cowpuc

Well,, having raised kids and knowing how things happen out on the roadways,, I think I am pretty safe in thinking what you just described was truly an accident (meaning the kid was not out to get you - he was probably just doing his job looking for the place to drop off a pizza - NO EXCUSE FOR DRIVING POORLY THOUGH!!). That said, I am one to keep the courts out of stuff if possible... Blue Book shows your scoot at 2800 in perfect shape, I would look the bike over - if you hit hard enough to bend forks and have glass damage, assume it totaled (if the frame is tweeked at the triple tree THAT alone will total it from an insurance standpoint). If it were me and I had a really really good idea that I was basically ok physically and that the boy was also ok, I would show the father the book value and tell him that it would take 2 grand to buy you out... You can always fix the scoot yourself or sell the it outright on here and make up the difference.. You might want to record the conversation with the father about it all, him offering to settle out of court is probably a pretty indication that he and his son know that it really was the boys fault and may be considered admission of quilt if it ever did end up in court.. About the injury,, I too have had some VERY nasty thumps with lumps and had em heal up just fine, I also have had MAJOR back injury stuff that I didnt even realize was there when it happened.. I did a few days later though.. Tuff call on that one!!

That may have been one of my post PB, I have used Plast-X from Walmart for many years and highly recommend it!! I usually just buy the cheapy little refill bottle (last time I bought it it was like 5 bucks) instead of the kit, use my elbow grease with a cloth - swirl it on, remove before it drys.. Tweeks still has the ORIGINAL shield on her and she is an 83!!! All because of PLast-X!!!!! STUFF IS AMAZING!!

Those two guru's took the words right out of my mouth!!!!

Awe,, you are more than welcome Fly!! Got that right on the GREAT deal of swapping parts for one of these amazing scoots!! These old Yams are tough as nails - not perfect, maybe not the prettiest things (I happen to love em but I guess I see beauty in a different way), BUT - THEY HAVE SOUL AND A HEART THE SIZE OF TEXAS!!! THANK YOU for the compliments!! Hope you have a GREAT summer chasing the wind on your 83!! Puc

We try and do better than McDonalds.. But when we cant we always try and pick the RIGHT McDonalds!! For showers and potties we do a lot of wilderness type stuff (bigger trees make better bathrooms), for doo dooing, just try to go at gas stations. Two people can get cleaned up pretty good under a half gallon of warm water (notice the jug on the side of the bike - gets PLENTY warm in the desert heat). LOVES truck stops have the best showers if really needed.. That wasnt Death Valley (below are pics of Death Valley).. The vid you are probably referring to was a few miles out on the Bonneville Salt Flats - AMAZING PLACE!! Took Tweeks to 125 in that vid fully loaded - Tippy was taking the vid.. Tweeks wanted more - I backed down.. We caught Death Valley on a full moon and rode at night (AWESOME) until gas was about gone. Found the only gas station within many miles, camped on their slab till morning. They opened at 6 am, it was 104 degrees all night and had climbed to 108 by 6, when pic at sign was takin it was just over 120!!

Here's a couple more you might enjoy,, cant wait to get back to chasing the front wheel!!

I have done exactly that same thing Fly,, its a horrible feeling when you realize that the kickstand dont respond to telepathic orders aint it? It is REALLY disconcerting when that great big ol beautiful Tweeks gets about 1/10th of a degree to far into her fall and I just have to step aside and watch her scratch her back and dust herself down to keep the bugs off:big-grin-emoticon: Probably one of this funniest times Tips, Tweeks and I had with this very scenario was real early in the morning at a Cemetery we had slept in out in a place called Burns Oregon.. We rolled into that particular "campground" at about 2 am, picked a spot away from the area "campers" (real quiet bunch) parked Tweeks, cut loose the bed roll and went fast asleep. I didnt realize it but I had put Tweeks kickstand down on a raised portion of ground that had a tree root real close to the surface. Next morning I reached down to open the "Health and Beauty Aids" saddlebag on her side, she spooked and over she went!! Tip was standing on the other side of the old girl - I yelped at her to not try and stop Tweeks sideways motion.. She bounced off that Oregon Cemetery sod like super ball off a concrete wall!! Here are a couple of vids of doing a little off roading.. A couple are just spots where we camped at after off roading our way in,, Lots of fun!!!

What Randy said and than I would look at exhaust connectors allowing for direct contact with frame and that kind of stuff - wrong washers in wrong places and the pipes are no longer isolated,, that kinda stuff.. Maybe a loose motor mounts.. Maybe something bent and resting against the engine.. I know what your talking about Fly,, those little "heyyyy,, that buzzzzz aint spose to be there" drive me crazy too.. I had one once that developed after I used Tweeks collector as a skid plate - dont forget to take a peek under your bike too!!

THANK YOU SIR DINGY:thumbsup:!! YOU DA MAN!! This place is like owning the manufacturing plant for Yamaha in Japan!! Only wayyyy better cause we have smarter engineers and an old dog like me have to try and learn to speak Japanese!!

I know I have read it many times but cant remember what has been stated.. Isnt there a punch mark or a stamp somewhere on the motor or frame of an 83/85 that declares it's tranny has the new parts in it? Anyone remember that? Thanks guys!! Puc

You wouldnt be the ONLY Red Neck if I owned one Jer!!! Mine would have mud built up between those gorgeous spokes and probably even already have a few "red neck" stickers on it already :rotf: THAT is SOOOOOOO fantastically wayyyyyy cool!! THANK YOU for the pics!! :cool10: Just looking at it from a "how could I make it even more useable" standpoint,, I wonder if anyone is designing a quick top convertible cover for it yet? I can just hear all the like minded gear headed varmints like myself all going "oh man - its gotta a Chevy motor - TURBO TIME and all that and not even thinking about extending the driveability.. I wonder if any one of those guys are sensible enough to design a quick cover so if it rains hard and you are touring cross country.... Sorry Jer, got side tracked,, WOW THAT IS PURDY!!!

A really really nice tank bag came with my very first 84 back in 87. I still have the trunk bag that matched it and it was definitely top quality stuff.. The tank bag had suction cups mounted into the bottom of the tank bag - one at each corner. After I ruined that bag while out east many years ago and finding the CD bag at Goodwill - I found out that the suction cups were actually attached into the bottom of the bag with screws that went thru the interior and into the cups. I unscrewed those screws and reinstalled the suction cups on that CD Bag.. This worked really really good for a long time BUT,, I always worried about some delingquent kid walking up to my bike and pulling the tank bag off and my kids and I being stuck loosing our camera (always carry a cheap camera in that bag for easy access) with ALL of our ride memorys gone for ever.. Sun Glasses, a few dollars in change, sunscreen, bags of peanuts, mp3 players (I even carry my wallet in the tank bag) and stickers that havent been place on the bike yet can be replaced but memory pictures cant!! Those suction cups are still available - probably find em at Ace Hardware or maybe even Harbor Freight but I got tired of being concerned about the easiness of removal of the tank bag and decided to take action.. I now attach em with tie wraps - I drill holes thru the battery cover and run the tie wraps thru the bag and thru the holes. Because of the strength of the tie wraps - I also now only attach the forward front part of the bag so the bag can easily swing out of my way. I run my bars low and back so when I am leaning back on Tippy and am stretched out with my feet up on the cases - the bar ends are resting on my hands and my hands are resting on my legs - kind of an old school chopper guys way of covering the miles.. If I am on the open road, all leaned back and something happens I can manuver out of the mess without fear of my tank bag getting in the way cause it will just swing to the side.. The swinging action also come in handy when opening the fuel door on Tweeks!! The tie wraps are thru the bottom of the bag and looped thru the cover and are not visible.. Tweeks has been over on her side (actually almost upside down once) and the bag has stayed safe and secure!! It would also take a LOT Of ripping to remove the bag in the event of theft.. Been doing the tie wrap thingy for many years now (knock on wood). Its all crude by most standards BUT - it works for me AND - you gotta admit,, it does go really well with the raw patina that adorns Tweeks by her precious stickers!!! By the way, I know the theft thing might sound like a non issue but,, a few years ago I was out at Sturgis parked next to a gorgeous Harley that was missing its tour pac. The owner was saying that the "Quick Detach" docking hardware he had paid big bucks for to be able to remove his tour pack worked really great - he only wished he would have stuck some locks in the holes on the small clips cause someone had decided they needed his tour pac and belongings more than he did - when he told me that my eyes instantly fell on my little "tie wrap secured" tank bag!!!

That dog gone Fool beat me to it!! Hey ya gul derned moderating minibike restoring lop eared varmint Eck, I wash my bike!! Tweeks is just little soft skinned is all - she has to have pure rain water for her baths or she breaks out in a rash real bad!!

WOW Jimmy - THAT is one GORGEOUS old scoot:clap2:!! Looking at my crystal ball here I see many many many miles of smiles associated with that lady!! CONGRATS TO YOU!! Wishing you nothing but the best as you and her get to know each other and as you sort out the little issues needed to find those many miles of pure happiness!!

Hey Steve I have a gut feeling that your problem is air in the system, it doesnt take much of an air bubble to displace the small amount of hydraulic movement that the master provides. This may sound corny but here is something that I have done several times in diagnosing situations like your working with. Break the system down into components and test them one at a time (make sure you have ample rag coverage on your scoot - brake fluid is nasty). Start with your Master, disconnect the master at the bango - put a plug in the master bango hole, bleed off the master at the plug and see if it will pump up in a stand alone situation.. I have yet to have a rubber brake line get old and rubbery enough to displace the hydraulic pressure BUT - I have heard of it and know that some folks end up going with braided lines because of it.. I cant think of how a caliper (other than an air bubble) could cause what your talking about - if a caliper has no air in it and it is loosing pressure it is also loosing fluid. That said - I have rebuilt a number of calipers and always refill them manually while they are off the bike and carefully reconnect them only after I am sure they are full of fluid - that way I am not depending on a master cyl to do all the work of refill and fighting air bubbles. On the master, sometimes it helps to tip the bars up so any air bubble is given a chance to float upward, tapping on the side of the master can also help as can tapping on line joints and connections. Those tiny little bubbles that you sometimes cant even hardly see (the kind that get caught up in the fluid itself - swear on a stack of left over 1st Gen parts - I have seen this happen) can be very difficult and time consuming to remove - its take slow easy movement back and forth on the lever at a pace that allows you to move the fluid around with the lever with the master cover off (if its squirting from the bleed back hole your doing it to hard) while you watch in the resevoir for tiny bubbles.. A half hour of this is not uncommon..

My nephew is a stickler about having to everything spotless like you guys.. He finally got tired of washing and cleaning and polishing and fighting tight spots on his chrome and all that.. Anyway, he got to playing around with some of the new "easy to keep it clean" bike stuff, its been a while since I seen him but it seems like he was bragging about some stuff called "S100" or something that once applied - it was a rinse off the dirt with a hose and then blow the bike off with a leaf blower and SHAZAMMM - LIKE NEW!! Wonder if that new faindangled stuff with do the same job on a car.... Anyway,, THAT IS ONE PRETTY RIG ECKSTER!!!

I ruined one years ago while out east messing around looking for old coal mines (wet shale rock gets REAL slippery).. I stopped at Goodwill Store, pawed around and found a fake leather CD case for a buck!! Used it for the rest of the trip and it worked great!! Never went back to an actual Tank Bag, the one I have on Tweeks is also a CD Case that came from another Goodwill in Sacramento - cost more (like 2 dollars) but they are definitely a must have for touring!!

OUTSTANDING FOOL:clap2:!!!! NOW THAT IS LIVING BROTHER!! BEEEAAUUUUTIFUL PICS!! Oh,, by the way,, did you know that your new Nuckleer Misssl thing will lift and tow a Wisconsin White Wash Machine straight up and CLEAN OUT OF SITE and that the hole that it created in the roof of your shed when it left looks like it is big enough to be able to use a crane to lift your bike out of the shed so you wont have to use that roller thingy you built to assist in getting the bike out..

@billmac ,, :rotf:,, I cant help it here, ,, did you purposely take that picture with "8 cycle - 2 speed motor" in the pic:crackup::crackup::crackup: There multiplying,, NOW we have 2 VR members running around with :guitarist 2:rock star status!!!! I personally think those Shots look like a FLIPPING RIOT!!! :banana::banana:

GORGEOUS SKIDDER - JUST FLAT GORGEOUS!!!! I could putt into that picture, pull into that field - pop up my tent and sleep like a BABY wrapped in the peace that pic portrays!!

Sheesh,, I sure hope I dont come across like that much of a trouble maker Stealthy Actually Jerry,,, now that Bob has broached the subject,, A SLINGSHOT,, YOU BOUGHT A NEW SLINGSHOT ,, YOU BOUGHT A NEW SLINGSHOT - TOLD US ABOUT IT BUT DONT GOT NO 'S? :big-grin-emoticon::big-grin-emoticon: CONGRATS JERRY - CANNOT WAIT TO SEE PICS AND READ SOME INDEPTH RIDE REPORTS AS THE YEAR PROGRESSES!! :thumbsup:

Again, your welcome Rand!! Glad I could help!! If you do decide to do the more southern route - Vegas/Phoenix stuff - keep a very close eye on both you and your wife status in the heat.. IMHO, its really easy to get disoriented and over come by heat without even realizing how bad either of you are - helmets have always made me worse for me.. I hope you folks LOVE riding the dry desert heat - its way fun but when it climbs over 110 - bad things can happen really really fast!! There are some AWESOME folks on VR that live down there and ride those areas - maybe they will chime in and give you some guru desert advice:fingers-crossed-emo Hey,, if you to do go south,, DO JEROME AZ and ride 89a from Jerome to Flagstaff....

Whippin Rippin Fryin and FLYIN - WOW :scared:ZZZ WOW WOW WOW:178::banana::guitarist 2::clap2::dancefool::thumbsup: I am TOTALLY in tune with those kids and those smiling faces brother:big-grin-emoticon::big-grin-emoticon: THAT is GORGEOUS Larry!! Give me a second here to put my eyeballs back in:256:,, I see your Miata in the background (at least I think I remember you saying you two own one?), plus I KNOW you came off a Trike.. Now I gotta ask,, comparing the handling between the Miata, Triked Motorcycle and the Shot:innocent-emoticon: That Slingshot just screams roller coaster or go cart like handling.. Is that the case? Does it feel like it inspires challenging corners? Larry,, have you folks ever done the Dragon - bike and/or car? The Shot appears in the picture to set pretty close to the ground - like a high horse go cart - can ya feel it calling you into "G" force? Also,,, being one rear drive wheel and over 150 horse,, do you find it challenging to run sharp corners in lower gears without breaking traction and feeling the rear end slip out :Laugh: THAT IS GORGEOUS LARRY - CONGRATS!! :clap2:

You betcha Randy!! You are welcome!! Soo,, now you two are all done playing around Devils Tower - you head back toward the road you came in on from Sundance, when you get to the main intersection where you would turn left to go back to Sundance - TURN right instead (there is an old abandoned gas station there)!! Its a REAL pretty ride and will lead you a good way farther west on I-90 than Sundance (closer to Sacramento). Stay on west 90 - you will come to I-25, that will take you down to 80 to head toward Cali BUT,, you need to think about something here.. Just a very very short distance further on 90 west of you lies The Battle of The Little Bighorn Battlefield NP and Sheridan. Since you already bought the NP and includes a National Cemetery,, what the heck bro!! Get done there, ride a few more miles on 90 west to a town called Ranchester - this is where the road that comes across the Big Horn mountains comes in - I just checked Mapquest and its "14". Follow west 14 - you will come to the little cowboy town of Dayton. GET GAS AT DAYTON (there is gas at a ski lodge resort thingy up in the Big Horns but no sense in paying x4 for fuel and waiting two hours for ski guy to come turn on the pumps)!! Also, watch for mule deer crossing even when in town. Stay west on 14, get to the "Y" where 14A splits off and TAKE 14A!! Take 14A,, say it one more time - TAKE 14A!! 14a across the Big Horns is UNFORGETTABLE!! Coming out of the Big Horn Mountains on 14A will bring you down a grade that took almost 3 decades of road work to complete - DO IT !! Stop at the top and take PICTURES of the sign!! Thats all I am gonna say - just DO IT!! Follow 14A west into Lovell, get gas.. 14A will become 14 in Cody Wyoming, COOL TOWN!! 14/16 west to the east gate of Yellow Stone, around Yellowstone Lake, grab 191 south down to thru The Grand Tetons and Jackson and hook onto 26, 26 over to Idaho Falls, jump on I-15 south bound at Idaho Falls, grab I-86/84 west toward Twin Falls, at Twin Falls stop at Snake River over look where Knievel jumped - GORGEOUS area!! Take 93 south out of Twin Falls down to I-80! 5 days gone, visit daughter in Sac. Post back on here that you have arrived and seek out a couple of VR lop eared varmints out there named @Condor and @EasyRider. Those two know exactly where the best Ice Cream is!! Ride to coast: how ever - what ever cause its all amazing except for the endless traffic (Napa Valley/ Sonoma area has LOTS of "60's" type of places - real step back in time) BUT - no matter how you get there - get to Stewarts Point on "1" and ride "Skaggs Springs Rd." back to 101 at Geyserville or the other way around.. UNBELIEVABLE!! Out of Frisco head west and cross that nasty I-5 take 120 across thru Yosemite NP (dont go the south route under the Siearra Nevada's - it will be HOT HOT - if you decide to though - plan on riding Death Valley and Needles California at night - Death Valley NP at night is AWESOME if you can do it on a moon lit night!!) Hook onto 395 at Lee Vining on the east side of the Sierra Nevadas and go south to where 120 comes back in, go east to 6, take 6 over to I-15 (IF YOU DO THIS - YOU WILL COME TO 95 AND 6 BEFORE YOU GET TO TONOPAH - WHEN 6 AND 95 JOIN THERE WILL BE AN ABANDONED TRUCK STOP - GO INSIDE REPAIR GARAGE THERE AND LOOK AT WALL AT REAR OF SHOP - READ GRAFITTI AT BACK WALL OF GARAGE UNDER THE WINDOW - YOU ALSO WILL WANT TO POST ON HERE THAT YOU ARE IN THE NELLIS AREA - @CMCOFFEY is known to frequent that area - you will DEFINITELY wanna say hi and meet that rascal if you and he have time!! when you get to I-15 jog up to 50 - take 50 east across Connor Pass (watch for Elk) to Salina Utah.. Get back on I-70 East and get off on 191 South - visit Moab (WOW), Arches and Canyon Lands NP, back up to I-70. STOP on I-70 East bound Utah overlooks before crossing into Colorado. Grand Junction Colorado is last big town (lots of gas along way BUT if you need repair stuff - like tires - GRAND JUNCTION is it before Denver on west side.. Trip up to the Grand Mesa Over look after you go thru Grand Junction on I-70 is WORTH the effort - except its a few miles of gravel road with some loose spots.. 70 to Denver, hook onto 76 out of Denver - 76 to I-80 and head for home.. Carry extra fuel but also carry a couple gallons of water too.. Lots of sunscreen indeed but DONT forget to keep your lips covered well with lip suncreen chap stick at all times - them babies get burned your in a world of hurt!! By the way, I use lip sunscreen (the chapstick type of stuff) for my ears and above my eyes too - it does not rinse off with sweat and blind ya like regular suncreen does.. Mountain riding can be tricky - seems like most of the tornadoes we have seen or hail storms we have ridden thru happen between early after noon and 5 pm.. Just keep a close eye on those skys anytime your mountain riding.. I have no idea if you have thought about this but - I always use a rear tire going out and a rear tire coming back. I have found that the desert heat EATS tires!! If I were you I would definitly start out with a BRAND NEW tire on the back at least.. Get your riding done out in California and check it carefully (oh yea, check you tires air pressure regularly - mountain altitudes seem to really effect em too!!) before you head home.. If it looks half worn when you getting ready to leave your daughters I would change it there!!! I may be nuts but it ALWAYS seems like the last half of the tire tread always wears a lot faster then the first half!! Truthfully, from my experience, I would order a new rear tire (save a bunch of money - buy online) and have it shipped to your daughters so its there waiting for you.. I always change my own but I believe that the Motor Cycle Junk Yard place in Rancho Cordova on the outskirts of Sac will swap tires for 35 bucks rim off the bike.. WOW,, that was fun,, hope you enjoyed it,, I sure did.. HAVE A GREAT, SAFE, FUN TRIP!! Puc

:think:Without a center stand,,,,, I am still puzzled by how you guys repair or swap out a tire (either front or back) on your scoot when your touring out of town...... Maybe carry a small hydraulic jack apparatus or something? Has anyone ever looked at converting a 1st Gen Stand?