Bagel Brunch 2010

GREAT TIME!!!

Rabbit Progress

Well, I was able to get replacement handlebars last week, I got paint custom mixed and sprayed them (they were horrible). I installed them yesterday and got the rebuilt fuel tap in. Today I gassed her up, turned on the fuel and hit the starter. She fired right up! A few tweeks on the carb and I went for a ride. I had a bit of smoke at first from oil burning off the exhaust. Still need to adjust the idle some, and find out why the battery is not charging, but she runs great!!!

Li 150 Special

Look what followed me home! another Project.
Li 150 Special

Not technicaly an Odd Scoot but cool none the less.

Smallstate Rally

Went to the Smallstate rally in Rhode Island this past weekend had a great time.

Bad things happen fast :-(

A local Scooter shop owner asked me if I would bring a vintage odd scoot down to jis shop's monthly cookout for display this past sunday. The Rabbit being the closest to the door got the job. I brought it down had a fun afternoon loaded it back on the trailer and got ready to leave. Now my friend Tom has said a few things in the past about concerns he has with the Canyon Dancer system for stapping down bikes. His concern is the ammount of downward force on the handlebars. I did not think that that would ever be an issue (boy was I wrong).

The parking lot was a bit tight and I needed to back out. Two issues with the "trailer in a bag" are that it is impossible to see the trailer behind my truck in my mirrors, or over my sholder. (I can just see the top of the handlebars), and its short toung length makes it very easy to jacknife when backing.

As I was backing out of the lot the trailer jacknifed quickly. I was able to stop before the bumper hit the Rabbit. I put the truck in drive to straighten it out as I eased forward someone started shouting "YOUR HOOKED" I stopped and got out the tiedown strap on the left front of the scoot had hooked the truck bumper, and as I pulled forward it tightend, something had to give and the handlebars bent down! Oh Crap!!!!! The casting for the headset appears to have taken all the damage. Luckily a local scooter guy has a few parts bike and can probibly hook me up. But it really ruined my week! Photos to follow.

Rabbit run

Well last week I was all ready to run the Rabbit. I started adding fuel to the tank and found the fuel tap not only did not work but had a bad leak. I pulled it off and am having it rebuilt. today I did more cleaning and started to repair the cover for the relay box (It has a big hole in the top). The other night I replaced the front tire. I have to still replace the rear tire.

Lights!

This afternoon I dug into the electrical system one more time. Opening the voltage regulator I looked for stuck contacts and did not see any. So one more time I checked all connections under the dash. Logic told me that since all those connections had been undone to remove the tank, I had likely made an error in reconnecting them. No luck there!

Back to the wiring diagram and the voltage regulator. I started by disconnecting the starter dynamo from the regulator. Reconnecting the battery I tried the starter button "CLICK" I heard the relay. looking at it, all looked fine. I cleaned it, no change. Putting a volt meter to it I found power was getting through no mater the position of the relay. Looking closer I noticed a second set of points on the relay these were closed! A good cleaning and gaping and the problem was solved!!!

Testing the lights and horn all work except the dash indicator for the turn signal (Bulb?) I will look into that soon. Now I just need to change the crankcase oil and fill the torque converter with fluid, add gas and give her a try!!!! Stay tuned....

ALMOST ... Not Quite

Was working like a madman to get the Rabbit running for the Gould's 15th Microcar show this weekend. The rabbit was there but not quite running yet.

Rabbit Progress

OK well I have installed the tank, removed it and installed it, and removed it and installed it. Trying to get everything right. Now I have to remove and reinstall it as the instrument panel is not fitting I think the tank is too far back from the frame, It appears I may have installed the bolts in the wrong sequence. It is difficult putting together something someone else took apart!!!
the good news is, I got the seats back from the upholstery shop. They came out FANTASTIC!!! See photos....

Antique Motorcycle show

Well, The Antique Motorcycle show was today, due to forcasts of Severe weather and a Tornado watch, I decided to bring only one scooter, and leave it on the new motorcycle trailer...just in case I needed to leave quickly. The weather held out for the show and the Tessy got loads of attention. The president of the club putting on the show made a point of coming over and inviting us back next time.
(click on photos to enlarge)

Making Headway

I plan to attend a vintage motorcycle show next weekend & hope to bring the Tessy and the Rabbit to display. Today I was able to re-install the gas tank, nose, headlight, horncast, and the carb. I still need to reconnect the wiring, install the speedo, and the fuel gauge. Pictures to follow soon.

Rabbit Comes Home

I picked up the Rabbit Thursday evening. today I started to clean, polish , evaluate, and reassemble the scooter. The paint is very good for a 43 year old bike. Low miles, and overall good condition. The last owner (Jason)bought it from the original owner who had stored it in his basement for over 25 years! The gas tank had varnish in it, so Jason. removed the tank (which required major disassembly on the front end) and had it cleaned and refinished. He just never got around to putting it back together. Here are a few photos from this morning. (Click on photos to enlarge)

Rabbits make people smile

Look What I found

Well persistence pays off! I have been asking around for over 2 years now trying to find a nice Fuji Rabbit S601. I heard of one not to far away. I asked the owner if it was for sale, he jokingly said yes and asked a crazy price. But in talking to him I though he might be convinced to sell. Well I called and left him messages every few weeks. Finally he called saying he needed to get rid of a few projects. I went and had a look. It is a complete low mileage Superflow the tank was taken out cleaned and never reinstalled. So I will have to do some reassembly. Picking it up in a few weeks. These crappy cell phone pix will have to do for now.

Tessy Update

OK well no photos at the moment, but the Tessy still looks much the same as last photographed. I have built a seat strecher to install the new seat covers but have not mustered the courage to try to do the job. I am very worried about ripping the new seat covers. They are very expencive.

Saturday was the nicest day we have had since last fall. Sunny and in the mid 70's you could not ask for a better day! I had a few spare hours and pulled the tessy out of the grage . I replaced the bad front innertube, reinstalled the front wheel and started her up. Well she was not easy to start. It took me a good 15 kicks to get her going. Went for a short ride and she ran well. I decided to pull the carb and clean it, but it made no difference in the starting dept. Over the course of the morning I went for several rides, each time it was very difficult to start. I dug in to the wiring mess, and became quite frustrated as some previous owner hacked up the harness. Following the wiring digram I reconnected everything. I have power from the engine (shocked myself) but no working lights or horn. FRUSTRATING!!!

More to come....

First Ride

The First Ride



Part 2


Part 3

The Pentagon Bolt

Well one of the problems I had with the Tessy was the original bolt that held the kick starter on was missing when I bought the scooter.
Someone had stuck a bolt from the hardware store in to replace it and it hardley worked. I tried to use a modified clevis pin which worked well for a short time but quickly failed.
Anna was able to find an original and get it to a machine shop to have some replicas made. Wow the set up fee was huge!!! She had 5 made at a cost of over $200 US dollars. So the price per bolt was quite high. I thought only the Pentagon paid that kind of money for simple things LOL :-)

Today was a warm winter day so I went to the garage and installed the kick-starter.



And then I started her up!!!! (VIDEO)





To be continued.......