The Transfiguration of Natasha

[Ishkabibble]

First, let me explain the title of the thread…

My wife, in her inimitable and gracious manner, who agreed to permit the conditional acquisition of the scoot, (namely, that I have appropriate safety gear and undertake a certified safety course within a reasonable amount of time thereafter,) is the sort that sees humor in nearly everything. I believe that has served her in good stead over the twenty-five years we’ve been married, because, as the Universe knows, I am far from perfect in so many ways. I did manage to get her attention, and hold it long enough for her to agree to marry me, in spite of myself.

My lovely bride has pointed out (with increasing frequency, it seems) that I have found many, many opportunities to ride the scooter, and she always laments that I am beginning to find myriad reasons for “practicing” and “familiarization”, probably because I seem to find the time take the scoot out to ride. Personally, I think getting more familiar with the controls, and gaining experience in riding, will make me more proficient and safe in the operation of the scoot, but what do I know, I’m only a mere man.

As the latest package delivery arrived at the door, my wife commented that I seemed to be spending a fair amount of time (and money) on the scoot. “Have you gotten everything for that scooter that you want to get yet?” is a common question in our household. Not knowing that I have many, many plans for improvements and alterations, some being as ambitious as changing all the body panels to another color, and some being as plebian as adding the occasional light here and there (always for safety reasons, of course!) she seems to be operating under the mistaken impression that there will be an end to the minor (and major!) alterations. Where she gets such thoughts is completely beyond me.

It has become a little more apparent to my male reptilian lizard brain that she may be coming to feel that I am spending more than just a goodly bit of time with my new scoot. This suspicion of mine became a little less unclear when she used the word “mistress” in conversation the other day, after I had told her that I was thinking about a new seat. (This came after she had caught me on the MP Motorseat website (http://www.mpmotorseat.com), reviewing the multiple options in style, shape, and coverings.) In my utter innocence, I inquired what she might mean by that comment, and she replied that she was sensing a bit of attachment between myself and my scoot developing.

To that end, she decided to name the scoot, with the possible intent of giving an identity to the nameless piece of gloriously beautiful machinery that has taken up residence in our garage, and thus focus her occasional irritation and mild amusement on something less mechanical, and more anthropomorphic. And the name my beautiful, patient, long-suffering spouse has selected for my lovely little companion, is “Natasha”

Now, I suddenly have this vision of a long, tall, dark, exotic woman in a trench coat, with a curl of smoke lazily wafting around her, asking in a deep Russian accent, “Have you acquired the microfilm yet?” which is neither an entirely unwelcome, nor a particularly unpleasant mental visual.

So, Natasha it is.

[Ishkabibble]

I have to say that I completed this first modification before I suffered a significant injury to my left index finger. I was cutting some bamboo that was overhanging my garage apartment, and a piece of the cut stuff came back and laid my left index finger open to the tune of 16 stitches. So, I’ve been concentrating on healing since then.

The first bit of modification I have made to Natasha is the addition of a set of foam handlebar grips. I found them on eBay, for a little under $5, free shipping. They arrived within three days, and I could barely wait to go out and make installation.

These are the foam bicycle grips.

Grip01.png (144.16 KiB) Viewed 3649 times

In fact, I got the first one on before I remembered to take any photos. In any case, a bit of water with a drop or two of Dawn dish detergent made the very difficult installation much less difficult. They are 4¾” long, and designed for a c” bar, but I managed to work them onto the existing grips.

The first thing I did was remove the bar-end weights so that I’d have less “installation length” to get the foam covers over, which was fairly easy to accomplish. If you’ve ever re-gripped a golf club, then you know the best method to install these. Pinch the end of the foam grip to flatten out the opening a little, catch it on the end of the bar/existing grip, and push hard while twisting. Sounds much easier in description than it actually was in practice.

The difficulty arose when trying to push the covers over the existing grips. Man, it was difficult. It took me about 10 minutes to work them all the way on to each grip, and a few seconds to reinstall the bar-end weights with a drop of blue Loctite.

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Grip03.png (185.43 KiB) Viewed 3649 times

Let me tell you, with the little bit of riding I did before the injury, it makes a world of difference. Much less vibration, much, much less fatigue, and it actually feels as if my hand/finger position with regard to the brake levers is a little better. I highly encourage this modification, especially for those who ride longer distances or commute on your scooter. You won’t regret it.

[you you]

You've named the bike Natasha and fitted replacement grips?

[Mel46]

I purchased my custom seat from mpmotors. The first one you see on that site is BUT001. I asked them to mover the back brace back a little further and they were glad to. I think the seat would make a great addition to Natasha

[gn2]

I had a yellow Lada 1200 estate called Ivan which had red fluffy seat covers.

[homie]

I like it! where's the link... its nice to share

[gn2]

It was in a time before digital cameras or computers or the internet blighted our lives, so there's no link.

But here's one just like it: https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2691/4156 ... z.jpg?zz=1

[you you]

I had a yellow Lada 1200 estate called Ivan which had red fluffy seat covers.

Ivan the terrible

[Ishkabibble]

I had a friend in college who had a "Riva" that he bought off some guy in Canada. As I remember, it was the Soviet copy of some Fiat model that had flopped in Italy.

It was this not-quite white color that always looked dingy tan-stained. No air, the heater only warmed up your left foot if you were sitting in the passenger seat, but if I remember aright, that thing could drive for weeks on one tank of gas. It had something like a little two-cylinder engine.

[gn2]

It wasn't a copy of a flop.
The Fiat 124 and derivatives is the biggest ever selling car design.
All were four cylinder, 1200, 1300 and 1500

[Ishkabibble]

I purchased my custom seat from mpmotors. The first one you see on that site is BUT001. I asked them to mover the back brace back a little further and they were glad to. I think the seat would make a great addition to Natasha

Seat is definitely coming up...

I just have to wait a while so that my accountant doesn't completely freak out about all these "additional purchases"... She's already said that if I wanted the scooter to be so different, why didn't I buy another one that was more what I wanted? Sigh... I just don't think she understands sometimes.

On the other hand, I keep vacillating between three different seats. I still haven't made up my mind yet.

On the bright side, I'm probably going to get to ride Natasha to work this week. I'm really looking forward to that.

[Mel46]

Freddi's_bike_fixed_small.jpg (217.85 KiB) Viewed 3582 times

This may give you some ideas. Here is a picture of my wife's bike, after I repaired it after the accident in September. She has a different seat than I have, but most of the other items are the same. She misses riding, especially now, but no riding till she is healed.

[Ishkabibble]

Just, wow...

That's a lovely machine!

My little Natasha isn't there yet, but she will be soon.

A question. I've noticed what looks like water spots all over the bike. Almost like it was ridden in the rain, and then put up wet, allowing dust to dry on it.

What would be a good cleaner (besides detergent and water, as I don't want to just spray water all over it) to go over the scoot with? Windex? 409? What would be something that could clean up the plastics and the chrome? (that part around the steering mount, and the bars)

[kramnala58]

It was in a time before digital cameras or computers or the internet blighted our lives, so there's no link.
But here's one just like it: https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2691/4156 ... z.jpg?zz=1

Did that model have the battery under the rear seat? I knew of someone who had a Lada. The first time the battery died it took him hours to find it. His was a sedan with a boot/trunk, not the wagon model like the picture you linked to.

[GeorgeSK]

For a quick clean I like to use Meguir's Quick Detailing spray and a bit of cotton towel. It only takes a few squirts to get the scoot shining.

Of course if there is real dirt, then water and car wash stuff is the order of the day.

[Ishkabibble]

Oh shoot.

I was hoping to hear about a $3.59 basic household cleaner, rather than a $15 marked up brand name specialty cleaner.

Looks like I'm going to be stuck with just hoping the 409 doesn't damage the plastics.

[WhiteNoise]

Order some of this and another item (perhaps some protective gear or...?)
Spend a total of $49.00 at this website and shipping will be free. They're in Clarksville, Indiana.

This is a good product (Honda Dealers use) and it's affordable: http://www.compacc.com/p/honda-pro-hond ... ner-polish

Spray 4 oz. @ $2.99
Spray 12 oz. @ $5.39

[honkerman]

Oh shoot.

I was hoping to hear about a $3.59 basic household cleaner, rather than a $15 marked up brand name specialty cleaner.

Looks like I'm going to be stuck with just hoping the 409 doesn't damage the plastics.

I wouldn't use 409 or windex or anything like that. The clear coat and paint on the scooter's plastics is so thin you could easily damage it. Get a cheap bottle of car wash soap (something with carnauba in it would be good), a car wash mitt (not a sponge), two buckets of hot water, a hose, and some microfiber towels.

[Mel46]

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i ... Caps%2C209
This is what I use on our bikes. It works on all of the plastics, including that tall windshield. In fact, it is ideal for the windshield because it puts a light coating on it to help things slide off. It is great, so much so that I purchased the 64 ounce refill when my original spray on container was getting low.

[Ishkabibble]

Okay then...

Ever since I sliced my finger open, the weather has been beautiful. Sunny, not too breezy, and I've not been able to do a darn thing with Natasha.

Yesterday afternoon was no different, except that I just decided I was going to Do Something.

So, I decided the next thing would be the addition of the National Cycle windscreen. I ordered the 16.5” screen, or so I thought, but when it arrived, it turned out that I had the 14.75” screen. Didn't find this out until I opened the box that's been sitting in my garage for a week. That's what I get for not checking the packing slip immediately upon receipt. Instead of returning it, I’ve decided it happened this way for a reason, and this is the one I’m going with.

The first step was a minor relocation of the handlebars, as has been discussed on that thread, and I decided that rotating them aft approximately 5 degrees, would hopefully will give enough clearance between the new windscreen and the mirrors. I followed the advice given on the thread, and consulted my copy of the Honda Service Manual for the handlebars (Section 17) to get the torque correct on the four bolts holding the bars, and for the mirror mounts. Made sure the brake fluid reservoir was level, and this whole process took about 10 minutes total.

I'm very pleased with the results. I may end up adjusting the mirrors a bit more, as I find I had to adjust them "up" a bit after the aft rotation, but that's just personal preference.

I followed Maddiedog’s excellent thread on installing a windscreen, (http://hondapcx.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=19) so the whole process went rather smoothly, even though his was a Givi and mine is a National Cycle. Thanks, Maddiedog!

First, I removed the two screws under the brow of the front fairing. This process was rather uncomfortable, as I had some difficulty even seeing up under the brow to get a screwdriver on them. Maybe I just need new glasses.

After the two screws were removed, prying the front fairing off on each side was a snap (pun intended) and it slid right out.

WS-01.png (309.65 KiB) Viewed 3541 times

I removed the existing black windscreen with the 10mm, and it just popped right off. I’m going to start a box full of spare parts, so if someone wants to buy the stock screen from me, I have one available.

Apparently, the guy I bought this scooter from never cleaned it, because the meter panel was really dusty. A little 409 and a couple of paper towels took care of that, since it would now be seen beneath the clear windscreen.

By the way, if anyone has spare parts, and wants to divest themselves of one of these, (part # 64336-KWN-900ZA) please send me a PM.

So, after cleaning up the dust and dirt and whatnot, I moved on with the installation. The National Cycle screen is polycarbonate, so it has better shatter-resistance properties than do acrylic screens. I found this neat little bag of hardware taped to the plastic bag in which the screen was packed in the box, and after reading the instructions (who does that, really?) I found that National Cycle does not recommend re-using the OEM hardware to install their screens. They provided four soft rubbery washers with some kind of adhesive on one side, four steel washers, and four 4mm hex-screws to complete the installation. So I used them. (Thanks, WhiteNoise for the suggestion to acquire a set of hex-sockets. They did the job well!)

WS-02.png (234.13 KiB) Viewed 3541 times

I slipped the new screen into place over the bushings, stuck the adhesive rubbery washers from National Cycle over the holes, and put the new screws in with the steel washers. Since I was warned about over tightening, and I seem to remember someone, somewhere on this forum suggesting the use of a nut-driver, I just put the 4” extension on the 4mm hex-socket, and tightened them up hand-tight, using the extension-socket like a nut-driver, just until the rubbery washer squeezed a little.

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Snapped the front brow fairing on, reattached the two screws (I don’t have a magnetic phillips, but a bit of duct tape fixed the screw to the end driver just fine!) and buttoned everything up. I like the look of it. And wonder of wonders, I guessed exactly the right amount to rotate the handlebars back, because they miss the screen by about an inch on both sides! Yippeee!

All in all, it only took me 19 minutes start to finish, thanks to an interruption from Tabbi, the neighborhood cat.

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I’ll write up a review in a bit, on how the screen makes the ride different, after I’ve ridden with it a while. I can get my riding gloves on, and after a bit of pleading, my spouse let me go for a short ride around the neighborhood to "test the new windscreen". First thing I noticed was that my neck and chest didn't feel like I'd been pummeled. It's not as wide as I envisioned it before I got it, and there's no specific "hand guards" on it, but it does the job just fine. I didn't get up over 30-35 mph, so I can't speak to how it works on the commute, but I know that as soon as I get medically cleared I’m going to start riding Natasha to work, which will give me a better idea of how it improves the ride under differing conditions. That appointment is a couple of hours from now.

Regretfully, I didn't think to take any photos after the installation, (I was too excited that I did it and that I got to ride a bit!) but I will post a couple in the next day or so.

Wouldn't you know it, I woke up this morning, and it's cloudy, cool, and its going to be rainy for the next two to three days. Up to the weekend. Rats.

I'll get the final installation pics and review up by the weekend, I hope.