Post any holiday mods for your scooter!

Th17kit · Post by **Th17kit** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 7:24 pm

I'd like to know what decorations/mods MBers have done for the holidays.
I know most people switch to cages for the winter, but for those of us who brave the cold, it's a golden opportunity to do some decorating!

Halloween? Thanksgiving? Christmas? What have you done?

Cheshire · Post by **Cheshire** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 7:27 pm

I was just scheming on this today. I'll be going out to get materials as soon as the rain lets up. Commuting in the rain, sure. Running a lot of stop-and-go errands in the rain? No thanks.

(Putting on wet gloves = eww.)

laxer · Post by **laxer** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 7:29 pm

Someone should dress up like a witch and dress their scoot like a broom!

Th17kit · Post by **Th17kit** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 7:30 pm

For starters, I've been looking into installing a lighted wreath to the leg shield of my '09 Pamplona.

I'm staying away from splicing directly into the electrical system, since I want to easily remove the wreath.

Using regular Christmas lights won't work, since they need AC power. Using a DC to AC converter in the Buddy's power socket probably isn't a great idea, since I understand the converters are inefficient and might kill the battery. If anyone has done this, how did it work?

Luckily, various places sell battery-operated LED lights, which means they are wired for DC current. But who wants to use up a bunch of batteries, and who knows if they'll work once it gets really cold out? So that option is out.

You can buy pre-made lighted, battery-operated wreaths, they all appear to be pre-programmed to work at night only, plus they're large and kinda expensive. I don't think it's legal to use multi-color lights, either. So that option's out too.

My project is now to modify a battery operated string of white LED christmas lights to work in the power socket. I plan to cut off the battery pack and splice in a cigarette plug or USB plug (I have a USB - cigarette adaptor, and then it will plug into my computer and car stereo!).
I'm not sure if the power specs will match between the power socket and the lights, and since they are LED they may burn out if there is power fluctuation... Any advice on the power issues would be appreciated!

I will post pics if I can make this work/if there's any interest!

Th17kit · Post by **Th17kit** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 7:33 pm

laxer wrote:Someone should dress up like a witch and dress their scoot like a broom!

That would be spectacular! All you'd really need to do for the broom is cut one off a few inches above the bristles and 'somehow' attach it to the back of the scoot. It would be easy to zip tie it to the bottom of the rear rack!

Cheshire · Post by **Cheshire** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 7:35 pm

Th17kit: you're skipping a major holiday and a minor one!!
SACRILEGE!!!

Before you get to winter, whatcha going to do for Halloween?

Th17kit · Post by **Th17kit** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 7:49 pm

Halloween, hmmm.

I have a polar bear costume that would probably be hilarious to wear around, especially if I can figure out a way to use the head without compromising my vision....

I would be a pirate but they tend not to dress for cold weather, and last time I was driving with an eye patch (talk like a pirate day) I hit something

Kaos · Post by **Kaos** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 8:21 pm

Th17kit wrote:Halloween, hmmm.

I have a polar bear costume that would probably be hilarious to wear around, especially if I can figure out a way to use the head without compromising my vision....

I would be a pirate but they tend not to dress for cold weather, and last time I was driving with an eye patch (talk like a pirate day) I hit something

Yikes! I tried to wear my tall pirate boots around all day, but talk like a pirate day happens to also be my anniversary. My wife didn't approve.

TVB · Post by **TVB** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 8:33 pm

For Columbus Day this past Monday, I decorated my red Buddy to look like a scarlet fever bacterium, like the ones European settlers brought to the Americas.

laxer · Post by **laxer** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 9:09 pm

For Columbus day this year, I made my scooter my slave like the native tribes did to each other long before the white man arrived!

JSharpPhoto · Post by **JSharpPhoto** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 9:26 pm

we went all out last year.....

Th17kit · Post by **Th17kit** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 2:01 am

[quote="JSharpPhoto"]we went all out last year.....

OMG that photo is so over the top I almost fell out of my chair! Tell me please that's actually a photo of you, and not something you found on the net. Nice photoshopping, too

Th17kit · Post by **Th17kit** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 2:04 am

TVB wrote:For Columbus Day this past Monday, I decorated my red Buddy to look like a scarlet fever bacterium, like the ones European settlers brought to the Americas.

Pics or it didn't happen

JSharpPhoto · Post by **JSharpPhoto** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 4:11 am

Th17kit wrote:
JSharpPhoto wrote:we went all out last year.....

OMG that photo is so over the top I almost fell out of my chair! Tell me please that's actually a photo of you, and not something you found on the net. Nice photoshopping, too
That was my christmas promo last year. That's me, my wife, and our two Schnauzers, Leica and Pixel. You can see it, and the rest of my book on my website. www.jeremysharpphotographer.com

Vic · Post by **Vic** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 9:58 pm

Last year I put a pumpkin face on my sunset Buddy, it was great! I used some of this self stick felt and just cut it to the right shape.

I am LOVING the idea of dressing up like a witch and dressing my scoot like a broomstick... I gotta hit the thrift store. We have a haunted ride this Sunday. That would be a hoot!

Of course dressing up like a headless horseman would be great too! Put a plastic jack-o-lantern on the seat behind you... Especially if you have a black scooter!

Thrift store... here I come!

-v

Cheshire · Post by **Cheshire** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 5:01 am

Vic wrote:Of course dressing up like a headless horseman would be great too! Put a plastic jack-o-lantern on the seat behind you... Especially if you have a black scooter!

That's what I'm planning. I've got the front black wire basket and am thinking of actually carving a small-ish pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern, rigging it with some kind of LED light or something, and wiring it to the bottom of the basket so it stays put. As an added touch, I'm going to get some skeleton hands and attach them to the grab bar of the rear rack to look like someone tried (and failed) to hitch a ride.

I'll post pics when I get it set up!

*edit* If I don't go real jack-o-lantern, I've got some plastic ones that'll work. Hmm...I might do that up until Halloween and then do the real pumpkin for the holiday itself. Instead of the hands, I might do the sack-o-heads on the rear rack! *scheme*

KRUSTYburger · Post by **KRUSTYburger** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 1:37 pm

Resurrected! Who's decorating their scoots this year? Let's see some pics!

TVB · Post by **TVB** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 2:12 pm

Er... I'll probably be connecting a battery tender to it soon. They're predicting a few inches of snow tonight.

Lil Buddy · Post by **Lil Buddy** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 3:39 pm

Th17kit wrote:For starters, I've been looking into installing a lighted wreath to the leg shield of my '09 Pamplona.

My project is now to modify a battery operated string of white LED christmas lights to work in the power socket. I plan to cut off the battery pack and splice in a cigarette plug or USB plug (I have a USB - cigarette adaptor, and then it will plug into my computer and car stereo!).
I'm not sure if the power specs will match between the power socket and the lights, and since they are LED they may burn out if there is power fluctuation... Any advice on the power issues would be appreciated!

If you can find a string of battery operated LED's, why would you modify it for power? I would think the batteries would last long enough and if you could switch them to lithium, they will last much longer.

Here is a 12v set with the adapter plug already installed.
http://www.christmas-light-source.com/1 ... c_253.html

r0sa · Post by **r0sa** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 5:51 pm

I will be putting an exhaust on my buddy to make it go even FASTER in the cold!

lmyers · Post by **lmyers** » Sun Dec 06, 2009 1:06 am

Ho-ho-ho.

Th17kit · Post by **Th17kit** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 2:48 am

Sorry I didn't get around to posting this a little earlier. The snow pack has been durable in Denver this winter, so I haven't been using or thinking about the scooter much lately.

I ended up just using the battery operated LED lights for the wreath and tucking the battery case in the cup holder. I attached the wreath with 2 large green 3M hooks with the sticky "no residue" backing, and then tied some twine through the air vents for some additional insurance. It never moved at speeds up to 45 MPH (the fastest I happened to go with it).

The removal took about 1 minute and left no marks, something I was concerned about.

I didn't get a photo of it lit before I took it off. Shoot.

brape · Post by **brape** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 3:59 am

you can get usb powered led christmas lights and whathave you from thinkgeek.com just in case you want to start thinking for next year.

Stormswift · Post by **Stormswift** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 4:24 am

I am trying to figure the logistics of securing parts of my son's Harry Potter broomstick to the front and back of the scooter. It is plastic. It would be perfect for Halloween or in my case for everyday use according to my mom

.
I think it is probably going to be much easier to do once I have mounting for the front and back racks (part of handle will stick out front and the broom part form the back). The "look "should be priceless and maybe a deterrent for anyone who likes to snatch other people's scooters

Who would want a motorised witches broomstick?

Modern Buddy

Post any holiday mods for your scooter!

Post any holiday mods for your scooter!

Christmas wreath

Re: Christmas wreath

Christmas wreath