Back in the Florida 90 degree weather makes unpacking a chore. The evenings are cooler but I don’t have that many chores I can work in the dark. Today the eBike was upgraded ($137). Here is the photo, see if you can spot the differences. I’ll point out a few. Notice the front tire is larger and on a steel rim? And the back tire is twice the size (thickness) of the factory issue. All exposed wiring is now strapped every four inches and the new brake pads are adjusted a quarter-inch from the rims. The chain and gears are synched and internally the tubes are double walled.
What is really needed is a new battery and battery contacts. This bicycle has been subjected to harsher daily use than designed. The plastic contacts are too fragile, the chrome is subject to rust, and that battery only lasted slightly over 90 charges (the 1-year warranty expired long before the projected 400 charges). It never did get the advertised performance and the hills of Colorado noticeably reduced the recharging capacity.In the background is the scooter, with its joke of a battery. Sitting a month killed it and I can’t find the correct replacement kick starter lever. The piston fires off a magneto type spinner but using it constantly breaks the lever. Further, ethanol is unstable and in a month, I can smell the gas is stale. Half the frame has to be removed to prime it, so that’s out of commission for a few days while I hunt the parts. Oh, I did find new front forks and a mechanic to replace it.
My highly rated reviews returned a one-cent profit while I was away, so forget that as a hobby. Silver is up nearly 30% over the price when I spent that budget on the trip, but I won’t put a price on that. I need silver to hit $400 per ounce before I call it really volatile. Shortly look for some photos of a carburetor from a 150cc scooter. There is an American business that priced itself out of the market. The carb shop wants $120 to “rebuild” a gizmo that sells for $65 new.
For openers, there are no rebuild kits for these Chinese models. I already know you basically soak them in carb cleaner and put them back together. Already I can identify all the major parts, which is quite a feat for me. This will follow the usual pattern, I’ll be an expert without hands-on by end of the week, and in a month I’ll have two years experience. I never studied shop, just like most of you never studied computers. My angle is simple, even though the new carburetor is cheap, not everybody knows that, and not every make and model is always available.
My calculations show that I could gut, clean, and dress one in 70 easy minutes at which point it would be worth $35. I’d never starve. But I’m really after learning the cycle electronics, which is instantly a more complicated undertaking that is best learned from a book before trying to untangle any wires. There’s a reason so many mechanics don’t like electrical.
And this carburetor has an electric lead. I wonder what that is for, but not for much longer. This is the first time I’ve ever handled a carb, which I bought for $10. To those who say it is a little late for me to be learning mechanics, I’ll quote Lucille Ball. “In this life, I’d rather regret things I did than regret things I didn’t do.”
Here’s that computer demo that I was never able to figure out. It shows you a bunch of cards, and you think of one. Don’t click or point, just think of it. In a few seconds, the computer removes that card from the display. I’m not good at figuring out these type of card trick.
{Author's note 2017: but I did go back and figure out this card trick. It doesn't matter what card you pick, since the second display is a complete new set of cards.]
“All the candy corn that was ever made was made in 1911.” --Lewis Black. (Today's product is even worse, since it is made from HFCS in Mexico. That means it is not sold in Mexico, where modified food is outlawed.)
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