Something different pics

...And now for something different...

You know, strange things happen when I'm alone with a scooter on a cold, snowy day. And to clarify the matter, although I DO live in Arizona, I still see snowstorms now and then here. It doesn't stick for long though. I think it stayed on the ground yesterday for all of, oh, twelve or thirteen seconds. It snowed for about an hour though. Once again, I digress.

So there I was, with nothing to do but wrap Christmas presents, clean the kitchen for company Christmas day, do the laundry, change the oil in both scooters, clean the guest bathroom and vacuum the living room. Plus do the shopping for Christmas dinner for about twelve or so. So see, I really needed something to do. So I decided to paint the Buddy.

I began to disassemble it; headset, seat bucket, speedometer assembly, and attempted to remove various plastic parts that proved to be smarter than me and stayed on the scooter. So I broke out the masking tape and, after about 3 rolls, had the parts I wanted to remain black taped off.

Then I moved to my "paint shelf" and grabbed a couple cans of Krylon Fusion paint in the color red. This paint is advertised to be specifically designed to be used on plastics with no need to prep. So I didn't. I just cleaned everything moderately well and commenced to spraying. The headset, nose piece, side rails and rear wrap-around were all sprayed a shade of red that had a bit too much orange for my taste, but, hey...it's what I had! Then I sprayed the speedometer bezel, passenger footboards, rear grab-bar and headlight bezel black. Someday, the fork legs will be black, the rims will be red and there will be a racing stripe of black down the center of the nose-piece. Anyway, it didn't turn out too...um, well...I've seen worse. But they used a broom. Naw, it ain't too bad. I'm happy with it and I think it looks better than it did. And the bonus...it's the ONLY one like it!!

I like that part!

C-ya...ride on,

--Keys

Pretty quiet around here...

I don't have a lot to say today. I haven't had much of an opportunity to do much riding...it's been fairly chilly. Looks like rain for the next couple of days, too. I did however,enjoy two or three short, 30 to 40 mile rides from Cottonwood, through Cornville (again...WHO thinks up these names....???) and onto Beaverhead Flats Road which I followed through the sweepers to the end...a mere six miles. To be honest, I haven't even done any messin' around with the Buddy except to label one panel "Flux Capacitor". Probably makes it faster. I still have to put a label on the engine compartment proclaiming there is a "Warp Core Generator" inside. Of course, I'm still considering painting the scooter Olive Drab and mounting two faux machine gun barrels poking through the holes in the front that are designed to mount a rack. I'd also like to see a couple of photon torpedoes on either side. ...give ME the finger, will ya? The ultimate "Urban Assault Vehicle".

I'm getting a new helmet from my wife for Christmas...I know this because I ordered it. When it came in, though, she wrapped it and won't let me open it until Christmas! It's a Z1R Metro open-faced helmet which has both a visor and a faceshield. It is specifically designed for the discerning scooterist and I will give you a thorough and honest evaluation. It comes in about six or seven colors (I ordered silver) and is DOT approved. They didn't mention a Snell rating, so I would assume it either doesn't pass their criteria or Z1R just didn't try. I was reading in one of the motorcycle magazines this week that when they tested full-face helmets, there was virtually no better protection from Snell rated helmets than DOT rated helmets. They still didn't endorse the little skid-lids, though, even if they're DOT rated. No mention was made of open-face.

I'm currently in the market for a reasonably priced all-weather jacket. I currently have a jean jacket that is covered with rally patches and pins and is not very good at keeping me warm on those 20 degree mornings and a beautiful Marine Corp emblem emblazoned leather bomber jacket. I kinda hate to subject that to the abuse I tend to deal out, even though it IS warm. I found a really neat leather motorcycle specific jacket by Fast Company (the same folks who bring you Draggin Jeans). It is called the Cutlass and comes in a number of colors. It has several pockets, the sleeves are slightly curved and rotated slightly forward for more comfort at the handlebars. It has a quality zipper and snap collar and sleeves and a zip-in, fully sleeved liner for warmth. And it is on sale (just the colored ones...not the solid black) for only $150.00!! I was WAY excited!! THEN I went to the web-site. They only have XL and XXL. Of which I am neither. Bum'r. Still lookin'.

So, that's all the news that's fit to print. Just getting ready for Christmas and a visit from my brother whom I've not seen a WAY too many years...he lives in Redding, CA. He is a regular reader of this blog and a supporter of my scooter endeavors. Until later...have a GREAT Christmas, and if I have nothing to say until then, a fabulous New Year!!

C-ya...ride on!

--Keys