errantember (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
errantember) wrote2008-01-18 12:28 am
errantember) wrote2008-01-18 12:28 am
Scooter Improvements!
The handlebars on my scooter have been loose for some time. This likely happened when I fell over on it. After Adam's wife Gwen declined to take the scooter for a test drive because of the problem, it was time to fix it. Starting an hour before sunset at an already-cold 45 degrees, I removed the 13+ screws necessary to get the cowling clamshell off the front of the bike.
I tightened down the offending bolt, which turned out to be quite easy. While I was inside, I disconnected the klaxon on the hairtrigger, neighbor-with-nine-cat-incompatible alarm, and also put a piece of packing tape across the hole in the incredibly loud and annoying turn signal buzzer. The result is far more solid and civilized beast. My dear mother also just sent me a brand new riding jacket, just in time for cold weather! It covers my body a lot better than my old one, and looks sleeker and bikey-er, too.
I've noticed the scooter is definitely significantly affected by colder weather. Even getting down into the fifties seems to sap the range by as much as fifty percent. Starting on a full charge, I went on a 15 mile trip the other day, and was running on blinking red by the time I got home. The posted minimum range, which the scooter has done at least once, is 30 miles. Lead acid batteries are known to loose a lot of power in colder weather, but the details of the batteries don't suggest the loss should be that high at 50 degrees.
I tightened down the offending bolt, which turned out to be quite easy. While I was inside, I disconnected the klaxon on the hairtrigger, neighbor-with-nine-cat-incompatible alarm, and also put a piece of packing tape across the hole in the incredibly loud and annoying turn signal buzzer. The result is far more solid and civilized beast. My dear mother also just sent me a brand new riding jacket, just in time for cold weather! It covers my body a lot better than my old one, and looks sleeker and bikey-er, too.
I've noticed the scooter is definitely significantly affected by colder weather. Even getting down into the fifties seems to sap the range by as much as fifty percent. Starting on a full charge, I went on a 15 mile trip the other day, and was running on blinking red by the time I got home. The posted minimum range, which the scooter has done at least once, is 30 miles. Lead acid batteries are known to loose a lot of power in colder weather, but the details of the batteries don't suggest the loss should be that high at 50 degrees.