Virginia Bound

Over the past month I have been preparing for the annual 7 Bridges Scooter Club ride to the mountains.  This year we chose western Virginia, near Marion at the Hungry Mother State Park.  It was chosen because there are several motorcycle rides that have gained some fame over the years.  They are called the Claw of the Dragon.  We'll see if they hold up over the next week.

Rocket can't be trusted at the moment so I bought Razzo for these long rides.  It was in nearly perfect when purchased, but it had an old front tire and not so good back tire.  The belt was original, so I had some work to do.  I changed both tires recently with the help of a mechanic Mike.  I took the wheels off for Mike to change the tires and while the rear tire was off, I changed the exhaust gasket.  The belt was changed by me at home.  I used a new Malossi belt from George at Scooter Parts Co. and have two spares either for the other two scooters or to carry on trips.  For now, they are coming with me to Virginia.  

The last part was an oil and filter change.  I did this at the warehouse with some help from Boris.  It is an easy task, but I like to have someone hold the scooter upright instead of on the center stand when the drain plug is pulled.  The design puts all of the oil on the stand if it is used for this so I needed assistance.  Boris also helped get the filter off.  The new tool and slot design is terrible.

But it is all done and tested, so we are ready to go.

We leave this Saturday morning for a 330 mile ride to Newberry S.C. for the first night.  Then Sunday complete the ride to the state park, another 220 miles.

We ride on the famous roads in the area, going into West Virginia and possibly Kentucky on these rides.  The return trip is similar, but we will stop in Augusta, Ga. to leave a shorter ride home on Friday.  

I plan to blog about our progress each night so the handful of you can follow.  

Belt change went well