Turn out was bleek but we had a blast anyway. The idea was to head west to Southwest Blvd then down to Jenks for dinner at the Laughing Wench Pub. We ended up in Supalpa and then Jenks only to find the Wench was closed for business. At that point it was decided to venture over to Las Cabos at the Riverwalk. From there everyone went their seperate ways home.

Now that we have the first ride of the season under our belts, plan on coming out every Thursday night at 6:00 for another fun time riding around the area and dinner with a great group of riders.

See you on Thursday!

Until then, ride safe!

Roger

This is a forum for all scooter riders regardless of club affiliation. So if you want your club to have it’s own board for posting meetings and announcements, let us know. Although the forum is hosted by Green Country Scooter Club, we strive to be club neutral. Our goal is to provide a central gathering place for all clubs online where members from one club can find out about other clubs events and possibly participate thus enhancing the overall scooting experience for everyone…

It’s going to be a good year this year. The rally plans are slowly taking shape and we are narrowing down a date. We have joined up with the Dead Bunny Scooter Club and are in talks with the Motorini group to make this years Dust Bowl Weekend a bigger event than last years. Tulsa Scooters will be sponsor this year and they are working with their vendors to provide prizes and give aways.

The Thursday night rides will pick up again in May and we are working to put together a few new ride plans. As well as some day rides for the summer. Maybe even toss in a weekend camping ride to a state park.

Some scooter riders out there ride their scoots year round, most don’t.
Either the weather prohibits winter riding or the thought of biting wind doesn’t appeal to you (and I can’t blame you at all). If you’re not going to be riding in the winter season, it is highly recommended to winterize your scoot.

But what is winterizing? Winterizing is the means to protect your scoot from having to sit idle for several months and a bigger means of protecting your checkbook in the spring by reducing maintenance costs.
There are different schools of thought when considering winterizing your scooter, some folks go with the barest of protections and can get by while others go to the extreme.

I’ll layout the plan I’ve put together to winterize my scoot. This list is based on conversations with mechanics and information found searching the internet. Of course, you can take my list and run with it or skip parts entirely.
It’s up to you and of course, your locale.

The first thing on the list is cleaning the scooter thoroughly. Get all the bugs and road grime off the scoot. Doing this now before you put the scoot up for the winter helps prevent any corrosion to the paint that bug juices, bird excrement and road grime can cause. You will also want to put a good coat of wax on the scooter to put a protective coat on the paint. By doing this before you put the scooter up for the winter, you will not have to do it in the spring and thus be on the road sooner!

The next thing I plan to do is add a gasoline additive, such as Sta-Bil, to a full tank of gas. Follow the manufacturer’s directions when applying any fuel additives. Let the engine run for about 30 minutes or so in order for the additive to run through the system. You want to make sure it has enough time to run through and clean the carb and fuel lines. Take it out for a quick spin if you like while you’re letting it run. It will be your last ride for awhile. You might as well enjoy it!

After you have let the scoot run for about 30 minutes or so, shut it down and top off the tank.

The next item to consider is the battery. Depending on your locale and whether you will be storing your scoot inside a garage or outside, you will need to decide whether to remove the battery or not. Personally I will opt to remove the battery. It only takes a few minutes to pull my battery and put it back in, but that’s my scoot. Your scooter will more than likely be different and only you can make that choice. If you are storing your scoot in a garage, I recommend purchasing a battery tender. A battery tender connects to your battery and provides a trickle charge to keep the battery fully charged while it is sitting idle for long periods of time.
If you are taking your battery inside for the winter I would make the same suggestion, but everything I’ve read indicates that it doesn’t matter as much since the battery will stay warm and cozy inside.

The next thing I plan on doing is making sure my tires are filled to the maximum air pressure recommended by the manufacturer. This will help eliminate flat spots come spring. In fact you can take this one step further and once the scoot is on the center stand, you can slide a block of wood under the frame to lift the front tire off the ground, while keeping the rear tire off the ground as well, thus making 100% sure you won’t have flat spots in your tires in the spring time.

Now is a good time to make sure you give the scoot a quick once over and make sure it’s clean and then cover it up. There are several places to acquire a good scooter cover. Locally, Tulsa Scooters has several sizes available as does, I’m sure, Vespa of Tulsa. If you can’t locate a scooter cover, Wal-Mart carries motorcycle covers that should fit your scoot. If nothing else and you are keeping the scoot inside, some folks I know just use a king size sheet. All you’re really looking for is a way to keep the dust off during those lonely winter days and nights that your scooter is going to sit there… All alone.

If any of this seems to be too much bother, take heart. Green Country Scooter Club has teamed up with Tulsa Scooters and they are offering a $10.00 off coupon for winterizing your scoot. Just print out the attached coupon and present it to they folks at Tulsa Scooters when you drop your scooter off for winterizing.

As for me… I’ll be riding all winter. Keep an eye out when you’re in your cage, be aware that there are many scooter and motorcycle riders that ride all year and may very well be sharing the road with you.

Until next time,

Ride Safe…

Roger

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But in the meantime, Tulsa Scooters is hosting their annual Scavenger Hunt this coming Sunday, August 30th at 11AM. This looks to be a good year and the competition is looking fierce. 5 teams have signed up and if you don’t have a team, no worries. You’re welcome to join any of the current teams or form a new team. Contact Tulsa Scooters for more details.

The Scootin The Ozarks (STO) is coming up the 16th – 18th of September in beautiful Eureka Springs, AR. Last year was awesome and my plan was to go this year, but family concerns takes precedent. I do, however have a ride to Chickasaw National Recreation Area near Sulphur planned for that week since I’m already on vacation. Should be an interesting ride and I can’t wait to hike the trails with the camera.

More information on the Heller Theater ride. Everyone riding will meet at the Heller Theater at 9:00 and the ride will begin at 9:15 – 9:30. According to Derek (unofficial/official coordinator) the ride will end on Cherry street. This ride is to promote Heller Theater and all the hard work that goes into producing its productions. BTW – Derek says t-shirts are free! What better way to spend an hour on Saturday morning than giving back to your community!

Have a primary and a backup plan for the Thursday Night ride that starts at Tulsa Scooters at 6:30. Hope to see everyone there.

Until this evening,

Ride Safe,
Roger

Come one – Come all!

Ride Safe
Roger

As an avid photographer I spend a lot of time scooting all over Green Country looking for specific subjects for photograph projects I’m working on and that tends to put me on all kinds of back roads and paths less traveled. With that said I tend to find myself wondering where the heck I am and that’s where the compass app on the iPhone comes in handy. Within a few minutes I know not only where I am, but can determine how to get back to familiar territory.

Last weekend I took a ride to Kellyville via Kiefer starting frpm Jenks. I new the basic directions and wanted to test out the Compass app so I didn’t write any directions out and relied on the app to keep me on track, which it did better than I expected. I went down side roads and took my time enjoying the ride and the sights.

One other feature of the iPhone is the built in 3 megapixel camera. My thoughts were, even though I carried and used my Canon DSLR, I would shoot a snap of any interesting subjects and place a pin on the iPhone’s Compass map so I could add GPS coordinates to the images. The plan was that although I was shooting in the full light of day, I could return to the spot at some other time when the light was better and take the images I would use for the galleries.

Little did I know that every time I turned the app off, I lost the pin I just dropped and with it all of the GPS information! Well, so much for that idea. Luckily I remember the route and the locations of most of the images I shot that day so I can get back to them, but when I got home and discovered all of this I started researching for apps that would help me gather and retain the information I was wanting.

Searching iTunes app store produced several interesting apps ranging in price from free to about 10 dollars. Being weary of spending money on an app that just doesn’t do the trick I opted to try the free apps in the hopes that I find one that will do all I want. Since there are several free apps on the list, I decided to pick one, try it and review it for the blog. In the coming weeks, you can expect to start seeing these reviews.

Of course, if anyone out there has a favorite app that may just do everything I’m wanting, feel free to chime in.

Unitl later,

Ride Safe — Roger

Don’t forget everyone there is a ride on Sunday hosted by Sacha of Tulsa Scooters. We meet at the store at 9:30 and head out to Stroud via Historic Route 66. I’m looking forward to it!

Unitl then,

Ride Safe

Roger

Tonight’s ride (weather permitting) will take us southwest toward Sapulpa in what promises to be an interesting ride. John will be leading the ride this week, Our ride will end at The Pie Hole for free pizza (you’ll have to pick up your own drinks though, sorry).

Looking forward to seeing everyone this evening. 6:30 at Tulsa Scooters!

Ride Safe

Roger