Ramblings

Ramblings
(scooter related and other topics)

Brief thoughts July 22, 2008	I haven't updated in a while, but I plan to make several updates in the coming week or two, including a 16,000km/10,000 mile update and (hopefully) a pic or two of a windscreen experiment I've been running. Speaking of windscreens, I re-installed my short windscreen in June during a hot spell, in order to get some more air flowing through my mesh jacket. After doing this, I noticed a few things. One was that the noise level with the short screen was quite a bit lower than with the tall screen. I also noticed, strangely enough, that the scooter seems to be more affected by cross winds with the smaller screen. I'm not sure why that is; perhaps it's my body that's feeling it more and not really the bike, since most of my torso is exposed. Finally, I became re-acquainted with my dislike of the body blast of air that the short screen permits. Great for the cooling effect, not so great from the "frantic ride" standpoint. ----- I had to chuckle as I added the input of John, from Oklahoma, to my "Other Opinions" page. I've made no attempt to hide that I think the S2 is one of the roomiest 250cc bikes out there, and that I find it comfortable. Well, after reading John's comments, I'm wondering if I should reduce my insistence on this point...he feels a bit differently than I do. I'm glad for this input; counterpoints are good. ----- I think I will be attending my first "large" scooter event in August. "MaxiScoot Northwest" is a 3+ day rally that is held in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge, about 60 miles from where I live. Should be a fun time. It will be nice to hit some of the Gorge twisties with my fellow maxi-scooter riders. I get to find out how well Elmo can keep up with the big boys on the 400+cc machines. (Yes, my S2 has a name, taken from the Sesame Street character.)
Carrying a laptop PC April 27, 2008	I recently read a forum post from a rider asking for examples of how folks carry their laptop PCs while riding their scooter. I will start and end this description with a disclaimer: I am no expert at securing cargo to a scooter. No guarantee that this is 100% effective is given or implied. If you want to carry your laptop on your scooter, figure it out for yourself. This is only for the sake of sharing how I do it, and is not a recommendation by any stretch...a laptop PC is not something to be carried on a scooter or motorcycle in a carefree fashion. This method is not universally applicable. It's a custom solution designed around the features of my scooter and laptop case. To begin with, my laptop resides in a pretty nice carrying case. I would not try something like this with a cheap case. Furthermore, I carry it on the passenger seat and backrest, which are padded and provide extra shock absorbtion. Starting point: here's the laptop case, sitting on the passenger seat. First I stuff the large shoulder strap into the outside pocket to get it out of the way and to keep it from flopping around. Then I connect the hooks of a bungee cord together, after passing them through the two tie-down straps/handles on the laptop case. I had to experiment with different lengths of bungee; I needed something as short as possible that would still allow it to slip back and under the cargo plate (next photo). Stretch the bungee back and under the cargo plate... And finally, slide the laptop case forward and lean it back, while slipping the bungee cord as low as it can go. IMPORTANT: note that the laptop PC itself is not directly exposed to bungee forces. The bungee is pulling down on the carrying case only; no bungee forces are transmitted to the computer. The bungee secures the case only. The case secures the PC within, just as if I were simply carrying it while walking. If I wrapped the bungee all the way around the carrying case, it would put bending forces on the PC itself. This method does not rigidly hold the carrying case in place...it is held somewhat compliantly. However, it is biased down and back enough that it can't get away, even at highway speeds and/or on bumpy roads. I've been carrying my laptop like this for a year and a half or so. Periodically I switch to a new bungee cord (they stretch over time), and I also inspect the tiedown straps on the carrying case to make sure they aren't ready to give out. This is not presented as expert advice, instruction, or anything that is worth following. Emulate at your own risk. I don't intend to suggest that anyone else try this; that's your decision.
"Performance Test" (of sorts) September 16, 2007	It wasn't a highly instrumented test, but a number of weeks ago I took a spontaneous little ride down the Columbia River Gorge on my lunch break. The weather was nice, I needed a break from the office air, and I'd been wanting to take a ride on a road with some extended hills that were somewhat steep to see how the S2 250 would handle them. I took SR14 east to Beacon Rock and then back again, probably around 40 miles total for the ride. Coming back, the highway has several sections that include extended straightaway climbs where the DOT has inserted passing lanes, probably about 5% grade, maybe 6%. The scooter handled them pretty well; the worst portion slowed me down to an indicated steady 69mph at WOT, which is in reality about 58-59mph. It's a great little ride (the Columbia Gorge has some beautiful scenery), and I plan to take it again sometime. Hopefully I'll plan ahead next time and get a few pictures from the Cape Horn lookout.
8000 km Service Appt. July 19, 2007	See the new Service/Maintenance page if you want a summary of the 8000km service appointment (what they did, how long, how much, etc.). Replacing the belt did not eliminate the freeway-speed vibration mentioned in the previous entry. The rear tire, which is very worn (well into the wear bars), will be replaced soon. That could be the cause, or not. I'll provide an update when the time comes. The dealer I originally purchased the bike from is moving away from selling any scooter that isn't a Burgman, so I took the bike to Scooter Station, a Daelim/Sym/Vespa dealer and service center in Portland, OR. Nice folks, nice little dealership. I am pleased with the work they did. How was/is the bike? Well, the valve clearance needed a little tweaking, but was not off much. The variator rollers were fine, and he removed some light glazing on the clutch. The auto-bystarter was fine, and the steering head bearing felt good enough that he did not think it necessary to tear down the front end to get a closer look, which would have added considerable time to the bill. Overall, there wasn't much amiss, so this visit led to no huge changes in the scooter's performance.
8000 km Update June 3, 2007	My odometer is closing in on 8000km now, so here's an update. Since mid-January, I've commuted on the S2 on all but two days: once when it snowed, and once on "Take Your Kids to Work" day. Lots of riding in less than ideal riding weather. Does that make me a die hard? The rear tire is in need of replacement. I'm a little disappointed that it didn't last longer. As I began looking for a replacement on the internet, I learned a couple of things. First, the S2's rear tire size is something of a rarity, and most of the regular scooter tire models don't list a 140/60-13 sized version. Second, I did a little digging on the particular brand and model that came with the scoot. It's a Schwalbe Raceman. Schwalbe is a German company, and this appears to be their high performance racing tire. Generally, performance and longevity are thought of as competing items in a tire. Hopefully whatever I replace it with will last a little longer. As the miles have piled on, I've noticed a particular vibration that shows up at higher speeds. Originally, I noticed it near maximum speed several months ago. Nothing objectionable, but definitely not present at the 50-55mph speeds I normally ride. Lately, I've been able to notice it creeping down, and now I can feel it in the 60-65 range (low 70s on the speedo). I think it's the drive belt; a little digging on various forum archives reveals similar symptoms on Hondas, Kymcos, and other bikes. I measured my drive belt width yesterday: 23.3mm. The service manual says the nominal range is 23.6-24.4mm, and the service limit is 22mm. I'm considering replacing it now. A worn belt could run a teeny bit loose on the slack side when the CVT is running at its highest speed ratio. I may wait, though. The belt is still well within spec, and the vibe is merely noticeable and does not feel bad. A new belt with Kevlar reinforcement is $80, after all :-( .
Cargo April 3, 2007	...a note in the "it means something to me but is probably boring to anyone else" category...In recent weeks, on several occasions I've had to carry a gym bag, laptop PC, lunch, and a digital projector with me to work. I've been able to load it all up, despite my lacking a top case. Gym bag & lunch under the seat, laptop case bungee strapped to the passenger seat (single cord), projector case lying on the flat floor with the handle through the bag clip. Care free. (I think I'd want the top case before carrying all of this in a persistent rain, though.)
Riding Gear March 29, 2007	My approach to riding is on the conservative side. Consequently, I'm a believer in ATGATT (All The Gear, All The Time), and dressing for the fall. I have to admit that I am a little bit of a hypocrite on this, because I generally just wear tennis shoes when I ride, instead of motorcycle boots, so my ankles would be somewhat vulnerable in a fall. I live in a moderate climate, so I went with a jacket and pants that were on the heavy side, but had removable liners for a little warm-weather flexibility. This was easier on the wallet than buying separate sets of gear for different seasons. I wanted high visibility, so I limited my potential choices of jacket and helmet to those items available in yellow. I relied pretty heavily on Web Bike World's review section and New Enough's supplemtal comments for evaluating different possibilities. I ended up buying a Joe Rocket Meteor 4 jacket, FirstGear HTII Overpants, an HJC CL-SP helmet, and an off-brand pair of basic riding gloves with some protective padding on the palms and knuckles. It hasn't worked out too badly. I am able to commute in fairly good comfort in most weather, wet or dry. The jacket and pants get a little warm if I can't keep moving in 85+ degrees and my fingers start getting cold if it dips below 40, though. My next gear purchase will probably be a pair of gloves that provide a little more warmth for the winter months, or a pair of short riding boots.
About me (in case anyone cares)	My name is Victor Bruhn, and my online handle is Gusset. I have one wife, four daughters (ages 10-15), and two stupid cats. We live in SW Washington just over the border from Portland, Oregon. I am a mechanical engineer. Most of my scooter riding is in the form of commuting or errands. I occasionally go out on pleasure rides, but not too often. My commute takes about 25 minutes and includes a variety of environments, and I have 3-4 different route options, so it does a fair job of keeping my riding urge satisfied. It's hard to pin down one aspect of riding that I like the most, but I find that I really enjoy the feeling of rolling on the throttle while leaning through a corner, especially if I did a good job with the line (usually going for a somewhat late apex). Other miscellaneous stuff: When I read, it's usually military science fiction. David Weber is currently my favorite author. I enjoy playing 4X PC strategy games, especially online vs. human opponents ( 4X stands for eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate, the four stages of many empire building games). All time favorite: Master of Orion II. Currently playing Space Empires V during most of my gaming time. It's been a little sparse lately, but I have a home-built telescope that I enjoy using (8" Dob). Great fun. Astronomy is such a wonderful thing, and while it's cool to look at all the pics taken by Hubble and all of the huge telescopes on various mountaintops, there's nothing quite like seeing things "live" in the eyepiece. The scale of the universe is mind boggling. I also think it's pretty neat that looking through a telescope is looking into the past...for example, when I look at the Great Galaxy in Andromeda (M31), I'm seeing it as it was some 2 million years ago. I'm a Bible believing Christian. Through Jesus Christ and the forgiveness He provided on the cross, God has given me so much more than I deserve or could repay. His love for people is unconditional, which is staggering to consider.