olddude

Forgive me for not posting up what a bunch of experts think. I found a long time ago that for every expert that has this view or that there is 10 more out there that tell a different story. I guess it just depends on which ever one of these experts you want to believe. Oh and from what I heard the stock market crash in 1929 is what led to the depression which probably means the last couple years of the twenties were not all that roaring. If you want to cut straws about when it started that's fine by me. FDR's new deal was supposed to end it and put the country back into prosperity but depending on who you want to believe all that massive spending and money printing draged the depression on for a good ten years. World war 2 started in 1939 the same time the depression ended. The US didn't enter into the war until Dec 1 1941 when we declared war on Japan a couple days later both Germany and Itlay declared war on the US and hours later we followed suit by declaring war on both countries. Things were really bad in Germany during the depression which led to a really good politician that told the German people what they wanted to hear thus starting his reign of terror on anyone that got in his way. The war effort not government spending is what led to the end of the depression and the years of growth and prospirity that followed. You are right that the gubment war department funded the war effort but you seem to want to forget that it was the American people that did the work to supply this war machine. The gubment didn'r make any of the gun's bullets tires and armour it took to fight the war. It was US companies that were charged with the task of making stuff which required American workers to do the work. They worked long and hard to get it done and in the end it was these workers that got it done. These people were glad to get back to work and happy to be making their money rather than depending on the 50 cents an hour they were making in the CC camps funded by the gubment. My belief is that the country grew in spite of the massive taxation the gubment demanded from it's people. Just like the old saying, "Life will find a way". So will the American people and the companies that provide the work for them to feed their families and get ahead. Our government has become a massive bloted mass of coruption and trickery. You could fire half of the people that work in gubment jobs and it wouldn't amount to a bag of beans. I'm kind of sorry to say that I once had a gubment job and it was at the top of the list of my favorite jobs. There were over 500 people that worked in those warehouses and out of those 500 there were about a hundred of those that actually did anything. I didn't fit in well there with most because I was a go getter. The way I looked at it if I had to be there 8 hours a day I might as well do my job. Most of the people did not like the idea of people actually doing the work because it might catch on and it made them look bad. I went there a general laborer and in just 6 weeks The big guy called me in and offered me a floor formans job along with a 50 cent raise. I accepted the job and I started the next week. When I reported the boss gave me a log book and a clip board with a list of things they wanted to get done for the week and a list of the guys that had to report to me. There were 75 names on that list; I looked at the work load and the list of names and I laughed. He looked at me with a half grin on his face and said yeah, I know what your thinking but you'll understand in a couple days. Out of the 75 guys on that list on a good day about 30 people would show up and by 10:00 half of those were gone. Out of the 75 guys on that list I could count on about 10 and a couple of those wouldn't make it back after lunch a couple days a week. Still we finished our list most of the time by thursday and a lot of times were were done Wed by noon. Once a week I would have a meeting with my boss to talk over what was next. One day I told him that I had to ask what some would think to be a pretty dumb question but I'm going to ask it anyway. I asked him if he ever looked at the logbook I turned in every week and wanted to know how who is really responsible for all these people on this list? Is it my responsiblity to run these people down everyday because if it is I'll need a shorter work load because I would spend all my day looking for people. He said don't worry about that, that's just the way it works around here. He told me that 12 of the people on that list have not even reported to work for the past 3 years. The higer ups figured it was better to just let them stay home rather that have them around the warehouse for fear of them getting run over by a folk truck while they were sleeping in one of the corners around the warehouse. I said just how can that be can't you fire them? He said your kidding, right? You are forgetting your working for uncle sam what do you expect? Well it wasn't long after that and just shortly after Ronald Regan came into office My boss came to me with a tear in his eye and told me that this friday would be my last day working there. I looked at him and said what did I do wrong? He said nothing at all and if it was up to him I would have a job there for as long as I wanted it....BUT, our new president has decided to cut all non essential people especially those that had not completed their one year anniversary in their job. When you signed on you were classed as a temp employee that could be let go anytime until you made perminate status. I had just three week's to go. He tried everything in his power to get it to where I could stay but rules are rules. I never held it against Regan though because just the short time I worked for the gubment I knew deep down that he was really right and that something needed to be done about the way things were done at these work places. It didn't make me feel really well when I saw my old boss a month or two later. we were talking about this and that when I asked about what happened to all those people that never showed up for work, are they gone? No, he said with a frown on his face. He just said some things never change. I didn't figure it out for a long time when he told me I had been born wrong. It took 3 months of looking for a job before I realized just what he meant, because Affirmative Action had made me over qualified for everything I looked at. I never tride the ditch digger route maybe that would have been different. That's all I have time for today.

I don't know why I do this. I often wonder how people could get to the point that they really believe some of the stuff you think is so right. I guess that is why for the last 50 yrears or so people have gotten to the point that they just like free stuff. I'll argue the point about how wonderful things were for 50 years was not the result of all that money the gubment stole from the rich. It was because in the late 20's the country and most of the world went into a depression like never seen before. By the time it was over the gubment went into action to fix a problem that they was partially responsible for. The new deal with it's massive gubment spending kept something going for almost ten years that it was supposed to fix in 100 days. The depression led to WW2 which led to more spending for the defence department. The money spent on the war was a bunch but it still didn't amount what the gubment spent and still are spending for the social programs they created to fix their problem. The war effort put people to work which led to the great prosperity you speak of that lasted well past the 30 year mark until people started getting lazy again. After the war when the men came most started families which started the largest population expantion ever. These men had gone through some really tough times along with the ones that stayed at home, and they survived. Those that did decided that their kids would never have to go through the hardships they had to endure. They worked not to just pay their bills and eat they wanted to give their kids the things they wanted not just the things they needed. During these times people quickly became addicted to the easy life along with the never ending supply of gubment money. Where does the gubment get it's money? They don't create anything of value it only comsumes what it can grub out of it's menions. Me thinks that our gubment should live within their means just like normal people have to. When the gubment starts taking over half of what people make the business man figures out a way to survive and make a profit. Big business doesn't give a rat's azz what the gubment's tax rate is because all they do is raise their prices to cover their cost. Now! just who does that help? Nobody, not the business because he's back to square one. Who it hurts, is the little guy that is pretty much on a fixed income. Let's talk about the unions. They push to raise the minimum wage because when that happens their wages go up because their wage scale is pretty much based on a certain % over what the minimum wage is. The minimum wage was never meant to be a living wage it was put in place to keep some businesses from getting away with forced slave labor wages. Some jobs are just not worth $ 10.00 an hour no matter how you look at it. Minimum wage was never intended to supply enough money to feed a family of 10 on. It's a starting place for people to get into the work force to gain the basic skills and work expirence needed to move on to the next step. There again, if someone chooses to work like that their whole life who's fault is that? You call it renting yourself to the man I call it an opertunity to better myself. If you don't like what your getting; then quit what you are doing. It's easy to sit back and cry foul and complain all your life, it takes courage to do something about it. There is no reason in this country that anyone who is willing to work for it can't get as far as they want to go. I'll agree some of these businesses around today are totally out of control and need to be taken down a knotch. The problem with that is all of them are in bed with the politicians that make the laws that are supposed to protect us. You complain about rich people why do you keep voting for the same bunch that are beating you up each day. People go out an bang on doors asking for people to vote them into office. He/she drives a old beater and can hardly afford to put gas in it and somehow sweet talks their way into office and within 3 or 4 years is a millionaire. Some of the people in congress are some of the richest people in the country and there is just something wrong with that. Nothing will ever change as long as the same bunch is guarding the hen house. If you want change lobby for a ballanced budget admendment and term limits for these crooks. There are a few other things you could lobby for but these would be a good start. The way they have the system designed is to hold you back. it's not the business man they are in the same boat as you are. Most of the politicians see the need to keep the avegrage working man to a point where he just makes enough to barely scrap by from week to week. They are the largest voting block there is so they have a vested interest in keep your nose to the grind stone because they are the largest group to get their tax money from. They promise you anything but you can bet the bank that they have already figured out how to twist the knife even deeper into your back while the stand there smiling at you.

The only people calling for censorship are the democrits. They are crapping their panties now that twitter has changed hands. So your saying it would be great for hillory to get elected just because of a few cent's tax on internet purchases? The democrits will do absolutely anything to keep their power, nothing is off the table for them. They have been successful at dividing up the country into little blocks of one group or another and every day they come up with some other poor poor souls that need saving so they can come to the rescue. Just how is that good for the country? No contry on earth will ever be successful and prosperous by taxing the rich. Oh and just who are the rich anyway? What is the difinition of a rich guy? Rather that beat up on the rich you should celebrate the people that go out and better themselves and become successful That's what this country is all about and why we are the greatest country on the planet. Just tell me how someone sitting on their sofa collecting a check from the government is good for the country. Life is not supposed to be fair in that it's a right for one group to take what others have worked for just to make it even. No country in existance today has ever become great and properous while governing by the socialist dream. It's not possible, there are just not enough rich people in any country to pull that one off. A few hundred years ago people fled a country that ruled like that. They sacrificed everything to come here to be free of that kind of life. They faught a revolution to make it possible for the people to live in a free world without unfair taxation. Things were not fair then either, you either worked or starved to death and I am one that still believe that premis, Yes we are also a charitable, nation that looks out for the folks that can't provide for themselves but you can't really believe that those same people should grub a new Caddy out of the deal. There is a difference between a hand up and a hand out. When you start handing out money by the truck load it's not good for anybody not even the people with those open hands. My dad to struggled along too. He raised 5 kids that never missed a meal we always had shoes and close on our backs. He never realized what it was like to have money in the bank until later on in life. He didn't die rich by any means but what he had he was proud of in that he worked his azz off to get what he had. He never asked anyone for anything that he couldn't get on his own. The only credit he ever had was his house payment and one time his 25 year old car dropped dead and he liked to be able to get to work so he replaced his old car for a new 15 year old car on credit. That worried the heck out of him and he would fuss up a storm every month when he had to make the $22.00 payment but he always paid on time. Taking money away from one person to give to someone else is just wrong. The cops call that robery.

I found the serial # that is stamped into one of the vertical risers on the left front. A check of that number says it's a 2011, AT-500 LT. I've been all over the web comparing parts. That's how I figured it out that it wasn't a 400 like the guy told me it was. I was just wondering how someone could rebuild an engine like that, there is a lot of difference between a 400 and a 500. My first thought that someone had changed out the frame for some reason. I'm trying to figure out really what this engine is when I don't have a bike to compare them with. I hate to tear down the engine to see what's in there. There was a 450 fi limited addition late that year in 08. Those two engines share a lot of the same parts but there are some differences also. There has got to be some way to tell without having to tear down the engine. Right now I'm going with the 500 only because that's what the serial says but it's still a mystery why they called it a 400. Someone told me that there is a number stamped into the case that tells the story but when I put in that number nothing comes up, nor do I see anything on any of the parts sites that makes reference to any number like that. Yesterday I finally got the front wheels off the bike and I put new brake pads on. I had to get a special socket to get the lug nuts off. I was also able to adjust the rear brake so now I have brakes on both ends. One problem though I now have a sticky caliper on the left side which is most likely why the pads were worn down to bare metal. I'm thinking there shoudn't be too much diffference between the two models and hopefully I can get caliper rebuild kits and rebuild them both. I also got the winch working but I had to rob the control wiring from another new winch I had already. I had to switch the control wires from the way they were. The way it was it had the longer wires went to the battery with the shorter ones going to the winch. I switched them around so that I could put the controller under the seat rather than having the box right at the winch. That's what happened to the old controller, water got to it and fried the solenoid. Hopefully I can get out into the woods this weekend to really see what I have. Theres still a few more things I want to address but I'm going to wait until I know for sure just what I have.

Even the poor in this country are much better off than people from any other place this world has to offer. Just what is poor anyway? Is it the guy that get's up and works 9 hours a day, 6 days a week and he still can't afford what the guy across the street can? I know a few of what on paper would qualify as poor people. They wouldn't take a lick at a snake if it was about to bite him them. Yet when the guy with the weed comes to call they are quick to pull out wad of cash that would choke a mule. Two of them love to rub it in your face about how much cash they have. One of them lives in a beat up camper and the other one lived in his caddy for 4 years until it was time to buy another one then he moved in with his poor ol mom. Another one will work and he is probably one of the smartest mechanics I know. He can fix anything and could be making 60, 70 grand a year possibly more but never has he worked more than two or three days in a row for as long as I have know him. he'll work just enough to get enough for cigs and beer for a few days and then find something else to do for a couple days and the cycle continues. He just like most of the other poor people chooses to live like that. Yeah there was a time when a man could feed and provide for his family. But, that was when a loaf of bread was 15 cents a quart of milk was a quarter and a gallon of gas was 14 cent. life was still a struggle then just like it is now. People then lived within their means, they didn't have a 65" flat screen in every room in the house and 2 or 3 nice shiney cars in their driveway. A second home down by the river and a 30' boat at the dock. A lot of people now days don't have the same work ethic they once had mainly because of the fast and free money the government hands out. I know a few that made more money sitting at home than they were making at work. A country can't keep on being the best in the world with crap like that going on. I'm glad I'm up in the years and probably won't be breathing air to many more year's. I hate to think about what this country will be in another 25 years if the left is allowed to carry on the way they have for the past 50 or so. Also thank god that, that crooked beast lost that election. and yeah, there probably most likely that there would be no china flu if she had because before it's over that stuff has democrit finger prints all over it.

Around here they don't take kindly to riding on any hard road. If you have to cross a hard road you better be pushing it. Having said that some folks can get away with just about anything. There was a kid up the street that used to ride his blaster up and down the road all the time but then one day he flew by and just a little bit later the car with the blue lights went by in hot pusuit. I ain't seen that kid or the 4 wheeler since.

Mixing two weights isn't a real problem but if you have pure synthetic oil in there it's not a good idea to mix in carbon based oil. There is however a synthetic blend oil that you could possibly mix without problems between changes. Oil is oil and some oil is a far cry better than no oil.

Bullcrap!! Just because the right would rather see people actually get out and work rather than send them a check every month while they lay around on the sofa watching ophrey all day.

One thing I learned a long time ago is that there is always going to be rich and there is always going to be poor people. No matter what country you live in it's the same. The left uses the so called poor as another tool in their tool box to use to rack up votes. Anybody that thinks the lft really gives a crap about poor people needs to take a real hard look at their thinking process. I never done any real research on this but Id bet there are more rich democrits than there are rich repubs. No country will settle it's poor people problem by taxing the so called rich. There just ain't enough of them. I'll say this and then I'll leave you alone Trump would still be president if it wasn't for that china flu.

I just bought a KingQuad and it seems I am the third owner. The guy I got it from said it was a 2008, 400. When I first looked at it I could tell the machine had, had a pretty rough life. The plastics were all wire tied together and a lot of it was missing all together. I wasn't to worried about the plastic, that is until I checked the prices on that stuff.LOL I was more worried about the nuts and bolts than the plastic. Actually the bike was in pretty good shape mechanically and I could tell the original owner, although he ran the pure living crap out of it he did replace stuff when it broke. I could see that all the CV shafts had been replaced and both drive shafts had new boots on them. The suspention was all tight and according to the guy I bought it from the guy told him that he had gone through the motor. I drove it around his yard and everything worked but the brakes, there was none at all, but it had plenty of pep and no smoke so I pulled out 28 hunnard dollar bills and waved them before his eyes and he forgot all about the $3200.00 he was asking and away I went. He gave me a box of parts the guy gave him that had a new CV shaft, a tie rod shaft, a oil filter and two sets of brake pads which was a plus. Oh and I also liked the fairly new wheels and mud tires that were on it. When I got home the first thing I did was to make a list of some things I wanted to replace. I especially didn't like the front fender and the side plastic pieces and also I wanted to get a service manual. I got on line and found a 2008 400 manual and I bought it for $22.00. AS soon as I downloaded the manual I knew something was wrong. First was the rear brakes. The 400's had brake shoe's and this bike has that newer brake system that's on the front of the rear differential. Also there was no FI on the 08 400 So I got to looking some more and I saw that there was a 450 that was a limited addition that year which had that braking system so I ordered one of those. Once I downloaded that one I could see there were more things that were different so I'm back to square one. Then I decided to try and find the serial no, which I probably should have done to start with but you know how it is. The guy I got it from said he didn't use it but a couple times to pull deer out of the woods but where he was at there was some of the worst mud I have ever seen......Oh did I mention that he said he never did anything to it but put gas in it, that I truly believe. I took it out side and started to get the mud off so I could find the serial number. Three hours later of scraping, brushing and finally pressure washing the frame I could see paint. The number wasn't where I was told it would be and another hour gone with a magnafying glass I finally found the number. It was close to where it was supposed to be but I couldn't see it. I finally took a tooth brush and rubbed the area and finally I found it. Did I mention that before that a nice guy over on another site told me it might be a 500 because they did have a 500 FI in 08 so I got one of those too but it too was off a little. Well I wrote the number down an went in to do a search and the first one came up serial not found. The next one the same thing so back out to look again and what I looked at was right so back to the house to try again. The third check came back a 2011 500 x something. I tried several more search sites and they all came up with the same thing. Now the next thing that I'm wondering and probably worries me the most........How in the hell could someone rebuild an engine that was supposed to be a 400 when it's actually a 500. I checked the air filter and that was one of the first things that I found strange. The 400's had a front mounted foam filter and this one was top mounted. When I finally found it it looked to me that it had never been cleaned lor replaced I guess everybody was looking for a foam filter and never looked in the filter box on top. I ordered a K&N filter but that thing don't seem to fit right. when the filter screw is all the way tight there is a small gap at the top and the filter can be moved side to side and you can grab it on top and the whole thing will turn. Let's see three service manuals and a $60..00 air filter and I still don't have anything, what have I done?

Awh yeah, Fleebay was my friend when we were racing I bought and sold on there pretty much daily. That was before they got so money hungry. I don't know how those guys make any money selling on there now the way it is. I'm sure those really big sellers get a better deal than someone like me selling five or six parts a week. I tried one of those stores one time and by the time they finish with you with all the charges for this or that it would cost you six bucks to sell a four dollar part. I closed the store and once I settled up with them I almost broke even. And about a month later they sent me a note saying I had a $15.00 refund comming my way.......that was 16 years ago and I still haven't been able to figure out how to get it.

Thanks, and I think that would be a very good Idea, the list I mean. It's been quite awhile since we were racing and I have lost all my old part suppliers. I was running Yamahas then and at the time I was a Yamaha dealer so I got spoiled being able to buy parts at cost with free shipping and most of the time they were there the next day. I was never scared to use Weisco I never ever had a problem with a piston kit or a crank kit I got from them. I never worried too much about gaskets or seals either because most of the time they didn't stay on the engine that long because those bikes stayed fresh all the time. Two races was about the limit on a piston kit and the bottom end's were refreshed once a season or sometimes twice depending on haw many classes we decided to do that year. I had a spare engine that was ready to go and I have been known to change a whole engine between motos once or twice when it was a real important race and doing a top end between motos usually happened about once monthly. Some of the tracks were brutal on those 125's especially the real long long tracks like Birch Creek. Running three classes four laps each and by the last lap those bikes were running on a prayer and trust me I was very religous back in the day.LOL

Just wondering where you guy's an Gal's get your parts. I love buying OEM stuff but sometimes they just cost to darn much for what they are. I know, I know everybody needs to make a living but dang! $ 97.00 for brake pads on one side of the front of my KingQuad. There has got to be a better way.

I somewhat agree with Mech somewhat. What I found with a lot of customers is no matter how much talking you do is they only hear what they want to hear. They bring you a boat motor, lawn mower, motor bike or what ever for an oil change. You ask is that all you need? They say yeah that's it. You change the oil and filter then call them to tell them it's done. They say great I'll be by to pick it up later. Three or four weeks later they roll in and haul it out. Thirty minutes later they call back fussing, you changed my oil and now my mower blades are dull and I want to know what you plan on doing about it. You explain that they were offered the three different plans we had to offer and you chose the basic plan that only covered the oil change, They don't ever seem to remember you offering them the super duper plan with the oil change that covered a basic check over, a deck cleaning, blade sharpening if needed, new spark plug and a compression check for $49.95 all the remembered was the $9.95. Oh, they remembered all those other things you mentioned in the super duper plan they just forgot about the $49.95 part. That's one thing I don't mind missing out on by not being in business anymore.LOL

Hey....New guy here from Richmond VA. area. We raced Moto X with 125's and 250's (bikes) for years but got a little to old for that.LOL I had a bunch of ATV's over the years and I just bought an old beater Suzuki King Quad for hunting and playing in the woods. It needs a lot of TLC As the two last owners had little regard for anything but just riding the pure living heck out of it. I knew what I had bought and it didn't bother me because I have been a mechanic of some sort all my life and getting a little grease on my hands has never bothered me. You guy's have a fun day.