Stranded - UPDATED: made it home before the rain!

"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher) 04/28/2020 at 16:03 • Filed to: Two wheels broken

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I hadn’t been able to ride the Zuma in over a week, so I decided to take a quick ride before the rain comes this afternoon.

Whelp, now I’m stranded 6 miles from home, waiting for am angry wife to come rescue in my truck.

The drive belt blew apart in grand fashion! I found a few pieces on the road.

I think the rain is still far enough away to get home before it hits ... I hope!

Update:

Made it home and got everything put away before the rain came. Mrs. Shop Teacher had calmed down by the time she got to me. She was glad to hear it was the belt and not a blown up engine (I wasn’t sure what happened when I called for help). To make it up to her, we will be ordering tacos for dinner, instead of her making tacos.

jminer > shop-teacher 04/28/2020 at 16:16

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This is always tough - I’ve always been lucky enough to limp a ride back home so I didn’t have to call the Mrs for a rescue.

Hopefully she doesn’t stay ticked at you for too long.

HoustonRunner > shop-teacher 04/28/2020 at 16:22

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So six miles is far enough away to endure the wife’s glare when she gets there?

Brickman > shop-teacher 04/28/2020 at 16:24

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You knew the belt was worn /  falling apart before? 

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > shop-teacher 04/28/2020 at 16:25

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I’ve run out of gas twice in the Tomos. Thank god for  that fuel reserve switch 

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > shop-teacher 04/28/2020 at 16:38

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What’s the belt replacement interval? 

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > shop-teacher 04/28/2020 at 17:09

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I need a minitruck so my wife has something to pick my sorry ass up in when the Ducati inevitably strands me somewhere.

CTSenVy > shop-teacher 04/28/2020 at 17:12

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That sounds like a long ride home with or without the rain.

shop-teacher > jminer 04/28/2020 at 17:49

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Thankfully she had calmed down by the time she got to me :)

shop-teacher > Brickman 04/28/2020 at 17:50

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Nope. Never even thought about the belt. Which in hindsi ght was foolish. I'm definitely learning this stuff as I go! I was 34 before I started riding.

shop-teacher > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 04/28/2020 at 17:51

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Yes, you definitely do!

shop-teacher > HoustonRunner 04/28/2020 at 17:51

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Yes!

Thankfully she had calmed down by the time she got to me :)

shop-teacher > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 04/28/2020 at 17:51

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Lol!

I had just fueled up too!

shop-teacher > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom 04/28/2020 at 17:52

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No idea! Which in hindsight was really stupid to never even think about. I'm learning this 2-wheeled stuff as I go 

Boxer_4 > shop-teacher 04/28/2020 at 18:32

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Cursory search shows every 10,500 miles - info from the owners manual for a 2012 Zuma 125. Doesn’t say anything about a time interval, but if its a belt it should definitely have a time interval.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > shop-teacher 04/28/2020 at 18:38

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Glad no mechanical failures! Is it hard to replace the belt?

shop-teacher > Boxer_4 04/28/2020 at 19:25

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Mine’s an ‘09, so I definitely should have thought to replace it.

shop-teacher > CTSenVy 04/28/2020 at 19:26

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It turned out ok, thankfully!

shop-teacher > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 04/28/2020 at 19:26

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Shouldn’t be too hard.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 04/28/2020 at 23:38

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*Or* you need an extra Ducati for her to ride when your minitruck shits the bed.

I mean, stranger things have happened to you....

Boxer_4 > shop-teacher 04/29/2020 at 09:43

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The ‘09 owners manual (available on the Yamaha website) has an amusing typo - V-Belt must be changed every 1200 miles or 18000 kms. Also of note, they say t o replace the brake hoses every 4 years. 

shop-teacher > Boxer_4 04/29/2020 at 13:32

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Interesting.  I’m planning to do tires and brakes at the end of this season.  I guess I should change the brake line.  There’s only one, because the rear is a cable operated drum brake.

Mercedes Streeter > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 04/30/2020 at 10:38

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“My Ducati stranded me, then my minitruck stranded my wife while she tried to save me.”

*Pictures of you giving the Ducati a middle finger and your wife giving a minitruck a middle finger.*

Mercedes Streeter > shop-teacher 04/30/2020 at 10:41

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Oh my! I’m most surprised that the scooter managed to make the belt explode into chunks. At least a belt replacement should be a fun an easy job! :)

shop-teacher > Mercedes Streeter 04/30/2020 at 11:49

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I just made the job  harder, by ordering a Malossi clutch kit and variator kit. I also got a Poloni kevlar belt for it.  Should be a fun upgrade.  I figured as much as I ride this thing, some speed parts were in order :D

Mercedes Streeter > shop-teacher 04/30/2020 at 11:54

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I mean, you’ll already have the drive cover off, might as well have some fun! :)

Weirdly, I had the Vespa project sold within 30 minutes of posting it. Made $50 on it and didn’t even do a single thing to it aside from breaking the ignition lock.

I’ve been having a bit of a fire sale of everything with a carburetor, with exceptions to the Goldwing and Stella . The Spree is also still in my living room but it’s more or less just decoration since it was free and worthless.

shop-teacher > Mercedes Streeter 04/30/2020 at 13:17

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Exactly!

Good to know you sold the Vespa project, so now I can stop being tempted by it :)

What else is on the chopping block then? What’s wrong with the Spree?

Mercedes Streeter > shop-teacher 04/30/2020 at 14:10

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I’ve gotten so fed up with carbs I sold everything that is carbureted and isn’t special. I’m left with the Goldwing (single carb conversion ), Yamaha U7E (single carb) , Stella (single carb), and the Burgman (EFI) .

Everything from here on out will have EFI or I’m not getting it. lol

The Spree is in a bit of a weird situation. It was given to me for free and I promised not to destroy it, scrap it, or immediately flip it. Runs and rides but the t itle is lost and the title itself is branded (stolen then recovered after insurance payout).
I decided to put it in my living room,  achieving my dream of having a vehicle in my living room. I then thought I could use it to teach my girlfriend how to ride (like you did with me and the Elite 80!) but as I broke up with her a few weeks ago, that’s not happening. For now, it remains decoration that all my pre-COVID visitors couldn’t stop talking about.

shop-teacher > Mercedes Streeter 04/30/2020 at 15:13

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Gotcha.  How do you like the Burgman?

Mercedes Streeter > shop-teacher 04/30/2020 at 15:44

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It’s all kinds of lovely! More storage than you know what to do with, a digital display with a bunch of readouts that reminds me of a Honda Helix (later models have analog dials), very good at keeping wind off you, 12V socket for phone chargers/tire compressors, it’ll go 100+ without breaking a sweat, and it soaks up bumps like a Goldwing.

Downsides? It’s heavy, so it’s not as agile as a normal scooter at low speeds. It has a tiny fuel tank and only gets about +/-40 mpg at 70 mph...so you’ll have to refuel every 100 miles or so. And since its CVT is much closer to that of a car CVT than a scooter, if it breaks it’ll total the scooter.

shop-teacher > Mercedes Streeter 04/30/2020 at 18:00

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Cool!