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Post by rockynv on Aug 10, 2017 13:49:02 GMT -5
As my Mom asks more frequently, what is wrong with this world?  >'Kat Kat, Many historians consider the day WWI started as the day the world went insane and has yet to recover. For the religious consider 1 John 5:19 "The World is laying in the power of the Wicked One (Satan)". However those days of manipulation by Satan are numbered and there is hope however it will probably get pretty bleak looking before that happens. No further discussion in forum though, private message only. |
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Post by rockynv on Aug 10, 2017 13:33:42 GMT -5
I was thinking of maybe a magnetic strip on your drivers license (or licence) that is read by the motorcycle/scooter starting system. No license, or revoked, and you go nowhere.  Raise the cost substantially and you know on a GY6 how easy it would be to bypass that by simply changing out the CDI and related parts. Aprilia put in the Imobilizer Full System as did Vespa up to 2006 which made it harder however when one component failed you often had to replace the dash, ECU, fuel pump, ignition switch and immobilizer controller costing more than the bike was worth too much of the time. |
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Post by rockynv on Aug 9, 2017 22:54:45 GMT -5
Leo - Its amazing what one can do when they don't know it can't be done. Sometimes too much book knowledge can hinder rather than help advancement since it causes folks to put blinders on limiting the scope of their realm. Others have trouble visualizing things from a word picture and need a full set of drawings and 3D models to even get a clue of whats possible. I get this at work all the time. You can't do that using that or that problem absolutely can't be caused by this however once the Root Cause analysis is done we find out a new set of possibilities not covered by the book.
I am closing in on retirement age now however its nice to be able to work with the younguns and make advances they said were impossible or inconceivable. Did one the other day that was bid out at close to $100,000 that they let the old out of touch guy have a crack at and 3 hours later we were done and productionalized. My boss came by near the end of the day concerned about my wasting time in what he considered a Rabbit Hole and when he asked how much longer I told him 5 hours ago it was completed just after my second cup of coffee. Asked when it would be put into production and the answer was the same 5 hours ago. His comment was "We sure got out moneys worth this morning. Must have taken some really hard thinking to pull that off so quick. Some here don't appreciate the stuff you do here every day and I wish there was a way to better reward you besides the gift cards we are allowed to pass out." Probably won't even get a "Good Job" digital thank you card on that one but at least someone up the food chain appreciated it.
Great find in the tool box! Perhaps you will put those slips in a frame with a few photos now for you memory wall. Maybe the folks at the nursing home may appreciate a copy of the frame showing the history of the site.
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Post by rockynv on Aug 9, 2017 22:14:18 GMT -5
With most automakers promising that cars will drive themselves within the next few years who will need a drivers license? Driving only interferes with texting and playing Pokémon Go.
The current generation to me is the "Disposable Generation". They do not want or understand durable goods as most that rules their daily lives is tech that becomes obsolete in months or sometimes in as little as a few weeks.
Just look at cell phones. Almost gone are the days where you could get a cell phone for pennies and an unlimited plan for a family for reasonable as the "Disposable Generation" wants instant upgrades to their phone every few months or weeks the moment the new models are released adding a $20 to $40 per month per phone rental fee to the new plans to pander to their penchant for always having the latest and greatest tech.
My youngest daughter is partially among them and takes less care of household items since all are disposable and cheaply replaceable at the Dollar Store. She really did not understand when I took the jumper cables out and a few 2 inch lengths of solid copper wire and tack welded the handle back on a stainless steel mixing bowl instead of tossing it in the garbage. Did not understand until then why I had an old but still good enough car battery in the garage that could be used for tack welding either.
Freedom today is not physical but mental and virtual which the latest tech provides without having to get out of your chair never mind buying a 800 lb bike that will be replaced by a newer model in too short a time but cost so much that it can't be viewed as disposable. Impossible for the "Disposable Generation" to keep up unless Harley starts renting them on a monthly no-contract basis allowing instant upgrades to the newest model.
Indian/Polaris is staying in the game with the Retro-Chic aspect of their bikes but had to let Victory go despite Big 4 Japanese like reliability ratings. The various flavors of the Scout for those that do not want the more ponderous Chieftains has helped them too.
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Post by rockynv on Aug 9, 2017 21:49:17 GMT -5
For some time they have had a no chase ban in force if the rider is not wearing a helmet. There has been an uptick in artsy helmets though made up to look like bald heads. This is not a isolated scooter incident either as there was an acid attack done by a similar group a few weeks ago in London however they were able to capture and arrest two of those involved. They may put restrictions on the sale of acids and drain cleaners as a result of this. www.foxnews.com/world/2017/07/14/british-teens-linked-to-spate-acid-attacks-in-london-arrested.html |
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Post by rockynv on Aug 9, 2017 9:31:34 GMT -5
You have to be careful about those Virago as some had big troubles chewing up the starter drive and ring gears which Yamaha had a hard time overcoming. Some feel they changed the name and started calling them V-Stars to distance themselves from the starter problem on the Virago. Some bike shops would have the ring gear machined to let the starter drive more easily engage it. Been almost ten years since I last helped a friend deal with this on a Virago so I don't recall the exact years and CC involved. |
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Post by rockynv on Aug 9, 2017 9:02:02 GMT -5
In other parts of the world its quite common for the ladies to ride in a dress:
Sad that what prompted this particular group was the high incidence of women being harassed by men when using public transportation. Hey you don't mess with the lady on the bike.
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Post by rockynv on Aug 8, 2017 4:34:40 GMT -5
The last sentence says it all....hard to be in a bad mood when riding. Then, there's that photo. Found myself humming the theme song of "All in the family" ......Those where the days..... "and you knew who you were then.....girls were girls, and men were men" Wonder how many women even own a skirt today. Am I giving my age away? Thanks for posting w650. My wife and daughters do. What would they wear on Sunday to show proper respect or when it was not casual day in the office? When their not in the office two are on construction sites hanging or finishing drywall and the other out bidding electrical contracts all dressed in jeans, chambray, boots and dayglow safety gear. In my office of a few thousand workers most of the ladies covering all age groups when its not casual day wear dresses appropriate to the environment and follow the company dress code forbidding flipflops (too dangerous during a fire drill on the fire stairs). Those days of elegance are not dead. Most modern Vespa and Piaggio based scooters are automatic going back over 20 years now however all are great fun to ride. |
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Post by rockynv on Jul 20, 2017 16:12:07 GMT -5
The Xtown 300 is only $4000, the BV 350 thousands more. No comparison on price. At least for most of us who don't get bargains. www.piaggiousa.com/scooter/my17-bv-350-abs.htmlI would also contest the high mileage claim. Check out this hapless Piaggio owner's plight. scootindavalley.blogspot.com/2017/07/different-thinking.htmlWith its being in the shop for nine weeks now, my summer just hasn’t been the sameMust be waiting for parts. Also he recently passed 20,000 miles so it's at the end of it's days. Edit: Out of curiosity I just checked. The SYM Citicom goes for $5000. It's cheaper than a BV by a bunch. The price quotes were from the comparison article by Motorcycle Magazine and not mine. On the Piaggio in the shop for 9 weeks there is probably a back story on how it got to be in that condition. Usually that means not maintained by the book, using alternate non-synthetic oils, electrical mods that did not work out, so forth and so on. People who break their own bikes doing things they ought not rarely fess up about it. The things are mostly tanks that keep on running until someone of the disposable generation gets a hold of them and then all bets are off. My nieces husband is like that and no matter how high the quality of a mechanical device he gets his hands on it will be broken down and in need of replacement in very short time. |
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Post by rockynv on Jul 18, 2017 4:18:13 GMT -5
well, in any event, an honest 300cc scooter (not some 257), sounds pretty good. personally, it would probably be all the engine i would ever need. the price is pretty decent too. Its only a 276 not a 299 or 300. To meet the new EPA and Euro regs they had to up the CC to keep the HP levels of the 300 close to the same levels of the previous generations 250's. Still 23 HP compared to the Chinese 15 to 18 HP 250's. In comparison the Piaggio BV350 (330CC) is only about $300 more than the Kymco Citicom 300cc, weighs less than 400 lbs and has about the same HP as the over 400 lb Kymco 400 while delivering similar fuel economy as a 250. A lot of options out there and if you pick wisely you can end up with a bike that requires belt maintenance every 12,500 miles, oil changes every 6,250 miles and has a clutch and variator that can last 50,000 to 75,000 miles. Maintained by the book and not beat on they have been known to run 150,000 or more miles without burning oil or any major repairs. On the better bikes simple things like variator air filter maintenance can make a big different in belt, variator and clutch longevity. Keep them clean, cool and dry and they will last a long long time. They're not submarines or dirt bikes even though some use them as such and then complain about the problems they have afterwards. |
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Post by rockynv on Jul 13, 2017 4:22:17 GMT -5
With more and more tire manufacturers sub contracting Pacific Rim factories to press their tires for them it will be very costly to come up with a way to deal with the problem as even respected brands have this issue regardless of what state you live in. Primewell is going through a major recall at this moment due to sidewall failure from batches of tires processed by a Pacific Rim factory.
Like Attorney Newsome said there is no definite and at best just a maybe as to whether your tire can be safely plugged using a user installed emergency plug kit and regardless of the brand if it fails and has a user installed emergency plug or even a improperly installed approved plug you will likely loose any right to compensation in the event of a failure. Even if you do get compensation though it still does not replace a lost life or compensate for a lifetime disability.
The 5 year rule would be the safest and most cost effective way to keep old unsafe tires off the road. You can't trust Joe Average as we can see from the too many roll over deaths from old bad tires still being used and you can't trust many independent repair shops either as too many of these tire failures happen a few minutes after they install the too old used tires or New Old Stock tires that are out of date. The DOT as a stop gap has mandated date codes and updated them over the years to make consumers better able to police this themselves even mandating that a brochure about reading the date codes be provided at the time of sale however people in general have proven incapable of dealing with this as time has already shown.
I know that there are many Anti-Government types on this board but that borderlines on being an Anarchist. Just consider what happens during a blackout in a major city when people think that Government and Enforcement may be lacking... It isn't pretty. Many here won't remember before there was a strong Department of Labor companies like Ford managing their employees by threatening them with squads wielding axe handles to beat them if they had an issue with how Ford was treating them. Ah the gold old days.
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Post by rockynv on Jul 13, 2017 3:44:40 GMT -5
The air cooled twins are falling all over the world due to not meeting the new stricter air quality regulations. Ducati, Victory and a number of other manufactures have all ceased making them or closed down altogether rather than invest in trying to make the old air cooled twins meet the new regulations.
The only weakness in the Rebel was the tiny rod on the shifter. To quote the MSF instructors "It's only about the diameter of a pencil so they have had quite a problem with big guys forcing it down into first and twisting or bending it". The ladies and skinny kids got the Rebels while the Big Guys got the Suzukis or the Yamaha Street and Trail bike. Enforcing this greatly reduced how many bikes they had in the shop for regular shift rod replacements.
The performance difference between say a 500cc Bullet and the old 250 twin is really not that great. Hopefully more will come out with modern 300cc bikes that give the economy of the 250 and the same or a greater level of performance.
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Post by rockynv on Jul 12, 2017 15:06:07 GMT -5
I'd rather be safe and follow the rules of the trade than be one of those sorry or dead folks who should know better but prove otherwise by their actions. Please stop the foolishness of encouraging the unknowing to engage in dangerous practices regarding old tires. I will be very happy when the lawmakers stop listening to the special interest business groups selling used and out dated tires and make it a criminal offense to sell a tire that is over five years old be it sitting on a shelf unmounted or in place on a roadway vehicle. There should be mandated safety inspections to get the all to many old out of date tires off the roadways. And yes even Michelin agrees that tires need to be inspected inside and out by a certified professional using industry standard tools and procedures to ensure that they are safe if you do not toss them after 5 years however this costs more than the tire is worth over the next 5 years making it more cost effective to toss them and turn them into mulch or new roadways. Enough of this putting saving an almighty buc above the value of a living soul. See what has been going on here in Florida just over the past decade on this front: www.wftv.com/news/local/tire-shelf-life-blamed-number-central-florida-cras/287758393. www.litigationandtrial.com/2012/03/articles/attorney/automobile-accidents/tire-failures/www.tirereview.com/florida-legislator-wants-used-tire-age-bill/ |
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Post by rockynv on Jul 12, 2017 9:07:54 GMT -5
Before you go too crazy ensure that the purge tube is empty and the sponge where it vents into the air cleaner housing is clean and not plugged solid. A GY6 can blow a lot of oil into the purge tube if the valves are even slightly tight and on an engine that may have been abused the adjustment that was recently done could have settled in and the gaps closed up already so you may need to check them again. Valve gaps can require a monthly adjustment on a GY6 if you ride it daily. If the purge tube from the head has been capped or plugged so its no longer venting this could also increase oil consumption due to pressure build up in the crank case.
On some bikes where excess oil is being blown through the purge tube to be drawn into the carb some will take a metal cased fuel filter and use it to make a high mounted catch can attached to the frame of the bike so the oil will drip back into the head when the engine is turned off rather than get ingested through the carb.
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Post by rockynv on Jul 11, 2017 11:55:02 GMT -5
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