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Not too long ago I owned a motorcycle from the 70s. I realized at one point that it was probably EMP-proof: no fuel injection, no fuel pump, certainly no OBD an
by hprotagonist 7y ago
Not too long ago I owned a motorcycle from the 70s. I realized at one point that it was probably EMP-proof: no fuel injection, no fuel pump, certainly no OBD anything, and a (literal) kickstarter. The most complicated thing in the wiring harness was the key cylinder and the relay for the turn signals and headlights.
I miss that bike sometimes.
- Eikon 7y agoWas the engine two-stroke?
- hprotagonist 7y agoTwo cylinder, four stroke. Old Honda UJM with a small engine and fairly low compression ratio, so you could kick it over in one kick without breaking your ankle.
- jpindar 7y agoHeck, you could 'kickstart' some of them by hand.
- i_am_proteus 7y agoI had a diesel car that I once drove with no alternator and no battery: started off a jump and drove to the auto parts store. Radio, windows, and lights were dead, but the car drove fine.
- overcast 7y agoThat's how diesel works, off its own compression.
- deaps 7y agoYeah - I remember when I was a volunteer firefighter - if you parked a fire truck in an atmosphere that was filled with combustible gasses, the engine would not shut off. The trucks were equipped with some type of an emergency throw should that situation ever arise. We never had to use it in my time there.
- tyho 7y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_engine_runaway https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_engine_runaway
- i_am_proteus 7y agoDischarging a CO2 bottle into the air intake is the usual ticket.
- ken 7y agoDiesels don't require spark, but modern diesels use electronics for fuel injection, fuel pump, drive-by-wire throttle, engine monitoring, and so on. Since at least the ~2000 era, a VW diesel will run with no alternator (for a while) but not without a battery.
- jhoechtl 7y agoFond memories of my Merceded W124. You could rip the engine out of the car and it would go on and on. No electricity for motor management required whatsoever.
- rrdharan 7y agoI think you meant "rip the battery out"?
- aivisol 7y agoI still own a MB with OM616 [1] engine. It does not need an alternator when it runs. Even to turn fuel supply on/off it uses mechanical valve which is on the dashboard. It turns 40 this year but it starts in a split second even in cold winter. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_OM616_engine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_OM616_engine
- Jamwinner 7y agoDiesel ignights via compression and does not require external ignition. For this reason, they can 'run away' and rev until they explode if somehow given too much fuel as the result of a failed injector or oil leak from the turbo that feeds the combustion cycle. The yt videos are intense.
- pthreads 7y agoI love those motorcycles. Sometime back I wanted to build my own from parts. Started some research only to find out that some states (in the US) make it very difficult to register a custom built m/c. The assembly seemed easier in comparison.
- hprotagonist 7y agoIf you plate the frame in vermont by mail, you're gtg.
- LeonM 7y ago> I realized at one point that it was probably EMP-proof The ignition coil will probably not survive an EMP event, so the bike will not run. However, it should be pretty straight forward to wind a new ignition coil if you ever find yourself in a post-nuclear situation.
- mywittyname 7y agoThat bike is way too old for ignition coils, it almost certainly has a distributor, which could be mechanically rotated.
- aivisol 7y agoOne cylinder engine has no distributor, but AFAIK coil is still needed. Where do you get high voltage for ignition from?
- jpindar 7y agoFrom a magneto, but AFAIK those were obsolete well before the seventies.
- Ididntdothis 7y agoI hope I am not confusing things but as far as I know there is still a coil if you have a distributor.
- LeonM 7y agoYes, you still need an ignition source. The OP is confusing the distributor with individual coils found on modern engines. A distributor is only there to distribute the spark to the cylinders. On modern engines the distributor has been replaced by individual coils (on per cylinder).
- jpindar 7y agoWell, sometimes one coil for each pair of cylinders. I'm not aware of any motorcycle that had a distributor though.
- _Microft 7y agoThere is an urban fantasy series called "The Rivers of London" series after the first book (or "Peter Grant"-series after the main character) and magic interferes with (in the sense of completely fries) more complicated electronics there, so his master (the last fully qualified wizard of Great Britain) also drives an old Jaguar that is all-mechanical and therefore magic-proof. Very entertaining series with lots of references to current pop culture. Edit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar_Mark_2#Portrayal_in_media https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar_Mark_2#Portrayal_in_med...
- arethuza 7y agoThat reminds me quantum bogodynamics: http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/Q/quantum-bogodynamics.html http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/Q/quantum-bogodynamics.html
- dminor 7y agoSounds very similar to "The Dresden Files". The main character is forced to drive around in an old car, since his magic interferes with electronics.
- foxyv 7y agoThat poor car... It was almost a character of the series and it was always getting the worst end of things. I would drive a beetle if I didn't know it would kill me in an accident. One almost killed my dad.
- fmajid 7y agoYes, but Peter Grant drives a Ford Asbo (Ford Focus ST), which presumably has electronics. He just needs to remember not to do magic while driving.
- Jamwinner 7y agoSounds like Battlestar'ing your transportation. A very popular modification scene in the car world. I have converted modern cars to points and carbs, its not that difficult. No reason you couldnt drive any car with some motorcycle carburetturs clamped to the intake runners. Hardest part is spinning the rotor and remembering how to set your points. Never drive-by-wire cars will need a throttle cable, and a manual transmission is the only electronics-free option. I have heard a simple mechanical relay logic system can control many autos, but have never tried.
- JNRowe 7y ago> I realized at one point that it was probably EMP-proof Different kind of bike, but I used to feel that way about my bicycles. However, sometime last year I was parking at the office and realised even that world is on its way out. The No-True-Scotsman actual cyclists have largely moved to electronic shifting and such, and the utility bikes are quickly moving to e-bikes.
- hprotagonist 7y agoRoadies are merely one tribe of scots. The Realest, Truest Scots are the grant peterson/jan heine/PBP types, who have (by and large) yet to accept that downtube shifters are replacable with barcons. >:)
- magduf 7y ago>The No-True-Scotsman actual cyclists have largely moved to electronic shifting and such Not true at all. Electronic shifting is a thing, yes: google for "Shimano Di2". However, road bikes with this are usually at least $4k: it's really something reserved for very high-end road bikes. I got a $3k road bike last year and it doesn't have it, nor does anything else in the low-to-mid range. It'll likely be a while before it comes to low-end road bikes (which are generally still "high end" compared to cheap Walmart bikes) >and the utility bikes are quickly moving to e-bikes. Again, not really. There's at least an order of magnitude difference in pricing between a regular utility bike and an e-bike. I've been to cities recently where many, many people commute by bike, and only a very small percentage are e-bikes, though they are getting more popular, but still they're a LOT more money than a regular cheap bike.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]