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Post by oldchopperguy on May 10, 2016 22:48:17 GMT -5
Kat,
We made some truly ridiculous costumes back in my advertising days... For a wagging tail, we usually just made a semi-stiff tail using a piece of car radiator hose for a core, and ran a string from the end, through the costume up to the head, or shoulders, arm, etc. and slight movement of the body part would produce a credible wagging of the tail.
The COOLEST costume tail-action HAS to be the "Cowardly Lion" in "The Wizard of OZ". That was SO long ago that the technology was most likely very simple. Maybe you could research it. The costume recently sold for over a million bucks at auction!
Good luck!
Leo in Texas
PS: Wish I could find some PR pix of me in a giant Easter Bunny costume on my old Harley bagger giving rides to kiddies at a Fred Harvey restaurant grand opening, around 1971... No liability insurance, and I could barely SEE out of that miserable rabbit head! I'd put several little nippers on the seat, tank, handlebars, front fender, etc. and race around the parking lot and out into the grass and woods behind the eatery.
UN-FREAKIN'-THINKABLE in today's litigation-crazy world... My vision was so limited that I gave the kids a wildly wobbly ride... bounced off a few curbs and cars... LOL! and they LOVED it! Great old memories!
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Post by oldchopperguy on May 9, 2016 20:13:35 GMT -5
As far as the rubber is concerned, I'd say it depends on where it has been stored for the last 8 years. No matter how well stored, probably not quite factory fresh..........but.........I made a somewhat similar purchase last fall. It was a 2006 Ural, had never been registered, 40 km on odometer (24 miles)......I had the same concerns about the rubber components. Only put 800 km on it last fall, and so far everything is fine...no leaks, drips, or seepage anywhere, tires look good too, no cracking of any kind. I feel I can afford to replace a few seals if the need arises, for I paid less than 1/2 of the price of a basic, current year model. 
Hey, have a bone on the Old Chopper Guy for that great Ural! I've only seen a couple of them, and never up close, so I know little about them. Is your sidecar wheel powered? I see you have a telescopic front fork, which is better today, than the Earl's fork on the earlier Soviet models.
Anyway, THAT is one SWELL modern-day, old-school sidecar rig!Ride safe! Leo in Texas |
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Post by oldchopperguy on May 9, 2016 19:57:31 GMT -5
Hmmm...
I'm not familiar with either character, but I like the Rat Pirate. Looks a lot like some of my riding buddies from the 1960's... Also looks a little like a few of my current trailer-park neighbors... LOL!
Hmmm... I wonder: does he ride a Harley, or an Indian? Gotta be a hog bobber with plenty of rust, straight-pipes and a sawed-off rabbit-eared 12 gauge double-barrel persuader strapped to the front fork... Yup! Definitely a Hog-Rat who rides a rat Hog!
AARRRGH, matey... gimmie a great bleedin' hunk o' cheese, or I'll shiver yer' timbers with a load of grape-shot!
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Post by oldchopperguy on May 3, 2016 19:50:52 GMT -5
I kinda figured that about the fuel pump. I have the Linhai clone 257. I was thinking about drilling the drain plug to accept a barb for the pick up, and running the return to the valve pan, above the return valleys. I have put over 18k miles on since last year in January. That was also the last time I adjusted the valves. I have checked them, but they are still within spec, and not causing any problems. Even if I did bore the thing, I would only be going up a millimeternor two in size to a 300 size piston. If I am not mistaken, these Linhai 260's use the same cylinders as the Linhai 300's minus the extra honing process. 2stroked, Sounds like your scoot is running mighty fine "as-is"! I don't know as I would change anything... You know what they say: "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"... LOL! Any good old scoot that keeps you mobile like that is a joy to ride! Ride safe, Leo |
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Post by oldchopperguy on May 2, 2016 19:56:20 GMT -5
@ oldchopperguy, Leo, thanks for the reply. I truly enjoy the style and imagery from the fifties to the seventies. I was planning on boring and sleeving the cylinder myself, and machining the head to match the end result. I probably will never get around to it though. Don't really have the money for optional items like that. I am in the process of gathering the supplies for an oil cooler for the Cyprus. I have the cooler and some of the fittings, I just need to locate and acquire an acceptable pump. Was wondering about using another vacuum fuel pump as an oil pump to keep from adding extra drain to the charging system. Would the internal diaphragm hold up to the thicker oil and the heat?  ?
You're most welcome! Have a bone for even considering doing it yourself! I haven't done that kind of stuff since I was a kid racing go-karts... No machine-tools so I had to pester the machinists at a local shop to bore worn-out cylinders on my old McCulloch 2-strokes... LOL! I understand the budget issues... The wife and I live on Social Security and most of it goes for insurance and meds... Not fun.
I'm not sharp enough to advise on the fuel-pump as an oil-pump. To be honest, it doesn't sound like it would hold up to the hot oil. My old-school expertise was mostly with 1950's Harley motors with a dry-sump and mechanical oil-pump... (One of their few GOOD design features). All you had to do to add an oil-cooler was tap into the handy external oil lines, hooked up to that ingenious Harley-Davidson genuine HORSEHAIR oil-filter. I believe those contributed to that uniquely funky Harley aroma... Yup! Old-school and then some...  Other riders HAVE installed oil-coolers, so I CAN be done... Please chime in here you tech-savvy types, with some good "how to" info so 2stroked can make this mod!
Good luck with the projects!Leo |
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Post by oldchopperguy on May 2, 2016 12:28:33 GMT -5
Nice detailed write up!! Thank for all the pics too. I love the placement of the radiator. I wish mine was not behind the front wheel. The hood ornament, well it's unique, and separates your scooter from the masses. I like. I started using Water Wetter in my coolant. Helps a whole lot, actually. I would imagine relocating me radiator would help too, but the MC 54 250B doesn't have a lot of extra room...., Looking at a overbore piston and matching head. NOT A BBK, but a separate oversized piston and matching head, leaving it to me to bore the cylinder. Never looked in the engine so I don't know if there is room to bore the jug or not.
Thanks! Adding lights SHOULD be a simple job... This time, bad weather, health and family issues just took on "lives of their own" and kept the scoot dormant for a month. I hope to have the old girl back on the road this week...
I'm not sure just why most scooter makers opted to put the radiator on water-cooled models right behind the front wheel. I suppose it keeps the weight low, and keeps the nose area slim. Most riders shy away from riding in the rain, so slinging mud into the radiator is not a major concern. However, with the radiator right behind the front wheel, it resides in a "hole" in the cooling air. So placing it above the front wheel does offer some benefits from unobstructed "clean" air. In the pix, you can see that even after 9 years and 18K miles the radiator area is still quite clean. The hood ornament? Well, I'm old enough to have had one like it on several cars in my youth (might be the same one!) and when I found a mint example (body only: brittle original bakelite wings are usually broken off) then found BEAUTIFUL Lucite repro wings... I just couldn't resist! Anyway, it goes pretty well with the whitewalls, saddlebags and fishtail exhaust.
The saddlebags will likely get some fringe, silver studs and vintage color-glass reflectors too before I'm done... Just me. I'm hopelessly stuck in the fifties! You can take the old geezer off the Harley, but you can't get the Harley out of the old geezer... LOL!
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If you really need/want to bore your cylinder and install a fresh piston/rings, it might be easier (and possibly less expensive) to replace them with new, matched parts as a unit. I'm not sure how feasible it may be to find a properly oversized piston. And, when you add in the time and effort involved in taking your original cylinder to the shop, getting it re-bored and such, simple replacement might be more practical... Just a thought.Ride safe!Leo |
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Post by oldchopperguy on May 1, 2016 22:50:58 GMT -5
Hey, thanks guys!
Like everything else, coolants have no doubt gone high-tech too. The Engine Ice sounds good. However, I just had my system flushed and refilled with Prestone, so I may not change anything for some time. Thankfully, the old Mouse doesn't tend to truly overheat, but does get pretty warm after 5-10 minutes idling at over 100 degrees air-temp. So I just shut her off when the gauge hits "4 out of 5 bars". With a temp gauge, it's easy to keep watch. I wonder just HOW hot some of our old aircooled 150's REALLY got at a L-O-N-G red-light?
I hesitated to shut down the old 150 at a traffic light, or waiting for a train, since it would "balk" at restarting when traffic began to move again. But with this 250, it's no problem as she starts instantly if shut down while hot. I still haven't had time to finish reassembling the whole nose due to doctor visits with the missus. However, all electrics are done and the plastics mostly on. So last night I rode around the block a few times to roughly adjust the LED's.
GOOD GRIEF, are those things BRIGHT!!!My stock headlight low-beam is 50 watts and pretty good as scooter headlights go. But when I light the LED's it's hard to even see if the factory headlight is on or not! These things are like a blue-white streak of lightning, making the pavement daylight-bright for about 200 feet, nearly wiping out the stock headlight beam! You can even see the light pattern on the road in bright sunlight...
I did walk down the road and bend down as low as if driving a car, and looking into them, they were not blinding set up as they are; shining ON the pavement for around 200-300 feet. If they were raised to their full potential, rather than lighting the pavement, they would be DANGEROUS to oncoming traffic. That is something to consider when aiming lights like these.
They actually remind me of the two 500 watt aircraft landing lights I had on my '68 Cadillac! Those required 8 gauge wiring, a monster relay and a separate battery to use! These twin 15 watt each (rated 30 watts illumination each) LED's don't even dim the other lights when turned on, so they are not using a whole lot of juice... About 3 amps total-draw according to my battery-charger used to test the wiring before installation. I'd estimate the LED's to put out at LEAST 4 to 6 times the illumination of the 50 watt factory filament bulb! No wonder Harley Davidson uses LED's in their new "Daymaker" headlights!I'll post pix when the scoot is complete, with the LED's aimed right, and I'll try to spot-meter the pix so they resemble what I see in actual night use. The LED's are only the size of a regular flashlight, but their light output is MONUMENTAL!
 More on this soon...Leo in Texas
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Post by oldchopperguy on Apr 29, 2016 20:09:10 GMT -5
Big, nice radiator you have there, I bet you would run out of gas before overheating that thing if you where riding redlining the RPMs non-stop, lol. 
Actually, on a HOT (as in 100+) day, Minnie Mouse will get hot when sitting in stopped traffic almost as quickly as an air-cooled 150... Apparently, these are fairly high-compression motors which even with 2-valves and carburetors still put out 20 hp from 15 cubic inches... and run pretty HOT in the process. You ARE right about the highway though. At WOT she stays cool even on the hottest days, no matter how long I ride! She just doesn't like to sit and idle, even with a big electric radiator fan. I DO like the radiator mounted high, in clean air, rather than behind the front wheel where air is blocked and dirt and wet crud gets thrown into it from the tire.
The manual even recommends shutting down the motor if stopped in hot weather more than 5 minutes. However, with a real, and sensitive temp gauge, that is easy to adhere to... When the gauge hits four bars, I shut it off... And the old gal re-starts INSTANTLY when the light turns green, or the railroad gates go up, or the bodies are removed from the roadway, etc.
That factory advice seems to be right on the money, and I do shut down when the temp gauge hits 4 bars... ( I really wish these had the GREAT easy-to-read analog gauge-clusters of the smaller-displacement "Dink" versions). Can you IMAGINE this 350-pound turtle with a 125cc motor?The digital speedo is OK, numbers are BIG, albeit hard to see in sunlight, but all the little "bars" going around corners for fuel, temp and tach are confusing and would be much better in back-lit, round, mechanical analog form, with real "pointers" to quick-reference. Yeah, I'm REALLY old-school...
The digital dash is the only feature on the Grandvista which I don't really like... BUT... All the gauges still work perfectly after 9 years and 18K miles... so I'm not complaining!  The Grandvista/Grand Dink WAS Kymco's FIRST attempt to make a highway-capable "touring scooter" BUT... actually ended up becoming the ideal SHORT-WHEELBASE city-scoot that will still run comfortably at 70 mph. NOT quite what the touring rider wanted, but EXACTLY what this old geezer wanted... "Basically, A GY6 150 with rock-solid frame, that will hit near 80 mph!" Woo-HOO! That genre of scooters barely exists today outside of the new high-tech (and high-priced) 175-200cc class fuel-injected models. I like to post everything I like (or dislike) about my ride, or modification, so others can make up their own minds about it, in case they may want to try it for themselves. The old Kymco is not for everyone, but it's good for me!
Now, if I can just get that goose on her nose to flap her wings at a red light... She might run even cooler... LOLOLOL! Ride safe!Leo |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Apr 29, 2016 14:39:03 GMT -5
OK boyz and gurlz...
Between family emergencies and bad weather the old scoot has sat apart for over a month. But I've managed to get it  % re-assembled...Here are some pix in-progress which might be of use to other riders adding auxiliary lights to their own scoots...
I opted for a pre-wired lighting kit off eBay, because at around ten bucks, it offered switch, relay, fuse and all wiring pre-assembled with quality plugs, terminals, etc. This pair of LED's runs 15 watts each, or 30 watts for both. I suspect one could just hook them up through a switch, but even the factory headlight uses a relay so I went on the cautious side. The factory headlight low beam is 50 watts. If I simply hooked into the low-beam with a switch, THAT would put a load of 80 watts on the factory headlight wiring. Not good in my humble opinion... So I ran a 12 gauge primary wire direct from the battery up front (with a female plug) to hook into the new LED fused-wiring. I then hooked the little 24 gauge wiring from the illuminated switch, into the factory headlight low-beam wire. All that does is activate the relay, turning on the LED's through the heavy-duty wiring from the battery, and, keeps the LED's from being lit without the ignition on. (The factory headlight comes on and off with the ignition... NO switch).
    
All the lights are working properly, but before re-installing the windshield I'm going to test-run it for 15 minutes or so with all the lights on to be SURE nothing is getting hot. With the windshield and trim off, I can access the wiring in the nose. I just want to be ABSOLUTELY sure nothing is going to act up on the road, frying hidden wires... Weather is still terrible for another week, so it may be a while before "Minnie Mouse" is road-ready. I'll add to this post when she's back running. I just wanted to get this much posted so others could see how I set up the lights, in case it might help.
Oh... And, yes... the infamous "Illuminated Swan" hood ornament... LOL! Its little 3 watt LED is wired into the factory running lights and has a switch under the nose so I can turn it on only after dark... Yeah, it's TACKY, it's OUTTA PLACE and it's SO Red-Neck... But it's sooo ME... LOL! 
More soon, and RIDE SAFE!Leo in TEXAS
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Post by oldchopperguy on Apr 28, 2016 0:37:22 GMT -5
But Leo, bears sleep more than cats. They sleep all winter long. They don't even wake up for the New Year's bowl games. Not even for beer! No bear beer? That's not macho! But I don't think you can count HIBERNATING as honest SLEEPING... Or maybe you can... LOL!Sorta like me saying a "fast" daily (while I sleep...).Amazing how LAZY some of the fiercest critters are when they're not out killing and eating other critters!
Ride safe! Leo |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Apr 28, 2016 0:30:53 GMT -5
I kinda figured you were going to vote "bears" due to the cigar chomping panda... Yeah, I've always liked the old "Mr. Horsepower" cigar-chomping woodpecker decal... So it was sorta natural for a China/Taiwan scoot jockey to follow suit with a panda! Straining my old mind, I'm trying to recall just WHO used that woodpecker image... I believe it was used originally by Clay Smith Cams, and later by Thrush Mufflers... Probably knockoffs used by others, too. It was as popular as the old Moon Speed Equipment "Moon-Eyes" decals. I'm old enough that flatheads, cheater-slicks, 2-strokes and pushrods, etc. sorta run in my DNA... LOL! Rides safe, and love yer' panda!Leo in Texas |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Apr 26, 2016 21:21:08 GMT -5
Oh, the MEMORIES!
Back in 1960, when I was 14, my home state of Illinois would license you at 14 for a "motorbike" which included most scooters, real "mopeds" Whizzers, Cushmans Harley Hummers, etc.
My Dad was going to help me get one of these Toppers (or a Hummer, or Cushman Eagle) and I was exploding with adolescent anticipation... And then, a week before my 14th birthday, they raised the license age to 16.
I'm still suffering post-traumatic-stress-disorder at 69... LOL!
These were mighty slick scoots in their day, but today, probably best reserved for collectors stables.
They also looked cool!
Something from the distant Harley Davidson past to enjoy today...
Leo in Texas
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Post by oldchopperguy on Apr 26, 2016 21:03:42 GMT -5
Bears, because cats of any size are the laziest creatures on earth.
HOO-HAA... I WAS going to vote "tigers" until I saw Wheelbender6's post here.. HeHeHe... YES! CATS indeed ARE the laziest creatures on earth... (except MAYBE for tree-sloths, and THAT'S probably debatable).
I'm a long-term cat-lover and the lazy "sleep in daddy's lap" syndrome is one of my favorite adorable kitty habits. So... for macho, I had to change my vote to "bears"... Of course, koala bears are sorta "kitty-like" cuddly and cute, and really not so macho, but then, they aren't REALLY bears anyway... LOL!Ride safe, if not macho...Leo in Texas |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Apr 26, 2016 20:48:59 GMT -5
Not enough compression to start so the valves are floating on belt debris or the debris slipped the timing chain. Will have to pull the valve cover later this week and see.
And that little hiccup doesn't help with the migraines either... When schmootz gets into an engine, it seems to go EVERYWHERE! Might even have a piece wedged a valve-seat holding the valve open. We're all still pullin' fer ya... And I don't think the girls even find me handy anymore... BUMMER!Hang in there! Leo |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Apr 24, 2016 12:33:45 GMT -5
Rockynv,Sounds like you really DID dodge the bullet!Also sounds like Aprillia borrowed from "the book of Harley Davidson" with the seal re-directing excess oil back where it belongs... But, most likely a lot better than reverse-threads on the crankshaft poking out through a hole in the block... LOL!
As the immortal "Red Green" used to say... "We're pullin' for ya... After all, we're all in this together..." Here's hoping all is well when you fire up the little nipper!Ride safe!Leo
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% re-assembled...
