Freeeeeezing ..... (and a small swarm)

Fred /

Sep 22, 2002 05:08PM

... very small ....

I accompanied JD (from here) part way home after we weld-fixed his Gianelli exhaust pipe on his Cimatti.

Man oh man... when did fall get here ?!

I think a cold front must have arrived as we were riding .. because by the time I got home.. (20 mile round trip).. I was pretty darn cold.

I left wearing a t-shirt, sweatshirt and leather jacket, blue-jeans, gloves and full face helmet.

It was 52 degrees on the thermometer when I got back .. the coldest ride I have had since last May.

There was light intermittant rain too .. but not enough to get you wet.

Not a bad ride .. he has a pretty nice peaceful (traffic-wise) route picked out.

I don't drink coffee during the summer .. but I just made a pot !

Re: Freeeeeezing ..... (and a small swarm)

JD /

Sep 22, 2002 07:00PM

The first thing I did was make a pot of coffee, too!

Fred, thanks again for all your help. I was a bit chilly when I arrived home as well, but that didn't stop me from then riding my 'ped over to my kid's soccer game, where the sky proceeded to dump cold rain on me. But, hey, real men don't mind the rain.

Man, I thought my bike was running pretty well until you let me ride yours. That's a sweet-running piece of machinery you've got there. Maybe I need to sell my Cimatti and find something more like yours. Either that, or wait to see if Chris at Moped Warehouse really CAN come up with a CVT for my Minarelli engine. There's got to be a more efficient way of turning all that engine noise into velocity!

JD

Re: Freeeeeezing ..... (and a small swarm)

david f martin /

Sep 22, 2002 07:03PM

I always pick up a cup of coffee on my way to work in the mornings... it does help me warm up on a cool morning...

david

Re: Freeeeeezing ..... (and a small swarm)

david f martin /

Sep 22, 2002 07:11PM

Tell us about your ride.

david

Re: Freeeeeezing ..... (and a small swarm)

duck /

Sep 22, 2002 09:23PM

i wish it was cool here.. HOT AS A MOFO .....

in teh morning it is "cool" but not during the day.. it has been alittle cooler then normal but we are finaly getting a few FEW the key word... drops of rain.

I can't wait till the Suches Meet in Georgia.. Should be FUN FUN

Re: Freeeeeezing ..... (and a small swarm)

Fred /

Sep 22, 2002 09:36PM

The total trip was 20 miles (for JD) .. I went about halfway .. then returned .. (it was actually over the length I wanted to stick with for 'break-in' of my new piston/bore .. but it was a nice ride .. I couldn't help it).

He/we picked about the slowest, least congested roads between me and him .. curvy roads around lakes... and then a pretty hilly area.

A pretty nice ride really .. through wealthy suburbs.

We switched bikes about 7 miles in .. but he was babying my bike .. (he didn't want to 'abuse' somebody elses bike .. so I waved him down and told him to hold it wide open for one good run) .. he said he hit 50 .. (there was a downhill on it).

His bike's speedo reads a bit optimistic .. while mine says 30 .. his says 36 or so.

(and mines 2mph optimistic at 30)

His top speed - by my speedo is 32mph.

That was the crappiest day in months .. cold, overcast, light rain.

The windows in my house have been wide open for months ... not any more.

Hey JD .. the Cimatti is just a straight up single speed ?

- Wait till you see the only pic I have of me on a moped .. (if I can find it) .. I think I was riding a Cimatti city bike at the time.

Re: Freeeeeezing ..... (and a small swarm)

JD /

Sep 23, 2002 08:30AM

Actually, Fred, the route we took wasn't the one I had planned. I usually take Orchard Lake down to Lone Pine, which then takes me over to Franklin. But you signaled a left at Long Lake, instead, which seemed like a nice change of pace to me.

As it turns out, your route may be better. Although Lone Pine is a really nice trip, Long Lake turned out to have a pretty decent shoulder in which to ride. More importantly, we avoided that miserable section of Orchard Lake between Pontiac Lake and Lone Pine, when I have, on occasion, been unable to get over to the left lane in order to make the turn onto Lone Pine. Instead, I've had to pull into a driveway on the right and wait for a chance to make it across one-half at a time. Of course, if my 'ped went as fast as yours this would not be a problem, would it? ;-)

You're right about the "straight up single speed." Darn. There's a lot of speed just waiting to find its way out of that raucous engine at full throttle. I've got both Chris at Moped Warehouse and Marcel at 50cc trying to find a smaller rear sprocket for my baby (since I've already jammed in the largest front sprocket that will fit), but if I overdo it my 0-25 MPH time is going to be about ten minutes!

Hey, Chris, how are you coming with the Minarelli variator you've been teasing us about?

Re: Freeeeeezing ..... (and a small swarm)

stales /

Sep 23, 2002 09:01AM

Right on! More Michiganders! I was beginning to wonder how many there were over on the East side. (I'm in Lansing...)

Once I'm sure the Motron won't fail on me, maybe I'll haul ass over to your neck of the woods for a ride around West Bloomfield or around the lakes with you cats. I used to live in Pontiac and Waterford.

SWARM! SWARM! SWARM!

stales

Re: Freeeeeezing ..... (and a small swarm)

Fred /

Sep 23, 2002 04:19PM

Yeah .. I live inWaterford (Cass Lake) .. we rode through West Bloomfield .. to Telegraph and 13 mile .. then I turned around and headed home.

There's about 6 or 7 of us around Metro Detroit .. but we are all spead out.

Re: Freeeeeezing ..... (and a small swarm)

stales /

Sep 23, 2002 04:27PM

Ah yes, when I did my time in Waterford I was in an apartment complex just down from the Meijer on 59. (Lived there with this dude who fired up his first doob and his Firebird at the same time every morning. What can I say, it was a strange time for me...)

It's a bit of a hike, but Keith Wallace just hooked up with a new ride in the Warren/Fraser area. It'd be a helluva ride to hook up, but he may be looking for a group to ride with too.

When I'm (reasonably) sure that my Motron won't fail me, maybe we can split the difference and ride to Howell or Brighton or something and hook up.

'Til then, SWARM! SWARM! SWARM!

stales

Re: Freeeeeezing ..... (and a small swarm)

JD /

Sep 23, 2002 05:06PM

Count me in. My "spaghetti" bike may be noisy, but it's reliable!

Re: Freeeeeezing ..... (and a small swarm)

stales /

Sep 23, 2002 05:08PM

Right-o JD! Where are ya?

Re: Freeeeeezing ..... (and a small swarm)

JD /

Sep 23, 2002 05:10PM

I'm in Huntington Woods, near the intersection of I-696 and Woodward Avenue (MI 1).

The Detroit Zoo is here, and Royal Oak is across Woodward.

I can get to Waterford in about 50 minutes (mopeding, of course.)

Re: Freeeeeezing ..... (and a small swarm)

stales /

Sep 23, 2002 05:35PM

Ah yes, just drove past the 'ole watertower on Thursday.

Like I mentioned earlier, when I get the Motron in a fairly reliable state, maybe we can make the trek towards each other and hook up for some chow or something.

Maybe by then I'll have the General up and running, and I'll tow it behind me incase the Mot take a crapper on me. That'll be great for mileage!! :) ...lol...

stales

Re: Freeeeeezing ..... (and a small swarm)

keith wallace /

Sep 23, 2002 05:42PM

Hey JD! I live at 13 and groesbeck- not too far- and I just got my ped- a 83 general 5 star- needs a good clean and tune- but it already goes 32, so I'll be ready fly in a week or so. Keep in touch and we can go out for a ride- one of my friends has a zuma (nice ride, but no pedals!) and I've been out with him twice (pretty good since I just got my decal today) so far. let me know and we'll ride.

keith

kex@ureach.com

Re: Freeeeeezing ..... (and a small swarm)

don-ohio /

Sep 25, 2002 01:06AM

You have my condolences ,Fred! I too have been amazed at the quick-cool properties of late September! On that ride last night,I wore my wool shirt and hadda' put on a jacket before i arrived home.BUMMER!! I carry the extra gear just in case,and was I glad I had it last night?! I even have a windshield,and I was still pretty cold until I donned that jacket! Sounds like a really fast bike you have there,Fred! Glad that me and Ken aren't the only ol' timers burnin' up the road on mopeds! Stay warm! i'll get this PC hooked up solid someday! It's just being tested right now! See ya'! don-ohio (:^)

Re: 96 and raining

Jim C. /

Sep 25, 2002 01:37AM

It's been in the high 90's with ash from the 6 mile wide wildfire in the foothils coming down.

The fire is so hot it's creating its own weather. This afternnon you could see where the heat broke through the inversion layer and created a cumulus cloud of smoke. Same thing you see when the warm desert air comes over the mountains and hits the cooler L.A. basin air, forming thunderheads.

Today's cloud was "man-made"!

Jim

MOPED ARMY

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