Many years ago I would eagerly await the weekend to go for a dirtbike ride in the State forests around Coffs Harbour with my brother and friends. Thinking back we would often discuss the future and what we would be riding when petrol became scarce and new technologies had become available.
We had decided that electric motorcycles would be the future but thought it would be odd being propelled through the forest on a quietly humming steed.
That was going on ten years ago now, I haven’t had my TT600R for going on eight years now and I don’t even live in Coffs Harbour anymore. I happened across a youtube video of an Electric motorcross bike in use (ignore the hooliganism) and looking carefully at the video I saw a website address across the bike Quantya.com. Apparently our dream of the future is a reality and you can buy electric motorcross (and road registerable) motorbikes across the world – just not in Australia.
It seems like such an excellent idea to me and I can’t wait to see what electric vehicles the world has to offer in the near future.
I’ll finish up with a promotional video for the Quantya.
I’ve just discovered another reason to visit Scotland. Apparently they have excellent Forestry Commision supported mountain biking over there. They have a site which lists trails available and from the description it sounds like it would be definately worth a visit.
520km to 32L = 6.15L/100km.
My 1990 NA6 MX5 -> NB6 conversion is finally coming along.
The intake, alternator, starter motor and coil pack from my old engine has been attached to the new engine. The intake cam is having the sensor pressed into it any day now. The LSD diff and NB rear subframe has been bolted to the body. NA8 brakes have been fitted as is the 4-2-1 exhaust headers.
Last night I filled the gearbox with oil and replaced the rubber seal around the gear lever where it exits the gearbox. The previous owner had rigged up some dodgy seal out of old seat foam.
Didn’t get around to attaching the new clutch, flywheel and gearbox to the engine last night but someone else will hopefully get that done and the modified intake cam installed today.
I’ve had the idea of converting an MX5 to electric for a while and had been tossing this around with a few friends. Having recently bought an old MX5 I’m actually loathing the idea of taking out the beautiful petrol engine and I was dismayed to discover that other people have already attempted the conversion that I was considering! 
I guess I can attempt the project at at later stage. It all looks very expensive, I might look into it later when the cost of parts comes down.
460km and it took 40L (kept clicking until it reached 40L) = 8.69L/100km.
Since the motorbike died I’ve been stuck commuting in the car every day. It’s take a hard hit on my fuel economy. 
On another note I recently purchased an old NA6 Mazda MX5. It requires a fair bit of work to get it up to a decent state of repair but luckily parts are surprisingly cheap, it was extremely cheap to buy and I’m finding the car easy to work on so it’s become a hobby.
Interestingly enough some of the MX5 parts will fit on the Yaris so I might do a mix and match sometime in the future.
I fell asleep on the lounge again last night which is starting to become a habit for me. I was awoken around 4am by my UPS beeping at me from the other side of the room.
At this time I noticed that the front curtains on the house were flashing like someone was flicking their headlights on and off at the front of my house so I peeked through the curtains and was suprised to see a HUGE shower of sparks coming from the powerpole out the front! It was making a crackle boom bang crackle kind of noise with an impressive shower of white/blue sparks about once per second.
Fearing a fallen power line and the fact it was 4am and raining I didn’t end up going outside but I switched off all my appliances at the wall and then watched it out the window for a few minutes until it stopped and I went to bed. I’m about to leave for work and I guess I’ll have a look up at the powerline and see if I can work out was making the lines short out. My verandah has an overhang that prevented me from seeing directly what was happening, I could just see the power wires leading up to it and a shower of sparks falling.
I haven’t seriously ridden my mountain bike since I got back from Asia last year. This is a tremendous shame because I really enjoy riding and my health was really improving as the weight dropped. I hope to get back into it soon.
This photo is from 2007 where I had let my friend Daniel ride my bike down a tricky bit of hill to try it out and when he stopped the bike stood perfectly balanced for around 5 minutes. I managed to take a few photos before it fell over.
140km to 14L = 10L/100km.
I was getting better economy last year but in my new job my commute is less highway and more gridlock.
The house I moved into had a quite overgrown backyard with lots of lantana that was strangling the trees which had grown rather ugly (and mostly dead) in an attempt to escape the strangling vines.
In an attempt to control my yard I have over the last few weeks gathered an arsenal of backyard weapons including such things as a 4 Stroke Rover lawnmower, a Fiskas saw on a pole and a Ryobi 2000w electric chainsaw.
Believe it or not the electric chainsaw is the stand out item of the bunch and the most surprising. It was extremely cheap (especially compared to the petrol models) and the salesman tried his best to discourage me from buying electric because it wouldn’t be able to do anything bigger than tiny branches.
Oh my was he wrong. It sounds like a circular saw when it gets going and it just munches through dead hardwood branches and stumps like it was cheese! All in all I think it was great value for money but with the rather significant limitation of requiring a powerpoint and would be possibly dangerous to use in the rain.
Now the lantana and dead timber is cleared I just wish I had more things to chop up!
If a tree falls down across my driveway it better be near a powerpoint or a portable generator. 
And I avoid it whenever possible.
One of the downsides to renting and a booming housing market where everyone wants to renovate to push the cost of renting ever higher I guess.
Live in a rental long enough and it feels like your own. Your house, your castle, your place of security and privacy. It’s all shaken to the ground and taken away with a single letter from the realestate.
Following the renovation they plan to ask double the rent!
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