Wilsons Sandbox

When I was 16 I got my first motorcycle. Then when I was 18, I got my first car. My first automobile was an old beater VW I picked up for $ 50 bucks. To put this in perspective and give you a reference as to how long ago this was, my first bike was a 1942 Harley 45 { totally covered in chicken poop } which I found in a farmers barn. This bike also cost me $ 50 bucks, and the farmer threw in a BRAND NEW Harley 45 motor, STILL IN THE CRATE . Got ambitious with that VW and turned it into a "Baja Bug" [ remember those?? ]. Then, with the next few VWs I made dune buggies, and eventually I got into VW vans, which I camperized and drove around off road. For those of you who did not know this, VW Beetles, VW Vans, and VW dune buggies actually DO float. This is NOT theory, I've done this a few times in the real world. In fact, there used to be a VW dealer in Australia who fitted paddle wheels to his Beetle, and drove it across the harbour every morning to work. Great advertisement for the dealership, but I'm sure all that salt water was a little hard on the old Beetle running gear. This may even have been the same Australian VW dealer who also fitted those paddle wheels to the rear and skis to the front of some Beetles that were sent to Antarctica for use as early ATV/Snowmobiles. Anyhow, to get back to amphibious landing craft and snorkles ... there used to be a special rear seal/pulley for the VW motors, available from specialty VW suppliers, that reversed the grooves in the "oil slinger" so the rotation of the shafts would screw the water out, rather than keep the oil screwed in. Something you might want to think about when converting your KLR for amphibious use as a beach assault vehicle. One other thing ... check out the new issue of Popular mechanics. They have a prototype "AIR BAG" vest for motorcyclists. It inflates on impact. Leave it inflated for those NAVY SEAL type of amphibious insertions with your USMC issue diesel KLR, and you are all set for your fantasy "wet dream". I don't know about yous guys, but on MY KLR, I am including means for mounting a couple of LARGE Kayak rolltop dry bags as panniers. If you haven't seen these bags before, they are like the ORTLIEB line of totally water PROOF luggage, but bigger. I figure, if I fit a couple more smaller bags as side bags on the gas tank, I'll have enough flotation to ride my AMPHI-KLR anywhere I want ... land or sea. Now if I can just figure out how to fit the ducted fan to it, I could make it fly too. http://www.shuttlebikeusa.com/story.html http://www.airscooter.com/pages/airscooter_main.htm http://www.raf2000.com/ http://4wd.sofcom.com/Amphib/AmphiRanger.html http://4wd.sofcom.com/Amphib/Hobbycar.html http://www.members.tripod.com/~TERRAJET/index.html

>Which brings me to a question, why aren't any dirt or dual sport bikes made in the US? I'm a young one, but I understand that at one time there were such bikes made here ....

There is one that I am aware of. They make dirt bikes, ATV's, and bicycles. Their name is Cannondale. They have a 440 dirt bike that is so narrow at the seat, that you'd swear this bike would split you in two. They are very expensive though, which is probably why you don't see many of them, other than the bicycles. I also believe the Rotax engine is built here, but I could be wrong. Your KLR or Honda would cost twice the cost if it were strictly made here. Look at the Goldwing. It is made here and has just about surpassed HD in terms of consumer cost per unit. Granted, IMHO you get a better bike, but I can buy a lot of different trucks and cars for what a Goldwing goes for these days. Now the ST1300 is catching up to the Goldwing price wise. It still has a way to go, but it is getting there. Unfortunately, greed is why you can't find a strictly American made DS bike. Money, that is the only reason. jim_ama585601 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]