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Post by oldchopperguy on Sept 14, 2017 23:08:25 GMT -5
"They represent the America that no longer exists... Willing to entertain, willing to serve others and willing to fight when necessary for their country." I'm a bit more optimistic, Leo. I think people with that kind of character (and flaws) still walk amongst us. They look very different now. Many of them may be covered with tattoos, piercings and wearing their pants way too low, but I believe they still exist. -The media has a lot of influence on the way you feel about America, Leo. Our modern media (print, TV, radio and internet) spends too much time publicizing deadbeats and too little time recognizing people that are tolerant and have many of the great traits possessed by our WWII generation.
Wheelbender6,
Of course you're right... The good guys and gals, and patriots still DO exist, just a lot fewer per-capita I think... As for the strange looks of some, well, THAT is not new... LOL! Lots of weird-looking good guys all the way back to 1776!  The media is completely broken. Their agenda is beyond comprehension by normal Americans... Sad part is, if they got THEIR way, and THEIR government, THEY would be the FIRST group to suffer under the Socialist/Communist "Camelot" they fanaticize about. Nothing wrong with most of them that a stint in military boot-camp wouldn't cure... LOL!  Things are what they are... And America is still the best country on the planet. Each of us has to decide what role we play. At least for now, we're all free to do so.
Enjoy riding through the USA, and ride safe! |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Sept 14, 2017 22:49:18 GMT -5
Speaking of choppers, do you remember the "King Chopper" model kit by Tom Daniels? (with the vulture perched on the back) 
Good grief! I was a plastic model fanatic back then, yet I never saw one of these. I did build a large-scale Triumph Bonneville bobber (a Revel kit, if I recall). I used to go all-out on models, forming headers from soldered brass-tubing, adding all engine wiring, fuel lines, etc. But I never saw THAT trike kit!  It looks a LOT like the gas-powered (.049 motor) chopper trike from Cox. Heck, if I'd have seen one of these, I'd have bought the kit just for the plastic motor! I'd have scratch-built a tube-frame and springer-fork to fab up a swell bobber!Thanks for posting... Great memories from those days. |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Sept 14, 2017 22:41:57 GMT -5
I don't miss that Mid day August heat in Texas, I do miss the "Best Maid Pickles" from Fort Worth.
I'm a dyed-in-the-wool "pickle lover" myself... Those pickles are swell, but putting on my dusty creative director hat, that "Best Maid" little girl cartoon face on the products is major-league CREEPY... LOL! Sorta like the "Bride of Chucky"...  I must admit the cool, air-conditioned dealership showroom had a lot more attraction for me after the ride than the outdoor games... Gettin' old... |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Sept 13, 2017 23:41:20 GMT -5
Check your cooling system and fan! The cooling system is in top shape... I change out the anti-freeze every other season, and the fan is good. This is an OLD scoot... very small radiator. The shop manual specifies shutting down the motor when the temp "gauge" (LCD bar-graph) gets past the second highest bar. It's just standard operating procedure on the old Grandvista and Bet-n'-Win 250's. I seldom need to do that, but when outside air is over 115, after idling more than 5 minutes the gauge does start to creep up to that 2nd highest bar. If it stays there more than a minute, or goes to the hottest bar, I just shut down. Restarting is instantaneous, and it's really no inconvenience. Once moving at any speed, it cools right down. I'm sure newer Kymco scoots have bigger cooling systems, but this oldie was Kymco's first "touring" scoot. It was not exactly state-of-the-art... LOL! Since the shop manual recommends shut-down at extreme indicated temps, I just follow the instructions. The entire ride, the gauge stayed in the middle. It only gets hot after considerable idling in the sun.I'm probably a little over-cautious, but she's an old lady... I treat her gently... In seven years, she's never used a drop of coolant or oil... That's good enough for me. Leo (getting "well-done" in the Texas sun) in Texas |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Sept 13, 2017 14:29:28 GMT -5
Leo, you went riding in 118 degree heat? (Hope you had on one of those ice-pack vests!)  Woo-HOO! Yeah, it was plenty hot... over 120 in the sun! No ice vest... I sunburned the tops of my hands REALLY bad... I guess I've been in Texas long enough to get (sorta) used to 100+ Even water-cooled scoots like "Minnie Mouse" need to be shut down while waiting for a train to cross, or at a long red-light/traffic jam, etc. Fortunately she fires right up at the touch of the starter-button. And, has a working temp gauge! At my age, I am having to slow down some. Don't need a heat-stroke. I was happy to see no air-cooled scoots having any trouble... Amazing rides these scooters! Ride safe, stay cool! Leo |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Sept 13, 2017 9:32:53 GMT -5
Can't pick one of these guys! A dead-tie... Both were the real-deal on and off the screen.They represent the America that no longer exists... Willing to entertain, willing to serve others and willing to fight when necessary for their country. We still have men and women like that in our fine military, but we could surely use more of them in office, in voting booths, and every place in this land. Hey, we DID find some at the voting places THIS year! Almost forgot... WAY too much "condoms and rolling-papers" mentality and WAY too little "AMERICA first" nationalism.Both Gary and Clark would turn over in their graves to see where the USA they fought for has fallen to. Watching both these guys old movies should be required viewing for American youth... Along with some John Wayne flicks... Yup! My 2-cents... Leo in Texas
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Post by oldchopperguy on Sept 13, 2017 9:19:13 GMT -5
Is that really a bullet-nosed sidecar in the "after the ride" pic? I've wanted to do a group ride, but the ones I've found all started from KC proper. Too far for this wet-ears to go. >'Kat At my age, I'm finding I don't have the stamina to do a LOT of things I'd like to. (cheesh, I even missed the slow-drag race and rider tire-toss while recuperating in the air-conditioned showroom...) You have the stamina, but if attending a group ride is too far, it "is what it is"... LOL! If a the ride is a dealer "event" like mine was, with festivities, it's worth attending in the family car just for the fellowship (and of course, the food and fun)!
My last group ride with buddies must have been back about 1968... on "Old Blue" surrounded by a hundred or so saddle pals. Nothing sounds quite like a herd of classic choppers, high-compression, hot cams, straight-pipes... popping and cackling, grinding down through the gears as the tribe of steel ponies grumbles into a freeway oasis to gas up... every 20 miles to top off their peanut tanks... LOL!
Those are fabulous half-century-old memories I'll never forget, but while SO different, this short ride from Moxie Scooters is just as memorable. All attending riders were pretty much "born to be mild"... LOL! And such nice folks. I guess I was the oldest rider, with that teen on the funky Stella the youngest. The second most "senior" was a lady on a brand-new Kymco 500 from Moxie... She was GAME! Too short to touch ground with both feet... more than a little wobbly, and pretty much intimidated by more than half-throttle... But by the end of the ride, she was doing fine. A gentle ride tailored to ensure the youngsters, soccer-moms and new-riders on less-than-frisky 150's could keep up... I sunburned the tops of my wrists something awful! Then, after a completely safe ride, walked into the house, tripped over a pair of boots and tore my left rotator-cuff and split a bone in my left arm... Duh! Today is the first day I've been able to wrestle "Minnie Mouse" off her center-stand.
I must admit, even in my prime, I'd have been uncomfortable on a bike I couldn't plant both feet down on... I'm betting that stalwart granny visits that upholstery shop next to Moxie and has the stuffing "exorcized" from that 500, to plant her geriatric butt on the frame and get an extra 4" closer to the tarmac! A REALLY swell scoot though! Fifty years after my chopper days, a ride with friends is a much more sedate experience... No flying club colors... No "dragging for beers"... No seeing whose pipes could actually break windows... No youthful macho... But the scooter crowd is a mighty fine bunch to run with. Choppers, crotch-rockets, baggers, scooters... They're ALL fine rides... As we say in Texas "Ya dance with the one what brung ya". It's all good knuckles in the wind fun... And, the older I get, the "gooder" scooters seem to me. Getting old I guess.Ride safe!Leo in Texas |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Sept 11, 2017 11:45:10 GMT -5
That's awesome, Leo. Dick Van Dyke was one of my favorite shoes as a kid. But I don't remember the episode about the 50cc HD. -Surprisingly, my kids enjoyed watching Diagnosis Murder, starring Dick Van Dyke many years later. Me too... I've always been a fan of Mary Tyler Moore (Laura Petrie) too... Here's a TV trivia factoid that digs WAY back... Mary's first role on TV was playing the receptionist/secretary on "Richard Diamond, Private Detective" in 1957. You never saw her face, only her legs while she was on the phone. The rumor is that it was a low-budget show, and if her face was shown, she had to be paid "union scale"... Guess her legs were enough... They were enough for ME at 11 years old... Yup.  I found these ancient pix of "Rob Petrie" from that episode, but no pix of the little bike. I included one: the mighty Harley M50 which the show called a "Geronimo"...  Old-time TV was a hoot! |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Sept 11, 2017 8:45:51 GMT -5
Looks like an old timie stuab stuck on a Stella,,,but there's so many knock offs it may not be one,,,but gad zooms there's a Morpheus in the row too!!!! Geez what a tank those things are/were
That was indeed a vintage Stella, 2-stroke, clutch n' gears. The fellow said the sidecar was on it when he bought it used, many years back. It's not a Staub, but one made in India. Probably came with the scooter as it's painted to match, and the paint looks aged and original. Neat little ride though... "ring-a-ding-ding". I made friends with the rider of the only other Stella there. A 19-year-old who got a kick outta the old geezer's 1960' chopper stories. It was actually a "modern" 4-stroke with CVT tranny, but absolutely looked like a WWII survivor... LOL! Rust, peeling paint, dents, covered with European travel stickers and petrol decals with some checkerboard duct-tape thrown in. Said he bought it years ago from a guy who bought it well-used in Europe, rode the wheels off it, and brought it back. Talk about a "rat-bike"... It was SO shabby that it was actually "Euro-cool"... But it ran like a champ!There were actually TWO Morphous (Morphouses?) in the ride. One with the lady ride-leader and another full-custom bathtub on wheels that looked like the "mother of Darth Vader's helmet"... Very well-done though, in "ghost-skulls" over metal-flake candy purple no less. H-U-G-E... Those scoots always remind me of a 1950's Nash... Cool in their own way, but you have to develop a taste for them.
This group ride was fun in some ways I never expected. Mainly talking with other riders as to why they chose scooters. Motorcycle jockeys tend to ride because the "like motorcycles"... Duh.. no-brainer there. But, scooteristas seem to have a never-ending "plethora" of reasons... Seriously... from gas-mileage to "green footprint" which scooters definitely do NOT have... LOLOLOL! To affordability, no gears, nimble handling... "no bad-boy biker" image... EEWWW... THAT one hurts this old Hog guy... LOL!
Ask 10 scooter jockeys why they ride scoots, and you'll likely get at least 7 different answers! Also, you'll find on scooters, ALL ages from 16 to  , and both men, women, boys and girls. The old 60's Honda ads said "You meet the nicest people on a HONDA". I think we can pirate that sentiment and say "You meet the nicest people on a SCOOTER!"
Oh well... ride safe, and ride with friends when you can!Leo in Texas |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Sept 10, 2017 20:44:18 GMT -5
Back on August 19th, my B&M dealer, Moxie Scooters sponsored a group fun-ride. It's been at least 40 years since I rode "in a pack"... LOL! Still lots of fun and comradery...        Above, John Raimondi (store owner) shows the Genuine Buddy line to a lady who dropped in to see what was going on. I do believe a LOT of scoots found homes that day!
Moxie did a great job of making it a full Saturday of fun, food, music and riding... Including the BEST hotdogs I ever consumed... We had a great variety of scoots including a really retro Stella, a few large-displacement Kymco and Yamaha rides, and one full-custom ruckus with a hot-rodded 150 with the loudest straight-pipe I've heard on such a small motor... LOL! There was a good number of riders, and a LARGE group of folks visiting because of the festive activities and LOUD music you couldn't ignore even in a car on the street with windows up and AC on... After-ride activities included rider tire-toss, "slow race" and other field events. Sorry, no pix, as my 70 years really were dragging me down and I spent that time inside the showroom cooling off and inhaling hotdogs...
If you ever find yourself in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, it's worth a trip to visit Moxie... John is one of the nicest folks to work with you'll ever meet and has a fabulous lineup of scoots from Kymco, SYM, Stella and Buddy. It's so nice to meet a dealer who is as much about being helpful as he is in selling product!
Just a good, wholesome gathering of riders and customers of all ages. If you get a chance to join one of these fun-rides, I encourage you to do so. You'll meet some nice "saddle pals" and have a great time! Ride safe,Leo in Texas
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Post by oldchopperguy on Sept 10, 2017 20:16:53 GMT -5
THAT is SO bad, it's GOOD! Have a bone!
Reminds me of the old Dick Van Dyke show... The episode where his character Rob Petrie wanted to be a "biker" and bought a Harley Davidson 50cc moped... I think the term "born to be mild" may have come from that show... It was a hoot!
Every so often a newcomer will ask "how can I make my scooter sound like a Harley?" Ah... Put a Hog motor in it... LOL!
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Post by oldchopperguy on Sept 10, 2017 0:29:00 GMT -5
Of course- how dumb of me. It's a 2016 Taotao Quantum Force. 150cc 4 stroke
At least in the past, most GY6 150 engines were VERY similar, though not identical.Usually, a generic header will fit, and be useable. On my own Xingyue 150 when the original exhaust rusted out, and I removed it, I found the header inside-diameter was nearly 1/4 inch SMALLER than the exhaust port, and, had cobbled-up welds further reducing its size. This seems to be the "norm" and is not good for performance, restricting the flow into the header right at the port, where it is definitely NOT needed.
When replacing your header, I would absolutely recommend spending some extra on a performance header with a full inside-diameter for free-flow.I actually made one for my Xingyue from a header from a generator, but it's not worth the effort since factory-made ones are available. They are a tad "pricey" but not outrageous. They ARE definitely worth the cost. Back when I made my header, upgrade full-size headers were not easily found. Nowadays, they are available and are a better way to go than making one yourself...I believe Pistonguy has one on his scoot, with a matching quality muffler. These header/muffler setups are not quite "plug-n'-play" and do usually require some minor creativity on your part to solidly mount them, but that is not difficult using stuff you can find at the home-improvement store. I've had good results using aluminum bar-stock and modifying the muffler clamps from the original muff. I found the larger header (probably more than the muffler) made a major difference in general performance... Not necessarily more power, but much easier tuning, a smoother rpm transition, broader "sweet-spot" in engine rpm, cooler engine temp, etc. The restriction of the undersized factory headers is a hindrance to good performance, and a full-inside-diameter header is a very good idea. Also, they are usually found made from stainless-steel which is good for long-life... Not to mention they look great too... LOL! If budget forces you to use a factory-style header, do at least "chamfer" or bevel the inside of the pipe where it mounts to the head, to ease the exhaust flow from the head to the header. Even that little mod will make for better running.
Here is a pic of a stock header, and the one I made up to show the difference in size...  Hope this may help.Ride safe! Leo in Texas |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Sept 4, 2017 22:40:43 GMT -5
My daughter and her family live in Houston and miraculously had their homes and vehicles escape the flood. I think I want a scooter that can swim!
It will be a while before Houston and all the cities which took the direct hit from Harvey will be even close to normal again... Lots of prayer needed here!
Ride safe, stay dry!
Leo in Texas
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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 30, 2017 23:20:46 GMT -5
I have a valley/hill to go thru to get to town so I make a run for it....7,200-7,400 everyday. Be very Picky with your Valve Lash..... My current CVT tune, I GPS'd her at 64.8 mph@7,400rpm, and yes she is Bone Stock internals. There is a whole bunch of speed to be had in a properly tuned CVT. One need to know ere to look.. Check that Belt Climb on the Vari. there is much to gain and lose there.. Good luck
Here's one WE can TOTALLY agree on! Have a bone...On my old Xingyue 150 I had your same results. Getting the CVT just right made more difference than anything else. These GY6 engines do put out around 1hp per cubic inch, which is decent. Tweaking the CVT tranny allows you to get the most from that approx. 10hp... Each scoot is different, but tweaking the CVT is probably more rewarding than most other "mods"... especially the roller-weights. I traded "Lil' Bubba" on my "new" old Kymco before having a chance to try sliders, but from posts I've seen, they may be better than rollers for all-round performance by allowing the belt to more fully use the entire variator. The CVT tranny may not be the absolute best setup ever devised, but it's simple, easy to work on and still works extremely well, especially when you take time to get it all "optimal"... Ride safe,Leo in Texas |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 26, 2017 21:51:28 GMT -5
Kevinharrell,
GREAT call! The Montblanc pen story is PRICELESS. Have a bone on The Old Chopper Guy!The way I heard it on a documentary of the WWII Nazi story was as follows... Hitler wanted the finest pens in the world to have his enemies sign surrender and occupation papers (and to sign other major "Third Reich" stuff...). So... he had a Jewish writing-instrument master design such a pen. "Montblanc" which I believe means "White Mountain" is trademarked with the little white "snow-cap" on the pen cap.
It also happens to be a Jewish "Star of David".Thus, Hitler and his henchmen would, unknown to them, always have the Star of David among their other goodies... Good "karma" for the Jews, bad for the Nazis._______________________________________________ Well, I looked up the history of the snow-cap, and it seems that originally, it actually was simply a "snow-cap" logo, used as early as 1914... WAY before Hitler... Back in the Kaiser's day.
Even so, I'm betting a good old Jew designed the logo to incorporate the star anyway. It just predated the Nazi Party... Sort of "God giving them a reality-check in advance"...  Is it a snow-capped mountain-top, OR is it a Star of David? Hey... It's BOTH!!! And, I'm betting Kevinharrell is right... Some creative artist got in a dig at the Nazis with the falling "Swastika-guy"... Good for him/her!
Ride safe, and watch our for falling Nazis...Leo in Texas
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, and both men, women, boys and girls. The old 60's Honda ads said "You meet the nicest people on a HONDA". I think we can pirate that sentiment and say "You meet the nicest people on a SCOOTER!"
