Donuts or Cookies? What's the difference?

We got our first measurable snow fall today.

I taught Caleb how to spin his ATV around in circle after circle. He was grinning from ear to ear.

One Very Happy Boy.

Larry's Random Thoughts

Ginnea Pig - Update.

I got around to charging the battery and putting some gas in it today.

It started right up! YES!!! I let it idle for a few minutes then I drove it around the house a few times. (I hope Caleb doesn't notice the tire marks in the dirt). Swapped out the engine oil.

Almost ready to ride.

Ginnea Pig...

Everytime I ask someone "Hey, you ever known anybody that has tried one of those Kids ATVs from China? I can't believe the price.", I get the same response. "No, but they look really nice."

ARGH!!!!

So what do I do? Do I buy a new well known brand name ATV for $2500 or do I buy a used one that is 3-5 years old for $1200. These machines typically will be 90cc (max) without lights, without electric starter, without reverse, and often without a suspension.

~OR~

Do I buy an ATV from China??? Reviews are all over the place. Some people hate 'em, some people love 'em.

I needed so see one myself to judge how well they were built. I also wanted to get an idea of how large a 50cc compared to a 90cc and how that compared to the 110cc. Luckily, just over the border in ME, there is a guy that sells the RedCat brand. He had a 50cc (that fit Zach perfectly, sorry not this year Zach) and a 90cc that was OK size for Caleb right now, and he also had a 110cc that was a little big (in my opinion) for Caleb. The owner of the shop was great, he brought me to his house and even showed my his own son's 80cc ATV that was on a larger frame than the 90cc, but still smaller than the 110cc. My problem was that he wanted around $1000 for the 90cc and $1300 for the 80cc. I left there thinking that I wanted the 80cc, but wasn't willing to fork over the cash. I also new that I could get the same model online for under $1000.

After a few more weeks of research...

I called a few online dealers, read a bunch more forums, finally decided to buy a Kazuma Baby Falcon 110.

I went this direction based on price and features.
$$$ UNDER A GRAND $$$ Delivered to my home
Driving Lights
Electric start
Keys
3 speed with Reverse
Baby Falcon (110cc motor) but sits a couple inches lower that the normal 110 Falcon.
Better than normal foot guards.
Easy access to parts online.


Delivery: This was delivered from Georgia in less than a week. It came in a crate, that was re-enforced with a steel frame.

Assembly: Once I got the crate apart, assembly is basically just bolt on the wheels, attach the plastic foot guards and straiten and tighten the handle bars. They also suggest swapping out the engine oil, after running for a few minutes. I also chose to "lock-tite" a bunch of stuff as most of the complaints on the forums were about pieces rattling loose and then getting broke.

So, there it is Dads I'll be the ginnea pig on this one.

I'm pretty sure this gets me the #1 Dad award on Christmas morning. Little does he know that he is not getting anything for his birthday for several years. :)

Here are a few pictures.

SUCCESS!!

I went for my first ride in a long time this weekend with my Brother-in-law (Dennis) and a few friends. I got to Dennis's house at 11:30, it was a little over a 2 hour drive from my house. There were 4 of us there ready to ride, so we geared up. It was a little chilly, in the mid 30's (I could see snow off in the distant mountains) so everyone added a few layers. One more guy was going to show up around 1:00, but we couldn't wait. Off we went....

Luckily we can hit the trails right from Dennis's house, just a few minutes through the woods your right on the trails.

Unfortunately, We got about 5 miles out and Pee-Wee (don't ask its been his nickname since childhood) lost the master link in his chain. So Dennis headed back to the house to get a few parts and tools as the rest of us walked up and down the trail to see if we could find the master link. About 15 minutes later as I was walking up the trail and the other guys where walking down the trail towards me, we stopped to talk and when I looked down, there it was, right in the mud puddle beside us. TOO STRANGE... We didn't find the clip, but Dennis was back with all the parts needed. After we (Dennis) fixed the bike, we harassed the Polaris owner and headed out for a quick ride before we headed back to the house to pick up the guy that was running late. My sister (Amy) made beef-stew and corn bread muffins for lunch, we ate quickly and headed back out.

Dennis checking out the damage.

Dennis and PeeWee putting it back together.

Yes, that's snow!

Success Pond
Success Pond

Success Pond
The Gang (Luke-350Honda, Larry-450Honda, Ray-500ArticCat, Dennis-400Bombardier, PeeWee-250Polaris)
We rode almost 60 miles. Lots of water, mud, and fun. We are trying to plan a trip up to Errol in November. I'm nearly crippled to today, I need to ride more often so that it doesn't hurt so much to have so much fun. :)

Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day!

In case you didn't know (I didn't until I got an email), September 19 is talk like a pirate day.

Ahoy, silly me, I should have known. Aye.

For more information go to http://www.talklikeapirateday.com/wordpress/

So many questions... So little time...

So tonight I checking the batteries in something that was not working with my volt meter, something that would normally just take a few seconds without any distractions . (cue Zach 4 years old)... "Dad, what is that", not wanting to explain Ohm's Law to him I flippantly responded back, "It's a rectal thermometer". This is usually where he would just shrug his shoulders and walk away. (cue Caleb 8 years old)... "Dad, I know what a rectal thermometer is". "You do", I responded. "Yes", he said, "It's an old broken thermomter that has been wrecked". "Yup that's right", I said.

I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get a call from his teacher tomorrow. :)

So I guess this will be the place where I should put my random thoughts of things happening around me.