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well, if you're lucky enough to live in an area that actually has private mechanics...(unlike here) you may find better pricing and work from the independent, just like in auto repair.

looking forward to this one!

that's a great idea, Scooterfan! I don't think I've ever read about anyone having separate wheels and tires to swap onto their scooter. When you get the knobbies on you'll have to post a pic.

yesterday was 80 F (26.6 C), sunny and windy, so I had to get the bike out. Took a nice, hour ride on the little Ninja. It felt like my last ride on this bike was 1 day ago (it was more than 3 months)..everything just felt so good and natural. Today is 64 F (17.7 C) and cloudy but still nice riding weather. Went for another hour long ride. I know I'm preaching to the choir, but getting out for a nice ride makes everything seem right with the world. No stresses, no problems...just the beauty and joy of riding.

box or random hardware or was each item listed?

While Stig is a big guy who wants a smaller bike, I'm a little guy who dreams of a big bike! Maybe...someday...but like Stig, it would have to be red.

Or maybe a sweet German 6 cylinder?

impulse purchased a tool a few weeks ago that has proven itself to be worth its weight in gold. It's a silly, extendable mirror with a light on it. It is awesome for viewing the back or underside of motors. Places where previously I'd used my phone to try to take a pic of the area. Now I can see it in real time. Helped a ton when replacing a part on the back side of the Vibe motor. They are available online for $9-$13 USD...cheap and well worth it.

What could possibly go wrong? 

famous last words... I got everything cleaned and replaced and buttoned it back up. Started the car and it idled quite high and then ran like crap. Idle went up and down, down to a few hundred rpm and car died a few times. It smelled funny, too. I thought maybe the computer was relearning the idle with a clean throttle body and no intake air leak. I shut the car down and was going to walk away for a while to think about it....I was just opening the door into my kitchen when it hit me....OH, SH*T! SH*T, SH*T, SH*T!  What did I forget to do?.....remove the paper towels that were stuffed into each intake port to keep dirt and crud out of the motor.

I removed the intake system in about 1 minute flat...pulled the intake back and couldn't see the paper towels. Oh, sh*t, did they get sucked into the motor? Bending valves?  Nope, they were just sucked in bit further. I pulled them out with some long needle nose pliers. They were dirty and smelled like gas but were otherwise in the same shape as I'd put them in. Nothing got into the valves or motor.

I went from thinking I'd just grenaded the motor to a feeling of total relief. Started it back up and it ran fine..high idle, but that is normal with a Toyota after a throttle body clean until it relearns the correct idle. Disaster averted.