Show and Tell: My People 50 (Daily Driver since new!)

[Areomyst]

This scooter is the only vehicle that I own that I bought brand-new from a dealership.  Today I have just under 19,000 kilometers and it has never left me broken down or stranded at all.  I've driven it all around the mountains of Tennessee, the Blue Ridge Parkway, from Mebane to Winston Salem several times, and many other journeys in-between.


Here it is back when it was prettier, and the legshield wasn't all sun-faded.

A while back I ordered some Heidenau tires for my People 50, which is when I decided to finally make a thread about it.  I've had the tires on for a little while now, and I like them - a lot!  I wish I had ditched the Kendas from the get-go and bought Heidenau.  They're really that much better.  Anyway, I have some photos of some of the work I did while I changed the tires.  See below.

(copy/paste)
I went ahead and did a few other things while I was in there.  I like to decarbonize a 2-stroke engine about every 9000-10000 kilometers or so.

Removing the head didn't show very much carbon buildup at all, but I cleaned up what was there anyway.  There was more in the exhaust port.  The scooter now has nearly 18,000 kilometers on it, and has been a solid workhorse.  I load it down with parts, drive WOT almost all the time, and go on long trips, etc.

Well, measuring the ring-end gap showed me that it was time for a new set of rings.  Sure, the bike runs tip-top, but that's what preventative maintenance is for, right?  To catch problems before they occur.  I also felt the slightest bit of play in the crank bearings, so I'll be replacing those too.  I ordered the Naraku crank bearings, and a new Meteor piston (Made in Italy) and will be installing them soon.  In the meantime, I'm still riding the People as my daily drive with no noticeable difference in performance.

Here are some shots of the tires:

The stock Kenda.  I've been driving on it for 5 years, with 41 psi in it.








So, while I was at it I figured - I never get to work on my own stuff, and I don't get to do much with my own bike.  My Super 9 is in perpetual "waiting" mode, as I am constantly at the "Whim of Watch and Wallet".  I decided to install a few more parts.




The chrome kickstart looks better in person than it does in the photos. 




Checking out the cylinder, etc. 


The Dr. Pulley Sliders with some 8,000 km on them.  Perfectly serviceable still.




The new tires, and new exhaust.   My fuel economy has gone down (haven't checked what it is exactly) but the scooter gets up to an indicated 50 pretty quick.  It's not so loud that I don't want to ride with people, and it looks pretty good.  For the purpose of a daily driver that's still a 50cc cylinder, I think this suits the bill quite nicely.

I uh... "pimped" my ride with some white LED lights.  The goal wasn't to be pimpin', but rather to be seen at night.  It's kind of fun actually.














Also put in some red flashing LED lights into the rear turn signals.  When you apply the brakes, they flash nice and red  even through the amber signal lens.  The more visibility the better!

I did install those bearings and new piston a while back.  I also put a YSS shock on the rear, but I suppose I didn't get any good photos of it.  You can see it in a few of the above pics, but none that are specifically showing the shock.  Oh well.

Anyway, that's my daily driver!  Hope you like it.

~Josh

[wordslinger]

..nice job josh...i have an 01 looks just like that one...

..'cept for the exhaust and "pimpin"..lol

[Peters]

Where did you get that shock? I've been looking for a better rear shock.

[Areomyst]

I bought it from scooterworks.  The shock sits a little bit higher than stock, and is a bit firmer.  It took a little getting used to, but overall I like it a lot.

Best,

~Josh

[crumps2001]

I like the added visibility provided by the LED lights.  Is there any reason you decided to wire them to a switch instead of into the running light circuit?  I'm afraid my wife or I might accidentally turn them on during the day and forget to turn them off.  Also, from where did you purchase the leds?

[Areomyst]

I like the added visibility provided by the LED lights.  Is there any reason you decided to wire them to a switch instead of into the running light circuit?  I'm afraid my wife or I might accidentally turn them on during the day and forget to turn them off.  Also, from where did you purchase the leds?

I put them on a switch so that when I was out with scooter buddies, I could hit the switch and "be cool" with my lights on while the bike is not running.  It gets lots of looks.

I purchased the LED's from... well, basically I bought them from myself.   www.thescootergarage.com

You can order them online at www.scooterworks.com, however you can also get many similar LED's for a good price at your local auto parts store.

~Josh

[wordslinger]

..gots 120 individual LEDs on kymmi...

 

[Areomyst]

Well, I just picked up a Mychron 4.  I've had my eye out for one of these for a while now.  I got one with a CHT thermocouple, but plan on getting EGT later on.  The purpose of the purchase is to use it to make on the road tuning a little faster and easier.  I also want to use it on my race bike, should that project ever come to find itself back on my work bench.

I took it out for it's maiden voyage tonight on my daily driver/grocery getter.  I like it!  Sadly, I forgot we had bad storms in the forecast.  I'm sure the people who saw me driving around might have wondered if that was a fish finder attached to the scooter.  I'm glad it's waterproof.

It was very neat watching the gauge.  The head (in my case) cooled down a few degrees at WOT, and stayed around the 190-200  (Celsius) range.  It's got a lot of neat little features that I'm not done discovering, but all in all I really like the thing so far.  Takes 5 minutes to hook up and go.  



~Josh

[wordslinger]

...dang..that's high tech bro...

                 

[wingman7000]

Nice Scoot...I have a 2003 silver People 50. Do you know if a 100/80-16 size tire will fit the front and a 120/80-16 for the rear? I'm looking at getting the Pirelli MT 75 to replace the stocks which are at their EOL.

Thanks!

[Peters]

120/80 just fits the rear with a little trimming of the inner fender. Mine also slightly rubs my suspension spring. Funny it only rubs when there is no weight on it. Doesn't rub at all with my weight on it. I also had to adjust the rear spring to the highest setting to eliminate the tire from bottoming out on the frame(I'm about 250lbs though).

I swear I read a post from art where he said the 100/80 would fit the front. I still have the stocker up front for now.