"Horkin' Up Dangle Hams" (erob599)
08/22/2015 at 07:07 • Filed to: Scooterlopnik
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"Horkin' Up Dangle Hams" (erob599)
08/22/2015 at 07:07 • Filed to: Scooterlopnik | 1
| 15 |
As some of you may know, my DD is a sweet little 125cc Yamaha Cygnus L in a lovely shade of “I’ve been out in the sun too much and my plastic is dissolving” white. What you might not know, is that it is illegal.
You see, Wuhan, the Chinese city in which I reside, has a strict policy against gas powered motorcycles and scooters. In the past, they had to meet certain emissions requirement in order to be allowed into the city. The details of those requirements are still a mystery to me, but sufficed to say that my scooter did not, does not and will not meet them.
Which means I live outside of the law, operating on the dark border realms of society, the place that mothers beg their children not to tread.
Or at least I did, but, now, I might have to give up my scandalous ways. In the past, my rebel lifestyle didn’t require much sacrifice, I just had to make sure that I locked my scooter to something every time I parked it, otherwise the cops might swoop in and confiscate it.
As of about a week ago, however, it is illegal to fill any kind of scooter or motorcycle at a gas station in Wuhan. In other words, the man has finally caught up with me.
Or maybe not.
I have found a short term work around by means of getting gas from my good old scooter mechanic. My faithful steed and I live to ride another day, but for how long? How long till the mighty fist of local Communist environmental policy smashes my dreams of personal transportation?
Only time will tell.
nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul
> Horkin' Up Dangle Hams
08/22/2015 at 07:15 |
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So you can’t fill a scooter up at a gas station? Wouldn’t the loop hole be parking across the street and bringing a gas can over, filling it then bringing it over to your scooter? I imagine there’s plenty of scooters out there but why the ban? Don’t they get ridiculous mileage anyways?
KnowsAboutCars
> Horkin' Up Dangle Hams
08/22/2015 at 07:19 |
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Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready
> nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul
08/22/2015 at 07:22 |
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Emissions.
LongbowMkII
> KnowsAboutCars
08/22/2015 at 07:23 |
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I regret that I have but one star to give...
Tohru
> Horkin' Up Dangle Hams
08/22/2015 at 07:34 |
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Reason #635489673419867534 that Communism sucks.
Also, Chinese government environmental policy? Where?
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nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul
> Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready
08/22/2015 at 08:16 |
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Bummer
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Horkin' Up Dangle Hams
> KnowsAboutCars
08/22/2015 at 08:18 |
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Way ahead of you. Just bought one of those cans online.
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Horkin' Up Dangle Hams
> nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul
08/22/2015 at 08:24 |
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Mileage and emissions are different issues, unfortunately. My scooter might get great MPG (or KPG, as is the case here), but what comes out of the tailpipe is far worse than your average car. The same is true for stuff like lawnmowers, leaf blowers and other tools with smaller engines. Until recently, they put some seriously messed up shit into the air.
As for the gas can thing, they won’t fill one for you, and I haven’t tried to go after hours to see if the pump will work with my card (probably won’t). Just bought a gas can, though, and I will be trying to fill it up some time very soon.
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Horkin' Up Dangle Hams
> Tohru
08/22/2015 at 08:28 |
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Wuhan actually has, on average, even worse pollution than Beijing, where that picture was taken. I have accepted that I will need to spend a large part of the fortune I hope to make by working here on healing all the terrible damage that pollution will wreak on my body.
TractorPillow
> Horkin' Up Dangle Hams
08/22/2015 at 09:29 |
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Are you Chinese? I recently started hosting a 14 year old boy from China while he goes to school here. Some of his stories are just so different than what I know to be “fair” and normal. Anyways, keep fighting the man!
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TractorPillow
> Tohru
08/22/2015 at 09:32 |
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My Chinese kid that’s living with me is obsessed with taking pictures of our GA sky with the cool puffy white clouds and blue sky. Makes you appreciate things like clean air.
Berang
> Horkin' Up Dangle Hams
08/22/2015 at 10:29 |
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Disregarding the subtler aspects of emissions, you can only emit exhaust in proportion to fuel consumed. Emissions unfortunately are measured as a concentration rather than as a total volume, so they’re stacked against small engines, even though basic physics favors small engines.
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Horkin' Up Dangle Hams
> TractorPillow
08/25/2015 at 09:55 |
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I am not, just an American that wanted to do something a little different with his life. Plus, job opportunities for foreigners that speak Chinese are plentiful and well paid (hopefully that remains true till I graduate in three years). Please express my deep respect for your Chinese exchange kid. At 24, I am still a little intimidated by living abroad. That kid has some serious guts to go abroad at 14. I wish you both the best of luck!
PS. Any cultural misunderstandings so far? I am always curious about international exchange (hence the reason I’m doing a Master’s in international relations).
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TractorPillow
> Horkin' Up Dangle Hams
08/25/2015 at 10:13 |
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Very cool, and very smart to learn a tough language.
No real cultural misunderstandings that are any biggie yet. Sometimes I think some of his oddities are because he’s from China and then I remember he is just an awkward 14 year old going through puberty. We took him and two other Chinese exchange students to Caffeine and Exotics in Atlanta last week and they took turns driving around town in the Viper. It was fun seeing how excited they were. I guess the biggest cultural misunderstanding was that they thought the C7 corvette was the coolest car at the show haha. He also can’t stop talking about how everything costs so much more in China than here.
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Horkin' Up Dangle Hams
> TractorPillow
08/25/2015 at 10:25 |
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I would say that a lot of Chinese kids don’t mature quite as early as western kids. This is a gross generalization, of course, but you should talk to some of the 22 and 23-year-old kids I go to school with. They talk like children, especially the girls, with very little understanding of how the actual world works. These kids will benefit immensely from this time abroad, and not just because of the language exposure.
Sounds like you are doing a great job as a host! The C7 thing is unfortunate haha. I’ve desperately been trying to find one of those super rich Chinese kids you here about all the time so I can do a little mooching.
“Want me to DD tonight? Sure, I’ll be happy to drive you home in the Lambo!”
So far, I’ve only found decent humans beings with bikes though...