Towards a totally 2 wheel life...

I had my tongue firmly planted in my cheek during my last post, although I did go out and buy a blender for the house on the bike.  Yes, it did occur to me to take the blender out of the box to carry it home although I didn't do that for fear of damaging the blender.

The post did prompt me to ask a question to the various forums I belong to about using the bike as your main means of transport.  I was surprised at how many people do.  Many, like me, either have one car (which may or may not be used that often) or no car at all.  Many made that choice on their own for whatever reason whereas I felt I was forced into using the bike as my main means of transportation but I have never regretted it.  My question became...how do I use my bike more?  What should I carry to make my life on two wheels simple and better?  Bungee cords could have helped moving the blender but I didn't have any on me at the time.  Now I have them packed away.

Someone mentioned a cargo net.  Trobairitz mentioned Rok straps and these are both things I need to look into.    I also discovered that my under seat storage is bigger than I originally thought.  I now have a variety of bungee cords, my rain suit, my phone charger, a sweater, my "pack" (which contains a $20 bill, my bike's insurance info, two flashlights, a 1st aid kit and other things).  In other words a lot of crap. More crap than I probably need or use (for example I've yet to use the phone charger but have it just in case I'm stuck somewhere someday).

I am already using Kimmie for small errands.  I commute nearly every day, traveling 70 miles round trip.  Still I want to ride more, go further.  How do you give up a car?  How do you make a motorcycle your main means of transportation?  

Susan and I are slowly but surely getting used to riding 2-up but over the last month or two it's been raining, work has had me working overtime and even the second delivery job has been busier than normal as I find myself taking on new projects all the time.  This lifestyle does not lend itself to riding very well.  I hope to have mastered this 2-up thing by our trip to the Bahama's in September.  After all, her mother and daughter will be along and I'm sure they will want to climb on back too.  Convincing Susan to do more on the bike with me may be an uphill battle.  It is a different type of lifestyle that I am trying to obtain.

One, not free of the car but where I put more miles on my odometer than normal.  According to the National Highway Administration, my average miles for a guy my age should be about 18,800.  I would like to put that on the bike.  Right now nearly all of the mileage on the car is related to my side job.  Traveling my 70 miles round trip I get very close to that.  How do I put on that extra 600 to 700 miles?

I am not sure why I want to do this.  This just seems like the right thing to do.  It just "feels" right.

Battle lines - the power of the negative.

I have nothing to say about riding these last few days.  I've commuted back and forth to work a few times, I rode out to a old cemetery and had to take the scooter off road a bit to get the photo I wanted.  I have a small problem with my oil pan - I had the oil changed recently and it appears the drain plug nut somehow got stripped.  I tightened the nut myself but the leak continues.

All of these things are minor.   The biggest issue, the biggest problem I would have would be with West Coast Powersports, where I bought Kimmie.  My lovely girlfriend insisted that I buy the extended warranty on her.  I have to be honest, I thought it was, and still is, a waste of money.  However the previous dealership that sold me the Burgie did so knowing that the variator was bad, that it would of ran me about a grand to fix.

Because of this experience, and another bad experience we had in Florida buying a used jeep, we decided to get the warranty.  I've nearly tripled the miles that were originally on Kimmie without issue.  She actually seems to enjoy the ride as much as I do.

My issue with West Coast Powersports is this.  The company failed to process the extended warranty correctly, despite other payments going through correctly on my debit card (helmet, etc). The company failed to contact me for over 3 months in this regard. The bill, I was told by West Coast at the time, would go to collections. My bank has no record of them even attempting to collect these funds till the middle of May.

Andy, the general manager, failed to listen to me in this regard repeating that they had numerous failures trying to collect. He later admitted that the company did not have the correct authorization information. After I requested that he take one payment out and that I would pay off the balance with a money order within the week. He took two payments resulting in my account being frozen (My bank knows my history and personality. They assumed there was a problem when 2 payments came in a combined total of over $350 and froze the account as a  fraud protection measure). He then refused to release the hold. My girlfriend, whose name also appears on the account, called him only to be insulted by him. 

Not only is this extremely unprofessional but very upsetting to me. I have had nothing but warm fuzzy feelings for that dealership till this moment. I own my business and have been in the process of repairing my credit. If a payment due to me is not received in 30 days, I'm on the phone figuring out what went on. Now I will admit I was not keeping a close eye on my personal account as I do my business accounts, otherwise I would have realized there was an issue.   

Jeff, the general manager, did finally contact me after I used the only tools that are available to the consumer.  I reported him to groups like ripoffreports.com, the better business bureau, comments on the various motorcycle and scooter forums I belong to.  Frankly I hate to turn negative.  I hated to do this.  But the consumer has very few weapons available to him any more.

Jeff did state, and I intend to request this be notarized on official company letterhead to protect myself, that the bill in question would not be sent to collections.  On my end I plan to plan to pay it in full within the next few days.  I still have not received a copy of the warranty as well.  

After my dealings with Florida dealerships - only Jim Brown Chevy, where we have bought the Great Pumpkin, deserves praise - I am weary of any dealership now.  I don't believe I will be doing any business in the future with West Coast powersports.  Unless I have something under warranty that is.  

At this point I'm not sure if I will be dealing with any Florida dealership in the future.

  

In the end it's a situation that could have been avoid.  Something that should have been avoid.  I was acting in good faith and do not like being treated like I am some doddering old fool.  They don't like to have their name dragged through the mud.  If Andy would have listened to me in the beginning this how ugly situation could have been avoided.   

This issue appears to be resolved now.  I'm still not completely satisfied sadly.  I'm not sure if I could be at this stage of the game. 

Earning my Rounder stripes

Living in Florida, it's easy to be a Rounder.   According to their website a Rounder is:

The Rounders are men and women who enjoy their motorcycles so much they ride them year round. The group was founded by a bunch of Mid-Westerners (inspired by a Kook on the East Coast) who ride them even when the temps are below freezing or above hot. The object of becoming a Rounder is to have fun, promote safe, responsible motorcycle use on a regular basis for as much of the year as you can. In the spirit of fun we have concocted the following levels of Rounderhood following the Fahrenheit temp scale:
100's+ Red Hot Rounder
90's Sweating Rounder
80's Half Baked Rounder
70's - R&R (Rounder Relaxing)
60's -Jr. Rounder (Just Riding)
50's - LOTF Rounder (Looking Over The Fence)
40's - FOTF Rounder (Fringe of the Fringe)
30's - Half Rounder
20's - TQ Rounder (Three Quarts)
0-20 - Rounder
Sub Zero - KHOF Rounder (Kook Hall of Fame)

Members can proclaim themselves to be in the various categories based on the truthful telling of their riding conditions. If you lie, then a pox be upon you and may your valves need constant adjustment.

To be a True Rounder, you have to ride every month of the year.

If you have a motorcycle and like to ride it, then you can be a Rounder.

I have ridden my bike in 90 degree weather, I have ridden my bike into the low 20's here in Florida.  It has been miserable to ride in sometimes, with rain so hard that I have been soaked to the bone in.  Winds so fierce that I felt I was leaning at 30 degrees just to keep the bike up straight.  

Photo from Redlegsrides.blogspot.com

These idiots ride in the snow.  

I want to be one of them.  

It's only in the last few days that I have truly felt like belong to such a honored group.   Over the past few days here in West Central Florida we have had rain and wind gusts up to 30 miles to hour.  At night, when I ride home from work at 1 AM, the temperature's  dipped to freezing or below.  

I feel like one of them because I was one of a handful of bikes on the road.  Even during the day when the temperature was in the mid 50's...I counted maybe a dozen bikers.  Here I am on my little scooter doing what "real motorcyclists" are afraid to do.  I am out nearly every day riding, in all types of conditions.

I'm proud of that.  I am also amazed and impressed by the insanity of taking a bike out in "less than ideal" conditions.  Of course, if I still lived in Pittsburgh, would I feel that way?   I have to say that yes, I would. I don't get to do much recreational riding. But when asked what I like about riding...I said the following "I think it's something primitive. Just you, the machine...no distractions. Your fully committed to keeping yourself and the bike safe...because the road below you is unforgiving. It's being on that edge...not being stupid, not being foolish...but connecting to the world around you. Smelling the flowers as you pass, feeling a stone as it kicks up and strikes you. Your fully alive.  Your fully engaged."

Now that being said.  I'm not stupid.  I'm not going to ride if I don't feel I can't handle the circumstances.  There have been times when I just didn't want to ride in because it didn't "feel right."  So I guess I'm hooked.  I guess I'm a "Rounder."

To read more about the Rounders see this article from Rider Magazine.   

Road Guardians - Anyone interested in taking a class?

Somewhere, somehow I came across a review of the Road Guardians safety class.  I put out some feelers and am now thinking of actually hosting a class at the community clubhouse where I live.  Basically the Road Guardian class is designed to provide basic accident scene emergency training that is motorcycle specific.  It is not a first aid or first responder class, but a class designed to assist EMS and the police in case of a motorcycle accident.

I was surprised to learn for example that when trauma results in the use of CPR there is only a 1% chance of survival and that many EMS technicians may not know how to properly remove a bikers safety gear (such as chaps).  Or at least this is what is reported on the website.

At this point in my life I mostly ride alone.  That may change in the future, and I do see a lot of bikers and scooters on the road.  I also know that eventually I will see an accident because frankly I see a lot of idiots on bikes...to many.  Being able to help in some way  in case of an accident appeals to me.  In 2007 for example, motorcyclists accounted for 13% of all traffic fatalities.  That's a ridiculous number.

This class is a one day program and I should stress it's not going to give anyone CPR or first aid certification.  If I feel there is enough interest in it, I may looking into bringing in a CPR/First aid trainer as well.  I live one hour from Tampa, one hour from St. Pete and one hour from Orlando.  So I'm centrally located and have access to a building that could be used to hold a class.

So I am going to put feelers out.  Starting with the St. Pete Scooter Club and the Orlando Scooter Society.  I figured a few other forums I belong to might spread the word as well.  If there is enough interest then I'll look into it a little further.  No harm in that is there?

Scooter Cannonball 2012

Well this year's Scooter Cannonball is in the books.  Congrats go out to all the riders that made the journey from Savannah, GA to San Diego, CA.   I've a feeling that the 2014 Cannonball will be bigger and better than ever.

It was a lot of fun reading about their adventures on their individual blogs (the links are available on the main page) as well as forums like Modern Vespa and Burgman USA.  I know many of the riders have made lifelong friends and at least one had this as a bucket list item.

Again, congrats go out to all the riders and they adventure they had.

An idea worth exploring.

Had to share this link from Scooting Old Skool - http://scootinoldskool.wordpress.com/2012/04/27/bringing-scootering-to-the-masses/

Orin O'Neill illustration

It's an interesting idea but I'm not sure if I totally agree with him or not.  Well I do think we will continue to see motorcycles and scooters growing in popularity I'm not so sure if Wal-Mart would be best suited to the task.  Different states have different regulations and even if Wally-world did start selling low priced scoots I feel they would probably push the 49cc models.

And I've written before how I feel they are under powered for most riding, even in the urban environment.  Still though, interesting reading and worth your time and effort.

More MPG goodness

2 Stroke Buzz put up some interesting numbers about MPG the other day.  Now you need to remember this does not take into account things like the cost of your ride, insurance, tires (really $100 for one tire Great Googlie Mooglie!!!) or other things but it's still interesting.  It's interesting to note that the money we think we are saving in gas may not be what we believe it is. Thanks to Scootin' Old Skool for finding this. 

http://2strokebuzz.com/2008/06/22/more-mpg-math

The comments are interesting reading as well.  I know for me, gas is probably the biggest expense in my household budget right now.  Of course, being in business (see here and here) for myself  means that my household is not always typical.

The return of the shade tree mechanic

Growing up in the 70's and early to mid 80's when my Dad had a problem with his car he took it down the road to a guy named Dan.  Dan worked out of a barn in the back of his house, or on a warm spring or summer day, under a big old oak tree my brother and I loved to climb.  He was literally a shade tree mechanic right down to the ever present bottle of beer.

I am not mechanically inclined.  It's not that I don't understand the principles of it, the weird thing is that in my life I've been a lab rat.  I worked for years as a civil engineering tech and now work for a GPS company.   I understand tech.  I speak tech.

Just don't ask me to actually fix or repair anything.  I find humor in the fact that I know more about how the road under my wheels is constructed than the machine I'm riding on it.

When I bought my scooter I knew that had to change.  I've done minor repairs in the car, "How difficult could it be to change the oil?" I thought.    Well truthfully in the Burgman, not hard at all.   Although I did quickly learn that some things I would have to do in the future were going to require more than a Phillips head screwdriver and a wrench.

The oil change itself was pretty simple and my thanks go out to Gary for walking me through it the first time, although after watching him do it I think I could have handled it.

He also pulled apart the CVT which started me thinking how little about the machine I decided to ride.  If there is a squeal I know I can sit and think about it and identify where it's coming from...even be pretty sure what's causing it.   Fixing it...not so sure and mechanics love to see a rube like me coming!

I understand the physics of it...the principles of my bike.  I know that if I take the time and invest the energy I'll be able to fix the minor problems, change the oil and even seek shade under that old tree.  If I invest the time and energy.

OK, maybe not the shade tree mechanic I had in mind

What modern car dealers don't want to tell you is that, Dan - remember him - does not actually exist.  Things today are all electronic do dads and whatit's.  The mechanic today is more of a computer diagnostics person than the proverbial grease monkey.  Watching people work on their bikes harks back to a simpler time.

Their is an amazing community of "gearheads" out there.  When a strange black streak appeared on my variator the first thing that popped into my mind was that the belt was not seated properly and rubbing against the metal.   That could either result in a broken belt or replacing the variator itself.

As it so happened that mark appears to be a normal thing, as Gary posted the pics and question to the Burgman USA forums and had an answer within a few hours.  So I feel pretty confidant moving forward that if I have a issue or question I can get the answer.  I feel that I can work on this bike, or at least ask the right questions if I do take it to a mechanic.