Cannonball Preparations

With the Scooter Cannonball Run beginning in less than ten weeks, it is time to get serious about preparing Rocket for the ride.

So far I have purchased the following items:

• New Tires:  Michelin Power Pure 140/70/12 for the rear.  A little bigger than standard to try to improve the gearing for long fast runs.  Michelin City Grip 120/70/12 for the front.  I chose this because it has more sipes in the tread.  This, plus my friend Russ uses them and has nothing but good to say about them.
• New Belt:  I bought a Piaggio belt several months ago and am waiting until a month before packing Rocket for the trailer ride.  I am doing it a little early so I can test it out and make sure everything works well.
• Tie straps:  I got these, including a cool handlebar strap.
• New GPS:  Garmin Nuvi 3490 that I programmed with the route.
• New Carburetor:  Rocket was acting up over the past year and it was attributed to a bad carburetor.  Boris installed a new one a few months ago and the scooter is running like new.

Now to complete the readiness, I will get the best oil I can find, new filter, rollers and exhaust gaskets.  I will also carry a spare wheel and tire just in case we either wear out the back tire or have a puncture.

As for me, I am going with the following:

• New TCX riding boots
• New Alpinestars vented jacket.
• A few turtleneck shirts for the colder climate areas.
• A few sweatshirts too.
• Three pairs of jeans, to last the duration.
• Two pairs of gloves, one vented, one not.
• Lots of socks and underwear.
• My old, trusty HJC IS-2 helmet that I like for comfort and the retracting shield.

One of the fellow riders in our group, George, has a scooter parts supply business and he is riding the same GT 200L as me.  He intends to bring a large supply of spare parts, just in case.

I am a little concerned that Rocket, with 56,000 miles on it, can give me trouble on the ride.  But not to worry, we have covered those miles and made it home after every ride.