According to South African legislation, I am not allowed to ride my moped! It just so happens that you need a roadworthy, licensed moped, and you need to have a learners license and be wearing a helmet. Also, you cannot give someone a lift on the back unless you motorcycle is larger than 125cc's. Mine in a 50cc.
So, I was in a tough situation the other day when I gave a friend a lift from her house to a farm dam where we were swimming. I was running low on fuel, so I went past the garage to fill it up. As I pulled away from the station, with Lisa clutching me from behind, wearing my helmet I saw a police van far down the road. I immediately turned into a street on the right in order to evade them.
After a few minutes I assumed that they hadn't seen me, and started to relax. suddenly I heard a squealing that I thought was coming from the wheel, but it did not sound familiar at all. I asked Lisa what it was and she didn't know. Then all of a sudden I saw blue and red lights flashing in my rear-view mirror! The cops had their siren on and everything!
I pulled over and the policeman asked me if I had a license, and I showed him my learners. He said I was looking for my motorcycle license, and I said I did not have one... He pointed out the law and all I could do was stand there with my tail between my legs. He eventually let me off with a warning. He also said that I could ride the scooter home.
Not 5 minutes later, we ran into another police vehicle! And we were on the back-roads! These cops were a lot friendlier, and they just laughed and waved us by. I never thought I would get caught, and all I have to say is... CRIME DOES NOT PAY!
Thursday 29 December 2011
Monday 28 November 2011
An almost ultimate journey
Since I last posted I have done something that I think requires some acknowledgement; I rode for 111km, from Oudtshoorn, where I am at school, to Prince Albert, my home town. Now you may not think that this is so amazing, but in fact it was. Not only the fact that my teeny weeny scooter made it, but the experience I got in return was unparalleled.
Lets start with the moped. It has on it a standard 2,5 liter tank, and a maximum speed of 60km/h ... on a downhill. On the flat it will reach 55km/h, if the wind plays along. Basically what I'm saying is that she is not the most powerful bird out there. But I'm not complaining. For a 50cc engine, I don't think 55 is bad. In fact, when I bought it I was overjoyed!
If you do the math, it works out to a theoretical time of 2 hours and 12 minutes. If you cannot do the math, check out http://http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=speed+distance+time&a=ListOrTimes_List So, in practice, I did not make the cut-off time. But I did come close. I estimate the journey to be around 2h30, which is not bad at all.
I knew the 2,5 liter tank would not last me 111km, so I planned to fill up in De Rust, which was 33km from Oudtshoorn, and then fill up again in Klaarstroom, 25km from De Rust. Then I would hold my thumbs and hope that the Red Devil would take me the last 52km. That seemed reasonable to me, as I have previously done 50km n a tank easily.
It did not work out exactly like this though. When I got to De Rust I discovered that I couldn't fill up with LRP (Lead Replacement Petrol). This was unfortunate, because I now had to do 78km on a single 2,5 liter tank! I eventually ended up running out of petrol 5km out of town! By then my dad had graciously brought me some petrol to get the last few kays.
I also miraculously only had one mechanical problem. This was when I ran out of petrol. Because I ran completely out of gas, there was no petrol to get the ped going from a kick-start. I tried bouncing it up and down, lying on its side, blowing into the tank, but eventually what got it going was when I removed the fuel pump and let petrol run straight into the filter.
As for the personal journey. It was epic. I got back pain after ten minutes of riding, there was hardly any space for cars, let-alone trucks to pass, the road was bumpy and often uncomfortable, and, I was caught in the rain for ten minutes! But I pushed on through. After everyone shared that they did not think me or my moped would make it, and after even I was having doubts, the venture was successful. By the time I had gotten to De Rust, I had decided that it was something I had to finish, and the feeling I got as I entered Prince Albert was awesome.
Would I spend another two and a half hours on an uncomfortable moped, battling with rain and an aching back? Definitely!
Lets start with the moped. It has on it a standard 2,5 liter tank, and a maximum speed of 60km/h ... on a downhill. On the flat it will reach 55km/h, if the wind plays along. Basically what I'm saying is that she is not the most powerful bird out there. But I'm not complaining. For a 50cc engine, I don't think 55 is bad. In fact, when I bought it I was overjoyed!
If you do the math, it works out to a theoretical time of 2 hours and 12 minutes. If you cannot do the math, check out http://http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=speed+distance+time&a=ListOrTimes_List So, in practice, I did not make the cut-off time. But I did come close. I estimate the journey to be around 2h30, which is not bad at all.
I knew the 2,5 liter tank would not last me 111km, so I planned to fill up in De Rust, which was 33km from Oudtshoorn, and then fill up again in Klaarstroom, 25km from De Rust. Then I would hold my thumbs and hope that the Red Devil would take me the last 52km. That seemed reasonable to me, as I have previously done 50km n a tank easily.
It did not work out exactly like this though. When I got to De Rust I discovered that I couldn't fill up with LRP (Lead Replacement Petrol). This was unfortunate, because I now had to do 78km on a single 2,5 liter tank! I eventually ended up running out of petrol 5km out of town! By then my dad had graciously brought me some petrol to get the last few kays.
I also miraculously only had one mechanical problem. This was when I ran out of petrol. Because I ran completely out of gas, there was no petrol to get the ped going from a kick-start. I tried bouncing it up and down, lying on its side, blowing into the tank, but eventually what got it going was when I removed the fuel pump and let petrol run straight into the filter.
As for the personal journey. It was epic. I got back pain after ten minutes of riding, there was hardly any space for cars, let-alone trucks to pass, the road was bumpy and often uncomfortable, and, I was caught in the rain for ten minutes! But I pushed on through. After everyone shared that they did not think me or my moped would make it, and after even I was having doubts, the venture was successful. By the time I had gotten to De Rust, I had decided that it was something I had to finish, and the feeling I got as I entered Prince Albert was awesome.
De Rust: Not much hope of getting LRP...
Sunday 20 November 2011
Wind in my hair...
I have gotten the moped back from the mechanic. I am ecstatic, everything runs perfectly. the kickstart is fixed, and he also replace a few things, making it top notch. Although, I did end up paying around R1900 ($230). I have been on quite a few rides since I got it back, and there is one thing getting on my nerves; the riding position. If I ride the ped for more than half and hour, I get pains in my lower back. I cannot thing of anything that I can do, except keep reminding myself to correct my posture.
For those of you who are familiar with the Passola, you will know that there is only space for one person on the scooter, which is totally understandable, because the engine is only a fifty cc, and that it is near impossible to give someone a lift. In fact, in South Africa it is against the law to lift someone if you are on a motorbike that is less powerful than 50cc. This did not stop me though, when I gave a pretty girl a lift back to her hostel. I let her use my helmate, and she sat on the chrome cage behind my seat. It was great having the air run though my hair as we were cruising at the incredible speed of 50km/h!
Do not be shy to comment... please...
For those of you who are familiar with the Passola, you will know that there is only space for one person on the scooter, which is totally understandable, because the engine is only a fifty cc, and that it is near impossible to give someone a lift. In fact, in South Africa it is against the law to lift someone if you are on a motorbike that is less powerful than 50cc. This did not stop me though, when I gave a pretty girl a lift back to her hostel. I let her use my helmate, and she sat on the chrome cage behind my seat. It was great having the air run though my hair as we were cruising at the incredible speed of 50km/h!
Do not be shy to comment... please...
Monday 17 October 2011
Air Box, 2-stroke and Slipping Kickstart
Hello again, It has been quite a while since my last post, and in the mean time, a lot has happened. I went for a fifty km ride in September, and once I had finished I had more than Half my tank left over. Not bad for a 2,5 liter tank! I even took it over some dirt road, but I don't think it did my scooter any good...
Air-Box
I noticed that I did not have a hose connecting my carburetor to my air-box, which made my air-box useless. I removed the whole air-box, and put on a small air filter. I had actually bought the air filter too small, but with the help of a hot-air-gun I got it on tightly enough. I found that this made it somewhat slower, but I would rather lose 2km/h than have the engine get muck in it and seize up.
2stroke Oil
My oil tank was beyond repair, so I removed it because it was not serving a purpose. I now have to pre-mix my oil and petrol. For that I bought a 20liter jerry-can and used a 1:50 ratio. I have to stress how important it is to mix it in a container before pouring it into the gas tank! On one occasion I put the two-stroke straight into the gas tank, and it sunk to the bottom and blocked the petrol filter: I then had to push it from the petrol station! {( Remember to tie up the electrical cables to avoid getting them stuck in the wheel. )}
Kick-start Slip
At the moment I cannot get my scooter running because the kick-start slips every time I try and kick it. It is extremely frustrating and the more you try the more you will hurt your foot. I took apart the gear-box and found out that the cogs that get the first gear to start turning had been so badly worn down that there was no chance I was personally going to be able to fix it. So I took it to a local motorcycle mechanic, and he said that it was quite common among these types of motorcycles, and that he will do a small welding job on it.
My plan from now on is to get hold of an Owners Workshop Manual, probably off the web. I have seen some for sale on Amazon that are in fairly good condition. Once I have acquired this book, I will slowly start fixing what still needs to be fixed on the moped. I hope to get it into perfect running condition, so that I will be able to stop worrying about whether it will break down anytime soon.
Air-Box
I noticed that I did not have a hose connecting my carburetor to my air-box, which made my air-box useless. I removed the whole air-box, and put on a small air filter. I had actually bought the air filter too small, but with the help of a hot-air-gun I got it on tightly enough. I found that this made it somewhat slower, but I would rather lose 2km/h than have the engine get muck in it and seize up.
2stroke Oil
My oil tank was beyond repair, so I removed it because it was not serving a purpose. I now have to pre-mix my oil and petrol. For that I bought a 20liter jerry-can and used a 1:50 ratio. I have to stress how important it is to mix it in a container before pouring it into the gas tank! On one occasion I put the two-stroke straight into the gas tank, and it sunk to the bottom and blocked the petrol filter: I then had to push it from the petrol station! {( Remember to tie up the electrical cables to avoid getting them stuck in the wheel. )}
Kick-start Slip
At the moment I cannot get my scooter running because the kick-start slips every time I try and kick it. It is extremely frustrating and the more you try the more you will hurt your foot. I took apart the gear-box and found out that the cogs that get the first gear to start turning had been so badly worn down that there was no chance I was personally going to be able to fix it. So I took it to a local motorcycle mechanic, and he said that it was quite common among these types of motorcycles, and that he will do a small welding job on it.
My plan from now on is to get hold of an Owners Workshop Manual, probably off the web. I have seen some for sale on Amazon that are in fairly good condition. Once I have acquired this book, I will slowly start fixing what still needs to be fixed on the moped. I hope to get it into perfect running condition, so that I will be able to stop worrying about whether it will break down anytime soon.
Friday 9 September 2011
What's what?!
So, what exactly is the point of this blog? Well is is basically a Yamaha Passola fan site. In the following posts I will post all types of things that have to do with this incredible noped. I will also predominantly focus on posting about my own scooter and what I am doing to restore it.
The Passola was introduced during the early 1980's. I recently bought one of these beautiful machines for the ridiculously low price of R800.00. I was actually looking to buy a Honda Express, but I couldn't get my hands on one. I am not disappointed though. What I stumbled upon was in fact a fantastic find. It is not in great condition but it runs, and it sure runs fast. On a straight road I got it up to 55km/h, and on a down-hill it reached 60km/h. Since then my housemate and I have fiddled with it a little and now it isn't reaching those speeds easily.
Here are some pictures I took of it after giving it a clean...
The Passola was introduced during the early 1980's. I recently bought one of these beautiful machines for the ridiculously low price of R800.00. I was actually looking to buy a Honda Express, but I couldn't get my hands on one. I am not disappointed though. What I stumbled upon was in fact a fantastic find. It is not in great condition but it runs, and it sure runs fast. On a straight road I got it up to 55km/h, and on a down-hill it reached 60km/h. Since then my housemate and I have fiddled with it a little and now it isn't reaching those speeds easily.
Here are some pictures I took of it after giving it a clean...
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