The Good Samaritan

I'm a dumbass. I dunno how many times I've seen a P250 owner say, "Dood, when that light comes on, you're coasting on fumes." I was about five miles from home, and just a couple from the exit where I saw cheap gas advertised on my way out.

I was doing about 65mph down BrileyParkway, when suddenly my speed dropped, then jumped, then dropped... uh-oh. Out. Of. Gas.

You can see from the cluster to the east of Scottsboro where I shut it down, and coasted to rest on the shoulder. I called my buddy in Madison, whose house I'd just left minutes before, and got his voicemail. I forgot that I had the Boost phone rigged to forward to Skype... d'oh! So, I walked towards the Ashland City exit, maybe a half-mile away.

Then I remembered: This is the middle of Bumfuck, Davidson County. :) Very underdeveloped... no gas stations near this exit.

I waved down a good ol' boy in a beat-up work truck, who was more than happy to cart me. He wouldn't even let me buy him gas or beer. He'd seen the P250, and saw me in my Star Trek uniform, and put two and two together. Our return trip went north up the southbound shoulder... hilarious! Dood said he does work for the DOT, and he's had a lot of practice. :)

So, next time this goofy two-part fuel tank thingie gets off "F," I'm fillin' it up.
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Hazard

Watch out for wet patches of gravel and mud, folx. This one nearly dropped me, yesterday, riding home from work in the light rain.
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Charging

Panel pr0n.
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That '70s Show

Yes, I was in high school when this was made. Check out Part II by going to UTube.

Also, note to novices: Note the pedals? That makes it a moped.

h/t to mortar235.
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Still Amazed By The "Faux-Jack"

Would any of y'all pay to have a package pre-loaded with the software, along with good instructions and tips for mounting, powering, etc?
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Neighborhood Girls

A Harley (seen one, seen 'em all), a Hyosung (Dang!) and a Gold Wing, here at the home lot.

The Gold Wing's riding partner.

Finally! I got a photo of the orange Buddy with NY tags! A student, no doubt.
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GPS Ho-Ho

If you ever see me here (which you can't, unless you're a Mologogo buddy), you know my phone's battery is dead.
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For My EE Buddies: A Puzzle

Well... more of a math problem, but I'm lazy and/or stoopit. :)

Let's say your mobile phone is supplied with:

• a 880 mAh Lithium Ion Battery
• specifies up to 245 minutes talk time
• specifies up to 80 hours standby time

... would it be likely to drain a motorcycle battery (~7Ah) within a few days? How about with 30-45 minutes of riding per day?

I can say that for the GPS application I'm using, and nothing else, the 880mAh battery lasts ~8-9 hours, so I'm guessing the current requirement for the device in GPS tracking mode is ~100mA.
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Big Pimpin'

I bought a couple of these LED modules, thinking the best way to attack a perceived uglyness (the grille of the People 250, for instance) is to call attention to it... similar to how Barbara Streisand loves to be photographed in profile. :)

I bought them in white, with the idea this would make the front-end of the scooter more visible at night, and not be a color that the cops would frown upon showing to the front.

One way or another, I'm gonna change the looks of this 1950s electric heater-lookin' grille. Dammit.
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WITW Is Jeffraham Prestonian?

If I was in Carmen Sandiego, I'd know.

UPDATE: It was all worth it, just to get this photo:

We have some awesome local blogpeeps.
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Joe Rocket Phoenix 4.0

Only $89 from NewEnough. Get 'em before it gets hot!

It arrived today, and I wore it today (it was warm and windy). It was like riding in NO jacket. Five thumbs up.
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The Vino, On Closer Inspection

Some damage, yes.

• Broken tail light lens
• Broken speedo glass
• Scratched front fender and side panel

Still runs like a scalded monkey, though.
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Urethra!

It may not look like much, but this is the first Google Maps image verifying that my Boost Mobile Motorola i425t GPS-enables phone will track my scooter. :)

Not bad for under $45.00.

UPDATE: My friend Ginger tracked me to where I had dinner, so the awesome news is it WORKS even under layers of scooter body! Rawk!

UPDATE II: Here's where the last five polling times found my scooter, while parked. Hey, they can only get so accurate without being terrorist weapons of mass destruction, right? :) It hadn't moved... but imagine how easy it would be for cops to bust someone who had stolen it...!
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Thieving Bastiges BEWARE

GPS-enabled phone + Java app + BoostMobile pay-go service + Mologogo.

=

Busted thieving bastiges.
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Wang Dang What A Sweet Kwang Yang!

It was gorgeous outside, today. 74°F. Sun.

Going to do a couple of 300+ mile roadtrips, as the weather warms. This scooter rewls. If I had to name it (other than "Big Red Ugly"), I'd call it, "Thank you, Scott!" :)
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Buddys Out The Yang

... and one Kymco People 150 (do you see it?). James is sellin' the hail out of these. He also just got his first Buddy 150 in, this week, and more are on the way.

The weather's gettin' nice... gas prices are through the roof. Go git you some!
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At Work

Kymco People 250, Suzuki Burgman 650 (covered), Honda Nighthawk 650.

PeepBurgHawk.

I Like It, But I Like Star Trek

Klick to embiggen.
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Hunnert Year Park

Train runnin' low on soul coal...

A-train runnin' low, a-train runnin' low...

Ancient Greece!

Wash me, pleeese!
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P250 In Motion

Riding Big Red Ugly down a stretch of suburbia. Yeah, when I let off the throttle, coming back towards the camera, I was doing 65mph in a 35, so I tried to chill, a bit. :)

Here's the steed after the deed, catching the setting sun.

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... And Then, I Woke Up!

Can I jam Punxsutawney Phil up Brian Doyle Murray's ass, sideways? Dick Cheney?
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Training Wheels

I took a shot around the northwest side of town on Briley Parkway, last night, trying to get a feel for how the People 250 handles at near-Interstate speeds (much of Briley is 65mph on this stretch). Unfortunately for me, it was rather windy (and dark -- d'oh!), which made me less-than-fully-confident in leaning into curves and whatnot. So on the trip back, I took some more sedate roadways. :) All in all, it felt awesome to grab a handful of throttle and really let 'er wail for a while. This damned ugly bike is a beast! The temperature guage barely moved off the "C" mark, even at 65-70mph (ambient temps were ~40°F).

Really, really enjoying this scooter.
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Vandy Scoot

James at East Side Scooters did a special, custom paint job on this Kymco Agility 125 for all you loyal Vanderbilt fans. Now, here's a scooter that looks like a million bucks, gets ~90mpg, and has a top speed of more than 60mph. You can be stylin', saving money on gas AND helping reduce your carbon footprint, all while supporting your team.

If you're a Tennessee fan, he can do that. Titans fan? No problem. Just give him a few weeks lead time and a deposit, and he'll fix you right up.
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BOLO: Scooter Thieving Bastiges

So, about 11:35 p.m., I'm watching the primaries crap... and I hear something outside that doesn't sound right. I go out on the balcony, and there's one dude shutting the back door of a beat, early '90s maroon Ford Aerostar or Windstar van, and then bolting for the passenger's side door. The Vino is gone.

I holler at the top of my lungs, "Stop, motherfuckers! You're goin' to jail! You're goin' to jail!" as they squeal out and nearly wreck pulling out of my section of the parking lot. A few feet later, I see stuff flying out the back of the van.

I call the local non-emergency number for the cops, and describe what happened, as I pulled on my shoes and coat, and head outside. I start walking the direction of where the thieves have just gone, a minute earlier, and I'm still on the phone; the dispatcher is asking me all kinds of silly shit, like, "Do you have the VIN number?" Yeah, I have all that right here, right now, sure.

I get a few more yards down the lot, and I see a guy approaching me: "Hey, is that your scooter?"

"Yeah... or I guess it was my scooter!"

"No, man -- I heard you yellin', and it must've scared the shit out of 'em, 'cause they tossed it out of the van -- over here!"

Sure enough, there's the Vino, laying in the parking lot on its side. The left mirror and control pod are twisted around (a 5 min. fix), but I think it's relatively undamaged, otherwise. No broken plastic that I could see, and it landed opposite the exhaust, so I got a break, there. Once the cops were finished with it, I picked it up, and it started on the first try.

The best part? They couldn't get a print off the side panel, where it was obviously grabbed... too smudged. They did, however, get a great print off the tallboy beer can that came out of the van as they sped off.

So, if you're a thievin' fuckhead with a maroon, early '90s Ford van, you best watch your shit, and not get caught for anything where you need to be fingerprinted. Or, you better hope they lose the files from any other felonies you've committed, 'cause you're pretty much fucked when the cops catch up to you. I can ID you, and I will prosecute to the fullest.
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3/1 Video in Tallahassee

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Even More First Day Photos

The next photos will have that effiminate windscreen out of the picture. :) I removed it this afternoon. Anyone wanna buy a windscreen that only fits this bike?

1668.07 miles. Isn't the instrumentation layout very Piaggio-like? Not the fonts, but the layout...

The seat material is heavier, grippier and generally sturdier than the Agility and the Vino. Here's the embossed logo on the seatback edge.

See? Windscreen? Gone.

Smells like freedom. It's a painted-pony-People.
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I Got A Painted Pony!

The Vino feels inadequate. :)

Dudes at Enterprise (where I rented the Silverado) helped me unload the thang. Nice people, they is. And then, I rode off, into town, to get a feel for her. I'm still trying to figure out what James was talking about... I mean, sure, it's a bit heavier than what I'm used to, but the handling is about what I expected... even at low speed. Backing it up is probably the trickiest thang I've done so far, but at no time did it feel squirrely enough that I thought it would get away from me.

Okay, got to adjust the mirrors, and see if I can get that goofy-lookin' windscreen offa there. ;)
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Morph Otos

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Back In Twangtown

Rolled in at 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, and then I took the Vino on a tour around southwest Nashville, to deposit a check, and buy cat food. :) Then, I came home, drank a beer, and went to bed. Boy, am I tired!
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Late Start

... to Tallahassee, land of Kymcos won on eBay. :) Man, a 2008 Chevy Silverado is a gas HAWG.
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