Never Leave Scooters Idle on the Side Stand!

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R50Rider
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Posts: 97
Joined: Tue Apr 21, 2015 2:39 pm
Location: CT

Never Leave Scooters Idle on the Side Stand!

Post by R50Rider »

I threw the dice and I lost. . .stupid stupid me. :headache:

Was in a hurry last Sunday night after just getting back from dining out and started up the Roughhouse to let it warm up and parked it on the side stand in my driveway. Since the temps have been dropping a bit I noticed it will idle a bit higher in the RPMs until it quiets down and is ready to ride but I figured it would be OK "this time". Wrong!!!

As I was bringing leftovers in from the car into the house I heard the thing drop and realized just at that point I will never. . .never. . .ever do that again. :shock:

I knew it's something that one shouldn't do but I allowed complacence to override my common sense and expedite the way to disaster. . .well almost disaster. Fortunately the only thing I had to replace was the left brake lever. That being said the rear turn signal suffered only scratches and remained in place. The left handlebar grip was mildly distorted and the bottom edge of the floorboard received some minor scrapes forward and aft. No body work was damaged. . .big relief.

It took some effort to get the machine restarted (since the carb was on it's side) but it finally caught and I took it for a short ride just to make sure everything was OK. The back brake was useless of course so I put the scooter to rest for a week and I expect my new brake lever to arrive any day now. . .about $25 bucks later (including shipping).

So the moral to the story is and always has been to start a scooter on the center stand if you are going to walk away from it. . .even for a minute.

The weather has taken a turn for the better now. . .it's almost like summer. . .and I'm hoping the new brake lever gets here today. . .I need to ride. . .go figure.

:helmet:
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viney266
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Post by viney266 »

Yeah, I work on them for a living and catch myself almost doing this every once in a while. Centerstand only if she is running. Glad it was just a lever.

Tighten that rear brake cable up a bit. It will help the rear brake work a little better.
Speed is only a matter of money...How fast do you want to go?
R50Rider
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Posts: 97
Joined: Tue Apr 21, 2015 2:39 pm
Location: CT

Post by R50Rider »

I did carefully adjust the rear brake after I installed the new lever. Spun the wheel to make sure there wasn't any hint of noise or resistance. . .adequate clearance for sure. Also checked again after I took it out for a brief ride to make sure there wasn't any noticeable heat or odor coming from the rear wheel hub. Life is good again. . .on the verge of clocking over 1800 miles soon. I've only had it since last May. Great scooter for the money.
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MikeR
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Location: SE USA

Me too!

Post by MikeR »

I left my scooter running as I went to the mailbox and when I heard a very sickening thud sound behind me. I immediately learned a lesson. It was one of those "Oh, s...t !!!!!!!!" moments.

Only had to re-position my left mirror, and smooth out with sandpaper, then repaint, the very end, ball-like part, of the left brake lever. Fortunately. :( :( :( :( :(
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