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Post by flyangler on Feb 25, 2015 8:43:16 GMT -5
^^^^^^^^^^^^
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Post by jerseyboy on Feb 25, 2015 9:52:03 GMT -5
Yeah, the moonbats are turning our once-great country into a brain-dead, no-sense quagmire of stupidity. "The war on terror is over". "The healthcare crisis is fixed". "Everybody has a job". "We have achieved Camelot..." ...LOLOLOL! Now, we can concentrate on the REAL problems, like cows passing gas... like getting people to stop smoking unhealthy tobacco, and start smoking healthy pot... like getting illegal aliens Social Security, drivers licenses and eventually the vote. And of course, shutting down scooters, weed-wackers and model-airplanes because of their itty-bitty "carbon footprints". I live at the end of a main runway at D/FW Int'l. Airport. My shabby trailer-house, cars, scooter, cat, etc. wear a thick coat of black, burned Jet-fuel. If I blow my nose, I expel black jet-exhaust. If I turn on the AC, a black cloud of jet-exhaust belches out. The whole house has a greasy coat of jet-exhaust on every surface, even though I never open a window... When a 747 lifts off over me in the front yard, a wet mist of black, burned Jet-A rains down, speckling and staining my clothes, but it DOES make good hair-styling gel... Absolutely my fault for not making enough money to live closer to "fresh air" but I have little tolerance for those in government enacting laws which make stupidity a virtue... make evil good, make wrong right, and who hate the very fabric of our nation's history. It's time our leaders stop attacking American values, and start attacking those who would murder us. It's time to put a "carbon footprint" on the sorry butts of those who are dragging the world's finest nation into a cesspool of mediocrity. Yup. Without mentioning ANY particular faith, I'd respectfully suggest we all start praying... Without mentioning ANY particular political party, I'd respectfully suggest we all VOTE... and pray as to WHOM to vote for... Just my opinion, Leo (ex-military, God-fearing American) in Texas Thats right Leo!! You don't even have to mention either party,,it speaks clearly for itself on what party you are referring too....don't even get me started on any of those puppets down there in Washington DC.... |
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Sophomore Rider
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www.ScrappyDogScooters.com
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Post by scrappydogscooters on Feb 25, 2015 16:59:08 GMT -5
Yeah, I'm ready to move to Ecuador, or Uruguay.  JK, no, really. Importing chinese scooter parts and engines has been more and more of a hassle. When the Department of Homeland Security took over the port customs they started doing "random" container checks. They would halt our containers, then move them over to their warehouse, unload, inspect, reload, then send us a bill for the trouble. The cost of this, which happened 3 times in a row...randomly... went up almost 10 fold. Now we've been severely delayed by this west coast port strike which had our ship with our container anchored off the coast of california for what seemed forever. It finally got unloaded, and now the import warehouse is hassling us because there seems to be one extra box physically, but nobody knows where or what it is. In the meantime we've got customers blowing up our phones really pissed off as if we did this whole delay thing on purpose, like it would somehow benefit us to be out of stock. It's not too bad right now, just a few parts out of stock, but when this happens during the summer it's a nightmare! I just don't know what to do. It's expensive to do business or manufacture or do anything anymore in the US. Permits, licenses, regulations, inspections, more and more do gooders getting more and more into your business and personal life and all the meanwhile the "service" of government gets more and more expensive and burdensome. Seems like you've got to be on the public doles or work for the government to even get by...or move to China and start a factory or business. They are flourishing from applying all the ways and means of doing business that we once pioneered here, but somehow we lost touch and cared about things other than being prosperous and successful. Just my personal thoughts, and not the opinion of ScrappyDogScoooters officially. Rick |
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New Rider
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Post by bicyclefuture on Mar 3, 2015 16:17:59 GMT -5
This is great news! Stronger enforcement is exactly what we need! These engines are horrible polluters and I can hardly wait until they are banned for good!
In truth, Generic Chinese scooters are little more than dangerous toys and need to be banned once and for all! Those whom need cheap transportation can/should ride bicycles--not only is it good for the environment but also its good for your health.
In addition, most generic scooter riders are children, alcoholics, drug addicts, criminals, and people with suspended/revoked drivers licenses. For example, look at the study that was done in NC--they tracked scooter rider accidents and discovered that the vast majority of those involved in accidents belonged into one or more of the aforementioned groups (criminals, etc.).
Eventually we're gonna ban ALL small engine scooters (I'll gladly give up my Vespa when that happens!), take your guns, do away with your precious "free speech" (implement hate-speech laws like other civilized countries), tear down the borders, and ban smoking. You'll whine and cry, but you'll get over it in time!
Time to move forward !
Better enforcement today---eventually ban them for good tomorrow! Hoorah!
Good day
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Post by oldchopperguy on Mar 6, 2015 21:32:15 GMT -5
This is great news! Stronger enforcement is exactly what we need! These engines are horrible polluters and I can hardly wait until they are banned for good!
In truth, Generic Chinese scooters are little more than dangerous toys and need to be banned once and for all! Those whom need cheap transportation can/should ride bicycles--not only is it good for the environment but also its good for your health.
In addition, most generic scooter riders are children, alcoholics, drug addicts, criminals, and people with suspended/revoked drivers licenses. For example, look at the study that was done in NC--they tracked scooter rider accidents and discovered that the vast majority of those involved in accidents belonged into one or more of the aforementioned groups (criminals, etc.).
Eventually we're gonna ban ALL small engine scooters (I'll gladly give up my Vespa when that happens!), take your guns, do away with your precious "free speech" (implement hate-speech laws like other civilized countries), tear down the borders, and ban smoking. You'll whine and cry, but you'll get over it in time!
Time to move forward !
Better enforcement today---eventually ban them for good tomorrow! Hoorah!
Good day
Ah... Welcome to the site??? I think...
We can only hope you are joking... If your post IS on the level, why on earth would you join a site heavily dedicated to scooters, and targeted in a big way, toward Chinese models?
I'm getting a little slow in my older years, so for me (and maybe for a few other members who love to ride scooters, motorcycles, ATV's and such, and think they are a GREAT idea...) please DO tell us... Are you KIDDING! Or is this post the way you actually feel?
No problem either way, this is still a free country (not quite yet "The Peoples Socialist Republik of Amerika") and everybody is entitled to his or her opinion... But please... if it's a joke, let us in on it.
Leo (trying to cross-breed cattle that smoke unfiltered Marlboros and fart pure Freon) in Texas...
PS: I do love my bicycle... custom-built it myself from authentic relic-condition parts, gathered over several years. But it's not exactly ideal for hauling the groceries, or running to the VA doctor 35 miles away on 70+ mph freeways.
Pure restored WWII era Schwinn fat-tire with modern 7-speed Shimano hub. Even genuine "UNION" tires with the logos for treads... Old-school right down to the pre-war reflectors and my own waterslide decals. A fabulous ride... But the old girl is NOT suitable for hauling the goods, or the missus... LOL! For adventures further away than the local "stop n' rob" convenience-store, I'll stick with my trusty old Kymco 250.
_________________________________________
PPS: Whether riding my Schwinn, my Kymco, or driving my cushy and comfortable, gas-guzzling '89 Mercury wagon dinosaur, I also proudly and legally carry my "chopped and channeled" custom-carry 1911. If you're ever in my neck of the woods, and getting your butt beat, I'll be happy to intervene on your behalf, with a little .45 caliber reassurance... I'm MORE than "competent" with either hand.
Texas is both a gun-friendly, AND people-friendly haven of common-sense folks who still love this amazing country, and her precious Constitution... We're always glad to help out fellow human being who's in a bind.
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Post by JerryScript on Mar 7, 2015 3:51:00 GMT -5
Very nice bike Leo, love the whitewalls, should have known you would have them if possible!
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Post by ricardoguitars on Mar 7, 2015 8:31:48 GMT -5
Is it just me, or is Leo's bike asking to get "motorized"?  |
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Post by rockynv on Mar 7, 2015 9:38:05 GMT -5
Things are changing in China too. The Chinese Government is now meeting to come up with a plan to fix the runaway issue of environmental pollution over there. Their expansion as a global manufacturer without proper environmental safeguards in place has put them into jeopardy and they now need to take remedial steps to correct the situation before the situation including health issues becomes any more costly to deal with. This could spell the end of the Chinese price advantage on manufactured goods as they now are facing SuperFund Cleanups across the country.
Business Guru John Maxwell use to state that business in general will have to face the irrefutable "Law of the Price Tag" which will eventually have to be paid and the more you put it off the more it's going to cost.
Who knows they may have to contract American EPA compliant Factories to start manufacturing their products for them.
Europe went through this and made fun of EPA pollution restrictions on motor vehicles years ago and now the Euro 4 standard in some ways is stricter than EPA especially if you want to drive a vehicle to your home. Imagine how you would feel if you had to leave your scooter outside the city at the check point if it was not Euro 4 compliant and then transfer to public transportation, have someone come pick you up or walk the rest of the way. Imagine if the USA followed suite and banned non-compliant vehicles from being driven into cities and residential areas.
Its about to get very interesting.
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Post by oldchopperguy on Mar 7, 2015 11:01:36 GMT -5
Very nice bike Leo, love the whitewalls, should have known you would have them if possible! THANKS!
Yeah, I'm incurably lost in the fifties... That old bike is made from more parts than a cottage-industry Chinese scoot... LOL! The frame is an original pre-war Schwinn. It had at LEAST 12 coats of Lord-knows-what kind of kid's paint, over a LOT of rust... But it was STRAIGHT!. Lots of sanding, filling and priming before the colors went on...
The generator, long gooseneck and dropped handlebars are actually from my "stash" of parts from my misspent youth (some 60 years ago) collected to build bad-boy rides to grade-school... Some of those parts actually rode to Forest Road School in LaGrange Park, Il back around 1955... THOSE were GOOD days and then some. Yeah, 5 or6 years before I began building and riding CHOPPERS, I was building and riding created "things fat-tire" from the Schwinn factory. Guess it's in my DNA...
The crank and chain-wheel (I still call 'em "sprockets"...) and Panther chain-guard are pre-war originals, as are the glass reflectors. The mousetrap "book carrier" is also an old original, but from England.
The Schwinn springer-fork, and rear 7-speed alloy wheel are from an 80's or  's re-introduction of the Panther... Still vintage Schwinn, but gives me lots of gears and a coaster-brake on the rear, and, handy hand-brake mounts on the front. The period-correct hairpin-spring seat is a new reproduction, and plenty comfy!
The COOLEST part of the whole build is the headlight... A NOS 1930's chrome bucket (no innards) with a NOS matching ribbed-glass lens, all from an old geezer on eBay... Still in the crumbling, Scotch-taped box! But I cannibalized a 6V LED lantern from Wal-Mart for the illumination, and it is INCREDIBLE. At a mundane "to the store" old-guy pedaling speed, that light is better than a Chinese scooter headlight! The tail-light came with the generator a half-century ago, from England... The tires are amazing... Original NOS from the FORTIES! And still soft and pliable... With that SO cool logo all over for treads. And I didn't even have to paint the wide-whites! Cheesh, they made GOOD rubber back in the day! But I'll never be able to replace them.
To my shame, I caved in on the front rim... It's new Chinese... LOL!
I built it over several years, having a "wild hair" to have the fantasy-bicycle of my childhood... I finished it a few years back, and was the missus ever glad to see it move out of the livingroom... HeHHe...
I too have thought it sorta cries out for a motor... HeHeHe... But with the 7-speed hub, it probably is faster than with a Chinese 2-stroke. Anyway, if it ever does get a motor, it would just HAVE to be a Whizzer! The ONLY proper powerplant for such a period piece!
With old age and arthritis setting me back a lot these days, the bike doesn't get much use, but it does turn heads down at the mailbox... The 10-year-old kiddies all think it's "the bomb"... LOL!
Proof positive that ANYTHING on 2 wheels can be cool... Doesn't even need a motor!
I actually have around $200 cash in the thing, but only $20 at a time over a LONG time... Guys ask why I didn't just buy a $79 Huffy fat-tire bike at Wally World? Well, if you have to ask, you wouldn't understand anyway... HeHeHe.
Ride safe!
Leo
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Post by rockynv on Mar 7, 2015 23:10:23 GMT -5
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Post by oldchopperguy on Mar 8, 2015 16:58:22 GMT -5
Rockynv,
Thanks for the link! Pretty cool! With my budget though, I believe the old Schwinn will remain "human powered" for some time... LOL!
In a related note, last year I saw a video of a guy who had great skills, and adapted one of these 2-stroke engines to a mountain bike, driving the PEDAL CRANK shaft. He used a centrifugal clutch on the engine, and set up the pedals on a ratchet so the bike could be pedaled if desired.
This setup allowed him to use ALL FIVE gears at the rear wheel!!! No clutch needed with the "derailer" sprocket. Just ease off the gas while shifting. Woo-HOO! Did THAT thing MOVE!!!
It accelerated like a jackrabbit and did over 50 mph! I'd guess the performance to be as good, or better than the typical Chinese 150... Now THAT is one SERIOUS homemade motorbike! What fabulous "basic transportation"! My hat's off to that design. To my eye, it appears to be a REAL alternative to the CVT transmission for small (59cc or smaller) engines on true "mopeds"... An idea easy to experiment with, fairly AFFORDABLE to play with, and a MONSTER idea for ambitious home-builders!
He had been riding that bike for some time, and the mountain bike tires, bearings and brakes seemed to be fully adequate for the duty. Those mountain-bikers achieve some incredible downhill speeds, so good mountain bikes are pretty heavy-duty "as-is".
Amazing what one can build at home, with a few bucks and some careful work.
Ride safe!
Leo in Texas |
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Post by JerryScript on Mar 8, 2015 23:19:51 GMT -5
I've tried both gas and electric power on a mountain bike, and felt completely safe with both. The electric had more torque at take-off, but the gas had more power in mid-range when you really need it to get out of situations.
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's re-introduction of the Panther... Still vintage Schwinn, but gives me lots of gears and a coaster-brake on the rear, and, handy hand-brake mounts on the front. The period-correct hairpin-spring seat is a new reproduction, and plenty comfy!