Bigger, Badder, Louder!!

I admit it. I cannot own and ride a scooter without messing with it. There. Is there a 12-step program for that?

This affliction has now manifested itself upon my Buddy 125. I actually did just minor surgery, but the difference is major! I simply replaced the original (about 20 pound) muffler with a cute, little SuperTrapp slip on muffler. I first saw this muffler (a short tale of woe) hanging on the wall at Encore Performance in Prescott when I bought my Bajaj...which after manifesting my affliction on it became the renowned "Mad Hornet". I remember thinking that really belonged on a scooter...preferably mine...when I saw it. I never got around to buying it, though, but my Scarab buddy, Jes' Jim did. He suffers from the same affliction. Anyway, he put it on his modified Kymco People 250. And subsequently removed it. It seems no matter what spring he used between the end-cap and the end-nut, the heat adversely affected its "springy-ness". It no longer sprang. Or whatever. So Jes' Jim removed said SuperTrapp and put something else on he didn't have to constantly mess with and sent the 'Trapp to me. I never did find a was of mounting it on the Bajaj, but the Buddy was a different matter.

This last Wednesday evening, I rode the scoot up to the truck terminal where I work and commenced borrowing tools from one of the mechanics; Bo. I borrowed his little pneumatic cut-off tool and a couple of sockets and a ratchet wrench. I unbolted the muffler where it bolted to the engine sub-frame then fired up the cut-off tool and cut the head pipe off right under the engine. In the following pics you can see where the 'Trapp has slid over the pipe. When the muffler fell off (denting the concrete in the process) I test fit the 'Trapp. It fit like it was designed that way!! A tight slip-fit!

Next step was to take a little piece of 1/4" X 1" strap iron and put two bends in it. Again, that is depicted in the following pics. I put the holes in where I wanted them and bolted one end to the sub-frame and the other to the SuperTrapp. It was that easy. I added a couple shots of high temp flat black and there it was it all its glory!

I originally used all eight of the diffuser plates that came with the 'Trapp, but after two days and about 250 miles I decided that was a little overkill. It was as loud as most straight-piped Hardleys! So, in the interests of community spirit (and also because I thought it was just a tiny bit lean), I removed 2 of the plates. Brought it down slightly to a more appealing sound (still loud, though...just not obnoxious) and made it run just right.

Oh, and about the spring...I simply went to the dirt-bike shop owned by a friend and rummaged through his "spring bucket" until I found a clutch spring (which will withstand the heat) the right size and when I removed the two plates, I replaced the existing spring with this one and I haven't had to touch it yet!! Score!!

Thursday I put a couple hundred miles on it going to Yarnell with the full 8 plates. It sure ran well in the mid and upper range. The next day I remove the two and on Saturday I put well over 400 miles on riding to Phoenix and back. I lost next to nothing in power and it was much more pleasant to ride. It ran flawlessly at all altitudes from 6500 ft. to whatever Phoenix is...maybe 1000 ft. I highly recommend this change. HOWEVER!! Pay attention, class.

Genuine seems to be VERY picky about its warranty honoring system. I suspect they will not honor the warranty on ANY modified Buddys. Check it out before you do this.

Pics are just below...

C-ya...ride on!

--Keys

Bigger, badder, louder pics

Marathon day - Saturday

Ruckuschick, of the Scarabs scooter club posted a desire to have an impromptu ride on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. She got a few definite maybes and another maybe from me. My wife told me to go...it isn't often I get 4 days in a row off. So, yesterday at about 7:45 a.m. (with the temperature hovering around 38 degrees) I gassed up and went. Now you have to realize the ride was to be held just south of Phoenix in an area called Queen Creek. This was to be a RIDE!!

I headed east on Hwy 260 through Camp Verde and on up the goat trail to where it meets Hwy 87. I've described this junction before...about 6500 ft. elevation and heavily wooded with big ol' Ponderosa Pines. The road goes north to Winslow or south to Payson. I went south. Beautiful ride through the pines and the corners and curves and hairpins to the town of Strawberry, on through Pine then into Payson where I fueled up again. From Payson down to Phoenix proper is about 80 or so miles of mostly 4 lane highway with a 65 mph posted speed. I averaged about 55 or so due to a hellacious headwind. There was little enough traffic that there was plenty of room in the hammer lane to get around me.

I thundered into Phoenix around eleven or so, jumped on Shea Blvd to the west, followed it to the Loop 101 (also known as the East Valley Raceway) and went south to Indian School Road. Jumped off, heading west again to a little ATV/go kart/go-ped shop where I got a new tire and tube for my stepson's go-ped. I called Ruckuschick to let her know I was in town and the crew waited patiently at a Starbucks in south Phoenix for me. I made it there about 12 or 12:30. We said our hellos and made all the appropriate noises about everybody's new scooter or what they had recently done to their old one. Met a few new folks, too.

Ruckuschick led us south and east on a bunch of roads I didn't recognize to a little grill called San Tan Flats. No, I don't think we were in Japan, although the name might suggest it...

Expensive burgers, but good ones. We had some great conversation, some good food and a lot of laughs. A good time. Along about two we left San Tan Flats and Ruckuschick led me back to Country Club Road which, if you follow it north far enough, it turns into the Beeline Hwy...previously refered to as Hwy 87. One by one, Sean and Crys, Ruby and Jeremy, Tryg and Ruckuschick peeled off leaving me alone once again.

I continued north to the Ft. McDowell Casino where I hit a little Conoco store for gas. Coupla bucks, maybe. The next stop wasn't for another 75 miles when I blew into Payson once again. It had been getting pretty cold for the past 20 miles or so, so I was ready. I stopped, checked my messages and found one from Lucas, my son, so I called and chatted with him for a bit while I gassed up and put on more cold weather gear.

Speaking of cold weather gear, I wore my work boots, long-johns, jeans, a t-shirt, a long-sleeved button-down shirt, two sweatshirts, a jean jacket and finally my leather bomber. A leather-faced ski mask, skier's headband for my ears, my brain-bucket and goggles...topped off with some riding gauntlets. Even dressed like this, my butt is laying in a ditch somewhere north of Payson where I froze it off!

It was dark when I left Payson and the trip to where it intersects with Hwy 260 wasn't a bad trip. I turned left onto 260 towards the west and started on towards Camp Verde. A few miles down the road some moron in an SUV got on my tail because 5 over wasn't fast enough for him. High headlights right in my rearviews and him right on my tail annoyed me. I didn't slow down, but I didn't speed up for him either...I was going a sane speed considering how cold I was, how dark it was and how curvy the road was. He finally was able to pass and he did. Seems I forgot to dim my lights when he did. I refuse to reward idiots for their bad behavior. A couple miles up the road he was pulled off for some reason...sure enough, about 5 miles further, there he was again...right behind me. Again, he passed and again my headlight stayed on high. Of course, the headlight on the Buddy is anything but bright, so maybe he didn't even notice...

I cruised back home about 7 with the temps again in the thirties. Cold, yet wonderful ride. I'd do it again in a minute. Just under 12 hours, 412 miles and an average of 96 mpg. What a DAY!!

As for pics, I must apologize, I was about halfway to Camp Verde when I realized I'd forgotten the camera. I promise I'll make the trip again...this time with a camera.

C-ya...ride on,

--Keys

Yarnell pics

Not sure how these pics dropped off the previous post, but here they are now...

It's Baaaack.....!

Well, I got my Buddy (Urban Assault Vehicle) back from the dealer last Sunday. Turns out the whole problem...all the time...was simply a bad ground wire from the coil to the main wiring harness ground. Ron, the mechanic at Scoot Over simply took the ground wire from the coil and grounded it by itself onto the engine. VIOLA!!! Instant spark! They rode it around for a couple of days and then I picked it up Sunday.

Back and forth to work all week, no problems. Cool! Took it to work Wednesday night and one of the mechanics and I applied a SuperTrapp muffler to the exhaust system. Man-o-man...what a sound!!

Thursday was, of course, Thanksgiving and my beloved Ski had to work. In the past, I was allowed to join her and dine with her in the dining room there where she works. This year the new boss said "NO". Now Ski just couldn't bear the thought of me spending Thanksgiving alone (didn't bother me...) so she made me promise to spend the day with my adopted sister, Shelly (of crash and burn fame) and her family in the almost-a-town of Yarnell, AZ. I agreed because I love the ride to Yarnell. And because I love Shelly and her family, but enough of that...back to the ride.

At 9:30 a.m., the temperature was about 48 degrees, but I gassed up anyway and headed over the mountain. Since the day was warming up nicely, the temp stayed probably pretty constant to the top. No traffic, gorgeous roads. I was in about as perfect a state of mind as possible. I don't even remember any cars annoying me much. Blasted down the mountain into Prescott Valley where it felt a little colder than it had on the mountain. I wove my way through Prescott to Hwy 89 south. The last time I did this, I hooked a right where I should have gone left and ended up in Skull Valley. This time I did the "left" thing and went right where I wanted to. Go figure.

I got stuck behind a huge RV going out of Prescott and down the hill, but it was going a good pace, so that didn't bother me much. What DID bother me was whatever was leaking out of the beast and blowing onto my face!! Don't know what it was...don't want to. At the first opportunity, I passed him, rattling his windows with my new muffler. Take THAT!!!

Down the hill, fast, through the corners that vary from sweepers to hairpins just as fast as the Buddy would take them. Exhilarating! I hit the bottom where the road straightens out and levels out a bit. Still a few hills, but since they're straight and not curved, they lost some of their appeal. I averaged an indicated 65 mph, which, allowing for the 10% optimism of my speedometer was just shy of 60. Good pace for a 125cc scooter. I reached Peeples Valley where I fueled up and calculated (based on my optimistic odometer) about 96 mpg. I rode the remaining 4 miles on into Yarnell and had a great time with, oh, about 35 pseudo-relatives. In my case, they're probably preferable to actual relatives, for the most part. Good food, good company. Got to hold a few babies and toddlers. Listened to a little karaoke. Went for a walk with my pseudo-brother, Ray. Just a great day. Headed home about 4 in the afternoon. Pretty chilly, it was...

I climbed the hill above Peeples Valley and Wilhoit (where do they get these names???) , slowing down traffic a little, since it's a steep hill and I still have only 125 cc's. Hit the corners at the top, though and I outran those cars behind me...even uphill. What a great equalizer a hairpin turn can be!! On into Prescott where I put a whole dollar's worth of gas into the tank. With the SuperTrapp growling, I snaked my way through Prescott and Prescott Valley and started up Mingus Mtn. I noticed a BMW coupe behind me in my mirrors, so I stepped up the pace a little through the twisties. I must admit he did an admirable job of keeping up, but I also noticed he was rolled over so far on his suspension in the corners I thought he was going to lift the inside wheels!

I stopped a couple of times for pictures which are included here. Click on them to make them big...some great scenic views. Also one of the Buddy just before we left home, showing the new muffler.

I reached to top of Mingus just as darkness fell and discovered the guys at Scoot Over had readjusted my headlight so I was spotlighting owls. I'll fix that today. Anyway, I was forced by my headlight to hold it down to just over the speed limit. Got home about six, chilled to the bone but still in that fine state of mind I'd been in all day.

I have so much to be Thankful for...

C-ya...ride on,

--Keys

Not much...

You may wonder why I haven't posted for awhile. Well, my scooter has been broken down (the stator problem), brought back to life (for 3 days) broken down again (again the suspected stator problem) and now brought once again back to life. I actually gain possession of it once again the day after tomorrow. I'd do it tomorrow (impatience, thy name is Keys), but I have promised to do a piano bar at an old folks ho...wait a minute...that's not politically correct, is it? I guess you call them retirement villages now. Whatever. Old folks who dig jazz and blues live there and I play for them and get paid for it.

So, I rode my scooter home on Tuesday, October 31st. A 70 mile run down from Flagstaff through Oak Creek Canyon and Sedona to Cottonwood. A fast, chilly ride...down in the 40's. It ran GREAT!! I subsequently rode it to work and home on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Then I headed back to work on Friday to get my paycheck and a mile from work, POOF! No spark. Again. Just like before. I pushed it to work and got a lift home from a guy with a pickup.

Genuine required I send it to Tucson to Scoot Over this time, so it rode down in Wade's pickup. Wade, if you will recall, is the cat who runs the Flying Dorffini motorcycle and scooter repair shop in Flagstaff. He was going to Tucson anyway for the annual Fall Classic Tucson to Nogales scooter rally. Which I wasn't able to attend. Crap!

I called down there on Tuesday the...um...that would be the 12th and talked with Ron, the mechanic. He spent some time with a continuity tester and determined the problem was not the stator after all! Apparently, the ground wire for the coil feeds into the main wiring harness which has one main ground wire for...well, almost everything! As it turns out, the connection was bad where the coil ground joined the harness. So, I'd hit a bump just right and an instant absence of spark occured. Slapped me down every time. Ron then made a new ground for the coil alone and grounded it directly onto the engine. Instant spark. Instant go. He's been riding it around for the past few days just to make sure he corrected the problem. These guys definitely go the extra mile for customer service.

Anyway, Shelby was going to Phoenix this weekend anyway to visit her mother and is bringing the Urban Assault Vehicle with her. I'll meet her there with a friend's pickup, have coffee with some of my Scarab friends, load up my scooter and go home.

It's time to continue the terrorization of the Verde Valley's cagers...

C-ya...ride on,
--Keys