Sometimes I see red...
06/19/2025
...and then find myself in a quandary. Because the question is: should I convert my classic bike to make it thermally harmless? Or do I simply live with the fact that it can occasionally be a little "hotter", in the truest sense of the word, to drive it?
When it comes to originality, I tend to want to deal with all the shortcomings of old technology. Ultimately, that would also be consistent, because I also accept the lack of chassis technology, the lower engine power, the reduced braking performance or the absence of a crumple zone in my classic. On the other hand, with the Swiss topography, it's sometimes not very funny to think about having to deal with steam bubbles when standing in a tunnel on an uphill stretch. Or that you might have to stop in front of a construction site at a red light on a steep section - for the same reason: steam bubbles because you don't want to hang an electric pump in the line.
Recently, when climbing the Lenzerheide with the 1953 DeSoto and in the wake of the Jaguar XK 120 Alloy (ex Bätsch Scherrer, the 1951 Lenzerheide winning car) and the Jaguar XK 120 Hansgen Special, things got tight. I managed to keep the fuel pump happy and the fuel flowing by increasing the engine speed considerably when the car was stationary. In addition, the fan fanned a little more air through the radiator. On the other hand, I also had a guilty conscience: Is it really necessary, all this strain on the old technology? The Hansgen XK set a good example: its modern radiator was even covered with tape so that the engine could warm up at all. The 1949 XK 120, on the other hand, originally an aluminum XK except for the hole for the starting crank in the radiator, had just as much trouble, but still made it up the hill. Exactly: So we made it, we arrived, although it was indeed NOT possible without thinking about it, as with a modern car. Which proved to me once again that it is precisely this appeal, the operating competence and the expertise to do the right thing (or at least to try) that make classic cars so fascinating. So if I eliminate all these infirmities, minor shortcomings and so on with modern aids, then I will probably end up with a new car - and nobody really wants that! Conclusion: Steam bubbles are part of it! No reason to see red at a red light.
