Is It Just Me?

It's been 6 months since I wrote my last entry, and to say it's been hectic and exciting is an understatement.

Commuting has taken a toll, not just on me, but also on my little scooter. Parts have worked their way loose and no matter how much I do to keep them secure, they seem to fall off at the most I inopportune times.

One mirror unscrewed itself and fell off while travelling on the freeway at 90kph. Fortunately traffic was light and I noticed it when it fell. I was able to pull over, retrieve the mirror and continue my travels. Somehow, the mirror didn't break, just a few scratches that were easily fixed with a little paint.

The rear exhaust cover fell off somewhere...needless to say I'm now riding with the rear of the exhaust naked...better it than me.

 

My biggest concern has been the Jesus nut holding the rear wheel. 

The first time it happened I was cruising along at about 90 when I noticed the back of the scooter felt a bit "loose". I didn't take much notice and checked when I arrived home. Once I notice why the scooter wasn't handling properly, I had a mini heart attack....the only thing keeping the rear wheel slightly aligned was the brake pad the wheel kept rubbing against. It's not pleasant when you realise there is NOTHING stoping the rear wheel from sliding all over the place, especially when going around corners at high speed,

I was off the road for 6 weeks waiting for the replacement nut and spacer to arrive. Nut and spacer were fitted and tightened to the recommended torque setting and I thought that was the end of that little adventure....how wrong I was...

4 weeks later, similar situation and just like before, I felt the rear of the scooter become "loose". This time, recognising the symptom, I pulled over and checked...sure enough, the nut and spacer had decided to part company with the axel. Feeling a little unstable I rode home at about 20kph in the emergency lane. The abuse that was hurled at me by passing cars was something I needed to google to ensure I heard them correctly.

It's now 9 weeks later and I'm waiting for the replacement parts to arrive (parts originally ordered were delivered in only 2 weeks, it's just a pity they were for the wrong scooter - sorry but it's really difficult to put a 1 inch nut on a 1 1/2 inch axel.) If and when the correct parts arrive, I'll not only be setting the torque wrench to MAXIMUM...I'll also be adding a copious quantity of Loctite to ensure the nut cannot come off, short of using a small thermo-nuclear warhead.

So until the parts arrive, it's public transport. I just hope I'm back on the road before I forget how to ride.

See you on the road soon,

Thursty

Where Has The Time Gone?

Here we are, 18 months after purchasing my Like, and it seems like Groundhog Day.

The days and weeks have blended together and before I know it, a year has passed and the scooter's registration is due again.

I'm still commuting as often as possible and have managed to put just over 11,000km on the speedo.

The screen I waited so patiently for has been destroyed and removed (I accidently backed the car onto the scooter - no real damage apart from the screen), commuting through the trucks is still an exciting challenge, and life is pretty good.

Roadworks on the Western Freeway are still ongoing, but at least it is now legal to lane split in Queensland, so the delays for riders like myself are nothing compared to what "cage drivers" have to put up with.

The biggest problem with the traffic issues is the number of people who insist on living on their phones. I don't know what the percentage is, but it must be at least 30% of all drivers I see are on their mobile phones when driving..hey, hang on, ISN'T THAT ILLEGAL? I'm starting to record video of my commute and might start putting up a "shame file" of all the drivers I see on their phones. I'm guessing i should be able to put up 20 to 30 images per day. Lets just see how it goes...

I've been keeping myself amused when the traffic is really heavy by tapping on drivers windows and asking them if they can check the traffic conditions for me. I don't think they realise I'm having a go at them, but, if Facebook is all they live for, they wouldn't understand.

I recently had an experience where one driver (yes, female, 4WD, Red P Plates) was so engrosed in her phone that I had to really take the piss out of her.

Traffic was moving, but she didn't notice. I parked my scooter in the emergency lane, walked over to her window, and asked her if she needed a push. The expression on her face (and the colour) was priceless. She regained her composure and quickly disappeared into the traffic. To make sure she was OK, I followed her all the way into Brisbane, making sure she could see me in her rear vision mirror. Hey, I wasn't stalking, just concerned her car might break down.

I've seen her a few times since and not once have I seen her on her phone. Maybe, just maybe, one person has realised that phones and cars shouldn't be used at the same time.

Until next time,

Thursty.

Very Quiet Week

It's been REALLY quiet on the riding front this week. Terrible weather, strong winds and horrendous traffic have kept me off the roads since Monday.

Monday's commute was crazy - a little bit of rain turned my normal commute to work into more than 2 hours of blocked roads, traffic accidents and totally blocked roads.

After the horror that was Monday, and with the winds picking up and a week of wet weather ahead, I reluctantly gave up on riding and went back into the car/train commute of my pre-Like days.

I now know why I stopped catching the train - loud music, drunk idiots, "chromers", body odour, and lack of control of when you get home.

I can't wait for the winds to drop and the storms to finally pass - it's been 4 days already so hopefully the weather (and hopefully the traffic) will return to normal by Monday.

Until next time  - Keep on Scooting.

Thursty

A Few Changes Are In Order

When riding during preak hour traffic, I've discovered there are a few "toys" that could make my commute just a little more comfortable.

This weekend I'll be permanently mounting a GoPro so I can capture some of my adventures (and hopefully not any misadventures). I've checked out the Like's electrical wiring and will be attempting to hard wire the GoPro into the electrical system so it's always fully charged. 

Another "toy" to add will be a waterproof GPS (it must have Live Traffic Updates). I've been checking my phone before I leave home and work to see if there are any traffic snarls and have managed to avoid a few. Unfortunately, any that occur between when I leave and when I get to the holdup I'm not aware of, so a GPS will hopefully help me to avoid the worst of them.

Last thing to put onto the Like (well, maybe not the last) is a windshield. I ordered it when I purchased the Like, but being "Down Under" means there is no stock in Australia. It's been 4 weeks so far, so I'll probably have to wait another 6-8 weeks before it arrives. The windshield will have protection for the handlebars, so it should hopefully make riding in winter a little more enjoyable. I hope it arrives before mid May because the morning temperatures at home will be quite chilly by then (currently 18C to 20C at 6:00am, but will be getting down to 5C to 8C by mid May, -4C to -6C at 6:00am by late June / early July).

After that the only other modifications I can think of are some running lights under the scooter to make me a little more visible when it's dark, and MAYBE I could install the "spare" motorcycle sound system I just happen to have lying around.  I don't know if I'll be able to do this as I'll need to verify the capabilities of the electrical system before I start.

I'll keep you all updated (with photos) as and when I make the modifications.

Until next time - Keep on scooting.

Thursty

One Month Down

It's been just on a month since I purchased my Like and started commuting to work.

It's been an interesting time getting to know the capabilities of the Like, it's handling and it's nuances.

I've been fortunate to have been able to experience almost every weather and road condition I am going to experience during the past month. 

Wet, slippery roads, brilliant sunshine and pouring rain, strong cross winds, light traffic through to mutli vehicle pileups totally blocking the roads. Through all of this, the Like has been a breeze to ride. I'm now well aware of what I can and can't get away with on the Like and I feel really confident in the scooters abilities.

Highlights for the month:

Claimed my first car door on the Like.
First service
First emergency evasion 
12 different ways to work
6 different ways home
Top speed of 110kph (103kph by GPS)
Day trip to Redcliffe

I'm looking forward to the experiences yet to come and I feel confident the Like and I are going to have a lot of fun together.

Until next time - Keep on Scooting.

Thursty

Week Four

A quiet week this week as I had Monday off work for St Patrick's Day. I usually take a day of work for St Patrick's Day as I married into an Irish family and my sons still does Irish Dancing, so there is a lot of running around at St Patrick's time. (my daughter "retired" a few years ago, so between the kids, we've been doing St Patrick's Day displays for well over a decade).

Having Monday off gave me the opportunity to give the Like a thorough going over to make sure nothing had come loose since it's service 2 weeks ago. So far, everything is as tight as it should be and nothing has fallen off.

Commuting through the week has been different to say the least - light rain with next to no traffic on Tuesday and Wednesday, pouring rain and multi vehicle pileup in pouring rain on Thursday, clear skies and very little traffic on Friday...a mixed bag of almost everything possible.

No minor incidents this week, so maybe the "tin top" drivers had their good behaviour brains on.

Fuel economy is still hovering around the 160km/l (100mpg) so the Like is really starting to pay for itself.

Speedo reading this week is 2163km, so another 355km on the clock. 

Until next time - Keep on scooting.

Thursty

 

Third Week

This week was challenging to say the least.

It seems as though the "Traffic Fairies" decided it was time to play up this week. Every day there were major traffic holdups, forcing me to decide to either sit in the traffic or find alternate routes.

Being someone who doesn't like sitting still, I discovered several "rat runs" in the Centenary suburbs as well as the Milton/Taringa area. All up 4 different routes to work, and 5 home, so I've had the opportunity to do a lot of sightseeing.

The Like handled all of these routes like a champion - sharp turns, steep accents and decents, narrow lanes, rough tracks and even a cycling track.

The Like's suseptability to strong cross winds was highlighted this week. Motorway driving is currently out of the question  until the winds ease off - never mind, there are plenty of alternate routes that are a little more protected and the detours are only adding about 10 minutes to my commute. 

The big payoff has been the improved fuel economy - fuel economy for this week is just over 40km per litre, about 100 miles per gallon in old money. If I keep this up the Like will be paying for itself in no time.

Longest commute for the week was 1hr 25min due to a couple of crashes in the wet conditions. Quickest trip 42 minutes...gotta love Friday afternoons.

Speedo reading is now 1808km -  464 km last week, even with all the detours.

I'm looking forward to next week - Monday off for the tradtional St Patrick's Day as Designated Driver.

Until next time - Keep on scooting.

Thursty