AUTOMOTIVE MOTORCYCLE

Are you sure you really want a used Jeep?

Let me see…have you ever driven a Jeep? If so, was it a Wrangler, a CJ, a Cherokee, Jeep truck or one of many other varieties from a long history of unique Jeep vehicles?

I have driven Jeeps for many years, and I can honestly say that most Jeep owners either love their Jeep or hate it. In my observation there is not much middle ground when it comes to Jeeps.

Buying a “used” Jeep may be the way to go if you are just getting started in the world of Jeeps. I say this because new Jeeps can be pretty pricey (even more so than some comparable brands).

Also, buying a used Jeep will give you an opportunity to get to know your Jeep and to find out if this affair is going to last or not…and usually for a whole lot less money than buying new.

Even if this relationship does not work out the good news is that most used Jeeps (especially the Wrangler and the other Jeep 4×4′s) tend to hold their respective values well within the used marketplace.

So now you still think you want a used Jeep in your life. Then what do you do next?

Searching for just the right vehicle of any sort can be a real hassle and sometimes a nightmare. Searching for a good used Jeep can be even more traumatic and time consuming (but not always).

Remember, Jeeps are unique animals in the off road/on road jungle, and thus need to be understood well before approaching for the first time.

The first and simplest rule in finding a good Jeep is choosing the model that will suit your wants and needs as much as possible.

Many times I have known people who just had to have a Jeep Wrangler or a CJ, only to find out that the “Jeep ride” was too rough on the derriere and other delicate parts.

Fortunately, Jeep has produced other more civilized models such as the Grand Cherokee, Commander, Liberty and a few others with comfort options similar to sitting in your favorite recliner sipping a cool iced tea.

Most of us dread putting in our cars, vans or motorcycles in for an MOT test (often called a Vehicle Inspection or similar outside the UK). Not knowing whether it will easily pass, or require hundreds of pounds of work can make budgeting difficult.

To help reduce the costs of an MOT, there are some simple steps that any driver should be able to take. By checking these items first, you can repair some yourself (far cheaper than paying a mechanic at 70 to 120 pounds per hour at a main dealer), or have time to shop around to get the best deal.

Here are some of the things you can easily check:

• Ensure that all the lights are working. Check the headlights (dipped and main beam), rear lights, rear registration plate light, rear fog lamps, brake lights and indicator lights (front fog lamps do not have to work). A helper is handy to look round the car while you test the lights. Replacing the bulbs with standard or upgraded options is generally a simple job and is detailed in the vehicle handbook. Vehicles with HID bulbs fitted as standard often suggest returning to a main dealer for replacement due to the high voltages used, but as long as you ensure the lights are off (and leave them a few minutes for the capacitors to discharge) they are very similar to replacing any other car bulb.
• Check the windscreen wipers all work – do they clear the screen effectively over the entire wiper area? Look at the wiper blades themselves – do they feel hard and brittle, or are there bits missing? If there are, you will need to replace either the rubber blade or the whole wiper. Replacing the whole wiper is simpler, especially as most cars now use quick clip systems. One thing to note is for the modern flat beam wiper blades, such as the Bosch Aero twin or Viper Vision that you may need to bend the blade by hand so that it correctly matches the curve of your screen. Only the front wiper blades are checked for the MOT, but you may want to check rear wiper blades and headlight blades at the same time.

There are different types of solar panels to be used motor home or recreational vehicle use. They range from small panels to recharge your battery for a larger panel that will take care of all your electrical needs when you move. They are high-power electrical appliances like your TV, set your air conditioner, refrigerator, microwave, satellite receiver and other electrical and electronic equipment. With the panels on the roof of the house motor, you can relax and not worry about your electricity needs, even when you travel to remote locations.
These panels are different sizes and range from 20 watts to 80 watts of panels. They are available with different mounting options as well. Choose permanent mount solar panels to the top of your motor home or caravan. At the same time, you can also choose a solar panel with suction cups, because you might want to take note of the Panel on the treatment several times to work.
Modern panel is essentially a very tough and shock resistant panel capable of handling all kinds of terrain. Now, this panel has become much lighter and is also capable of absorbing more energy from the sun, thanks to the advancement of solar technology. During the period also dropped the price drastically. Today you can buy one for a very reasonable price.
There are other advantages of using solar panel camping. Because many areas do not allow camping generator, motor home after the solar panel is very useful because they make no noise at all. As a method of charging for the use of energy from the sun, there is no emission in other vehicles. Not only are they safe, but with a battery backup, you can travel almost anywhere.

Building motocross tracks can actually be a lot of fun, especially when you’re building it for your level of riding in mind. The great thing about that is you can begin with smaller jumps and tabletops and gradually build them up as you gain confidence on your new track. There are however a couple of things to consider before you begin building that dream track of yours.

1) Property Location: You need to think about your surroundings and who will be affected by a bunch of noisy dirt bike riders tearing around your track on any given day. If you ignore this point you may just find that you will only get a couple of rides in before the local council closes you down or even fines you. You’ll probably create a few enemies in the process as well.

2) Track Maintenance: After it’s built, you will need access to a dirt moving machine of some sort to maintain the track. Obviously your bikes will tear it up but the wet winter months will also degrade your smooth playground pretty quickly. If you can’t maintain it, your dream may be short lived.

If you’ve got those issues sorted, then it’s time to begin building your motocross track. As the shape and layout of your track will depend on the land area you are building it on there is no set design, so rather I will offer you some simple steps to get started.

1) Mark out the flow of the track from start to finish using marker pegs so you have the layout sorted.

2) Figure out where you will position jumps and whoops – then build them using a bobcat, tractor or earth-mover. Berks are easy as they are usually found on tight corners, they are also a lot of fun so make sure you put in a few of these. Tip: Don’t place jumps too far down a straight as you risk hitting it with too much speed. A good motocross track will have you accelerating towards jumps rather than stepping on the brakes before hand.

3) Think about the angles and slope of the track. If it rains where will the water gather? You don’t want it pooling in the middle of your track so ensure you build it with a gentle slope that directs the water off and away to the side. You may need to install some drainage pipes in certain low areas to direct it away.

You may have heard the term “jetting” before and wondered what it meant. Jetting is the act of adjusting the separate fuel circuits in a carburetor to optimize the fuel/air mixture going into the engine. To the untrained person jetting can come across as being very complicated and some people fear the process. Once you understand which circuits control what part of the throttle cycle, you will learn that jetting isn’t at all that difficult. The following will describe what each circuit does and how to adjust that circuit for optimum performance. This assumes that you have a Keihin FCR type carburetor (the information translates to other carburetors as well) which is found on almost every modern high performance four stroke ATV engine.

Fuel screw: Adjusts the “hang up” of the engine when you go from wide open to idle quickly. If your engine doesn’t smoothly idle back down or “hangs up” when you let off the throttle you need to adjust the fuel screw out (richer) to clean this up. If your engine idles down and then dies you need to turn the screw in (leaner) to allow less gas into the engine. Play around with the screw until your engine idles down smoothly.

Pilot jet: Controls 0 to 1/4 throttle. This jet requires the least amount of adjusting over the rest. If your engine cuts out when you rev it up then you need to make this richer (higher number) if it bogs when you rev it up you need to make this leaner (lower number).

Needle jet: Controls 1/4 to 3/4 throttle. You can tell the most when this is out of tune when you do holeshots. If your engine is bogging when you dump the clutch on a holeshot or you are riding at a constant 1/2 throttle and you engine is bogging then you need to move the c-clip up one notch (drops the needle making it leaner). If the engine is cutting out in these situations you need to move the c-clip down one notch (raises the needle making it richer). Setting the c-clip in the middle slot is a good place to start.

Main jet: Controls 3/4 to full throttle and also affects all other jets slightly. This circuit is tested when you hold the throttle wide open. If your engine is bogging the you need to make the jet leaner (lower number) and if it is pinging or cutting out you need to make it richer (higher number).