It's no small coincidence

coyoteran · Post by **coyoteran** » Sun Jun 13, 2010 8:56 pm

That Piaggio builds executive jets and Vespas. They both take the same number of Directed Maintenance Man-Hours Per Flight-Hour. Which is to say, for every hour of operation, there are 4 associated man hours of maintenance. At least on the older bike.

Drove the P to work on Tuesday but on the way home it would not idle. Ran fine but stalled at the lights. On wed it was difficult to start and keep running but lots of reading and mucking about with the idle speed and idle mix and it at least started. While I was there I fabricated a better throttle cable, (original was too long) and cranked down the shifter cables so the dial was right on and tight. While I was working on the shifter, I noticed the headlight had loosened off its mooring. So, one hours ride, four hours maintenance.

Drove it to work on Thursday and it ran fine but I noticed the tail light was out. Fixed that Friday and went for a test drive with the wife only to have the bike die 4 miles from home. It would idle but would not run under load. Fuel flow problem. Pushed, waddled and occasionally drove it home. Today I disassembled and cleaned the carb and the fuel tap, replaced the fuel line and reset all the grommets. One hour of driving, 4 hours of maintenance. Took it for a test drive and it ran great. Best yet. But when I got home I could not shut off the fuel tap. Cotter pin had dropped out. 5 minute test drive, 20 minutes to replace the fuel tap connection.

I hope this does not continue. All my work clothes smell like 2 stroke oil and my fingernails have not been clean in a week, no matter how much I scrub. Oh, and I now am on first name basis with EVERYBODY at the local scooter shop. Even their mailman knows my name.

Now I know how Harley riders feel.

Keep em shiny folks
Trevor

Angelo · Post by **Angelo** » Sun Jun 13, 2010 10:27 pm

Ummm ummmm ummmm......never mind. i don't think I really have to say anything....

jbcollier · Post by **jbcollier** » Tue Jun 15, 2010 7:01 am

Hmm, are you sure you didn't get a Lambretta, oops, I mean lemon?

;-)

Yup, vintage scoots are like that when you first purchase them. After everything is sorted, it should settle down to a 4:1 the other way; i.e. one hour of fiddling for 4 hours of fun. If you do a completely go through, overhauling where necessary, it will as reliable as any twist and go, discounting the every two years clutch and gear cable changes.

coyoteran · Post by **coyoteran** » Tue Jun 15, 2010 3:11 pm

Would that be a lemonbretta?

Yeah, I know about the "new bike" kinks. I go through this every time I get an experienced bike.

Take today for example. I was off to that place where everybody knows your name....no not Cheers but rather the local scooter shop to buy some 2t oil. I got within 1/2 mile and was running at the breakneck speed of....wait for it....Stopped. And my rear tire blew up. Sounded like an airbrake venting except my butt started dropping.

The tube just gave up the ghost. No holes in the tire. Nothing. A friendly dude on a Stella stopped in the parking lot where I had pushed the bike to and gave me a hand changing the tire. Yet another learning experience in the book and another hour of maintenance. Ratio is getting better. Only 2:1 there.

Keep em shiny kids.
Trevor

Angelo · Post by **Angelo** » Tue Jun 15, 2010 6:36 pm

jbcollier wrote:Hmm, are you sure you didn't get a Lambretta, oops, I mean lemon?

Yup, vintage scoots are like that when you first purchase them. After everything is sorted, it should settle down to a 4:1 the other way; i.e. one hour of fiddling for 4 hours of fun. If you do a completely go through, overhauling where necessary, it will as reliable as any twist and go, discounting the every two years clutch and gear cable changes.

I guess until John gets his own Lambretta on the road he will be the Bullies sidekick....