UTMC

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2011 9:19 am**

Who dat?

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2011 9:59 am**

Approve!

--Jaeger

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2011 10:15 am**

The handlebars are crooked. (The headlight doesn't point the same direction as the tire) There is 1 bolt about halfway down the headstock that needs to be loosened, then using your feet on the tire to keep it straight, straighten the handlebars. Once straight, tighten the fuck out of that bolt. (Threadlock) This is a very common problem with these scooters, if that bolt gets too loose you can totally wreck. (See also; Ze hanglebars, zey do nossing.... gwahahaaallglhb.)

Other than that... Hah. Nice.

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2011 11:08 am**

MagnusTheBuilder wrote:The handlebars are crooked. (The headlight doesn't point the same direction as the tire) There is 1 bolt about halfway down the headstock that needs to be loosened, then using your feet on the tire to keep it straight, straighten the handlebars. Once straight, tighten the fuck out of that bolt. (Threadlock) This is a very common problem with these scooters, if that bolt gets too loose you can totally wreck. (See also; Ze hanglebars, zey do nossing.... gwahahaaallglhb.)

Other than that... Hah. Nice.

It's supposed to be that way, it is inherently unstable (like all modern jetfighters) to make it more agile. it. This technique, called "relaxed static stability" (RSS), was incorporated to further enhance the scooter's maneuver performance. Most scooter's are designed with positive static stability, which induces an scooter to return to its original attitude following a disturbance. This hampers maneuverability, as the tendency to remain in its current attitude opposes the rider's effort to maneuver; on the other hand, a scooter with negative static stability will, in the absence of control input, readily deviate from a controlled path. Therefore, an scooter with negative static stability will be more maneuverable than one that is positively stable. At sub-legal speeds the scooter is constantly on the verge of going out of control.

To counter this tendency to depart from a controlled path—and avoid the need for constant minute trimming inputs by the rider, this scooter has a quadruplex (four-channel) ride-by-wire (RBW) ride control system (RCS). The ride control computer (RCC), which is the key component of the RCS, accepts the rider's input from the handlebars, and manipulates the forks in such a way as to produce the desired result without inducing a loss of control. The RCC also takes thousands of measurements per second of the scooter's attitude, and automatically makes corrections to counter deviations from the path that were not input by the rider; coordinated turn is also obtained in such a way that it updates itself by thousands of instructions and produces the required control deflection that comes from dynamics of this scooter, thereby allowing for stable riding. This has led to a common aphorism among scooter riders: “You don’t ride this scooter; it rides you".

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2011 1:09 pm**

Hehe!
We just revived my dad's SL125 this weekend. Still a couple of bugs to work out after sitting for over a year. He's gonna be 74 (I'm pretty sure) on Wednesday.

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2011 1:35 pm**

My dad's been after me to revive his '79 Suzuki GS1000. I've been dragging my feet on it because, well, he's still dragging his feet. His balance is less than great and his physical strength could be better. Remember: This bike weighs over 600 pounds wet!

I'll start a thread on it when the gaskets arrive...

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2011 2:05 pm**

Mean Chuck wrote:
MagnusTheBuilder wrote:The handlebars are crooked. (The headlight doesn't point the same direction as the tire) There is 1 bolt about halfway down the headstock that needs to be loosened, then using your feet on the tire to keep it straight, straighten the handlebars. Once straight, tighten the fuck out of that bolt. (Threadlock) This is a very common problem with these scooters, if that bolt gets too loose you can totally wreck. (See also; Ze hanglebars, zey do nossing.... gwahahaaallglhb.)

Other than that... Hah. Nice.
It's supposed to be that way, it is inherently unstable (like all modern jetfighters) to make it more agile. it. This technique, called "relaxed static stability" (RSS), was incorporated to further enhance the scooter's maneuver performance. Most scooter's are designed with positive static stability, which induces an scooter to return to its original attitude following a disturbance. This hampers maneuverability, as the tendency to remain in its current attitude opposes the rider's effort to maneuver; on the other hand, a scooter with negative static stability will, in the absence of control input, readily deviate from a controlled path. Therefore, an scooter with negative static stability will be more maneuverable than one that is positively stable. At sub-legal speeds the scooter is constantly on the verge of going out of control.

To counter this tendency to depart from a controlled path—and avoid the need for constant minute trimming inputs by the rider, this scooter has a quadruplex (four-channel) ride-by-wire (RBW) ride control system (RCS). The ride control computer (RCC), which is the key component of the RCS, accepts the rider's input from the handlebars, and manipulates the forks in such a way as to produce the desired result without inducing a loss of control. The RCC also takes thousands of measurements per second of the scooter's attitude, and automatically makes corrections to counter deviations from the path that were not input by the rider; coordinated turn is also obtained in such a way that it updates itself by thousands of instructions and produces the required control deflection that comes from dynamics of this scooter, thereby allowing for stable riding. This has led to a common aphorism among scooter riders: “You don’t ride this scooter; it rides you".

I don't believe a word of this. I've pulled about 5 of those completely to the ground for parts... and put them back together to form a new scoot... (including that Korean trash) I've never heard any of this gibberish. It would be awesome if that was how it worked... like some magical unicorn wrangling. Hey, if I'm wrong and all of this mystical hokum is true... well, people of Denver beware... some of you are riding deathtraps that I ripped the brains out of.

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2011 2:11 pm**

something about his posture and my instinct tells me he has the proper attitude to be a member of UTMC...somebody should contact him...

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2011 2:13 pm**

MagnusTheBuilder wrote: I don't believe a word of this. I've pulled about 5 of those completely to the ground for parts... and put them back together to form a new scoot... (including that Korean trash) I've never heard any of this gibberish. It would be awesome if that was how it worked... like some magical unicorn wrangling. Hey, if I'm wrong and all of this mystical hokum is true... well, people of Denver beware... some of you are riding deathtraps that I ripped the brains out of.

It's all true, apparently you don't know much about modern bikes.

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2011 2:28 pm**

Mean Chuck wrote:apparently you don't know much about modern bikes.

Now that... I believe.

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2011 2:37 pm**

MagnusTheBuilder wrote:
Mean Chuck wrote:apparently you don't know much about modern bikes.
Now that... I believe.

Well, I believe that the headlight is mounted to the bodywork, not the forks which is why the headlight is not in line with the front wheel, but what do I know......

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2011 4:54 pm**

Mean Chuck wrote:
MagnusTheBuilder wrote:The handlebars are crooked. (The headlight doesn't point the same direction as the tire) There is 1 bolt about halfway down the headstock that needs to be loosened, then using your feet on the tire to keep it straight, straighten the handlebars. Once straight, tighten the fuck out of that bolt. (Threadlock) This is a very common problem with these scooters, if that bolt gets too loose you can totally wreck. (See also; Ze hanglebars, zey do nossing.... gwahahaaallglhb.)

Other than that... Hah. Nice.
It's supposed to be that way, it is inherently unstable (like all modern jetfighters) to make it more agile. it. This technique, called "relaxed static stability" (RSS), was incorporated to further enhance the scooter's maneuver performance. Most scooter's are designed with positive static stability, which induces an scooter to return to its original attitude following a disturbance. This hampers maneuverability, as the tendency to remain in its current attitude opposes the rider's effort to maneuver; on the other hand, a scooter with negative static stability will, in the absence of control input, readily deviate from a controlled path. Therefore, an scooter with negative static stability will be more maneuverable than one that is positively stable. At sub-legal speeds the scooter is constantly on the verge of going out of control.

To counter this tendency to depart from a controlled path—and avoid the need for constant minute trimming inputs by the rider, this scooter has a quadruplex (four-channel) ride-by-wire (RBW) ride control system (RCS). The ride control computer (RCC), which is the key component of the RCS, accepts the rider's input from the handlebars, and manipulates the forks in such a way as to produce the desired result without inducing a loss of control. The RCC also takes thousands of measurements per second of the scooter's attitude, and automatically makes corrections to counter deviations from the path that were not input by the rider; coordinated turn is also obtained in such a way that it updates itself by thousands of instructions and produces the required control deflection that comes from dynamics of this scooter, thereby allowing for stable riding. This has led to a common aphorism among scooter riders: “You don’t ride this scooter; it rides you".

Best thing I've read all day! All I can picture is a scooter leaking fuel until it gets up to speed and seals itself like an SR-71. The mental image has me rolling (oh, and I'm totally picturing the old guy as the Chuck Yeager as the experimental scooter test pilot)

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2011 5:11 pm**

goose wrote:Best thing I've read all day! All I can picture is a scooter leaking fuel until it gets up to speed and seals itself like an SR-71. The mental image has me rolling (oh, and I'm totally picturing the old guy as the Chuck Yeager as the experimental scooter test pilot)

Thanks and I wish I could take credit for all of it but it was some creative editing. For those who got the joke-

From General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon on Wikipedia

Flight controls

Negative static stability
The F-16 was the first production fighter aircraft intentionally designed to be slightly aerodynamically unstable. This technique, called "relaxed static stability" (RSS), was incorporated to further enhance the aircraft’s maneuver performance. Most aircraft are designed with positive static stability, which induces an aircraft to return to its original attitude following a disturbance. This hampers maneuverability, as the tendency to remain in its current attitude opposes the pilot’s effort to maneuver; on the other hand, an aircraft with negative static stability will, in the absence of control input, readily deviate from level and controlled flight. Therefore, an aircraft with negative static stability will be more maneuverable than one that is positively stable. When supersonic, a negatively stable aircraft actually exhibits a more positive-trending (and in the F-16’s case, a net positive) static stability due to aerodynamic forces shifting aft between subsonic and supersonic flight. At subsonic speeds the fighter is constantly on the verge of going out of control.

Fly-by-wire
To counter this tendency to depart from controlled flight—and avoid the need for constant minute trimming inputs by the pilot, the F-16 has a quadruplex (four-channel) fly-by-wire (FBW) flight control system (FLCS). The flight control computer (FLCC), which is the key component of the FLCS, accepts the pilot’s input from the stick and rudder controls, and manipulates the control surfaces in such a way as to produce the desired result without inducing a loss of control. The FLCC also takes thousands of measurements per second of the aircraft’s attitude, and automatically makes corrections to counter deviations from the flight path that were not input by the pilot; coordinated turn is also obtained in such a way that it updates itself by thousands of instructions and produces the required control deflection that comes from dynamics of F-16, thereby allowing for stable flight. This has led to a common aphorism among F-16 pilots: “You don’t fly an F-16; it flies you.”

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2011 5:58 pm**

How did I miss the scooter thread!?

and yes, Chuck is correct, whatever he said can't be argued with cause I can't understand it.

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2011 6:11 pm**

I can say with absolute certainty that that man walked into a scooter store and said "I just want something to putt around on". Verbatim. That's what they say, it's an old man thing.

The other thing I am 100% certain of is that knowing that someone 'disapproves', however mildly, is his favorite part.

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2011 9:23 pm**

So... Did anyone else notice that the handlebars are crooked?

Also, I can tell by looking at it that it is still restricted.

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2011 11:50 pm**

And here I thought this thread was about geezers on two wheels...

Stupid me.

Posted: **Tue Apr 05, 2011 12:01 am**

Someone posted it up on reddit, the guy is 68 years old and everyone said he shouldn't ride.

I think that Chucks explanation needs to be in the FAQ page as a general reference for any tech inquiry.

Posted: **Tue Apr 05, 2011 12:10 am**

I thought maybe Chuck had a leaky Argument Juice reservoir on his RIII...

Posted: **Tue Apr 05, 2011 12:44 am**

guitargeek wrote:...Argument Juice...

Tequila?

Posted: **Tue Apr 05, 2011 12:56 am**

BackDoorBarbie wrote: but i CAN tell that this guy's wife just died

Hmm appears to have ring on either hand... Living dead?

Posted: **Tue Apr 05, 2011 1:41 am**

Beemer Dan wrote:
guitargeek wrote:...Argument Juice...
Tequila?

Posted: **Tue Apr 05, 2011 3:18 am**

BackDoorBarbie wrote:but i CAN tell that this guy's wife just died

...or she was holding the camera.

Posted: **Tue Apr 05, 2011 8:35 am**

I like that he is 68 and wearing skate shoes!

Posted: **Tue Apr 05, 2011 9:44 am**

I stand by my earlier statement...he's one of us..

My grandfather wore his wedding ring until he died, some 4 or five years after she died...he never thought to take it off.

UTMC

everyone told him he was too old

everyone told him he was too old