January 8, 2012
I was charged with making lunch today and after filling glasses with milk noticed we were low. It was quite discouraging since I had gone out already on a grocery run but failed to notice we would need another gallon of milk before the day was out. It was thirty degrees and cloudy with an occasional flurry outside. I just couldn't bring myself to burn more gas in the cars so I decided to take the scooter. I was dressed warmly for the trip so except for the odd gust of wind the ride was fairly pleasant.
Just to make the trip completely worthwhile I also grabbed an envelope with a bank deposit. It's been a few weeks since I last rode and it reminded me, once again, just how enjoyable riding can be. Of course a scooter rider is an odd sight here in January so I wasn't surprised at the double take a State Trooper did as I rode past him in Town. I'm sure he hasn't seen anyone out riding in awhile and especially on a scooter.
Right now it's snowing slightly more heavily so I may have unwittingly grabbed my last chance to ride for awhile. This winter, so far, has been fairly merciful and the spring riding season might just start in March this year. That would be so refreshing after having to wait until May most years.
The last few times I went out to start the little Yamaha it fired right up so I'm also looking forward to some serious motorcycle riding also. That will give me plenty to write about.
Posted by Jim Zeiser.
December 31, 2011
It's New Year's Eve and it's 45 degrees. Just for laughs I went out to the garage and started the Yamaha 250. Yes, I said started. Apparently my strange little drill works most of the time. When winter is over it will be interesting to see what works on a warm engine. I'm looking forward to using it to go to work or longer rides into Binghamton. The safer thing would just be to use my wife's Honda Rebel but the Yamaha is a much more interesting ride. I will take some pride in using a formerly...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
December 21, 2011
This is the first day of Winter and of all things, it's raining out. We've only had a couple of small snows and the white stuff melted fairly quickly. I heard it was supposed to be in the mid to upper forties tomorrow so I went out to the garage and tried to start the Yamaha. I've let it sit for a couple of weeks in the cold and it only popped a couple of times. I guess it's time to try again and get it going before Spring sneaks up on me in a scant three months. The scooter has been on the r...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
December 11, 2011
We needed some things from the grocery store today and it wasn't enough to warrant using the car. Solution: use the scooter. I wouldn't let a little thing like 34 degrees stop me or that the scooter hasn't been moved in over a week. What I did discover is that 20W-50 oil really puts a drag on the engine so when I went to start it the motor spun very slowly. Even still it fired up and off we went. The sun shimmered on the recently fallen snow adding a holiday festivity to the ride. I was bundl...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
December 6, 2011
Last year at this time I could look out my window and see about four inches of snow on the ground. The weather has been completely different this year. Today it got up to 56 degrees and in honor of the occasion I took the Yamaha out for a spin. It was another success and the bike seems to get stronger each time I use it. I've developed a starting drill straight out of the British bike era to assure that it starts. I remove the trickle charger, turn on the key, flip the kill switch to run and ...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
November 28, 2011
I had the chance to ride the Chinese scooter to work yesterday and it was a great ride. Of course December is coming and I'm no hero so I'll be using the vehicle with heat pretty soon. It was gratifying to note that at the end of the ride the scooter had 6,072 miles giving me my official 2500 riding miles this season, just on the scooter.That number is acknowledged to be the average number of miles motorcyclists ride in a year. When you take into account the miles I put on the ill-fated Big R...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
November 20, 2011
Today was the first time I rode the old Yamaha 250 and it didn't stall out on me. Faithful readers will remember that this was the $225 special I bought from Craigslist the day after I sold the Kawasaki. It was evident as I worked on it that this poor beast hadn't been run in years and received little or no care in that time. I have it sitting on a battery charger from KMart that maintains the voltage and start it up every other day or so just out of curiosity. It has dirt bike tires on it be...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
November 6, 2011
I'll cut right to the chase. I bought another neglected old bike today. The only difference is this one has a title. Unfortunately, to call it a wreck would be kind. I found the bike on Craigslist, a 1981 Yamaha 400, for a mere $100 but when I went to pick it up it was worse than I could have imagined. The owner warned me it hadn't run in seven years but he didn't mention that it had been outside for those seven years. The rear wheel wouldn't turn since the brakes were rusted, the tires were ...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
November 3, 2011
After my bold prediction that I'd be back in the saddle again I couldn't bring myself to do it. It's been hard staying of the bikes and scooter but I've tried to be good to let my bones heal. Also the cold weather here has made me a coward. Riding with nothing but a freezer bag ensures a chilly ride home at night from work and I just can't bring myself to do it. I also have some sad news. I divested myself of the Honda Big Ruckus. Apparently the State of New York won't title it or renew the r...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
October 24, 2011
Yesterday I just had to know if there was anyway I could ride the Chinese scooter, now. I took a big freezer bag, put my hand in it and drew the slide tab over to tighten it against my wrist. Now I had a plastic mitten to keep my hand a little warmer than if it was bare. I put my hand on the scooter's handlebar and-voila-I could grasp it effectively. Today I went out and took a little ride into Town and was able to ride fairly confidently.Overall I rode only eight miles but it told me what I ...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
If you wish to comment my e-mail address is h1500e@hotmail.com. I'd like to hear anything-good or bad-that anyone would like to say. As they said in college, we're all lifelong learners.
