Modern Vespa

The clamps are handy things to have in your toolbox. The glue was just ordinary super glue, it seems to bond plastic well enough. I hate all the plastic tabs on the headlight assembly, they break so easily and of course as they age they become more brittle.

Got to the stage I could start my scooter after moderately intensive maintenance work....AND EVERYTHING WORKED!

I fancy myself a fairly competent mechanic, but I have to admit that I'm just a bit nervous after buttoning everything up, and not completely relaxed until it functions without anything flying off or hemorrhaging all over the floor.

What do you do with the leftover bolts and screws?

Lol...HAVE YOU BEEN PEEKING IN MY GARAGE?!?!

After putting some tools away and looking around, I have a small can with a bunch of body screws in....thought they were for the headset, but then realized I'd labeled and taped those. I swear I was careful about reinstalling everything. I suspect that most or all will be needed yet, but not quite sure. Any leftovers will be labelled "nonessential" and go into a baggie labelled with the scooter for next time.

What's cheering me up today? Hmm, Let's see. I guess the same thing that is cheering up about 75,000,000 Americans.

You got rid of your orange button, we still got our blonde buffon this side of the pond. 😊

This forum is sadly becoming a bit too political. Not good...
Let's get back to scooters folks..

Bob

Best day of 2020.

Besides all that, this weather is allowing me to finish some outdoor work I really wanted to button up before winter. And I still should have time for a ride tomorrow!

Noted - we're keeping an eye on it.

'm nt llwd t sy wht's chrng m p tdy n ths frm bcs t's pltcl.

I will say that it's a relief to not have to compulsively check the results every few minutes.*


*Apolitical statement. Doesn't say what my preferred outcome was.

There is a theory that if you disassemble and reassemble a scooter enough times there will, eventually be enough parts left over to build another one.

On my way!

OTOH, by the time I get there Ill be too old to ride it.

lol, the blonde buffon actually congratulated our new Uncle ASAP. Totally shocked.

Cheering me up: I successfully filled up the bv350 TWICE in a row without spilling a drop. Was shocked, frankly. First time in 4(?) years since I've owned it.

Looking forward to having my BV 350's first 625 mile service. Forecast is Sunny. The icing on the cake would be to get my Top Case installed. Have been waiting 2 months for it to come in. Also looking forward to riding on the interstate to cut my 78 mile commute down by an hour.

All the vowels on your keyboard are sticking?

I.. o... a--o-e... o... a... a... ee-i... e... u... o... o.. i... o-u... e-au-e... i... o-i-i.

Insert where appropriate...

It was a failed attempt at a joke premised on having the vowels stripped out of the statement due to its political content. Something the moderators wouldn't have actually done -- I'd expect it to have been deleted entirely if it was unacceptable. As you noticed, it was intentional (the rest of the comment not being disemvoweled should have given that away).

And, it's a milestone -- my first post in 11 years to earn a net negative rating.

Ah, been a while since we've had a good public disemvowelment here!

But when they happen, the whole post gets it...

That it was 75 degrees with pure sunshine in N.E. Ohio the past few days! Unheard of. Got in 24 miles this morning on the bicycle and about 70 on the scooter. Mid Fall country ride on a scooter in this part of America is something to behold.

One more day tomorrow. I'm hoping to almost repeat my riding except in a different direction on the scoot.

Bob

Disemvowelment...

I love that word!

I'm off on a 300km ride to the mountains today.
I'll be back on Sunday and will post pix.




(PS: Try not to change POTUSA while I am away...?)

Ride safe, will look forward to the pictures.

Went up to Cincy and test rode a couple of Zero motorcycles. I like the idea of the Vespa Elettrica, but it seems too slow and limited for the cost. The Zeros are fast af and seem to have pretty good range, at least for my riding style. I had a big SEG on the whole ride, planning to add one to the stable, I'll post pix in a week or so!

Dang. You're going to have to add on to the garage!

That grin can get expensive.

It is my granddaughter's first birthday today.

We are back from the ride...!

Clarens in the Free State province is about 300kms from where I live.
The mountains are some of the oldest on Earth, having been underwater for millions of years before being lifted up by changes in the Earth's crust, probably caused by the Vredefort meteor strike.

The town was a sleepy hollow until the construction of the Katse Dam in neighbouring country Lesotho. The water is carried through a tunnel through the mountains and exits into a river, from where it runs to the Vaal Dam and provides water to the Gauteng metropolitan areas. The construction brought an influx of workers and many houses were built. When the project finished, the houses were sold off and the town became a fashionable tourist attraction.

Some Scenic shots...

...and me.

The place we stayed at also has an oxwagon* camp that is quite popular...


*similar to prairie wagons

We had some talented photographers along on the ride...

Looks like a great place to ride!
Cool bunch to ride with.

Great pictures, looks like you had a good time. It's interesting that you all have chosen to fit a windscreen of varying styles and sizes.

My new, old screwdriver:

My dad had a couple of old forged shaft screwdrivers in his shop forever, which I think came with the farm that they moved to in the '40s. God knows how old it is. Not sure of the style, but perhaps a good century? Must be pretty tough, as I'm sure the steel of the handle got hammered on more than once. The wood handle was banged up badly, so I decided to replace it with some black walnut I had around....my first attempt cracked one of the handle pieces as I was banging a rivet together...used as is for a while, but after putting it to use this weekend decided to repair it again. Not perfect, but close to its original splendor.

So, fresh off a coat of linseed oil.

Beautiful.

And a tool you can honor by continuing to use it.

Old tools often seemed to be built and designed almost as much for their looks as for how they worked. Same with many mechanical things!

Even something as basic as a pulley where a simple straight spoke would work they often were cast with graceful curves.

Fud,

At age 72, I will regrettably not get the opportunity to visit South Africa.
I appreciate the photos into your world.

Looks like a super riding group. You look very distinguished on your Vespa.

Bob Copeland
Minnesota USA

Dave,

Definitely a time gone by. Everyone had a complete set of tools and a work bench in their garage. My family, off the farms of North Dakota, would never think of hiring someone to fix something they could do.

My Grampa (Gustav Weber) had that exact screw driver. Unfortunately, most of those tools have been discarded.

Thanks for the memories.

Bob Copeland

Nothing discarded in my dad's family unless it wore out. If it got broke, it usually got fixed. Great Depression left scars. Some interesting old things around the farm shop... The blacksmith post vise on the workbench is a relic as well.

This twitter submission...

Now that China is not buying Aussie stuff, the local seafood industry has arranged with a supermarket chain to sell 35 ton of cooked crayfish around the country for $20 each, half the price they were last Christmas.

Indian women learning to ride scooters for indepenence rather than relying on men.
https://www.dw.com/en/indian-women-turn-to-scooters-for-mobility/av-51942086