Custom angel eye projector retrofit

I've always loved projector headlights ever since the early Lexus RX300 SUV came out. Yup, that was years ago. I never had the money nor the know-how to install something like this on my Rav4, but there have been many more resources since then and the competition for projectors has gone up making these sell for much cheaper than they did before. It's hard to believe that HID kits used to cost $300 and now they're literally $37 shipped on Ebay.

I'm still doing my research and gathering the funds for this project. For the time being,


Inspiration:
I've gotten tons of inspiration for this project from seeing all the motorcycle headlights people have fabricated.

These things look amazing! The color rendering is perfect. It definitely stands out from the crowd. Exactly what I need to be seen in the dark amongst cagers. In my research I've found a few ways the color is achieved. The most simple way is to swap bulbs. Something in the 10,000 Kelvin range I believe would create this color. Others have painted the rear bracket of the projector to reflect a hint of color. I've also seen smaller dimmer lights behind the projector separate from the main bulb that creates the color.

This isn't from a scooter, but boy does that look good! There isn't enough room for me to have two lights, but this is still some good inspiration. I'm loving the angel eyes.





Wow, gatling gun LED on top with an orange headlight accented by a white halo. Looks great. Even the vents are lit up on this one.

Change headlights
In order for all the cool stuff to be seen, the headlight lens needs to be clear. The existing one is not quite frosted, but definitely isn't completely clear.

I've learned that the clear ones are either called crystal or diamond. I've been looking for some. The prices range from $28 and up.







This Rampage brand one seems to be the best. I've looked at all the brands including Cilie, Hella, Autopal, Diaoku, IPCW, AutoLoc Pilot, Kuryakyn, Rugged Ridge and I believe Rampage is the only one with both a glass lens and an aluminum reflector. The rest have plastic reflectors.





This is how the back of the stock headlight looks like. There are a bunch of brackets and little metal things surrounding it, but I've confirmed the shape of the headlight is fairly typical. I think any headlight will do.






How much room is there for the retrofit?
Most projector headlights are quite large. Even the Morimoto Mini is at least 4.5" to the threads. Do I even have that much space?

Here's the photo with the tape measure from the inside of the headlight lens to where the bulb bracket is. Bad news is it doesn't look like there's enough space to add a projector! I'll have to contact Retrofit Resource to find out.






Which projector:
Before doing the measurements, I had researched what was available. I was looking for something small, easy to install and designed for halogen bulbs.

The Morimoto Mini H1 fits the latter criteria and got very good reviews. After doing the measurements however, I'm not sure about the fitment. It definitely won't fit the way it was designed for cars that have a deeper headlamp, but maybe I can still make it work.




After further research, the D2S version is the one I want. It converts the H4 socket to an H7 to fit into the projector if I decide to stick with a halogen setup.






I'm also considering this Universal H3 projector sold on ebay. It goes for $25. Very tempting. The price is less than half that of the Mini Morimoto, but takes a different bulb type and has no product support nor reviews.




I'm told by a guy on one of the Yamaha forums that this thing sells for $60. It's super tiny. Way smaller than the other projectors.








Here's another one I've been eying on ebay. It has an integrated halo, but I'm pretty sure it won't look right once the projectors are turned on. The halo's too close to the projector.







Why custom?
Why bother making a custom projector headlight if there's already ones available on the market?

Even if I didn't mind that the headlight bulges out like a big o' bubble and there's no halo, there's no way I'm paying sticker price for this puppy. Guess.

$500. Yup, half a grand for a single headlight and that doesn't include tax and shipping. That's over 30% the cost of the scooter! Ain't happening.






An ebay seller has CCFL halo rings specifically for the Vino 125. It's actually all generic but just happens to be the same size and she markets it for my particular scooter. Smart idea. It's $28 for either white or blue. I later found another seller who can get it to my house for $13 shipped. Looks like he's the winner. What I don't like about this setup is:


1. The ring is on the outside of the headlamp which just looks cheap. You can tell no thought went into it and it was just slapped on. Definitely doesn't looks stock. I'm always going for the clean stock look on any of my mods.

2. Another reason I don't like it is I can just imagine how bad it will look when the headlight is on. I don't want a blue ring. I'd much prefer white. I suppose the contrast of the clean blue ring over the stock yellowish glaring light would look decent from a head-on view, but there isn't enough of a gap. It would not achieve the look I'm going for.

Notice in this picture there's a ring of nothingness around the projector. The halo clearly contrasts with the projector. Each light is very well defined. Many other setups I've seen aren't able to achieve this. The halo sits adjacent to the projector and there's just a big blur. It looks as if the halo isn't even there. A thick shroud would create the defined look I'm going for.




Mounting Methods:
I'll need to mount the custom projector somehow. It'll be tough with the limited space I have in the OEM style reflective housing, but I've managed to scrounge up some photos of how others have managed to do it. Though their headlamp housings are deeper, I can still borrow some ideas that might be applicable to my project.

Notice how the flange of the projector is on the rear of the headlamp. It's typically installed on the reflective side but this person installed it in the back probably b/c he ran into the same problem that I'm foreseeing - not enough space. He was able to screw it in fairly nicely.




Even if I could cut a hole big enough, I won't be able to install mine like this with the flange on the inside of the reflector. My headlamp simply isn't deep enough. I'd have to cut a hole the same size diameter as the headlight itself!






This is how it would look like from the front with the flange on the back side. The projector needs to recess inside the lamp's reflector.








So that it doesn't wobble around, I may have to use a PVC pipe like this one to secure the projector and prevent it from moving.








UPDATE 12/30/10
I learned a few things this past week, some of which were from HID Planet

1. There are no projectors designed for dual filament bulbs like the H4.
2. Everyone really does love the Morimoto Mini.
3. The GT-522 is $60 (same price as the MMH1/D2S): http://www.e-r.com.tw/product01.htm
4. H1 and H3 bulbs are single filament bulbs
5. H3 bulbs can be used on a H4 harness with an adapter made from a male H4 and female H3.

UPDATE 1/4/11
More new info:

6. The Retrofit Resources Morimoto Mini D2S takes D2S bulbs which will be converted from the H4 through a harness/adapter which I can make $8 or buy $14.99 from autoluminations
7. Their Mini D2S also takes a H7 halogen bulb. My H4 bulb socket will still have to be converted even if I skip the HID's and continue with halogens. A H4 to H7 harness/adapter will be needed.
8. A relay to the battery is a must - $13.
9. I might consider a time delay relay to make the headlights turn on 10-15 seconds after the engine is turned over. This will make it so the battery isn't overwhelmed by having to both start the engine and heat up the HID ballasts at the same time.
10. Alibaba Express sells products by the singles!

Almost hit!

It wasn't really a close call b/c I kept my eye on the cager before he cut me off. It's really difficult to honk the horn while braking. Since braking is more important, I opted to do that instead and the driver heard nothing. I did pull next to him when traffic came to a halt and stared at him. Not sure if he figured out what he did wrong, but at least I'm okay. It easily could have been bad though.

Thank God.

Wow, you look good!

I just came back from the library and was putting on my gloves when I see a lady approach me. Expressionless she looks at me. I assumed she was going to tell me that I can't park by the school or shouldn't be on the sidewalk, but she smiles in instead and points to me,

"Wow, you look good!"
I smile, give her thumbs up,
"Thank you!"

I guess she appreciates the metro matching of the helmet jacket and gloves. Her initial expressionless hesitation made it seem like she was a bit shocked. She looked at me for a good 3 seconds before saying anything. I guess it is a bit girlie and shocking that a guy would wear a matching outfit on a scooter. Hahha.

Vino vs. Metro

Found a Honda Metropolitan when parking in Downtown shopping at Old Navy. I picked up a fleece-lined hooded sweatshirt - $30. Not the cheapest, but still priced well. Super warm. I'm wearing it now as I'm writing this.

The Met's a lot smaller in comparison not just b/c of the perspective. The wheels are tinier and the seat is a lot lower. Overall, the Vino's just a big version of the Met.

Helmet of the Future is Here!

Uncle Victor got a new helmet. The graphics could use another paint job, but the features on this thing is amazing! As I picked up the helmet in admiration, I saw a label towards the bottom at the chin skirt that read something like,

"Depress button to release valve."

What? What? What? Valve? What valve? Why is there a valve? There are tons of intakes and exhaust vents but valves? There's also a big red button the size of a quarter on the chin area. It's more like a bubble than anything else. The bright red color shouts, "touch me only in the case of an emergency." My curiosity was the emergency, so I pressed it. I pressed it again. Then I pressed the little silver "release valve," and heard "tsssssssss."

The cheek pads are inflatable!!! Yeah, that's right! The cheek pads inflate like the old school Reebok pump shoes from elementary school! The helmet is custom fit using this button! Amazing. As if the built in sun visor wasn't impressive enough, it has a custom cheek pad fitment feature. Not only that, but the cost of the helmet was $99. OMG, mine was $114 and I didn't have neither of those features. The Scorpion Apollo EXO-1000 helmet is insane!

Apparently Scorpion knows the helmet is ugly b/c the sale price is only available on the blue versions. The other colors are more expensive, $139. Regular price though? A whopping $310!

Protect those hands!

I've been wanting the Yamaha licensed Joe Rocket Air Force gloves for awhile. Ever since seeing that nasty pic from a fellow forum member of his damaged hands, I wanted these gloves more than ever. At $65, it was super pricey. Once Denniskirk.com sliced the price to $36 shipped w/no tax, I couldn't resist.

These aren't winter gloves apparently. I'm not sure what that means relative to the weather here. Are they better than the ones I have in terms of warmth? The knuckle guard doubles as a vent for hot days, so maybe these gloves might actually be cooler. I'm a bit concerned b/c my hands have been freezing on rides home after sundown.

I bought a size larger b/c:

1. They didn't have a Medium in blue in stock. These are discontinued so there aren't any new ones coming.

2. A couple reviews on the gloves said that they're one size smaller than norm.


I slipped these things on and was pleasantly surprised. Fitting my hand it was pretty tight even though this thing is a size Large. I understand why people saw them as too tight. However, it's fine once the hand is in. When pushed, my fingers reach the end but there seems to be slack when my hand is in the relaxed position. I've heard though that motorcycle gloves should have some slack in the fingers so that there's space when the hand is curved around the handlebars.

The padding on these gloves is better. Slightly thicker and looks like there's more padding in particular parts of the palm than the gloves I've been using. It might be negligible during a slide though. I hope I'm wrong and these things are more durable than they look.

REVIEW:
If you're looking to keep your hands warm, these gloves won't do it. The venting works great! But that also means cold air flows through the glove when the weather gets nippy. The aesthetics will be subjective, but I personally really like the look of it - mostly black with blue accents and the bold knuckle guard keeps it aggressive. Until Joe Rocket puts more heavy duty padding in the palm though and enables the venting to be opened and closed, they won't be worth the retail price of $60. Luckily I didn't get it for that.

DIY Tutorial - YSS Rear Adustable Shock Installation

The Vino could definitely use softer suspension. Many owners in the reviews I had read prior to getting the bike had complained about the rough ride over potholes and uneven city roads. Shortly after getting the Vino, I can agree. Some bumps are hard enough to bump me up off the seat! This makes it that much more difficult to hold on while braking if I need to.

After some research I quickly found the YSS Rear Adjustable Shock. It's 5-way adjustable and is the cheapest of the 6 contenders. At $60 shipped, I grabbed it in a jiffy (actually about a month later). This was my Christmas present to myself.

Here it is freshly delivered by UPS.



Right out of the box. Super clean and it's white! Matches the white on the jacket and helmet. Perfect color. I'm glad YSS chose to make the base black rather than chrome like the stock one. Chrome's nice, but it wouldn't look right against the white springs - not enough contrast.

One good thing about the size of the "key/tool" for adjusting the settings is that it fits in the Griffter license plate storage box! Perfect in case I need to make adjustments on the go.

This is what we're starting with. See that spring thingy? We're taking that out and replacing it with the new one. There are two bolts holding it in place. A 12mm bolt at the bottom and a 14mm bolt on top (hidden under the side blue panel).





Although there's probably enough room to squeeze your hand through to access the the top bolt, I chose to remove the side panel to get more room to work with. To get to this philips screw though, I had to remove the rear passenger bracket. I wanted to remove the storage bracket anyway, so here it goes. I think this was an 11mm hex bolt. Not completely certain.


Once the brackets are removed, the three screws holding the panel can be removed. I didn't really have to use the extention, but just decided to anyway to give myself some clearance away from the panel. I didn't want to scratch anything when I got to the top screw. The panel needs to be pushed upwards to be removed. because there are three tabs that secure it at the top.


Here's the naked scooter. To get to this stage, you'll have to unplug the left turn side signal from the panel. It's just a simple plug. All that stuff there may look more intimidating than it really is. I promise it's not too bad. There's a lot more space to work with once the panel's taken out. I'm glad I removed it.




Start with the bottom bolt. It's a 12mm one. We'll have to torque it later to spec which is 11 ft/lbs.








This is a picture of the torque wrench. It was less than $15 from Harbor Freight Tools. I love that place. The prices are often so good on their products, that it's actually cheaper to buy one than to rent. They've got saws and everything else you'd want in a dream garage.




Now turn to the top bolt. This one's a different size. It's a 14mm. It will have to be torqued back to 22 ft/lbs. This torquing stuff is important b/c we don't want this coming loose!O nce the stock shock is removed, take the time to clean the black plastic parts (do as I say not as I do) now that everything is accessible. When you put the new YSS shock on, decide if you want their logo sticker showing or not.


I hadn't realized until just now as I'm uploading the photo that the new YSS shock spring is actually fatter than the stock one. The length is the same and the bolts will be reused. It's literally plug and play. No modification needed. Perfect for the guy who doesn't know what he's doing. Notice the YSS spring is shorter (more compressed). I think this means it's on the hardest setting from the factory.


Installed! I bolted up the top one first followed by the bottom one. TIP: It's probably easier to do the bottom one first. Once on side is secured (be sure to use some blue locktite), you'll have to put some weight on the scooter to align the holes on the other end. Forcing it by hand won't work as well. I literally leaned over tummy down on the seat to align the last bolt.



That's it! I haven't yet taken a ride on this thing, but the ride height is definitely lower when I sit on it. I wonder how it goes over bumps! Can't wait until tomorrow morning!

A detail of how the adustment works is shown here. Notice the notches of varying depths surrounding the circumference of the shock. Each setting changes the length of the spring and therefore the softness or harshness of the suspension. The photo shows it on the deepest notch on the right of the cylinder creating a shorter spring length and therefore a harsher ride.



A compressed shock needs more force to compress it even more. This means unevenness of the road will transfer directly to the scooter more quickly and aggressively.

More compression = harsher ride.
Less compression = softer ride

Klaus from YSS informed me that if I find that the ride is still bumpy on the softest setting, I might be bottoming out. He's advised to stiffen it up one notch and give that a try.

REVIEW:
I couldn't wait, so I took the Vino out for a spin this evening. I traveled about 4 miles round trip on the hardest setting and then again on the softest setting. Perhaps I was too dreamy to think the shock would absorb all unevenness in the road and I'd be riding on a cloud. Far from it. I can still feel the jolt at the softest setting, but it's definitely less jarring. The shock did it's job.

One of the reasons I wanted to get this aftermarket adjustable shock is so that it would absorb the impact of at least manholes so that I keep keep an eye on my surroundings rather than stare at the ground. I don't want to have to keep avoiding unevenness of the road. Most scooters don't even see these as obstacles and ride right over them. I barely feel them when riding on Uncle Victor's Elite 80.

The shock served it's purpose for me and I can now pay more attention to my surroundings rather than stare at the ground trying to avoid minute things that only the Vino sees as an obstacle (like manholes). I can still feel the unevenness of the road but the jolts are less jarring. I'm no longer popping out of my seat going over big bumps. I feel it, but my butt stays planted.

All in all, I'm satisfied with the purchase. I doubt riders would be able to pinpoint the differences between all 5 settings though. 1 and 5 are noticeable, but 2, 3 and 4 are probably too similar to notice. As for lowering the ride height? Err, I can barely tell. If there is a difference, it's probably a 1/4 inch. I can't notice anything yet with the roads I've gone on so far. More updates to come when I get a chance to ride more around the city.

Honda Ruckus is nuts

I recently came across a huge following of a 50cc scooter. The owners of these things are ridiculously involved. There's lots of loyalty to this thing. All these photos come from the Totalruckus, a forum dedicated to modding these things. Looks like a cheap alternative to modding out a car. Tons of fun in a small package and lots of room for creativity. There are a billion aftermarket parts for this (even moreso than the Yamaha Zuma) and some even fabricate their own!

It's intense. The modders are all over this! They absolutely love it. Owners mod these things more than the Scion drivers. It's hard to find two identical ones.

Stretched out and lowered! There's no stopping these guys. This thing looks like the size of a regular scooter, but think again.







I'm definitely not the only one who loves carbon fiber. Check out the pieces on this!








And these aren't just for the boys.








The Ruckus looks like a toddler next to a Yamaha Zuma. These things are seriously very small. Even when stretched out. If you look at the helmet in one of the photos above, it's huge relative to the bike itself.

Race me

Somebody posted this on the Totalruckus forums and I thought it was just too hilarious to not post up here on my blog. That's crazy funny!

Primary neighbors

Primary colors! How often does that happen? How often does anyone even care? Haha, I just found it a bit odd and decided to snap a pic with my camera phone and here it is! The driver of the convertible Corvette soon came to get his car after I snapped this pic. He was an old guy who later revved his engine. Show off!

White Vino?

The new 2010 Vino 125 comes in white! I had wanted this originally when I first discovered the scooter, but figured blue would stand out more in traffic and therefore would be safer and it was cheaper. There aren't any used 2010 white Vino's out there. This color isn't even available in the US.

I can change the color by simply replacing a few panels. The total is $253.19 for parts before tax and shipping. I'm probably never going to switch colors - at least not anytime soon. I'm just curious what it would cost.

Matches

Looks like I'm not the only one going for the matching ensemble. Look at her gloves! I found this photo in my search for the differences between all the Vino 125 models,

XC125V (2006, 2007, 2008, 2010)
YJ125S (2004)
YJ125T (2005)
YJ125Y (2009)

Apparently there's no mechanical differences between the models. I guess Yamaha just differentiates it by year. Not sure why.

Vespa Rant

Though you can tell the build quality of the Vespa's are up to par and it's hard to argue their 64 year history, I just don't get it. I even chose my favorite color in the photo here and the Vespa is still ugly. The gas mileage ain't that great at 50-60mpg compared to the Vino's claimed 96 from the factory. On top of that, the Vespa's are way pricey. It's not just the initial purchase that's costly but also repairs. Metal fender scooter? I can't imagine the cost for parts plus shipping the heavy parts and installation in the event of an incident where a repair needs to be made.

The 2008 Vespa S 150 looks way old school. I don't know who thought of the square headlight, but it looks like it's from a 60's Chevy. The top speed on this puppy is 56mph which is under that of a Vino which is only a 125cc block. The design flaw as pointed out by our guys at Motorcycle USA is a huge problem - chrome on the dash blinding the rider. Assuming the Vespa's look would maintain its expected aesthetic, I was still hoping for something more sporty from something labeled S in it's name.


I guess the idea is don't fix it if it ain't broke and I know Piaggio's not looking to compete w/their Asian counterparts, but still. I'm not sure who'd pay $4,400 (that's probably the value of your mom's car now!) for this thing when you can get a Vino for $2,300 new. That's a $2k or 87% difference!

This makes me remember the time when I was filling up my 1.2 gallons at Chevron when a guy compliments my scooter asking if it was a Vespa. I replied, "Looks like one, but it's a Yamaha and tons cheaper." I still remember when I told him it was only $,1,500 used. I didn't learn until now that the gas mileage on the Vino's also tons better. It also leaves the Vespa behind in performance. Why get a Vespa? No clue.

125cc Scooter Review

I recently came across a few people looking for recommendations on 125cc scooters on Yahoo Answers so I thought I'd do a bit more extensive of a review on how to decide amongst the contenders.

Although the price point of Chinese scooters is attractive at $700 or so, this list will exclude scooters by my fellow brethren. Even though I'm Chinese and I still don't have much confidence in the reliability of made-in-China products. They simply haven't been proven. We're known for being cheap and copying other people at a cost. Furthermore, when it comes to riding something, you want it to be safe and reliable. The Japanese have been known for that for decades. I looked no further.

My list of recommended 125cc scooters includes the following:

Vino 125
Genuine Buddy 125
Zuma 125
Honda PCX

People have had great experiences with the first three of these as shown by users in various forums. I can't speak for the Honda PCX since it's less than 2 months old in the US.and there aren't many owner reviews available. Now for a bit on each.

Vino 125 - All around retro at the best price
It's got the retro look of a Vespa w/o the high cost. It's also a lot less powerful than the Vespa which is okay for low speed urban riding, but rides a scooter on the freeway anyway? The Vino's been out for awhile which has given the manufacturers a chance to fix things that might need improvement over the years. The fact that it's been out for awhile also means that used ones are available on the market. Competition can get steep especially in the winter which makes the Vino 125 my number one pick in terms of price (and of course other reasons and that's why I got one).

The Vino is the only one of the four I've actually driven myself before buying. The price point hooked me in. There was no reason to look for anything else since they either weren't available or had cost 80-100% more.

Genuine Buddy 125 - Speed for a price and made in Asia
Even their owners may not know that they're riding on something sold in the US but made in Taiwan and India. Both these countries have been known for making wannabe Smartcars that would fail any US safety test by a huge margin. Although this is the case, the Buddy 125 as new as it is, has proven it's reliability and performance to the US market. They're everywhere and people seem to like them a lot. The Buddy 125 has a retro look with a modern twist. The handlebar is not exposed. It's covered with a plastic shield which offers a clean look, but far from retro. The rest of the body reminds me of the retro look though. The Buddy though smaller than the Vino in width, is much faster. Same size engine, but the Buddy's quicker off the line. The Buddy is somewhat new to the market so finding a used one is a needle in a haystack which means you can't find one for cheap.

The dealer wouldn't let me test drive one, but he took me as his passenger and this thy flew! I swear we hit 40mph in a few seconds by the time we hit the street light where he showed off the incredible brakes of the Buddy. We stopped on a dime. It may have been the dealer's scooter driving experience, but I'm sure the Buddy's performance had something to do with it.

Zuma 125 - Masculine scooter for the tuners
I got excited about this after getting bored reading the Vino 125 forum threads and discovered that there's a huge following for this scooter by the younger crowd. There are tons of parts for those that like to modify things. If carbon fiber makes you smile and you like the more aggressive sporty look of the Zuma, that's probably a good scooter for you. The Zuma is liquid cooled if that matters to anybody. The wheels are bigger than both other scooters and wider also which makes me think it handles rough roads better. If the Honda PCX is the sportiest of them all, the Zuma finds its way in the middle. The Zuma seems to be the manliest of scooters if there's such a thing. Oh and one more thing. Zuma's can do wheelies! (I've seen Vino's do them too, but I wouldn't recommend it.)

I've never ridden this scooter, but the info's gather from what I've read up on the forums. I believe the Zuma's also lighter than the Vino which is probably a reason why it's faster.

Honda PCX - New sport look scooter
This just came out a few months ago (October I believe), so there will be no used ones available and if there are, I'd be worried that someone was trying to get rid of it so quickly. The PCX however has been available oversees for years. It's only new to the US. Our friends in Thailand have modded these things up like crazy. They already have an established PCX scooter club! What makes the PCX stand out above the rest is looks! It's super sporty. Unlike the other scooters, this ride has to be straddled. It's like the Honda's scooter version of a Yamaha YZF. This ride is physically long, but light enough to move around like a scooter. When I saw it first hand at the San Mateo Motorcycle show, it was easy to take on and off the center stand. It wasn't even an issue. The PCX has cool dash compartments too. The top speed on this thing is almost 2x that of the other scooters. The speedometer has 100mph on it. The PCX may be good as a commuter vehicle, but I'd fear using it for errands since it's so big. Tough to park? I'm not sure how much longer it would be. Does it stick out into traffic when parked perpendicularly at the curb between parallel parked cars? I might be completely wrong and this might be a nonissue, but it's stuck in my head.

The motorcycle show is the only place I saw this live. Though I plan to test ride one within the next week, I haven't ridden one yet and can't speak for its performance from personal experience.

Video

My first video! It took forever, but I finally got it. This was inspired by a fellow Youtuber. Great way to document the scooter. This one 1:41 video took me about 1 hour to film and another 1 plus hours to edit, but it came out pretty well.



This is the video that inspired me to do mine. His was really good.

UPDATED: 11/26/10
I added a fade effect in the transitions between the different scenes. I also edited out some of the music so you can hear the engine sound more clearly.

Mileage Calculation #9 - 76 gasoline (Premium)

(3199 - 3143 )/0.733 gallons = 70mpg


Same mpg as last time. Looks like we have some consistency going this time w/the Premium gas. I'll continue the calculations with Premium for the next couple fillups before switching back to regular for another 5 fillups to see if there's any difference in mpg's.

I still think that there's better performance out of the Vino with Premium fuel.


The best thing is that the gas prices are staying pretty much the same. No fluctuations in Premium. It's been $3.30/gallon for about 2 weeks now.

License plate storage box

It's called the Grifter. Not many stores sell it so I had a hard time finding a good deal on this puppy. Shipped price? $26.90. This is my first convenience accessory. Well deserved from my earnings from ONP.

The Chinese paper company loves me and bought me this! It's basically a plastic locked box that hides behind the license plate. This gives me more space in my underseat compartment for my gear.

Here it is opened. It comes with a lock, two keys, a foam thingy to keep the contents from shaking around, all the installation hardware and a waterproof bag for your registration.

Stealth! You can't even tell is there! It sticks out about an inch from the normal installed location of the license plate, but that's a small price to pay for keeping stuff out of the way. Now I don't have to worry about damaging things in the underseat storage area with my helmet and lock.

So far, I have the following items stored in there: DMV registration, extra sparkplug, extra fuse, flashlight, and a tire gauge - all the stuff I don't use regularly. If this scooter doesn't get sold to someone I know, I'll pull this off and give it to Uncle Victor so he can use it for his Honda Elite 80.