Ahoy, a great time at Action Wheelsport's scooter maintenance seminar. Ye'll ne'er get me buried booty!

Today Maureen and I celebrated International Talk Like a Pirate Day and attended a free scooter maintenance seminar given by the guys at Action Wheelsport in Saint Petersburg, FL. Although our first time at this event, this is the second year in a row AW came in on their day off to give scooter enthusiasts some very helpful education on some advanced do-it-yourself maintenance.

As usual, Maureen and I showed up about 5 minutes late. We walked into to a group of 20+ scooterists sitting semi-circle around a Kymco scooter on a lift right in the middle of the show room. My first impression was that I was really impressed with the set up of the demonstration. I fully expected a half dozen people standing in a garage looking down on a scooter. Quite to the contrary, AW made it a point to make everyone comfortable. They had drinks, cookies and handed out every chair they had in the building. As far as the content of the seminar, it too was more than I expected. Not just checking the oil and tire air pressure, but for two hours they covered some advanced items. They actually took a part the CVT transmission to show the parts and how it all works together. We learned some basics on charging systems and got to compare new and worn variator roller weights, stators and tires. My one contribution was telling the group how to pick up a dropped bike.

After the class, Dan Lynch, one of the owners of AW, spent some time showing Maureen one of the new Buddy 125 models they had in stock. Dan was a really nice guy, who was willing to talk scooters as long as I wanted. Maureen really was impressed with the Buddy. She said it definitely looks better in person than on Genuine Scooter's website. I think Dan may have sold her on it as he demonstrated how an optional basket can attached right to the frame on the front. We'll have to see how she compares it to an LX150 or Fly150 down the road.

Maureen and Flo at Action Wheelsport

Once the group broke, we were invited to take a ride down to the Drunken Clam on St. Pete Beach with some of the members of the Saint Petersburg Scooter Club and St. Pete Beach Scooter Club. During the ride, it dawned on me that I had rode tens of thousands of miles on group rides on my Harley, but this was actually my very first time riding on my Vespa with a group. The first thing I noticed that it was all fun and no rules. An unorganized pick-up ride, we just went. We changed leaders twice when they both took an "unplanned detour", but it was just pure fun as we cruised down from Treasure Island to St. Pete Beach. Maureen and I had a commitment we had to get home for, so we said goodbye to our new friends and headed north towards Clearwater Beach on our way home.

Maureen snaps a pic over my shoulder on our ride

On the way home, our stomachs told us that we hadn't eaten since breakfast. Ignoring the time of our prior commitment (I mentioned we are usually late), we stopped in a fun looking beach place named the Kooky Coconut in Indian Rocks Beach. We split some coconut flavored Fuze and a pork quesadilla. Just another delightful surprise of the day. The quesadilla was delicious. Today was truly one those great riding days where everything seemed to exceed any expectations.  I'm looking forward to the next chance to ride with a bunch of fun loving scooterists.

Eating at the Kooky Coconut

A postcard picture perfect ride

This past Saturday, I took scooter girl with me on some errands. On our way back, we drove through downtown Dunedin. Unfortunately the Green Market is stopped until fall so we couldn't shop for veggies and such. Dunedin is a very fun town. Full of Celtic heritage, but also some very progressive bars and great places to eat. It's definitely a great destination for a scooter ride. There are a number of artistic murals on the buildings in the downtown area. I just had to get a picture in front of the one which looks like a touristy Florida postcard.

Scootin' on Dunedin's Main Street

Vespa Brake Fluid Change (How to)

Scooter Girl demonstrates how to change the hydraulic brake fluid on the disc brakes of a Vespa LX150. It's important to change your brake fluid regularly. Vespa recommends every two years for the LX150. This procedure can be applied to any scooter or motorcycle with disc brakes.

My Expanded Scooter Family

My brother Tom got a scooter. I'm very excited for him! He is very practical and was looking for supplemental transportation for daily commuting. Since he lives in New Jersey, he'll only be riding part of the year. So, he chose a very basic inexpensive brand. As part of the shipping process, the scooter was not fully assembled. He needed to finish the assembly which included items such as the front wheel, speedometer, front breaks, handle bars and top case. He also needed to charge the battery by adding the acid solution. The company he bought if from told him it would take about 30 minutes to assemble the scooter. Two days later he got it all together, and took it out for a test ride.

While at first it seems unfathomable that a company would require this much "some assembly required". I really think it had a good benefit. Tom is now fully intimate with most of the parts of his scooter. This is some really beneficial knowledge which will come in handy when he needs to do maintenance. Many people pay 2-4 times as much for a scooter, and then have no idea how to do some of the most basic maintenance, such as changing the engine oil, gearbox oil, or replacing a tire. So maybe having to put it together himself, while at first seemed cumbersome, could end up being a valuable experience.

I really wish Tom many miles of fun on his new scooter, and I'm happy to see one more two-wheeler in my family. :-)

Tom on his new scooter

Scootin' on Honeymoon Island

Wednesday evening I took a ride to the beach at Honeymoon Island (a Florida State Park). It is really a beautiful island with multiple beach areas; one for pets, one with soft sand, and one with a lot of shells to find.

I rode up to the entrance gate and showed my annual pass. The two park rangers at the gate were very nice ladies. I sat there for about five minutes answering their questions about the Vespa. The said they saw the red color far away and watched me arrive. They were amazed when I told them that I can get up to 60 mph. They agreed it is a great mode of transport to the beach.

My first stop was to the main beach. It was moderately crowded for a weekday, but people do tend to come out for the sunset. I was able to find a spot right in front of the building. I was able to lock my cable to a sign post, but I was rather disappointed that there where no motorcycle/scooter parking spots. Maybe I'll pursue getting these added.

The beach was great, the water was warm, and the sound of the surf took the stress of the day away. I spent about 90 minutes on the beach, and then took off on a little ride around the island. Everyone was so relaxed, and gave me a friendly wave as I rode past. I stopped at the ticket booth for the ferry to Caladesi Island. It was closed, but I took a little walk around.

Finally, I took off to ride home in the sunset, feeling full of life after my trip.

A green day at the Dunedin green market

Today was the last day of the Dunedin Green Market, and it was a perfect morning for a scooter ride. I have some house guests visiting, and I thought they would enjoy some fresh fruit for breakfast. I woke up early and left the house at 7:45 to be there right at the 8:00 published start time. Although only four miles away from my house, it was a fun ride and the cool temps at that time made it even more enjoyable.

Main Street Dunedin is a great place, and I really like what they are trying to do with the Saturday Green Market. Vendors come in with local or "green" products to sell. Today, there were even two produce vendors. I got a great selection of pineapple, papaya and cantaloupe. I even got two great loaves of breakfast bread; banana nut raisin and carrot. Of course, I had to pick up some limes, an essential fruit for any Parrothead. The milk crate I bought (don't steel milk crates) came in handy bringing it all home. 

I was able to get in a great little ride, and serve up a true Key West style B&B breakfast to my guests. What a way to start the day!

Drying out at the beach

I feel like a drowned rat. It rained for about 5 days straight here in Florida. Fourth of July weekend was pretty much a bust. I think the least amount we got one day was 4 inches.  But the sun finally came out today. After work, Maureen and I took a ride to the beach. There is just something about feeling the wind in your hair, and smelling the sea air to take all the stress away.

Luckily, the BP oil spill hasn't hit the beaches here, and it was perfect weather to walk in the water while the sun was setting. It's interesting, all the things going on at the beach, but when a Vespa is riding by in the sand (parking on the causeway is in the sand) everyone stops to watch it go by. Maybe it is the symbol of total beach enjoyment, maybe it was the big guy in a Hawaiian shirt, or maybe (most likely) it was the big smiles on our faces.

Can you spot the scooter in the picture?