What?!

My attorney friend texted me this afternoon:

JP. Soon you will be the reowner of a used Kymco scootah

They will as you expected want a release of the county and [towing company]. And we'll have to get a way to pick up the bike during working hours but otherwise its all

good

He had done me a solid, and wrote a letter to the county attorney last month, and it apparently finally made an impression.  :)  I owe him many beers.

So, just as I was about to shutter KymCojones, this happens. Ain't life funny?  Too bad I already retired Bad Penny from Fuelly, having expected never to see her again.  :(
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Discontinued? Or...

... recalled?  I wanna know!

Now that I have income, I was considering a different face shield for the Fulmer AF MB helmet which I have, but have not been wearing a lot, due to its level of discomfort. It's a 2XL, but with the headliner padding in it, and the chin bar down, it squeezes my mandible as if it were in a fuckin' vice. It was made for a head shaped like Megamind's.

But "bohica!" was five years old this month, and it was past due for the dumpster, so that's where it went.

Checking Fulmer's site, I see the AF MB is discontinued. I suspect a lot of people had issues with the fit, and the Chinese factory got a pink slip.

Google isn't telling me much... what do you scooter people hear?
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Temporary Wheels. Demonic Temporary Wheels.

Many of you automobile-only people have never seen a right-angle tire valve stem. That part is normal, and are not completely uncommon on scooter tires. What isn't normal is where about 25% of the business end of the soft, brass valve stem appears to have been ground off with a Dremel tool. This caused a problem with the valve's structural integrity, making Jeff ride a few miles at very low speed to an air compressor that costs $1.00 to use, and was very nearly useless in getting atmospheric pressure into said tire due to said valve stem.

Finally getting enough air into the tire to ride safely across town on it, I headed to the shop to open it today. Rooster had the day off, but we spoke on the phone, and he had to admit that the 90° valve stem was probably a bad call on his part -- he recently changed my rear tire, you might recall. Yes, it probably rubbed the reduction gear casing, causing what you see, above.

So, I'm riding the boss's Demon Buddy until Tuesday.

It is a wikkid bitch of a fish.

And Tara and Tonya brought me Cuban guava cake bars!
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Well, I Missed It. I Missed It All.

... except for Friday night's screening of Larry Crowne (which I keep wanting to call "Larry Craig," for some reason, which makes me larf momentarily, inwardly). Yes, I have been in a fiercely antisocial mood for days, and avoided all human contact, preferring the company of cats, online (play-money) poker and the open road. Who can say why? Probably some fucked-up shit about serotonin that no one really understands very well, I'm guessing.

At any rate, I really want to apologize to all my scooter people for being a complete non-participant these last few days. Working the shop today really snapped me right out of it, but not enough for me to remember that we had a meetup scheduled for tonight, apparently. My first clue came when Ross texted me, and it didn't sink in until I saw his post about the meetup some minutes later, online. D'oh! So, I apologize to him, 'cause I was just bitching to him about the lame-ass levels of participation we've been getting lately... and then I forget to show up, altogether!

And really, big apologies to Jason, who is so sharing of his time, and to whom I owe small money (and larger debts of gratitude for his free advice and support in regards to my starting The Business) who put together the ride to Antique Archaeology for Saturday morning, and for which I was a no-show. And also to Willy, who, along with his enchanting wife and awesome infant son, hosted a cookout Saturday night less than three miles from my place... and again, I stayed home in my black cloud of "Piss Off, World"-ness.

Anyway, it's all temporary, and I'm getting back on track getting this demon stuffed back in its little box. So, I'll see you soon.

In the meantime, the graphic above is meant to piss off the oil companies, who despite record fucking profits -- and I mean profits that have never been seen in the HISTORY OF HUMAN EXISTENCE -- still seemingly have the support of Republican legislators to suckle at the taxpayers' collective tit, in case you haven't been following the news (which might explain in large part why I am so fucking pissed at the world... maybe I need to be ignorant, and maybe bliss will follow).
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Changing of Games

There's about to be another scooter-centric business in Nashville, Tennessee. Owned by a guy with two thumbs. More details to follow.
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Rep. Giffords

As most of you probably know by now, Arizona Democrat Gabrielle Giffords survived a horrific gunshot wound to the head on Saturday in Tucson at a public event. Many others, including a 9 year-old girl and a federal judge, were not even that fortunate, if you can call it that. I'm sure Rep. Giffords has a long, difficult recovery ahead.

What you may not know about Rep. Giffords is that she is co-chair of the Congressional Motorcycle Caucus (I didn't even know such a caucus existed!), and rides motorcycles and scooters, and she owns a 1963 Vespa GS with sidecar that she parks in her living room.

In the spirit of wishing her a speedy and full recovery, I'm going to send her the small scale model pictured above, with my best wishes. It's no GS, for sure, but hopefully she won't be offended.
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Stress test II: Scottsboro Blues

So, tonight was Phase Two of the stress testing for BRU: Up Briley Parkway to Ashland City Highway, up to Scottsboro, to the Lewis Country Store.

The scooter stayed stable, cool as a cucumber-slumber, and retained its rocket-like acceleration from 0-50mph. Top speed, WOT, on level ground? 79mph. So, maybe I've shaved off a few mph top speed with the 20g Dr Pulley sliders, but now that the new belt's breaking in, maybe not so many as I originally thought. I know I was passing most traffic on Briley with ease, and started to be concerned about the local constabulary. ;)

Also noted: A notice for the Clarksville annual event, the Toy Run (9/17-19), for which I hope to register and participate. If you want to help sponsor me, click the Donate button at top right -- entry fee is only $25, and anything I get over that I will contribute to help make a child's Christmas, this year.

UPDATE: Forgot to mention -- BRU's first post-repair tank? 64.1mpg. That's about 9mpg better than my average, and I've been riding it pretty hard.
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$4 Yamaha T-Max

... and, depending on the value of your time, perhaps hundreds of dollars in labor costs, but still... a papercraft T-Max sounds like a good way to get frustrated on a cold, wet weekend, indoors.

Amazingly, Yamaha has a variety of papercraft projects on their Japanese site, and not all of them are motorcycles and scooters.

h/t to ProvoScooterForums.
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When It Pains, It Roars

Coming home from ESS tonight, I hit a bad patch of asphalt on Charlotte Ave., and heard a terrible noise. I slowed, and pulled off, only to continue hearing the terrible noise.

It was my Shad (!) SL29 topbox, sliding along the pavement, and eventually catching right up to me at the side of the road. I hit the bump hard enough to unlatch the box from the mounting plate. That's pretty hard.

It's scraped up pretty bad, but otherwise seems to be okay.
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Slick

I reckon early-'80s Kawasakis can't help but leak a bit of oil... but dang. Photo taken during a gentle rain, to highlight the oil.

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Facelift Lift-Off

Yes, our friends at ESS hired me to do a li'l spring cleanin'. It's ready for your critiques and recommendations, now. So... let me have it!  And if you have any scooter stories, videos or photos of your own that you want to have included on the "Fun" page, shoot me an e-mail. 

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UR Vespas B-Long 2 US

Here's an interesting question: what does American beef treated with growth hormones have to do with the price of European motorcycles in the United States? The answer, surprisingly enough, could be plenty. It seems that the European Union has refused to lift a longstanding ban on the steroid-infused beef from the US despite a World Trade Organization order to end it. In retaliation, the US Trade Representative is considering adding a 100 percent tariff to European motorcycles with engines sized between 51cc and 500ccs.

Learn to love t3h Kymco, kids!

:lol:

Hey, I have a Vino for sale...
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Hey, Franck!

I'll be at the Flying Saucer (behind Union Station on Broadway, next door to the Frist Center) from ~6:00-7:30 p.m. tonight for Drinking Liberally. I may even ride the People 250. :) Stop by, if you can!
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Welcome SCTRCST Visitors

... and thanks to DaveM for the link and the mention in his podcast.

Minor historical correction: I got a Kymco Agility 125 in June, 2007. I've had the People 250 since March of this year. I won it on eBay, when I guy I knew from the 'net put it up, no reserve.

Petty grammatical correction: KymCojones. :)
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Oooooooooo-Kla-Homa!

Smack yer haidbone, like you coulda had a V-8:

Grady Maples was fed up with high gas prices.

Maples, 54, of Tulsa, took matters into his own hands and exchanged his car for a motor scooter.

The Owasso native is just one of many Oklahomans opting to use motorcycles or motor scooters as a primary method of transportation instead of an automobile in an effort to save money on gas.

"I save hundreds of dollars each month by using a scooter," Maples said.

And yet Glen Dean will say I just hate the oil company executives.
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Scoot Nashville Ride To The Loveless

The official scootrak.com route. It can do more than help recover a stolen vehicle, y'know.

Scoot Nashvillians gather shortly after 2 p.m. at East Side Scooters.

We had 'em all. No snobbery, no airs, which is very cool. Mine was the sole Kymco on the ride. Here we have a Chinese Yamati Strada 150, close relative to my one beloved Ymoto Chinese Death Machine.

A metric buttload of Genuine Buddys 125 (and 150 -- all of which were from ESS, I reckon). Look -- there's two new ones with the drive-out tags still on 'em.

The Big Mama of the Vespa fambily -- Gran Turismo 250. Schweet bike.

This is the world's most pissed off lawnmower. Actually, it just sounded that way. Cool 'ped!

A Bajaj Cheetak. Rare around here (waves at Vestal Vespa in Colorado).

This Genuine Stella belongs to the Scoot Nashville guy, whose name I forgot (d'oh! Andy?).

The owner of this newer Vespa had a story to tell... a shipper decided to try out his scoot while it was in transit to him... and wrecked it. Oy. The sound of this scooter is incredible. And of course, except for the wrecked bits, it looks like a million bux, too. Love the paint.

The guy on his 50cc Honda Ruckus stayed with the lead pack most of the way to the Loveless. A Honda Metropolitan stayed up there pretty well, too! Not that anyone was trying to race, but about a third of the contingent dropped out before we got into Bellevue.

Murray made mopeds? Who knew?

An older Puch moped. The helmet has a "clergy" decal, which I have no doubt is genuine.

The gang's mostly here. :)

How many scooters do you see, and can you ID?


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Pretty, Pretty

If there's a nicer looking two-wheeled vehicle on the market, I am blissfully unaware of it.

UPDATE: OOPS! That middle photo is prob'ly the Euro or Japanese version... note the front faring and turn signals difference!
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