It was the starter. And that was $56 not covered by warranty. No explanation as to why a new part gave out and two new replacements were also bad, but a potential explanation follows below. (We finally replaced the starter temporarily with one from a working scooter and it fired up fine.) It would seem quality control is a problem in China. Here is the bike on the hoist with the bottom end removed to get at the gears.
The diagnosis was that, in another quality issue, it was discovered the spindles for both the electric and kick starter were dry, where they are normally packed with heavy grease at the factory level. I may have unknowingly worn these parts out due to that oversight. Of course, we could not have known about this defect until the motor was practically disassembled as shown here.I’m reminded of why I had originally wanted to become a schoolteacher. The two paid months off every summer. Ray-B just got back from Italy for three weeks, which explains why he wasn’t answering his phone. Like a many reports I’m getting from southern Europe, he did not care for the place. We both agreed how great it was to get back to the convenience of the USA. If you read back far enough, I used to get rush off the plane in LA and go walking through a shopping center just to get “back home”.
Ray-B also reports another nasty practice, the hidden WOP restaurant charges. He mentions getting stung as much as $20 for things like ice. What part of “Italian” don’t you understand? Why do you think Italians are compelled to spread the word they are great lovers? (Hint: It’s the same reason blacks are forced to claim they are built large. What other hope do such men really have?)
Ray-B also notes how musicians can play music most anywhere they want, including setting up outside a café and later passing the hat through the patrons. Things like that get you arrested in America. Your average Italian’s odds of stealing twenty American bucks are infinitely greater than his chances of ever legitimately earning it. And I used to know one hell of a lot of Italians.
Ray-B’s got a small recording mixer card for his computer he’s not using. That would be a godsend for my backing tracks. I was hesitant to spend a lot of money on something I was not sure would be worthwhile. I used to think teachers got paid year round, but Ray-B informs me that exists due to an optional decision. Not knowing things like this reflects the lack of career information available when I was a teenager. Nobody told me about such details and you didn’t dare ask under fear of being called stupid forever. I also thought doctors had to work in hospitals and dentists came from England. Consider yourself lucky if your parents told you otherwise.
My antenna mast is priced out, it should cost less than $20 to get 20 feet up into the air. The piping is PVC and while it is designed to flex in the wind, it is likely to be stayed by guy wires to the work shed and my existing hurricane anchors. This month’s expenses have been atrocious; I am nearly $400 over budget. That means a lean month of August. Part of that cost was combating the ant invasion I mentioned. The fact I have a sandy vacant lot next door is a factor, but also the fact is I don’t like ants.
Learned to hate ants in Thailand, where there is a custom-evolved ant for ever crack and crevice. Fortunately, the local infestation was not fire ants. I feel the cost of spraying should be borne by the office but I figured why make waves. I also sprayed barrier strips where any part of my new place touches concrete directly. I am very hesitant to use toxic chemicals inside the house. That’s even after I found a colony of ants feeding where Dave-O spilled a tiny drop of his coffee last week.
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