It was COLD outside!!

A few little things have happened on the scooter-front. In my last post I mentioned that my Z1R Metro helmet had broken at a hinge-point and that I had re-attached the "T" shaped hinge-pin with model airplane glue. The first time I glued it, it stayed on for approximately 12 minutes. The second time, I used not only the glue, but a C-clamp to hold it until it dried. It is still holding strong! I'm pretty happy. Z1R DOES, however, need to look into this little design flaw....

The next thing to arise was the increasing failure rate of the center mounting point of the Genuine Scooters aftermarket rear rack. Now my dear wife gave me one of the racks for Christmas and I had experienced no problems, but then again, I haven't carried anything bigger or heavier than a coat on it. My friends Tryg and Isaac, who both live in the Phoenix area and ride Buddys with the aftermarket racks, both had their center mounts break. I offered to either fix them myself or have them fixed, so one fine Friday, they showed up at my door with racks in hand hoping for some help. I took them up to where I work and showed the racks to the shop foreman, who is a fabulous metal fabricator. Eric said he'd make short order of the problem and to come back in a little while. We did as he asked and were presented with some well thought-out reinforcement on our racks. Genuine is now aware of the problem and according to one source will warranty any racks experiencing a mounting failure.

Then, I was riding home from Sedona last Thursday and was cruising at an indicated 70 mph down a short hill when the rear-end of the scooter began doing a slow dance I've become familiar with over the past number of years. The hindquarters began swishing around with a grace I'm a little uncomfortable dealing with. Yes, folks, I'd picked up a nail in my rear tire and it was going flat. I wanted to ease it over to the right side of the road to work on it, but it let me know it was going to the left and would disregard any input from me. So I went left. I waited for traffic to break and ran it back across the road to where there was enough room to work. I popped the seat and pulled out my handy-dandy tubeless tire fix-it kit (specifically designed for motorcycles and sold at Wally-World) and, following the instructions, successfully patched the tire. I then pulled out my handy-dandy CO2 tire fill-it device (specifically for motorcycles and sold at Wally-World) to fill the tire only to find out my step-son had exhausted the CO2 cartridge in his go-ped.

"Well, crap," I said.

I called my dear wife (who works in Sedona) and she came to rescue me with a foot-pump purchased at a local hardware store. About 10 minutes before she arrived, though, a kindly gentleman named John stopped and, after assessing the problem, pulled a little electric air pump from the rear of his Jeep, applied one end to his battery and the other to my tire and in moments, I was sporting a reinflated tire. Ski showed up with the pump, I put it under the seat, expressed my undying gratitude and affection, smooched her and sent her back to work. I jumped on and raced the remaining 15 miles home. No problems. I recommend everyone who rides a scooter with tubeless tires carry a tubeless tire fix-it kit and a CO2 reinflation kit. Just don't let your step-son know you have it...

Then on Saturday, I took one of my spare tires and strapped it to my newly revised rack and headed out to Prescott to have it mounted. I took it to the dealer from whom I purchased my Bajaj; Encore Performance (www.epfguzzi.com). They are a Bajaj, Kymco, Hyosung, Moto Guzzi, Royal Enfield and Gas Gas dealer. Whew!! Anyway, for twenty bucks, they mounted the tire for me. It would have been more had they needed to remove the muffler and tire themselves, but I brought along the neccessary tools to do the removal myself and did so in their parking lot.

Anyway, I left Cottonwood at about 9:30 a.m. and the temperature was in the low 40's maybe. Darned chilly, I'd say! I rode up through Jerome and decided that wearing my balaclava under my helmet would be a good idea, so I pulled over and donned said garment. BIG difference!!

I discovered that, although this IS Arizona, that the same rules apply that applied when I lived in Colorado. If there is moisture on the road, the temperatures are in the low 30's (at the 7050 foot summit of Mingus Mountain) the road will have ice on it in the shady spots. Zip-zip!! Entertaining, but not debilitating. I moseyed on over to Encore and got the job done. Stopped at a place in Prescott Valley for a fabulous plate-full of biscuits and gravy. A little fuel and I'm on my way home. Ended up following a mini-van who's driver had NO game. His level of incompetence seriously pushed the envelope! I think he spent more time with his vehicle halfway over the double yellow than he did on the correct side of the road. There were times that, as he was going around a blind turn or even hairpin to the left that he was ENTIRELY on the wrong side of the road. It was just the luck of a fool that he wasn't head-on'd by some SUV! People tend to view Hwy 89A from Prescott to Jerome as a raceway that is to be used to hone one's roadracing skills. Even people in cars. Therefore, like I said; the luck of a fool...

Made it on home in one piece, though and in time to get ready for our gig that night at Relics in Sedona. Great time that night, too, but nothing scooter related, so I'll let it go...

C-ya...ride on!

--Keys

C-ya...ride on,

--Keys

Helmet update and Rim Country Run

...a little about my new Z1R Metro helmet. As I related previously, the visor has a screw that is removed, the visor then flips up and two "T" shaped hooks slide out of two "T" shaped holes in the helmet to remove the faceshield. Well, here's the lowdown...those two little "T" shaped hooks are plastic and have one little bitty screw each to hold them onto the visor. They are easily broken. I simply lifted my shield one time and that was enough force to snap the hook off. I have since repaired it (maybe?) with model airplane glue and a "C" clamp. It hold still, but then again, I've not tried to swap shields yet. We'll see how it works then. I'll let you know.

Next up on the agenda; I am planning an early spring (sometime in April, probably) rally up here in central Arizona...with some movement up into the northern section of the state. "Skutergruven's Rim Country Run" will begin in Cottonwood, head east on Hwy 89A through Sedona and north through Oak Creek Canyon to Flagstaff...a distance of 70-some miles. I'll hook a right at Lake Mary Road and head east to Mormon Lake where we'll probably camp for the night. In the morning, again we'll head east on Lake Mary Road for probably another 50 miles to where it dead-ends at Hwy 87. South on 87 for about 21 miles will get us to the 87, Hwy 260 junction where we'll turn right (west) and chase the hill for about 45 miles down into Cottonwood. It will be a fast ride with some of the finest scenery in the southwest. Should promise to be a trip you'll remember for years. I hope to make it an annual thing.

So far about 7 people have commited to go, if you'd like to make it and need more info., just e-mail me at skutergruven@netscape.com or leave a comment here with a way to get the info to you. Two days, about 210 miles and nothing but beauty and curves. Doesn't get any better than that!!

C-ya...ride on!

--Keys

Frosty Balls, Chilly Boobs poker run

Okay, so don't blame me...I don't name these things! Anyway, the Verde Valley's annual New Years Day Frosty Balls and Chilly Boobs poker run was held yesterday and as I saw the Harleys gathering, it occured to me, they needed a splash of color in the form of a red Buddy. And of course, there aren't any others in the U. S. of A., so it was up to me to provide said color! My dear wife was still in bed, so I rode home, kissed her goodbye and said I'd be back sometime in the afternoon. She said, "Mmmmffph." I took that as a blessing and split.

It was a bright sunny day in the 50's and just PERFECT for a ride. I donned my new Z1R Metro helmet that Ski bought me for Christmas. A little on the helmet, here...I got the silver model with a clear faceshield. One of the features I like about the Metro is it is an open-face helmet with both a visor AND a flip up shield. The design is such that the faceshield slips up under the visor. Sweeeet! Knowing I live in Arizona and the sun sometimes shines here, I also ordered a smoke shield. Perfect day to try it out. The replacement procedure takes all of about 2 minutes. The visor has a screw on the top that can be removed with either a screwdriver or even a coin. Rotate the visor upwards and two "T" shaped hooks slip out of the helmet and you just lift the visor off. The faceshield itself just slips onto two round protrusions. Re-insert the "T" hooks, rotate the visor down, apply screw. It's THAT easy!

The fit of the helmet has so far been just right (for my little round head) and is easy to get on and off over my glasses. The protection from the wind is good...not as good as a full-face, of course, but not as claustrophobic, either. On those cold early morning commutes when the temps are only in the teens, I still wear a balaclava under the helmet, basically to keep my neck warm. So far, it is an excellent helmet.

Back to the ride, now. The ride began at K&A Cycles in Cottonwood, owned by my friends Steve and Rita. I visited for a moment with Rita and headed out towards the first stop; Boler's Bar in Camp Verde...approximately 17 or 18 miles away. I arrived to find I was about the last one! No coffee for me here! I headed north on Montezuma Castle Highway towards Cliff Castle Casino, where the highway intersects I-17. I caught up with Steve and Rita on their Harleys as we approached the casino. The morons at the Arizona Dept. of Transportation, in all their wisdom, inserted one of those stupid round-about thingys at the junction of I-17, Montezuma Castle Highway and the casino driveway and paved it with bricks! As we reached the round-about, a Jeep Cherokee was getting off the northbound freeway and was circling in the approved direction. He saw Steve and Rita, stopped in the middle of the round-about and waved them on. They went. I was right there with them, but as I moved to follow, the guy in the Jeep went. I had to lock 'em up and the front wheel slid on the slick bricks. Down we went. I was unhurt and the Buddy suffered only minor scuffs to it's new paint, but I was both pissed and embarrassed.

North we went on I-17 for about 5 miles, me in a full tuck, barely maintaining 60 miles per hour (uphill, you know) and Steve and Rita just loafing along. We jumped off at the McGuireville exit and headed east towards Rimrock and Lake Montezuma for about another 5 miles to Flinn's Bar and Grill. There I met up with some other friends of mine; Suds and his sweet german wife, Marina. You can see them both in the second photo in the preceeding post. The last photo there is Marina and me...Suds doesn't get ALL the fun!! Also there were a couple other friends, a guy I only know as Mike and another fella named George. Now George is known by the handle Alaskan and was the best man at mine and Ski's wedding. He is standing next to his ride in the fourth pic. Tough lookin' old hombre, huh? And one of the nicest folks you'd ever want to meet.

Somewhere I have a picture of my Buddy there at Flinn's next to a yellow Sportster.

I stayed at Flinn's and had breakfast with Suds, Marina, Mike, Troy and Samantha. Actually, they had breakfast, I had coffee. Then just before they were ready to leave, I headed west on Cornville Road towards Cottonwood so I could get a jump on them. About two miles down the road several Harleys were pulled to the side, so I stopped to offer help. The 1938 Harley flathead in the bunch had spit off it's muffler and they were wiring it on. They were good, so I bailed. While I was stopped, though, Suds and Mike blew by me...I never had a chance. I caught up with them at the next stop; The Old Corral Bar in Cornville. We used the head and I jumped on and left them again, attempting to stay ahead. Never saw 'em again!!

I went on to the Chaparral Bar in Cottonwood where I met up with Glenn, a bartender at the 10/12 club in Clarkdale...a place where the band I'm in plays. He was real interested in my upcoming ride to Baton Rouge, LA. and wanted my blog address! We're gettin' around!!

Next stop was the American Legion in Cottonwood where they had a big pot of beans and a big plate of cornbread just waiting for us. The first photo in the previous post shows my scooter lined up with some of the bikes. I saw a couple of guys I work with there, both on their bikes and then, surprise, surprise...Bernie showed up on HIS Harley. Why the surprise? You see, about 5 or 6 years ago, Bernie and his wife were riding home from...um, I guess I don't know...anyway, they were in Sante Fe, New Mexico and a sweet little nun driving a car ran into Bernie. He bounced off her car and into the retaining wall and back and she hit him again just to make sure. He shattered his left knee, elbow and shoulder and has endured many surgeries since. He has been working again, driving a truck where I work for about the past 4 years. Finally, the pain was just too much and the doctors decided to replace the knee...which they did in November. The pain is worse now, but he still was able to ride to the rally. Good on him!!

I sucked down a bowl of beans, visited with a number of friends (I'm a member of the Legion there) and just had a fine time. Then it was time to go home and tell my wife I crashed.

What a GREAT ride on a GREAT day! Wish you had been there!!! Put it on your calender for next year...

C-ya...ride on!

--Keys

Frosty Balls, Chilly Boobs poker run pics