Took a couple of weeks between agreeing to buy this thing and picking it up. I had to go pick it up from the guy's hangar on San Juan Island. We're in queue to ferry back to the mainland.
Took a couple of weeks between agreeing to buy this thing and picking it up. I had to go pick it up from the guy's hangar on San Juan Island. We're in queue to ferry back to the mainland.
This is one of the most exciting things in the world of EV vehicles I’ve seen in a while. Those might be my three favorite manufacturers in motorcycling. I’ve never owned a KTM, but appreciate their company dedication to high performance.Originally Posted by OlongJohnson
I’ve also watched the electric class bikes race at Barber’s a couple of times and was quite entertained, without having to wear earplugs to protect what’s left of my hearing, which was nice, and the racing was still good.
im strong, i can run faster than train
Some boomer is going to have a flashback and shoot your ass off that Vespa.Took a couple of weeks between agreeing to buy this thing and picking it up. I had to go pick it up from the guy's hangar on San Juan Island. We're in queue to ferry back to the mainland.
You heard it here.
Adding nothing to the conversation since 2015....
A tangerine Stella!!!Took a couple of weeks between agreeing to buy this thing and picking it up. I had to go pick it up from the guy's hangar on San Juan Island. We're in queue to ferry back to the mainland.
Genuine… (literally and figuratively).
You sly dog. I want to ride it. Don’t tell anyone here that I said that.
”But in the end all of these ideas just manufacture new criminals when the problem isn't a lack of criminals.” -JRB
Peter Egan is my Spirit Animal....
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https://magazine.cycleworld.com/arti...ing-roadblocks
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Not another dime.
There you go. Good sample of his writing for anyone who hasn't been exposed.
I own Leanings 2 and Leanings 3, plus Side Glances, but I mistakenly loaned Leanings 1 to my ex bro-in-law years ago and haven't seen it since.
I don’t envy your Aprilla situation at all. I ride a Yamaha Super Tenere, it’s been in the US market since 2012, yet your average motorcycle guy around here still has no clue what one is. I’ve even had guys who work at a dealership ask what make and model my bike was. Now days if someone asks what kind of bike I have I just say it’s Yamaha.
And I always warn younger guys that if they’re thinking about getting a bike they are going to get wayyy more attention from people who used to drag race their Harley at 200 mph on the interstate and do jumps over their Chevelle than women of any flavor.
im strong, i can run faster than train
LOL! Mostly true! Although there are notable exceptions which I won't go into here.... It's harder to text and take selfies while riding, which I think is a major contributor to the slow death of the motorcycle in general. Also it could be that the new generation is a little more realistic when it comes to acceptable risk. You really do put it all on the line when you're riding, and it takes a certain type of personality to be OK with that. A dying type of personality, no pun intended.
Sidetrack follows - read at your own risk.
Possibly doesn't belong in this thread, but we're witnessing the death of something more important than just the motorcycle. It's evident in corporate safety rules where it takes 3 people to safely change a lightbulb. It's evident where we see people driving down the road alone in their car, or walking outside, wearing a mask. It's evident where soft drinks over a certain size are outlawed. It's evident where we are not realistically able to freely voice our opinions on a wide range of things -- I'm not talking about being free to advocate false science without fear of correction, but just the freedom to believe and say that a certain lifestyle is in fact, wrong. Or funny. Shoving a new morality down my throat is actually impossible, but that isn't stopping our culture from trying. Many times I've said it here, the emperor has no clothes. But alas, that fairy tale itself is probably anathema these days.
I'm not sure that the new way is totally wrong, but I've been alive long enough to remember pre cell phone years and the freedoms that we once had. The root of this new wave is in the always-connectedness, the abandonment of old morals, the 180 degree turn we've taken as a society on what's right and wrong. The rise of narcissism and the rise of offense taking. The fall of self-deprecatory humor, the fall of real humility. And the fall of motorcycles. All tied in somehow.
I agree with live and let live. And if people want to say it's dumb of me to ride a bike, then let them say it. I'm not taking offense. And if I want to say that it's dumb of them to marry their dog, then I should be able to say it. If everybody would just get a bike, get off their phone, get off their high horse, and spend a little time with the people they're actually *with,* I believe 70% of our problems would go bye-bye.
Last edited by Welder; 09-12-2021 at 12:51 PM.
http://instagram.com/p/CTvK8xmvGj6/
Got it home, off the truck and immediately set about Simplifying and Adding Lightness.
Remove all the extraneous crash bars and racks. I removed 20 pounds or so. Spare tire? Yea not gonna need that. If I get a flat, I'll have the wife bring me the truck and bike carrier and we'll tote it home.
The battery was held in with some chintzy bungee cords. I redid that with heavy duty 1/8" diameter bungee. Removed the trickle charger from the battery, for now. Will reinstall later as necessary. Not that the battery is necessary, because kick starter. An important thing to have after I watched a dude kill a big Harley this week with a dead battery and he had to bump start it or attempt to.
I also went ahead and changed plugs. The one in it was pretty fouled. The original owner swapped the Kein carb and stock exhaust for Pinasco stuff. The Pinasco carb is a Dell'orto 21mm. It's jetted too rich right now. But there is an easy solution, it's breathing through the stock airbox. I suspect if I simply remove the stock airbox and let it breath straight through the high flow filter cage (Pinasco designed a Euro legal setup that has a high flow filter that sits in the airbox). It'll be about perfect. In the meantime I adjusted the mixture screw a bit to up the idle and lean it a tad. Which also correct a flat spot off idle.
Now the embarassing part. I kicked it over yesterday and started warming it up and it died on me. I couldn't get it restarted for the life of me. Pulled the plug, fouled, by sparking, spark looked weak. Off to Napa and grabbed a couple of plugs so I have a spare. Get it all done and buttoned up. Nope. It acted like it wasn't getting enough air or fuel. So I checked the choke. The PO said he pulled the choke out too far and had damaged the cable. I pulled it all apart and was convinced the choke was stuck at half choke. Fiddled with it, got it all to my liking and reassembled. Kick; kick; kick; kick, no good. What the fuck. Lean back down to check the throttle cable and happen to look sideways at the petcock valve...yea it's turned to "off".
Turn it on, give it a couple of kicks, cranks right up. An hour yesterday mucking with this thing. I enjoyed the hell out of myself, though. I mean whatever, shit happens, right? Right.
I do have to order some parts (oh no...). The stock seat it too high and smooshy for my taste. It's also original and showing it's age. So an Ancelotti Sport Seat is on the way. Removing the crash bars, I removed the clamp on mirrors. Need to install a mirror. Then just little things, rubber trim around the steering lock has dried up and cracked; I need to actually properly replace the choke cable. It needs fresh tires, oil change, filter, etc.
And I have to get a license and register it in my name. Probably another 3-weeks or so before I can use it regularly. But it's here, I love the thing, and I'm stoked.
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