Ave. in Oakland. At one point, the bike could not proceed any further, even in first gear! I was forced to abandon the effort and turn the bike around.
I experienced a similar event while I was towing my Jaguar XJS home after buying it in Southern California. My V6 F150 was pulling it's max load of 6,000 lbs. It did fine on the level and on mild inclines, but it met its match on the Cuesta Grade on US101. The grade reaches 1,522 ft. in elevation at the crest of the grade. It achieves this elevation in a quite short distance, which means that it is a steep climb! It started out okay, but as it climbed the hill it slowed, even as the transmission shifted to a lower gear. Finally I shifted it into first and crept over the crest at 28 mph. But at least it made it! I was just like the heavily loaded semi trailers that have to do the same thing.
Generally, the driver of an automatic transmission equipped vehicle doesn't have to do anything, as the transmission will downshift automatically, and prevent the engine from lugging.
Lugging can occur even with modern power trains. I saw an internet video about the late model turbo four Mustangs equipped with a manual transmission. It seemed that a lot of drivers were cruising along in high gear when they encountered a long grade. As the driver felt the car losing speed, instead of downshifting to a lower gear, they just pressed on the throttle spooling up the turbo. This caused a lot of extra heat, as well as pressure on the bottom end, resulting in head gasket and bottom end issues.
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| Classic good looks are a big part of it's appeal to me. |
Today I took the Sportster out for a pretty good ride. The bike was operated in a variety of conditions and environments.
The Sporty has an abundance of available power. The only time that it would feel underpowered is if you try to race a modern sports bike!
Though I've owned the bike for almost a year, I really haven't put many miles on it. probably less than 200 miles in the first year. It's true that I've put a lot of miles on my two previous Sportsters, but it takes a fair of riding to become familiar with any motorcycle.
I first made a short stop to check out the new location of the Morgan Hill HD dealer. I checked out the new bikes on display. They only had a single new Sportster on display. It was a Nightster, not even a Sportster S. I told the salesperson that HD should offer the 1200 in the Nightster configuration. The S is not designed to accommodate a passenger comfortably or to be set up with a back rest or saddle bags. This limits it's appeal to riders that would like to use their machine as a touring bike. Well, everybody has an opinion, and mine is that HD has not been aggressive enough in marketing their new Sportsters. The company needs to expand it's sales in their lower priced line. They might enjoy the higher transaction prices of the bigger twins, but the high cost of these models definitely reduces the amount of sales. Indian, on the other hand seems to be selling an awful lot of Scouts.
My bike only has a speedometer, and I do miss having a tach. Although it has so much lower end power that the rider doesn't need to rev the engine very high for more than adequate acceleration in the lower gears. The five speed transmission is a real improvement. My old Sportys had a big gap in the gearing between third and fourth, which was occasionally a problem when climbing really tight uphill back roads. Probably the best improvement was the inclusion (finally!) of rubber engine mounts which makes the ride so much smoother. Though my older bikes were acceptably smooth at between 60-75 mph. To put that in context, both of my previous Sportsters were smoother overall, than my 80 inch Shovelhead.
The bike has forward controls, which makes the rider look cool, but are uncomfortable under some conditions. All of the rider's weight rests on their butt. You can't raise yourself up on the pegs crossing rough pavement. Also, approaching fast bends with your legs splayed out in front of you, isn't the most reassuring position. It's kind of difficult to gauge your angle of lean while in the curve.
I replaced the high handlebars with a much lower version which is a great improvement. The high bars forced me to sit bolt upright which channeled all the road shocks directly to my lower spine. The lower bar allows me to lean forward a bit, which reduces the shock channeled directly to my lower back. My upper body tends to bend forward like a hinge, absorbing some of the impacts with my gut.
The bike also sits quite low. It is the "Low" version after all. The front forks are an inch shorter and the rear shocks are two inches shorter. This was done to make it easier for shorter riders to reach the pavement straddling the bike. The aftermarket drag pipes also are longer, and hang lower than the stock exhaust. It does look cool, but the bike doesn't have a lot of ground clearance. It can even bottom out crossing some speed bumps, as I've learned!
Part of my trip yesterday was riding over Mount Madonna, on Hecker Pass road from Gilroy to Santa Cruz county. This is a very curvy, lower speed road that winds between the trees on the valley side, and among the cliffs (drop offs) on the Santa Cruz side. Speed limits are low, mostly 35 mph. max with many tight horseshoe curves marked at 20 mph. or less.
While this is a fun road, it also attracts a lot of people riding sports bikes, as well as those driving sports cars. They come here to experience the winding road and to hang it out a bit. I've done that myself, driving my Mustangs. This adds an extra element; I don't want to be embarrassed, or hold up these faster drivers. I also don't want to ride over my head and crash the bike.
In the past I've had a lot of experience riding full dress Harleys, and these are also ground clearance limited. You've probably seen many "squid" riders on sports bikes, leaning their bikes at exaggerated angles just changing lanes on the freeway or negotiating nominal curves. This something that you learn to avoid. The big bike is maintained at an upright position as much as possible. That combined with proper lane positioning allows for safely riding on winding roads at a decent speed. If you have to lean the bike over excessively, and the grinding sounds and shower of sparks will let you know that, then you have to slow it down!
I got a pretty good lesson on just how well my bike handles a curvy road. I continued on into Watsonville before I started to head back to catch the 101.
Driving back home on n/b US101 I encountered slow heavy traffic approaching Gilroy. I did some lane splitting between the #1 and #2 lanes at 30-40 mph. Unlike the motorcycle (mostly Harley) riders that "bully" car drivers to pull over partially into the center divider, demanding more space as they roar on by, I expertly threaded the lanes. Mostly running over the dotted line. This had minimal effect on the drivers around me. I only did that for short stretches. That is the way that it should be done.
Once speeds picked up I had to battle a steady headwind. This where the low bars and forward controls cause a lot of discomfort. In a normal posture with their feet below and slightly behind them, the rider can lean into the wind. I could only hang on and pull myself forward with my arms, not too comfortable, but better than with the high bars.
At this point, I have to mention the elephant in the room. It's the main thing that regular folks hate about Harleys.
The bike is too noisy! While I like the sound of a V Twin Harley, this is a bit much. Over the years I've come to appreciate a quieter bike, I hate to call so much attention to myself. It also adds to the discomfort level, I wouldn't want to ride hundreds of miles in a day, like I used to, with that constant roar in my ears. It also makes using the bike for normal errands seems a bit too much. It makes it feel silly and impractical.
Stock exhaust systems on Harleys disappear soon after purchase and they are tossed in the trash. Then they are gone. It's very difficult to locate the stock exhaust for an older model bike.
My bike has aftermarket Vance and Hines drag pipes. I visited the website and they had two types of baffles available for this set up; a short (louder) and longer (less loud) design. I don't know if these baffles are available for the older exhaust systems. Paughco has been selling exhaust systems for HDs forever. They offer all types of mufflers and baffles and maybe I can adapt something that will quiet the motor down a bit. It doesn't have to be as quiet as stock, but I'd appreciate any improvement!
All stock motorcycles have to conform to the same noise emission standards, this results in some pretty large and bulky exhaust set ups on the sportier HD models. Full dressers have run dual exhaust with long mufflers for decades, it's part of their look.
On the other hand, my Plymouth is running a stock type muffler and it's pretty quiet at speed. On my trip to Casa de Fruta I could cruise at 55 mph. on the freeway and easily hear the music playing on my CD player. Even with the windows open.
Yes, I admit that I'm an old man!
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