Thursday, March 31, 2011

Auxiliary Modulating Brake Light

What a mouthful that is.

But that's what Canada Post delivered right on time this morning. That, and much more.

This post will be all about installing the AdmoreLighting Mini LED Light Bar on my Vespa.

On the weekend I moved this project along by going to Canadian Tire and picking up a trailer wiring harness. Specifically, a Reese 5-pin flat male and female plug set. The reason I need the harness is to allow the Admore to be unplugged. It will be mounted to the bottom of the topcase and unless I include a means of unplugging it, I won't be able to remove the topcase without digging into the scooter to undo wiring, or cutting the wires.

Once I had the Reese wiring harness, I needed to plan out the connections. So here's my plan:
I know, you're intrigued but the plan is so small, you can't make anything out.  If you click on it  you'll get a much better view.

It's now Tuesday, April 12, 2011, and I  finally had a little time to devote to this project.  The first thing I wanted to do was to test the unit to make sure it works, before I launch into the permanent installation.

I began my preliminary test by removing the Vespa's tail light and turn indicator light housings.  Nothing could be easier or quicker.  One screw each for the turn indicators, and two screws for the tail light.  The first thing that became obvious is that my wiring diagram above is correct, but the Vespa wire colors are not quite.  I'll update the diagram with the correct colors before this post is final.

The Admore folks provide really idiot proof wire taps that make tapping into the tail light and turn indicator lights a real breeze.  So that's what I did.  And it worked so flawlessly that I couldn't resist sharing a video of the test with you.  So here it is:
 Here's a photo to show where the Admore unit will be mounted to the Vespa OEM topcase.
I got this modification finished last night, Thursday, April 14, 2011.

I first taped the unit to the topcase then parked the scooter in the street with my car a few car lengths back and sat in the driver's seat to make sure that I was able to see both the original tail light and the new Admore unit.  Once I was satisfied that mounting the unit under the topcase was the right way to go, I set to work dismantling, cutting, stripping, soldering, fishing, connecting, drilling, screwing and re-mantling the whole shooting match.  And there you have it, a really nice safety addition to my Vespa LX150.

What I'm going to do now is write up a project report for the Modern Vespa website and I'll use that to put up a new post here on the blog, with all the kinks worked out.


So you no longer have to continue watching this post, all you need to do is keep a watchful eye out for the final project post.  With a little luck, I'll have that done by Sunday evening. [Ed.: did that by Saturday :) click here to go there]

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

First commute of 2011

Rather than trying to force the march of time to get to April 1st, which is, after all, a fool's errand, I launched the scoot commute this morning.

Was it cold? Minus three Celsius or 27F is hardly the kind of weather that drives scooter sales.

As you can see, there is no shortage of ice on the lakeshore.
On a positive note, the Cuppini windscreen and Corazzo winter gauntlets did a decent job in preventing my hands from being thoroughly chilled. The fact that the gauntlets are too snug doesn't help ward off the cold though.

The Tourmaster Caliber pants did a wonderful job. Absolutely no chill on my legs whatsoever. They are very comfortable to wear on the bike. They do add a good deal of bulk, but overall, I am very pleased and I am confident that they will become second nature before long. The fact that they are both suitably protective and waterproof is a really big plus. The pockets are a really nice touch.  The only thing that remains to be done is to finish adjusting the position of the knee armor. I have nothing but good things to say as far as the pants are concerned.

The Corazzo underhoody also did its job very well.  I didn't wear the hood on my head as a helmet liner, rather I used it more like a turtleneck to keep the wind from my neck.  I could not feel any gap between my full face helmet and the collar of the Corazzo 5.0 jacket, so I am really very pleased on that score also.  No doubt the windscreen was effective there as well.  There was a little coolness, particularly on my back, which I didn't experience in the past.  I think the windscreen creates a backdraft (pardon the pun).  Not unpleasant, and not enough to cause any upper body chill.

I guess I'll sign off this post with another shot of the waterfront in Lachine near the entrance to the Lachine Canal at the eastern end of Lake St-Louis.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Happy First-Post Day!

Today is the one year anniversary of my first post on Life on two wheels, the scoot commute.

If you've never blogged, you might want to give it a try.  The only requirement is to have something you believe to be worth sharing with the world.  The more you believe in it, the easier it is.

It helps if you enjoy writing, if you know a little about computers, a tiny bit about editing html, if you are comfortable with digital photography and video, moving JPGs around, and perhaps posting to YouTube; but none of those things should stop you if you don't think you have the skills.  There's nothing like trial and error.

Now let's talk about the cost.  It's free!

So, if there's something you want to contribute to the rest of humanity, step into the blogosphere, there's nothing to fear, trust me.

Of course the best advice I can give is never, never, ever, post something to the cloud (the new, and certainly not the last buzzword for the 'Net) that you aren't prepared to live with publicly for the rest of your natural life, and burden your relatives with probably well after you're gone.

So be kind, and if you have nothing nice to say, by all means say nothing.

Pick a topic that has as little as possible to do with your job.  I mean the one that involves someone else paying you good money so you can buy groceries and afford a roof over your head.

Oh, and be patient.  Depending on the topic you choose, you may write for weeks and months with no one reading.  But, trust me, readers like you will eventually stumble on your posts, and if your thoughts strike a chord in other similarly-minded people, you'll have an audience.

If I haven't managed to convince you to stay away from here by now, then pull up a mouse and a keyboard, snuggle up to your tablet, computer or smart phone, and settle in.  If you throw in your e-mail address to the subscription window on the right, my musings will go straight to your e-mail account whenever I have something new to share.

Not to worry though, the Google folks who own Blogger have sworn not to be evil, so they don't let me see who is subscribed, so I'll be none the wiser whether you follow me or you don't, or if you start, then stop, then start again.

So be free, express your life, and stay tuned, there's more of this blog to come!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Caged commutes & scoots

 I'm more than ready, but the weather has me caged for the commute, peering out at unwelcome snow doing its best not to rain on the morning parade.
My trusty scoot is waiting patiently in the garage, caged, but ready to roll.
So where in the name of all that's worthy on this good earth is our blessed Spring?

Life on two wheels is clearly eager to get it on.  Witness the truckload of BIXI stands on the cusp of deployment this morning.
OK, no more whining.

April 1, ready or not, here I come.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Launch - 7

Mother nature throws a spanner in the scooter works. Launch of the scoot commute still another week away.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

First ride of the season

I headed over to the Beaconsfield mall yesterday morning for a sorely needed haircut.

Minus three celsius at 7:50 a.m. 27F.

Brisk? Actually, it was more like decent skiing weather, if you ask me.

Backing out of the garage for the first time this year, the initial riding task was crossing fresh snow that had fallen during the night and drifted off the garage roof in a two-foot band right across the driveway. The pavement beyond that band of snow was mercifully bare and dry.

Standing water from the previous day's snow melt lay in shallow puddles that were frozen solid.  The ice on the road was in isolated patches that were fairly easy to avoid.

I was running a little late for my eight o'clock appointment.  Gearing up for the first time had been less efficient than it could have been.  I was anxious to see how my new gear would perform in the cold.  I had my new Corazzo Underhoody beneath my 5.0 armored jacket with the balaclava style hood pulled over my head so that it lined my helmet and effectively sealed my neck from drafts.

The Corazzo winter gauntlets on my hands prevented any possible drafts from entering at the cuffs.

I started out towards the back streets rather than the main road on my way to the Beaconsfield mall. After a winter hiatus from riding, the scooter felt unfamiliar, and with icy patches to deal with, I was all the more apprehensive.

My first riding impression came courtesy of the Cuppini windscreen. What a nice luxury.  I had expected that I would find it too tall, and thus awkward and confining.

Not one bit! Surprisingly, there was a good amount of air circulating behind the windscreen and it was not at all as claustrophobia-inducing as I had thought it would be.  So much so that the idea of cutting the screen down to mid-height receded rapidly from my plans.

The Corazzo Underhoody, though lightweight, performed well, keeping me warm and blocking the wind effectively. The only part of me that really felt the cold were my legs. I wasn't wearing my new Tourmaster Caliber pants. You'll have to wait for my impression on that item of new gear.

The only disappointment for me, as I expected, were the winter gauntlets. While I sized the gloves based on the Corazzo sizing chart, the medium glove was just too snug on my hand. The result was a little clumsiness on the controls due to the stiffness, and, with insufficient air left to circulate, cold hands. Not a good recipe.

I parked on the sidewalk outside the mall so that I could admire my scoot from my perch on the salon chair.
After my hair appointment was done, at 9:00 a.m., I headed west.  I stopped on City Lane to snap these pictures.

Continuing west, I passed my house and then rode along old Lakeshore road to the Beaconsfield city limit.

The sun was higher but the temperature hadn't budged. The road had a lot of ice on it and I had to limit my speed to 15 miles an hour.

On the way, I rode down a boat ramp and put the Vespa up on the centre stand to take the photo you'll see below.

Lake Saint-Louis is still cloaked in a thick sheet of ice, as far as the eye can see. Three foot tall snow banks stand along the retaining wall.
This is really much more winter weather than spring weather.

As I headed back up to the road I thought of Steve Williams. Steve is used to riding in these conditions.  Never did I think that I would have a similar experience.

It's a great feeling, I must admit.  If you're dressed for it, it seems to enhance something about the joy of riding my Vespa.   It was a really good experience because it helped me to understand more about the riding experience.

It's essentially the same experience I had last summer when I rode for the first time in heavy rain.

The common denominator for those very different experiences is the challenge they present.  There is something about the challenge of riding that makes it pleasurable.

For many people, myself included, driving a car is second nature.

Most of the interesting driving lessons were learned a lifetime ago. It's been a long time since driving was truly enjoyable as an experience.

It's just not that special. Most of the time it's just too tame. There is very little about it that's challenging.   And that's here in Montreal where winter conditions make you learn one heck of a lot more about limited traction and forces acting on the vehicle that are unrelated to the purely linear motion of the wheels on dry pavement.

The only adrenaline rush I've had recently behind the wheel was when I got a little frisky on the expressway on the way to pick up some take-out ribs after spending my Saturday doing chores. The rush came when the blue and red LEDs flooded my rear view mirror on the exit ramp.  Yup, apparently 140 km/h was a tad too frisky for the QPP cruiser to pass up.

What I take away from yesterday's ride that is really worth sharing here, is that the deep pleasure that often comes from riding a powered two-wheeler stems, at least in some measure, from the challenge the rider faces.

That's certainly not all that goes into the recipe, but it's certainly one of the more important ingredients.  At least so it goes for me.

Follow me as I explore a second season of life on two wheels.

PS: just a side note to mention that all the photos for this post were made with my Iphone 4, including the first rather arty one taken near the boat ramp by the lake, the result of some kind of freaky malfunction that turned out to be really interesting in conveying the snowy, dreamy theme.  If you look closely you can see my image reflected in the Vespa's cowl.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Ephemera

The internet changed everything.

That's so cliché now. But it's so, so true.

I keep bumping up against digital revelations that slowly dawn on me.

Blogs and podcasts for instance. They are the magazines, radio and television shows of the internet age. They can be up-to-the-second, fleeting feeds of life, and that's certainly the feeling they convey as they are consumed. In that sense they seem to be ephemeral, contemporaneous reflections of the present, just like their analog predecessors. Here today, gone tomorrow!

The truth is that they are time capsules.

Like most digital things they are completely different from their old-world equivalents.

Hardly ephemeral, they persist. Often, by the time you read a blog or experience a podcast, the blogger has moved on to other things and the blog or podcast, still vital and speaking in the present tense of life, is really a moment in the past, and perhaps the relatively distant past.

For instance, to break the spell for a brief moment, as I write this, it's intended to be published in the coming week or so.

I guess I am being a little philosophical since the one-year anniversary of this blog is looming, in thirteen days from this, my present moment. In addition to that "present" moment, there is the future "present" moment of whenever I choose to publish this post, and the still more future "present" moment as you read this.

When I look at the traffic statistics for the Scoot Commute, I can see that in the beginning I was writing in the ether, with no one reading. Eventually a small audience emerged from that ether, including you. Thank you for reading. I mean that very sincerely. You are reading perhaps because I am writing about something meaningful to you. Perhaps you are considering commuting on a scooter, or perhaps you are a psychologist wondering about my state of mind. Or then again, it's possible you got here because you mistyped a Google search. Yet you’re still reading. It’s all good.

One thing is certain however. You, dear reader, are in my unknowable future. You might be 10 minutes into the future when I click on the button to publish this post, or six months, or perhaps six years into the future. Do you feel like a time traveler? From my perspective in this moment you most certainly are.

If you’d like a scooter treat from the more distant past, and if you own an Ipod or Iphone, go over to Itunes and find the Sctrcst (“Scootercast”, no vowels) podcast and let Dave Mangano into your life. About 90-odd shows that will allow you to learn a whole lot about scooters, scooter culture, and, more importantly, about Dave Mangano, than I could ever begin to convey. If you're not into all things Apple, you should also be able to access the podcasts at www.sctrcst.com.

Right now, in my present moment, Dave Mangano has moved on to other pursuits and is doing something else, hopefully riding his Vespa P200 sidecar rig on a sunny day somewhere in Virginia.

As you read this I’m also in another dimension of time, your present, doing something else. Maybe riding my scooter on a sunny day in May. Dave Mangano may have taken up the podcasting gear again and might be producing more scooter shows. Check it out! Only you can tell.

So what’s my point?

The second season of commuting on my Vespa LX150 begins in a few weeks and so does the second year of this blog.

Whichever way I look at it, it won’t be quite like the first season. So I don’t want this blog to be quite like last year’s blog.

Besides, if you liked last season’s posts, you time-traveler you, step into the time machine on the right side of the page and off you go now.

If you’re still here, consider this: there’s only so much you can write about “firsts” on a scooter. Or is there? If you’ve read this much, you can see that there’s more art than math, and more romance than science in me.

The bottom line is, I’m hoping that this season I’ll have the skill to convey more about the reasons I enjoy riding my scooter so very much, and less about the mechanics and gear of it all.

Stay tuned, there’s more to come in the future (or is it in the past already?).

Sunday, March 13, 2011

It's almost time

Finished my winter mods (new 12 gauge negative line from the battery for the Stebel and 12V outlet, GT style parcel hook, large Cuppini windscreen), put the bike back together, re-installed the battery, turned on the ignition, held my breath, hit the starter, and yes it started up (stalled three times until the gas started flowing) and purred!!

All I need now is for the snow to melt, a couple of good days of rain to wash all the crud to the side of the road, and the scoot commute is back on.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

To stick, or not to stick, that's the question

I'm like a kid in a toy store.

Do I stick stickers on? Do I leave it plain?

I've got plenty of time to decide.

I might do this:

I've also got a Corazzo sticker I could put in the centre.
Decisions, decisions.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Winter modifications, Chapter 2

I picked up a brand new Cuppini tall windscreen for my Vespa LX150 today.

No pics yet, cause I can't install it until I put the scoot back together, and I can't do that until I wrap up my electrical modifications.

I really think that I'm going to want to cut it down to a mid-height screen.  The trick is that I only get one kick at the cat.

So there are at least three windscreen threads on Modern Vespa that I am going to have to read, and re-read, and re-re-read, and take notes as I do it.

I'm almost looking forward to this as much as I did installing the Stebel air horn.  Almost as much because once the install is done, there won't be that "BBBBBLLLLLLLAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" moment when you hit the horn button for the first time :)

Still, I'm really looking forward to this.

For those scooter owners that have yet to install a Stebel, I saw them in stock at the local Canadian Tire store this afternoon for $69.95, the same price I paid last year.  A bargain, and a necessity.  No better way to make your presence on two wheels known.

As usual, more to come, so stay tuned.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Getting ready for the 2011 riding season

In addition to modifications to my Vespa LX150 scooter, I am finally completing my riding gear.

I am now the proud owner of a pair of Tourmaster Caliber armored riding pants, a Corazzo underhoody and Corazzo winter gauntlets.  I still haven't decided what to do about footwear.

I was thinking about some Alpinestars Ridge boots, but I'm going to look at what workboots have to offer in terms of protection.

I have looked at motorcycle boots similar to the Ridge model, and they are not that impressive in terms of protective features.  There are other motorcycle boots that offer impressive protection, but not at a price point that I am prepared to live with.  Friends have suggested that good work boots can offer equivalent or even better protection at a friendlier price.

So on the gear front there's still more detective work and comparative shopping to do.

Post script edit: Rick commented that I should consider the Icon Super Duty 3 boot.  I had a look at a review on U-Tube and that boot does indeed look like an interesting option.

On the scooter modifications front, I have a full-size OEM windshield on order, the type where the Plexiglas shield extends out in front of the hand grips.  I'll have to cut the screen down so that the edge comes just below eye level.  The local motor-sports dealer has the neighborhood glass shop cut down their windscreens and they do a really good job, I'm told.  I may decide to do it myself, just for fun.

In addition to beefing up the ground line from the battery, I'm seriously thinking of adding grip heaters.  I think that with the combination of the protection offered by the windscreen, the grip heaters, and the Corazzo winter gauntlets, cold hands in the spring and fall will be a thing of the past.

I am also thinking about how this blog will evolve for the 2011 season.  The first season was quite technical, and since I'm still learning, season two will have its share of technical stuff to offer as well.  I suspect that as I get to the bottom of all the riding issues, I'll be leaning to more esoteric topics.

So the work continues so that the fun stuff can begin in earnest this spring.

Photos and more detailed descriptions of the winter preparations will follow, so stay tuned.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Winter modifications, Chapter 1

Among the things that you can improve upon with the Vespa LX, is the parcel hook.

The LX parcel hook extends from the front of the saddle and is contained in the saddle.  The hook may look a little flimsy, but it is in fact quite sturdy.

Towards the end of the 2010 riding season, I found that the LX parcel hook was the best means of transporting my laptop bag during my scooter commute.  I had begun commuting with my laptop bag secured to the passenger seat with a bungee net.  While this was a good secure way of transporting my laptop bag, it was quite inconvenient because I had to remove the bungee and laptop bag whenever I needed to access the underseat compartment (affectionately referred to by many Vespa owners as the "pet carrier", due to the "No Pets" label prominently affixed to the compartment).

Each time I stopped for gas, and each time I had to stop to get my rain gear out, there was the added hassle of removing the bungee net and laptop bag, and finding a place for them while I attended to the other business at hand.  If that business was donning my rain suit, it was likely already beginning to rain, and, well, you can see how the extra time fiddling with the bungee net and laptop bag could quickly become tiresome.

This is why I first tentatively tried the laptop bag on the parcel hook.  Wary at first of the obvious possibility that the bag could spring free (it never did, even when I hit some serious potholes), I soon learned that the parcel hook was a quite secure and more convenient way to travel with my laptop.
So what is there to improve, you may well ask?  I'm glad you did!

The chief problem with the LX parcel hook is that because it forms part of the saddle, when you raise the saddle it becomes a parcel launcher.  I learned this the hard and expensive way.  You see the parcel hook is a great place to hang your helmet when you stop somewhere.  Until you decide to rummage under the saddle, which is when you discover the helmet launching feature.  I'm a slow learner, so it wasn't until the fifth or sixth time that I launched my helmet causing it to roll down a grassy slope where a small boulder kindly stopped the helmet's impromptu excursion by splitting the faceshield very nearly in two, that I learned to avoid the parcel hook as a place for the helmet.

Now you would think that Piaggio would make all its parcel hooks the same way.  Fortunately, it doesn't.  If you spring for the more powerful Vespa GT model, you'll find a much sturdier and much more secure parcel hook located opposite the saddle on the legshield.

Thanks (as always) to fellow MVers (those are folks who are, like me, addicted to the Modern Vespa forum), I stumbled on a thread where an MVer explained how to install a Vespa GT parcel hook on the Vespa LX.

As soon as I saw that post, I knew that I wanted a GT parcel hook on my LX 150.

This afternoon I completed that task (although you'll see from the photos that follow that the interior legshield thingy is not actually re-installed on the scooter, details, details).

For the benefit of other LX owners who may be tempted to follow in my footsteps, I will now attempt to share with you how I accomplished this minor miracle.

The first thing you need to to do is to purchase a Vespa GT parcel hook.  I got mine from ScooterWest.  if you want to order one too, click here. It's US$25.00 well spent.

Once the mailman delivers your hook, the fun can begin.

The first thing you'll need to do is to disassemble the leghield to remove the portion with the glovebox.  All you need is a Phillips screwdriver, and some courage.  Not to worry though, Vespas are well designed and whatever comes apart, goes back together without much grumbling.

To make a long story shorter, remove the Piaggio badge on the front of the leg shield.  You just need to pry gently from the right side of the badge.  I can remove mine with my fingers.  If you prefer, use a flat bladed screwdriver and protect the leg shield from scratches with a rag.  Under the badge, you'll find a screw to remove.  With that screw off, slide the horn cover upwards and off the bike.  Now you'll see a screw at the top center of the legshield.  Remove that screw.

Since there are many screws, and they are different sizes and types, get a box of ziplock sandwich bags and write the location of the screw on a slip of paper and put the slip of paper in the bag along with the screw.  Do this separately for each type and location of screw.  If you do this you'll have wasted 15 or 20 sandwich bags, but re-assembling the scooter will be painless.  Well worth the investment.
Now open the glove box and remove the three screws that you see there.  That's it!  Now gently pry and wiggle the glove box portion of the leg shield free.  Voila!  Here is a shot of my scooter all stripped and naked.
If, like me, you're tackling this project in the winter, you can now complete the work in the comfort of your kitchen, or workshop.

Since the glove box portion of the legshield is all nice and sexy curvy, and the GT bag hook isn't, you need something to sandwich between the hook and the legshield to fill the resulting gaps.  For this you need a miracle product called Sculpey clay.  You'll likely find this, as I did, at your local arts and crafts store.  It's a polymer clay that retains it shape extraordinarly well, and then takes that shape permanently once you bake it in the oven.  Pure genious.  The clay I bought was black, but it comes in a rainbow of colours.  All you need is a small-ish cube size, it's just a few dollars.  The clay is quite stiff and crumbly and needs to be conditioned by kneading.  As you work the clay and it warms up in your hands it will lose its crumbly nature and become pliable.  Roll it into a ball, and then use something to roll it out into a sheet about 1/8 of an inch thick.  I used an empty beer bottle.  Apparently it's not recommended to use kitchen utensils.  You'll need only half the clay for this project.

Now take the bag hook and put some nice red lipstick (be sure to get your wife's or daughter's or girlfriend's or mother's permission first) on the two screw posts.  Press the hook against a sheet of paper (I used parchment paper, the kind you bake with, it's nice and strong) so that you have a template for the holes.  This turns out to be less scientific than it appears, because the posts are different lengths, the template will show the holes just a little too close together.  Oh well, you'll see how I corrected for that later.  Place the template on the bag hook to make sure that the posts fit.  If not, do over until you get it right.  Trim the template so that it is the same shape as the bag hook.
Now that you have your template, find some clear plastic.  I used the kind of cellophane that's used for gift baskets, but clear sheet protectors will do just as well.  Using the template as a guide, cut two holes in a sheet of plastic.  Repeat with a second sheet.  Now you have two plastic sheets with holes corresponding to the holes needed for the bag hook.  Leave the plastic sheets square, don't make them the same shape as the bag hook.  The plastic film will make it easier to remove the moulding clay from the legshield and the bag hook once it has been shaped on the legshield.

Fit the bag hook onto each plastic sheet to make sure that the holes fit.

Figure out where you want to put the bag hook on the shield.  There's really only one logical place for it, right in the middle, above the glove box, to the left of the ignition switch hole and as close as possible to the vehicle identification plate.

Using the paper template, place the template on the leg shield where the bag hook will go.  MAKE SURE THAT THE TEMPLATE MATCHES THE ORIENTATION OF THE BAG HOOK OR YOU'LL DRILL HOLES IN THE WRONG PLACES AND RUIN A PERFECTLY GOOD LEGSHIELD.  Now mark the centre of each hole.  I used a sharp-pointed scalpel and made a tiny dimple in the plastic in the middle of each hole.

I used a small drill bit to drill a pilot hole, and then used a 3/8" Forstner bit to finish off the two holes in the legshield.
 It turned out that the holes were just a tiny bit too close together and so the bag hook would not fit.  I used a rotary saw bit in my Dremel tool to slighly enlarge one of the two holes and the bag hook then fit nice and snugly in the legshield.

  To make sure the bag hook is able to carry some weight without risking damage to the plastic leg shield, some re-inforcement is needed on the inside of the legshield.  I followed the suggestion on Modern Vespa and used a metal electrical cover as backing.  With the paper template as a guide, and with a combination of power tools: a drill with a 3/8" drill bit to make the holes for the bag hook's screw posts to fit through; a disk grinder with a metal cutting disk to trim off the excess metal; and a Dremel tool with a metal sanding drum to remove burrs and smooth sharp edges, I crafted a piece of metal with a shape pretty close to the shape of the paper template.
The final piece of the puzzle is shaping the Sculpey clay.  I pressed the bag hook onto the flat piece of clay that was rolled out earlier to mark the location of the holes for the screw posts.  I then used the scalpel to carefully cut out the excess clay to finish the two holes.  I placed one of the clear plastic films on the bag hook, then fitted the Sculpey clay on the hook, then placed second sheet on the bag hook so that I had the Sculpey sandwiched between the plastic sheets.  I then installed the bag hook on the legshield.

Pressing the bag hook onto the legshield forced the Sculpey clay to conform to the baghook on one side, and to the legshield on the other.  Once the gaps between the leg shield and the bag hook were filled by the compressed clay, I used the scalpel to trim away the plastic sheet closest to the bag hook, and then the excess clay.  Once that was done, I lifted off the bag hook and carefully removed the shaped Sculpey clay, which now had the same shape as the paper template, the shaped metal plate and the base of the bag hook.

Here's a shot of the Sculpey clay in its final shape lying on one of the sheets of plastic.
I then baked the Sculpey clay in the oven for about 20 minutes at 275F.

While the cured Sculpey cooled I made a quick trip to the hardware store to buy some 1/2" number 8, self tapping screws and some washers (a few washers with a hole large enough for the bag hook screw posts to fit through and two smaller washers to allow the entire sandwich of the bag hook, Sculpey clay, leg shield and metal backing plate to be screwed tight. Here's a shot of the back side of the legshield showing the backing plate screwed in place.
I now have an LX legshield wiith a GT parcel hook.
Next up, some upgrades to the electrical circuit that supplies my 12 volt outlet and Stebel air horn.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

It's a wrap!

It's been a phenomenal first season commuting on my Vespa scooter. No problems worth mentioning, I've had even more fun and gotten even more pleasure from the experience than I was expecting, and I've learned so many interesting and arcane things about life on two wheels.

I have a longish list of modifications I want to do before the spring riding season rolls around, so that will keep me more than busy in my spare time during the winter.

Without further ado, making good on my promise, here are the remaining lessons learned.

49. Power outlet

I don't know about other bikes, but Vespas don't come with 12 volt power outlets. Installing one is not particularly difficult, as long as you are comfortable with basic power tools and you own a power drill and a Dremel or similar multi-tool. You will find everything you need at your local electronics supply store, such as Radio Shack, The Source or similar outlets. For the Vespa-specific instructions, go to Modern Vespa and search for 12 volt outlet. Alternatively, let Google take you there. I installed mine in the glove box. Once you have the power outlet you can use a GPS unit, charge your cell phone, or power a dead cell phone in an emergency, plug in a portable compressor to fix a flat in the middle of nowhere, plug in a powerful search light, and the list goes on. I wouldn't want to go back to not having a power outlet.

50. RAM mounts

So if you've installed the power outlet, where the heck do you put your GPS unit? The answer to that question is to get a RAM mount. RAM mounts can hold just about anything you want. I got mine for my GPS unit (check out the post where you can see the RAM mount in action). I made sure to get the tripod attachment as well and I used it to mount my digital camera on the scooter and made a short video of my commute (click here for that post). You can get RAM mounts from GPS City. Fair prices and excellent service. For us Canadians, GPS City has a Canadian site too.

51. Blocking the rear brake to pump air into the rear tire

Pumping air into the rear tire is a bit of a chore because access to the rear wheel is severely limited by the muffler and the Vespa's very attractive cowls. You have to rotate the tire by hand until the valve stem is at the 6:00 o'clock position, and then apply enough force with the air pump hose nozzle against the valve stem to get the air going and inflate the tire. The tire will want to rotate fore or aft, and then the nozzle slips off, and, I don't know about you, but I start cursing. Make the job a cinch (or at least much, much easier) by applying the rear brake and using a short length of rope, or a velcro strap, or one of those rubber tubes that they use in the hospital as a tourniquet. Anything that will hold the brake handle in the compressed position will do. Wow! that really works.

52. Caught in the Web

Generations of motorcycle and scooter riders figured out how to ride, and ride well and safely without the internet to guide them. As with most things these days, the internet makes it really easy to become well informed, and get 24/7 advice from the most amazing experts when the need arises. There is no way that I would have gotten close to the amount of value out of my scooter commuting experience as I did without Modern Vespa. It is not possible to say enough good things about that forum, and the wonderful cast of characters who contribute to the goings-on there. Next to the actual Vespa motor scooter, Modern Vespa is the most important thing you need to enjoy the scooter commuting experience. The other place to go for in-depth knowledge about riding gear is Web Bike World. This is not to say that those are the only sites that can help you. But you have to go to those, and if those are the only internet resources you ever use, you'll find everything you need to make the best of your riding experience. No I don't get a commission.

53. Corazzo and Go Go Gear

There are many, many places to buy motorcycle gear, whether online, or in bricks-and-mortar retail outlets. There are also a number of places to get gear that is more suited to the scooter aesthetic. Personally, Corazzo is my favourite. I love my Corazzo 5.0 armored jacket and I highly recommend all their products. No I don't get a commission. For women who are looking for stylish riding jackets and coats that offer similar protection, check out Go Go Gear. They are newer to the market but have really nice things to offer.

54. Ride within your confidence zone

Somebody said that riding a motorcycle or a scooter is 90% mental, 10% physical. The same has been said by a number of athletes about a variety of sports. Who knows if that is a verifiable truth, but I believe it to be true. My experience is that bad things are most likely to happen when you are outside or at the limit of your confidence zone. That zone of confidence shifts with time. Things that are really awkward the first time you ride, are well within your confidence zone in no time. So right from the beginning, and by definition, we are all, to a degree, outside our comfort zone. The key is to recognize your zone, and when you are at the limit because you are learning new skills, stack the odds in your favor by staying sharply focused and learning in an environment where the risks are tolerable. Empty parking lots are a better place to begin riding than city streets. Quiet suburban streets with little traffic are preferable to boulevards with heavier traffic, and so on.

55. Bicycle skills do translate, to a degree

I love to ride bikes and at different times in my life, I put a lot of miles on a variety of bikes. During the 2009 riding season I logged more than 600 kms on Montreal's bike share BIXI bikes between May and November, riding to the office from the commuter train and back morning and night, and exploring the city on my lunch hour. Some skills definitely translate from bicycles to motor scooters. The general way that the two-wheeler handles and balancing issues are examples. If you are confident and reasonably skilled riding a bicycle, riding a motor scooter will come reasonably easily. On the other hand, there are many, many things about riding motor scooters that you'll never learn riding a bicycle. The obvious differences are in the weight and geometry of motor scooters that are a world apart from bicycles, and the speed at which you travel. For instance, I never experienced counter-steering on a bicycle. On the other hand, heavy braking into a curve seems to be very comparable to the experience on a bicycle. I would expect that if you don't feel comfortable and relaxed riding a bicycle, a powered two-wheeler will be a challenge for you.

56. Occupy the lane, drive like a truck

Riding in traffic with cars and trucks can be daunting. I have found, however, that if you ride your Vespa as if you were driving a car or a truck, you get a lot more respect, and feel much safer as a result, than if you ride as if you are on a bicycle. What I mean by riding as if you were driving a car, is that you occupy all of your lane. In that way careless or inconsiderate drivers will be less likely to squeeze into your space or attempt to squeeze by you in traffic. It's part of the mental aspect of riding a powered two-wheeler that translates into the physical experience in a tangible way. Filtering and lane-splitting are ways that scooters allow you to beat congested city traffic. But when you are filtering up through stalled traffic or lane-splitting through crawling traffic, you aren't occupying your lane, or driving like a car or truck. So when you decide to filter or lane-split, you really need to exercise extreme caution, not just because those activities are inherently tricky (like avoiding clipping a car's side view mirrors), but also because you are behaving more like a bicycle than a car. As you filter and lane split, you are causing the surrounding traffic to react differently to your presence. Whether consciously or not, many of the drivers observing you are re-calibrating their expectations of the space you need or deserve on the road. Three blocks from now, one of those drivers might be more inclined to try to squeeze by you. I don't know if this is just stuff going on in my mind, or if it's really happening this way, it just seems to work that way in my admittedly limited experience.

57. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

It's November 20th and the Vespa has been under wraps for a week now. My last commute to work was way too cold with the temperature below freezing when I set out. There's a post on that experience so I'll just link to it here rather than repeating it so soon after it was posted. I am positive that riding in November safely and comfortably is easily achievable. It's just that I don't yet own the gear that would allow me to do it. Based on others' experience, for a one-hour commute at an average speed of about 40 or 50 km/h, I'd need a good wind-proof jacket liner with a balaclava, or a combination liner like the Corazzo underhoody, good winter gauntlets, handle bar muffs, lined armored pants, a windscreen, and perhaps heated grips, or a scooter skirt. Then I'd be good to go. I'm planning to get at least some of that gear before the spring, so that I can start riding comfortably in mid or late March.

58. Have fun!

Of all the lessons my scooter commuting has taught me, the key lesson is that you've got to take a few chances and have fun. There are a million reasons it took me until my late fifties to get a motor scooter, not the least of which were strenuous objections from the women in my life like my mother and my darling wife. I have to admit that while I may be more quirky and adventurous than some, I am far from a dare-devil. So there was also that angel on my shoulder whispering constant exhortations to reason and caution. But I finally took the chance, and I have to say, it's been a very satisfying and worthwhile experience.

So that's it, I have nothing to add, nothing is left to say or share. At least for the time being.  As I dig in to the modifications I have planned for the off-season, I'll post my successes and complain about my failures.

I started this blog as a way of repaying the kindness and candor of the countless strangers whose blogs and forum posts gave me the knowledge and insight to get my scoot commute off the ground and sailing along through this magical first season. Blogging is the best way of making my own experience as a newbie powered-two-wheeler owner and enthusiast public so that someone like myself who is thinking of doing the same thing will get some benefit from reading these posts. Mission accomplished.

Happy hibernation!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

... still more lessons...

41. Gloves

Gloves are for more than keeping your hands warm. Even when it's nice and warm, or even too hot, you've got to wear gloves. I love my summer gloves. I got them at the local Harley dealer on sale. They have padding in the right places, ventilation, and fit my hands nice and snug. I don't plan to fall off my Vespa, but I do plan to be protected against road rash just in case. The vast majority of people I see riding scooters must have really good plans not to fall off, because they they clearly don't have much of a plan plan to avoid injury if they do. Before next spring rolls around, I'll have purchased some nice winter gauntlets from Corazzo for those chilly spring commutes.

42. Surface scan for hazards

It's really important to scan for surface hazards continually. It doesn't matter how well you know your route. It never ceases to amaze me when I see hazards just spring up within 8 or 9 hours on my scoot commute route. New stretches of pavement torn out and filled in with loose gravel, built-up mud and crud from dump trucks and heavy construction equipment entering the roadway from a lot under construction, super slippery steel construction plates bridging a brand new trench, oil spills, debris fallen from trucks, road kill, overnight potholes, sunken sections of pavement caused by overloaded trucks... you name it, I've seen it. So scan, scan, scan, and be prepared to take evasive action.

43. Focus

One of the nice things about riding a scooter is the focus that it requires. In a car there are many things competing for your attention: the radio, CDs, passengers, adjusting the air conditioning, cell phones, the GPS... On your scooter, you are totally immersed in the ride, you become the ride, when the road twists and turns, you lean and flow through the turn, you're scanning two seconds ahead, assessing the surface of the pavement, watching how the traffic is flowing, keeping a sharp eye on vehicles that are poised to merge or turn in your path, checking your mirrors, covering your brakes and horn, checking your speed, plotting your course well in advance... The combination of all those things that you focus on is what makes riding such a compelling pleasure. You rarely get that driving a car.

44. Air pressure

When I got my scooter I made the mistake of riding without checking the air pressure in my tires. Fortunately nothing bad came of it and something good came of it. When I learned a little more about riding scooters, I got a pressure gauge and checked the tires. I found the pressure substantially lower than it should have been. When I got the pressure back up to where it needed to be, I was really shocked by how much better the bike handled. Now I check the tire pressure regularly. Fortunately I have a good air compressor in the garage so topping up the pressure is really easy to do.

45. Patching flats

Sometime in August I picked up a really good nail in the rear tire. A scooter is not like a car: you don't have a spare (though some vintage Vespas did have them), and pulling into a gas station somehow seems like less of an option. So I did something I had never done before. I went to the local Canadian Tire store and bought a tire plugging kit. Worked like a charm. Now I know how to fix my own flats, and I carry the tire plugging kit in the pet carrier along with a portable 12 volt compressor. I know other scooterists who do the same.

46. Tools to bring along

The tire plugging kit and the tire pressure guauge were added to a small tool kit that includes a hammer, socket driver, pliers, assorted screws, nuts and washers, Allen keys, screw drivers and other assorted hand tools all wrapped up in a flexible textile holder with velcro closure. When you ride a scooter or a motorcycle, you need to be a little more independent than the average driver. To get yourself thinking along those lines, you could do worse than reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

47. Block the footwell

So this heading is pretty cryptic. But you're about to learn something that you may thank me for if you own a Vespa, or come to own a Vespa, and you decide to tackle some of the essential modifications I suggest you make in these 'lessons learned' posts. If you decide to install a Stebel air horn, and you definitely should, or you decide to install a twelve volt outlet, you'll have to run new 12 volt positive and negative lines from the battery to the leg shield. Doing that requires that you disassemble the leg shield and the foot board. When you begin the reassembly process, if you fumble a screw or bolt, or anything else that's reasonably small, it will follow the nice curvy leg shield and rattle down inside the foot well. So when you're working in the leg shield and the floor board is installed, use sponges or rags to block the holes at the top of the floor board to prevent things you fumble from rattling down there. This winter when I tackle the modifications I'm planning, I'll finally remove the foot board and retrieve the headset screw I fumbled back in April. Sheesh! And that was the second time I had lost something to the leg shield in 24 hours. Like I said, earlier, I'm a slow learner.

48. Turn signal beeper

With few exceptions, motorcycles and scooters don't have self-cancelling turn signals. Vespa turn signals are also silent though some scooters have audible clicking sounds (like the Honda Ruckus). When you're focused on the ride, it's easy to forget to cancel the turn signal after a turn. Installing a turn signal beeper solves that problem. It's not rocket science, and you'll find all the parts you'll need at Radio Shack (now The Source in Canada) or your local electronics store, and all the instructions at Modern Vespa. Three of the really nice things about installing the beeper are i) you will never again forget to cancel the turn signal, ii) you don't need to check the instrument panel to know that you've successfully turned the indicator on, and iii) in the city the beeper alerts pedestrians to your presence and turning intentions. Plus, Plus, Plus.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

More lessons learned...

33. Never hang the helmet on the parcel hook

I learned this one the hard, or rather the expensive way.  This tidbit only applies if you ride a Vespa LX, or maybe a Vespa S as well.  On these models the parcel hook slides out from the front of the saddle.  It holds things really well and quite securely.  That is until you lift the saddle to access the gas tank or the pet carrier.  When you raise the saddle whatever is on the parcel hook gets ejected.  If you eject the helmet in this way, it's not good for the helmet.  After doing this 5-6 times (I'm a slow learner), eventually the helmet will roll down a grassy slope, stop against a rock and split your visor in two!  It's only about sixty bucks to replace the visor. Ouch! Lesson (finally) learned.

34. Securing a full face helmet

So if the parcel hook is not a good place for the helmet, and like me, your full face helmet won't fit in the pet carrier or top case, what do you do to secure your helmet if you plan to leave it with your bike while you're shopping? If your chin strap has a D-ring, you can use the secure helmet hook that comes with the Vespa. It's right on the lip of the pet carrier on the right, towards the front. But if, like me, your helmet has a ratchet lock (much more convenient than a D-ring in every meaningful way) you can't use the helmet hook. Soooo, here's the scoop. For about $15 you can buy a helmet cable lock. Thread the lock through the visor and lock it to the passenger grab rail. The cable is just long enough to let the helmet sit on the passenger seat. If it rains while you're away, the helmet won't become a water bucket. That's a big plus.

35. Always have a camera handy

One of the great things, maybe the best things really, about commuting on a scooter, is that the routes you choose are typically more scenic than the typical route you'd take in your car. So chances are, you're going to come across scenes that you'll want to take pictures of. That's a good thing because it's really easy to stop anywhere and snap really great pictures even without getting off the bike. So carry a camera in your pocket or your topcase or glovebox. You won't regret it.

36. Always have a spyglass

For years now I've always made sure to have binoculars in each of our cars. You never know when they'll come in handy. Now on a Vespa, binoculars aren't that much of an option. So I carry a really good monocular. A spyglass if you prefer. Makes you feel like Horatio Hornblower when you use it. All right, this one may not be for everyone, but it works for me.

37. Corazzo cup holder

Eventually you will want to pick up some coffee on the way to work. Since the average place you'll be likely to get your coffee may not be the place you'll want to drink it, you'll want to tote it to a nice park bench along your route, maybe a few miles from the coffee joint, and savour your coffee while you take in whatever picturesque view the bench was meant to allow you to enjoy. Trust me, those places exist, you'll find them on your scooter. So what's the best, most effective, and reasonably priced way to get your coffee safely from A to B? Check out the Corazzo cup holder at Corazzo.

38. Group rides with 2 cycles

I've only done this once. There's a post on this back in June. I'm more of a solitary ride type of rider. But the group ride is a lot of fun, and a great experience. Among the hazards you'll face, particularly if you choose to ride behind folks riding two-stroke machines (the Vespa LX is a nice four-stroke clean machine), is riding in an invisible cloud of noxious exhaust. After a few hours of this, you'll feel like you've mowed all the lawns in your neighborhood in one crazy, demented fit of lawn mowing. You'll want to wash your clothes too.

39. ATGATT

When I started out, I had no clue what ATGATT was. In fact, right from the start I've been an ATGATT kind of guy. You should also be an ATGATT person. ATGATT has nothing to do with AT&T, or Gatwick Airport, or an international import tariff treaty. It means "All The Gear, All The Time". No matter the heat of the summer day. No one plans to high side, low side, drop the bike, lay it down, get thrown after a tank slapper, or otherwise grace the pavement with their presence. Some knowledgeable medical types on Modern Vespa have pointed out that skin actually stands up to pavement abrasion better than denim. So get a full face helmet, a good armored jacket and pants, armored boots, armored gloves. Stack the odds in your favour, and maybe you won't have to be Googling ways to cure road rash.

40. Vespa one, squirrel zero

It had to happen. God can't be quite as perfect as some would have you believe. George Burns played God in "Oh! God" and there's this great scene when he's going over his mistakes (giraffe: neck's too long; avocado: pit's too big...). I'd like to add squirrels to the list. Perhaps it's not God's fault. For the longest time squirrels were probably not quite so vulnerable before roads and cars. But then you'd think that God would have had that covered. Don't tell me she didn't see it coming. Anyway there was this really talented squirrel. There was a car coming in the opposite direction, and me on my Vespa, closing at 40 km/h each, or eliminating the intervening space at roughly 80 km/h. This talented squirrel goes to cross. Comes up to the car. Thinks twice darts back towards the curb. I'm braking hard. The talented squirrel thinks thrice, darts back out, comes up to my front wheel. Still braking. Thinks again (fourice?), and here's where the talent comes in, darts back towards the curb, and, wait for it, changes its little mind one last time, and, incredibly, manages to dive under my back wheel. Quite a feat of squirrelyness, if you ask me. Unfortunately, that squirrel won't be passing those genes along, unless you believe in re-incarnation and it gets to return, as a squirrel. What do you think the odds are?

Can you take any more? Good, there's still more to come. Hang in there, and watch this space.
The copyright in all text and photographs, except as noted, belongs to David Masse.