Modern Vespa

Peter Griffin's 6'6" doppelganger was next to me for Paul Van Dyk so I staged a quick "Petah the horse is here" photo.

I ended up cutting the heal part off my Cub shifter. Just used the front as a toe shifter.

I bought a couple toe shifters from other bikes as mentioned but most were too short or didn't fit right.

I'm going to give the next owner the option of using the heal/toe original and get me a 150 mm CRF Special and swap it with that.

Mine has the pedal version of the shifter which is ugly and really must go.

Kuchikopi has seen some things...it's a rave guess what they are.

Is there a sweepstakes going for how long this love affair will last?

I just made it to Cabo San Lucas!

This is my fav place to eat, Edith's.

We got cut off at bottomless mimosas. Win.

They wouldn't let me have just 1 Long Island! They said not till 5pm😡.

Rude.

Here's my chicken and waffles to cheer you up. Somehow. IDK.

So order two!

Did you tell them it's 5 o'clock somewhere?

It's a very interesting question about the Cub.

My plan is to eventually give the Kymco back and do all the local rides on the Honda so it could be a keeper.

Famous last words.

Most Cubs over here have silly miles on them already so finding one that's not even run in was difficult to turn down.

Got back out on the skates yesterday for the first time this year. The first time seems harder every year, but at 55 that's to be expected, especially since I don't do it enough. Still, ten miles is ten miles. Average heart rate 157.

I need more of that, for sure.

Another year in the books.

8 weeks til Belgium

Ended up working 6 hours on Saturday, so as of today I already have 20 hours for the week. I'll work 8 hours each today and tomorrow, which will mean I'll start Wednesday with 36 for the week. I'm going to check with my bosses to see if they're ok with me leaving early on Wednesday, to avoid OT for the week, and to start my vacation early. If approved, I'll be able to be home by noon, and on the road between 1 & 2pm. That will make a huge difference.

The initial plan was that my wife and I (and the cats) would drive the 6 hours to her mother's house in NW Arkansas. I'd then head out on Thursday morning, for a solo 12-hr drive to Wisconsin. She's thinking of not going, though.

If she doesn't go, and I can get out early, I'll skip the stop at my MIL's and instead drive to Wisconsin direct. Google Maps and Apple Maps both say it's just under 16 hours, and in my experience, that's fairly accurate (although I was able to make the drive in 13 hours when I was in my 20s). Leaving at 2pm would get me into Madison on Thursday morning, about 12 hours earlier than initially planned. I'd probably be exhausted from the drive, though. I'm also considering simply driving until I get tired, then either pull over and nap in a rest stop, or find a cheap motel for a few hours rest. We'll see.

English Car. German Engine. Still can't get it right.

We did not get the pedal version over here and I think the shift pattern may be different as well. Here, N is at the bottom and you shift up 1, 2, 3, 4. The hard thing for many is realizing that unlike clicking the shift lever with your foot and engaging the clutch like on a motorcycle with the left hand lever, your left foot is doing two functions - shifting and releasing into gear. Other than shifting into 1st at a stop light, the action of releasing the scoot into gear is done by your foot. It takes some getting used to as well as using the heel portion to upshift, but once you get it, it works great. YMMV.

Interesting. Most over here have well under 3,000 miles after a few years. I think the idea of owning one is stronger than actually riding one. I also saw this in many of the post 2018 Royal Enfields. So many up for sale hardly broken in.

Now, you may very well be right and after riding out on the scooter earlier in comparison the Downtown is a lot nicer to ride than the Cub.

However,

I'm going to give the Cub a fair shot but I'll only ride it after the replacement shifter is fitted so I can start from scratch again so it should be toe down for up the box and toe up for down the box.

Simple.

New (to me) coffee cup.

I was hoping it was bigger on the inside.

Also, our community garden is looking quite nice.

I loved the idea of owning my 2020 Cub and actually had it in my living room for about a week. However, riding it was another story. I never could get comfortable on it. It was just too small for me and I didn't like the way it shifted.

It worked out though. I only put about 350 miles on it. Sold the Cub for close to what I paid and bought my 2020 GTS.

There's a good chance that could happen to me if I'm honest.

Hurry up shifter

Before I could drive my family had a Honda Passport. Might have been a 1981 model. I didn't mind the auto clutch hub on it. The heel shifting was stupid to me and I just used the shift lever like normal after adjusting it for my shoe. Even though it was just a 70cc engine, I could reach 50 mph tucked down without much of a headwind. Pretty robust little engines.

I also had a CRF 50 that I converted to a normal clutch and installed an 88cc kit. Operated like a regular dirtbike. All these engines are similar and share lots of the same parts.

Never rely on a coffee cup for your coffee intake. That's why we have IVs.

I had a Suzuki FB100 for three years.

It was very similar to the Honda Super Cub, with automatic clutch, but only had three gears.

It was three down to upshift with neutral at the top, with a heel and toe shift lever.

I used my toe on both upshifts and downshifts, toeing the heel part of the lever for shifting down.

It was never a problem, but I adapt easily.

Bill

Sounds like I'm doing it all in reverse

In other news my Hotel for next years Daytona 24 hours is booked.

Being a vintage motorcycle enthusiast, I'm always excited to score some cool NOS (new old stock) parts. I have a belt drive primary on my old chopper that goes back to the 1970s. The company, SuperMax, stopped making belt drives in ~2009 when the founder/operator passed away. RIP Phil Ross. You were a great friend.

So I'm down to my last belt for this primary and it's not a standard item. I talked to Gates, who made belts for SuperMax. It would cost me several thousand dollars in setup costs just to make a small number of belts (less than 5).

A couple weeks ago, I reached out to Vyvyan Ross, Phil's widow. She remembered stories Phil told about he and I hanging out and riding. She said she would check Phil's workshop for any belts that meet my needs. She called me back 10min later and said she had 3 of them! She sold them to me at the 15 year old price of $225 each. A real bargain.

These belts last about 80k miles so these should carry me to my grave.

NOS parts always cheer me up!

Who hooo. Happy for you.

Result.

Bummer about the hotel! Will they put you on a wait-list in case there's a cancellation?

Forgive me. I phrased it badly. I've booked my Hotel in Daytona for the 24 hour race.

Got 4 days on the beach. 2 rooms.

My box o' parts from SIP has finally left Cologne, after sitting there for four full days with no movement. It's in Memphis now. That's cheering me up.

Yesterday it was pissing me off that it had been sitting there for four days without moving.

Ate at Le Cirque last night. It was substantially better than we remembered pre-covid.

Found our new vegas fancyspot.

You really should go to Cologne and then sit there for 4 days.

And then ride the Nurburgring.

Where did you get the chicken and waffles?! That chicken looks better than Roscoe's. Makes me hungry every time I go back and look at it. Hope they had good syrup.

I wouldn't mind four days in the area, though I don't think I'd want to sit in a FedEx warehouse the whole time. And I wouldn't mind a few laps, though probably not on a Vespa... or maybe a lap or two on a Vespa, followed by, oh, I don't know, something a bit more exotic. I took my S600 to a drag strip one evening, always wanted to peel the tread off a set of tires on a road course.

Alexxa's, in the Paris. Bottomless mosas and chickywaff mid-rave weekend is a tradition (and some of our friends joined us this go) along with fancydinner afterward.

Depending on what kind of cars you have in the garage, you may want to try autocross, an SCCA form of racing that is safe and easy.

Most states have at least one group holding events, usually in big parking lots, airport taxiways or part of a road course.

I ran every local event for several years and enjoyed the driving and friendships made.

Bill

Chillin on the beach by the tip.

My older sister lives in Henderson. I'm going to fly out there just to have that chicken and waffles!! Thanks, pal!