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This page is dedicated to those lost before their time, keep on riding!!
Police scooter (motorcycle type, not Cushmans) pics from all over the world.
July 30, 2008 - stock, the Smrfmobile is a 2007 Piaggio
MP3 250ie
On August 16, 2008 the Smrfmobile went into **********
to get the Tow-Pac, Inc. MiniTrike
kit installed! Now, I'm just waiting...and eight weeks later on October
11, 2008 about 1620hrs the Smrfmobile comes home...he is now a pentacycle---five
on the road!
A 139 decibal Stebel Nautilus Air Horn has also been installed. More mods to come as they were not completed by the scoot shop as ordered.
10/13/08 Did my first night driving and my first tank of gas got used up so I hit the gas station. I'm proud to say I didn't spill any!
10/14/08 Rode into work today...boy it made going to work FUN and something to look forward to. Who would of imagined! Used the carpool lane on the way home and shaved a good 10-15 minutes off the ride home.
10/18/08 My first successful round of Scooter tag 
10/25/08 Revised pic with my Genuine Cool Ass covering
my seat (with my Pro Pad sheepskin covered gel seat cover hiding underneath),
cup holder installed (now removed and soon to be replaced with a more secure
model-see below), new reflective checker decals (matching set on my helmet),
and temporary crate setup for the pups to join
in riding!
11/01/08 Had my 600 mile/break in service today, installed
my Fehling chrome luggage rack & sidecase mounts and rode in my first
rain.
11/07/08 Hit 1000 miles today and installed my Coocase
S48 Astra onto my luggage rack. Haven't hooked up the electronics part
yet. A pic of the Coocase taken on the Dirk Sundman memorial ride.
11/10/08 Rode over the hill today and rode two-up for
the first time. I had the honor of having Maxine (one of Dirk's grandaughter)
ride with me.
11/30/08 Here's the kids on
the Smrfmobile and yes this pic will go on our annual Christmas letter!
01/17/09 First big road trip! 828 miles round trip...
I went from my home to Claremont (20 miles east of Los Angeles) and back Saturday morning til late Sunday evening via HWY 101
stats...
left home 0045 Saturday, arrived Claremont 1030 (including lots of
pitstops, a couple of glitches [non-scoot related] and getting lost for
an hour)
left Claremont 1045 Sunday, arrived home 1900 (7pm for those non-military
Americans) [a couple more non-scoot related glitches and pitstops]
temperature 35-95 degrees F according to the factory thermostat on the scoot (BTW anyone know how accurate these are??) Hippohands.com worked well in the cold parts of this ride. The Piaggio MP3 Leg Cover worked to keep the windchill factor down but I couldn't feel any difference with the optional battery pack and won't worry about buying a replacement battery when this one dies. The cover itself is worth having.
elevation sea level to 1500 feet
top speed 79 MPH (per GPS speedo)
average travel speed was 65-70 MPH
slowest with throttle open all the way 45 MPH while climbing hill
to reach 1500 feet elevation
I received my set of Extra Heavy Weight Vibration Dampening barends from HVMP.com on Friday after work just in time to install them and hit the road. I definitely could feel the difference with having them and they are definitely keepers.
Pro Pad Gel seat pad has been in use for a couple of months now but after this long trip I know it's worth the money. I experienced no butt numbness during my trip.
I loved having my S48 Coocase for a topcase and my pair of Givi E41 sidecases. I used one E41 for emergency supplies/repairs and the other held my luggage and it made for a quick disconnect at the hotel to bring it inside and pull clothes straight out of it.
12volt accessory outlet installed into dash (thanks to Luthor's tutorial) was great to run my GPS until I blew the fuse..one of the glitches I ran into...so it's recommended to carry extra fuses of all shapes/sizes.
If you don't own one already, I highly recommend a Crampbuster for your throttle. I didn't have a fixed cruise control but the Crampbuster did it's job fabulously.
A mod I would like to do but haven't yet is changing out the factory headlight with a PIAA bulb. I found riding at night on unfamilair road with little to no additional lighting at 60 MPH I was overdriving my headlight beams...I'd hope that a PIAA would give me better visiability to allow 70 MPH riding with no extra street lighting.
I was happy to be home but oh WOW what a trip. I'm definitely much more in tune with the Smrfmobile and know what he can and can't do. I'd do the ride again but would skip the night riding unless absolutely necessary.
PS. Cost of gas for roundtrip $49.06
smiling the whole way...PRICELESS
03/29/09 Just home from a nice Sunday ride up to Portola
Valley and Woodside. Promised some people on ModernVespa.com some pics
of my side & top cases.
04/18/09 6000 mile service http://www.modernvespa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=612682
This morning I was riding along merrily to my dealer/mechanic for the first appointment of the morning to get my 6000 mile service, early transmission belt replacement and have my PIAA replacement headlight bulbs installed.
The original MP3's owner's manuals said to change the trasmission belt at 12000 miles, my dealer recently got updated to say 9000. I was going for extra safety and cost effectiveness and have it done with my 6000 mile service...well at 6369 miles while on the freeway riding to the dealer my belt broke!
Yes, I'm overdue for my 6000 mile service but this appointment was the soonest one I could get for a Saturday that fit into my schedule when I booked it two weeks ago (at which time I was only at 5900ish miles).
It went from bad to worse...
It turns out when the belt broke and proceeded to shred it tore out the seal to an unnamed part (I forgot to ask what the name of the part was) but it's on the far side of the variator and it made oil leak due to the seal being gone... well...the seal is not a replaceable piece, the whole metal part it sits in has to be replaced and no dealer in the area had one in stock. So, DAMN now I'm stuck like some 35 miles from home...My dealer was kind enough to offer but since it's been so long since I've ridden a two-wheeled bike/scoot I declined since the way home would of taken me on a very steep, traffic filled, windy freeway. So, I called a friend to pick me up and take me home. Ok, so I finally got home...ugh..what a LONG day. The part has been ordered and crossing my fingers will get to them on Wednesday at latest so I can get the Smrfmobile back Thursday evening...hoping...praying... and til than I'm stuck driving the cage...ugh...
SO, anyways..about the roadside service..I call them up...they take my info everything seems to be working the way it should...when they call me back and tell me that the tow will cost me out of pocket $75!! It seems that the $100 per incident the roadside service (specifically Road America is its name) only would get me about 15 miles and my dealer was 27 away!! I didn't recall at the time of that i only got $100 coverage but when told on the phone I expected that amount to cover 25 maybe 30 miles...who knew...it breaks down to $6.48 a mile. The service took an hour and fifteen minutes to get to me.
I actually have my own coverage through Road America (something I purchased before I knew that Piaggio provided a year of coverage) but am seriously considering cancelling it now since it doesn't get you very far. Well, double DAMN..I just checked and found out that my personally purchased coverage from Road America covers $200 but the dang rep didn't ask for me both membership numbers even though I said I had two coverages!! Now, I'm really peeved...but alas I just emailed Road America to see if they would refund my $75 since I actually had adequate coverage but the rep didn't check both my memberships even though I said I had two.
So back to my dealership they did a great job of cleaning all the shredded pieces of my belt out, and changed my headlight bulbs out with the PIAA ones I provided. They also pointed out to me that my rear tire was bald (I'm bad I admit I haven't looked at it in awhile). So, they're going to throw a Heidenau K61 on there. And they do not charge extra for labor on top of the standard 6000 mile service to put a new belt on.
I'm tired and soooo sad not to have the Smrfmobile home with me though I know the mechanic will do a great job of fixing him up all good, but I miss him.
I received an email from Road America to say they received my email and that it was being forwarded to a supervisor and that I should receive a call with a resolution within the next 72 hours.
04/23/09 Another day that went from BAD to WORSE.
Road America roadside service did not call me as promised. I called them and the rep told me she would again give my info to her supervisor but said I would receive my $75 out of pocket charge back. I'll just need to fax them a copy of my receipt and a letter again summarizing what happened. And than I'll have to wait for snail mail to get me a check.
6000 mile service. The replacement oil gasket piece arrived yesterday and today when they went to change it out they found that pieces of the belt actually entered through the missing gasket 'gap' and have gotten into my engine and drive train. It will now require them to completely remove my engine from the Smrfmobile to clean it out = I don't get the Smrfmobile back for another 4-5 days as they need to order replacement gaskets to the engine and oil 'something' PLUS (WORSE) an estimated 4 hours of labor on top of the original work requested.
I did ask whether constant freeway speeds or stop/go traffic was better/worse for the belt. The freeway is better for the belt but not by much.
I also emailed Tow Pac to get a more specific weight on my MiniTrike kit and they responded about 150-175 pounds. Lighter than I originally thought but obviously still troublesome when it comes to my belt!
Well, let's see where I stand on my bill so far:
$210 6000 mile service includes synthetic oil
- $30 for supplying my own Dr Pulley 13 gram rollers
+ $69 Heidenau K61 rear tire
+ $25 rear tire mount charge only
+ $110 transmission belt
+ $42 ~.5hr labor to change headlights bulbs to supplied PIAAs
+ $20 metal part w/oil gasket
+ $39.67 replacement gaskets when engine gets opened up
+ $340 ~4hrs estimated labor/tear apart/clean out engine
-----------------
estimated $826
They were kind enough to reduce some of the labor that was duplicated between the service and the belt shredding problem.
UPDATE 05/09/09 After being gone for three weeks, the Smrfmobile came home earlier today!!
Total of the bill $950. OUCH.
05/30/09 Led my first group ride, Nor CA MP3ers
seven MP3ers showed up at Starbucks
five at Santa Cruz Vespa
five rode to Barbara's Fishtrap
07/02/09 Amerivespa 2009
downtown San Jose before ride partially up Mt. Hamilton
(Grant's Ranch) than down to south county
0703/09
video of San Juan Bautista ride leaving lodge seen at
1:00 remaining & slideshow of still pics taken throughout Amerivespa
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mutantis/sets/72157621017493196/show/
enroute to San Juan Bautista
seen at 0:45 seconds
07/04/09 Amerivespa 2009 entered in the Concours d' Elegance
seen at 2:24
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24183225@N06/sets/72157621143261756/
Additional slideshows, Smrfmobile not shown.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sipscootershop/sets/72157620762970871/show/
Ride to Alice's http://www.flickr.com/photos/masscomphotography/sets/72157620924499192/show/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/masscomphotography/sets/72157620749211221/show/
http://s210.photobucket.com/albums/bb109/dchernikoff/Amerivespa%202009/?start=0
http://www.flickr.com/photos/82788703@N00/sets/72157620719513183/show/
Completed mods to date:
John Charles Puckett, Jr. EOW 08/13/07 View/Sign
Guestbook
Dirk
Johannes Sundman EOW 11/02/08 View/Sign
Guestbook
I'd like to offer you some insight into what caused the creation of the Smrfmobile and his five-wheeled status.
1. Before purchasing the Smrfmobile I had no intent or knowledge of the Tow Pac MiniTrike kit. I had reservations about the purchase due to physical disabilities and my short stature (inseam of 25" vs seat height of 30.7") Upon leaning the MP3 in the showroom I had no problems holding it up while leaning it back n forth to the right n left while flatfooting it. Therefore I purchased a MP3.
2. Upon delivery and subsequent riding I found that I did not take into account the added strain of grasping brake levers with the momentum of trying to lean a moving scoot therefore scoot got dropped. In the showroom I stupidly was tilting the scoot while holding the handlebars and not grabbing at the brake levers.
3. Upon research and talking to riding friends about options I discovered and subsequently purchased a Tow Pac MiniTrike kit.
4. Upon reflection had I known I was going to 'trike' out my scoot I would of gotten the 400cc not 250cc for better freeway performance. I've asked myself would/should I have added the kit to a less expensive scooter......NO. Yes, there are plenty of other 250cc scooters for less than the MP3 BUT the MP3 still gives me added safety/stability/braking power because of the two front wheels and when the kit needs to be off the Smrfmobile I am able to do the removal/reinstall myself. If I had a traditional 2-wheeled scooter I would need another person every time to hold the scooter up as the kit was being removed/reinstalled. But, not with the MP3, I just lock it and can do the work myself.
5. Do I wish I could ride without the kit. SURE, but not everything in life can be exactly what you want. Did I lose something? Not really. So I don't lean, well my car doesn't lean but the Smrfmobile does a bunch of stuff for me my car doesn't and that is priceless. And for whatever percentage you might think I lose from having the kit on, well I've gained a lot more. I don't think anyone on a 2-wheeled scoot could say they transported a 6 foot long folding table on their scooter!? I have confidence in the stability of the Smrfmobile to transport my three dogs on him (all at the same time). I ride on the freeway everyday (rain or shine) and not even semi's passing me give me wind problems with moving my ride the wrong way. An 800 mile roundtrip to Los Angeles cost me less than $50 in gas. I get 42-58MPG and loving every mile on the Smrfmobile.
Look at a glass..half full or half empty... in my opinion it's completely full with two different substances.
Just like one scooter club's motto says "You didn’t find the scooter? The scooter found you!"
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