New scooter...Rattler 110

I did it. I sold off ALL my other scooters and bought another brand new one! I sold the '02 Bajaj, the '02 Kymco and the '86 Helix Pirate Ship. Then I went out and bought a brand new, '09 Genuine Rattler 110. Oh yeah!

"So what," you might ask. "What's so special about a Rattler?" Well, let me tell you...

First off, a Rattler sports a 106 cc two-stroke engine. Way fun! Then, it has a "European-styled-scooter-mated-with-a-dirt-bike" sort of look to it. Different. And I like different. Also, a new Genuine dealer just opened up in Sedona....a place named Scooter and Auto Source (www.scooterandautosource.com), run by a cat named Mark Tetreau. Nice guy. Made me a deal I couldn't refuse. And to top it off, Genuine offers a 2-year, unlimited mileage warranty on parts and labor PLUS 2 years free roadside assistance. I'm thinkin' I'm probably going to test the limits of their "unlimited mileage".

This scooter is probably the most fun I've ever had on two wheels. It may not handle the corners as well as some. May not be as fast as some. May not be as 'attractive' as some and probably not as comfortable as some. But this scooter isn't about matching up with somebody else's idea of what a scooter should be. It is simply a hard-chargin' two-stroke engine slapped into the smallest, lightest package they could find and topped off with nice, wide tires and some funky plastic bodywork. 203 pounds packed into a 46" wheelbase equals good times!

Top speed averages around 62 miles per hour...I've had it up to 68 downhill. Mileage is averaging 80 to 85 mpg, even with my twisted wrist! It cruises nicely at 57 or 58 mph. In other words...quite adequate. The entertainment is how it gets there. First, you're sitting at a stoplight. You rap the engine a little and get the giggles listening to the "ring-ding-ding" of the little two-cycle. The light changes and the drivers of the cars around you wonder what happened to the weenie little scooter that was right there, only to discover you left them sitting!
Pure fun! You slide the rear tire a little, getting a bit sideways around the corner into your driveway and laugh out loud. Then you think to yourself, "Didn't I see a little dirt road on the way home from work last night?" And you're gone again! Yes, those wide tires work just fine on hard-packed dirt roads. And the scooter slides very nicely and controllably in the soft stuff!

Why did I wait so long to get one???

But, me being me, I couldn't leave well enough alone. Rattlers come with a cute little grab-rail in the back, behind the seat that is great for manhandling the scooter. Only thing is, it gets in the way of using the gas cap. So it went away. Then I determined the handlebars were too wide for my taste, so I grabbed a hacksaw and took 2 1/2 inches off of each side. There...that's better! I took the badges off the sides and replaced them with "TEAM 918". 918 is our radio code at the jail for "mentally disturbed". It fits, I think. Then, after riding it at night and finding out that the bright blue light from the dash is VERY annoying, I moved it from the front of the handlebar clamps to the back. A little better. I also blacked out the unused portions of the screen, which helped a bit more. Okay, a good start. Now to do something about those huge, honkin' blinkers. I bought a set of real small, LED lights at Encore Performance and put them on the front. They looked like a ridiculous set of baby antennae, so I put them in back instead. Now THAT worked! In front, I simply removed the blinker mounts from the handlebars, then took the lights off of the mounts, drilled a couple small holes in the plastic body and mounted the lights on either side of the front cowling. They look okay. I'm still in the market for some smaller ones, though...

Now we're getting somewhere. Someplace along the line, I pulled the footpads off and painted them flat-black. Surprised? I'm not. Now then...what am I to do about those HUGE, moderately ugly mirrors? They're as big as the bike itself! Well, I tried a couple of different smaller ones. None really fit the bill. I took one of the mirrors I'd removed from the Pirate Ship and mounted it on the side of the glovebox. That was kinda okay, but it vibrated badly. What to do...what to do? Finally, yesterday I found the answer (I hope)! I mounted both Helix mirrors to the footpad mounts! Well, I'll be darned if it didn't work!! Very little vibration, good views and it got them off of the handlebars!

Well, folks...there you have it. My new scooter and some of the stuff I've done to it already. Now then, have I found time to ride it? I bought it on April 9th, took it on a rally on the 16th, it is now the 10th of May and I have 1774 miles on it as of this morning. Not bad for a month, eh?

The pics that follow are (I hope) in chronological order from purchase time to current looks.

C-ya, ride on!
--Keys