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As the weather gets cooler, is your motorcycle ready to be put up for the winter? Even if you plan to ride your bike through the cold winter months, here are some ideas on winter care. Or, maybe your have another reason for not riding your bike: travel, business or family commitments. The good news is that this shouldn’t take more than a few hours of work to be sure that your motorcycle will remain in tip-top condition in terms of looks, mechanical condition and trouble free riding.

First, be sure the fuel system is drained and conditioned. The best way to do this is to get the level as low as you can, then add a fuel stabilizer additive. Then run your bike for a few miles to be sure the additive gets into and through the entire fuel system. Then, when your ready to ride, simple fill up with fresh gas and you’re ready to go.

Next be sure and clean you motorcycle thoroughly. Use a good degreasing agent to get rid of all that grime that collected over the past several months. Be sure to remember to get the brakes and suspension systems. Clean out the brake calipers with a brake cleaner and re-lubricate.

Make sure that your bike is completely dry. If you have compressed air available, use it.

Next re-lubricate the motorcycle. Be sure to cover the brakes (calipers and discs) to protect them during this process. Be sure to get all of the joints and pivots points. Regular chain lube is usually good enough for moving parts and surfaces. Finally, the use of a corrosion treatments is recommended (not for brakes).

Use a good wax to coat and polish the surfaces. Again, avoid the brakes.

Get the tires up and off of the ground. If you have a center stand, great. If not, invest in a pair of stands to get the bike up. They will pay for themselves numerous times.

Save yourself the grief of needing a new battery come spring by using a battery tender. Like getting the tires up, this investment will pay for itself over and over again.

Finally, invest in a cover for your motorcycle. Make sure it breathes so condensation won’t occur.

These are just a few ideas to keep your bike in great shape when not being ridden for an extended period. A small amount of time and investment will result in a huge time and money savings later.

Purchasing a new car is a major investment. Aside from buying a new house, it may be the biggest purchase you will ever make in your entire life. For this reason, you should be certain that you are dealing with a trustworthy maryland hyundai car dealer before deciding to part with your hard-earned cash.

We have all heard the horror stories about those shady car dealers who talk fast and separate a sucker from his money even faster. The good news is that they are the minority and that most car dealers are dependable and honest. Here are a few tips to help you find a trustworthy hyundai car dealership in maryland

(1) Do your homework

Before you start talking to car dealers, try to find out what they are all about. Research online and check their track record, the quality of their after-sales service and other information that will shed light on their reputation and trustworthiness.

At the same time, try to get a firm grasp of the kinds of hyundai that you may want given your particular tastes and budget. This way, when you start speaking to maryland hyundai car dealers, you can tell if their sales pitch about the car you want is accurate or just a lot of hogwash. Bear in mind, though, that just because a salesperson quotes you a price that is higher than what youve seen online, it doesnt mean hes a crook. Trying to make a decent profit is just part of their job.

(2) Trust Your Instincts

Sometimes you will come across a salesperson that you simply dont trust or are not comfortable with for no apparent reason. Those bad vibes mean something. Perhaps your subconscious has spotted something out of place about this person and is sending you a signal. In this instance, it would be better to ask for someone else.

(3) Use your head, not your heart

Oftentimes, the biggest reason why consumers fall for fast-talking, sleazy salespersons is that they make their purchasing decisions based on feelings and emotions rather than rational thought.

There is a lot of psychology that goes into buying a car. We may be enamored with the way it looks, the feel of the steering wheel in our hands, the way the seats press against our body or the feeling that a certain car is perfect for our personality. It just feels right. When you feel this way about a new car, think hard. Otherwise, it will be easy for a smart car dealer to persuade you into making that purchase.

(4) Be careful during negotiations

Once you enter the negotiation phase, be very careful since this is where most of the dirty tricks begin. For instance, keep your wits about you when a salesman offers you a car that is, say, $1,000 cheaper than their competitors because there may be some additional hidden charges that you will have to pay such as a documentation fee or handling charge or when your salesman forgets to charge you for sports rims. This is an old ploy. Sometimes you just have to stand up, say no thanks and look for another maryland hyundai car dealer.

(5) Do a full inspection

Finally, dont forget to make a full inspection of your new hyundai before leaving the lot. Check for scratches, flaws or other imperfections. The repair of these items should be covered in your deal with the car dealership. It pays to make sure.

If you love sheer power, and you want a car that produces 1,000 bhp, you now have three to choose from – and that is without going to the tuners like Ruf ofr Callaway, who will get this much power from engines that are currently in the 500- 700 bhp range. The tjree in the 1000 bhp club are the Bugatti Veyron 16.4, the Bristol Fighter T, and the Koenigsegg CCXR. Theoretically, these are all good for 250 mph in theory, but not in practice.

First on the scene was the Bugatti Veyron 16.4, the world’s fastest and most powerful exotic car, with a top speed of 248 mph.

Engineering masterpiece

The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is quite an engineering masterpiece, with a W-16 8.0 liter cylinder engine mid-mounted driving through a seven-speed semi-automatic gearbox to all four wheels – four-wheel drive is definitely a good idea with this amount of power.  Not only is it immensely fast, but with four-wheel drives it is very stable. It has ceramic brake discs and an air brake to help you slow down from over 125 mph.

A very surprising addition to the 1,000 bhp plus club is the Bristol Fighter T, which has an engine developing 1,012 bhp, just 11 more than the Bugatti! This is a front-engine, rear-drive car designed for high-speed touring.

To be precise, the V-10 engine in the Fighter T whacks out 1,012 bhp at 5,600 rpm. Bristol says that the top speed of the car is around 270 mph, but it has a limiter at 225 mph, which is just 4,.500 rpm in top! Not many will be made, making this a really exotic car.

Acceleration is not as good as you might expect – or maybe it is just modesty at Bristol Cars – at ‘under 3.5 seconds’ whereas the Bugatti Veyron is well under 3 seconds. The difference is largely academic – like the top speeds – but a mid-engined four-wheel drive car will accelerate more quickly than a front-engined rear-drive car. The Bristol Fighter just doesn’t have enough weight on the rear wheels to get under 3 seconds.

Twin turbo V-10

How did they get this huge amount of power? Well, like the other Bristol Fighters, the T has a tuned Chrysler V-10 engine of 8 liters. For the Fighter T they have added a pair of water-cooled turbochargers to almost double power so they could exceed that magic 1,000 bhp figure, getting 1,012 bhp at 5,600 rpm, with 1,036 lb ft (1,400 Nm) of torque at 4,500 rpm. That is quite a high speed for maximum torque, but the engine still produces a massive 800 lb ft (1,080 Nm) of torque from 3,000 rpm, upward.

The Bristol Fighter S has a top speed of over 200 mph, partly owing to good aerodynamics, but The Fighter T is an absolute stormer with a power-to-weight ratio of about 600 bhp per ton and a top speed of well, you name it!

Koenigsegg CCXR runs on ethanol

Now, along comes Koenigsegg with the Koenigsegg CCXR, based on the CCX supercar, but now this version is able to run on ethanol  biofuel – E85.  Because ethanol has an octane rating of over 100 RON – like racing fuel in the 30s – it gives more power than gasoline, as Saab has demonstrated.

In the Koenigsegg CCXR, power is up from 806 bhp – more than enough for almost everyone – to 1,018 bhp! Peak torque is an incredible 780 lb ft (1,060 Nm) at 6,100 rpm. That’s 25% more power.

With ethanol, power increases of 15-25% can be obtained for any engine so long as it is optimised with high compression ratio and other changes. In other words, don’t just pull up at a gas station, put ethanol in your tank and get 20% more power. It doesn’t work unless the engine is designed to run on it.

But that is not so difficult to do, and with George Bush trying to get more ethanol used in the USA, expect more to follow this route. After all, almost everyone loves power, even if they drive a car that is not very fast.

John Hartley is editor of http://www.fast-autos.com, an online magazine devoted to fast cars and supercars, where you can read the latest articles about fast cars. He has written from many of the world’s top auto magazines, and has written many books about cars and the auto industry, including ‘Suspension and Steering Q&A’ and ‘The Electronics Revolution in the Motor Industry’.