New tire!

When showed up at SF Moto awhile back, they suggested a new tire. The tire tread looked fine so I had my doubts. After reading up a bit on tread life of the Chen Shin stock OEM tire, I'm thinking it's probably time to swap out for a new one. Being a scooter, it's probably that much more important in terms of safety.

After looking a the Continental Zippy 1, Michelin S1 and Pirelli SL 26 per, I ultimately decided on the Michelin S1 based on forum reviews and the attractive tread pattern. The Zippy's looked a bit too girlie for my taste. Too many curvy swooping lines and dots. I hadn't heard much about the Pirelli, so the Michelin seemed like the best choice.






The price was right too. I also confirmed with Michelin's corporate office this morning that the overall outside dimension is indeed smaller (though not by much, 0.08") than my current tire. This was important to me b/c I didn't want anything larger which would make it even more difficult to flatfoot at a stop. Shipped, the Michelin S1 came out to $41. After installation, I should be set back no more than $75-80 total.



That's cheaper than doing it at SF Moto. They also use the Zippy so much that I don't think they'd have the Michelin S1 in stock anyway. Either way I'd have to order it and since a friend of a friend of a friend owns a shop, I'm heading there for the installation.

The tire should be here in a week and we'll see what the installer says about my existing tire. I'm curious if he thinks it's got more tread life left or if it's good that I got the tire at this time.

Another reason I'm opting to get the tire instead of getting a preliminary evaluation of the tire (2nd opinion) is b/c I did experience some slipping during the winter using my current tire.

New brakes?

My rear wheel brake lever pulls way in when engaged. I figured I needed new pads so I called up a few shops in hopes to get quotes. SF Moto was the nicest. Eric picked up the phone and after I asked for the quote (he gave me $110), he asked me how many miles I have b/c rear brakes rarely need replacing on the Vino 125.

"Uh, 4,000. No probably 4,200 by now," I reply.

"It probably just needs a brake adjustment. Roll in and we'll do it for free," he offered.

Wow, okay. I'm there. I take off after work and head straight there. They helped me immediately. What a great place. Everyone is very professional. Don't let the haircuts and tattoos throw you off. The staff provides lots of hospitality and looks at you in the eyes when they talk - a rarity these days.

The tech makes an adjustment and hops on taking it up and down the alleyway. He tweeks it more and is done in less than 4 minutes.

After the guy made the adjustment, boy what a change! It feels like brand new! It's so good that my front brake lever now feels insufficient. I tried figuring out how to adjust that one, but the manual only talks about the rear brake - no front brake info. Hmmm, time to hit the forums.

Looking at the scooter, the guy did mention that I need a new rear tire. I'll schedule something for next week and pop one on - $110 was the quote. I trust them.

Hit by a bus?

Good thing I'm paying attention b/c as I was in Downtown on my way to dinner after work, a bus comes veering into my lane! Hello bus driver!!!! Wake up! It amazes me how crazy drivers are. Scootering around can be a chore. Definitely got to keep my head up and continue paying very close attention since I need to make up for those who lack the ability, strength or heart to.

This is another example of how life would be so much better if people would just do what they're supposed to do. People know what's expected of them. It's not that hard. Rarely are accidents truly accidents. Unfortunately the minority group needs to work hard enough to make up for the lazy and/or uncaring majority.

Scootering in the rain

Don't do it - ever. I did it once yesterday b/c I was too dumb to look at the weather report before taking the scoot out to work. By the time I got off and was ready to ride back home, it was drenched and still raining. Super dangerous.

The cold didn't bother me and my soaked pants didn't bother me either. It's the fact that I know drivers out there aren't paying attention that scares me. Also if I do happen to fall, I'd go sliding and be even more vulnerable to other cars. Lesson learned. No riding in the rain.

No fun in the rain

I've been having trouble passing smog with the car, so I have basically been driving that to help clear the codes to pass. The rain hasn't helped with any scooter riding opportunities either. I hope it gets better soon.

Watch out for that tennis ball!

I got hit by a tennis ball this morning riding home from breakfast with your mom. On Geary Blvd next to the school, I saw a tennis ball bouncing on the floor and didn't really do much to swerve out of the way. Luckily it bounced and hit the fender rather than in one of the two worst other possible places like,

1. My head or
2. Under the wheel.


It wasn't coming too fast, but did surprise me. I'm not sure if I ignored the ball and failed to swerve intentionally or if I just froze when it happened. Either case, I'm glad nothing happened. It just bounced on the ground, hit the fender and ended up along side of the road somewhere else. It came on a big uphill slope, so I'm sure it kept sliding down the street behind me as I passed.

Another scooter close call?

HID issues

Originally I didn't care for HID's since there was so much trouble hooking them up to work on the Vino. People have been able to successfully ignite the HID at startup but have had trouble keeping the bulb lit. They suspect it's due to the Vino not being able to put enough electricity to keep the bulb running.

I've opened up some threads from the people at HID Planet.

http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?37218-Not-enough-power-to-maintain-HID-s-lit&p=372574#post372574

Someone with the same issue?
http://www.zumaforums.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=4048&sid=819ac6398e3aa7325460c64f2026b484

After hours or research, I think I've figured out how this is going to work. I just need to be sure to hook up a relay directly to the battery and the HID's should be fine. If it still doesn't work, there's one other option. Replace the relay with a 10-15 second time delay relay. This will prevent the HID's from heating up while the battery is already working its hardest to turn the engine over.

Is the risk of this not working worth the money to do this? I remember back in the day when I bought my first HID kit for the Rav4, the used bi-xenon kit was $299! The has dropped significantly in the past 8 years. Nowadays a kit can be bought for $36 shipped! I recently sold $153 worth of extra scooter parts I had laying around when I bought the scooter originally. That pays for a higher end HID kit two times over, but I'm still hesitant to spend the money right now. $150 is 5 months worth of scooter gas!

The two kits I'm considering are made by the Retrofit Resource and DDM Tuning. Both have great reputations, have resaonable prices and also sell some of the harnesses and relays needed for my application.