Winter Days
Posted by Jim Zeiser on Sunday, November 25, 2012
I'm sitting here looking out the window at a light dusting of snow on the ground. My Black Lab is overjoyed but you can see the dubious look on my two Yorkshire Terriers. It's about thirty-one degrees right now and the streets have a light coating of road salt so my big scooter is confined to the garage right now while the 50cc mini-motorcycle awaits its next assignment. These are just the beginning of the dark days of Winter and I have to reflect that this year was a fairly mixed bag of events. The 250 Yamaha that I thought would be my ride of the future all but exploded in my face. Fortunately the big scooter was acquired and it has taken up the slack and proven to be a superior vehicle. OK, we had a short time down due to a transmission issue but it was up and running again after only four days. Not only has it proven itself as a commuter vehicle but it's shown itself to be an excellent two person light duty shopping tool. In warmer times we won't be driving to buy small items. Nope, why take a car on an eighty mile trip when we can use half the gas in the same time.
The true revelation continues to be the 50cc bike. After three years it has been about as reliable as any bike I've ever owned and using gas at an astonishing low rate. It will carry large amounts of groceries and make trips to the bank or post office in not much more time than the bikes or automobiles. It even did well running the thirty-five commute when needed. It's easy to see why bikes like this are so popular overseas where fuel consumption is more important than speed.
Of course the Honda Rebel just keeps on ticking showing why the Japanese dominate worldwide. I could see this bike lasting darn near forever with just the replacement of brakes and tires. It's built that well.
So, for now, the fleet rests. Regular startups and battery charges will be the winter tasks they see most. Spring is only four months away. I'm counting the days.
The true revelation continues to be the 50cc bike. After three years it has been about as reliable as any bike I've ever owned and using gas at an astonishing low rate. It will carry large amounts of groceries and make trips to the bank or post office in not much more time than the bikes or automobiles. It even did well running the thirty-five commute when needed. It's easy to see why bikes like this are so popular overseas where fuel consumption is more important than speed.
Of course the Honda Rebel just keeps on ticking showing why the Japanese dominate worldwide. I could see this bike lasting darn near forever with just the replacement of brakes and tires. It's built that well.
So, for now, the fleet rests. Regular startups and battery charges will be the winter tasks they see most. Spring is only four months away. I'm counting the days.
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