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Woody
Woody MegaDork
5/24/19 8:16 a.m.
mazdeuce - Seth said:

I love for you to point out some elegance in design. If you can find any. 

Its comfortable and it was very nicely assembled. 

pinchvalve
pinchvalve MegaDork
5/24/19 8:19 a.m.

A pop-up headlight makes it the coolest scooter ever. I had one in San Fran for a few days and it was the best way to get around that city by far.  

Woody
Woody MegaDork
5/24/19 10:50 a.m.
mazdeuce - Seth said:

I love for you to point out some elegance in design. If you can find any. 

It's possible that the headlight pops up in a manner that is more elegant than you might have expected...

mazdeuce - Seth
mazdeuce - Seth Mod Squad
5/24/19 11:03 a.m.

In reply to Woody :

That's exactly what I'm talking about. That's neat. 

Woody
Woody MegaDork
5/24/19 4:40 p.m.

As you may recall, I have the owner’s manual for this thing, and in there, it specifically mentions “Absolutely Do Not Do This, You Moron!”

 

But I'm fairly stupid and it’s fairly disgusting, so I’m going to do it anyway.

I did my best to cover the carburetor, as well as the digital dash, ignition switch and horn. 

 

Dog secretly agrees with the wisdom of Honda engineers, but quietly concedes the point, noting the fact that I have opposable thumbs, thereby allowing me access to the jar of duck jerky in the kitchen. 

Woody
Woody MegaDork
5/24/19 4:51 p.m.

Foamy Scooter Brite

Much better. 

BoxheadTim
BoxheadTim MegaDork
5/25/19 9:48 a.m.

That's a pretty cool scooter.

Out of semi-curiousity - does this have a CVT/automatic transmission? My wife has mentioned she'd be interested in a scooter for buzzing around town here and my FB marketplace feed just popped up with one in 1980s Gold with less than 4k on the clock.

Woody
Woody MegaDork
5/25/19 12:39 p.m.

In reply to BoxheadTim :

Yes. 

BoxheadTim
BoxheadTim MegaDork
5/25/19 12:42 p.m.

In reply to Woody :

Thank you.

egnorant
egnorant SuperDork
5/25/19 7:44 p.m.

I bought an old Puch when I was a teen and my brothers and I hooned it all over our little town until it expired due to repeated Evel Knievel imitations. Now we are more resposible and have a Honda Express, Yamaha Zuma and a Yamaha Vino. At only 50cc they are still great around town.

My brother says that his Zuma filled a hole in his life that he didn't even know he had!

Bruce

Woody
Woody MegaDork
5/25/19 9:56 p.m.

eBay Score!

I found a hardcover version of the one-year-only factory shop manual for $20 shipped!

 

 

Surely a book so rare must have passed through the hands of the lovely Rebecca Romney as it made its way through Clark County Library District.

 

Woody
Woody MegaDork
5/27/19 8:14 a.m.

I'm still in the process of cleaning stuff before any actual work begins.

I continue to be amazed at the sheer number of parts that comprise the bodywork. At $1800 new, how could Honda have possibly turned a profit on these things? Again though, it's all beautifully assembled.

 

Woody
Woody MegaDork
5/30/19 8:04 p.m.

Actual work has begun!

I don't plan to do much painting, but these louvers were looking pretty ratty, and they're such a defining characteristic of the scoot that I figured I'd give them quick respray with satin black.

 

 

 

Much betterer.

Nick Comstock
Nick Comstock MegaDork
5/30/19 8:13 p.m.

Like!

nocones
nocones UltraDork
5/30/19 8:51 p.m.

Can you please do a James May style assembler episode on this.  It's so delightfully wierd and has so many fiddly parts 

Woody
Woody MegaDork
5/30/19 8:55 p.m.

In reply to nocones :

I know who James May is, but I was not a big enough fan to know what his assembly style entails. 

Woody
Woody MegaDork
5/30/19 8:58 p.m.
BoxheadTim said:

That's a pretty cool scooter.

Out of semi-curiousity - does this have a CVT/automatic transmission? My wife has mentioned she'd be interested in a scooter for buzzing around town here and my FB marketplace feed just popped up with one in 1980s Gold with less than 4k on the clock.

Woody
Woody MegaDork
5/30/19 8:59 p.m.

The pulleys need some attention.

 

Woody
Woody MegaDork
5/30/19 9:03 p.m.

In reply to oldopelguy :

I may need some stuff. Would you be interested in selling me a few parts?

stuart in mn
stuart in mn MegaDork
5/30/19 9:36 p.m.
Woody said:

In reply to nocones :

I know who James May is, but I was not a big enough fan to know what his assembly style entails. 

Search on YouTube for "james may the reassembler".  It was a series of TV shows he did in the UK where he reassembled various things that had been taken apart, including a small motorcycle.

Woody
Woody MegaDork
5/31/19 3:28 p.m.

Now getting to more serious stuff.

The rear brakes seemed to be dragging when I brought it home. That continued until the day after I power washed it. From that point forward, the rear wheel was completely locked up.

Maybe those Honda engineers knew what they were talking about...

Removing the rear wheel isn't quite as straightforward as you might think. First, the ginormous muffler needs to come off, then the right side shock absorber, and then the wheel, which did not wish to be removed from its splined driveshaft. Some PB blaster and about fifteen minutes of whacking with a rubber mallet and a chunk of 2x4 finally persuaded it to come off.

 

 

oldopelguy
oldopelguy UberDork
5/31/19 4:35 p.m.
Woody said:

In reply to oldopelguy :

I may need some stuff. Would you be interested in selling me a few parts?

Whatever you need. 

Woody
Woody MegaDork
5/31/19 4:36 p.m.
oldopelguy said:
Woody said:

In reply to oldopelguy :

I may need some stuff. Would you be interested in selling me a few parts?

Whatever you need. 

Thanks. I'll send you a PM.

Woody
Woody MegaDork
5/31/19 4:57 p.m.
oldopelguy said:
Woody said:

In reply to oldopelguy :

I may need some stuff. Would you be interested in selling me a few parts?

Whatever you need. 

The main things that I am looking for are the black front "bumper" that holds the side reflectors, a spare (used) drive belt and belt cover gasket, and black plastic cover for the right side (when you are sitting on the scooter) of the front wheel. The left side cover is in the photo.

If you have any red plastic, I might be interested in the main fairing and the license plate panel if they are intact. Mine are cracked. I might be able to glue them, but it would be nice to find some that are in better condition. Also, my left front turn signal is salvageable but pretty badly scratched.

Let me know what you have, and how much you would like for it.

 

Woody
Woody MegaDork
6/1/19 7:02 a.m.

This may not look like much, but it proved to be a very satisfying part of the job. I took the rear brakes from locked up solid, to beautifully functional. There was plenty of material left on the pads and drum, so everything was just disassembled, cleaned, lubed and reassembled.

The brake cam was a real PITA to remove, but once it was polished up and greased, it moves as smooth and easily as it should.

I believe that shiny parts are happy parts.

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