Time for New Moto-Mania Trivia!

[Dallara]

Well, Folks...

I figure it's about time to resurrect an old tradition from the old board - Moto-Mania Trivia!

So without further adeiu I present you with your latest challenge... To identify this bike and its significance. I don't think this one will be as easy as some I have tested you with before, but who knows?


http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/58197064-M.jpg

http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/58197067-M.jpg


Good Luck!

Cheers!

Allan (Dallara - NACD)

[Sir Limpsalot]

It's a "WULF" stepped piston 500cc (42 bhp @ 6,500 rpm) designed by Bernard Hooper of NVT. This is the early air cooled one the mark two was liquid cooled.
Incidentally Hooper was the man behind Nortons Commando and this prototype has Commando cycle parts.
I saw this (or one very like it) at our National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham.
Cheers for now, Si.

[Dallara]

Damn...

I'm going to have start excluding Simon D from participation in the Moto Trivia challenges. He tags and bags me every friggin' time! :icon_redface:

Kudos to you, Simon. You are exactly right, and the second picture of mainly just the engine was taken in the same museum you mention. :eusa_clap:

Oh, well...

Got to try and find one that'll even stump you, Si.

Cheers!

Allan (Dallara - NACD)

[DarthRider]

Yeah, you can see the Commando parts.
Looks like the love child of a Commando and a Suzuki 500 2-stroke Titan!
I didn't know what this thing was but it's obviously British and I figured Si would jump on it!
Dave

[arkline]

Dayem, I coulda gotten this one since it is featured on the back of the latest NOC Roadholder. Anyone want to hazard a guess why it's called a "Wulf"?

[Sir Limpsalot]

Thanks, it's nice to be appreciated. How about I "BAN" myself from answering?

Ron, didn't know you were a Norton man? Cool, we get everywhere!

Keep safe! Si

[arkline]

Si,

Well between Allan's penchant for the exotic and your ability to pin those exotics down, I see no reason to BAN yourself. Heck, I thought that word was outside the current dictionary anyway.

Yes, I do love Nortons. First bike I ever felt safe doing the ton on. Matter of fact, the first bike I ever owned that could do the ton...heh, heh, heh. And the reason I got my last moving violation present from the local forces of rectitude...

[NoRRmad]

What's a "stepped piston?" From that exhaust, I thought it might be a square four, though obviously not an Ariel...

[Dallara]

Hey, NoRRmad...

It's far easier to send you here:


http://users.breathe.com/prhooper/opads.htm


Than to try to explain stepped pistons myself. It's an interesting concept, combining a four-stroke style lower-end with a two-stroke upper-end. Has a few problems producing any real power-per-cubic-inch, but has good torque and has found a home in some industrial applications.

Cheers!

Allan (Dallara - NACD)

[Sir Limpsalot]

Ron, I haven't actually ridden a Norton in years, but have such happy memories of my 750"S" that there's always been one in my head if not in my shed.
Trouble with nostalgia is that it can make you do daft things. I used to ride in a "Belstaff Trialmaster" wax cotton suit. It pretty much always kept me dry (hands and feet were a real problem though) BUT it was cold in the winter and way too warm in the summer. I'd ride along litterally praying that someone would invent something better. They did, I grabbed it and never looked back. So why then, with a closet full of "Dainese", do I sit and look longingly at the "Falstaff" wax cotton jacket in the "Aerostich" catalogue they just sent me?
Like I say nostalgia is a tricky chap and best kept on a tight leash.
Keep safe, Si.
PS. I just realised that I don't have the slightest idea where WULF comes from. Some kind of acronym I imagine? Enlighten me,dear boy, please.

[Dallara]

Well, Si...

I think WULF stands for Way Underfunded Longshot Failure... :031:

Seriously, though - the stepped-piston really wasn't a failure as it is being produced and used today in several more industrial-type applications, and do to its relatively light weight has found a place in some unmanned aircraft and marine appilications, too.

However, it never stood a chance as a motorcycle or automobile powerplant due to its relatively low specific output per cubic inch and its typically two-stroke emissions output.

That said, I have no idea what WULF stood for... But now you have me curious, and I will try and find out.

Cheers!

Allan (Dallara - NACD)

[arkline]

The Roadholder has it that WULF was some sort of pun based on the fact that the bike was made in Wolverhampton. Pretty lame, huh?

Si,

Nostalgia is a great thing. It keeps you trying to get back to a place in your mind that you fondly remember as grace. For starters, you forget that the dealer that sold you the Commando only put enough gas in the tank to get you far enough away that you wouldn't come charging back in demanding that they apologize for forcing you to push the thing to the nearest gas station. And who would have put the left petcock on reserve in those circumstances anyway? Musta been an in-joke, 'eh?

Nostalgia makes you remember being on the highway between Boston and New Haven in a pouring rain, ill dressed for the conditions, flying along at 70 (or so) and having the raindrops sting your face, being blown around by the big semi trucks, freezing your hands in rain soaked gloves, teeth chattering all the while and loving it. Nary a whimper from that old engine, so why should you complain?

As the man sings "I ain't as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was." Cheers.

[Sir Limpsalot]

Made in "Wulferhampton"?:eusa_clap: :eusa_clap: :eusa_clap: :eusa_clap:
That cracks me up!
During my Norton ownership I went to both the Wolverhampton factory and the Andover site. I had the pleasure of meeting Hugh Palin, Bob Trigg, Mike Jackson and others including Peter Williams. One of the "John Player" F750 racers was on display. Being typical motorcyclists we couldn't help but twist its' throttle, pull its' clutch lever and so on..........
Later when I asked Williams how on earth they got the clutch so light in operation he had the good grace to look embarrased when he admitted there were no internals in the bike and the clutch cable only connected to a rubber band! They had assembled it as a static display for our (Norton Owners Club) visit.
As well as being a top class rider Williams was a brilliant designer (without whom Ducati would not have enjoyed the racing successes of recent years, but that's a different story). He was also quiet, modest and unassuming. It was a huge pleasure to spend a couple of hours in his company.
Yeah Ron, there's nowt wrong wi' a bit o' nostalgia.
Si

[RiceBurner]

Well, Si...

I think WULF stands for Way Underfunded Longshot Failure... :031:

Seriously, though - the stepped-piston really wasn't a failure as it is being produced and used today in several more industrial-type applications, and do to its relatively light weight has found a place in some unmanned aircraft and marine appilications, too.

However, it never stood a chance as a motorcycle or automobile powerplant due to its relatively low specific output per cubic inch and its typically two-stroke emissions output.

That said, I have no idea what WULF stood for... But now you have me curious, and I will try and find out.

Cheers!

Allan (Dallara - NACD)

i thought the bad thing about 2-strokes was the unburnt lubrication oil that gets chucked out?? With a stepped piston engine that doesn't happen.

You DO get some unburnt fuel too - but I'd argue that this would be the equivalent to a 4 stroke, and besides which, with advanced direct injection techniques you could minimise that even further.

[geechie]

Yeah Ron, there's nowt wrong wi' a bit o' nostalgia.

God! Doncha just love it when he talks like that?

Si. The word "nowt". Is it a variant of naught?

George

[Sir Limpsalot]

Indeed, the Yorkshire dialect that I grew up with is very, very "old fashioned".
"Nowt" does mean "Naught" (well spotted, we'll get you drinking real ale before long, trust me!).
Also still in common use are "thee", "thy", and "thine". There are loads of little sayings that almost require an interpreter (to "modern" ears, anyway). "Wi" (pronounced, wee) means "with", "Nobbut" means "nothing but", "bairn" is still used for "child". "Eee" is often used to start a sentance (the way you might say "hey").
So my pal Spencer who I go riding with in Scotland most years might say "What's yowers? I'll get thee a pint, go an' sit wi' t'others" then later "Eee that Rossi's reet quick een' tho' 'is nobbut a bairn".
I used to have to translate for my "southern" friends, but they're getting the hang of it now.

[geechie]

I thought it was Yorkshire, though I have to admit that my only exposure to the dialect was in the James Herriot "All Creatures..." series that aired on some of our public broadcasting stations a few years back.

And just so's you know, my fridge downstairs is almost always stocked with Newcastle Brown Ale and there are often a few pints of Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout around as well.

Discussions of the language, its origins and its evolution go well with coffee and/or ale.

Thanks.

George

[Sir Limpsalot]

Delighted to know that you enjoy "Newcy", but take it out of the fridge mate!
Pubs don't always serve real Ale over here and when they don't then "Newcy" is my "plan B". I always ask the barman to find me a warm one though, rather than one from the cooler.
Try it. You may surprise yourself. Even if you don't it'll be fun finding out.
Si