Doh! That hurt

[InsuredDisaster]

Well folks, I decided to go for long ride today. It was a little cold so I put on some motorcycle overpants along with my usual motorcycle jacket, helmet and gloves. I left my boots behind. After refueling and putting in 1.181 gallons (yeah, I could see the bottom of the tank) in the tank, I set off for a nice little pastry shop about 11 miles away. I refueled again and found the mpg to be a pretty paltry 42 mpg. My jetting is a bit off but a new filter is on the way. Perhaps that is the problem. I then attempted to ride up a pretty steep hill. The scooter failed to do that so I headed out for the next town. Along the way, I decided to find the 2nd Mcdonalds I came to and get a burger.

I just entered the town when I noticed that the bike lane had a lot of mud and silt deposited by the last rain we had. I attempted to steer out of the mud but instead the scooter went down at around 23mph. I hit my helmet (some deep scratches on the chin bar) both palms (small holes in both gloves) both knees (rather sore for the next couple of hours) left shoulder (sore) and the left ankle. Of course, I wasn't wearing boots and had a slight scrape on my ankle and a tear in my sock. I got my pants tangled up in the luggage rack and now they have a small hole. I now know that "off road" gloves are not going to stand up to the road in a crash at motorcycle speeds. I'll be replacing them pretty soon. I already planned on replacing the pants as they are a bit small but this is one more reason to do so. I'll probably replace the helmet but for right now, I'll keep it for scooter use since I only hit the chin bar. I also think I shall start wearing boots all the time. My ankle is still sore while most everything else has long ceased to hurt. Not really sore, just a slight reminder to wear boots. And I'm really glad that I wasn't wearing jeans as I probably would have had more injuries. I think I'll try to find some new pants with knee pads or something.


The scooter got off pretty easily. It was still running so after I got my self untangled, I picked it up and rode it to the nearest parking lot. The headlight fairing was cracked, and there were deep scratches in variuos places. The right front signal was also ground down quite a bit. But my left mirror didn't break.

After that, I realized I hadn't seen any Mcdonalds, but there was a Good Times burger joint right down the road. I've never eaten there before so I decided to try it. It was the second worst burger that I've ever eaten in my life. The absolute worst burger I've ever eaten was at a joint in Decatur, Alabama called C.F. Pen burgers or something like that. Don't eat there, its nasty. Anyway that is beside the point.

After I finished the horrible burger, I left and rode back to home base. Total ride time ws almost 5 hours and I covered about 70 miles. Funny though, my mileage stayed consistently 42mpg each time I took on fuel.

Seems rather low. I've got the replacement air filter on the way and I'll reinstall the airbox so maybe it will go up.

-Ben

[Lennox]

I just entered the town when I noticed that the bike lane had a lot of mud and silt deposited by the last rain we had.

glad you and your scooter are ok, but I just have to ask why you were riding in the bike lane?

[dwsracing]

Ya, the razz likes the stock filter setup. I think it time to learn how too fiber glass your own plastic. Thats what I do, my kids bust them up and I repair. During the process you learn every nut and bolt and in no time your self taught.You may want to look in some upper class tires to help control and handling. Other than that crashing is part of riding but the razz handles like poo.
Later Dave

[InsuredDisaster]

glad you and your scooter are ok, but I just have to ask why you were riding in the bike lane?


Well, my scooter only goes 25 (like I said, I am just waiting on some parts to set up the stock set up) and the traffic speed was 40mph. I try to stay out of the way. Admittedly, this one one case where the bike lane was not the safest place to ride.


And yes DWS, this scooter does handle like poo. Luckily, I'll only be riding it another 3 weeks or so. Hardly worth new tires. I'd much rather spend the money on my motorcycle.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/InsuredDisaster/DSC_4604.jpg
Which now looks like this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/InsuredDisaster/DSC_4646.jpg






Lets see, assuming that I maintain my current rate of crashes, 2 crashes a week for three weeks is....

Better stock up on bandaids.

[Blackbeard]

Ben:

Didn't I just read another post the other day, that you had gone down in a parking lot, while doing some slow practice maneuvers??? Broke one of your mirrors or something, but you were wearing safety gear???

Please say it ain't so!

Glad to hear you and the scoot are still vertical! ::handleba

Cheers!

BB

[burnt_toast]

So your scooter can only do 25mph and you're getting 42mpg?!?! Tell me I got that right, because that sucks! 2stroke or 4, that is just some bad numbers!

[InsuredDisaster]

BlackBeard, yes, you read correctly. People may call me nasty names when they drive past me, but I need the gear.

Toast: Yep, bad numbers but I think it is because I am not using the stock filter setup and the motor is running lean. I should get the parts in by the end of this week or first thing next week.

[InsuredDisaster]

Hey, after the crash, both my turn signals started to work. Before, only the left signal would come on. Sweet! Maybe if I crash again, the horn will work.

[fastrazz89]

My friend and I went for a ride- he on his Towny, me on my Razz and we went 62 miles. Razz wasn't running great, (50* outside) I checked the plug and it was whitish, but nevertheless, I only used a little less than half a tank on that whole ride! When it wasn't windy and we were on a flat, smooth road, I had the Razz going 30-31 MPH the whole day. I ran it the whole day at WOT and it ran great! /end hijack :)

[InsuredDisaster]

Yeah, my razz is definately messed up. I'll see if replacing the stock setup works.

I have to ask you Fastrazz, as somone who has done a long ride on your razz what sort of mods do you think should be done?

My top three:
1) Get a better seat.
2) Highway pegs
3) Long range Fuel tank, like 3 gallons at least or something. Of course, you'd need the first two mods done first.

[NismoGriff]

Man dude, I am glad your ok, but I have to say, I fear for your life when you get that MC on the road. Hopefully you'll have much better luck with that compared to the luck your having on the Razz.

[InsuredDisaster]

You know, it is funny. I rode a motorcycle for 3,500 miles, and home built motorized bicycles an additional 2,000 miles (they only go like 28 mph and the motorcycle kept breaking down) and I never had a crash save for once when I dropped the motorcyle on a muddy, icy dirt mountain road at about 10 mph. Then I crash the scooter twice within one week and 300 miles of getting it built. Weird.

[fastrazz89]

Yeah, my razz is definately messed up. I'll see if replacing the stock setup works.
I have to ask you Fastrazz, as somone who has done a long ride on your razz what sort of mods do you think should be done?

My top three:
1) Get a better seat.
2) Highway pegs
3) Long range Fuel tank, like 3 gallons at least or something. Of course, you'd need the first two mods done first.

As of right now, I have gone through the whole thing and made sure all the wheel bearings are greased well, and nothing is dragging (brakes). I'm running 0W40 Amsoil pure synthetic oil for wet clutches in the transmission. Have had great success with this oil in my racebikes, and it has worked well in the Razz. It acts as a 0Wt when cold, and when the motor is hot, the oil acts as a 40 WT for protection.

Then, I gutted my exhaust- I cut it in half along the seam and pulled it apart. I pulled all of the restrictors and piping outta there and once it was totally cleaned out, I repacked the muffler walls with packing. After that, I put it back together, welded it back up, painted it hi-temp flat black, and put her on. It is just BARELY louder than stock, and it seems to accelerate a bit quicker than it did and it increased the top speed about 3-4 MPH.

I increased the needle clip position a little richer, since it is kinda cold right now and it has been running lean.
Other than that, I'm running everything stock, and on smooth, flat pavement with no wind, I have had it running 30-31 MPH. Everywhere else, it will do a consistent 29 MPH. I'll have to see on my next tank of gas what kind of mileage I'm getting- on the tank I'm on now, I rode 62 miles on sunday and used around a half a tank....
Nick

[InsuredDisaster]

After redoing the airfilter I recently got 62 mpg as well. It has only been 8 days since I got the scooter and I've already put on 450 miles on it. This is so much fun.

[InsuredDisaster]

Crashed again. This one was the best one yet. (No, I don't go out trying to crash.)

I decided to try the Razz on a dirt road which ran next to a walking path being used by many people. I started slow but soon was zooming up and down it at progressively faster speeds. At then end, I'd slow down and then skid the rear tire to swing it around. This threw up a spectacular cloud of dust. It was pretty cool. I finally took the road at full speed (26ish) and on the curve I realized I was going a bit too fast and tried to slow down a bit. The rear wheel started to skid and I managed to correct that. It worked really nicely. I diced to try to skid the rear again to turn faster.

I started my run, then touched the rear brake. The rear was about to slide out and I attempted to correct the impending lowside. The rear wheel managed to regain traction and I was bucked off the scooter. Suddenly, 50cc's was quite a handful. I was being more or less dragged along at about 15 mph. I was unable to close the throtttle or hit the brakes and I realized I was heading straight for the walking path and a group of people walking along. I decided to try the get the bike on its side. I turned the handlebars hard and the bike went down on its left side. I slid headfirst on my back for a few feet before doing some sort of backwards summersault. I have to admit, I did think how nice it was to be wearing a helmet as I heard the gravel crunching beneath my helmet. I stopped my roll and hopped up. The group of people was staring at me but I wasted no time. THe scooter was still running a few feet away. I picked the bike up and it stopped but quickly started. I rode off but suddenly it lost power and then died a minute later. I pulled over (now back on pavement) and noticed the oil line to the carb had a crack in it. I wasn't sure the engine was seizing or not but I cutt of the gashed end and did my best to put the oil line back on. I started the scooter up again but after a minute or two, the scooter lost power and died on me again.

I pushed it back to home base about 2.5 miles away and went to work. I pulled apart the carb and checked the jets. I replaced the oil line but noticed the oil wasn't advancing down it (the new one is clear). I took apart the oil pump and cleaned it out with WD-40 but still not much improvement. Then by some freak chance, I realized it was pumping the oil, but it was very slow. I poured some two stroke oil into the gas tank and started the scooter up. It was still having trouble with the motor though. It would run well for a while, then loose power. But the oil was slowly advancing up the new oil line. I decided to ride the scooter on the street. After several restarts, the scooter finally got going but was smoking a bit. I figured this was due to a bit more oil in the mixture than usual. I rode off and got a gas can. By this time, the oil had filled the line. I emptied the tank and refilled it with new fuel. I also added some seafoam. I reconnected the oil line to the carb and rode off. Scooter seems to be working fine now, and it has a new oil line.

And as usual, I got off with no injuries and no sore spots this time. I'm not usually a reckless chap, but you know, you get these little scooters off road and suddenly, you just have to push it all the way.


In case anyone was wondering, I do not think the razz to be a very good dirt bike. It doesn't help that the original 1992 tires are still on the scooter and they are nearly bald.

-Ben

[Blackbeard]

Ben!

WOW! This makes, what... three wrecks in two weeks??? I'll send ya a PM with my info, so you can add me to your Will! Do you have an X-Box by chance??? LOL!

So, now I'm "REALLLLLLY" curious..... how did you come by your handle, "Insured Disaster"? You joined this forum with your handle, "THEN" you had three wrecks. So, what happened "BEFORE" you joined us? :)

Here's hoping you keep it vertical, Shipmate!

Cheers!

BB

[InsuredDisaster]

Well, I use this handle on most forums I join. Before this, I was known to take my cruiser onto icy, muddy moutain roads and have a spill once in a while. And before that, I was into double decker tall bikes, freak bikes and homebuilt cargo trikes. Lots of fun with the cargo trike. You could do all sorts of stunts and tricks on it, but one day I pushed it so hard that I tore the 150 pound trike in half during a high speed turn, nearly running over a pedestrian in the process! Come to think of it, I tend to crash or destroy most of my vehicles due to one thing or another. Haven't been injured yet but will I live to see 30?

I'm a professional delivery driver in my free time with no accidents or tickets on my record.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/InsuredDisaster/DSC_3107.jpg
The trike
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/InsuredDisaster/hell.jpg
And after I tore it in half during a turn. Truly spectacular it was.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/InsuredDisaster/Sidecar.jpg
My side car rig. The rig had a mind of its own and frequently veered off road and spun out in neighbors yards.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/InsuredDisaster/Voyage1M.jpg
So I made it into a quad cycle. You could turn it hard enough to break the rear end loose and really get it to slide around. Hard on the wheels though.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/InsuredDisaster/Wheelie.jpg
Trying to get my homebuilt recumbent to pop a wheelie. It had the annoying tendency to have the handle bars snap off. The weld broke about three times before I got it down pat.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/InsuredDisaster/P4020003.jpg
My tripple decker tall bike. First test run. It handled rather poorly but unlike the double decker model, it suffered no steering failures.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/InsuredDisaster/n20009118_14668551_4537.jpg
My bro and his truck. I come from a somewhat adventurous family.

[fastrazz89]

Glad you're not hurt man lol