On July 25 I made my first unaccompanied really long trip on my scooter. I rode from Tacoma Washington to Beaverton Oregon. I was unsure what to expect, so I spoke with several motorcycle riders that I know, and all recommended that I take a tire repair kit, and a tool kit, I all ready have those.
The Saturday before my trip I changed my engine oil and final drive oil, checked all bolts and threaded fasteners and lights. Every thing was in order.
I used Mapsource for my gps unit and planed my route. Because my scoot is a 125cc I knew that I needed to avoid all freeway. That is one of the custom route planning tools in Mapsource.
Mapsource said it would take right at 3 hours, I was thinking 5. I was planning on maintaining 40 mph average. With wrong turns turns that I made the trip down was 4 hours 44 minutes and 177 miles my moving average speed was 36.8 miles per hour.
On the return trip north my time was 4 hours 14 minutes and 168 miles with a moving average of 40 miles per hour .
In town on my daily commute I average 81 miles per gallon, but on my trip I got 82.6 miles per gallon, with my throttle pined wide open.
I did stop for fuel more often than I would normally because I was not sure where the gas stations were, and my fuel tank only holds 1.2 gallons, thats not room for error.
I want and would do it again if the opportunity presents itself again, it was a blast.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Monday, June 30, 2008
Thoughts on the VINO 125 after 8000 miles.
Let me start by saying that I went with the Vino 125 because of the price point, and dealer network. All I had to choose from was Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha, I had no other dealers from which to choose. I didn't want to drive 40 to 50 miles just to get a part or service. Now on to my thoughts.
I feel that if you are a heavier rider like myself, the Vino 125 is probably better suited for you. I have read on many that lighter weight riders are complaining of a harsh ride,but they also say it gets better if they ride two up.
The tires Chen Shen are wearing better than I would have though. After 8000 miles they are still within safe limits for tire wear. Which bring up another question that I have to think about, continue to run Chen Shen tires, or replace them with a different tire?
I change my oil every 1000 miles , Mobil1, and have started to have it analyzed.
My power and mileage continued to increase up to about 6500 miles. I can't offer any numbers on power increase, other than to say I could feel it, and see it on the speedometer. A hill on my daily commute that I use to climb at 30mph at wide open throttle can now be climbed at 38 to 42 mph, depending on wind. I will say that my average speed on this hill is up by at least 5 to 6 mph.
My mileage, I have tracked it from day 1, has reached as high an average as it will get for now, at 77.6 I tell everyone that asks 80 mpg. My lowest was 64mpg and my highest was 90.6 mpg. I am very happy with 77.6 mpg.
Back to the speedometer, when I purchased the scooter I wanted to check the speedo for accuracy and was very pleased, it read 1.3% high, I again checked it at 5000 miles and it read 1.21% high. I conducted many tests, and they were two way tests, to see if the reading would be the same in both directions.
My top speed has also increased from the 54mph when brand new to 65 miles per hour now. The vinos sweet spot seem to be in the 45 to 55. During my testing I found out the Vino's CVT maxed out at 40 mph, so any thing over 40 was all engine.
If I could get Yamaha to make a few changes, I think they should be a larger fuel tank, a rear disk brake, and a larger generator. So would I buy another Vino 125 yes I would. I feel it is the most bang for your buck, in its size class, and price point. The dealer network for parts and service is quite large and there are 3 within eight miles of where I live.
I feel that if you are a heavier rider like myself, the Vino 125 is probably better suited for you. I have read on many that lighter weight riders are complaining of a harsh ride,but they also say it gets better if they ride two up.
The tires Chen Shen are wearing better than I would have though. After 8000 miles they are still within safe limits for tire wear. Which bring up another question that I have to think about, continue to run Chen Shen tires, or replace them with a different tire?
I change my oil every 1000 miles , Mobil1, and have started to have it analyzed.
My power and mileage continued to increase up to about 6500 miles. I can't offer any numbers on power increase, other than to say I could feel it, and see it on the speedometer. A hill on my daily commute that I use to climb at 30mph at wide open throttle can now be climbed at 38 to 42 mph, depending on wind. I will say that my average speed on this hill is up by at least 5 to 6 mph.
My mileage, I have tracked it from day 1, has reached as high an average as it will get for now, at 77.6 I tell everyone that asks 80 mpg. My lowest was 64mpg and my highest was 90.6 mpg. I am very happy with 77.6 mpg.
Back to the speedometer, when I purchased the scooter I wanted to check the speedo for accuracy and was very pleased, it read 1.3% high, I again checked it at 5000 miles and it read 1.21% high. I conducted many tests, and they were two way tests, to see if the reading would be the same in both directions.
My top speed has also increased from the 54mph when brand new to 65 miles per hour now. The vinos sweet spot seem to be in the 45 to 55. During my testing I found out the Vino's CVT maxed out at 40 mph, so any thing over 40 was all engine.
If I could get Yamaha to make a few changes, I think they should be a larger fuel tank, a rear disk brake, and a larger generator. So would I buy another Vino 125 yes I would. I feel it is the most bang for your buck, in its size class, and price point. The dealer network for parts and service is quite large and there are 3 within eight miles of where I live.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Reactions
I would like to apologize for my lack of posts lately, but with Family trips, a death in the family and my sons recent surgery, I just haven't had the time.
I love the reaction of small children when they see me on my scooter.
The other day I was going to Costco to have lunch with my wife. While stopped for a light , a father and son, he was maybe 5 or 6 walked across the street.
When they got to the other side the little fellow turned and waved, so I waved back. I heard him tell dad "He waved at me, He waved at me" in the excited pitch of kid when they get excited.
So I gave a little beep of the horn, It was then he got very excited and bounced up and down and yelled happily "He honked at me, He honked at me."
At which time dad turned around and waved with a big smile on his face.
I then went to lunch with my wife and related this encounter to her.
One other thing that I like to do is, if I am near a young boy as I lift up the front of my modular helmet is to make a hissing Phht type of sound. Like my helmet was sealed and I broke the seal.
They always smile.
I love the reaction of small children when they see me on my scooter.
The other day I was going to Costco to have lunch with my wife. While stopped for a light , a father and son, he was maybe 5 or 6 walked across the street.
When they got to the other side the little fellow turned and waved, so I waved back. I heard him tell dad "He waved at me, He waved at me" in the excited pitch of kid when they get excited.
So I gave a little beep of the horn, It was then he got very excited and bounced up and down and yelled happily "He honked at me, He honked at me."
At which time dad turned around and waved with a big smile on his face.
I then went to lunch with my wife and related this encounter to her.
One other thing that I like to do is, if I am near a young boy as I lift up the front of my modular helmet is to make a hissing Phht type of sound. Like my helmet was sealed and I broke the seal.
They always smile.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Vespadition, route change
Vespadition has had a change forced onto it. The dealer supplying the Vespa for the trip doesn’t want to ship to Philly.
You know I would have thought they would have considered where they are in regards to where Matua is, I mean nobody there understood that he is on the east coast and they are on the west coast. Maps people, Check the map.
This from the Vespadition web site... Exactly two (2) weeks from today Vespadition begins. As some of you know, there has been a change in the route. I will now be starting and ending in Thousand Oaks, California at Vespa Thousand Oaks. Other than that, the route is unchanged. For some of you that means I’ll get to you sooner. For others, I’ll arrive later.
So it sound like even though there is a fly in the ointment this is still really going to happen, and I look forward to seeing him when he arrives in my neck of the woods.
He still needs our support to make it easier so here is the link to Vespadition. http://vespadition.com/
You know I would have thought they would have considered where they are in regards to where Matua is, I mean nobody there understood that he is on the east coast and they are on the west coast. Maps people, Check the map.
This from the Vespadition web site... Exactly two (2) weeks from today Vespadition begins. As some of you know, there has been a change in the route. I will now be starting and ending in Thousand Oaks, California at Vespa Thousand Oaks. Other than that, the route is unchanged. For some of you that means I’ll get to you sooner. For others, I’ll arrive later.
So it sound like even though there is a fly in the ointment this is still really going to happen, and I look forward to seeing him when he arrives in my neck of the woods.
He still needs our support to make it easier so here is the link to Vespadition. http://vespadition.com/
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Vespadition
Can one person make a difference and have a good time doing it? I believe so and so does Peter also known as {Matua}. This is what he is planning, Vespadition, a 30,000+ mile scooter journey through the United States and Canada to promote kindness, compassion and volunteerism.
This is a sight seeing trip and an example for all of us. He will begin April the first in New York City. He will be volunteering his time through out this great journey.
From his web site, Since Vespadition came to bear; I have been reluctant to make myself more visible than the journey itself. Vespadition and the reasons for it aren’t about me. They’re about the people it touches. I want Vespadition to be “the ride to promote kindness, compassion and volunteerism.” I don’t want Vespadition to be, “this guy who is riding around North America.”
People who hear about Vespadition should relate it to kindness, compassion and volunteerism.
Genuinely, I’m undertaking this journey to promote kindness, compassion and volunteerism. I’m doing it to show as many people as possible that anyone can be kind, anyone can be compassionate, anyone can volunteer. And they needn’t leave their hometown to do it, either.
I want to inspire people to reach-out to their neighbors. Not the neighbors they know, but the ones they don’t know. I want to inspire people to stop by ‘that soup kitchen‘they’re always passing by. I want to inspire people to do ‘that thing‘they’ve ‘always wished they could do.’
Moreover, I’m doing Vespadition because I’m personally tired of talking-the-talk without walking-the-walk. I’m fed up with watching things happen and complaining about them without doing anything meaningful to change it. I’m doing it because I’m tired of being sad at the sight of some of the things I see going on in this world. I’m doing it because I’ve decided simply that I must.
I hope things work out and I am able to meet up with Peter when he comes through.
To make this trip a success Matua needs our support if you go to Vespadition you will see the link to chip in, all donations of ten dollars or more will be entered into a drawing for some very cool prizes the drawing closes on March 24, 2008.
Here is the link to his site http://vespadition.com/.
This is a sight seeing trip and an example for all of us. He will begin April the first in New York City. He will be volunteering his time through out this great journey.
From his web site, Since Vespadition came to bear; I have been reluctant to make myself more visible than the journey itself. Vespadition and the reasons for it aren’t about me. They’re about the people it touches. I want Vespadition to be “the ride to promote kindness, compassion and volunteerism.” I don’t want Vespadition to be, “this guy who is riding around North America.”
People who hear about Vespadition should relate it to kindness, compassion and volunteerism.
Genuinely, I’m undertaking this journey to promote kindness, compassion and volunteerism. I’m doing it to show as many people as possible that anyone can be kind, anyone can be compassionate, anyone can volunteer. And they needn’t leave their hometown to do it, either.
I want to inspire people to reach-out to their neighbors. Not the neighbors they know, but the ones they don’t know. I want to inspire people to stop by ‘that soup kitchen‘they’re always passing by. I want to inspire people to do ‘that thing‘they’ve ‘always wished they could do.’
Moreover, I’m doing Vespadition because I’m personally tired of talking-the-talk without walking-the-walk. I’m fed up with watching things happen and complaining about them without doing anything meaningful to change it. I’m doing it because I’m tired of being sad at the sight of some of the things I see going on in this world. I’m doing it because I’ve decided simply that I must.
I hope things work out and I am able to meet up with Peter when he comes through.
To make this trip a success Matua needs our support if you go to Vespadition you will see the link to chip in, all donations of ten dollars or more will be entered into a drawing for some very cool prizes the drawing closes on March 24, 2008.
Here is the link to his site http://vespadition.com/.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
MBI Poll
Once againe it is time to go to http://www.mbiweb.org/2008/vote.html and vote the the best or worst.
Help make this a good year by voting. It is your chance to the the cycling world what you think.
I think this this is a good idea, and really the only way that the riding public has to let the manufactures know how we feel.
Help make this a good year by voting. It is your chance to the the cycling world what you think.
I think this this is a good idea, and really the only way that the riding public has to let the manufactures know how we feel.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Joined a scooter club.
The area in which I live has no scooter clubs, so when Gary formed The Easy Peasy Scooter Posse I knew I wanted to join.
"EPSP was started by myself last year. It was just an idea that's grown into a club. The idea was to start a group that isn't all Vespa or all Honda or all modern or all vintage. I wanted to start a club whose members appreciated all makes and models of scooters without any prejudices. I see so many groups out there that lean this way and that way and they end up excluding people. So, I wanted to start a club that states from the outset that all scooters are accepted and appreciated, without question. Even if you have a Vietnamese restored scoot, we still love you. I created a patch for our club and had a limited run of them produced. The patch is a three-inch diameter patch and is the same as my avatar. I've been assigning membership numbers to whoever buys a patch at five bucks each. I had just 50 patches made and so the cost, including set-up fees runs me very close to breaking even. If you want to be a member, PM me your address and I'll send you one, along with the EPSP Mission Statement, and your EPSP number. I'll eat the postage. We have 23 members thus far, from California, Minnesota, Ohio, and W. Virginia. I just wanted to extend an invitation to those who might want to be part of the posse. The mission statement is this; Easy Peasey Scooter Posse What it means to be a member; We have fun We enjoy all types of scooters without regard to manufacturer We respect one another We help each other when needed We don’t differentiate between vintage or modern No dues No meetings No crybabies." The founder Gary Didler wanted a club where all would feel welcome, and in his statement makes that appearant.
That was from about a year ago now there are 57 members from 16 different states. I would call that a nation wide club.
This is not a one scooters only club, we have members that ride Veapas, Yamahas, Hondas, Kymcos, and several others, we also range from 50 cc to 400 cc. The one thing we all have in common is our love for scooters and riding them.
Its nice to have a group that you can talk to about your scooter and its problems, or get some information about riding gear, or any other topic you can think of.
Here is a shortcut to the EPSP fourm http://epsp.us/index.php so come by and take a look.
"EPSP was started by myself last year. It was just an idea that's grown into a club. The idea was to start a group that isn't all Vespa or all Honda or all modern or all vintage. I wanted to start a club whose members appreciated all makes and models of scooters without any prejudices. I see so many groups out there that lean this way and that way and they end up excluding people. So, I wanted to start a club that states from the outset that all scooters are accepted and appreciated, without question. Even if you have a Vietnamese restored scoot, we still love you. I created a patch for our club and had a limited run of them produced. The patch is a three-inch diameter patch and is the same as my avatar. I've been assigning membership numbers to whoever buys a patch at five bucks each. I had just 50 patches made and so the cost, including set-up fees runs me very close to breaking even. If you want to be a member, PM me your address and I'll send you one, along with the EPSP Mission Statement, and your EPSP number. I'll eat the postage. We have 23 members thus far, from California, Minnesota, Ohio, and W. Virginia. I just wanted to extend an invitation to those who might want to be part of the posse. The mission statement is this; Easy Peasey Scooter Posse What it means to be a member; We have fun We enjoy all types of scooters without regard to manufacturer We respect one another We help each other when needed We don’t differentiate between vintage or modern No dues No meetings No crybabies." The founder Gary Didler wanted a club where all would feel welcome, and in his statement makes that appearant.
That was from about a year ago now there are 57 members from 16 different states. I would call that a nation wide club.
This is not a one scooters only club, we have members that ride Veapas, Yamahas, Hondas, Kymcos, and several others, we also range from 50 cc to 400 cc. The one thing we all have in common is our love for scooters and riding them.
Its nice to have a group that you can talk to about your scooter and its problems, or get some information about riding gear, or any other topic you can think of.
Here is a shortcut to the EPSP fourm http://epsp.us/index.php so come by and take a look.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Scooter Skirt.
I recently acquired a scooter skirt, it is worn around your waist and has a place for your knees to go when seated in the riding position. There is also a pocket on the left side. The pocket is about 9 inches and is a usable size.
I got this scooter skirt to replace my rain pants which take several minutes to put on. The skirt is fast to put on, just swing it around your waist and fasten the d ring connector and it is on.
Not only is it water proof { so far }. The rain that I have tried it in has been lite to moderate. It has kept me dry and warm. AS for warm it is quilted and very wind proof.
Much of my commute is at night and in the upper 20's to low 40's this time of year, and the skirt dose plenty of wind blockage keeping my leg comfortable.
I would give this item 5 stars for the quality of its build, ease of use, comfort, and durability which I think by looking at it will be great.
Little features that I like are the pocket as mentioned before and the edging is a reflective material.
Here is the link for anyone interested http://www.scooterskirts.com/.
I got this scooter skirt to replace my rain pants which take several minutes to put on. The skirt is fast to put on, just swing it around your waist and fasten the d ring connector and it is on.
Not only is it water proof { so far }. The rain that I have tried it in has been lite to moderate. It has kept me dry and warm. AS for warm it is quilted and very wind proof.
Much of my commute is at night and in the upper 20's to low 40's this time of year, and the skirt dose plenty of wind blockage keeping my leg comfortable.
I would give this item 5 stars for the quality of its build, ease of use, comfort, and durability which I think by looking at it will be great.
Little features that I like are the pocket as mentioned before and the edging is a reflective material.
Here is the link for anyone interested http://www.scooterskirts.com/.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
2007 was a good year.
2007 was a good year to me and Tantor, we did two runs, with one being over 100 miles.
We aqmazed the "big" bikes that something so small could keep up muchless keep going that long. The other one was a toy run for a local childrens hospitial, where we were the smallest bike and one of only five non-harleys.
We commuted to work 80% of the time, the only day that Tantor got the day off was do to ice or if I had to transport one of my kids.
We rolled through 4,000, then 5,000, and finally 6,000 miles ending the year with 6,002 miles.
Saw our fuel milage top out at 80 miles per gallon.
Thank you to all of the people that read this last year, and keep reading it this year.
We aqmazed the "big" bikes that something so small could keep up muchless keep going that long. The other one was a toy run for a local childrens hospitial, where we were the smallest bike and one of only five non-harleys.
We commuted to work 80% of the time, the only day that Tantor got the day off was do to ice or if I had to transport one of my kids.
We rolled through 4,000, then 5,000, and finally 6,000 miles ending the year with 6,002 miles.
Saw our fuel milage top out at 80 miles per gallon.
Thank you to all of the people that read this last year, and keep reading it this year.
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