sorry but i am having trouble posting pics you may want to go to the site to see the pictures
8/20/2008
Well I think shipping is worked out now, Steve from Kansas will be taking my scooter as well as his own in the back of his pick-up. I met up with him last weekend and we made sure both his scooter and mine would fit ok. They both fit with room to spare, so i will be meeting him at the starting line. Luckily my hotel is only a mile from the start so I can just walk over and meet him before-hand.
8/25/2008
I've just returned from Tulsa Scooters where once again they have hooked me up. Sacha and Brad are my new heroes. I've got my cushy foam grips installed as well as a throttle lock...
as you can see from the second picture the grips are a bit longer than the originals but it should be fine for the ride. The cushy grips make a big difference in the amount of vibration that get to your hands, arms, and shoulders. The throttle lock is going to be a life saver on the long days. If you can see I also added some rubber grips to the brake levers which make it easier to grip especially while wearing gloves.
they also added the auxiliary tank which gives me a total of three gallons witht the original tank.
The tank sits on a black rear rack and Brad actually had to weld a couple of pieces to the rack so the tank's brackets would fit.
In the next picture you can see that original tank's vent is where the fuel line runs from; it is sitting
on top waiting for the auxiliary tank to be installed.
After some trial and error we had to add a new vent to the tank so both tanks were venting properly. In the next picture you can see both the fuel line and the vent line coming out of the back of the buddy's orange plastic just behind the seat. the vent line actually hooks around the rack so that the open end is facing down to make sure no rain or dirt gets into the line. The end of the line is copper tubing, so even if pressure is put onto it it will not kink the vent line.
I plan to take it for a couple of test rides and try to run the tanks completly empty to see what kind of range I'll have. I'm hoping to be able to go 250-300 miles between fill-ups (though 300 miles may be asking alot).
Not much more to do to get the bike ready which is good because I only have ten days or so before I have to put the Buddy on a truck headed West.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
8/12/2008
Wow, it's been a long time since I have written I've been really busy. I just got back from a few days at a business conference in San Diego. I've not only been busy with work and family, but with the planning involved in a ride like this.
I got my auxiliary gas tank delivered to my office, it isn't the tourtank that i had talked about, in the end it was just too much to spend for a gas can. I ended up buying one from ebay that was made for a go-cart for 29 bucks. Brad at Tulsa Scooters is hooking it up to the gas line as we speak. The tank holds 2 gallons It will sit on the rear rack. I'll add some pictures and a description of how it is hooked up as we get closer. I've added some foam grips to reduce the vibration from the buddy's front shocks. I added a throttle-lock to be able to rest my right hand every once in a while as I am riding. I've added some 12 gram Dr. pulley roller weights, which I may be removing before the ride. They don't seem to add much top-end and I know the take-off speed has been reduced by the heavier weight. When I first got on it I could tell it was much less responsive at the throttle than it used to be. I may go back to the original weights or I may get some 11 gram Dr. pulleys instead. the Dr. Pulleys aren't as easy to come by, and Brad seems to think that the Dr. Pulley just cant do much better unless you change the variator all together. The Dr. pulleys can't push out much further than the stock weights.
I purchased some Fieldsheer pants to go along with my Jacket. The two zip together so give the feel of a one piece suit. The pants are the Four Season Pants from Fieldsheer, they are basically a mesh pant with a very heavy liner for cold weather. So In the summer time you can wear them with shorts or even just underwear (beware mesh will reveal the color of your undies, no vital parts are exposed these are PG-13 pants) In the spring and fall you can wear pants underneath (if you're gonna do this buy a size larger than you think you need) In the winter they have a quilted down filled liner that seems like It'd keep you warm in some pretty cold temps.
The same week I purchased some Frank Thomas stunt boots. They have a little less ankle padding than a hiking boot or something so they should be much more comfortable on the scooter. They have steel shanks for a stiff sole and plastic disks at the ankles for abrasion protection. They are very comfortable, unfortunately they don't come in half sizes so you just have to pick the size above your normal size. I have to say they are comfortable, but the first time I put them on I tore the loop at the back of the boot that you pull to help get it over your heel. I am worried now the I may have other stiching problems with them but I'll let you know.
Both packages came in the same day, it felt like christmas. It did for me anyway when my wife come home to see the boxes of gear on the floor she shook her head and said something like "this trip is gonna be expensive..."
I cannot say how they perform in any weather as It was 105 degrees out the day they arrived, and my bike is now in the shop getting ready to rumble.
I've yet to get my airline ticket to San Francisco I am trying to decide whether to go 1 or 2 days early depending on how I get my bike out there. I need to buy it soon as flights are selling out and prices are rising.
The closest stop we'll have to my home town of Tulsa, OK is Fort Scott, KS so my wife will hopefully be skipping a law school class to come and Greet my arrival into Ft. Scott.
My father has volunteered to meet me in St. Louis with a pick-up truck and follow me for the last few days of the ride. We'll then put the buddy in the back and head for home. It is great to not have to buy the plane ticket home or pay to have the bike shipped back but the best part will be spending some time on the road with my dad. This will be one of the thousands of road trips that we've been on together.
I've made hotel reservations. I've not yet made reservations for shipping my scooter via forward air as a few other options have come up. I have discoved u-ship which is like an e-bay for shipping large items and I have corresponded with a trucker that may be able to take it for much less than forward air will charge. Without having to build a crate for the motorcycle i will have to pay $600 to ship to San Francisco. The trucker is willing to ship it to a local scooter shop for $400, now I just have to get the local scooter shop to agree to take the delivery. Timing is everything shipping either way, with forward air I will have to ship out almost a week before it needs to arrive. With U-ship you are sort of on the timeline of the trucker who is carrying your scoot. Then there is a guy from Kansas who is taking his scooter in a truck and I'm trying to convince him to take the scooter instead. So I have a few options. If one of the cheaper options doesn't pan out in 2 weeks i'll have to go ahead and cal forward air to be sure i can give them enough lead time.
If you have any input on my gear questions please drop me an e-mail at robonz23@yahoo.com
Wow, it's been a long time since I have written I've been really busy. I just got back from a few days at a business conference in San Diego. I've not only been busy with work and family, but with the planning involved in a ride like this.
I got my auxiliary gas tank delivered to my office, it isn't the tourtank that i had talked about, in the end it was just too much to spend for a gas can. I ended up buying one from ebay that was made for a go-cart for 29 bucks. Brad at Tulsa Scooters is hooking it up to the gas line as we speak. The tank holds 2 gallons It will sit on the rear rack. I'll add some pictures and a description of how it is hooked up as we get closer. I've added some foam grips to reduce the vibration from the buddy's front shocks. I added a throttle-lock to be able to rest my right hand every once in a while as I am riding. I've added some 12 gram Dr. pulley roller weights, which I may be removing before the ride. They don't seem to add much top-end and I know the take-off speed has been reduced by the heavier weight. When I first got on it I could tell it was much less responsive at the throttle than it used to be. I may go back to the original weights or I may get some 11 gram Dr. pulleys instead. the Dr. Pulleys aren't as easy to come by, and Brad seems to think that the Dr. Pulley just cant do much better unless you change the variator all together. The Dr. pulleys can't push out much further than the stock weights.
I purchased some Fieldsheer pants to go along with my Jacket. The two zip together so give the feel of a one piece suit. The pants are the Four Season Pants from Fieldsheer, they are basically a mesh pant with a very heavy liner for cold weather. So In the summer time you can wear them with shorts or even just underwear (beware mesh will reveal the color of your undies, no vital parts are exposed these are PG-13 pants) In the spring and fall you can wear pants underneath (if you're gonna do this buy a size larger than you think you need) In the winter they have a quilted down filled liner that seems like It'd keep you warm in some pretty cold temps.
The same week I purchased some Frank Thomas stunt boots. They have a little less ankle padding than a hiking boot or something so they should be much more comfortable on the scooter. They have steel shanks for a stiff sole and plastic disks at the ankles for abrasion protection. They are very comfortable, unfortunately they don't come in half sizes so you just have to pick the size above your normal size. I have to say they are comfortable, but the first time I put them on I tore the loop at the back of the boot that you pull to help get it over your heel. I am worried now the I may have other stiching problems with them but I'll let you know.
Both packages came in the same day, it felt like christmas. It did for me anyway when my wife come home to see the boxes of gear on the floor she shook her head and said something like "this trip is gonna be expensive..."
I cannot say how they perform in any weather as It was 105 degrees out the day they arrived, and my bike is now in the shop getting ready to rumble.
I've yet to get my airline ticket to San Francisco I am trying to decide whether to go 1 or 2 days early depending on how I get my bike out there. I need to buy it soon as flights are selling out and prices are rising.
The closest stop we'll have to my home town of Tulsa, OK is Fort Scott, KS so my wife will hopefully be skipping a law school class to come and Greet my arrival into Ft. Scott.
My father has volunteered to meet me in St. Louis with a pick-up truck and follow me for the last few days of the ride. We'll then put the buddy in the back and head for home. It is great to not have to buy the plane ticket home or pay to have the bike shipped back but the best part will be spending some time on the road with my dad. This will be one of the thousands of road trips that we've been on together.
I've made hotel reservations. I've not yet made reservations for shipping my scooter via forward air as a few other options have come up. I have discoved u-ship which is like an e-bay for shipping large items and I have corresponded with a trucker that may be able to take it for much less than forward air will charge. Without having to build a crate for the motorcycle i will have to pay $600 to ship to San Francisco. The trucker is willing to ship it to a local scooter shop for $400, now I just have to get the local scooter shop to agree to take the delivery. Timing is everything shipping either way, with forward air I will have to ship out almost a week before it needs to arrive. With U-ship you are sort of on the timeline of the trucker who is carrying your scoot. Then there is a guy from Kansas who is taking his scooter in a truck and I'm trying to convince him to take the scooter instead. So I have a few options. If one of the cheaper options doesn't pan out in 2 weeks i'll have to go ahead and cal forward air to be sure i can give them enough lead time.
If you have any input on my gear questions please drop me an e-mail at robonz23@yahoo.com
Saturday, June 21, 2008
buddy backrest
I have been wanting to figure out a way to fashion some sort of backrest for the buddy, as you will come to find out my fabrication skills are lacking so I did what I could to improvise the following...I tried to match the color of the seat but if you see it doesn't quite make it.
You can't see it in this picture but the base of the backrest is an "ammo can" from the army surplus store bolted to the rear rack via conduit hangers.
I wanted something I could adjust, this one has copper tubing that slides in the conduit hangers that I bolted to the top of the ammo can. here's a pic of a conduit hanger if you don't know what I'm talking about (http://images.orgill.com/200x200/1731256.jpg) .The pad also tilts to fit the back a little better.
One big problem with any of my designs was that access to under seat storage was blocked. On this box when you open the lid you can get to your underseat storage.If it's got any flaws so far 1) it's fairly heavy but really not as heavy as I thought it was going to be (it gonna get heavier when I make a rack to hold a gas can behind the ammo can)
2) some minor adjustments need to be made like lowering the back pad slightly, and when i figure out where I like it I'll more than likely cut off more copper tubing to make the rails a bit shorter.
Friday, June 13, 2008
6/13/2008
Sponsorship
Well I got a couple of interesting e-mails yesterday and today. Yesterday I recieved an e-mail from a reporter at the Tulsa World and I am to meet with him next monday for an interview. As scooters have become very popular all of the sudden, he'd like to do a story on the ride and the money I am raising for my chosen charity The Smile Train. Hopefully this will help promote my ride and help me to get some more donations. So if you are in the Tulsa area be looking for that article, or you may even be able to find it on the web. I have no idea when it will come out but I'll keep eveyone posted.
The other e-mail I recieved was from Philip Mccaleb regarding a sponsorship from Genuine. At first I was a little worried by his first sentence..."We have decided that Genuine will not officially sponsor the Cannonball run this year. Small displacement scooters were not really engineered for cross country "racing" as such, and we risk implying that they are intended for that or capable of being evaluated under those circumstances." However he went on to say that Scooterworks would be happy to support me in any way that they could. Scooterworks is giving me big discounts on anything I need for the trip, plus Philip put me in touch with his head tech for any questions that my mechanic or I have about preparing for the trip. If you don't know Scooterworks is a big scooter dealer in Chicago that is related to the Genuine Scooter Company.
All-in-all pretty good news from both e-mails.
Doomsday Clock
A new addition to the cannonball website is a counter that is counting down the days, hours, and minutes until the ride begins. I got a big lump in my throat when I saw today that there are only 89 days 15 hours 4 minutes and 10 seconds until the big ride. There are so many things that I have to do before I am ready to go, not the least of which is to figure out how to get my bike to the starting line and back home. I've got to figure out what I will do for support along the way, make hotel reservations, and buy plane tickets. I'm sure I'm forgetting all kinds of things. One of my biggest worries if having the GPS all worked out before I get there. The seconds are ticking down.
If you have any input on my gear questions please drop me an e-mail at robonz23@yahoo.com
Sponsorship
Well I got a couple of interesting e-mails yesterday and today. Yesterday I recieved an e-mail from a reporter at the Tulsa World and I am to meet with him next monday for an interview. As scooters have become very popular all of the sudden, he'd like to do a story on the ride and the money I am raising for my chosen charity The Smile Train. Hopefully this will help promote my ride and help me to get some more donations. So if you are in the Tulsa area be looking for that article, or you may even be able to find it on the web. I have no idea when it will come out but I'll keep eveyone posted.
The other e-mail I recieved was from Philip Mccaleb regarding a sponsorship from Genuine. At first I was a little worried by his first sentence..."We have decided that Genuine will not officially sponsor the Cannonball run this year. Small displacement scooters were not really engineered for cross country "racing" as such, and we risk implying that they are intended for that or capable of being evaluated under those circumstances." However he went on to say that Scooterworks would be happy to support me in any way that they could. Scooterworks is giving me big discounts on anything I need for the trip, plus Philip put me in touch with his head tech for any questions that my mechanic or I have about preparing for the trip. If you don't know Scooterworks is a big scooter dealer in Chicago that is related to the Genuine Scooter Company.
All-in-all pretty good news from both e-mails.
Doomsday Clock
A new addition to the cannonball website is a counter that is counting down the days, hours, and minutes until the ride begins. I got a big lump in my throat when I saw today that there are only 89 days 15 hours 4 minutes and 10 seconds until the big ride. There are so many things that I have to do before I am ready to go, not the least of which is to figure out how to get my bike to the starting line and back home. I've got to figure out what I will do for support along the way, make hotel reservations, and buy plane tickets. I'm sure I'm forgetting all kinds of things. One of my biggest worries if having the GPS all worked out before I get there. The seconds are ticking down.
If you have any input on my gear questions please drop me an e-mail at robonz23@yahoo.com
Sunday, April 6, 2008
gear review mount up
As you probably already know if you are reading this now;I am planning on using the gps that works with my phone. As you can imagine, any gps is only good as long as you can see and/or hear it. I havn't even started on a way to hear it, but I am real close to being able to see it. I ordered some of the famous Ram Mounts and recieved all of the pieces a few days ago.
I've heard it said it's kind of like an erector setfor adults, and that's not far off. Ram makes hundreds of different pieces and you pick and choose the ones you want to create your own mounting system. They make many things exclusively for the motorcycle community, such as many different ways to mount to handlebars. Because my scooter doesn't have the traditional motorcycle handlebarr, I had to get creative with what I put together. Luckily I have a windshiled on my scooter otherwise I would have had to mount to the mirror stem, either way the Ram mount required a shim provided by Ram mount as well as a shim provided by me.
I was hoping the shim from Ram mount would be enough but the diameter of the windshield bracket is too small. I am still working on a good shim to fill the extra space. I chose to purchase the small aquabox as it has virtually the same dimensions as my phone. I am probably going to regret not buying the next size up (the medium aquabox). The flexlens plastic screen allows you to control the touch screen on the phone which is nice but in order to make it waterproof the lid compresses onto the flexlens and as you can see in the next picture it forces the sides inward and my fingers can't reach the outer edges of the screen. All the pieces from Ram mount are hight quality, you can tell that they have been doing this for a while.
The aquabox can be locked with a small padlock, and you can even buy a lock so you can't take the mount apart without a key. Beause the mount I have has a u-bolt mounted to the windshiled bracket, you could simply unbolt the whole mount if you were really determined to steal it. I bought the short arm which is just the right size for the buddy, I believe the regular arm would have been too long.
You can see everything mounted to the bike in the next two pictures. In the first I am having to hold the mount in position as it is not properlt shimmed yet. When I get it all tightened up I'll take it for a test drive, and as always I'll report back here with my opinions.
I've heard it said it's kind of like an erector setfor adults, and that's not far off. Ram makes hundreds of different pieces and you pick and choose the ones you want to create your own mounting system. They make many things exclusively for the motorcycle community, such as many different ways to mount to handlebars. Because my scooter doesn't have the traditional motorcycle handlebarr, I had to get creative with what I put together. Luckily I have a windshiled on my scooter otherwise I would have had to mount to the mirror stem, either way the Ram mount required a shim provided by Ram mount as well as a shim provided by me.
I was hoping the shim from Ram mount would be enough but the diameter of the windshield bracket is too small. I am still working on a good shim to fill the extra space. I chose to purchase the small aquabox as it has virtually the same dimensions as my phone. I am probably going to regret not buying the next size up (the medium aquabox). The flexlens plastic screen allows you to control the touch screen on the phone which is nice but in order to make it waterproof the lid compresses onto the flexlens and as you can see in the next picture it forces the sides inward and my fingers can't reach the outer edges of the screen. All the pieces from Ram mount are hight quality, you can tell that they have been doing this for a while.
The aquabox can be locked with a small padlock, and you can even buy a lock so you can't take the mount apart without a key. Beause the mount I have has a u-bolt mounted to the windshiled bracket, you could simply unbolt the whole mount if you were really determined to steal it. I bought the short arm which is just the right size for the buddy, I believe the regular arm would have been too long.
You can see everything mounted to the bike in the next two pictures. In the first I am having to hold the mount in position as it is not properlt shimmed yet. When I get it all tightened up I'll take it for a test drive, and as always I'll report back here with my opinions.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
3/28/2008
3/28/2008
Just wanted to check in quickly and show some pictures of my new saddle bags, I've sewn them myself and I am to the point of fitting them to the bike. I'm not sure at this point if I will need them or not for the cannonball but it was certainly a fun project.
The silver you see on one side is heat resistant material for the side with the pipe.
I added some reflective ribbon just for extra visibilty, you can see from the close-up that they are home made.
I used nikwax to waterproof the bags and when they came out of the washer they were so wrinkly, you can see it in this picture. I'm gonna have to do something to get this side up a little more. it also could have been the way that I packed that bag to make it look full for the picture.
Again here is the pipe side with the reflective maerial on the outside. You can also see my dog Bucket trying to get in the shot here.
I'll have to apologize for the white-trash looking back yard, not everyone in Oklahoma has pallets and kegs in their back yard.
If you have any input on my gear questions please drop me an e-mail at robonz@yahoo.com
Just wanted to check in quickly and show some pictures of my new saddle bags, I've sewn them myself and I am to the point of fitting them to the bike. I'm not sure at this point if I will need them or not for the cannonball but it was certainly a fun project.
The silver you see on one side is heat resistant material for the side with the pipe.
I added some reflective ribbon just for extra visibilty, you can see from the close-up that they are home made.
I used nikwax to waterproof the bags and when they came out of the washer they were so wrinkly, you can see it in this picture. I'm gonna have to do something to get this side up a little more. it also could have been the way that I packed that bag to make it look full for the picture.
Again here is the pipe side with the reflective maerial on the outside. You can also see my dog Bucket trying to get in the shot here.
I'll have to apologize for the white-trash looking back yard, not everyone in Oklahoma has pallets and kegs in their back yard.
If you have any input on my gear questions please drop me an e-mail at robonz@yahoo.com
Thursday, March 27, 2008
3/27/2008
Gear review
Let's get to the bottom of it...
When I came into my office today, I had a package sitting on my desk chair. It was a large plastic fed-ex envelope. Soft to the squeeze, I thought it was some kind of clothing, but I hadn't ordered anything like that. To my surprise, the Alaska Leather butt pad I had ordered just days before had already arrived. I've yet to take pics, and there isn't a great representation on their website. It fits quite nicely on the buddy seat in a couple of different positions. I have only ridden with it for ten or twenty miles, so I'm just getting the feel for it. The pad does offer a little more comfort, and I'm sure on longer days it will be much appretiated. It is good quality leather with about 1/2" of sheared sheep skin, and I think it will really help with the dreaded monkey butt. It has an elastic strap that keeps it tight on the seat, and the width of the buddy seat maxes out the strap's length, but even in stop-and-go city traffic it stayed put. All in all, it's a nice addition, but I'll probably only use it for long rides. I can't wait until it gets warmer for many reasons, but for one in particular, so I can try out the sheepskin in the heat of the summer. Believe it or not, it's actually supposed to keep your bum cooler because some air can flow underneath. Some touring motorcyclists have one to two inch long wool or sheepskins in the summer to provide a layer of air underneath them, which theoretically should keep you cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. I'll let you know how it goes.
If you have any input on my gear questions please drop me an e-mail at robonz@yahoo.com
Let's get to the bottom of it...
When I came into my office today, I had a package sitting on my desk chair. It was a large plastic fed-ex envelope. Soft to the squeeze, I thought it was some kind of clothing, but I hadn't ordered anything like that. To my surprise, the Alaska Leather butt pad I had ordered just days before had already arrived. I've yet to take pics, and there isn't a great representation on their website. It fits quite nicely on the buddy seat in a couple of different positions. I have only ridden with it for ten or twenty miles, so I'm just getting the feel for it. The pad does offer a little more comfort, and I'm sure on longer days it will be much appretiated. It is good quality leather with about 1/2" of sheared sheep skin, and I think it will really help with the dreaded monkey butt. It has an elastic strap that keeps it tight on the seat, and the width of the buddy seat maxes out the strap's length, but even in stop-and-go city traffic it stayed put. All in all, it's a nice addition, but I'll probably only use it for long rides. I can't wait until it gets warmer for many reasons, but for one in particular, so I can try out the sheepskin in the heat of the summer. Believe it or not, it's actually supposed to keep your bum cooler because some air can flow underneath. Some touring motorcyclists have one to two inch long wool or sheepskins in the summer to provide a layer of air underneath them, which theoretically should keep you cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. I'll let you know how it goes.
If you have any input on my gear questions please drop me an e-mail at robonz@yahoo.com
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