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Post by ellpee on Jan 12, 2014 10:49:09 GMT -6
So if we want a second, behind the curtains picture we post it here somewhere? How about the size limits in that event?
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Post by ellpee on Jan 12, 2014 10:47:46 GMT -6
I have my cars insured with USAA, including roadside for all vehicles, but they do not cover scooters or cycles at all. So I had my scoots with Progressive the first year, they did have it for an extra buck a year, but their premium overall was 50% higher than GEICO, which I have now. But GEICO only offers roadside if you also take comprehensive and collision, which I opted not to do on a <$2000 scooter. So right now if either of my scoots craps out in the middle of nowhere, I'm kinda hosed; don't even own a trailer I could use to bring it home, and wouldn't have a place to store a trailer even if I bought one. I saw an ad recently for a company called AutoVantage, nothing but roadside asst coverage, but they said they don't cover scoots/cycles either, only cars and trucks.
Does anybody know of a company that offers JUST roadside asst insurance for scooters?
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Post by ellpee on Jan 11, 2014 18:44:35 GMT -6
Any chance we might see a pinned "Parts For" thread for trikes, similar to that GREAT (!!!) thread in 250+ Chinese? Alleyoop already bailed me out on one parts issue, and I know there was a log of dialogue about a rear axle issue on somebody's trike. Any chance we might get something like that going here in the trike classroom? In some respects they are weirder than two-wheelers, merging scooter and ATV the way they do ....
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Post by ellpee on Jan 11, 2014 18:39:29 GMT -6
Your description of starting in cold temps versus starting in warm(er) temps gets us, I ***THINK***, into that sidebar discussion about cold cranking amps. I ***THINK*** I understand that when you go out in the morning, turn the key and hit the starter switch, what happens depends quite a bit on the CCA rating of your battery. At that point, ALL the electrical demand is being satisfied by the battery, and the colder it is, the more CCA you want to produce a good strong spark. Of course, how easily your scoot does or doesn't start depends on a lot of things besides battery juice, but that's my understanding as far as the electrical part of the equation.
But then, what does Ellpee know?
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Post by ellpee on Jan 11, 2014 13:12:11 GMT -6
I don't know if it's even a forum option, but I would personally find it more convenient if, within any given thread, the "sort" was newest to oldest rather than the current oldest to newest. Saves a lot of scrolling through stuff I've already read. I'm just one vote, though; what do others think?
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Post by ellpee on Jan 11, 2014 13:06:10 GMT -6
Guess I'll tack onto this thread with an electrical theory question, stemming from my own charging system challenges.
If I were to completely disconnect the R/R from the battery and run my scoot, everything -- ignition, lights, gauges -- would be drawing directly from the battery, for however long that would last. Clearly, under those conditions the amp-hour rating is a big deal -- more Ah means scoot keeps running longer before it drops below the 10v the CDI needs, and even with engine NOT running the lights etc. would stay on longer with the beefier battery.
BUT, if I have the R/R connected to the battery and performing as it should, my understanding is that with the scooter running, the juice from the R/R supplies everything the scooter needs, AND enough extra to top off the battery the whole time you are running, so when you shut down, the battery should be in the 12-13v range, ready for your next ride.
Under that second scenario, it seems to me there would be no practical difference between a 7Ah battery and a 14Ah battery; both would suffice to get the scoot running, at which point the R/R would take over all electrical needs. (This of course ignores cold cranking amps, which is a different story.)
So, Ellpee's usual question: do I have it right, and if not, what's the true story?
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Post by ellpee on Jan 10, 2014 14:39:26 GMT -6
When they delivered my trike (Magnum), despite MANY warnings they showed up with a small semi that couldn't make the turn into my driveway. After several days of back and forth, wound up having them drop it at roadside a couple hundred yards from my house. Can't blame the driver, if it won't fit it won't fit, but I do somewhat blame the seller, distributor, and freight company for ignoring my many warnings about delivery "challenges."
Ancient history, all is now good.
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Post by ellpee on Jan 10, 2014 10:07:51 GMT -6
Very cool, you're apparently a lot like me, can't resist tweaking.
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Post by ellpee on Jan 7, 2014 16:24:48 GMT -6
Early on, when I would crank 'er up and begin to give gas -- gently, tentatively, because I was a nervous newbie who hadn't been on anything with two wheels in many, many years -- it would grab and let go, grab and let go, until I got some forward motion going. Especially noticeable when I was up in the church parking lot practicing those pesky figure 8's and U-turns and what have you that I needed to master if I was going to pass the motorcycle practical test down at MVD. (Needless to say, all that practicing was <10 mph.) As a result, after a few weeks every start involved the grabbing/bucking, and I learned on this forum that I had probably glazed those three clutch pads by being too gentle and tentative, in effect "slipping" them more than what would be considered normal. Consequently, as they swung out due to normal RPM increase, they were not getting a firm hold on the inside of the clutch bell as soon as they would have otherwise. I pulled the clutch bell and rough-sanded them just a tad, and day and night, all good again (and plenty of material left on the three pads). Hope that answers what you were asking.
Oh, and "quiet"? Not really, at least not on mine. From Day 1, on startup I heard a sort of "rattling" from the CVT which I ascribe to the variator rollers; as soon as I get a few RPM going, enough to push the rollers outward in their tracks, it quiets down and away we go. Someone here told me that is normal and just how a CVT works, and not to worry about it.
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Post by ellpee on Jan 7, 2014 13:02:01 GMT -6
Confused newbie here -- variator is in front, clutch is in back, as I understand it. But I get the drift, and have learned from your post. On my Roketa, initially I had a lot of "chattering" on startup because I had babied the clutch too much during practice driving and glazed those three pads a bit. Rough-sanding them fixed that. Now I'm at just over 3000 miles, and I make an effort on every start to "goose it" just a bit until I feel the pads taking hold; generally speaking, it feels good, very little chattering -- only when I'm having to putt around below 10 mph in a parking lot or whatever. But I imagine that DOES cost me a little bit of gas.
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Post by ellpee on Jan 6, 2014 22:28:33 GMT -6
Oh hey, another problem or at least question just came to mind. Assuming I do a switch to heavier wires for the big volt-eaters, no matter what, when I get to the actual gadget -- fan, or R/R, or CDI, or stator -- the last couple inches of wire are still going to have to be the old ?16? gauge wire, since those wires go right through the housing of the device, no way to remove them and connect the heavier wires directly to where they need to go. So, am I gaining anything if at the end of the day the juice still has to squeeze through a short bit of smaller wires? Kinda like connecting a 3/4" garden hose to a 1/2" hose -- seems like all that's going to come out the end is what the smaller "conductor" can handle. Yes? No?
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Post by ellpee on Jan 6, 2014 22:20:31 GMT -6
Thanks. Noticed again today that when I hit the high beam switch while rolling down the highway, the voltmeter drops almost a full volt. That plus the fan would no doubt put me back in minus territory again as far as my charging problems, so switching the headlights off completely in daytime is keeping me alive. Will likely go to LEDs for those too in due course, but want to combine that with installing a new left switch assembly, assuming Roketa can ever find one somewhere on the planet.
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Post by ellpee on Jan 6, 2014 22:16:42 GMT -6
All such is good. I'm sure lots of people will have lots of different experience, but if a "knowledge base" gradually builds up, some kind of ballpark averages should start to emerge.
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Post by ellpee on Jan 6, 2014 16:55:12 GMT -6
I just passed the 3000 mile/1 year mark on my 2011 Roketa, and as I was scooting around today it occurred to me that maybe it would be useful for me and others of limited experience if there were a pinned thread somewhere -- maybe even in each scooter category, but at least in one place -- where people can post their experiences with the scooter parts that inevitably wear out. Yeah, I know it depends on your driving style and a lot of other things, but on average, when should you start watching your brake pads or shoes? How long do variator rollers/sliders last on average? What's the point where your belt is probably starting to suffer from old age? Tires? Other wear-outable parts? That thread about where to get parts is great, seems to me one about when to start worrying about your current parts would also be nice. What think ye?
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Post by ellpee on Jan 6, 2014 13:10:32 GMT -6
OK, thanks. Don't want to create a lot of work for you, just thought there might be a simple toggle somewhere for that.
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