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
