Modern Vespa

That's the sort of stuff I do on my adventure bike. Doing that on a Vespa, you're a better rider than I am.

All it takes is momentum and confidence.

The hardest* bit is the video editing 🤣

* The ruthlessness required is painful

The Pronghorn Antelope along I-90 east of Gillette, Wyoming this afternoon stayed well north of the highway...something that always cheers me up.

pretty much like skateboarding..

and i was shite at that as well!

I was about to post in the pissing you off thread about my pressure washer seizing up on me.

But before I chose to rant, I yanked the pump off the engine, and the pump turns with ease.

So it's definitely the engine.

Step 1, pull the plug--oh, rusty water on the plug. Well....that's not entirely advisable. Could be the reason for the seizure.

With the plug out, took the gamble on pulling the starter rope. It pulled with ease and the engine turned over! Sending rusty water directly out the plug-hole (giggity?) and onto my pants. But whatever, that washes out.

Got the carb off, it's less than spectacular so a fresh one is already en route from mister jeff and I'll clean this one up (the rebuild kit will take a week or so to arrive and i really wanna get the Golfs cleaned up and sealed before this nice weather finally goes away) and keep it as a spare.

I mean it could still go completely to crap and not work, but i'd rather spend the 30 bucks first and have to go from there than buy a whole new engine i don't necessarily need just yet. If i'm spending 240 bucks on a new engine, 30 isn't going to piss me off too much

Anyway, delighted it isn't a total loss, at least not yet.

When I was on my long summer ride, I had a generator/regulator failure. To get back on the road quickly, I had a new generator/regulator overnight expressed to my hotel. The old generator had about 170k miles on it so I figured it was due to be replaced anyway.

This week I tore into the old generator to see what could be salvaged. The armature and field coil in the generator turned out to be functioning perfectly. The problem was a chaffed wire in the regulator that was grounded. So I've ordered a new regulator. I'll have a fresh working generator/regulator on the shelf as a spare. Or I might sell it. I can probably get $400 for it since the regulator will be brand new.

Finding out that my 170k mile generator is still working cheered me up!

I was rear-ended two weeks ago today. (Not the cheerful part.)

In the interim, I got through the police report (100% their fault) insurance bits (100% their fault), "sorry but your car is a total loss" bit (payout), "no thanks I'll take it back for salvage value" bit (a little less payout).

Followed by fixing the main damage. In the end I'm $4000 ahead for someone else's mistake and some few hours of my time, and I'm pretty sure EVERYONE is happy in the end. Well, except maybe the other driver's insurance company.

Come to think of it, maybe that other driver come next renewal....

Oh well, I'm happy, so I'm putting myself in as "cheered up for the day".

Have you had any trouble insuring the car now that it has a salvage title? It seems like most companies won't write a policy for salvage vehicles anymore. Or if they do, it will not include "collision" coverage.

I'm not actually sure, yet. Last I spoke with my insurance, they were sort of suggesting no change in title branding. So maybe there will be no "salvage" title at all. And if anyone pushes it, I'll bring my car to them looking, well, not "salvaged".

Dunno... And honestly don't really care as long as there is collision coverage. I plan on giving it to a friend of mine next spring anyway, so the comprehensive "value" doesn't matter.

Does this look like a Q?

How about now?

And we'll meet a girl from Omaha who's hiding a banana.....

Thanks to ilikeike , I bought a bag of m10 panel clip / hole things, and finally put the screws back onto the battery cover/tool holder. Soooo happy!!!

I have confidence that you will get that started again. I feel better whenever I don't leave out things on the curb for the junk metal people to pick up. $30 and some greasy hands plus dirty jeans to save $200 and not throw away something=Beautiful.

This website still exists, and I can still ride very well thank you. Bought a skateboard to keep in shape not kidding

I'm an 80's skater. I was a Hosoi guy. You were either a Hawk guy or Hosoi. My first deck was a DOGTOWN Eric Dressen. They all used to rip it up at Venice Beach. Natas...all those cats. Venice Beach was so awesome.

Three days into my annual bike trip. 300km down, 1700 to go. Spent the last two days battling wind, and rain for most of today. Loving nearly every minute.

That's a well packed rig. Are you carrying anything on your back? Is it camping every night? Solo?

I did some skateboarding in the 60s, though my younger brother was the real skater/surfer.

We made our own boards using metal wheels salvaged from roller skates. Then we upgraded to clay wheels.

The most fun were multi-story parking lots that were one continuous spiral. Elevator up, skate down. At least until the cops showed up.

In spite of spiraling prices for nearly everything these days, I was heartened to find that bags of large plastic insects can still be found at what most would consider a very 'reasonable' amount...and here's a little plastic bug-shopping hint... try to always buy them in the 'Value Pack' to maximize your plastic insect-buying budget.

And, yes, I am aware that plastic 'spiders' are NOT plastic 'insects'...they are plastic Arachnids

You're welcome!

looking at the dashcam footage from yesterday and saw my foot

mud.

went through with asr off and full lock on the steering with the bike sideways most of the way (obviously not through the middle - near the left).

Other people on the same track
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAezF_xP3EK/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

In nor cal we actually followed behind y'all in everything except San Francisco, but yeah Hosoi. I think he actually camped out in my friends backyard half pipe for a few days. I saw a guy in Venice B, hitting 90 degree verts on a public wall and no police were called! But then again there was the beach riots where police cars were flipping over and catching fire. For some reasons

So awesome! Running from the cops is constant as a street skater. That spiral death that you are talking about would be epic.

King riots? We rode the walls at Venice for sure.

Michael.... we thought we knew ya!

We all have stories....

All we saw was the beach area, we left early when there was a lifeguard vehicle overturned on the beach on fire. Three day's camping on highway one followed, when we got back home we got an earful, and gasp we saw the news, we didn't even know how bad it had gotten. Or why, dumb kids, yells at cloud!

Camping 3/4 so far. Never carry anything on my back. Solo.

Following this route mostly with a 1000km commute added.

http://www.touraotearoa.nz/p/kopiko.html?m=1

My 15 year old skateboard got a trial run, and it fit daddy like a deerskin glove. The hardware I bought to complete it, didn't pan out well but I was motivated to glide on it at any cost. I get to go back to the skate shop and talk to tall thin Italian lady again!
Finding more than you could have dreamed for is 110% of life.

Does it have LED lights?

I ordered some, in rainbow colors, solar powered while stationary and a micro generator for in the half pipe. No power storage, it needs its down time after all. Thanks for asking!
PS project 2025 is probably going to confiscate it so I'll enjoy it as much possible until the final solution kicks in.

This cheese is cheering me up, even though it is close to a dollar a bite.

Completely unlike Colby, if there was any doubt.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimolette

Made a carbonara. Used actual guanciale I got last week from a proper Italian market.

It's nummy.

Looks a bit like pumpkin 🥧

This morning I sat down at the opthalmologist's office and saw this view out the window. Not a great photo, but it was a glorious morning and that cheers me up.

It always makes me chuckle when people think i might be a drug user when rolling around on the ground taking photos of Bruno until they notice what I'm actually doing.

[NSR] Crazy cat people let's see your cats (Post 2710580)

Yeah, definitely. But does not taste like pumpkin. Tastes incredible -- unlike any cheese I have tried.

Looks like a slice of Treacle Tart to me which I may add would be infinitely more
palatable.

I got the new regulator for my old Harley-Davidson generator today. I was able to button it up and test it. All good! That cheers me up! I hate throwing old parts in the garbage.

Applied for Social Security benefits a couple of weeks ago. Just got notice today that the application was processed. I was never planning on waiting to max it out at 70, but wanted to game it a bit and wait, or maybe just procrastinate.

It's all agame of anticipated life expectancy, and frankly, I'm starting to doubt I'll get full benefits anyway.

So while checking bank balances online, they just deposited my first payment. Woot!

Good feeling, isn't it, to finally be getting back some of what you put in over the years!