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Post by dirkgently on Oct 21, 2013 10:01:19 GMT -5
I know I'm a little late to this conversation. But, what I'm taking away from this is,.... why is it you had a scooter out on the road with no title? Which, in-turn, means no registration, no tags, and no insurance? Fines, license suspension (then renewal), court costs, etc. could easily exceed $1500-2000 (at least here in OH) Oh, I don't disagree with you that it was not the best decision. The scooter was a gift and the title work has proven to be taking a while - it has never been titled since it was purchased new. It wasn't ridden and the only paperwork on it is dealer paperwork, which means I can't do the titling (there is no assignment spot other than to the original purchaser, who is not me) and so the people who gave me the scooter have to do the initial legwork before I can make the scooter legal. It wouldn't help me much in court, but I do at least have a motorcycle endorsement and motorcycle insurance. It was a nice sunny day and I had a new two-wheeled conveyance, - I just couldn't resist taking it into work. I'll be much happier when I can finally get it titled and plated to me, that's for certain. |
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Post by dirkgently on Oct 21, 2013 9:31:16 GMT -5
Sadly, the place which did the work (an actual scooter store) has decided they don't know what's wrong. More importantly, having spoken to the owner, they've decided "they couldn't possibly be at fault" and the bike magically stopped stopping. More specifically, they've decided "We didn't test the scooter when it came in, how do we know the brakes even worked when you brought it in? We can't be rebuilding people's broken bikes for free."
So, they refuse to repair anything or investigate further without being paid - which clearly I won't be doing. After considering burning the business to the ground as a lesson in customer service, I've opted to take the high road and just figure out what's wrong with it. Brakes aren't really complicated things, it must be something not too complex. Hopefully I find what's wrong quickly.
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Post by dirkgently on Oct 18, 2013 13:20:29 GMT -5
stinks terribly
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Post by dirkgently on Oct 18, 2013 11:52:37 GMT -5
Disc Golf
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Post by dirkgently on Oct 18, 2013 10:29:32 GMT -5
For the sake of humble neophyte like myself, what is that part? Context teaches me that it's part of the drive system, but that's where it ends for me.
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Post by dirkgently on Oct 18, 2013 10:03:18 GMT -5
Have no fear, I took it back within about 20 minutes. The drive back to the house (which is happily very short) showed off the truly minimal brakes. They're looking at it now I presume. I tend to think RockyNV is correct and that the pads weren't re-installed. And I fervently hope the pistons/rotors aren't buggered. The awesome brakes were one of the great parts about this scooter. Shame they mucked them up, I really wanted to ride into work this morning. I'm being a very friendly soul about it - hopefully it means everything gets put back together properly. There was a LOT of "Don't see how we could have done it, we didn't touch the brakes" "If it was us, we'll definitely fix it for free, but it can't have been us" going on. So.... this may be a process, especially since I can't stand over them all day and point out "see, you didn't do X. That's why I have no brakes." Obviously, it must have been them. I mean it worked like a charm 24 hours ago. Hopefully convincing them of that won't be too difficult.
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Post by dirkgently on Oct 17, 2013 18:03:42 GMT -5
Hmmm... maybe I'm being punished for not spending the 200+. Picked up the scoot after work tonight, and it does look faboo with the new whitewalls. Sadly, I got a great look at the expense of no longer having brakes. Not sure how you lose brakes while changing tires, but it's fun to have a new challenge I suppose.
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Post by dirkgently on Oct 16, 2013 16:42:27 GMT -5
While I appreciate the value in adding new tools to my set (who doesn't love to do that?) I found a small local scooter shop that said they do it for 60 bucks and I could still pick it back up tonight if I wanted it. So, not going to bother with the tire irons. However, I promise to change the belt and whatnot myself. =)
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Post by dirkgently on Oct 16, 2013 14:09:19 GMT -5
This is what proper "winterization" looks like. I have looked like this before... Rode through a Cleveland winter once. Fun to say I did it, but I'd hate to have to do it again. Though the looks I got from people in cars was almost worth the price of admission. =) |
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Post by dirkgently on Oct 16, 2013 13:47:08 GMT -5
Oh, I wouldn't want anyone to work for free! I wouldn't expect to find someone who would do it for 25 bucks or anything. Just thought that 200 seemed a might bit spendy - especially considering that a cursory glance at other shop rates for motorcycle tries seems to have a max cost of ~100, and that includes them doing the wheel removal work.
I'm sure I can take the wheels off and carry them somewhere. I can't imagine they can be TOO tricky to remove. Famous last words of course...
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Post by dirkgently on Oct 16, 2013 13:36:39 GMT -5
Yeah, I figured that was their "leave me alone" price I was quoted. Which is pretty shifty considering they sold this very scooter.
I'l shop around on the preferred installers page. Motorcycle Super Store is where I bought the tires any way. Thanks!
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Post by dirkgently on Oct 16, 2013 12:58:43 GMT -5
I'm happy, well willing anyway, to do some work on my scooter myself. It doesn't seem too complicated and I figure I can usually work it out. However, I've never changed tires on anything before and I'm not really interested in fighting through that battle on my own.
I ordered some new tires and called the dealer my scooter originally came from and asked how much they charge to change front and rear tires. I told them they were 10 inch wheels and tubeless tires. I already have the tires so I just need to get them installed. They asked what kind of scooter it was and I told them "It's a Hammerhead La Vita, It actually came from you guys." and the guy on the phone said "Oh....Um..... $200 or so probably".
To me, that seems significantly north of crazy money to change some tires. I would guess it's French for "we don't want to work on something Chinese". But, I don't have much experience in the scooter department so I thought I would check with the experts here to figure out if that quote was as much madness I thought it was.
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Post by dirkgently on Oct 11, 2013 10:53:16 GMT -5
The weather's been so nice the last couple of days I've been taking the new (to me) scoot into work. On my way back while I was still downtown, a woman pulls up next to me and starts yelling about how "I don't deserve the right to be driving in the center the lane" and other colorful opinions.
Now, I don't deny that I'm not technically supposed to riding the scooter. It was never titled when it was bought by the guy who gave it to me, so getting it titled and plated over to me requires a few weeks of waiting on the new title. So, sure. I'm not supposed to ride it because it's a 150cc. But, I'm a licensed driver with a motorcycle endorsement and I carry insurance. I wasn't too worried about taking it out once or twice while I wait for the BMV to send me the registration.
I think she was just angry because she thought it was a sub 50cc, since it wasn't plated. What I don't get, is why she's that upset in downtown. Getting up to even 25mph is pretty optimistic during rush hour. Even if the scooter was a 50, it wouldn't be slowing anyone down.
I'm guilty myself of thinking "geez, get off the road" when I see a 50cc DUI special on a road with a 55 MPH + limit, but why care on little local streets if someone is on a scooter? It's not like they can't keep up with traffic. I think that's the only time I can recall someone being unpleasant just because I was on 2 wheels in the dozen years I've been riding. Some people must just be miserable all the time.
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Post by dirkgently on Oct 11, 2013 10:42:59 GMT -5
Definitely not a law change I've heard about - I'd say that's just a shady pseudo-dealer trying to make a buck. If anything, they're working on making the law more restrictive on scooters (sub 50cc ones at least) not less. Buyer beware doesn't begin to cover it.
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Post by dirkgently on Oct 9, 2013 11:56:33 GMT -5
Welcome, Sounds like a sweet deal. I am all for EFI. But have not worked with an OEM EFI scooter. A reference I spotted while Googleing Hammerhead La Vita was that they may be related to Adly now, which may help as a source for information/parts. pdf owners manual here www.hammerheadoffroad.com/support/LaVita150.pdfThanks for the link! I came across that during my online wanderings trying to learn whatever I can about this little fellow and it has a few details which are good to know. My understanding is that Adly did not built the La Vita, though people thought they did initially. It's all a bit murky and the scoot wasn't really around long enough to clarification to show up. All I know is it has a tag on it saying "China Jialing Group" Declared power 8.0 hp model jl150t-12A and the dealer's paper work calls it a Hammerhead La Vita. Of course, Adly could have bought the rights now or some other series of events. Tracking down Chinese scooter facts seems like a bit of a dark art.  |
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