CajunJamie
New Member
Hi all, sorry for the obvious, but can someone please explain to me the meaning of a "rat" or "rat rod" and a "China girl"?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Please tell me what "China Girl" and "Rat" mean.
- Thread starter CajunJamie
- Start date
leadslinger
New Member
I like calling my a "China Doll"
spad4me
New Member
A 2 stroke motor that looks like the motor in this post.
Grubee Inc.
It was originally called a Happy Time .I quess because you could have a happy time riding it or more likely the importer could now afford to have a HAPPY TIME with your money for $30.00 of junk that you may have paid lots of cash for.
Political correctness showed its fangs and soon this engine was now cool to be called a China Girl.
Possibly because the manufacturer , Importer , And middle man could now afford a younger China Girl ( friend ). LOL
As for a RAT ROD my motorized bicycles some times resemble that remark.
Grubee Inc.
It was originally called a Happy Time .I quess because you could have a happy time riding it or more likely the importer could now afford to have a HAPPY TIME with your money for $30.00 of junk that you may have paid lots of cash for.
Political correctness showed its fangs and soon this engine was now cool to be called a China Girl.
Possibly because the manufacturer , Importer , And middle man could now afford a younger China Girl ( friend ). LOL
As for a RAT ROD my motorized bicycles some times resemble that remark.
Last edited:
bairdco
a guy who makes cool bikes
china doll and china girl are just nicknames for the basic 2 stroke bicycle motor.
Grubee has a motor they call the "rat" and it's supposed to be faster and more powerful than all the other ones. dunno why they call it a rat. thought it might have something to do with the year of the rat, but that was 2008, and this motor came out this year. this is the year of the "metal rabbit" which i think is a way cooler name for an engine.
a "rat rod" is a car, usually an older one, that's been hot rodded, but looks like it's unfinished, usually primered and rusty. it's kinda like a "jalopy." it may look like a piece of junk, but it's usually mechanically sound, and a lot of time went into making it look that way. as opposed to the traditionally restored hot rod that uses all original parts, paint, etc...
i think the term "rat" was originally used on motorcycles, as in "rat bike" and it usually described a bike that had all of it's mismatched parts held together with wire and grease, and was meant to be ridden instead of admired. that's the way i've heard the term used since i was born, and i've been around a lot of hardcore bikers since then.
now, there's a whole throwback culture, devoted to rat rods, rat bikes, whatever, and it's based on a combination of greasers, bikers, punk rockers, ex-skateboarders, people with too many regrettable tattoos... it's just another fad that some people take really serious. and i guess there's nothing wrong with that, but flat black and red aren't my favorite colors...
one slang term i find really funny is the term "slant head" for a cylinder head with an offset, angled spark plug. i can just imagine being in Koreatown in LA saying "my china doll has a slant head..."
that'd be a good way to get shot.
Grubee has a motor they call the "rat" and it's supposed to be faster and more powerful than all the other ones. dunno why they call it a rat. thought it might have something to do with the year of the rat, but that was 2008, and this motor came out this year. this is the year of the "metal rabbit" which i think is a way cooler name for an engine.
a "rat rod" is a car, usually an older one, that's been hot rodded, but looks like it's unfinished, usually primered and rusty. it's kinda like a "jalopy." it may look like a piece of junk, but it's usually mechanically sound, and a lot of time went into making it look that way. as opposed to the traditionally restored hot rod that uses all original parts, paint, etc...
i think the term "rat" was originally used on motorcycles, as in "rat bike" and it usually described a bike that had all of it's mismatched parts held together with wire and grease, and was meant to be ridden instead of admired. that's the way i've heard the term used since i was born, and i've been around a lot of hardcore bikers since then.
now, there's a whole throwback culture, devoted to rat rods, rat bikes, whatever, and it's based on a combination of greasers, bikers, punk rockers, ex-skateboarders, people with too many regrettable tattoos... it's just another fad that some people take really serious. and i guess there's nothing wrong with that, but flat black and red aren't my favorite colors...
one slang term i find really funny is the term "slant head" for a cylinder head with an offset, angled spark plug. i can just imagine being in Koreatown in LA saying "my china doll has a slant head..."
that'd be a good way to get shot.
CajunJamie
New Member
Many thanks for the explanations. These really helped and are very interesting.
jamie
jamie