just scared the s**t out of myself!

[Paul Savage]

thanks to all

As per usual you have all been very enlightening.

Looks like I will have to pull out the Police Roadcraft Manual which is dusty and un-read and have a look at corners!!

Now..... cornering....... oh. Been doing it wrong for years!!

[Simon.O.]

Can someone enlighten me - what is the benefit of rear wheel drive?

Being able to give it the wellie in the wet and take corners very differently!!

[rich]

I think we are talking about the same thing in a different way

You need to be on the power but as you say "The gist of it is-No SUDDEN braking or acceleration"

If you can accelerate into the bend then you aren't on the limit when turning in yet!!!

No offence intended by the way, just don't want people accelerating hard into bends and saying "HELLO" to the scenary.

Rich.

Sorry mate, Just paraphrasing "ROADCRAFT"-Police drivers manual(isbn011340721 1).It's a very dry read but explains how to get in and out of bends safely.. Maybe a surf aint the best truck to try accelerating into bends with but the principle is the same with any motor.It works(honestly)

[rich]

Can someone enlighten me - what is the benefit of rear wheel drive?

The main advantage is that the driven wheels are not the steering wheels so you can control the car by using either the steering or the power or both.

E.g. if you get understeer in a rear wheel drive car you can compensate with more throttle (Sounds bizzarre but it works!) because it transfers the load to the back and as long as you don't give it too much it will balance the car back up and stay on line.

For the same situation in a front wheel drive car if you put more power on it goes even straighter and if you lift it can induce oversteer (arsend coming round which you cant correct with power) so the only course is to straighten the wheel to get more grip then steer again. Needs to be done fast and if you have ever watched a front wheel drive race the driver "saws" at the wheel, this is to get the grip back.

For oversteer in a rear wheel drive you can control it on the power and turn in to the slide at the same time. Font wheel drive you can only steer into it and nail the throttle to hope that it pulls the car out of the slide.

Rich.

[keef]

Being able to give it the wellie in the wet and take corners very differently!!

Cheers for that,brought me back to earth.I went into sensible mode for way too long.I bought the Surf to enjoy not theorise about the "proper" way to drive.If at about 18.00 hrs its raining in North London and you see a red Surf on op/lock its gonna be me

[Maverick]

I've always thought that it is a good idea to experiment losing control (on private roads of corse) so as when the moment comes when a rapid alteration is required you can do it instintively.

Ps. only had one front wheel drive car in my life, hated it, sold it. Rear wheel drive gives much more control, and I hate all these electronic gadgets that interfear with the driving.

I'm not a good driver, but a lucky one!!

[kitesurf_phil]

I've always thought that it is a good idea to experiment losing control (on private roads of corse) so as when the moment comes when a rapid alteration is required you can do it instintively.

Ps. only had one front wheel drive car in my life, hated it, sold it. Rear wheel drive gives much more control, and I hate all these electronic gadgets that interfear with the driving.

I'm not a good driver, but a lucky one!!

I was lucky enough to have a scrap man living two doors away when I was growing up. After harvest (in the days when they didn't even think about ploughing until late October) we used to get an MOT failure off him and drive it round the fields (with the farmers permission) until we had run it into the ground. I learned how to lose control of cars and bikes in muddy fields - not too far from Devils Pit - and regain control.
We had an old Skoda and an Austin A40 one summer. We had been to see Dick Shepherd and the Destruction Squad. Dick told us how to roll a car at 15MPH, not realising that at 13 years we were already driving. We rolled the Skoda and the A40 so many times that they had a peramanent lean!!!!!!
Once you know how to make a car or a bike do something, it's also a good lesson in how not to do it. It should be compulsory for every youth to drive off road for a year before hitting the highway Besides which, when they are wrecking old cars in the fields, you know where they are and that they are not smashing up the local telephone box etc......

[Gtdog]

I had thought that the loose back end was one of the surfs more fun quirks, I have a constant urge to find a quiet corner on a damp road to play with since my purchase, the downside naturaly is that under braking the fun stops if you turn the wheel.

If you are on a road near the solent on a damp day, look for the surf with the warm rear tyres and I shall be nearby!

Dog

[dazzo23]

................It should be compulsory for every youth to drive off road for a year before hitting the highway Besides which, when they are wrecking old cars in the fields, you know where they are and that they are not smashing up the local telephone box etc......

Have to attend my local police station tonight with my 14yr old son to find out whether they're going to press charges after he was caught riding his TY80 on waste ground locally . If he's caught again they're going to confiscate his bike I really feel sorry for him, he saved for a long time to buy it and is now too afraid to use it. Makes you wonder what they want kids to do

[TAF]

sorry to here your bad news could you say exactly where in Swansea as i to live in Swansea and my son also has a dirt bike . you would think the plod would leave kids alone and be glad its not a nicked bike and there not up to no good and off the streets i used to have motocross bikes when i was younger then you had cops on huskies or huvqvarna and they would be dressed in mx clothing just like any body else out on there bike but this pair would pull along side and say pull over as you could imagine any body in this situation would be confused as they don't look like cops and if you didn't stop they would kick you off at high speed probable because they couldn't catch you any other way as thay rode there powerful machines like pussies i hope this pair are not on the loose again

[muncher]

Sideways driving you gotta luv it! It's one of the reasons i always try and buy rear wheelers. ..........muncher

[malum]

This may have been mentioned I haven't read the whole thread but 34 PSI is quite high, it won't help traction in the wet to run them at that pressure.

[Maverick]

I normally run mine at about 36psi, and have no problems in the wet (unless I ask for it).

[kitesurf_phil]

Have to attend my local police station tonight with my 14yr old son to find out whether they're going to press charges after he was caught riding his TY80 on waste ground locally . If he's caught again they're going to confiscate his bike I really feel sorry for him, he saved for a long time to buy it and is now too afraid to use it. Makes you wonder what they want kids to do

There is a guy in Bedfordshire who is trying to address this problem locally. He was responsible for getting the local kids together to raise money and support for a local skate park. The skate park got built and then a parade of shops opened near to the skate park. The yobbish behavior that has resulted from under age kids purchasing alchohol from the shops has been blamed, by local residents and traders, on the skate park. There was no aggro until the shops opened but the kids that hang round the shops have no interest in blading/skateboarding.
This same guy is now trying to purchase a piece of land, well screened/soundproofed from the nearby houses for the youngsters to learn to ride their bikes legally and safely. He has the support of a police officer who is a former junior Moto-X champ. the biggest problem he is having is local authority red tape. More power to him I say. He has my support.

[Trooper]

I'll hazard a bet that you have had a few years behind front wheel drive before Surfing. You probably forgot to respect rear wheel drive in the wet, ask any BMW driver! I know, I did the same after 15 years of front wheel drive. Only use 4wd in the loose stuff and you can't go wrong, it's a bit of a risk on the hard top due to the different distance covered by the front wheels compared to the back ones. (Turning corners etc.) Without a centre diff you cannot loose these differences and risk axle/transmission wind-up. In the loose stuff slippage takes care of the differences. Ice/Snow are the same as loose gravel/shingle/sand/mud. I've got Goodrich A/T's well worn and it's fine, but one corner on my work run needs respect due to a good coating of rubber deposit oil and deisel from all the traffic that uses it.