The Kneeslider

Doers Builders and Positive People

The Hossack Engine – a Square Piston Two Stroke

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Ever hear of Norman Hossack? Of course you have. He designed the Hossack suspension, often confused with the far more basic girder front suspension and adapted by BMW under the name Duolever, but the Hossack engine? What's that? Well, it's just your average square piston two stroke, that's all. When I received an email from Norman, I read through his description of the … [Read more...]

E.J. Potter the Michigan Madman – R.I.P.

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We just lost a good one, E.J Potter, the Michigan Madman, is gone. We've written about his Chevy powered drag bikes several times on The Kneeslider and a few years ago reviewed his book, Michigan Madman, but yesterday, when I wrote about his Super Slot Car, I had no idea, that just two days before on April 30th, E.J. had passed away. EJ was a wonderful example of the hands … [Read more...]

Low Budget Bitsa Custom by Dolf Peeters

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The other day I received a note from Dolf Peeters in the Netherlands. He said he's been looking at all of the custom builds on The Kneeslider and finally got the inspiration to make his own custom instead of dreaming of owning a "someday" bike. After a a little scrounging and trading he got to work and made a Uraldneprdafvwsuzukihonda, or what we might just call a "Bitsa." … [Read more...]

Deliberate Practice on the Way to Being Great

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In my last post, provocatively titled How the Motorcycle Gods Ride, we examined Rossi's control, as demonstrated in that fascinating photo, as something beyond the levels most of us mere mortals can achieve. In the comments, SteveH, noted the 10,000 hour rule, made popular recently by Malcom Gladwell’s Outliers, in which Gladwell pointed out example after example of superior … [Read more...]

Heavy Press Program – Monster Machines for Forging Light Metal Components

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We talk about all sorts of methods here for making metal components, from welding and machining to casting small and large parts, and some of you are personally involved with a lot of these methods on a daily basis, but I came across this article yesterday about the Heavy Press Program, and it just stopped me in my tracks. These machines are absolutely breathtaking. The … [Read more...]