Duck Pond Redneckery

[Uncle Birchy]

My property taxes shot up like a rocket too. It's in the escrow on autopay though so I basically just keep getting poorer without noticing.

Sure I like that Home "Wealth"..

Yet ain't "Real" Wealth..

When I first moved in here the "Property" Tax was like shy of $2500 bucks..

It "creeped" up every few years .

Last few years "Property" Values "Skyrocketed" now my "Tax" is almost "Doubled"

 

[Electric Chicken]

Sure I like that Home "Wealth"..

Yet ain't "Real" Wealth..

When I first moved in here the "Property" Tax was like shy of $2500 bucks..

It "creeped" up every few years .

Last few years "Property" Values "Skyrocketed" now my "Tax" is almost "Doubled"

Mine basically quadrupled because it was too low. It was last updated in the 70s.

 

[Duck]

I rode it 21 miles to my drinking buddy's house in Wilmington yesterday, all on back roads. When I got to his house he wasn't there. He was like "oops I meant my parents house". They're on the west side of town and there's only one bridge over the Kankakee River.

So I said fuck it & rode that futhermucker right down IL Rt 53 for a quarter mile in traffic. Speed limit is 30 there so I was actually speeding .

We put it in the back of his pickup when we went back to his house later.

After it got dark it took me like half an hour to convince him that I was actually going to ride it home.

And I did.

42 mile round trip and it only took like half a gallon of gas to top it off at home. And I was running it full throttle the whole way there & back except for the 6 blocks of residential in Wilmington where I just glided through at like 15-20 mph.

 

[Electric Chicken]

I rode it 21 miles to my drinking buddy's house in Wilmington yesterday, all on back roads. When I got to his house he wasn't there. He was like "oops I meant my parents house". They're on the west side of town and there's only one bridge over the Kankakee River.

So I said fuck it & rode that futhermucker right down IL Rt 53 for a quarter mile in traffic. Speed limit is 30 there so I was actually speeding .

We put it in the back of his pickup when we went back to his house later.

After it got dark it took me like half an hour to convince him that I was actually going to ride it home.

And I did.

42 mile round trip and it only took like half a gallon of gas to top it off at home. And I was running it full throttle the whole way there & back except for the 6 blocks of residential in Wilmington where I just glided through at like 15-20 mph.

Channeling your inner South Asian.

It only sounds insane because we're such a car centric nation.

 

[Uncle Birchy]

Mine basically quadrupled because it was too low. It was last updated in the 70s.

When I moved in I just took care of what my "Dad" was too "Cheap" & "neglected" for "Deacades"..

My mother used say your Dad's handyman fixes often cause "More" Damage than just Calling a "Contractor" in the first place..

When they "Croaked" not just the House they had $$$ in the Bank..

Used nearly "Half" that really Fix It Up so I'll always have a "Home" never have to "Worry"

 

[Duck]

There is no battery or voltage regulator but it has the charging magnets on the flywheel to power the headlight.

I think it gets like 3 volts at idle. You can see better with the flashlight app on my phone when it's idling or even just cornering speed.

But wide open, 4500 RPM it's just as bright as the low beam on my Goldwing.

And that's plenty bright enough for 43 mph except I really wish it had a front brake. This thing only has a rear brake and I think I might've gotten a greasy fingerprint on the brake shoes when I had the wheel off to grind down a little edge of a weld right next to the axle, left side. A manufacturing defect that wouldn't let the axle spacer sit flat against the inside of the frame. That brake used to lock up on pavement with my 275 lbs on it. Now it just makes a howling noise and kind of slows me down.



I wore that backpack with a hoody in it and 4 bottles of water. I probably looked like Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber

But I've made that same round trip probably 50 times on the Goldwing.

My best time on the Goldwing was 21 miles in 23 minutes.

This trip took me 41 minutes to get there. Coming home i didn't keep track of the time because I had to stop 3 times to piss.

Even though it only goes 43 mph it's more fun than the Goldwing.

 

[Electric Chicken]

What kind of bike is it? Make/model/specs I mean.

 

[Uncle Birchy]

There is no battery or voltage regulator but it has the charging magnets on the flywheel to power the headlight.

I think it gets like 3 volts at idle. You can see better with the flashlight app on my phone when it's idling or even just cornering speed.

But wide open, 4500 RPM it's just as bright as the low beam on my Goldwing.

And that's plenty bright enough for 43 mph except I really wish it had a front brake. This thing only has a rear brake and I think I might've gotten a greasy fingerprint on the brake shoes when I had the wheel off to grind down a little edge of a weld right next to the axle, left side. A manufacturing defect that wouldn't let the axle spacer sit flat against the inside of the frame. That brake used to lock up on pavement with my 275 lbs on it. Now it just makes a howling noise and kind of slows me down.

View attachment 86596

I wore that backpack with a hoody in it and 4 bottles of water. I probably looked like Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber

So they wanna ban Gas/Diesel the "Combustion" Motor...

Yet our "Power" Grid is "Ancient" and overtaxed already..

Take a hot 95/100 degree day "Humidity" like 6/7 points.

The "Air Conditioning" running Full Blast already causes "Blackout"..

Now think they want every single car & truck run off "Electricity" & Charging Stations....

We can "barely" handle Current Demand on Hot Humid Summer Days..

Imagine every Car & Truck plugged in Drawing Off the "Current" Grid System

 

[Electric Chicken]

So they wanna ban Gas/Diesel the "Combustion" Motor...

Yet our "Power" Grid is "Ancient" and overtaxed already..

Take a hot 95/100 degree day "Humidity" like 6/7 points.

The "Air Conditioning" running Full Blast already causes "Blackout"..

Now think they want every single car & truck run off "Electricity" & Charging Stations....

We can "barely" handle Current Demand on Hot Humid Summer Days

Don't make this political. This is about @Duck's new hog.

 

[Duck]

Don't make this political. This is about @Duck's new hog.

If I blow up this 196 cc Lifan engine I'm going to replace it with a 224 Predator engine from Harbor Freight.

If I do that, I'll be able to call it a Harbor Davidson.

 

[Electric Chicken]

If I blow up this 196 cc Lifan engine I'm going to replace it with a 224 Predator engine from Harbor Freight.

If I do that, I'll be able to call it a Harbor Davidson.

My understanding is the Predator is a Honda clone so they're not too bad. It's what's on my generator and I haven't had any problems with it so far.

 

[Uncle Birchy]

Don't make this political. This is about @Duck's new hog.

Don't make this political. This is about @Duck's new hog.

No "Politics" here .

That's "Realty" ..

Where do they think all that "Juice" comes from..

Here in the "Midwest" it's "COAL"..

Actually in the 1970s /1980s was half "Nuclear" but as reactors "Aged" was more Cost Effective to shut down the Nuclear Reactors write off as Tax Losses than to upgrade or keep em going

 

[Uncle Birchy]

No "Politics" here .

That's "Realty" ..

Where do they think all that "Juice" comes from..

Here in the "Midwest" it's "COAL"..

Actually in the 1970s /1980s was half "Nuclear" but as reactors "Aged" was more Cost Effective to shut down the Nuclear Reactors write off as Tax Losses than to upgrade or keep em going

Common Sense..

We don't like "Emissions" that's the Idea..

Yet our current "Grid" and Electricity Supply just "barely" keeps up with "Current" Demand..

Oh sure Solar & Wind welp if that was "True" Solution been running Solar Panels & Wind 30 years ago already..

Do ya also know the "Carbon Impact" of so called "Green" Energy..

Ever been down Interstate 65 Indiana..

Halfway from Gary 2 Indy is like a Ten Mile Wind Farm..

What makes those Windmills..

Think "Chinese" Steel..

Then It's gotta be "Trucked" from West Coast 2 Midwest..

China still pours steel like it's 1930s/1940s they have no Air Pollution Laws..

Furthermore those Windmills sailed to West Coast and all diesel "burned" bring "Midwest"..

Forget that wanna see "Real" Environmental "destruction" and Degradation see what goes into a "Solar Panel..

The Environmental Disaster of Solar Energy

Solar energy is terrible for the environment in a number of ways, including the fact that large land areas must be devoted to it. At Forbes, Michael Shellenberger highlights another problem with solar energy: it produces vast quantities of hazardous waste, which are not being adequately dealt...

www.americanexperiment.org

 

[Electric Chicken]

If I blow up this 196 cc Lifan engine I'm going to replace it with a 224 Predator engine from Harbor Freight.

If I do that, I'll be able to call it a Harbor Davidson.

Anyway, apparently Lifan is the company that did or still does make the Predator. Yours might never blow up.

 

[Uncle Birchy]

Common Sense..

We don't like "Emissions" that's the Idea..

Yet our current "Grid" and Electricity Supply just "barely" keeps up with "Current" Demand..

Oh sure Solar & Wind welp if that was "True" Solution been running Solar Panels & Wind 30 years ago already..

Do ya also know the "Carbon Impact" of so called "Green" Energy..

Ever been down Interstate 65 Indiana..

Halfway from Gary 2 Indy is like a Ten Mile Wind Farm..

What makes those Windmills..

Think "Chinese" Steel..

Then It's gotta be "Trucked" from West Coast 2 Midwest..

China still pours steel like it's 1930s/1940s they have no Air Pollution Laws..

Furthermore those Windmills sailed to West Coast and all diesel "burned" bring "Midwest"..

Forget that wanna see "Real" Environmental "destruction" and Degradation see what goes into a "Solar Panel..

The Environmental Disaster of Solar Energy

Solar energy is terrible for the environment in a number of ways, including the fact that large land areas must be devoted to it. At Forbes, Michael Shellenberger highlights another problem with solar energy: it produces vast quantities of hazardous waste, which are not being adequately dealt...

www.americanexperiment.org

I mean I'm "scrating" my Skull Here..

We are "trying" Save Environment by "banning" Fossil Fuels..

Yet the "Solution" to Smokestack & Tailpipe Emissions is 10 Times more "Destructive" than what our Government thinks they are trying 2 solve

 

[Uncle Birchy]

Solar Paneling..

"Disposal of decommissioned solar panels in regular landfills is “not recommended in case modules break and toxic materials leach into the soil.” But where do most decommissioned panels go? Landfills.

Recycling is often recommended, but is not practical because “recycling costs more than the economic value of the materials recovered, which is why most solar panels end up in landfills.”

 

[Uncle Birchy]

Solar Paneling..

"Disposal of decommissioned solar panels in regular landfills is “not recommended in case modules break and toxic materials leach into the soil.” But where do most decommissioned panels go? Landfills.

Recycling is often recommended, but is not practical because “recycling costs more than the economic value of the materials recovered, which is why most solar panels end up in landfills.”

I suppose over time and if "Inflation" takes Real "Hold" might be more "Co$t Effective" recover Materials ..

2014/2015 price of Oil "Crashed" guess what Stopped "Recycling" Plastic Bottles because at that point "Cheaper" make NEW than Co$t of "Re-Processing"



"Frankly, that’s been happening to us now for the last three year,” Waste Management CEO David Steiner says.

“In the history of the recycling markets going back to the early ’90s, you’ve had a couple dips, and they’ve been very short terms. They’re at most two, three months — even in the Great Recession of 2009, we had a dramatic downturn, but it only lasted four months. This is the first time we’ve seen commodity markets down for, you know, three-plus years.”

One victim of falling oil prices? Recycling

It's now cheaper to make new plastic than to recycle the old.

www.marketplace.org

 

[Uncle Birchy]

I suppose over time and if "Inflation" takes Real "Hold" might be more "Co$t Effective" recover Materials ..

2014/2015 price of Oil "Crashed" guess what Stopped "Recycling" Plastic Bottles because at that point "Cheaper" make NEW than Co$t of "Re-Processing"



"Frankly, that’s been happening to us now for the last three year,” Waste Management CEO David Steiner says.

“In the history of the recycling markets going back to the early ’90s, you’ve had a couple dips, and they’ve been very short terms. They’re at most two, three months — even in the Great Recession of 2009, we had a dramatic downturn, but it only lasted four months. This is the first time we’ve seen commodity markets down for, you know, three-plus years.”

One victim of falling oil prices? Recycling

It's now cheaper to make new plastic than to recycle the old.

www.marketplace.org

“My definition of a crisis is looking out into the future and seeing a future where recycling rates are going down.

Some people might say, ‘Well, we’re still recycling 25 percent, and maybe that’s a good thing.’ I don’t view that as a good thing, I view that as a crisis. What we’re trying to do is to help drive recycling rates up not down. Is it dramatically going to affect the earnings of Waste Management?

Absolutely not.

From a recycling perspective, from the environment’s perspective? I think we’re staring down the face of a crisis.”

 

[Duck]

Anyway, apparently Lifan is the company that did or still does make the Predator. Yours might never blow up.

I don't even know for sure if it's a lifan. It says Massimo on the engine but I think they just make the vehicles.

Tillotson is supposedly the best engine for minibikes and go karts. But they're twice as expensive.

 

[Electric Chicken]

I don't even know for sure if it's a lifan. It says Massimo on the engine but I think they just make the vehicles.

Tillotson is supposedly the best engine for minibikes and go karts. But they're twice as expensive.

Looks like it might be a Rato?

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/massimo-mb200-mini-bike-1346172