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Post by bluegoatwoods on Jan 10, 2020 7:19:34 GMT -5
Now that you mention it, I do recall heating up a tire for installation by setting it right on top of one of those oil-filled radiator heaters. And I think I recall a noticeable difference in pliability.
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Post by bluegoatwoods on Jan 9, 2020 20:01:16 GMT -5
I spent the day getting stuff............including my two-wheelers.............under cover for the winter storm that'll hit in a bit over a day from now. I'll bet most of you folks out there are doing pretty much the same since this storm is forecast to hit all 50 states plus every nation on Earth. Or so they say.
I suspect a bit of exaggeration there. But it does look like a pretty wide-spread storm.
The other day I noticed that my local Casey's gas station offers 91 octane premium fuel with no ethanol. I spent just a moment wondering if I could trust them on that. Then I decided I had no choice about that and that this is the fuel for scooters from now on. And I decided to do the job..........for winter .........as well as possible. So I went on down to the auto parts store and got a brand new 5 gallon gas can. As I drove down there I was thinking, "This'll probably cost me 25 bucks or so". I was kinda regretting that, cause that seems like a lot. It turned out to be 26 and some change. Oh, well......
I had already noticed that gas cans are kinda expensive. I don't know, but I'll guess that the plastic that is safe for gasoline is some higher-end stuff that's more expensive to produce than run-of-the-mill plastic. I sure do hope that's the ease. If not, then we're being ripped off.
A digression before I post pics: please excuse the sloppy state of my work area. And please don't think of me as a slob. Though............actually..............that's exactly what I am. I've always known it and haven't particularly cared. I just don't want to be labelled a slob.
I actually do straighten things up pretty often. But there's no doubt that my ability to make a mess is far stronger than my ability to clean up a mess.
So..........with that pitiful excuse...........
I got five gallons of that premium, no ethanol gasoline and mixed in 2 oz of Sta-Bil. And that'll be the fuel supply for the scooters and the few other small engines I have around here. None of them run all that much in the heart of winter so I'm feeling pretty sure that this will last until better weather. Yet I do ride at least a bit even in the winter. The scooters just might use up most of it. Maybe not. 'Cause I sure don't ride far when it's icy.
For right now, the Honda and the Kymco are the two scooters that'll be ridden.
I set my Tao Tao and my Icebear up on blocks in a somewhat weather protected space for some fairly serious service/maintenance work.The Icebear is running well and might not have been my first priority. But it does need new tires. I've gone back and forth over whether or not to swap my own tires or pay a scooter shop to do it. I've successfully swapped tires on two of these bikes. One tire each bike. I didn't do the second tire in both cases because I scared myself half to death doing the first one. I had to pry awfully hard against those rims.
But part of my trouble was that the rig I'd built to hold that wheel down just wasn't quite stout enough. I was dealing with too much movement. I'll build a new rig that's up to the job. It'll be soon. I'll post pics of that when I do.
The red Tao Tao is only barely running. Right now, in fact, it's idling but nothing more. It spent the last couple of years being ridden by my daughter. I don't think she actually abused it. But she rode it hard and was oblivious to it's deterioration. So I'm going to save it's life. But it'll take some doing.
When this bike was new I actually tore it down to quite some extant and followed Brent's post-delivery inspection routine. I definitely went over wiring and connectors and such. I wrapped some connectors in plastic for weather protection. I don't remember just what else I did. But I do remember that I didn't follow him to the very end because I got impatient and wanted to get that bike up and on the road. And I recall that I was even more slap-dash about it with the Icebear.
So this winter season I'm going to remove every single body panel on both of them and go over everything.
I checked valve lash on the Tao Tao once. But that's when it wasn't very old. I've never checked it on the Icebear. It's overdue. It's time for compression checks, too. Carburetor air/fuel mixtures. All that sort of stuff. I'll get access to the working parts of these scoots and give 'em the treatment. A good winter project.
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Post by bluegoatwoods on Jan 8, 2020 18:43:43 GMT -5
Between yesterday and today I've received two new windshields plus two new NGK VD05F spark plug boots. The idea for the spark plug boots came when reviewing 90GTVert's post delivery inspection videos the other day. I have two Chinese scoots. Both are enduring......I think......their third winters right now. Maybe their fourth.
One is not running well at the moment and soon I'll be giving it a pretty thorough going-over. The spark plug boot just seemed like a good idea. The other Chinese scoot is running rather well. I might put the other spark plug boot on it or I might hold the new boot in reserve.
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Post by bluegoatwoods on Jan 5, 2020 14:45:50 GMT -5
Always wondered what an icebear looked like bluegoatwoods . I know them by the name Tamoretti over here and some other names similar or same style goes by. I'm pretty sure that Icebear also markets the more lean-and-mean-looking scooters of the modern variety as well. This one I've got is just one model.
And....for that matter..........I think Znen markets exactly the same scooter as mine under the name of "Classic 150".
And I'll bet Icebear markets, for instance, a clone of the Tao Tao VIP.
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Post by bluegoatwoods on Jan 5, 2020 14:42:29 GMT -5
whenever I wanted to do something I had to take a panel off. when I took a panel off I would find the tabs broken. bought it used. maybe very. finally got sick of it and disgusted with broken tabs. .................. After I get a few small tweaks done on a couple of scooters I'm going to put the red Tao Tao up on blocks, tear it down and do some pretty serious tune-up, routine maintenance, whatever damage I can handle and stuff like that.
I've already patched broken body panel tabs and other joints while my one daughter had this in her care.
No doubt I'll find more damage of the sort you've described above.
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Post by bluegoatwoods on Jan 4, 2020 21:55:56 GMT -5
I got a bit distracted there, lilpinny, and forgot to ask:
Is the red scoot a Stella? Or an older Vespa? Or something else?
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Post by bluegoatwoods on Jan 4, 2020 19:00:30 GMT -5
My Mother.......now that I think about it........is in Detroit right now.
She's 91 years old and lives in Atlanta GA with one of my sisters. We all visit her often. She went to Detroit in mid-December and is staying through mid-January. Visiting another sister plus those few people left from her and my Dad's family. Cousins of mine. And there aren't many left. Now...... my sister really does visit her often enough.
I've asked my Mother several times now, "And just why do you want to visit Detroit at this time of year??"
Her answers have been unclear, unconvincing and unsatisfying. I guess she's gone crazy.
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Post by bluegoatwoods on Jan 4, 2020 18:18:29 GMT -5
Illinois. Picture the spot just about halfway between Chicago and St Louis. That's it.
And now it's time for me to practice image inserting...... Success!!Where's your location? I can see that it's more dry than here and it looks warmer.
I mostly don't hate my climate.........Wait a minute...I do hate the Sun and wish it were cloudier.......but on days like this I could use some warmer weather.
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Post by bluegoatwoods on Jan 4, 2020 18:12:28 GMT -5
Ah, yes! Image posting!
Thanks. I'll go practice right now.
Sorry I can't help the OP. But I'm not a stator guy. I suppose one day I'll be forced to learn, but......
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Post by bluegoatwoods on Jan 4, 2020 17:18:28 GMT -5
........... I guess the only thing about our TaoTao's that's alike is the motor, the rear wheel? , and maybe the frame. mine's in the process of getting naked............ It's getting naked. Body panel damage?
The one thing about a naked scoot that I don't think I could live with would be the lack of leg protection in cold and wet weather.
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Post by bluegoatwoods on Jan 4, 2020 17:14:59 GMT -5
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Post by bluegoatwoods on Jan 4, 2020 15:57:04 GMT -5
I grew up on the shores of Lake St Clair. It's part of the Great Lakes chain. It's just not a really Great lake. It's good, though.
I like the western Lower Peninsula, too. But......oh, those winters!!!!
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Post by bluegoatwoods on Jan 4, 2020 15:52:26 GMT -5
It's nice of you to give him a 'tip of the hat' here.
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Post by bluegoatwoods on Jan 4, 2020 15:46:32 GMT -5
I'll add a bit more, by the way.
That red Tao Tao is a really nice bike. I think I've seen others post that they like theirs as well. It rides nice. It handles well. And this one has taken some abuse without being killed yet. The electrical switches and body panels do have a cheap feel and I suppose many components are low end. In fact I know they are. Yet it's still a nice bike.
One reason,too, that I've pondered selling off my bikes is that I've found myself craving a 50cc. I just love their ultra-light and nimble feel. And the quiet is just great. When I ride my wife's bike I find myself thinking that I want one.
But even if I pull that particular trigger I probably won't get a Metro. Even though I think well of them. I think, though, that there better deals out there.
I might consider an electric scoot, for one. But I'll also consider a Genuine Buddy or a Lance Cali Classic 50cc.
But I might just go for a Tao Tao VIP 50, too. The bonus with that is that they're so cheap that it could be almost an impulse buy.
And maybe I'd just go ahead and do it except for the fact that I'd just have so many scooters on hand.
So.......maybe I ought to sell off my 150s. Except I have a hard time thinking about parting with them.
I just don't know what to do.
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Post by bluegoatwoods on Jan 4, 2020 15:29:42 GMT -5
hey , how about some pix ? there's a scarcity of 150 people . would love to see and hear more about your red TaoTao I'm pretty sure I've still got pics of the bikes from when they were new. That was only a couple of years ago now. I haven't looked for them in some time.........but let's see here........Oh, I remember. I have a hard time uploading photos to this site. I think I once figured out just how to do it. But I've forgotten. I'm gonna have to figure it out again.
In the meantime I'll bet I could post links to pics in my google drive folder.
And that brings up a handy tip, by the way. I took photos from all sides of my various scoots and bikes and stored them in g drive. If they ever get stolen, then I've got good photos (plus lic plate numbers) to give to the police at a moment's notice.
Anway........the first one isn't even a scooter. But I'm fond of it.
drive.google.com/open?id=1TzwpQrWtqLrs5EtAW3le5VWmBYd1nmEM I taught all of my kids to ride scooters, of course. One daughter liked it. But she craved more. She looks down her nose at scooters now. She's one of my more responsible children. She has a good job which she's clearly going to keep. She has an entirely respectable car. She has a credit rating better than mine. Well.........okay..........I can buy her a motorcycle without worrying that it'll just get pissed away. (Though she's pretty successful, she's still young and actually buying one for herself would have been a stretch.)
I still own it myself. Though I'll soon sign the title over to her. But I'm also baby-sitting it for the winter. So I ride it every now and then as well. I don't really crave a motorcycle anymore. I don't want to balance such a heavy machine at every red light and four-way stop anymore. Yet I do like riding this bike around town a bit.
Here's my wife's Metropolitan.
drive.google.com/open?id=0B081aVUWXldbal8yMGZlRWRzc0U
My Icebear 150
drive.google.com/open?id=0B081aVUWXldbTTV3djNDeGlmUFE
The red Tao Tao
drive.google.com/open?id=0B081aVUWXldbQ1NtYTZfb3hPaGc
Hmmm............it looks as though there are no pics of the Kymco in my "In Case of Theft" folder. I'll have to fix that.
But there's a look at it in this collage one of my daughters made for me. drive.google.com/open?id=0B081aVUWXldbb0c0Q0FMN09TUVhxMXRscGVkUDJHLXRGNkg0
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