Pastor Jim's New 250 Scoot
 

Pastor Jim asked a buddy (Chinariders member sucksqueezebangblow) and I to accompany him on a ride today, in preparation for his Class 6 motorcycle skills test tomorrow. He has the specific learner's permit, but he can only ride with Class 6 holders over the age of 25. Sucksqueezebangblow and I certainly qualify. :lol:

I borrowed another buddy's 600 Honda Silverwing, and SSBB rode his his 1000 Honda Firestorm (VTR1000F, aka Superhawk in the USA) and Jim was aboard his new 250 Saga scooter. The weather was a bit crisp, but it was above freezing and very clear with no clouds. A great day. :D

We tooled around the country roads a bit, then we put up some cones in a parking lot for Jim to practice. He did very well. We spent the rest of the afternoon just enjoying a good ride. SSBB was very gracious, and tried to resist the temptation to twist the throttle and disappear. His bike is an absolute rocketship.

Here's a very happy Jim, out for the first time:

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...ter/photo3.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...ter/photo4.jpg

Here's Jim and Weldangrind. I'm obviously saying something very important; perhaps it was "Where can I find a vest like that?" :lol:


http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...oter/photo.jpg


http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...ter/photo1.jpg

My buddy's Silverwing defies the typical definition of a scooter. He installed a Hindle pipe on it, and it takes off and sounds like a 600 sport bike. It's really impressive. I could easily ride that machine for hours at a time on the highway.

Wow! Looks like it was a fun day!

I like the 250 scoot!

Jim has my dork vest!

Thanks for the ride report! I am VERY interested to hear more about the Honda Maxi-Scoot. I'd also like some pics of SSBB's giant V-Twin sportbike :wink: .


It looks like a lot of fun, and sunny and cool is still great riding weather if you have a windshield and the right (electric 8) ) clothing.

How's the Saga run?

Nice Dork Vest BTW. :P I'm a believer. My All The Time riding apparal includes ear plugs, and if its anywhere near dark or foggy, my Dork Vest.

Also of course boots full face Snell/DOT helmet, and gloves and at least jeans. I have some Kevlar reinforced jeans I like.

Thanks guys. :D

The Saga runs rather well, but there is definitely some power hiding in that muffler. Jim and I will take the time to go through it and perform the usual four stroke upgrades. I easily travelled at 70mph on the highway with it, but it takes a while to get there.

My buddy's Silverwing is a blast to ride, and there is cavernous space under the seat; enough room for two helmets. He hasn't ridden it much this year, and he's considering a dual sport instead. This may be Jim's next scooter.

I'm an ATGATT believer, but I've yet to aquire all that stuff. My gear for the last several years has been dirt only. Now that Son of Weldangrind and I are moving towards dual sports, our gear will change a bit.

Pastor Jim is coaching Son of Weldangrind through the written portion of the Class 6 exam. :D I'd do it, but we all know how such things go between father and son.

Cool thread! I missed it earlier, sometimes my new post notifications disappear before I get a chance to check the threads out. Your pastors Saga looks like a nice scoot! Plus, I love his helmet! Is he taking his license on the 250? I think it would be an excellent choice vs a big heavy street bike to get the license on :)

He totally scored with that helmet! It's an Ed Hardy design, and it's obviously intended to be very expensive. He found it in a discount bin at a local bike shop.

He tried his skills test on the scoot, but was unsuccessful. IMHO, he put too much pressure on himself, because he was trying to get the license before a deadline, and that never works. You need to be relaxed, calm and focused.

We'll try again when he gets back in a week.

I just discovered this great thread; thanks for posting it, Brother Weld! Can you give us an update? Did Pastor Jim pass his license test? :?:

Spud :D

That almost feels like a Providential question, Spud. :D Jim just called me yesterday to ask if we can get some more road time together. He has an appointment to test for his MC endorsement soon, and he wants to practice the pylons. I'm hoping that the carb for our TS250 comes in soon, so that Son of Weldangrind can join us; he's hoping for his endorsement soon as well.

That's wonderful! Please do keep us updated! :D

Spud :)

Pastor Jim got his MC endorsement yesterday! :D He's on the graduated program, which means that he can't ride in the dark, and he can't take passengers. Otherwise, he's good to go.

We're hoping to get a few rides in together this week, since my TW is now ready to go.

Please extend my warmest congratulations to Pastor Jim! :D Thanks for posting the update, Weld. :)

Spud :)

Congratulations! Looking forward to pics!

I just chatted with him on the phone. As a Pastor, he's busy almost every weeknight, so we're not sure when we'll be able to get out, but we'll be sure to post pics. :D

Pastor Jim says thanks for the congratulations. :D He's going for his final mc endorsement on June 29, so he'd appreciate prayer for that. If he's unsuccessful, he'll have to start the process all over again.

He and I are planning a ride on Saturday afternoon.

Please post photos from Saturday's ride! I want to see both Pastor Jim, and your TW200 in its native habitat! :D

Spud :)

You mention the Silver Wing.

I was following one of those on a country road to work a couple of days ago. I was on the Harley and that scooter really scooted :wink: . Granted I was on one of the slowest worst handling 'modern' motorcycles made but that scooter was fast. In acceleration and in the turns it looked like a lot of fun. I'm not used to fast(ish) scooters1 :P

The Honda Silver Wing is a very nice scoot! ;)

Spud :)

Sorry guys, not much of a ride report today, since it was all on pavement with few pics. Son of Weldangrind and I worked until 1:00am last night to try and wire the TS250 for lights, and we were finally successful early this afternoon. I ran down to the insurance office and got a plate and insurance. :D That meant that he was able to join Pastor Jim and I on a ride today, and it was his very first ride on the road.

We rode from Abbotsford to Langley, and our first stop was to see the good folks at Saga / Valley Motorsports. This is Pastor Jim with his Saga scoot and Son of Weldangrind with his Hibachi (that's how it smelled).

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...0/DSC06307.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...0/DSC06308.jpg

My favourite local China bike shop.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...0/DSC06309.jpg

Pastor Jim is also an umpire, so we briefly stopped at a sports store. I grabbed a couple of pics of our machines.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...0/DSC06310.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...0/DSC06311.jpg

We cruised over to Triple O's for a quick burger, then we made our way back to Abbotsford. We rode through the farm areas North of the highway, and it was a beautiful drive. After Pastor Jim went home for the day, Son of Weldangrind and I popped over to his Grandparent's house to mooch a cold beverage. We then took the long way home and stopped for a few more pics.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...0/DSC06312.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...0/DSC06313.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...0/DSC06314.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...0/DSC06315.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...0/DSC06316.jpg

What a great day! :D

I'm so happy for you guys on your ride.

BC is so beautiful you can give Spudland a run for it's money!

We've only just scratched the surface. :D

All three bikes look great! Thanks for posting the nice photos, Weld. :D

Spud :)

Thanks! We haven't so much as hosed off the TS250. :lol: It still has all of the dirt on it that it came with. We'll start a thread on that bike soon.

Hey hey! there's my shop :P

That must of been saturday after I left when you guys came by..

You are right weldangrind, you just missed me.. I wish I woulda stayed a bit longer, would of been great to have met your Son, and to see you and Pastor Jim agian!

Pastor Jims scooter looks sweet with his added touches with his pin-stripes :)
looks like he had the same idea in mind with the decal job from his Saga DLX to his Saga Cruse

Those stripes are not exactly my style, but he really enjoys his scooter, and he gets a kick out of personalizing it.

I hope you're in next time; Son of Weldangrind and I will certainly drop in again.

I failed to mention that Pastor Jim earned his MC endorsement a few weeks ago. :D He and I went on a terrific ride to Langley yesterday, where he treated me to a tasty Fatburger. My little (Zong tank equipped) TW doesn't quite have the off-the-line pickup that Jim's 250 scooter has, but it's a pleasure to ride anyway.

Wonderful!

Fatburger?

Truth in advertising!

Sounds like a great day. 8)

Please extend my congratulations to Pastor Jim for getting his motorcycle endorsement. :)

Spud :)

It's a Cali chain, IIRC. I've never visited one before, but it was quite tasty and decent quality also. He insisted on treating me because I take care of his scooter for him. I'm happy to help, and I enjoy hanging around with him. It was a great day. :D

Thanks Spud, will do. He wanted me to say that he gives all the glory to God. :D

I composed a post yesterday that detailed some work I did on Pastor Jim's scooter on the weekend, and then the forum froze on me. Let's try again...

Pastor Jim bought a genuine Honda Givi trunk from my buddy (the buddy with the Honda Silverwing), and he needed it to be installed. He also wanted a more free-flowing muffler, and some extra LED rear signals, because his stock rear signals are very difficult to see in the sunlight.

I removed his original rear rack from the aluminum tail section, and marked it for drilling. The two forward holes were no problem, but I had to bridge the rear holes with a piece of aluminum channel.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps566345a3.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...psfd55bfcb.jpg

I used some stainless hardware to install the two-piece mounting rack. It has rubber bushings and tube spacers that allow a bit of "give", rather than it being totally rigid. Much like the JCW trunk, this trunk will detach from the rack with just a key.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps9a3443c7.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...psdd2863b3.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...psfbdd878f.jpg

The muffler was a CL score, and was originally from a ZX-6, IIRC. My buddy relocated the bracket with his TIG welder, and I wrapped the muffler with a stainless T-bolt clamp to support the rear. I bent a bracket to suit the clamp.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps74a5aa7a.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps72a323ca.jpg

Pastor Jim will likely paint the muffler in time. I failed to take a pic of the signals, but they are typical China LED signals, and I mounted them on simple brackets under the trunk. He's quite pleased.

It looks like the post worked this time. :D

I also swapped the main jet to suit the new muffler, and Pastor Jim reports that it woke up the scooter nicely. He can easily cruise on the freeway, although I cautioned him to stay off of it until he gets a bigger scoot. He's eyeing up a 400 Burgman now.

Those who have been following might remember that he started with an electric scooter, sold that and bought a 50cc Saga and sold that and bought the 250. He's loving this means of getting around.

Brilliant work. The Pastor is lucky to have you in his flock!

I'm grateful to have him as a Pastor and a buddy. He's always grateful for my work, and he contributes to the shop fund. 1 Timothy 5:18

You do beautiful work, Brother Weld. :)

That muffler looks like it belongs on there too. Nice work. The babysitter a scooter that I have been eyeing up. I think its a 150cc Tank brand. Looks like it has been down.

Getting the scooter itch again, Kato?

Only if the price is right.