Keeping In Touch

February 8, 2011
Last year I let this site sit idle for the same reason you haven't heard from me in seven weeks. It's thirteen degrees outside and there's a foot and a half of snow in front of the garage. Obviously not riding weather. It's paining me not to be able to ride as the price of gas reaches $3.50 a gallon but I'm neither a masochist or a glutton for punishment. The roads are covered in snow more often than not and it's been in the twenties since the beginning of December. I was starting the bikes for awhile just to here them run but it's too depressing to look outside the garage and know I'm not going anywhere. 
Hopefully there's light at the end of February and maybe the weather will warm enough to make it possible to ride. In the meantime I just sit and watch the snow fall and think to myself "This too shall pass",  

Posted by Jim Zeiser.

 

A New Year

December 31, 2010
With the new year on the horizon it's time to look back and reflect. This was the year I got to take a long ride on the Kawasaki and do the MSF Experienced Rider Course in New Jersey, even staying overnight in a hotel. I purchased two scooters as speculation, although I might keep one, and rode all the two wheeled creatures in my fleet at least once. Let's see, that's two motorcycles, three scooters and two mopeds. All of which are running soundly.
Sara had her biggest year ever on her Honda R...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.

 

Road Tests

December 19, 2010
I finally got a chance to hit the road with the Lance and prove out the repair to the electrical system. Last week I took it for a short run in between rain storms up and down the road in front of the house. It cooperated nicely and didn't hesitate or threaten to stall even once. I felt quite happy with the results and put it back in the basement to stay warm and cozy.
Today it was a balmy twenty seven degrees outside and I needed milk from the local convenience store so I decided this would b...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.

 

Partings

December 5, 2010
Someone once said life is made up of meetings and partings. I'll have a parting in a little while. I mentioned to someone that I had a scooter for sale at a reasonable price and he surprisingly said, "sold". I hadn't really expected that so today I settled down and got to work replacing the fuel line and CDI unit on the "Charming". I moved it indoors since the weather has gotten so mean lately and with plenty of light and heat working on it was nearly a breeze. I removed the plastic panels th...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.

 

Pictures of the Big Scooter

November 27, 2010
I'm sure you're all burning with curiosity to see pictures of the big scooter and I won't keep you waiting any longer. I finally dragged the digital out and snapped pictures of the new arrival right after I had taken it out for a ride. Behind it is another of my bargains, the Plymouth minivan that has served me well for almost two years at a very reasonable price. It has carried the family on two long trips to Pennsylvania and been my main ride since last winter. 
I wanted to take the Honda ou...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.

 

It's Alive

November 19, 2010
Last time I wrote about the acquisition of a pair of scooters, the Lance and the Honda. I'm happy to report that the Honda 250 is now running and I've even ridden it for about ten miles or so and it appears to be well on its way to recovery. It didn't start out looking so rosy. When I first started playing with it I hit a little roadblock. Somewhere in the starter button circuit something is amiss and the only way to start it is to jump the heavy cables at the starter solenoid. It appears tha...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.

 

Scooter Repair

October 31, 2010
Lately I've launched myself into a new hobby. Buying scooters and fixing them for fun. It hasn't been for profit yet as I still have to make repairs permanent on the one and get the second one started. Still it has been a fun way to exercise my mechanical leanings and problem solve ways to get something running.
The first one is a Chinese Lance 50cc scooter that is so European looking even though it's made in Asia. The previous owner had it cease to operate for him one day and he put it in the...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.

 

The Mopeds

October 15, 2010
Somewhere else in web land these mopeds are generating a great deal of interest and enthusiasm. I must admit that I get a great deal of pleasure out of riding the one I've adopted as a partner. I use the black one occasionally and have outfitted it with a milk crate to carry a large quantity of groceries. Unfortunately it's third in line after the scooter and the Kawasaki so it only has about 330 miles on it after a year. 
Still I've heard from other people who've bought one and they love them...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.

 

Some Days You Lose

October 10, 2010
I just spent the last two days playing around with the scooter and I'm beaten for now. I took off all the plastic panels, pulled all the hoses and lines and opened up the valve cover to get at the cylinder head bolts. After re-torquing the head the oil leak persists. I thought maybe I'd pull the fan shroud until I saw it would practically require removing the engine. A project for next spring. For now I'll just keep dumping oil into it and keep cardboard under it to soak up the spills. At my ...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.

 

End of Season Overview

October 4, 2010
When I get to October and the first cold weather settles in (it's 45 degrees out right now) I have to look at my equipment and see what it needs over the Winter to be ready to rumble when the warmer weather comes. Oh say, about the middle of May. The motorcycle is pretty much set, although it really could use a new set of spark plugs. The scooter, on the other hand, once again requires my attention over the snowy months. 
Sometime during June it started to leak oil. Not just a minor leak, mind...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.

 
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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.

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