Some New Lights

This evening I replaced my standard brake/running lights with LED replacements. The original part is a standard 7443, wedge-base bulb; I put in 45-LED red replacements (at about $25 a pop...). The results are mixed. I think that, as running lights, they are a bit brighter, but there is less of a change in brightness  when the brake lights come on.

Not surprisingly, the bulbs are polarized; if you put them in the socket the wrong way, they will not come on. They seem to fit either way; I just had to try them both ways to get them to work.

I also replaced the bulb in the trunk with an LED replacement; it's brighter and yet uses a lot less power. Since many Reflex owners have reported that the light in the trunk can sometimes stay on and drain the battery, this gives me a little more confidence about letting the scoot sit for a while without running. Again, the part is a 3022, 31 x 10mm "festoon" bulb.

I'm now thinking about replacing my turn signal lights. These present another challenge; the lower current requirements of LEDs tend to cause problems with the standard turn signal relays. Special LED relays are available, but I'm having trouble locating the right part. The standard Honda relay is Honda OEM part # 38301-KK9-952; this is the same as a Mitsuba FR-3303. Searching on those part numbers, though, for an LED-compatible replacement hasn't turned up anything definitive - yet....

A nice ride to work

I haven't yet done exactly this route, but I've done most of it. It's a very nice ride.

Like many trips in the Boston area, it's not symmetric; I can't quite use it for the ride home.


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Nature walks in the western burbs

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Finally, a picture

This is for Dave.

Over the weekend I got the scoot out onto Route 2; it climbed the infamous hill westbound out of Alewife at 65, turning about 7000 RPM. It wasn't especially stable at that speed; modest wind gusts have more of an impact than I liked.

Rode to work today and bought gas; so far, I'm getting 59MPG.

First day out

This morning I took the scoot over to Riverside Motorsports in Union Square for its inspection. All the initial paperwork is now behind me. Yea!

From there I rode back home, packed a water bottle in the boot, and headed off for a ride.  I went out thru Belmont and Lexington to Lincoln, spent some time practicing low speed turns in a school parking lot, and then headed over to Greater Boston Motor Sports to look at jackets.



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I got an Olympia Motor Sports GT Air three-piece jacket; bye-bye, cheap leather.

It started to rain moments after I got home. Good Karma (bikema?)

While on the ride, I noticed a few things to check into:

• The idle speed seems a bit high. It's supposed to be 1500 RPM; it seems to be closer to 1800 or even higher.
• It occurred to me that the original owner is from Colorado; I wonder if the engine is set to run lean?
• I did some hard braking in the parking lot (30-MPH to a dead stop as quickly as I could); afterwards, it seems like the front brake was rubbing every rotation for a brief period after the hard braking. Problem?

The New Toy

Tonight I got a ride up to Bradford to pick up my new toy - a 2006 Honda Reflex motor scooter. This isn't mine, but this is what it looks like:

Perhaps I shouldn't say "toy" - it has a 250cc engine and should be capable of highway speed without a problem. I took all back roads between Bradford and Cambridge; I'm not yet ready to try it out on, say, the madness of I-93. Total distance - a bit over 36 miles. I got home at dusk after a very enjoyable ride.

I have a lot of to-do's:

• Get the scoot inspected. I have until next Monday.
• Get a decent protective jacket (something like this). I have a lightweight leather jacket I used for the ride home, but a modern jacket with elbow and sleeve protection, a back stiffener, etc. would be safer and more cooler (leather gets hot!).
• Replace the lights (tail, turn and running) with high-intensity LEDs. Visibility matters!
• Get some reflective tape to stick on my helmet and various parts of the scoot.
• Spend a couple of hours removing access panels and just looking at things.