Two Wheeling

This might get a little preachy but bear with me. I have to say it somewhere and this will be as private as I can get. Let me start.

Scooter owners are NUTS!

Of course many of you will say, “But Jim, you are a scooter owner”. Yes, I am, but NO, I'm not. I prefer to think of myself as a Motorcyclist who is experimenting with other genre. I can jump on the Honda Rebel motorcycle just as readily as I can throw a leg over the Chinese scooters.

Why I say they're NUTS is from the reading I've ...

Since the riding season is now in full motion the usual group of maintenance tasks are now required. The big scooter, since it's my primary ride, was due for its regular thousand mile oil change. A simple oil change is not an epic undertaking on this scooter. A drain plug is in the bottom and on the side of the engine there is a cap with a screen filter and spring behind it. On a good day at a relaxed pace I can accomplish this task in half an hour from the first grabbing of tools to the fin...

In case you haven't noticed there's a new video at the top of this prose. It's my daughter Cheryl taking a further step into the world of two wheeled motoring. Since she got her Motorcycle Learners Permit six months ago we've been waiting for the time and opportunity to put her on a real motorcycle. Yesterday was that first day.

The first step in the path is mastering the takeoff with a manual clutch. This has curtailed the career of many newcomers who either give up or get a motor scooter...

As I'm sure many of you might have noticed my season of riding has been slow in developing. Bad weather and lack of opportunity have played a major role in curtailing a good size trip. This past Friday became the first chance I had to really put my squad to work. My day began with a trip to work at the dismally early hour of five in the morning to help unload a truck at my job. At this time of year the sun is beginning to poke light into the morning sky and you can see the landscape in the s...

It's finally here! Yesterday was the unofficial start of Summer with Parades, fireworks and several momentous events to mark the beginning of the season. It's fitting that the members of the Military are honored as we begin to enjoy the benefits they've secured for us.

I hadn't had the chance to do any long rides or even commute to work this past weekend. Winter decided to strike with one, hopefully, last intrusion sending morning temperatures plunging into the thirty degree region. In the d...

I have a small bit of news that will add spice to this otherwise predictable collection of words. A few weeks ago I came upon an ad in Craigslist that totally caught my eye. In short a young lady in Pennsylvania had a 2010 Kymco scooter for sale at a price that was just too good to pass up. In 2010 this scooter had a list price of over $2000 and she wanted $300 to get rid of it. The ad stated it had an electrical problem and subsequent discussion revealed that she had it looked at and no one...

Now that the nice weather is here my fleet of two wheelers is getting out more. Even as we speak it's almost fifty-five degrees and the sun is shining in spots. The only stumbling block to even more riding is that morning temperatures are still in the thirty degrees range. If the sun is out that might be tolerable, but in the dark when I’m leaving for work it feels much colder. Hence, we drive the car.

I recently installed a new front tire on Galileo, the big scooter, and it’s ready to...

This past weekend the last vestige, a former big snow pile, of Winter finally disappeared and the weather turned truly Spring-like. Temperatures actually approached seventy degrees and the sun made all day appearances. I finally got a chance to run several errands on both of the scooters and leave the cars in the driveway for the first time in months. I can only say it's about time.

I decided on one occasion that I wanted to get into town and back quickly but needed cargo room. I pulled out ...

It has finally happened. The weather is breaking and Spring is making a valiant attempt to rise from Winter's ashes. In the last week we have had a few days of temperatures in the fifties and I've been able to get out and do errands on the rolling stock. Yesterday was the crowning moment of the season thus far with temperatures in the sixties and it felt like a good time to roll out the big scooter, Galileo, and take it for a short ride into Town.

I had put a new battery in it over the Winte...