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(this is an old photo of the area)

It was 23°F at dawn today, I had stuff to do - so all combined to keep me closer to home on my LIKE200i.
Tooling around the reservoir at my typical 28>31mph when a nice sized deer came out of the left scrub .
Deer are SO well colored that they can be surprisingly hard to pick up - easier if they are moving!
It came out of the scrub to the left - running quickly. I only just caught him in my good right eye! (my left eye damaged due to glaucoma)

We were about 15' from one another when I squeezed the brakes...about 6' when I had slowed significantly, and he passed.
I didn't stop - we'd missed each other...plus a car was following!
I'd wager that this old 1st Gen. LIKE200i has maybe the best non ABS brakes on a small scooter. Front & rear discs, VERY powerful and very easy to modulate!


Even on abbreviated rides I'm fully geared with armored pants, boots, jacket, gloves and helmet - so we'd have bruised each other - maybe not much more than that.

Stig

...and certainly one of the most fun things I've ever had on two wheels!....was the following...

We entered our buddy's new CB350 in an off-road 24 hour Enduro!

In Army  training, in San Antonio TX, the late 60's, a couple of us talked a buddy into entering his new HONDA CB350 into a 24 hour Enduro out in the plains of Texas.
He argued that his CB was not as appropriate as would be the CL model with the high-rise pipes (as though any of these 350's were off-road bikes!??) His had the low-slung  exhaust of the CB model
I had a green HONDA CB350 like this one....


We of course assured him that everything would be fine......

We pooled our Army pay to make the entrance fee. Bought a tire patch kit and a hand pump....and maybe 2 spark plugs. The pit-lane tools consisted of some channel-locks and the bike's tools-in-a-pouch, cigarettes and a cooler with Cokes. If you were careful - you could smoke while negotiating the course. Two of us  new medics - the owner of the race bike was a new RTO. (carries the PRC25 field radio)

The layout of the desert course brought most "racers" back around past the lawn-chairs pit area @ every half hour. Then there was us, on our street bike. The three of us took it in turns for the 24 hrs.


The bike lost its chain guard early on. "Did anyone bring a flashlight?" The right exhaust snapped off near the engine just after dark. Too hot to bring back - it is still out there in Texas. The blue flame coming through the dark let us know when to get a Coke out of the cooler...!

We did OK in the daylight - but each of us had 'offs' out there in the dark!
I went down hard once when I lost the course and hit a small stream bed. And came off one other time in deep sand and hit a cactus. My wife was digging that cactus thorn out of my heel with a needle for an hour when I got home. We were slow enough, and the course was soft enough with deep sand - so the bike didn't suffer much. A mirror or two.

We had a blast! I do not remember if we wore helmets. It was a 'trials' course - a proper course if you could see it in the dark!. We just worked hard to stay aboard!
We won a $1.50 plastic trophy - for something. Warranty took care of some of the damage. Loose spokes, etc.

Why? Why do this to a new Honda?
We were 19 & 20 - and had just received our orders for overseas, (two to 'Nam, one to Germany) and it was time to shed our new bikes.
I loved that Honda!

Perhaps one of these CL versions of the 350 would have been preferable...


What was the craziest thing you've ever done on a bike, or scooter?

Stig

my helmet is Italian.....(even though Nolan sounds like a guy from New Jersey)




Spotted this yesterday outside my grocers....



Stig

How many layers?
FoggToggs over the Bullet jeans?, how many shirts? Battery gloves?
I've learned the hard way - "my chest is cold!" - not to underestimate the chill at even my modest speeds in the early morning dark boonies.
I chose well.....





Moon was in and out.....




Stig

One sunny summer Saturday I got into the inner lane of this traffic circle in Clearwater Beach, FL.
It was dinner time when I finally extracted my Tahoe!

https://www.myclearwater.com/Visit-the-Beach/Watch-Live-Video-of-Clearwater-Beach

BTW...just across the circle, half a block down, across from the Hilton, is a Dunkin Donuts, where you can sit at the sidewalk with a donut and a coffee and watch the gridlock, while the women shop! (mine are simple pleasures)

Stig

In this country....
Something like this for their nice People 150i....



or like this.....




Stig

7 or 8 yrs ago Piaggio released the new Liberty150i with ABS and the i-Get 3-V engines.
One of the official Piaggio promo videos was this...



So, two 'big' new selling points, along with the sleek new body style of this veteran big-wheel model from Piaggio (well over 900,000 to date) was the addition of ABS and the pair of LED running lights up front.
The USA version adds turn pods and deletes the amber indicator signal in the same fixture with the white LEDs.
As usual, to satisfy the super-vain American Piaggio/Vespa owners, Vespa Motorsport brought out a kit to install Euro-style  turn signals in the LED fixture - so that the offensive 'pods' can be removed
However - I noticed that this kit does not close the nearby white LED DRL when the amber bulb is activated inside the same small fixture.

The true Euro Liberty's signal system shuts off the LED when the turn signal is activated .....making the signal much easier to spot!
This is the same as found on a lot of American cars with front LED DRL's. The LED on that side of the car shuts off when the turn signal is activated.

Stig

Last night a big bike with a single bright headlight pulled in behind my truck. And I swear it was near impossible to discern how far away he was!
I can only imagine what a car sitting at a side street , or waiting to turn left in front of him - would have thought. That single headlight floating in the dark down the street gave no clues as to his distance!

He really needs to purchase a pair of white or amber running lights to give drivers some landmarks and some idea of his distance.

So often I read about riders being hit by left-turners....and always wonder at their lighting and speed.

Even in the day time I always roll-off a bit of throttle and cover the brake when entering a busy intersection.
I think riders who approach a busy intersection blithely ignoring the 'possible', as though they were encased in an automobile....are displaying a dangerous lack of imagination!

You don't have to have a bright headlight to be seen! My LIKE's 35W headlight and 5W amber runners are quite visible!



Stig
....and those dim Oreo-sized tail lights are amazing.