Old rubber v New rubber.

Alexa, whats Albert up to?
Sorry, Alexa free zone, hard luck hun.......Special filters turned on and checked fully functioning.
For crying out loud....It's been a while since I regularly blogged and I'm betting most of the Millenials have now fallen into The Matrix with a G4 phone stuck on their lughole, but those that are still standing and barely breathing they seem to be talking to some sort of virtual assistant......"Alexa turn off the light," "Alexa turn on the heating," "Alexa what are we having for dinner?"
Worst of all "Alexa entertain my kids cause I'm so bloody lazy and want to eat potato chips watching another box set on my 60" LED-Plasma-HD-Multi surround sound-TV.....So much Netflix...So little time....

If you are reading this thank goodness theres someone left with a heart beat....and a soul.

Tonight I'm going to present a rather interesting fact about old rubber.
It came to my attention as I was servicing the front wheel of one of my old Honda motorsickles...Off with the tyre to remove all that nasty rust that builds up on the rim inner. Indeed it is a wheel I've owned now for 45 years....a wheel I haven't removed the tyre off for what must be 40 years...Oh, the tyre is still good. Honest it is, plenty of tread and no perish on the sidewalls. Probably bought this tyre whilst still an apprentice and now nearing retirement....who would have thought that, as they say when buying a dog or a hamster- 'A tyre is for Life' A lifelong commitment to cherish and be cared for.
A pedigree too....Dunlop K70.... Best you could back in't old days.

Anyway back to the story, pulled the inner tube after levering off the extremely hard as wood tyre I was amazed at how heavy it was. Surely 1970s air was the same weight as nowadays even counting for the smog? Must be the rubber....where's my weighing scales?

Old rubber, complete with 5 patches weighing in tonight at 600gms

Young pretender, complete with puncture weighing in tonight at 400gms..

Now sometime during the last 40 years Mr Chinaman or Mr Malaysia has shaved 30% material from the inside of present inner tubes......another 40 years and our year 2058 motorcyclist might as well use a ballon!!! Don't say I didn't warn you all....Thin skins..No good fa' nobody!!!

Oh blimey look at the time, beer o'clock.....Let's get that tube and tyre refit on the old Honda and send Posh up ta' off licence for a 4 x pack of Boddingtons..(Cream of Manchester for all you non Yorkshireshire'ers) and a cream pastry...

Chinese Explosion/Fire Cracker

Greetings Vintafake fans. Good news.....I survived the explosion !!!!! The Chinese manufactured LED headlight bulb didn't!!!! In fact it was that very item that was responsible for casting me into the darkness. Well not really darkness because I was almost in it before things went from bad to worse. Mainly because the amount of light being emmitted (pre-bang)) from this chinese diode pack would have made Joseph Lucas laugh from his grave...

Little did he know that the Chinese bulb makers were secretly planning world domination, not with tungston wire and glass but a semiconducting device with two terminals.....requiring only milliamps to do its evil work.
Unfortunately for Ching Chong China Man more planning needed, some sort of short circuit seperated several of the components and I had a headlamp bowl of scrap...next stop dustbin.

Bring back the chinese lantern I say......or a lup of carbide under a water dripper
Oh and did I mention if the chinese diode doesn't get you then the G4 radiation will....once again beware of china and its electrical communication products that look innocent enough but download the matrix into unsuspecting minds...and of course control free time, who knows the long term effect...!

Oh it's Beer o'clock. Homebrew Porter on tap....Fighting the matrix and chinamen will have to wait.