videoarizona

Casey, Another thought. Last month I took both bikes out for a 125 mile run. Same run. It consists of about 25 miles of 75mph, 75 miles of 55mph and 25 of 50 mph or less. On both bikes I used 5th gear only on the interstate portion. 4th was goto gear for rest of trip. I got 41 mpg on the 89VR and 39 mpg on the 05 RSV. The times before that on that same run using 5th gear all the time netted 37 and 35 respectively. Altitude from 3k to 5k and back. This past sunday with the RSV, on one stretch of our day trip, I went almost 100 miles, 2up, climbing into the mountains and got 39mpg at 55 mph. I stayed in 4th gear most of that stretch too! (when I wasn't in 3rd!) It pays to let the motors rev....

Jeff...right.I remember that discussion. Should be a thread all about the pins with pictures. Good memory. Don't know if that's the problem, but it seems all the usual suspects for hard shifting are now covered?? Oil change, bent or loose linkages, washer, and the pin issue. BTW, welcome to the forum!!

Beautiful bike! That's next on my agenda, check out front end... It's time. Looks like we both had great weather yesterday for riding.....

Casey, you have done everything right. Cool!! Leaves only the igniter and the carbs. Bring those needless back to stock and run another tank through. Check mpgs. If that isn't the problem then then igniter is. Suggest you don't put the k&n filter on yet. I have the k&n on... And it does change things as i found when I didn't follow the cleaning directions properly. I hurried the process. I may go back to stock. I run from 1300' to over 7000' with my bikes. My home territory runs from 3000' to 5000'. The CV carbs do a great job in compensating for altitude so I leave everything stock. Suggest after you put needless back to stock, test, then put igniter to stock (as close as you can) and test again. Then put filter on and test. Lots of testing miles ahead for you.... Lucky guy!! Grins!

Boy that really isn't right. You should be getting between 38-42! The biggest problem in my 89 as far as mpgs are concerned... Is me. I love cranking the throttle! That said... Check brakes for dragging, your after market igniter, wires and caps, plugs, carb vacuum leaks, diaphram issues. With the exception of your igniter,(mine is stock), that is the order I use. Also, I've found mine loves a dose of Seafoam about every other tank. Crap gas, I guess. Good luck.... Let me know if I can help...

Ok. Guys and gals... Here proof I do own a scoot..... Here's the 2gen on 2 different trips... 1: Is me a few years ago... Talking a break on our downhill run on rt.191.. Devil's Highway. This shot was about half way down... On the mesa.. Before the road really got fun.. The next shot was taken today. On rt. 260. We were about 15 minutes east of Camp Verde.. On way to Payson... If you remember a previous post, I mapped out rt 260 as a nice ride.... I look mad... And I thought I was smiling!! Last pic is our two scoots, my Pat, Karen and Mark.... In the parking lot of Sidewinders. In Pine. Good burgers. This is same place we sometimes drive to for Friday night ribs! After this we rode back into the heat of Phoenix.. @VanRiver... One of these days we will meet and I'll be on two wheels! Honest!!! Grins!

You will love rt160 through Colorado. Pagosa Springs.... i could live there

Yep! Followed by some melancholy moments of where did all the time go? Was I really this old??? Sigh....

I appreciate you showing me your mount today, James. I followed the link you sent and ordered one! Always enjoy meeting with you for lunch..... And thanks for that as well! P.s. I really do own the scoots That I pay pics of... Honest! And the rest of youse varmints are always welcome to come to AZ.

I loved the TR3. Low slung doors and huge hood!. I drove my Bugeye through 4 Winters in Colorado so know about side curtains and snow. And yes, there is a similarity between old British sports cars and scoots. The top down ride, roar of the exhaust....ah... Good memories.

PP for 2. Thank you, Red.

Therapy. Relaxation. Freedom. I'm slowing down too. But still love the rush of twisting the throttle on the 1st Gen. Loved my 1960 Bugeye Sprite too... But sold it when it became apparent I couldn't get out of it easily anymore. I'm seriously thinking of selling my 89 VR.... Only because I'm not as comfortable holding her up. I'm shrinking and bike isn't. Always something...

Well, hopefully Leo can take a pic of his after he has had a chance to test the bulb out. But yes, OE bulbs are indexed and fixed for proper orientation.

cowpuc said: > Something else to consider in the long run. Check with your estate person, but I do believe that after you leave this world to go FTFW in the skyways above, Tip can collect a portion of your SS for the rest of her life. I think she has to reach either 62 or 65 to qualify but maybe not. You've been married long enough for that provision to kick in. Of course, if her SS income is higher than part of yours.,...then no. But if her share of yours is higher than hers...it would be a good thing to have!! Just another positive thing to think about! Yea...sorry...guess this discussion is a hijacking of the thread. Good discussion, though!

It really makes me feel good that we have the people we have on this forum. Someone has a need and there is always someone out there to offer to help. Nice. To end this thread in an even more positive note....(though I don't see how that can be!), I took my ladies' intercom bike cable back to J&M today. It was intermittent. Last month I took in her headsets thinking that was the problem...they were fine. But they upgraded them at no charge. The gentlemen meets me at the door this morning grinning...held out his and and took the cable back. He remembered me. Came back a minute later with a new cable and said "here ya go". No charge. Out of warrantee but J&M replaced it for free. We were laughing because it took me so long to bring in the cable....I left knowing I would be a customer of theirs for the rest of my riding days. Bottom line, if you have a broken J&M product, call them...ask them about it. It wouldn't surprise me if they suggest you send it in. Then you will have an extra headset you can give when one of us needs one. And my thanks for youse guys and gals ... for all that you do for each other...

[quote=cowpuc;Like Don,, I am 62 also.. These last couple years of medical nonsense have really knocked the wind out of my sails,, a little - can still dance and eat Hot Dogs and .. Been thinking of taking the early S.S. and been doing a LOT of diggin and figuring.. May sound nuts to some who arent there yet but the way that works is ya get a little more than half of what you get at 65 if ya opt for 62 - may not be smart but I tell ya,, ya start having multiple close calls and it sure makes ya think that even a half a retirement would be better than none if ya died... Puc Puc, I took early retirement at 62. To supplement my self-employment income. I wanted more play money! My accountant suggested I "do the Math". IE... Look at my realistic life expectancy, figure out how much I would get total if I lived to that age...taking retirement at 65 and at 62. It made more economic sense for me to start early as my family history suggests I won't make it out to 86...which is where my 2 figures (65 vs 62) meet each other. If I make it to 82...I will get more of my money back taking it early, even though I get less per month than if I waited to 65. So suggest you do the math. Chart out the "what ifs" of when you may leave this earth and see what works best for you. Yes, it's a guess...but no more so than the insurance companies "guess" that they call their actuary tables. At least my guess takes in my family history!! FWIW, david

Yikes! The trailer is worth more than that! Great find!

That's what we did. North to South. Harder that way as gravity is not your friend. Thankfully, Hannagan Meadow is near the top so you can ride across the state on 60/260 or wherever...get onto 191 and then camp at HM. Wake up fresh and go for the downhill run! Silver City is interesting, for sure! Nice ride on map below. Follow I 17 north to Camp Verde. Begin trip there and head east on 260. Follow that all the way to Eager on east side of state. Then 191 South. Go all the way to Safford. Clifton/Morenci is where the open pit mine is. When you do the ride left me know. Maybe we can meet afterwards....

Yes. At the bottom of the Devils Highway.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall...uh deflate. Why? Hmmm. Don't really know. How? Very, very large spoons! Grins!

James, I have the Slime compressor in left side with the tire plug kit. Right side has tool kit with additional stuff like a tiny battery back up, 3/8ths socket set for metric and hex, tire gauge, spare headlight bulb, travel mirror with extension to check oil by myself, rags, flashlight etc.. Both sides carry a water bottle or two. Jacket liner and a half bike cover in right. Rest of space on both sides would be for extra clothes (like work clothes for crawling under bike) ... mostly left side. The bike cover is nice to keep the scoot covered while at hotel. Tour pack has the light stuff, aspirin, cassettes (I mix my own), gum, flashlight, member list for emergencies that are near my flight path, sun block, small individual pack of Tide clothes detergent, tube of hand cleaner, lightweight orange safety vest, scarf for keeping neck warm on those mountain passes, Froggs Togs. My main clothes I carry on the pinion seat held down with a medium size bungie netting (about $8) that has hooks for attaching netting to passenger bars. Just make sure your carry bag is water resistant at least. I use a soft sided airline carry on travel bag. Like a gym bag but with pockets. That's my main clothes bag for traveling on planes as well as scoots. Everything is in there I need. At hotel, I take this bag in with me. Everything else stays locked up on bike. I can pack for 5 days using this system. This is what my 2nd gen looks like while on the road. In reality, the only emergency you might run in to is a flat tire. These scoots are pretty reliable. The tire plug kit and slime compressor kit takes you to the nearest city for a new tire. The stator is the only other issue I dread on the road. Not much to do about that but be flexible enough to handle it if it pops up. As far as traveling...depending upon your itinerary, Utah, Nevada and Arizona can be toasty. If you start each day early, you can cover more ground before the heat gets to much. Seriously. There is a reason work crews start at 5am....it's cool enough to begin the day and then gradually warms up. The hottest part of the day is 4 to 5 pm. You want to be in the pool by 3pm if you can. By gradually warming up, your body adapts to the heat better...allowing you to ride into hotter weather than if you started out at 8am and ran until 5pm. I would not recommend you spend lunch in an airconditioned environment too long as that will make it harder on the old bod when you come back out. Also...as much as I like to fuel up right after I stop...that's not good for bikes. Gas expands. So plan on fueling after lunch break. If you want to carry an extra gallon of gas, it can get strapped on top of the pinion clothes bag. Get a good plastic can, wrap it in a white garbage bag and go. No different up there than having a passenger. Actually won't be any higher than your shoulder. The cooling vest is a good idea, but I've heard your clothes get wet. Guess that's fine too! Highway pegs are a must on a 1st gen. Legs are to protected behind the fairing. Make sure your "heater" is working as well...that's what I call those little vanes covering the rear cylinder. They are needed as they keep a lot of heat off your boots when closed. You can ride all day with them closed, just remember to open them when you stop so they help cool the motor as well as don't melt! Last, don't over plan it. Ask me how I know! My biggest mistake when I started traveling with the sailboat going across country. Didn't need 3/4 of what I had. And if I needed something, I found out I didn't have that on my list so WalMart became my friend! This is a day trip times X number of days! And... don't make any serious changes to the bike just before you go. Get that done ahead of time. So you can ride around home for a while just in case there is an issue with the new tires, brakes, etc.. Wish I could make the trip with you...but wrong direction for me!! If you need help with route, holler. We can talk next time we meet for lunch shortly ? david

Working on the 89...changed out the rear caliper for an R unit. Bled brakes and was putting on the bolt that is on the MC reservoir. Plop...it jumped out of my hands and disappeared. Again. This is the second time the darn thing has run away. I never found the 1st one and got a spare from a member here. I was determined not to let this 2nd one go...so I swept the garage clean (not on my list of things to do that day either, @Freebird), checked under anything and everything around and no dice. My buddy helping had a flashlight and was looking as well. Took out the little usb camera ($10 from china-shipping included) and looked in every nook and cranny on the scoot. Finally gave up..thinking the bolt had managed to find a safe haven under the motor block sitting on the exhaust collector (where there must be a treasure trove of stuff from all these years). Went to store and found a bolt close enough to work with washers added and was reaching in to thread the bolt when I heard a "clink" as a bolt hit the floor. My buddy turned around and just looked at me. What could I do? I shrugged, picked up that rascal and "CAREFULLY" threaded him on. No idea where it was hiding....but it obviously was right out in plain sight and we both missed it. Fun stuff....

LOL! Uh yea.....Shinko 777HD. Great handling, very good wear and great price. Let the discussion begin! (Glad the axle came out easily)

[/color]I see conflicting information in the posts above. Unless, of course, my lack of coffee this morning is causing a brain fade. Here's my conflicting thinking: It is my understanding that due to the low location of the tank on the 1st gens, leaving the petcock on will not cause any issues unless the fuel line going to the pump goes bad. That's below the level of the tank at all times. The pump is too, but it "shouldn't" allow fuel to flow without it running. You can run a first gen without the pump, but the fuel level must be high enough for gravity to provide the pressure to work. And you must run a fuel line from the tank to the carbs. cowpuc had a nice post on this forum somewhere. Other than that, the carbs are higher than the fuel level in the tank unless the tank is topped. So very little, if any, fuel can get to the carbs if the carbs leak. (unless the leak occurs while you are running). Gravity is your friend here. The 2nd gens have the tank on top...so shutting off the fuel is a mandatory thing, unless you are willing to take a chance of having something go wrong in the fuel system, leaving gravity no longer your friend and fuel all over the place. So to answer your question, yes and no. Most of us put the 1st gen petcock on reserve position and leave it. The danger of breaking the thing while on the road is greater than the danger of having a carb go nuts on us. If we keep our engines running properly, we should never get a stuck float. (hah) Of course, dirty gas on the road at a station in the middle of nowhere can do the trick...but for the most part, the 1st gens have been pretty good at not having leak issues...or...hydrolock issues due to fuel flowing. Now for winter storage...that's a whole other ball game. Every thing I've read says full fuel, treat it and go away. My dad used to do the opposite. Drain everything and leave it. He never had issues after a New England winter. His snowblower started each season, his lawnmower started each season.....so I think if I was in the northern latitudes, I would do the same. Why tempt fate? So there ya go. Either this post will get more answers back to you or not. But it's what I believe. Your choice really.

I recently put an R1 caliper on the rear of my 89. With help and guidance from VanRiver, I re-used the OEM line. The twist in the line due to the different placement of the banjo was relieved by loosening the clamp that holds down the line on the swingarm, allowing the line to move forward and relax. Line is out of the way and still supported by the holddown.