Yesterday I went with Sean on a 140+ mile Scooter ride along with a number of crazy bastards from one of our scooter groups.

We rode down to Patagonia Arizona to see a parade and a hanging, Saw the parade but the hanging was taking too long so we left part way through.

I rode my 1987 Yamaha Riva 125, We finished re-assembling the bike Thursday night about 10PM and put some miles on it Friday to test but nothing near the mileage we did on the trip.

The bike runs fairly well and is a nice upgrade from my 1997 Honda Elite 80, The extra 45cc allows the bike to do 50-55mph flat, 65 downhill and in the 40's uphills.

I consumed three fuel filters during the trip and about half a quart of oil due to the bad valve stem seals and the rusty tank. Both will be addressed in the near future.

Sadly even with the bigger bike this ride I still had the smallest bike on the ride with the 125cc. There were two 150's, Sean's 180, a couple 200's and 250's, a 400 and a Harley 850. (The only non scooter on the trip).

As one friend remarked I look like a gorilla on a tricycle, But hey its a bigger bike than the Elite 80 so its a little less out of proportion.

It's been a while.

I know it's been a while since I blogged, I've just been so busy lately.

I'm part of two scooter clubs now, the Go Go Rilla and the Sky Island Riders.

I just sold the moped to raise the cash needed to buy a larger bike than my Elite 80. I'm looking at a 150 or a 250.

I'd love to buy a metal bike like a Vespa, Lambretta or a Stella.

The volvo is on the road again as my 2ndary vehicle (With the Elite 80 as my primary) It needs an oil change, plug change and some hope to get through emissions later this month.

I'm part of a local SCIFI themed Meetup group run by my friend Cheryl.

We're watching Babylon 5 all the way through, At 1 DVD every other week it should take about a year and a month to see it all.

Still planning to do the 2009 BABE, Will be using the volvo again for it likely.

That's about it for now, Going to try to update a little more often.

It's Us!

The Gog Squad
Originally uploaded by Warphammer

My Team From the BABE Rally back in May.

http://www.baberally.com/babe.esp?ID=13&PG=full

Elites

Picture 023
Originally uploaded by salmend8

My white Elite 80 at the Parade and with Seans Red Elite 80.

Licensed

Saturday Morning I got my Motorcycle License.

Failed the U-Turn portion of the test due to misunderstanding the instructions but hey I passed everything else so the license is mine :D

To celebrate I must have put close to 100 miles on the scooter Saturday.

Scooter is Go!

Sunday the 7th of December with the assistance of my friend Sean I picked up a 1998 Honda Elite 80 from a gentleman in phoenix.

With the addition of some parts from a 1994 Honda Elite 80 I picked up two weeks prior and $50 or so in gaskets I now have a fully functional Scooter.

Today I went down to the MVD and took the written test for a motorcycle permit, I am now allowed to use my scooter when visibility is more than 500 feet between Sunrise and Sunset on any public highway.

I plan to get used to the bike and take the road test in the upcoming weeks.

Had a really awesome sandwich at eegees today, it was the hot italian. I cant remember when I last had a sandwich this good there.

its 10AM and I'm already thinking about lunch plans.

had Mongolian BBQ for lunch and is quite full and satisfied.

playing with ping.im for status updates.

Ripped Off.

Had my car broken into last night.

They took my camera and the 2GB card that was in it.

The loss of the photos hurts more than the loss of the camera.

I'm quite miffed.

It's Craptastic!

My bag of crap arrived from woot.

What did I get for my money? I'm glad you asked!

A 'ClipCam' which is a tiny USB camera

A Logitech Quickcam Express

A Curious George Gift Bag

A VHS Cassette 'Buns & Abs of Steel 2000'

Brakes

Front brakes are done on the Toyota with the help of a friend.

He did the drivers side and I watched, then I did the passenger side by myself.

Real simple compared to the brakes on the Volvo.

Need to find out where things are leaking out of the engine, I ran low on coolant today and there is still a possible oil leak.

Laundry

Went to a new place last night to do laundry, It was interesting in that all the machines had girls names.

The machines were not as high-tech as my usual place, The Dryers lacked any kind of indicator as to how much time they had for their cycle.

Clothes got clean which is what counts but I dont think I'll go back there unless its an emergency as the older washers didnt have a way to add softener to the cycle.

Seen on Postsecret

I liked this one. Might have to see about moving the Volvo.

Displacement

Boy can I feel the difference between the 2.3 liter rear wheel drive car I've been driving for most of the past year and the 1.6 liter front wheel drive car which I'm driving now.

QRZ Photo Upload

Does anyone know if the QRZ Photo Upload works for modifying a profile?

I'd like to add my picture.

Classic Volvo Interior.

P1000478
Originally uploaded by johnkiniston

From Arizona Volvo Day 2008. My 1983 Volvo 240 doesn't have nearly as cool of a dash.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

ToDo:

By the end of this month:
Purchase all parts needed to get the 1500 engine going.

Within four weeks from now:
Get engine to spin over, Possibly get engine to start using hacked together harness.

In two months time:
Fix major wiring issues

In Three months time:
Start floor replacement. Have floor prep complete.

To Purchase:
Need a valve cover gasket, Need a second carburetor kit and a second air filter.

probabably need upper and lower heater hoses too.