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Post by oldchopperguy on Jan 26, 2018 0:59:42 GMT -5
I ride because my Dad is/was a dedicated motorcyclist and he taught four of us to ride. I passed it along to my late Wife who passed it along to my stepson. I also taught my daughter. Yes, street riding can be dangerous but consider this. Eight years ago I had a pretty good car accident having a head on collision with a State snow plow. No one came to me and said, "Now that your damn car nearly killed you are you going to quit driving?" I consider my bikes just as important as my car in my transportation scheme. I only hope motorcycles continue in the future after I'm gone. I've loved every minute on a bike.  Great attitude, great post... Have a bone on The Old Chopper Guy! |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jan 25, 2018 0:27:59 GMT -5
I ride for the challenge / joy/ excitement/ the solitude,,,
However, for those addicted to the phone, I saw "the answer" two seasons ago...I was in my car stopped at a red-light as a 30-something business-lady dressed to the nines blew the light as it turned... She was on a Vespa, nose in her smart-phone, thumbs diddling madly... No hands on the bars as she texted her way through the now red-light, oblivious to the cross traffic starting up and frantically trying to miss her... Praise the Lord, every driver did miss her. She never even noticed.God looks out for drunks and fools, and I only hope she decided to finally look up before encountering stopped traffic at her next intersection... Duh... 
So... boyz n' gurlz... There IS a way to enjoy non-stop phone-foolery on your scoot, so long as you have throttle hold-open, and can ride no hands, no eyes, no brains... HOWEVER, it will get you killed...She obviously made a habit of such Kamikaze riding, since she had rigged some kind of throttle hold-open device... How ingenious... Well, OK, there really IS no cure for stupid...
Ride safe one and all, and watch that road! (As in "Hang up and DRIVE). |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jan 24, 2018 0:13:12 GMT -5
Hmmm....
I'm not a fan of the Austin Powers bathroom humor, but gotta give this one to Dr. Evil...
I suffered through watching this one and found Dr. Evil to be slightly less nauseating than Powers... After all, he has a really ugly cat (extra points there)... LOL! And, of course, he has "Mini-Me".
I think "Mini-Me" stole the show... LOL!  I think maybe "James Bond" should accept a "007 contract" on the whole bunch for defamation of the image of Brit secret agents...  Yeah, baby!
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jan 22, 2018 4:40:21 GMT -5
It's a new world out there boys and girls,,, people just want the comfort and climate controled cabins of cars with auto trans and all the geegaws that go with them,,, even the scooter/ moto crowd is softening up,,, twist and go ,no shifting , auto petcocks auto chokes, no kicker or at least a real kicker that actually works,,, I went the other way ,,, full manual everything,,, couldn't be happier You're right... I'd go back to the fifties tomorrow, gladly passing on today's voice-activated house controls, the stupid menus on car dashboards you have to scroll through just to find the radio or headlights (there was a REASON car dash-knobs all had different shapes) so you could use the headlights, wipers, radio, AC/heat, etc. by FEEL while NOT taking your eyes off the road. I do choose not to deal with smart phones and smart mouths anymore. True signs of what made America into the arrogant mess our new Pres is trying to fix... God help him... Ride safe, and keep those thumbs off the phone and on the handlebars... LOL! |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jan 22, 2018 4:30:54 GMT -5
Dan was a master. The whole automotive community will miss him.
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jan 20, 2018 23:41:38 GMT -5
Gotta go with Elvis... Although if Al Jolson was still around, AND had the cajones to perform in BLACK-FACE, like maybe in Southeast LA... The "macho meter" would tip more in his favor... LOL!  |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jan 6, 2018 0:13:03 GMT -5
Thanks. And in the Christmas spirit I rounded your's to a nice even 50.  BTW, along the same lines, my sister has a saying about your possessions. "Turn in all your toys as you leave" Thanks Spandi! I don't think I'll have many toys to turn in when I leave... I'll probably have to sell them to pay for old age meds... Cheesh!  |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jan 6, 2018 0:02:29 GMT -5
We'll remember him. Have a most sincere bone on the OCG.Seems nearly every time I ride, I have a close call with someone who's obviously drunk... OR texting... OR both. Makes it almost enjoyable to deal with a sober jerk trying to hit me on-purpose! It's easier to predict THOSE drivers than the ones who left their brains at the bar...Now, many states are adding "legal" marijuana to the lethal mix. I'd think there are enough ways to get folks killed without legalizing things that send inhibitions off to LaLa Land... and, with no legal benchmark to even prove impairment. Driving/riding when I was a kid was probably less than HALF as dangerous as it is today. Yet I still saw several of my riding pals injured and killed by poor driving by those who hit them, without them being drunk or impaired. Nowadays, we have to deal with terminally brain-dead alcohol and drug users. Even at 71 and not nearly as agile as when I was young, it's not bad enough to make me stop riding... At least not quite yet. If Texas legalizes recreational pot, THAT may be the final straw...
Ride safe, watch your six and remember it's a meat-grinder out there, and WE are the sausage...  Leo (trying hard to grow eyes in the back of my gray-haired head) in Texas
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jan 4, 2018 22:37:22 GMT -5
You can't go wrong with a Harley! Have a bone on The Old Chopper Guy!
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jan 3, 2018 1:31:07 GMT -5
Gotta go with electrician... My amateur electrician adventures in my misspent youth taught me plenty about it's being wise to hire a guy (or gal) who actually knows what they are doing... ESPECIALLY with 220 or 440V stuff! |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jan 3, 2018 1:28:14 GMT -5
Happy New Year to one and all!!!
Here in Dallas, it's an UNUSUAL 17 degrees... I rode my Honda... CAR that is!
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Post by oldchopperguy on Dec 31, 2017 0:14:11 GMT -5
I like it!
Everything similar usually looks "Vespa"... That's fine, but the old-school Lambretta look is "something old" that becomes "something new"! I especially like the seat/luggage rack setup. Modern but traditional looking. Also, the bold "200" stripe graphic. Sort of a mix of Herbie the Love Bug, and European "Hooligan scoots" cosmetics.
This is a classic step-through "real scooter" which definitely appeals to me... I do like the idea of a 400cc version. It would be "the bomb" to have a traditional Italian-looking small scoot that could run with eighty-five-mph traffic. If they come up with THAT one, I might have to hock the family jewels and try one!
I hope these do come to America!
Leo (lovin' the old-school stuff) in Texas
_______________________________________________________
PS: I just looked Scomadi up on the Net, and they already are promoting a 300... Here's a bit from a write-up on them... Hmmm... the writer seems a tad hesitant about doing the century-mark on 10, no, make that 12" wheels... Cheesh! When I was 16, I often broke 100 on my street-licensed, Mac MC101-powered Go Kart Scrambler mini-bike on 5" wheels (11" tire O.D.)!!! Of course, at 16, we're all pretty much brain-dead... LOL!
Based in the UK, Scomadi scooters has plans to being offering up new-age Lambretta clones for scooter enthusiasts who care more about the look and feel of their ride and less about authenticity. Until now, they’ve been talking about 50cc and 125cc variants that are, presumably, based on the Honda/GY engine architecture- but they just released a new video (above) and specs (below) of a new, 300cc “flagship” scooter model packing 22 HP!
With that much power on tap, the Scomadi Lambretta 300 TL will be easily capable of holding its own on highway rides- and might just ever so slightly crack 100 MPH if you’re the type of person who’s crazy enough to try that sort of thing on 10″ tires.
Wait- what’s that? They’re 12″ tires?
Well, kids- it’s been nice knowing you. I’m going to go try to hit 100 MPH on glorified moped without dying … as soon as I’m able to, of course. Assuming everything goes to plan, Scomadi will be ready to ship their first batch of scooters next spring.
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Post by oldchopperguy on Dec 29, 2017 23:22:58 GMT -5
HOO-HA... Woo-HOO... HeHeHe...
You actually FOUND it! Have a brown-nosed bone on The Old Chopper Guy!
Not exactly in the ballpark with classics like "White Christmas"... LOL! But definitely has its place in history...
Funny story: It's told that "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was initially offered to Roy Rogers... He thought it was the WORST song he had ever heard and turned it down, saying "Give it to Gene Autry, he'll record anything..." or something like that. Gene did, and made MILLIONS from it.
In his later years, Roy said that decision was one of the worst financial mistake of his career... But, he STILL hated the song... LOL!
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Post by oldchopperguy on Dec 29, 2017 23:05:55 GMT -5
I love the idea of the pressure indicator valve caps, but... I bought a pair and found putting one on my REAR tire hits the disk-brake caliper... BUMMER! The ONLY gripe I have with my Kymco is the rear valve-stem placed on the driver's RIGHT (curb) side! It is SO close to the disk, caliper and exhaust that it's a MAJOR PIA to even check the pressure... To fill the tire, it requires an old-school hose with angled tip. Those are few and far between, so I got a screw-on right-angle extension made for bicycles. It works great, but is still a pain... If Kymco would have placed the stem on the LEFT side of the rim, it would be EASY to check and inflate... Oh well, if THAT is the only gripe I can find on a 10-year-old scoot, I'm probably too picky... LOL! I’d be tempted to just replace the valve stem and then angle the new one to where it was best positioned, BEFORE the next tire change, lol. Not sure if it’d be worth the trouble though...
Good idea, but there's no room for any other type of stem. It's a shorty straight stem, and the cap is only 3/4" from the disk, and closer yet to the caliper. There's just no place the wheel can be rotated to that exposes more than a "mouse-hole" to get a tire gauge or air-hose in... The brake, muffler, etc. is all in the way. Even the shortest right-angle stem won't clear the caliper, and wouldn't really help anyway. The stupid stem simply should have been placed on the OTHER side of the rim, where the wheel is wide-open and EASILY accessible...
This pic shows a little bit of how buried the stem is... It's hard to see, but it has a blue cap, showing just below the fishtail pipe. Anywhere you rotate the wheel it just disappears behind the caliper...  I found a right-angle filler at a bicycle shop that saves the day. It screws onto the stem, rotates freely and loses no air when screwing on or off. You must remove it to check the pressure, so I just make sure the tire is filled to a few pounds over, then bleed the air to the right pressure. It's a great little tool for vehicles with hard-to-access valve-stems. I thought I had a picture of the filler, but could not find it. You CAN get them on eBay, and they make it at least "possible" to access the stem... LOL! |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Dec 28, 2017 18:32:26 GMT -5
Yep. A couple of Reds with large white beards. And just who is Santa's favorite reindeer? Rudolf the RED nosed that's who! (Nothin' but a bunch of Commies if you ask me!  ) Where is Joe McCarthy when ya need 'um?
I'm old enough to remember Joe McCarthy... Liberals trash him, but he had the right idea. Just maybe a tad too aggressive, possibly attacking some who were NOT Commies... And, even THAT is debatable. Considering the multi-million $$$ wasted no-evidence witch-hunt for the Russian "collusion"  that never existed with the Trump campaign, the uranium debacle, the deleted e-mails and smashed cell phones... the needless murder and phony cover-up of those at Benghazi and the obscene Clinton Foundation shenanigans... America could REALLY use a "Joe McCarthy" as Attorney General RIGHT NOW! Yeah, Joe and John Birch were right... There really WAS a Commie behind every tree... It just took a half-century to bring out.DRAIN THE SWAMP!!!
And, whatever became of "Randolf the Brown-Nosed reigndeeer"? You know, the one who tended to follow a little too close to Rudolf when Santa screeched to a halt on the roof... There WAS actually a song about him, but I don't think Gene Autry sang it... LOL! |
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