Exploring life on a Vespa, Royal Enfield Himalayan, Honda Trail 125, and a Kawasaki W650
This metal sign was delivered to my home. From who I don’t know. But I have to think it relates to a video I posted recently on YouTube that explores the question — When is it time to stop riding?
That video seemed to touch a nerve as thousands watched it and hundreds commented. I’ll post the video below.
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After months of trying to decide whether to repair or replace my Vespa GTS 250 scooter I made the decision to just have Tim Papinchak of Windber Cycle Works repair everything. Fixing my Vespa GTS scooter just seemed the right thing to do.
A long list of services and updates:
Time will tell whether fixing my Vespa GTS scooter was the right decision. So my friend Paul and I hauled the scooter to Windber, Pennsylvania along with $750 worth of parts.
Full flounder ahead!
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I learned a few things today while installing a pair of GIVI Engine Guards on my shiny new, 2022 Royal Enfield Himalayan. First, I’m no mechanic. I may improve with practice, but whatever skills I had at 17 rebuilding car engines and transmissions has evaporated over the last 50 years. Second, patience brings its own rewards. There was a moment during the installation that I had a pair of side cutters in my hand and I was seriously contemplating cutting the rubber hose in half that ran from the brake reservoir to the master cylinder. And last, I was reminded of the power of asking for help. (It’s like asking for directions only better.)
Continue Reading“If you’re going to repair a motorcycle, an adequate supply of gumption is the first and most important tool. If you haven’t got that you might as well gather up all the other tools and put them away, because they won’t do you any good.”
Zen an the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
I have no gumption. No interest. No desire to any longer turn a wrench on my scooter or motorcycle. I haven’t had gumption for a long, long time. And that deficiency has haunted me because somewhere the idea what planted in my brain that a real rider can perform any and all repairs and maintenance roadside in a storm. With nothing more than a pocketknife, baling wire, and some pocket lint.
I’m here to report that I have begun the unburdening from the enslavement of tools, devices, mechanical expectations, and the guilt associated with the failure to live up to those expectations.
I will seldom turn a wrench again save for a dire emergency that my new toolkit composed of cash and a cellphone can’t fix.
It’s been a long and painful road to get to this place.
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Minimalism is the term I most often associate with my approach to moto maintenance. I conduct my riding life with two-wheeled machines in the belief that there are four laws of maintenance. They are:
I suspect all riders fall into some mix of all of these with varying levels of personal satisfaction from the processes involved with each area of moto maintenance. Or maybe you have your own set of laws.
Added to the mix are my own special personality quirks and defects which command my engagement or adherence to any of them. Plainly stated, I do as little maintenance as possible to keep the machine running and safe. With that in mind, I recently did some mid-winter moto maintenance.
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