Odds and ends

About three weeks ago, I needed a Saturday ride, so I checked over the little Bajaj and made sure everything was....well, if not in tip-top shape, at least moderately acceptable. Fired her up and zipped over to the Sedona "suburb" known as "the Village of Oak Creek". They keep trying to burn that town down with all these wildfires lately. Anyway, my dearly beloved; Ski, works there, so I stopped in to pay a visit. Nice sweeping curves on Beaverhead Flats road getting there, by the way. I left VOC and took the tight curves into Sedona proper...about 5 miles. Took a right at the intersection of Hwys 179 and 89A and took off for Flagstaff. It is a ride of about 30 miles through the awesomely beautiful Oak Creek Canyon. It was expected to be over 90 degrees in Cottonwood, so I thoroughly enjoyed the 70-some degree weather up the canyon. The road follows the creek through forests both deciduous and evergreen. The cottonwoods grew tall on either side of the lower canyon, touching tops high above creating a gorgeous sunlight-dappled macadam palette over which my little wheels spun. Then the intoxicating scent of the pines overtook my senses. The cars were accomodating to me, fast enough to be entertaining, but not so fast as to be stupid. Fabulous ride. Had lunch in Flagstaff with a friend of mine then back down the canyon. The canyon goes from about a 3500 foot elevation to over 7000 feet in Flag. Temps in Flag in the upper 70's. Just a great and pleasant ride.

Nothing new on the Allstate front...been working between 60 and 70 hours a week plus playing in the band on weekends. Toss church into the mix, and I have some pretty limited free-time!

This weekend I did, however, drill another hole into the muffler of the Bajaj, which added a throatier bellow from the awe-inspiring 145cc mill. Oooooo! THEN, I checked out the airfilter, which consists of a screen and a VERY dense slice of foam. The foam was soaked with oil from the blow-by, so in a fit of inventiveness, I went to WallyWorld and got some of that white foam sheeting ($2.67 a pack) that is used in your heater vents. I took one sheet out of the package and folded it over. I replace the dense foam with this (much) less dense foam. Put it all back together and buzzed over Mingus Mtn. to Prescott. Why, you might ask? Because I could. ENORMOUS power gain! I picked up probably 5 mph up the hills and through the curves! I think that foam was a MAJOR detriment. So I have to replace my foam pretty regularly...at $2.67 for 10 replacements, I think I can handle it! I had Matt at Encore Performance ride my new "Beefier Bajaj" (not to be confused with "Beefy Bajaj") and he immediately noticed the extra noise...followed by evidence of the increase in low-end and mid-range punch. I don't think I picked anything up in top-end, but what I got is sure entertaining! I rode to VOC with Ski Saturday as she took her Helix to work and I damn near kept up! Her words were; "Where did all that power come from?" and "...that thing is LOUD!" I was quite satisfied!

C-ya later! Ride on!

--Keys

Memorial Day

I began the day by taking a load of trash to the dumpster at work where I began B.S.'ing with the mechanics. One of them said he'd heard about a Memorial Day biker's run. Being the annoying kinda guy I am, I thought it's be fun to run my scooter with the Harleys, so I asked about it. He said it was starting at the American Legion at 10:30. Hmmm.

Well, I'm a member of that post, so I figured they wouldn't dare kick me out, so I showed up at 10:30. Since I have a history with various motorcycle clubs, including some outlaw clubs, I decided the proper etiquette was to ask permission to ride with the presiding club, the "American Legion Riders". I got the attention of the Sgt at Arms who said "sure, you can ride with us..." THEN I mentioned I was riding on a motorscooter. His whole demeanor changed. You could just FEEL the elitism pouring out of him. He was about to tell me I couldn't ride with them...even after I showed him my membership card and my Vietnam pin...but before he could, the Chaplain of the ALR's (who just happened to be standing there) said, "Why not? You're in the wind and we're all here for the same reason...to honor our fallen brothers. Just try to keep up."

So I rode with the Harleys in the big Memorial Day procession to the cemetary for a Vet's service. I got some looks and some guys just refused to acknowledge me at all, but like it or not, I was there!

A little side-note here...one of the guys with a flag bungeed to his bike had the flag slip and stopped to fix it. I stopped to help him. We got it straightened out and I took off before he did. I was strokin' it down Mingus Ave., trying to catch up with the pack when a car turned left directly in front of me from a side street. I grabbed both binders hard and leaned over to the right, sliding the Bajaj like a flat-tracker. He finally saw me and hit the gas. I let up on the brakes, straightened it out, cussed like the former Marine I am and went on my way. I am very grateful for the handling prowess of that little scooter. Again. It was the easiest accident-avoiding maneuver I think I've ever made. Light weight and small wheels (AND the anti-dive front-end on the Bajaj) certainly have their up-sides!

Anyway, it was a successful day for me. I got to hang with other service vets on Memorial Day, ride in a procession, hear a fine service dedicated to the vets AND annoy the Harley guys!

Another, side-note; finally got the headset off the Allstate today...had to cut the cables and wiring...everything was WAY too corroded to slide out. So, I got that off and the front-end off. Bearings were shot. Only about half the balls were in their cages! Little bit at a time...

--Keys

Skull Valley Rally

The Scarabs Scooter Club had their annual "Skull Valley Rally" last Saturday (May 20th) and we all had a blast! Two days before the rally, however, my beloved Ski slid to an unglamorous stop in our driveway, scraping up the Helix and giving herself some roadrash and a cracked rib. She rode on the rally anyway! THAT'S my girl!!

Anyway, we left Cottonwood about eight a.m. and soared over Mingus Mtn. Now, I've done this dozens of times, but this was a first for Ski and her Helix. She did great! Slower in the turns than I'd go, but I have a bit of the berserker in me... We called our friend Jenn Chapman (who rides a Vespa GT200) when we got to Prescot Valley but she was running about an hour behind us. We took a Scootour of Prescot Valley and saw the sights at the local K-Mart (Ski wanted a pair of riding gloves).

Jenn caught up with us, we fueled up and took off. We motored through downtown Prescott and caught Hwy 89 heading south on the west side of town. This is one of the finest scooter roads ever designed! Smooth pavement, mostly downhill and a curve every 50 ft. (or so it seemed). Jenn hung with Ski as her "wingman" (I ended up calling them Maverick and Goose) and I led the way. Finally, I came to a section of what is called Yarnell Hill that I just couldn't ignore and I let the little Bajaj go. If the "suggested" speed limit sign read 25 m.p.h., I went 40, etc. What a GREAT section!! I did, however, have some significant waiting time at the bottom since Ski and Jenn were a little more reasonable about their riding.

We cruised down to Congress (a small town, not a political entity, thank God) through some highway-type roads where Ski and Jenn kicked my 145cc butt. Ate lunch at the Congress Cafe (imaginative name, no?) and met up with the other Scarabs out of Phoenix.

Eventually we all got our poop in a group and we headed uphill towards Prescott. The difference between this uphill ride and our earlier downhill ride is we hung a left at Kirkland Jct. and cruised through the scenic "Skull Valley". Hence the name of the rally. Got it?

Somewhere about 15 miles from Prescott, Damn Dirty Dave lost the muffler from his stripped down and...well, damn dirty Honda Elite 250. From that point on, he was never hard to locate. Brandon's Vespa P200 (mid-80's, I guess) needed but never got a jetting change, so it was quite slow. Those however were the only casualties on the ride...EXCEPT...

...sometime earlier, as they were meeting up in Phoenix, Jarod ran his Stella into the back of Hump's Bajaj. Again. And fell down and hurt his knee and scratched up his Stella. Again. Did the ride anyway.

So in Prescott we went to Encore Performance (where I bought my Bajaj...he's a Bajaj, Kymco, Royal Enfield, Gas Gas and Moto Guzzi dealer) where they had a BBQ all set up for us. Great brats, good company. Ski and I hung around for about an hour and a half, bought a rally pack (with 2 patches and a SVR T-shirt among other stuff) and went home while it was still light out. Ski didn't want to negotiate Mingus Mtn. in the dark. I don't blame her.

Got an e-mail from Jenn that evening...she had put her GT200 down in her driveway. Scratched it up and had her foot on ice. Nasty way to end a great ride.

Wish you had been there!! Well, gotta go...taking the Helix over to Prescott again today to get a new back tire....C-ya!

Allstate pics

Okay, so here are a couple of pics of the Allstate I just got. Actually, I guess the '66 smallframe "Bluebadges" are called Sears rather than Allstate....

So much stuff, so little time...

After having the flywheel separate on me and having to push the scooter home (and realizing in the process I really AM 50 years old) and getting it fixed (again under warranty), I began riding in earnest again. Until this last Tuesday morning. I took off for work, went a few yards down the road, tried to shift into second and a shift cable broke. CRAP! So, I pushed it home, grabbed the car and went to work. After work, I went over to Prescott to the dealer and got two shift cables (one to carry as a spare) and a spare clutch cable. Fifteen minutes after I got home the cable was in an everything was fine. Zipped out to Sedona to take some warmer clothes to my wife who had ridden her Helix to work and had failed to account for the daily onset of darkness and cooler temps. Any excuse for a ride....

That very afternoon, a scooterist friend of mine, Jim Chapman, brought by a whole boxful of Vespa 125 engine parts...cases, cranks, bearings, a newly honed barrel and head, etc. I told him thanks, but I still didn't have the money needed to get that Allstate. He tossed me a hundred dollar bill and said, "go get it...pay me back when you can". I called Ron (the guy with the Allstate) and he brought it right over. I asked him all the pertinant questions; what year, how big is the engine, what model. His answer was always the same; "I dunno."

So I found the model number from it and got on the internet to check out what I had. It is a 1966 Vespa Allstate (marketed by Sears) 125 cc. Apparently, this was the last year the Vespa Allstate was marketed and they also had a 150cc model that year (only). Mine is one of the few small-frame Vespas marketed with 10-inch instead of 8-inch wheels and a 4-speed instead of three. It is basically a rebadged Vespa Primavera with a tailight and badging unique to the Allstate. Bonus! The tailight lense is still in perfect shape! Anyway, this is one of the rarest and most desirable of the Vespa scooters (from what I've heard...). So this was a score for a hundred bucks.

It is totally complete except for the engine "door", but those are under $30.00 from Scooterworks. The seat is complete (minus upholstery) and there is even a little air in the front tire. And it's been sitting for 24 years! The engine needs rebuilt, of course, but it is complete down to the wiring and carburation and is even free! I was sure it'd be stuck, but no... The headlight is still there and the bulbs are still in all the lights. A serious barn find! There is some surface rust and a bunch of dents, but no cancer, so the frame is good to go, too.

I rub my hands together in anxious anticipation...

Mingus Blast!

Yesterday was a beautiful day, upper 60's temp and lots of sunshine. Work cut me loose about 11:00 a.m. and the Chetak was calling my name! Headed out towards Prescott again. Fantastic ride over the mountain again, except I got caught behind Granpa Goslow most of the way. Gave me a chance to appreciate the woods I was passing through. I hit an elk with my Kenworth a few weeks ago, so I also was looking for wildlife. Go figure!

There is a fairly new scooter dealer in Prescott called Skeeter's Scooters (a little cutesy, don't you think?) who handles TGB (Taiwan Golden Bee) scooters exclusively. They are essentially a manufacturing facility which makes high-end performance parts for ATV's. The scooters are just a sidelines he's really not too serious about. The facility is hidden WAY back in an industrial area behind the airport and there is no showroom or anything. His attitude is; "If I sell one, I sell one...if I don't, I don't". I talked to him about the need for a scooter dealer in the Verde Valley (Cottonwood, Clarkdale, Camp Verde, Cornville, Sedona, etc.). The area is rather depressed income-wise, and a scooter dealer would fill a wide-open niche. He suggested I could get a finder's fee for every one I sold over there...okay, I can do that. HOWEVER, he wouldn't supply any product to sell, I'd have to buy one! Another good idea out the window....

Visited the boys at Encore to scope out the accessories. Gotta change out those mirrors...looking for something different!

Just bopped around the area for an hour or so and headed back. THIS is where the fun happened! As I started up the mountain, I saw a few headlights in my rear-view. They got a little closer all the time, since my 145 cc's maxed out at about 45 m.p.h. (still a good 10 miles over the speed limit). About a mile and a half from the top, the lights became a group of about 10 or 12 Harleys. This could be fun! I waved a couple past me before we hit the twisties. Then it was on! There was NO way they could shake that pesky little scooter through the curves. Eventually I slowed down and waved them all past me so they could be their "pack" again. But it was downhill now, with LOTS of curves, including a number of switch-backs. OH YEAH! This is where the anti-dive front end on the Bajaj shines! I don't believe I've ever felt more confident on any bike. Anyway, those over 1300 cc, $30,000 motorcycles (try as they might) could NOT outrun my $2400, 145 cc scooter through that mountain road. They'd start to pull away on a straight and there would be another corner. They, in fact, slowed me down! Probably reminded them of that annoying mosquito that stays just out of reach when you're camping! Since you really can't go much over, say, 50 m.p.h., that road was the great equalizer and my 36 years of experience paid off. I was ON their asses the whole way into Jerome. Probably quite a sight to those going the other way to see all these black-leather clad "bikers" on their expensive equipment being hounded by a motorscooterist in a jean jacket an tennis shoes. I had a grin plastered on my ugly mug for hours after that!

A little disappointment, a little fun...

It appears somebody finally came to their senses...I'll have to throw in at least $500.00 to swap for that Stella. THAT ain't gonna happen! May as well be 5 million bucks at tax time! So, anyway, I had a buddy drop me off at Encore Performance in Prescott where they had replaced the fragged flywheel this last Wednesday. He headed home, I signed the paperwork, put on my gear for the 45 mile ride and it started to rain. Figures. I started out on my way and the rain quit! Halleluia!! Filled up at Robert's gas station in Prescott Valley. Came to, I think, just over a dollar.

Since I was still kinda breaking it in, the 8 or so miles that were 65 m.p.h. road were taken at about 45...I was just lucky there wasn't any traffic. Beautiful ride over Mingus Mountain; smooth (for the most part) pavement, not much traffic that day. The only drawback was the pavement was wet and I still have the original tires on my Bajaj. These tires will probably still have good tread 20 years from now! VERY hard compound. Kinda slippery on the wet, though. I had seen many a complaint on the Bajaj forums regarding these tires. Therefore, I disregarded all prudence and pressed on regardless. Came to realize that today's WORST tires still seem to be better than the best I raced my Yamaha RD on back in the mid-70's. Are we spoiled or what?

Got near the top of Mingus Mountain (elevation 7023 ft.) and it began spitting rain, which quickly turned to snow! Nothing stuck to the road though, so I was good to go. About a mile the other side of the summit it stopped. Cool! The rest of the ride was uneventful and the Bajaj performed flawlessly.

Since I got it home, I've had no funny noises or clanks or BANGS!

Possible trade

Talked to my buddy and fellow Scarab today. His name is Mike Stirrat and he (along with his sweet wife, Shelby) owns "Scoot Over", a scooter shop in Tucson, AZ. They have a Stella scooter there that they may be willing to swap for my Bajaj. A Stella is essentially an 80's P-series Vespa with a disc brake, Continental tires and Bitubo shocks. It has a 5-port, 2-stroke engine (I have always loved 2-strokers...ever since my first Yamaha RD and Suzuki T-500's) which would make it easy to work on. Another plus...every accessory from performance parts to dress-up stuff from a Vespa P would fit. And manufacturers for that stuff will always be around. Bajaj has ceased production of the Chetak manual-shift scooters and parts will only be available for another five years. Something to think about.

I'll probably do it...if only for the adventure!

S#*T happens...

Okay, so about a month or so ago, my Bajaj scooter began making unpleasant banging noises down in the crankcase somewhere. I tried to ride it over Mingus Mountain to Prescott, where the dealer is, but about 5 miles up the hill, in the town of Jerome, it began banging in earnest! Fearful that the world famous "Noise Police" in Jerome (yes, they DO issue expensive tickets for too loud of...well, ANYTHING!) would fire a warning shot through my spleen, I turned around and took it home. The following day, I loaded it up in a buddy's pickup and dropped it off at the dealer. Come to find out, one of the main bearings disintegrated, taking the crankshaft and connecting rod with it. Major rebuild time!! Fortunately, it was still under warranty...and nobody ever SAW me play boy-racer on it. Anyway, my dealer sent the engine to BajajUSA who proceeded to do a complete rebuild and sent it back to the dealer.

I picked the scoot up last Saturday and spent the week driving like Miss Daisy to re-break it in. Nice and gentle. Five miles to work and five miles back each day, never exceeding the recommended speeds in each gear. Run around town paying bills, etc. Then this Saturday, since I had 100 miles on the rebuild, I changed the oil and cleaned out the screen. Good quality oil, diligent cleaning.

I then decided to have a "mental health day" and just ride the scooter all day. I rode the 20 miles to Sedona where I made a payment on my wife's Helix, stopped and visited my wife, since she was at work there in Sedona and rode home. I re-checked the oil. Checked the tire pressures. Fiddled here, fiddled there, adjusted the shift cables...you know...just stuff! Jumped back on and fired it up. Sounded good. Better even than when it was new. I rode up to Jerome (which is a MAJOR Harley hang-out on weekends) just to annoy the Harley boys. I was successful. Also checked out a new guitar player who may be interested in joining our band. Fine day, so far. Just before dusk, I climbed aboard again. Fired her up. Sounded great. Nice fast ride down the hill to Cottonwood. I didn't want to go home since it was still about 65 degrees out, so I went to WalMart where I got a toy Vespa ET4 scooter and a package of socks.

Climbed aboard and started it. Sounded good. Smooth.

I headed up the hill towards my house after leaving the parking lot and got about 200 yards up the road when BANG!! Clunk-clunk. I had to push it home about 1 1/2 miles. Uphill. Discovered I really AM 50 years old. Took about two hours to recover. I thought for SURE there had been some malfunction during the rebuild. The engine was toast.

Took it to the dealer today where we dismantled it. Come to find out, the flywheel is riveted to the mounting hub for the flywheel and said rivets sheared. Nothing else was damaged, but they didn't have one in stock so one is on order. I'm hoping I can pick it up again this weekend.

New Scooter Blog

I've never done any blogging before...it's a first for me. I intend, simply, to make this about scooters. The scooters I own, what I have done to them, what I intend to do to them. The rides I go on will be posted (and I go on a LOT of them). Most of them are by myself, but some of the roads and countryside I cover are spectacular. I am a member of the Scarabs SC based out of Phoenix, AZ. and we have our club rides as well that I will tell you about. I WON'T get political (unless they outlaw motorscooters...then we'll have a problem!). I probably won't get to update this blog everyday since I have to work for a living, but it will be updated everytime I have something to say...

To start, I currently own a 2002 Bajaj Chetak which I dearly love and a 1996 Honda Helix which I got for my wife. She even sometimes rides it! I am currently trying to talk a buddy out of a mid-sixties something Allstate scooter (a rebadged Vespa 125) that needs total restoration. As that commences, I'll ramble on about the restoration.

Also, the Scarabs is hosting the Skull Valley Rally between Phoenix and Prescott, AZ. on May the 20th and 21st. We have many sponsors including Scoot! Quarterly. Contact me at skutergruven@netscape.com for more info.

Whatever,

Keys