“We can’t go all the way to the waterfalls,” our guide, Ivan, told us as we strapped on our helmets for an ATV tour of the mountains above Jacó. “The roads are too dangerous because of the rain yesterday.” …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
By Damon Lowney
Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Honda, UK, Specialty
Back in June, we reported that Top Gear was building what it hoped would become the world’s fastest lawn mower, and had solicited help from Honda and its British Touring Car Championship partner Team Dynamics. Well, they’ve finished the build and the resulting contraption is the Mean Mower. With a top speed estimated to be over 130 miles per hour, it should beat the 96.529-mph record set by Bobby Cleveland and his Snapper race mower at the Bonneville Salt Flats in September 2010, and take the cake as the fastest lawn mower ever.
Let’s start off with the specs: 109 horsepower, 309-pound curb weight and 0-60 mph in four seconds. Crazy numbers, but maybe you’ll be comforted that the lawn mower is a Honda HF2620 in name only, with a custom chassis made of 4130 chromoly, a 1,000cc engine from a VTR Firestorm, a paddle-shifted six-speed transmission, a bespoke suspension and wheels from an ATV. The body was sourced from the production mower, however.
Sure, it can cut grass – at 15 mph, double the top speed of a regular HF2620 – using two electric motors spinning 3mm steel-cutting cables at 4000 rpm, but the grass bag has been reengineered to house the fuel tank, a high-capacity oil cooler and a secondary radiator. So much for that clean cut.
Honda says that it has topped 100 mph on track, but there’s no video to verify this. (Please Honda!?) But there is a great teaser with reigning BTCC champion Gordon “Flash” Shedden mowing the lawn in a mean way, below.
Continue reading Honda Mean Mower hits 60 mph in 4 seconds, cuts to 130 mph [w/video]
Honda Mean Mower hits 60 mph in 4 seconds, cuts to 130 mph [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 17 Jul 2013 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog
The concept of a super-high-output ride-on lawn tractor isn’t new, but a factory-backed effort from a major automaker sure is. The guilty party is an outfit that, unlike pretty much every other large OEM, builds everything from cars to weed-wackers, outboard motors, scooters, and, yes, lawn mowers. We’re talking, of course, about Honda, whose U.K. subsidiary decided mixing its lawn-care expertise with its racing know-how would make for one hell of an example of the company’s penchant for innovative engineering. Honda enlisted its touring car partner, Team Dynamics, to help out, and the result is the nearly stock-looking Honda HF2620 lawn tractor you see here, dubbed the Mean Mower.
Putting aside the cutesy name for a moment—it sounds like a riff off of the Snapper Tom Hanks rode in Forrest Gump—nearly everything about the HF2620 except the bodywork is either custom-fabricated or borrowed from other vehicles. Take, for example, the engine: it’s a 1.0-liter V-twin pulled from Honda’s VTR 1000F Firestorm motorcycle. It pumps out 109 horsepower and 71 lb-ft of torque, and backs up to a custom six-speed, paddle-shifted sequential gearbox powering the rear wheels. The steroidal powertrain is mounted in a custom tube-frame chassis, which also serves as the home for the suspension setup from an ATV. Out back, the grass bag actually is home to a fuel tank, a high-capacity oil cooler, and a secondary radiator.
The steering rack, curiously, is from a Morris Minor, but it probably helps the driver stay in control at the absolutely insane speeds Honda claims the Mean Mower is capable of. Top speed is an estimated 133 mph, and the trip from zero to 60 mph takes less than four seconds. These staggering performance figures have the lawn tractor’s power-to-weight ratio to thank; by Honda’s figures it works out to a Veyron-shaming 2.82 pounds per horsepower. Of course, the creation weighs just 309 pounds minus a driver, so that ratio likely changes quite a bit depending on how much the pilot weighs.
A custom Cobra racing seat helps keep that driver in place while mowing about, although it appears to lack a seatbelt. That’s probably for the best, because if this thing were to go blades-up at high speed, we think we’d rather not be strapped to it. Wearing a helmet is a good idea, and ear protection couldn’t hurt, either, since according to the American Academy of Otolaryngology, “prolonged exposure to noise above 85–90 decibels can lead to hearing loss.” Riders may find this tidbit useful, since the combination of the motorcycle engine and a Scorpion exhaust make the tractor a 130-decibel sound bazooka at only three-quarter throttle. For reference, that’s nearly as loud as being within 350 feet of a commercial jet taking off.
If you’re thinking that this is only a really convincing-looking, tube-frame lawn-mower look-alike, well, simmer down. The Mean …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Car & Driver
A North Dakota newscaster who uttered a profanity to begin is debut as anchor has been suspended, but online support for the young newsman is growing as the clip goes viral.
A.J. Clemente made his debut as co-anchor for Bismarck NBC affiliate KFYR on Sunday, but the University of West Virginia graduate was seemingly unaware his microphone was on as colleague Van Tieu began the newscast.
“F—— s—,” Clemente said seconds after Tieu kicked off the broadcast and mumbled incoherently. He later stammered through introducing himself at the station.
“Ummm, thanks Van, I’m very excited,” he said. “I graduated from West Virginia University and I’m used to, um, you know, from being, from in the East Coast.”
Clemente then reports on a fatal ATV crash in Williams County. He later summarized his performance on Twitter.
“That couldn’t have gone any worse!” he wrote.
Clemente did not join Tieu for the following newscast and has been suspended, according to a post on the station’s Facebook page.
“He did not realize his microphone was on, but still, that’s no excuse,” said KFYR-TV news director Monica Hannan. “We train our reporters to always assume that any microphone is live at any time. Unfortunately, that was not enough in this case. We can’t take back what was said. The person involved has been suspended until we resolve the situation. All we can do at this point is ask for your forgiveness, and I can offer my personal assurance that I will do my best to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again under my watch.”
Clemente, who briefly erased his Twitter account late Sunday, later thanked viewers for supporting him through the “tough” debut.
“I’ll try my hardest to come back better and learn from this,” he wrote.
Many fans on the station’s Facebook page, meanwhile, have asked management not to fire the young newscaster.
“While this is definitely spreading across the country, please consider not firing him,” one posting read. “The kid screwed up big time, but he shouldn’t have to have his early career ruined because of it, especially after moving all the way to North Dakota from West Virginia.”
Another user wrote: “I really don’t think suspension is going to help anything. The kid is super green, and he needs practice more than anything. If you yank him off the air immediately, that’s going to create a huge obstacle for him to climb. You hired him. He needs to know he has the support of his station when he makes a mistake. Not to have the carpet pulled out beneath him. Get him back on the air, so he can learn from this and get better.”
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/FLYwhQG09uQ/
By Zach Bowman
Filed under:
Suzuki has won approval for its Chapter 11 plan to stop selling cars in the US and concentrate instead on the company’s powersports products. Judge Scott C. Clarkson of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California approved the plan after the company’s creditors agreed to the conditions.
Suzuki will now sell its motorcycle, ATV and marine divisions to the newly minted Suzuki Motor of America subsidiary under the Suzuki name. The new company will be wholly owned by Suzuki Motor Company. This is the final piece of the company’s restructuring puzzle.
The company says it will now be able to grow its powersports businesses here in the US and also provide auto parts and service to current Suzuki owners through what’s left of the company’s dealer network. You can check out the brief press release on the bankruptcy plan below.
Continue reading Court approves Suzuki bankruptcy plan
Court approves Suzuki bankruptcy plan originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 05 Apr 2013 09:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog
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Suzuki of Japan has reportedly made the decision that almost everyone assumed it would make when it announced it was leaving the US market: when the 2014 model year concludes, it will no longer sell cars in Canada. With six employees overseeing its auto business in Canada and a dealer network that has shrunk to 55 outlets in the country, we can’t say we’re shocked.
At the time of the US announcement, however, the senior VP of sales and marketing in the automotive division of Suzuki Canada said it would be able to survive on its own because, among other reasons, Canadians prefer smaller, more fuel-efficient cars that fit the company’s offerings. Five months later, after some time to think about a 30-percent drop in sales to open up 2013 instead of the 1.4-percent increase in sales that Suzuki Canada posted last year, things have evidently changed.
The Globe and Mail reports that as is in the US, Suzuki’s motorcycle, ATV and marine divisions in Canada will remain.
Suzuki ending auto sales in Canada, too originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 Mar 2013 09:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog
Elam Jones came close to death in a central Utah mine accident once before. He was preparing to begin his shift at the Crandall Canyon mine in August 2007 when a cave-in struck the section where he was to have worked, killing six miners and three rescuers.
The 28-year-old coal miner was not so lucky Friday. A tunnel roof collapsed at the Rhino Mine about 10 miles west of Huntington, killing him and sending a co-worker to the hospital.
Even though the earlier accident occurred only a few miles away, Jones loved his job and did not view it as particularly dangerous, said his mother Julie Jones, a Huntington city councilwoman.
“He loved the mine he was at and the men he worked with. They were family,” she told The Associated Press on Saturday. “He always said he could get hit going to Salt Lake and get killed in a car wreck.”
He also was a member of the ill-fated rescue team at the Crandall Canyon mine. Three rescuers died while trying to save the trapped miners. He later spoke at a vigil for those who died and were injured there.
“He told me that he had to be there. Those were his buddies,” his mother said.
Jones also was an experienced outdoorsman who survived two avalanches and a serious ATV accident, his mother said.
A father of two young children, Jones’ roots in coal mining went back four generation’s on his mother’s side and three generations on his father’s side. His father works for a nearby coal mine.
Coal miners love what they do because they consider themselves the “heartbeat of America,” Julie Jones said. The coal they provide to power plants provides jobs for everyone and allows people to use microwaves, televisions and countless other things, she added.
“Elam was proud to be a coal miner,” his mother said. “Unless you’re a coal miner, you wonder why they do this. It’s in their blood.”
Friday’s accident was the latest in a string of disasters to strike Huntington, a closely knit town of over 2,000. They include the Crandall Canyon mine tragedy as well as a 75-square-mile wildfire that triggered flooding, road closures and threats to the town’s water supply last year.
“I’ve had people come up to me and say, `How much more can one community take?”‘ Huntington Mayor Hilary Gordon said. “I guess we’ll take whatever gets dished out and take it one day at time.”
Elam Jones‘ life centered on his wife and boys, ages 4 and 5, Gordon said. He was an avid hunter, fisherman and snowmobiler who “lived life to his fullest,” she added.
“He thought it was a safe job,” the mayor said. “To say it’s just one of those things sounds trite. But one (miner) gets buried and the other doesn’t. I don’t think three’s ever a good answer as to why these things happen.” The injured miner, Dallen McFarlane, was treated and released from Castleview Hospital in Price.
The mine is part of the Castle Valley Mining Complex. Preliminary information showed that a roof fall …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
Polaris, maker of powersports vehicles such as snowmobiles and ATVs, will put an airless tire onto a production vehicle by 2014. To recap, an “airless tire” is what’s known as a non-pneumatic tire (NPT), meaning it has no captured, air-filled cavity to absorb impacts or cushion the tread. So what is Polaris doing in the tire business? Polaris’s defense division recently acquired Resilient Technologies, a Wisconsin-based defense-tech firm that already had been working on airless tires for some time, and believes the time is right to put NPTs into consumers’ hands.
The concept of airless tires is not new, and big-name tire companies like Michelin and Bridgestone each have introduced their own take on the concept in the past few years, although neither has a tire on sale for anything outside of skid-steer construction equipment. Like the big guns’ efforts, Resilient Technologies’s non-pneumatic tire actually is a wheel and tire in one—a tweel, if you will. The honeycomb-like mesh of spokes are supported by a central, wheel-like hub, and extend outward to the tread. Unlike in a normal tire, in which the air-filled void between the tire and the wheel provides it with cushioning ability, the deflection in the Tweel’s polymer spokes take car of impact absorption.
One of the key advantages to the design—besides eliminating flats and reducing waste—is that it can offer decent vertical compliance but stiff lateral resistance. Think of it as combining the ride quality of a tire with a squishy, tall sidewall with the enhanced handling and grip afforded by a low-profile tire with a short, stiff sidewall that resists lateral deflection. As a bonus, the Polaris airless tire’s defense roots mean it offers even more benefits, such as the ability to continue to operate even after being shot with a 0.50-caliber round or after the loss of up to 30 percent of its spokes. Gunfire resistance may not matter in the real world, but the ability to continue on after losing some spokes is useful.
So how is it that Polaris, working with a small, Wisconsin-based defense firm is able to confidently say it will bring an NPT to market before giants like Michelin and Bridgestone? Well, for one thing, Polaris can say what it will—the proof will be in the pudding come 2014. Besides that, however, is that tires for a powersports vehicle have different requirements and hurdles to reaching production than tires for automobiles, like the ones Michelin and Bridgestone are focusing on. Cars bring higher speeds, higher loads, and a veritable ear-full of NVH issues. Something like an ATV, for example, is light, relatively slow, and NVH largely doesn’t matter. Given the possibilities of this tech for cars, we look forward to seeing Polaris’s tire reach production.
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It’s pretty much a done-deal now, folks. A US bankruptcy judge has approved Suzuki’s plans to wind down its operations in the States. As part of Suzuki’s Chapter 11 proceedings, its automotive unit will cease to exist in the US, leaving the motorcycle, ATV and marine units to function as Suzuki Motor of America.
It’s not clear how many vehicles are left on the 219 remaining Suzuki dealership lots – the company reported sales of 1,764 in February – but the automaker has assured customers that warranty service and parts will remain available. Suzuki made an investment of $45 million to ensure its past and current customers aren’t completely left in repair-work limbo.
Check out the complete announcement from Suzuki below for more information, and please join us in mourning the loss of the Kizashi sedan and SX4 hatch, two vehicles we are legitimately going to miss when this whole sordid affair is done and over with.
Continue reading Suzuki Chapter 11 bankruptcy plans approved by US court
Suzuki Chapter 11 bankruptcy plans approved by US court originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Mar 2013 06:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog
![Official: Honda Mean Mower hits 60 mph in 4 seconds, cuts to 130 mph [w/video]](http://bd.summit.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/405102-thumb-320x200.jpg)
