Modern Vespa

Funny you should say that K. Since the Indian Goddess, Olive has been in the garage, Ruby has been running exceptionally well, almost calling me to ride her for errands, and for fun runs.

And Ruby is the only one that takes me to Yachats, but Olive was asking just the other day to go on a longer run.

So I think you are right - they are both playing nice and sweet in front of me, vying for my attention. It helps that when ScootNewb (Chris) comes over, he rides one of them. They both like to ride together, that is plain to see from the pics

But just wait until B is back together and running, and I'm riding her around, breaking her in. We'll see if they still play nice.

Actually, it's about time Ruby gets a rebuild. The engine has never been split, and the clutch is original, never been removed. So after B62 is rolling again and solid, it might be time for Ruby to be on the table....

Please post pics of Blue's new rack. I'm sure B62 would love to see them.


Even B likes the rack and crate

So, a lil spoiled for choice, huh, qa? Lucky you. Let us know when the garage catfights start to keep you awake every night. #haremproblems

But, you’ll benefit, since competition usually inspires females to rise to the occasion. Ruby and Olive are no exception, simply because they are pretty Italian metal heads. I’m so glad they are both currently running well for you. But once B62 returns, pampered and youthful from the spa, things might turn ugly. Better give Ruby her tummy tuck, STAT!!!

Olive will just sit back and gloat because she can rest on her youthful laurels. “I’m the youngest, nyeh nyeh!”

Hey, good luck with all this lady drama......



ANOTHER nice profile shot of that front rack! On a baby Blue scoot this time—thank you! I am getting so excited, just thinking about everything I can haul around town on CM’s awesome rack! Surely the kids can use it for a spare seat.....?

Ok.
She's packed.
That was half the battle.
Doing all I can not to make any rack jokes here.
Well, perhaps not ALL I can...
Should get out tomorrow with a little luck.
-CM

Ok - complete disaster.
I marvel sometimes that I've gotten this far.
Moved the box outside the garage door - half to enjoy the feel of declutter success in the garage - half don't forget to ship it tomorrow!
That is reasonable (normally) in Southern California.
'cept for the 100 year storm we had last night.
Editors note: how many 100 year storms can one state have in a 24 month period? Did it rain sideways?
Anhoo - Unboxed and dried it out (mostly), and re-boxed.
Took it to the post office today - feeling good - getting this done! Yes!
Until they gave me the price - insert record scratch sound. HOW MUCH?
Editors second note: when did I become my dad??
So, reluctantly - head hung - defeated - returned home package still in hand.

Philosophical question: How free is a front rack if you have to pay $80 to send it I ask you?
Will repackage and try again next week in a more compact wrapping.
Apologies K - not my best moment.

Moral: every item you own creates some form of responsibility - even trying to give it away has its challenges.

Vodka should help this.

🙂

80 is insane. Send me the dimensions and weight and I'll find a better option.

Whereshaldo

Haldo!
When they gave me the price - I looked over my shoulder and back at the guy - and asked if I had broken something on the way in?
Sadly - he seemed un-humored.
Lemme re-package over the weekend and I will post.

Shipping costs are the killer of many good deeds. Cheapest way I know that you could try is Greyhound, or DHL.

Dang. Hey CM, PayPal will create a shipping label for you also. You can put in the measurements, weight, and address, and it'll tell you how much it'll cost. It's always cheaper than the P.O. We've been using this method for over a year now.

I've actually got the cost of a box, then told my wife (foolishly) that it'll be cheaper if I took it into the Post Office. It was worth the $15 dollars extra to turn around and have her make the label, and to tell her she was oh-so-right, of course. I'm such a cheap ba$%@rd. But still, $15 more!

Just a thought....

Well, CM, you do manage to find the humor in your trials, so I’m snickering over here, but also feeling slightly guilty, cuz I’m sure it was anything but funny at the time.

You had such good and generous intentions....

But what a PITA to bring to fruition!

Maybe it’s a bad omen, huh? Maybe I shouldn’t have tried to snatch up your nice offer so fast. Maybe I shoulda said, “hey, why not send it to whereshaldo, cuz he’s way closer.”

But, nope. Greedy, grabby k32 was dreaming of riding down the parkway with a shiny front rack and had NO IDEA IT COULD COST $80 just to ship the dang thing!!!! That is sheer LUNACY!!!

This might be a sign that someone on the west coast needs your shiny rack more than I do

PS: Your martini sure looks good. (rummaging around in liquor cabinet to fix something similar. Gin, tho.)

Cheers K32.
No animals were hurt or mistreated in the attempted shipping - the only thing damaged was my sensibilities.
I'll have another go at it tomorrow with a more "reasonably" sized package. Ooo. Good tip! Like a home remedy using the aloe plant out back. Once I re-package I'll give that a go.

SHIPPED !

Now - who needs a P series glove box in immaculate condition?
Free.
Just pay shipping.
🙂

IT HAS ARRIVED!!!!!

A trapezoid-shaped box (or maybe rhomboid?) showed up on my doorstep yesterday..... quite the cardboard construction, CM, and very nicely padded and packaged with styrofoam and bubble wrap.

This thing is a beaut!!! TOP of the line Italian design and certainly a step up from the other rack I was eyeing.

Super-duper shiny chrome as promised and VERY heavy duty. Perfectly functional and in basically brand new condition, despite the 100-year coastal monsoon it apparently survived (I confess that I imagined rusty water dripping out all over the place, but my fears were unfounded, ha ha)

I was too chicken to go out to the garage today and try it on Blue, cuz it’s still gross negative weather numbers here, but I played quite nicely with it on my stove handle. Fits like a dream....

Thank you, CM!!! I couldn’t be more thrilled about this great accessory! Looking forward to flashing my new rack ALL summer long!!

WOW!!!! Blinded by the chromy shine!!!

Kitchen playtime

Pure awesome.
And thanks for the chuckles.

Have been working hard to knock my garage in to shape and get rid of stuff that I'm not using/never gonna properly use. Was kinda a crime to have that in a box on a shelf.

Gonna be totally charming with that basket on the front of the scoot - as if it wasn't already totally charming enough. 11 on a scale of 10. Glad it worked out.

-CM

It's kind of moderately insane that it cost $75 to ship a friggin engine. An entire engine. $5 less than to ship a light rack. Wild.

I used to buy lots of stuff from shopgoodwill.com. A couple of years ago I scored an old Apple Studio monitor for about ten bucks. Their calculator said nine dollars in shipping, so I was still money ahead. I'm in Michigan, the monitor was in Oregon.

Nothing happened.

Nothing happened.

Nothing happened.

When I contacted them they said, "Yeah ... um ... USPS changed the way they calculate shipping. It's going to cost about $90 to ship this to you."

Guess who didn't get the monitor.

Agreed on the illogical and insanely expensive shipping costs for scooter/computer parts.

Yet, I just bought two heavy steel birdhouses from Amazon for about $35 each and they shipped for FREE! Each one had approximately the same dimensions/weight as CM’s rack (not QUITE as exciting, but hot on its heels ). Big heavy bags of birdseed ship free, too.

How does this make any sense?

And also, just because I can’t really seem to shut up about it, bird watching and feeding is a GREAT fun winter hobby—I highly recommend it. Plus, it’s tiding me over until scooter season starts up again.......tick tock.....

Red was first, then came Green...

All in hopes of luring this big handsome guy to my window..... but he’s shy.

Currently checking out suet feeders....

They also like fruit, preferably fermented.

We have two suet feeders, a hummingbird feeder, and a bird bath in the back yard. Oh, and some dedicated bowls for the crows.

Wooohooo! Spiffy basket on that rack. I can't wait to see you flash that thing all over town!

And we just got a new birdhouse too! We feed mainly PNW birds, Blue Jays, Ring Neck doves, Dark Eyed Junkos, Flickers, Hummingbirds, etc. None as handsome of that red beauty though, well, the flickers are pretty cool, but not as colorful. But there are these little yellow finches that come through at a certain time of year.

I'm particularly fond of the hummingbirds - they all have a unique personality. There is the graceful drinker, the sitter, the stubby beaked one, the spastic flier. And when the babies show up and are learning to drink - very adorable...

I enjoy watching the birds as well.
Not as many in the Winter but in the Summer it’s quite busy.


I was looking for new tenants

Some improvements

Meals included.

Oh, goody! Other birders here giving me tips and pics....

Oopsclunkthud—fermented fruit, huh? Ok. I’ve got some fruity suet cakes on order. Might that suffice? I purchased the variety pack (Apple Snack, Cherry Crunch, Nuts n Berry) because they sounded tasty and if I were a bird that’s what I’d choose. Just wanting to provide a varied gourmet dining plan for our fine feathered friends. Mealworms and fruit and lard, Mmmmmmm.

Qa—awesome that you’re enjoying the PNW birds! Since I’m a newly excited Bird Nerd, I googled all of your varieties. Very nice. Loved your hummingbird personality description❤️.

So far I have seen fat little brave chickadees, small red-headed and huge pileated woodpeckers, yellow goldfinches, and one beautiful big red cardinal who sings at the top of his lungs every morning and gets closer to my feeders each day. Also a bold pesky ginger squirrel that I hurl snowballs and insults at to scare/shame him away from my birdseed. It doesn’t work....

specialdeluxe—Very nice pics of your various feeders! I especially like that last one, the cute rustic birdcabin. You must have smart Canadian birds who can read signs....



PS: I realize birds have nothing to do with scooters. Sorry if that’s annoying. Just biding my time until I can start a few repair projects when it warms up a little, hopefully in a couple of weeks.... Rusted-out, holey muffler, I’m lookin’ at YOU!!!

Are you really so anti-squirrel? We love them around here. I put out suitable bread crusts, fruit and such on the deck for them up on the table where they can scamper up to eat and we can watch. Our neighbor has names for each one and buys them peanuts which they feed them from their hands. The squirrels then hide half of them in MY yard and forget where the put most of them it seems.

(i'll find a few pics so you can see how attractive they are)

I know that they can get into your attic, but I have no attic and like them squirrels, but birds are OK too. My folks always put out lures and syrup(?) vending machines for hummingbirds they were so proud of hosting. We have a murder of crows that comes by on a regular basis each morning in season when wifey puts out scraps selected just for them. They are BOLD BIRDS and very smart, fun to watch who gets which piece of food - there seems to be a pecking order. I'd be terrified to have them after me. I read somewhere that they can be quite ruthless, but there's probably little actual danger... right?

First off, I love the wicker basket, and the birdfeeders...etc. Started my day right to see that stuff.! If Amazon.com ever changes their free-shipping for Prime, I am dead. (things are starting to change for example 'free shipping on orders over $25) You can't do better than just to have it show up at your door cheaper than the gas and time to hunt for it. I'm 60 miles from a decent shopping area if I want 'choice' of products.

I bought a windshield at the dealer when I bought my Vespa. I got a 50% discount because I asked, or begged! That was in late December. In January I bought a FACO rear rack online from scooterwest. Nothing has shown up yet. I understand the covid and weather can be causing the delay, but I guess I'll call the dealers to see what they know. Still have time til Spring but it would be nice to think it will get here someday soon.

I built a bird house too! Much bigger though. Mine supply eggs to me. Which is nice of them. And there will be a bunch more coming in April. We’ll have 15 at that point to watch.

I love the picture of your chicken FM! My neighbors chicken, Lois, same type as your girl, used to come visit me every day and beg a treat off me. Blackberries, a flower, you name it. And it didn't matter where I was - in the garage, woodshed, back yard, wherever, here Lois would come. I miss that chicken....

And the Bluies are out in force this morning. One gets on the feeder and spreads the love to the buddies on the ground. They own the feeder, until the Ring Neck doves show up. The doves will tangle with the bluies and it's like West Side Story out there.


Lois, my neighbors chicken, but my friend whenever I was in the yard or garage she'd visit.

Bluies going to town

aww one of my girls name is Lois too, but she's a Rhode Island Red (named for the mom on Family Guy whose a redhead from Rhode Island!)

The one pictured is Helena, for Helena Bonham Carter! They are funny, one of ours named Wormie (she will eat the biggest juiciest worms you can find, all the other chickens just look at the worms confused and she swoops in a chomps them up), will yell at me for treats. They have free range in our .25a yard and if they hear the doorknob turn they all come running asking for treats. Best lockdown idea I had was getting a bunch of chickens! I have an instagram page for free eggs from them cause we already can't use them all. May as well share them!

For instance I have 3 dozen eggs sitting on the counter. We get about 3 dozen a week. It's an absurd amount of eggs!


I've never seen a blue bird like that before. Do they look like blue cardinals? Looks like it from the pic a little bit.

The Jays pretty much rule our feeder. They’re muscular, confident, and tough. I think they’re a little bigger than Cardinals. The other birds scatter when a Jay shows up. And they’re picky eaters ... they only want the choice pumpkin seeds. They’ll knock everything else out of the feeder with their beaks to get to the good stuff.

And we have our infamous wild parrots. Every once in a while they flock to a nearby tree and yak it up.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=aXRl9Jlr09A&feature=emb_title

Last edited by SoCalGuy on Mon Feb 22, 2021 4:06 pm; edited 1 time in total

Wow, step out for a few minutes and talk of the cost of shipping scooter parts turns into chickens!

Just looking at ordering a clutch cover gasket from (a popular scooter parts store across the country) and the lowest shipping rate is twice the cost of the gasket!

Oh, and we love our bird feeders. I have no idea how all the birds of the world survived Michigan winters before my wife started feeding them.

oh man them birds are crazy!

Perky squirrel feast just five minutes ago.

You all are really entertaining with the awesome bird pics and unreal parrot vid!

It’s a real treat in the midst of dull winter to see your green grass and beautiful trees and picture perfect chickens and gorgeous blueies and crazy squawking parrots!

A LOT of bird love on this forum.....

Oh, and one squirrel lover, too

Voodoo—yes, I’m anti-squirrel. Didn’t used to be. In fact, I rescued an injured one in college and nurtured it back to health in my dorm room laundry hamper. My native MN roommates were rather disgusted by this. But then, after the furballs ruined every bumper crop of my cherry tomatoes for years, I turned my back on them. Yours is cute, though, (I’m lying through my teeth here) and very nice of you to feed it scraps.

Priscilla—you and me are both dead if Amazon drops their prime shipping. I’ll shop local 3-seasonally, but winter is ALLLLL Amazon! Thanks for liking my basket. Was a nice birthday gift from sister and I’m excited to use it this spring! Finally going to retire my ugly backpack. Good luck with your windshield. I’m still waiting for things, too..... “delayed indefinitely, due to these unprecedented times...”

Friday—your chicken situation sounds amazing. A perfect lockdown salve. I have seen more and more chickens in my city this past year, just casually strutting around in front of their urban bungalows. No .25 acres needed, apparently. Jealous of your egg supply....

Qa—“West Side Story”, ha ha ha! I can SO see it in my mind! Beautiful pic of those bluies. Never seen them before. And way to rub it in with your temp gauge. Crank it down about 75 degrees and you’ll be where we were last week. Painful!

SoCalGuy—that is an amazing video. Such huuuuge exotic colorful birds making a crazy racket! Thanks for posting. I watched it rather incredulously. Kind of scary in a way, because SO BIG! They seem to fly in gangs, like our local creepy crows, but look much more cheerful-ish.

Seamus—I know. Scooters to birds in a hot minute. Best part about MV, in my opinion, is the wide variety of ppl and hobbies and absolute WEALTH of information. Still sorry you didn’t get that old Apple monitor.... (what were you going to do with it?)

Sweet new sunflower shaped suet feeder en route....

Just for you, V oodoo.....

Here’s Cute Ginger....

And here’s BAD GINGER!!! VERY BAD GINGER!!!!

Oh, so cute, Geeklion! Maybe I could bribe Ginger to ride along with me this summer. Get her some goggles and a scarf....

And thank goodness you found a way to tie my superfluous squirrel pics to SCOOTERS! NSR label narrowly avoided.

It warmed up to the mid-30’s here, so I went out to the garage and tried my rack on Blue for real. It’s really awesome! Can be positioned on the front of the legshield or the back (if you have a slim load and want a sleeker head-on look). And SO easy to take on and off! I got rather excited playing around with my scooter and started planning some Spring projects. Only a few (5?) more weeks until it’s warm enough to work in the garage......