It’s a fairly prolific industry, just in those two engines alone. I could go all ‘conspiracy theory’ on this, but I think the reality is that the engines run hot (typical diesel engine), they shake (typical diesel engine), and they’re crammed into a tight space.

Ford/International Navistar Powerstroke 6.0L and 6.4L...grumble grumble grumble...

I agree completely. Every time I’ve seen a vehicle stranded in the travel lanes, I’ve tried to help move it out of the way. The only time this doesn’t work is when the vehicle is either friggin’ heavy, or totally immobilized, but get enough people together and anything can be moved, within reason of course.

Yep, exactly. From what I’ve read, it was meant to be a great concept, but was never employed in any scale.

From thekneeslider.com (linked article): “What happens when a car stalls in traffic on a busy highway? Instant traffic jam, naturally, but how does the tow truck get to the car if the highway is filled with cars? Suppose you had a small agile vehicle like a motorcycle that could also tow the car from where it was…

I don’t know about effective, but one of the more interesting towing setups involved a Beetle and a roof-mounted hitch:

The Goldwing weights in at ~830 lbs, and the rig is set up for 5.5K lbs (approximate). The other part of this would be the max towing speed - 20 mph.

Damn, beat me to it. The towing-converted Goldwings were the first thing that came to mind.

Maximum takeoff weight purported to be nearly 1.5 million lbs. I could see it carrying 100,000 gallons of water, which would be enough to cause the fire to go out and start a flood simultaneously! O.O

If I recall, this was big news not too long ago:

Great list. I’d also add an adjustable wrench to the list, those can come in handy sometimes.

Always thought that helicopter was completely bad ass. Even more so when, 11 years after the movie, I was walking along one day, minding my own business, and I heard a very unusual, soft, whipping sound. I looked up, and it was a very quiet Blackhawk. My first thought when I saw the quiet Blackhawk was the ‘whisper…

Don’t feel too bad, that’s the same answer I got. Painfully, dreadfully accurate.

That clears up a few questions I didn’t even know I had, and it makes sense. I’d love to see Honda take this thing racing, they seem to do quite well when they take on two-wheeled motorsports (well, did do well, but lately their track reputation hasn’t been the greatest).

Kind of depends on your experience level in general. If it’s a thumper, working on the carb shouldn’t be too terribly distressing. My first experience with carbs? The carburetor bank in a ‘96 VF750. Needless to say, I spend days poring over the Magna forums before removing the carb bank (THAT was a task) and putting…

Given that you could easily eclipse $1K on schooling for becoming a motorcycle mechanic, and that you came out of this with a working, running motorcycle, and a wealth of experience and knowledge, I’d say you saved quite a bit of money here.

Well, that’s certainly one way of getting the engine out of the frame.

No, no, no! Dammit, it’s an oscillation overthruster. Or was that turbo encabulator? I get them mixed up.

I’m probably among the few to say this, but I like the bike, and I think it looks fantastic. (Pardon me whilst I duck from helmets chucked my way...)

Kinda reminds me of this: