Toys for Tots run.

November 24 was the Legacy Vet's M.C. Toys for tots run in Tacoma Washington, there were about 250 bikes with over 300 riders and passengers. All told just under 2600 dollars and a truck full of toys was raised for Mary Bridge Children's Hospital. I was told the largest bike was 125 cubic inches and I had the smallest at 125 cc, I was also the only scooter there.

Can you find my little piggy there in with the hogs. Photo on right.

The photo on the left shows some of the riders at Mary Bridge at the end of the the ride, I was going to go up on the parking structure and get a better one but my batteries died and i only had one set, live and learn.

It was a fun day with live music, a bar-b-que, and a raffle.

I would like to say Thank You to Destination Harley and all the riders for their support for Mary Bridge.

TOYS FOR TOTS, TACOMA

November 24 is the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital Toys for Tots run.
They start a Destination Harley-Davidson in Fife WA. 10 dollar donation, new toys welcome, [no stuffed animals please], BBQ AT NOON. Reg at 11am ride leaves at noon.
Info: Sgt. Bilko 253 208 7791 or 253 278 9535
Won't my VINO 125 and myself look out of place at a Harley dealer, I will take pictures.
I have personal experance with Mary Bridge with my son, please come if you can.

Questions about Mobil1.

This is about my use of synthetic oil and Mobil1, as generated by questions from my post titled Mobil1.

Can you elaborate a little more on what those numbers mean? Those lower percentages of metals, are those presumably worn off from engine parts? What made you decide to try Mobil 1? I've heard that synthetics are much better in low temperatures, so this is good timing.

First you need to know what I am using for my limits, this comes from Bob is the oil guy.

Table I. Engine problems predicted with oil analysis.
Indicator
Acceptable Levels
Engine Problem
What to Check
Silicon (Si) and Aluminum (Al)
10 to 30 ppm
Dirt ingestion
Air intake system, oil filter plugging, oil filler cap and breather, valve covers, oil supply
Iron (Fe)
100 to 200 ppm
Wear of cylinder liner, valve and gear train, oil pump, rust in system
Excessive oil consumption, abnormal engine noise,performance problems, oil pressure, abnormal operating temperatures, stuck/broken piston rings
Chromium (CR)
10 to 30 ppm
Piston ring wear
Excessive oil blow-by and oil consumption, oil degradation
Copper (CU)
10 to 50 ppm
Bearings and bushings wear, oil cooler passivating,radiator corrosion
Coolant in engine oil, abnormal noise when operating at near stall speed
Lead (Pb)*
40 to 100 ppm
Bearing corrosion
Extended oil change intervals
Copper (CU) and Lead (Pb)*
10 to 50 ppm
Bearing lining wear
Oil pressure, abnormal engine noise, dirt being ingested in air intake, fuel dilution, extended oil drain intervals
Aluminum (Al)
10 to 30 ppm
Piston and piston thrust bearing wear
Blow-by gases, oil consumption, power loss, abnormal engine noise
Silver and Tin
2 to 5 ppm 10 to 30 ppm
Wear of bearings
Excessive oil consumption, abnormal engine noise, loss in oil pressure
Viscosity Change
Lack of lubrication
Fuel dilution, blow-by gases, oil oxidation, carburetor choke, ignition timing, injectors, injector pump, oil pressure
Water/Anti-freeze
Coolant leak or condensation
Coolant supply, gasket sealed, hose connection, oil filler cap and breather
* Significant as wear metal, only for engines using unleaded and diesel fuel.

As you can see he also says what the cause of the metal is, and also other things also.
My numbers,Iron- 12 ppm with Yamalube 10w40[ will be given first], 8ppm with Mobil1 a drop 25%, Lead- 4 ppm, down to 0, Copper- dropped from 15 ppm to 5 ppm, Chromium and Aluminum both went from 3 ppm to zero ppm, neither sample had any Nickel or Silver, and Tin dropped from 2 ppm down to 0 ppm.
Those are wear metals, and based on these numbers I would have to conclude that synthetic oil does indeed cause less wear on engine parts.

What made me try Mobil1? Two things I came from the air force where I worked on F-15 aircraft. The turbine engines used synthetic oil and I we ever did was sample it, after every flight.
I know of only 2 times the oil was changed both involved bird strikes. So I knew that synthetic oil would preform at high temp.
I researched different synthetic oils and went with Mobil1 based on cost and several people I know who use it, but I can get it at Costco for $30.00 a case of six. I use a liter of oil for each change so six will get me 5 changes and a bottle of make up oil to use to make the liter.

Yes synthetics do flow better in the cold, Mobil1 has a pour point of -45C, much colder than I will ride in. It also has a flash point of 224C.

I hope this has answered some questions about my use of Mobil1, and you find it useful in making your decision whether to use synthetic oil or not.

To Mod or not to Mod.

To mod or not to mod that is the question. Lots of people modify their scooters for varies reasons, performance, fuel mileage, or just to make it stand out in a crowd. Is modification good or bad? That is for the rider to decide. I wrote this to get people thinking about to mod or not to mod.

Me, I have chosen not to do any modification at this time. My scooter a 2006 YAMAHA VINO 125 doesn't have a lot of after market parts yet, but there are some. When I say I haven't done any mod's, I haven't modded the engine, cvt, or exhaust.
I have added an aftermarket windscreen, for comfort and protection from bug and rocks that get kicked up. I also changed the spark plug to a iridium one, for easier starts both hot and cold.
I also switched from a petroleum base oil to a synthetic one, this has reduced wear in the engine. At the present time I do not foresee any mod in the future for my scooter.

The performance is where I think it should be {for me}. I can keep up with traffic zero to fourtyfive and my mileage is great at 80 miles per gallon.

I feel the YAMAHA engineers got it very close to perfection when they made this scooter. Do I think I could improve it,yes. Do I think that it would be cost effective, not at this time. I do not think at this time , for me, the money spent for mods would not equal the gains made. I will wait until I need to do something more than just routine maintenance.

I think the VINO 125 is the perfect commuter, and day tripper. When used within its limits it can't be beat.
So will I mod mine, no not yet.

Who gets it?

Is Yamaha the only one of the big three that gets it? Consider, they have the 50 cc Vino, with a carburetor,the 50 cc C3, with fuel injection, the 50 cc, two stroke, Zuma, and moving up Yamaha has the Vino 125, the 250 cc Morphous, and the 400 cc Majesty.
Yamaha has a scooter for any need, for any one, for intercity commuting, to day long touring.

Honda has the 50 cc Metropolitan, and Ruckus, and then they go to the 582 cc Silverwing.
That is what I can find for Honda 2008 scooter lineup from the Honda website.

Suzuki has only the Burgman in 400 cc and 650 cc nothing in the small and medium size scooter classes.

In my opinion Suzuki is missing out on a lot of market share by not having any offerings below 400 cc, and Honda has left out the medium sized scooter market.
Yamaha seems to have a better grasp on what the scootering population in America wants.

If Honda would have offered something in the 125 to 200 cc class I would be riding a Honda instead of a Yamaha.

I did not mention Genuine or Kymco as I do not feel the have the dealer network to be a truly major player in the U.S. Although by all accounts they do make a quality product.
When Kymco get the dealer network they will have more offerings in more sizes than the others. Just recently a Kymco dealer opened here, a review of this dealer is coming so stay tuned.

As the cost of gas continues to climb more people will look at scooters for transportation probably to and from work mostly. That in force the manufactures to rethink the U.S. scooter market, and local the rethink how the view the scooter. That will be a GOOD day.

Tour Master "Jean" Textile Pants

Tour Master "Jean" Textile Pants are on sale at newenough.com for $39.99

in sizes from xs to xxxxl. looks like a good deal.

I am in the market for some new riding pants

600 Denier Carbolex® shell with 1680 Denier Ballistic Polyester knee panels for comfort, durability and abrasion resistance
Durable 1680 Denier Ballistic Polyester seat panel helps to minimize slipping
Rainguard® waterproof/breathable barrier
Double-stitched construction throughout
Removable CE-approved knee armor with TM’s exclusive Three Position Knee Armor Alignment System
Removable soft hip armor
Dual-stretch panel waistband with belt loops and rubberized inner waistband so your clothes stay tucked in
Two hand pockets with right hand change pocket and two rear zippered pockets
Fully lined

Seatbelt Patrols.

While going to church today I saw on the freeway warning signs, the one they put traffic alerts and amber alerts on, that they were going to start nightime seatbelt patrols.
I have no problem with them doing that, but feel that there is a better use of an officers time.
I wouldn,t want them to go after aggressive drivers or look for drunk drivers or anything like that.
End of rant.