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Post by oldchopperguy on Jul 18, 2017 14:28:04 GMT -5
HMMM...
In marvelous contrast, my "new" old '04 Accord UEX will easily top 160-mph (taching less than 5,500 rpm) and I must admit it's SWEET when necessary, to run with the bozos cruising at WAY over the century mark... She IS shod with new Michelin "W" rated meats and has monster ceramic brakes. It AMAZES me what Honda sold through performance stores back in the day! Let alone FINDING one with low miles and restored to factory-new condition! Care to inform the Kiddies How Your EX does some 30 mph faster than any other production EX? Taching Less than 5,500? Uhhhhhhhh she Ran Out of Snots Choppersquid.Not enough to Pull Top Gear. And being from your hood what section of road are you doing a easy 160mph? 114? 170? I-35? Roanoke Road, lol Or is this another Grapevine Lake Fish story of the HD Bobber doing 10's @ 135mph or so with Semi knobby Tires and OompaLoompa at the Helm? Or was that 8's on a Shovel or Pan 150ci ? Educate us.
OK, I won't indulge in this stuff anymore. This is my only reply to your "inquiry". For the record, the car is NOT an EX, or an EX L, but a UEX ('04). Ordered by a Ms. Jane Cassidy, Tennessee factory build, Japan engine, tranny, track suspension and ceramic brakes. From the dealer with straight-pipes and racing chip. On the track in THAT tune, capable of 175+ and was RACED successfully for one season. She considered the car "too nice" to trash on the track, and in '06 had mufflers installed, the chip changed back to a street Accord chip and the harness, roll-bar and other track equipment removed and the car became a "pet" grocery-getter for 11 years. Stock 3.0 accord is 247hp. The UEX (in Europe, SPYDER/Model U) motor puts out over 450hp with the track chip, mine now rates at 265hp. Honda does marvelous things through intelligent variable valve timing and tweaked fuel-injection. After all, 3 liters is ONLY 180 cid. My local Honda dealer helped me track down the history and was amazed, as he never has seen one outside the track. Only a hundred or so were made, to compete with Cadillac, BMW and other sedan-class racers and they were only made in '03 and '04. The '04 is identifiable with NO badging at all, and Honda's 200-mph rated alloy wheels. (Those, and the W-rated Michelins run smoother and more true than ANY wheel/tire setup I've driven.) The 160 figure (yes, the certified 165mph speedo IS quite accurate) as well as the tack-reading came about on a trip to Houston in the middle of nowhere. The light traffic running over 125 which is COMMON. After passing into open road, I opened it up to 160 and YES the tach (also performance accurate) at 5,500 rpm. There was still noticeable travel left in the accelerator. I'll never take it that fast again. Just wanted to see what she would do since to my surprise, I've had no trouble humiliating local tuner kids in their proven rides. That is the history of the car, that is what it will do, and I might add gives average of 28mpg in mixed driving. I got VERY blessed in finding a very rare car, restored to factory-new condition, at a very low price. Local boys know what it is, and led me to find out more. When I bought it, I had no idea it was anything other than a mint Accord. Its phenomenal pickup and speed led me to find out its true history.
Do I care if you believe it? Absolutely not. I'm not bragging or spinning a yarn. Just interesting facts I think members might enjoy. If God told you the sky is blue, you'd no doubt argue it must be green... I don't understand this confrontational attitude. When someone posts something they have done, pertinent to a thread and want to share it, it's done in good faith. I don't lie. I don't exaggerate. I don't BS . At 70 years old, I outgrew that sophomoric crap 50 years ago.
Regards, Leo |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jul 16, 2017 22:26:39 GMT -5
Oh, their just waiting for Tesla motors to come out with a self-driving long range electric Motorcycle that can download all their favorite apps and iTunes...Lol!  Have a bone on the Old Chopper Guy! I don't even pretend to understand the modern generation. I guess my demographic migrated toward things on wheels that made a lot of noise because we didn't have electronic toys... OOHHH... The cackle of a flathead Ford with a cam (be STILL my beating heart) the thunder of a Hog with straight-pipes... The scream of a 2-stroke kart motor at 20K rpm... The crack of a short-barreled .44 magnum pulled from yer' pants... And yes, even the mundane pop of a one-lung scoot as it goes faster and faster at the same rpm with its magic CVT tranny...
Now electronic stuff can DEFINITELY be cool... (WHAT is cooler than a DRONE?). No argument there. But c'mon guys... Sweeping into the parking lot and sauntering off of a sweet 2 (or 3-wheel) ride STILL offers thrills a screen full of mega-pixels just cannot. When ya' haul yer' ride over and feel metal scrape tarmac, it just makes a guy or gal feel "alive" and "in-contact with the road..." No pun intended... HeHeHe... When I do that on Minnie, I tell her I'm just tickling her tummy to let her know I lover her...  I still get more kick out of looking at Minnie Mouse's fishtail exhaust and light-up goose on her nose than searching a smart phone for some number I don't recall... Just me...Oh well, we ALL have SOMETHING that "blow our dress up"... LOL! Just make mine something that burns gasoline instead of kilowatts...Leo (well aware that "if it uses gas or lipstick, it WILL eventually give you trouble"...) in Texas |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jul 16, 2017 21:44:16 GMT -5
HMMM...
Neat article! While the author did mention the scooter can be a doorway INTO motorcycles, I must add (for aging old geezers like me) it's also a gateway FROM motorcycles when health and budget keep a rider from owning or riding the big bikes.
I too am major Kymco fan. The new models are sweet, although I miss that swell "My Road 700". Oh well, if they don't sell, ya gotta offer different models that will. Just business!In states where freeway speed-limits are "somewhat" obeyed, even my old Grandvista 250 would be "the perfect all-purpose budget ride". Old "Minnie Mouse" will perk right along at 70-mph all day long, up and downhill and into modest headwinds... BUT... Alas, around here, if you can't cruise  -mph or better in a 55 zone, and  + in a 70 zone, you WILL end up "road-kill".So, I just follow the old Clint Eastwood mantra: "A man's gotta know his limitations..."  The old Mouse EASILY runs 65-70 with traffic on local 45 limit surface streets. I'm not sure a new 300 will do too much better... And during low-traffic-count periods during the day on freeways, I can often run 70 while hiding in the slow lane. When the soccer-moms come out at rush-hour, I take to the 45-mph limit access-roads and side streets where 70 is (usually) enough to keep up. In marvelous contrast, my "new" old '04 Accord UEX will easily top 160-mph (taching less than 5,500 rpm) and I must admit it's SWEET when necessary, to run with the bozos cruising at WAY over the century mark... She IS shod with new Michelin "W" rated meats and has monster ceramic brakes. It AMAZES me what Honda sold through performance stores back in the day! Let alone FINDING one with low miles and restored to factory-new condition!Golly-dang! I LOVE that car!!! And she only cost the price of a new 600cc scoot... Oh well, cars are cars, motorcycles are motorcycles and scooters are... well... scooters. But they are such FUN transportation! Fast enough for % of our transportation needs, cheap to buy, cheap to insure and easy on gas. THAT is enough for most transportation needs... So, ride safe! And EMBRACE the SCOOTER! I certainly do... Leo in Texas
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jul 14, 2017 23:46:28 GMT -5
wheelbender6,
I saw that article too. VERY interesting... My grandkids are part of this new generation... 20-something, making good money doing things I don't even recognize... noses buried in their smart-phone screens, thumbs in constant motion, even texting each other while sitting NEXT to each other... Texting each other in the same car, etc.
EVERYTHING in their world is buried in their phone; job, marriage, kids, school, hobby, social world etc. is a 24/7 "thumbs-in-motion" never let your eyes leave that smart-phone screen event. Sadly, I have little influence in encouraging them NOT to do that while driving... And, YES, I've seen brain-dead riders doing it on motorcycles and scooters too... Hands off the bars, nose on the screen, thumbs frantically organizing their world as they blithely fly through red-lights and construction zones. This generation seems to be ONLY interested in whatever they can accomplish with their thumbs... Anything with a motor and wheels is strictly a way to go from point-A to point-B. All they seem to care about is "does it leave a carbon footprint?" The REALLY young crowd still goes for bikes, but not big Harley cruisers. CROTCH ROCKETS rule! And they seem to have a Kamikaze death-wish to see just how soon they can fly off the freeway overpass at 200 or so... Texting will speed up that process.Those of us who still get a "warm fuzzy" over anything remotely "cool" on two wheels whether scooter, big bike, balloon-tire Schwinn, etc. are a vanishing breed. There will always be SOME market for Harleys for those with $40K to spend (and likely a market for Indians for those willing to switch loyalties at a bargain price) but in the foreseeable future, the BIG market is for the latest whiz-bang smart-phone and its "apps". Lock the house, cook dinner, do the laundry, start the car, buy a business, find a service, find a restaurant... and more and more and more... See inside the fridge while at the food store instead of making a list... Text and "sext" a "friend with benefits"... Oh, and of course, THE most critical function: WHO is bringing the condoms and rolling-papers to tonight's party...
 Cheesh!I recently snagged a FREE smart-phone, and haven't even figured out how to use it... And am in NO hurry to learn. I'll stick with bikes and cars for some knuckles-in-the-wind fun. But I am a nearly extinct species... LOL! Ride safe, and enjoy being one of us vanishing dinosaurs who still gets a big grin on his/her pie-hole when we see a slick little scooter go by, or hear that ear-splitting screech of burning rubber and the staccato-burst of flaming exhaust from a hopped-up Hog's straight-pipes! Leo (still grinning some while ridin' the old Mouse) in Texas
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jul 12, 2017 0:17:47 GMT -5
OK, for macho, I've gotta go with old Carl... But I hate his politics. On the other hand, I've always been a Groucho fan... Don't know his politics, probably the same as Carl's... Hollywood is mighty socialist. Anyway, Carl makes me cringe, Groucho makes me laugh. But cringe is more macho than laugh... or something...
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jul 12, 2017 0:13:03 GMT -5
VERY nice!
I've always "liked" the Kymco Like... No pun intended...
I rode one many years back, and it had STRONG performance for a 150: of course, THAT was a LIKE "200" which was if I recall, a 163 cc 2-valve, single-cam, carbureted old-school motor like the 250 in my Grandvista (only air-cooled).
This new one should have excellent performance for its 149cc displacement. And, it's SO "Lambretta" in appearance. Should be a great choice for those who crave an old-school Italianesque scoot with modern spec's.
Love those Kymco scoots!
Leo in Texas
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jul 4, 2017 20:01:02 GMT -5
My FAVORITE TV show!
Tough choice: Neither Mike or Frank come off as particularly "macho" but in actually, they both really are. Pretty macho to make your living like they do, and because Mike seems to be the guiding force behind bringing their business to a regular TV series, he gets my vote. Besides, WHO can eat as many oysters, causing Frank to lose a bet that cost him his beard... LOL?
Frank is definitely a tough little bird, and pretty macho in his own right. Mike is definitely more athletic, and energetic in his "search for rusty gold". I really admire BOTH these guys, but feel Mike has the edge in "macho".
I've gotta agree with Wheelbender6 though, since Danielle is former roller-derby, wears her considerable tattoo gallery SO well (especially those you don't get to see on the show... LOL!) and could likely beat the crap out of most guys her size (or bigger...) she probably "out-machos" the guys. And she rides a vintage VESPA too! Of course, MIKE gave it to her, so that garners some points for him...
Leo (not feeling all that macho after riding with a tribe of young Hog-jockeys last night) in Texas. Yeah, nothing like riding in the midst of 30-something guys with arms bigger than my legs, on thousand-pound bikes that cackle and spit fire, shake windows with 200-cid mills with kick-start-only to remind one that he's 30-years past his prime, and definitely an old geezer aboard a milk-toast twist-n-go SCOOTER, not a serious MOTORCYCLE... (sigh) Well, ya' does the bes' ya' can... Oh well, at least Old "Minnie Mouse" kept up with the gang at 70 down the road. They were shocked!
PS: WHAT ever happened to the Harley 45 BOBBER Mike was gonna build for Danielle? And, WHAT has become of Mike's association with the new INDIAN? I expected to see Indian as a major sponsor of American Pickers and see Mike and Frank riding new Indans to Sturgis instead of old Harleys and that not-so-hot last-generation "Indian wannabe"... Enquiring minds wanna know... LOL!
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jul 1, 2017 21:52:13 GMT -5
I played around with the same issues and bottom line is the 250 will usually cost less than trying to upgrade the 150 to sometimes hit 70. A water cooled 250 in reasonable working condition will give you a more solid 70 MPH and most often at a higher MPG than a 150 can. The MPG sweet spot on a 150 is at about 35 MPH while on a 250 that MPG sweet spot can be as high as 65 MPH so even if most of your riding is at 50 MPH the 250 will often be much more economical to run than the 150 plus the 250 will usually be more reliable. If your 150 has small tires or a drum brake in the rear that would be another strike against it.
Chalk one up for rockynv!I most always agree with his advice, and this is no exception... Well said, and I completely forgot the gas mileage! Shame on me!My old Kymco 250 "Minnie Mouse" gives a SOLID -mpg with my driving being about 75% city, and 25% highway! Much, MUCH better than my old Chinese 150 gave. You can see the resemblance between this old flat-floor 250 and the typical Chinese 150... An easy transition, but 50% more performance! And those itty-bitty 12" wheels run smooth and true with good "P-rated" tires... The brakes ARE decent hydraulic disks, good for -mph+... Sweet little ride!
 The difference between my old 150 which was highly tweaked, and my "new" old water-cooled 250 is like going from a Yugo to maybe, a Honda Civic. A world of difference! And remember, she's a very outdated single-cam, 2-valve, carbureted oldie... A newer model with more modern engine would be better yet, but the difference is not quite as much as one might hope for. The old-fashioned 250's still perform marvelously, and are easy on maintenance! And, when you find them, they are usually pretty inexpensive! Ride safe! Leo |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jul 1, 2017 15:40:49 GMT -5
AUS,
All good advice above. And, welcome to the site! Have a bone on the old chopper guy for using your head in striving for a better alternative!
I'm 70 years old, and have ridden all types of bikes for over 50 years. 8 years back I went to scooters because of arthritis keeping me from climbing onto big bikes, and I needed a FLAT floor. I love the scooters but the smaller displacement ones do have limitations with power.
I also began with a 150. I got it absolutely as strong-running as a 150 is likely to get, with a top-speed of about 64-mph. HOWEVER, that was on a flat road with no hills or wind. Add typical hills and a little wind, and absolute maximum cruise speed drops to a little over 50, maybe 53-mph at best (I weigh 230 pounds).
After 7 years of not being able to keep up with traffic, I finally traded the Chinese 150 on a same year (2007) Kymco Grandvista 250.
This is an older style, single-cam, 2-valve, carbureted 250 with 19.5 hp, and the scoot weighs 260 pounds. It has had the final drive upped one-tooth which probably added around 3-5-mph to the top speed, but still pretty much stock in performance.
With my 230 pounds aboard, it has very good acceleration, and on a FLAT road with NO wind will hit right at 80. HOWEVER, once again, the REALISTIC maximum top cruise speed is just UNDER 70-mph: about 67-68...
These are "real world" performance figures you can trust. A typical Chinese 250 will be a little slower, and an Italian model will be faster. A Japanese make should be about the same.
I'm quite convinced that a 250 will be absolutely the MINIMUM displacement scooter you will find adequate. A modded 150 won't do the job. Scooters LARGER than the 250/300 cc class get pricey, and, may be too bulky and cumbersome for your likes. After experiencing your exact same needs, I highly recommend you check out clean, used 250's from Japan, Italy and Taiwan. If they've had decent maintenance, they should be good for way more than 50K miles so some high-mileage isn't a deterrent... It just lowers the price... LOL! Mine had 17K miles on the clock and is drop-dead reliable, not using a drop of oil or coolant.
I'm VERY much in favor of KYMCO and SYM rides, and many other members are equally gung-ho for bikes from Italy and Japan. I am a little shy of the Chinese makes although they are getting much better, but I don't think they yet offer the longevity and performance of the major makes from Europe and Taiwan.
Please DO test-ride every type possible, as they vary a lot. Some 250/300 class rides are compact and nimble (like my old Grandvista) and similar to a Chinese 150 in size and handling. Others may be quite long and heavy for highway cruising. So do try them all to find the right one.
Finally, if you need to CRUISE at 70 or faster, even a 250/300 will not likely cut it (except for some Italian makes which are wicked-fast).
My guess is that you can find a GREAT ride for well under $2,500 used, maybe even NEW if you really search. Lately, I've seen some great old 250's for $1,000 to $2,000. They get cheaper every model year.
Hope this may help!
Ride safe!
Leo in Texas
PS: There ARE some new 200cc class scoots that seem to equal the older 250's performance, but they are quite expensive. I'd still opt for a good used 250 or 300. More scoot for the buck!
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jun 30, 2017 22:52:56 GMT -5
VERY cool!
Brings back memories. WAY back somewhere back in the early fifties, the original Wienermobile visited a local food store. THAT vehicle was actually built on a PACKARD chassis, and still had the Packard name on the nose, where the new one says "WIENERMOBILE"! Do you remember "Lil' Oscar"?I couldn't have been older than about 5... If my memory serves me, Arnold Stang or at least his sawed-off twerpy look-alike may have played the obnoxious little mascot. ("Lil' Oscar" was an animated cartoon on TV commercials). Anyway, the little twerp must have been having a bad hair day as he passed out wiener whistles, as he started chewing out us kids and throwing the things at us. He lived up to his namesake, being a REAL "wiener"... LOL!   I swore off Oscar Meyer hot dogs for a year, switching to their BALONEY and liver sausage... REALLY!
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jun 30, 2017 22:39:17 GMT -5
Gotta second Leo--Hotlips def' was the machoiest member of that MASH unit!  Doggone if it hasn't been perfect riding weather lately and I've been too busy to do more than a trip to Wally World for meds for the Missus... Cheesh! Old "Minnie Mouse" thinks I've left her for the Accord... Next time out, I'll have to treat her to a tank of premium... Heck, I always give her premium. Might have to pour a shot or two of Jack Daniel's in her tank... LOL! I'm not exactly "Humongous" from "Mad Max" but maybe a slug of Jack Black might make her the "Mad Mouse"... Naah... probably not. Would just rot her 10-year-old fuel-lines. Guess I'll have a shot for her! |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jun 30, 2017 1:04:47 GMT -5
I'd call this one a tie... So I'll vote for Radar's Teddy-bear...
Anybody notice that radar spelled backwards is still radar?
Now for real "M.A.S.H." macho, I'll vote for "Hotlips"... LOL!
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jun 30, 2017 1:00:08 GMT -5
All I can say is "HOT DOG"! LOL! As an old ad man, I can say THIS is great marketing! Should appeal to lots of different folks... They still need a Wiener Dog-Sled pulled by "wiener dogs"... |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jun 24, 2017 19:54:20 GMT -5
I just read in my Reader's Digest about some different summer camps. There's an etiquette camp, a medieval camp, a carny camp (for learning fire spitting and sword swallowing and stuff)...and an explosions camp in MO. Costs I think $1200 for a week of detonations, explosions, and destruction. Besides that parents MUST complete the paperwork, a teacher's recommendation letter is also required to ensure the kid isn't a nut job.
Heck, being a nut-job is part of the job description for kids using explosives... LOL!Back around 1954 or so, I was eight or nine, and travelled from Chicago to visit my childhood pal who lived on a farm. First day, "George" the farm "hired-hand" told us to take the farm truck to town and get some DYNAMITE and come back and blow up groundhog dens.
I've posted this before, but it's SO chuckle-appropriate here...So, my 8-year-old pal and I took the old Chevy pickup to town, to the local Western Auto Store (where EVERYTHING "farmy-dangerous" was sold). We bought a case of Hercules Dynamite and headed home after the store clerk chided us "...be careful with that stuff kids, it CAN be dangerous: Don't ya'll be usin' it fer' firecrackers".We spent the afternoon happily blowing up groundhog runs, using up the remaining dynamite "recreationally"... Looking back, I really DO feel sorry for the groundhogs. Now for those who never were it in the military, or didn't grow up on a 1940's farm, there IS a MONUMENTAL difference between low-velocity explosives like black-powder and fireworks and high-velocity stuff, like dynamite, C4, Composition B, nitroglycerin and such... Oh, yeah! The high-speed stuff will kill ya without needing any shrapnel... It just uses its steel-vaporizing blast-velocity to turn anything nearby (including you and your cat) into invisible vapor... EEEWWWW!
Well, in all honesty, "George" warned us of that factoid, and we listened... Golly gee, if we'd have had an explosives camp to attend, no telling WHAT we might have accomplished... I would check out that camp though... It's not the nut-job kids I'd worry about, but rather that the camp sounding like a boot-camp for ISIS recruiting... 
Boy, growing up mid-century was sure a hoot!!!  Keep yer' powder dry!Leo in Texas |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jun 23, 2017 19:35:29 GMT -5
Gotta go with the CANNON...
In all honesty, ANCHORS really ARE mighty macho, considering the work they do with huge ships, but the CANNONS get all the attention. Unlike anchors, which are pretty much unsung heroes, cannons let everybody and their cat know THEY are doing THEIR job... LOL!
Explosions are just more fun than splashes...
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-mph or better in a 55 zone, and 
+ in a 70 zone, you WILL end up "road-kill".
