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Post by rubicontx on Feb 2, 2009 21:25:57 GMT -5
Scarabeo Update: Scooter keeps working great. No problems now with 8870 miles. When I bought the scoot, I read as much as I could on the Scarabeo 500. I had read that it had a steering dampener you could adjust to smooth out the drive. Its kind of hidden between the tire fender the fairing. When I tried to adjust it I had problems reaching it. When I was able to get my hand it there, I just could not make it budge. After that I just moved on to other things. During my highway drives going about 65 - 75 I could feel the scoot moving a little left to right. It was very slight but I could still tell it was there. After checking the tire pressures and other things I just thought that's the way it would handles. Two weeks ago I was rereading the owners manual again when I came to the article about the dampener. I made it a point to try to adjust it. It was tight but I was able to get a hand on it and after some chosen words and some effort it started to move. After adjusting the dampener I took it for a test drive. All I can say is WOW what a difference. Like night and day. To think I was driving it like that all this time. Its still easy to maneuver at slow speeds and at highway speeds its now drives smooth and strait! Last week I was going home with some very strong winds and the scoot drove perfect and strait even with the buffeting. Not sure if other of the bigger scoots come with dampeners but they sure make a big difference.
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Post by rubicontx on Feb 26, 2009 11:16:02 GMT -5
Scarabeo Update: The weather has been perfect for riding these last couple of days. The beo is still working great no problems to report. I just hit 9010 miles on the scoot. Some updates that I did to the scooter that I forgot to mention: Added a Laminar lip to the front stock windshield. It helped with the wind buffeting you at high speeds. Added some Grip Puppies for better comfort. Added a Throttle Rocker for comfort on longer runs All very good investments in my opinion.
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Post by Erik3tb on Feb 26, 2009 13:30:05 GMT -5
keep with the updates. I'm very interested in how this pans out over the long haul. I am considering this scooter since most weekend rides for me will be well over 200 miles and with serious altitude changes.
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Post by jake318 on Mar 5, 2009 5:50:58 GMT -5
Nice looking bike , very unique exhumes quality. i know this sounds odd but it looks like something that the designer of the Porsche928 would make if hired by a motorcycle manufacturer jake
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Post by jim63 on Mar 5, 2009 16:21:44 GMT -5
Glad your Scarabeo is running great, it is a nice scooter. Have a word of caution on the Laminar Lip. Had one on my SYM before buying a bigger windscreen. I work nights, was cold day about 40 degrees when I went to work mid-afternoon. Got colder out, with dew freezing on my windscreen. Was using my laminated work ID to remove the frost from my windscreen (not the Lip) and I slightly bumped the Lip with my hand. It just fell off in my hand, caught it before it fell to ground. I have no doubt it probably would have fell off once I started riding down interstate on my way home. I put it on inside my garage on a warmer day day awhile back and it worked for several weeks, so I know the bond was good at that time. I think the combo of very cold temps (sub-freezing) with moisture combined to it coming off, losing it's bond. Just a word of caution on it. It does work good though.
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Post by rubicontx on Mar 6, 2009 8:38:28 GMT -5
Wow that's good to know. Luckily for me it does not get too cold here in Austin.
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Post by rubicontx on May 11, 2009 12:44:35 GMT -5
Just a quick post, the Scarabeo is still running strong. No complains and or problems.
I had a little mishap at a Wal-Mart store last month. Went to buy some meat for grilling. I parked the scooter on one of the sides of the store, away from any pedestrian traffic. I figured it would be safe there. I placed the scooter on the center stand and ran into the store. I quickly picked up some items and checked out.
As I was walking to the scooter I noticed that a long line of grocery carts was parked very close to the rear of my scooter. I was thinking how am I going to back out with the line of carts parked so close! As I got closer I noticed that the carts were really really close to the back of the scooter. I started to walk a little quicker only to find out that the scooter was resting on the carts!
I was livid at what I was seeing. I started to notice broken pieces of plastic on the floor and noticed that the center stand was in the tucked up position. Some plastic pieces from the front air deflector had a big crack and was missing some pieces.
When a kid (who was moving the carts) finally showed up, I asked him in not too nice of words "what had happened?". His answer was "I did not see it". This scooter is by no means a small 50cc scooter is thing with both of its cases on is a big scooter.
Apparently what happened was that he ran into the back of the scooter with the line of carts. In the rear of the carts he has a motorized pusher buggy that he controls with a remote control. The kid guides the carts from the front of the carts. By the way the carts were curved, he would have to walk close to the scooter before the rear carts would of made contact. How he did not see the scooter is beyond me.
It looks to me that once the carts hit the back of the scooter, it pushed it forward and off its center stand. The scooter dropped to the floor. He picked it up and did not know how to put it back on its stand and decided to lay if on the carts. Not only did my left side get scratched up but the right side got some scratches from laying on the carts.
After the managers took some pictures and looked around for the security camera they took my information and I took theirs.
I was expecting a very long battle from wal-mart but only 4 days after the incident I got a call from their insurance company and quickly settled on an amount for the repair of the scooter. hopefully I will get all the plastic pieces replaced and get someone to do some touch ups on the scratches.
I am glad to report that all the damage was cosmetic. No real damage to any mechanical parts. I was able to ride the scooter home after the incident. I removed the broken air deflector and have ordered a new one. I still need to fix the scratches on the paint. Its going to be hard to match the paint exactly but lets see how it looks after the repairs are done.
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Post by widehide on May 11, 2009 16:49:53 GMT -5
That's a bummer, Sorry to hear such a nice scooter got damaged, I know how well you take care of it. My wifes 54B is still running just fine, my Vog260 has worn out the rear brake pads and damaged the disk at only 3K miles, have them on order. You need to get that Rubicon up to Colorado to the trails, We are taking all our toys to Ouray Colorado to trail ride with the Jeep and do some scooter sight seeing the month of July. Life is short, lets get the most out of it. Adios
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Post by Kiwiscoot on May 12, 2009 15:32:36 GMT -5
Man I'd be livid if that was to happen to my scoot. Sorry to hear that. Glad they coughed up the dough so quick. Hope you get it sorted quickly without any hassles.
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Post by rubicontx on May 15, 2009 11:29:22 GMT -5
Just an update, I got most of the parts ordered and have started to look at some online paint sites that will match the color of the Aprilia for those touch ups I need. I know that the colors will be slightly off but as long as those scratches get fixed up, I will OK with that. You need to get that Rubicon up to Colorado to the trails, Talking about the Rubicon, I finally took it to Moab Utah during the last week of April. You get to see some interesting things along the way: We ran 5 trails during the 3 days I was up there: Hells Revenge, Poison Sider/Golden Spike/Gold Bar and Top of the World. Hells gate is an interesting obstacle: you go down a steep incline: only to come back up the other side: Here is a video of another jeep coming up: It was a blast! Glad they coughed up the dough so quick. Hope you get it sorted quickly without any hassles. That is what I was amazed at also. I thought I was going to get caught in one of those " your not supposed to park there" type of discussions.
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Post by Kiwiscoot on May 17, 2009 18:12:28 GMT -5
Great video, seems like scooting and 4WDing goes hand in hand for some of us. I traveled 3/4 of the way around Australia 3 year ago with a 4WD and do a bit of 4WD exploring here in New Zealand. Great to explore and see new untamed parts of the country. enjoy yor scooting and I hope you get that scoot of yours looking mint soon.
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Post by rubicontx on May 20, 2009 9:29:13 GMT -5
Kiwiscoot, great to hear others like to take a little challenge out in the great outdoors. I have read some magazine articles of exploring the Australian outback. The scenery looked amazing.
Well the scooter keeps on running great. No problem to report. I filled up the tank this morning with 3 gallons of gas. I had accumulated 190 miles on the trip counter, that's about 63 miles per gallon.
This morning I stopped by the local Wataburger for some breakfast. As I pulled in I noticed a black scooter that looked a lot like my old Roketa Cypress 250! After going in and getting my breakfast I rode by a little closer and sure enough it was my old scooter. I stopped a little to admire it for a second. Its still looks like its in great shape. Its probably an employee there who is riding it. Too bad the owner was not around, I would of loved to see how its behaving.
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Post by rubicontx on Jun 1, 2009 22:55:27 GMT -5
I took my first long distance trip on the Scarabeo this past weekend!
I drove from Hutto TX (a little north of Austin) to south San Antonio. A distance about 120 miles or about 2 hours drive. I took off on Sunday morning at about 8:00am. The weather was a cool 77 degrees with very calm winds.
Most of the travel was through interstate 35 with a speed limit of 70 mph.
I am happy to report that the beo ran flawless. I kept a speed of about 70-75 mph most of the way with no problem whatsoever. I did a little spurt of 85mph just to see how well it handles and it ran great. No shakes or vibrations.
Cruising at 70 it still had enough pickup power to safely pass any vehicle on the road.
At about 1:30pm I started my trip back to Hutto. The temperature had risen to 90 degrees and I had a little more head wind but the scooter still ran great. The interstate was more congested on the way back to Austin but the beo was still able to kept pace with the traffic.
I spent a total of about 4 hours riding and put about 240 miles on the scooter. A little shoulder cramp and a sore behind but a great drive!
Not bad for nice Sunday drive!
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Post by Erik3tb on Jun 2, 2009 8:55:34 GMT -5
It's longer trips like that making me look into this scooter. My weekend rides will be about 400 miles each way plus some driving one arrival. It would be 65 mph highway up and back and 35mph once there. The ride up would involve lots of large trucks that almost always drive over the speed limit.
How much of a road presence to you feel the scoot gave on the interstate? Do you feel the other drivers had no real issues with spotting you?
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Post by rubicontx on Jun 2, 2009 9:33:29 GMT -5
How much of a road presence to you feel the scoot gave on the interstate? Do you feel the other drivers had no real issues with spotting you? I think because of the large 16" tires and the side boxes it makes the scooter more visible. It also has a somewhat fat body that makes it look bigger. Unless you know about scooters or notice the step thru tunnel, I think people believe its a motorcycle. It also helped that I was running in front of the pack most of the times. IH 35 is a 6 (3/3) lane highway between Austin and San Antonio, so semi's normally kept to the far right or middle lanes. It truly was a very nice relaxing drive.
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Post by yarddogbbq on Jun 2, 2009 14:45:46 GMT -5
cool,
yarddog
amore'
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Post by rubicontx on Aug 7, 2009 12:12:53 GMT -5
No problems to report. Its kind of sad when I pass by the scoot in the garage and know that I can't tinker with it. Its always ready to start up and go. I have been commuting to work for most of the summer and its really getting hot here in central Texas. I leave work at 3:30 and normally when I get to scoot and turn the key on I check the temp gauge to see how hot it is. I normally see this number showing up: Temperature gauge showing 114: After gatting going the number drops a little: Temperature gauge showing 106: Since the temperature looks like its going to remain hot for most the summer, I got myself a Fieldsheer Ice Berg Vest from BikeBandit.com for only 28.00. It was recommended by some folks here at work. It works really well. One thing they recommended was to soak it in water like the instructions tell you, then place it in the refrigerator. I use a one gallon zip lock back to store the vest. When I am ready to head home, I just take it out of the fridge and its nice and cool for the ride home. Forecast for the next 10 days show that 9 out of the 10 days will be over 100 degrees with a high of 104. On another note, I just hit 11,025 miles on the speedometer and its time for an oil and filter change.
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Post by rubicontx on Aug 17, 2009 8:14:47 GMT -5
Scarabeo Update. Scooter working great. Motor and gear oils have been changed. I had been looking for way to communicate with my passengers for those trips that we take every now an then. After looking at many options, some as simple as a two way radio with ear pieces. I decided to give the Cardo Scala Rider Q2 a try. I ordered it from eBay and it arrived in a couple of days. The equipment comes in this very nice box. Everything is nicely packaged: After giving the instructions a quick glance, I installed it on my helmets and started to test them out. I found no problems with the communications. Here is the complete kit that attaches to your helmet. The helmet clamp has the mic boom attached to it. It includes two small speakers that are very loud. The helmet clamp also includes a jack to connect your mp3 player. For the modular helmets, it takes a while to get used to the mic boom being there. (not my helmet) On feature that I really like is the blue tooth capability of the unit. I synced on of the units with my cell phone. After some test I can attest that the Scala Rider works great! I can now answer or make phone calls while driving. It used to be a pain to have to stop to answer my phone. Now I can answer the phone without even having to lift my hands. As to driver to passenger communications, I had the opportunity to test them out twice now. Both times it worked flawless. We were able to communicate with each other without any wind noise. Even driving at 60 mph the wind noise is very minimal if any at all. It really makes driving two up more enjoyable. Having the ability to communicate with you passenger really makes a big difference.
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Post by Kiwiscoot on Aug 18, 2009 5:24:05 GMT -5
Can each person set their own volume on this intercom. I bought a cheap Chinese intercom, but my wife and I had problems. She has very good hearing and I have industrial deafness. So I have to wisper and she had to speak loudly, which caused her to keep quiet after a while. She found it irritating.
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Post by rubicontx on Aug 18, 2009 7:51:23 GMT -5
Yes, each unit has its own volume adjustment. I use some of those foam ear plugs on longer trips and the volume level is loud enough to be heard even with the plugs on. If you look at the picture above, the red arrows point to the volume up and volume down buttons. The yellow arrow is the button used to talk to the other head set (or you can just start talking and units will activate). This button is also used to turn on the FM radio. The radio is not too bad. I use it on my commutes to and from work. The green arrow is the on/off button. It's also used to communicate with your phone (bluetooth). When you get an incoming call, a tone will sound on the speakers, you can either press this button or just start talking to answer the incoming call. The area that the blue arrow is pointing to is where you plug your mp3 player. You have to use the volume control of the mp3 player. If you get an incoming call the mp3 player gets muted, its the same with the radio.
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Post by rubicontx on Oct 1, 2009 19:16:00 GMT -5
I was driving on a city street in Austin and a dump truck made a turn about halve a block in front of me. I thought no problem I will slow down and follow until I have to turn. Then the dump truck stops and starts to back up! I stop and start to honk the scooter horn (for being a little pricier scooter the horn is just as bad as my old 250B). No cigar, the dump truck kept on going back. I started to back up and what saved me was that another dump truck was waiting on the corner and he honked and the dump truck finally stopped. From that experience, I learned that I needed to change the horn. I ordered this one and it should get delivered today. Stebel Nautilus Compact Motorcycle Air Horn - Black - 139 dB The original horn location Here is a video of the original horn: Now the new horn:
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Post by rubicontx on Oct 2, 2009 13:06:15 GMT -5
I just found out how I am going to attach the horn. I will need to separate the air pump from the horn and use a hose to attach them together: I will then attach the horn in the original location and find a place to install the compressor.
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Post by widehide on Oct 2, 2009 13:37:56 GMT -5
rubicontx, sounds like someone was looking out for you, that would be a heck of a way to loose your scooter or your life, backed up over by a dump truck, who would of thought, this is very good info, I NEVER, thought of that problem.
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Post by Kiwiscoot on Oct 5, 2009 3:40:23 GMT -5
I found when I stop behind a truck the driver normally can see me if I can see him in his driver-side mirror. Glad for you the other truck saved your bacon.
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Post by rubicontx on Oct 5, 2009 7:20:58 GMT -5
I agree, I am sure glad that other truck driver used his horn.
Kiwiscoot, good point on staying in the sight of his side mirror. I just did not expect him to stop right after turning into my lane. I thought he was going to be going really slow.
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Post by Bake is Back on Oct 6, 2009 9:23:49 GMT -5
rubicontx, You really have to pay attention with those bigger scoots. It is sooooo easy to not realize you are going wayyyyyyyyy past the speed limit.. If you had a Half Helmet like the cops you could probably get away with impersonating one of them....lol
BTW... I too think that is the sharpest of all rides.. I just do not like that there is no place to stretch out and straighten your legs like the Burgy... Otherwise This would be my thread and everyone would be googling over my sharp Scarabeo.
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Post by rubicontx on Oct 6, 2009 9:38:52 GMT -5
I just do not like that there is no place to stretch out and straighten your legs like the Burgy... bakeisback, your right about not being able to stretch your legs. I nomally ride with my knees bent in a "standard" riding position. While on longer trips I move my feet up the floorboard to exercise the legs. I am currently working on some pegs for the front of the floorboards so that I can stretch my legs a little more and get some cooler air on those 100+ summer days.
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Post by rubicontx on Oct 13, 2009 9:56:38 GMT -5
I was looking at installing some fog lights for more visibility at night. Has anyone had any experience with this brand: Martin Fabrication ( www.martinfabrication.com/Mar...ting_Home.html) The Standard kit is $134.95 and it includes every thing you need to get the lights installed. They come with 35 watt H3 bulbs. On another project:I also added some small led lights to the turn signals to make them more like running lights. They draw 1.5 watts so it should not task the charging system too much. I drilled a small hole in the turn signal reflector and added the small led lights. 3 led light: At work we have a special motorcycle parking area. One of the guys has a nice big fancy BMW touring motorcycle. It has many lights in the front, which at night gives it a bigger footprint. It makes it a lot more noticeable than the single light like my scooter has. By adding the tiny led lights, and the fog lights on the forks I am hoping to make it more noticeable during my morning commutes to work.
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Post by rubicontx on Oct 13, 2009 9:57:34 GMT -5
I was at Wal-Mart today and saw some driving lights for only $19.00. I figured for such a low price I would give them a try. To mount the lights I removed the top bolt that holds the brake caliper to the forks. I went to Home Depot and bought some longer screws. I bought 2 8mm x 40mm screws. I use the new screws to secure the brackets to the forks. I then mounted the light to the bracket. I still have to wire the lights but they don't look too bad for 19.00 dollars.
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Post by Kiwiscoot on Oct 13, 2009 14:17:38 GMT -5
Hi I like your idea of the extra lights. I may do your LED lights customizing too. How would the lights on the front wheel survive the jarring from the suspension?? They do look cool down there? I like the picture of your front tire. What brand have you got on it and how do you find them?? Have fun and miles of smiles to you.
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