Be skilled or be killed

The awful hen has left us

The awful hen toots its last from rosanna k on Vimeo.

It is a sad day in mosquito fleet land. Joel, Kurt, Matt and I went up to pay the bus its last respects and hand the keys over to the new owner. I shed a little tear in my heart. 

Mermaid update

Joel spent an arduous day down at the wizard cave the other day and came home overflowing with gifts for the mermaid moped. This bike is so close to being done - just in time for a really snowy winter in Seattle! 

It’s pretty great, this bike is turning out to match exactly what I’ve been picturing in my head all these months. Especially this cadillac blue.

Snowflakes

Other snowflakes

Beautiful!

Forks

Shocks

Stay tuned boys and girls, and you’ll get to see a magical mermaid moped.

A rainbow

Hmm, let’s see, have I really not written about the mermaid moped in almost a year? Geesh. Well, the going has been slow, but the project has not been forgotten or abandoned. It’s just been a little low on the priority list of Things I Must Think About Every Day. Alas. 

Today I got a little package in the mail, containing the cutest little bottles of enamel paint. Which means we’re one step further to completion. 

This guy is serious.

 Serious about eating a sandwich.

Starry-eyed

Excitement abounds. Excitement can’t be contained.

We’ve been out fiddling with the derbi.  It’s in pretty decent condition and runs pretty well so there’s not too much that can be fixed/fiddled with on the spur of the moment. But like I said, excitement overfloweth, so we must do something.

First things first - the brakes were no good. Uh, there was a jeweler’s screw driver stuck through the hole where the lever screw should go on the lever perch. And the stopping power was just abysmal, period. Joel kindly fixed them up right when he got home from work while I finished up dinner.

Then, as I took the bike for another spin around the block to test the new powerful brakes, I noticed the engine made a not great noise. You know, sort of the dry rattling noise a moped makes when there isn’t enough lubrication? So! We poked around to check out the tranny fluid. Indeed, the grossest stuff poured out - thick, viscous, coffee-with-three-creamers color. Who knows how long that’s been in there? 

In goes the new fluid:

It stinks. According to the manual, Derbi’s require the super gloopy SAE80 gear box oil, 400 cc’s worth to be exact. (cc’s are the same as ml, just to be clear.)

Seriously, look how gloopy this stuff is:

This hole is normally sealed off with a plastic bolt. Somehow, over time, it was lost. Check out this weird little stopper:

Ok, test time. Do you sound any different new friend?

I can’t quite hear, let me concentrate a little harder.

Yep. Sounds better, which is irrefutable scientific proof that the moped is 10% more healthy now.

Thanks, Joel, for taking photos.

Who’s excited?

I AM! Why, you ask? I just said goodbye to good ol’ Red and Gold and welcomed this new friend:

After the new friend arrived at our house, I took him for a little joy ride to the grocery store. I AM SO PUMPED ABOUT THIS MOPED. 

Also, I felt like a gargantuan beast riding down the street. Here is a size comparison for reference:

The house de Kvernmo has turned into the Derbi Pinto Club overnight. Mostly unintentionally, it now happens that Joel and I each have a complete Derbi and a pinto project. TWINS!