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Soon-to-be new scooter goon checking in! My '91 Toyota Corolla died over the weekend, so using that as a valid reason to finally get a Stella. Found one (actually two) that I fell in love with at one of the local Portland shops. The first one is a red 2005 custom that's unfortunately out of my price range, but it has a 177cc pinasco top end kit, upgraded carb, crankshaft, and clutch, with about 6,000 miles for $4500. The second, which is the one I'm getting, is a 2006 mint green/black Stella with an upgraded exhaust. It's only got about 1,000 miles on it, and it's selling for $2,100. I'm absolutely stoked to go pick it up tomorrow. As someone who's never driven a manual transmission scooter before, is it just best to hit up an empty parking lot and just practice?
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May 24, 2010 18:44
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Gay Nudist Dad posted:Well it's *best* to take a rider's training course like the MSF or, since you're near Portland, Team Oregon. Thanks! Yeah, I actually signed up with stellaspeed yesterday once my wife and I decided that it was a definite go on the Stella. We're both signing up for the MSF, but looks like I'll need to call to find out what the deal is because their site isn't listing any classes upcoming in Oregon. After looking, I also had no idea that they had a specific scooter course, that's pretty awesome. Never heard of Team Oregon, but we'll check their classes out too. Last time I rode a scooter was back when I was about 14 (30 now), and it was an automatic, so I'm looking forward to learning and having some fun weekend trips. edit: Just noticed your edit. The $4550 one has: 177cc Pinasco top-end kit, 24mm Dellorto carburetor, Mazzi crankshaft, Cosa banded clutch, SIP wide tire kit, JL performance pipe, custom porting, 35-watt Halogen light upgrade kit, the front chrome luggage rack, and an Ancilotti style seat. I have no idea on the exhaust on the '06 yet. The shop I'm getting it from just received it the same day so they didn't have a chance to get a fact sheet printed out for it, and I didn't think at the time to ask. I was just too excited at the prospect of taking it home. CubanRefugee fucked around with this message at 21:19 on May 24, 2010 |
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May 24, 2010 21:12
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Picked up my Stella today and oh lord is it awesome. It's actually an '04 and it does indeed have a Sito+. Not sure on the air filter, but I'll have to check that out soon. Here's a few pictures:    
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May 26, 2010 04:38
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Had my first real encounter with a couple of teenage douchebags while on my lunch break. When I came out of the grocery store, they were sitting on their bicycles staring at my Stella and talking poo poo about how gay it looked. I just came out, loaded up my groceries, and they tried talking their poo poo directly at me. I just put on my helmet, aimed my pipe in their general direction and kickstarted her up. A nice blue cloud of smoke, and then all I could hear other than my exhaust was two retards coughing.
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Jun 28, 2010 22:35
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So fortunately it's not listed in the OP under the online stores, but I just want to give my thumbs down for scooterloungeonline.com. I ordered an oil syringe and keychain about a month ago. At first, I wasn't even sure if I placed the order, and thought maybe I just went through the motions but never submitted the order. There was no money charged to me, and no order confirmation via e-mail. I was about to place an order for the same items (since I thought I never did it), and then I decided to just scour my local shops for the syringe, since the keychain was just a whim, it wasn't necessary. Well 2 weeks go by, and I get a USPS.com electronic receipt e-mail, not that a package has been shipped, but that they've received *notice* that they'll be receiving a package for me. So it's not even with the postal service yet, they just went online and started the shipping process. That was 2 weeks ago, and there's still been no movement from USPS, and they still haven't even received my package to send it to me. I've had no luck finding a stupid rear end oil syringe anywhere locally, so I'm just hanging tight for now to see if the order does actually get shipped. I figured NAPA, AutoZone, or Cycle Gear would have something like it since it seems like something they would carry, but the reps at NAPA and AutoZone looked at me like I was crazy. The rep at AutoZone even said, "I've never heard of an oil fill hole being placed vertically, that's crazy." tl;dr - Don't order from ScooterLoungeonline.com, their service sucks, and they don't ship out your order for weeks.
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Jul 12, 2010 20:39
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Gay Nudist Dad posted:Sucks about that website; have you tried calling or anything? Do they even have numbers listed? I ended up calling shortly after I posted, and it was some guy who sounded like he was running the place out of his basement. He said, "Oh crap, sorry man, I'll send it out today." He kept avoiding the question of "Why has it taken so long to even process everything?" So we'll see if the USPS info gets updated today... I'm a bit sketched out by it, so if he/they does come through, I think I'll be changing my debit card number with my bank. The syringe is just for an oil change in the gearbox. It's not much, if I recall correctly, it's approx 250ml. I've read about condiment bottle trick, and if this whole order doesn't pan out, I'm definitely going that route. NotJoe posted:So I bought a used 2005 stella about a week ago, and I've been riding it all over the place. A whole week?! Make with the pictures already! CubanRefugee fucked around with this message at 22:45 on Jul 12, 2010 |
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Jul 12, 2010 22:43
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So I've tried asking in the StellaSpeed tuning forums, but apparently they don't like to answer "easy" questions, and only answer things that require huge technical responses.  There's a guy in town selling a Polini 177cc Cylinder kit and Spaco 26/26 carb for about $170 total, new in box, for a Stella. Does anyone here have any experience replacing your cylinder/carb, and how difficult is it? (I think) I'm fairly competent when it comes to this kind of crap, but I've never done that kind of an upgrade before. If it's something that there's tons of room for error and fouling all kinds of poo poo up, then I'd rather just pay my local shop for the labor.
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Jul 21, 2010 21:20
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cheesebot posted:My recommendation would be to make it a nice winter project Exactly the kind of answer I was looking for, thanks! That definitely does sound like a better idea than trying to fit it in over the course of a long weekend or something. Hopefully one of these days I'll actually make some scooter friends around town. The big scooter club (Oregon Scooter Club) appears to be geared more towards big 250cc+ touring scooters, and not so much on the vintage scoots.
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Jul 22, 2010 02:53
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Captain Crunk posted:Being in Portland, OR (seems pretty common in this thread- we should ride sometime I'd be absolutely down for a ride! I'm making my first 'real' trip tomorrow coming from up on the hill in Lake Oswego to eastside off of 48th and Halsey. The lovely part is that I'm doing it at about 7:30am to be there at 8:30am for work. Edit: Ended up going over Hawthorne in the morning, and then Morrison on the way back home. I don't know why I was so nervous, steel gratings are a breeze. CubanRefugee fucked around with this message at 01:37 on Aug 5, 2010 |
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Aug 3, 2010 20:48
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Quantumfate posted:Scooter problems Bad kill switch? I had somewhat the same issue as you when I first got my Stella, and it turned out that my kill switch was stuck, even though it didn't appear to be. A bit of wd40, and some wiggling around loosened things up so that it stopped sticking.
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Aug 10, 2010 20:03
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Blah, on my way to work a couple of hours ago, and my poor Stella sputtered and died. I look down to make sure I didn't do something stupid like forget to turn the petcock on or turn the choke off, and I'm draining fuel out on the engine side like crazy. I didn't have enough time to take the cowl off and take a look to see what happened, so I just took my wifes motorcycle to work. Here's hoping the fuel line just popped off from the ridiculously huge speed bumps we have in our apartment parking lot.
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Aug 16, 2010 21:27
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Blaster of Justice posted:No way a MSF will remove idiots from the streets. What really makes me sad is that the missing helmet didn't work out in this case. Well the car in front of the camera has a Duval Co. license plate in Florida, so either this was in Jacksonville, FL, perhaps St. Augustine, or somewhere else in Florida that normally rents out scooters. Living in the Keys for 20 years, I'd put my money on retarded tourists down in Key West. I've seen stupid crap like that way too much. It definitely looks like when she put her feet down that she probably throttled it at the same time.
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Aug 31, 2010 01:49
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Woofington posted:What would be an average going rate for a good condition 2003 Stella with approximately 3000 miles on it? Mine's an '04 with 3500 miles with a sito+ and I paid $2100. At the time I was looking, just a few months back, they were all around $1900~$2100 for a stock Stella.
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Sep 10, 2010 00:10
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Terminal posted:In all seriousness, if you ever plan to own a regular scooter or a motorcycle, I'd use one of their bikes. Even if you never use the shifting skills, most of the course should still be useful to you. Exactly this. At first, I had no intention of ever buying a motorcycle, and was thinking of taking my MSF on one of the Buddy scooters they had lined up. I ended up taking it on a motorcycle thinking that having that experience will only help my driving skills even more, and it's done exactly that.
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Oct 4, 2010 20:32
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So lately my '04 Stella has been having some odd issues in 1st and 2nd gear, it seems like I have absolutely no top end in the first two gears. In 2nd gear, right before I feel like it's going to be ready to shift, it sputters for a moment. The sputter goes away if I keep accelerating, or shift into 3rd. I also top out at about 50 mph, which wasn't the case when I first got her. Any thoughts as to what to look into first? I'd just take her into the shop, but funds are low at the moment.
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Dec 7, 2010 03:35
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Mushika posted:What general area do you live in? I know a few folks around here looking to buy Buddies/Stellas/any classic-ish scooters. Ft. Lauderdale, FL if his profile is still accurate. I could see easily getting 1200-1500 for a really nice condition Buddy with 8k on the mileage. I bought my 04' Stella with I think about 6k miles on it for 2100.
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Jan 12, 2011 22:42
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Ampersand-e posted:Get the 03, lower miles and lower price. More chance of serious issues that will cost more in the long run if I'm not mistaken.
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Jan 18, 2011 09:03
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Adderholt posted:I'll be picking it up tomorrow and still need to decide on color... See, you already went through the easy part, now it's on to the hard stuff.
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Jan 19, 2011 20:43
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Gay Nudist Dad posted:And a new seat and suspension upgrades. That's next on my list for mine. Right now I have the Ancilotti seat, and was considering trying out the King & Queen seat. I keep reading that they're comfortable as hell. Anyone here have one or tried one before?
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Jan 21, 2011 01:27
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Gay Nudist Dad posted:I've been wanting a Corsa or Ancillotti myself. The K&Q probably is comfy as hell but my it is ugly. Why are you getting of the Ancillotti? Aren't they more comfortable than the stock seats? I've actually never sat on the stock seat before, so I don't have a good frame of reference. :v I like the Ancilotti, but I just know there's something more comfortable out there. I've also read that the K&Q seat helps with riding posture. If I do end up going the K&Q route, I'd be more than happy to sell off the Ancilotti to you next time I'm up your way.
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Jan 21, 2011 04:36
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TylerC 2.0 posted:Where do you live? Judging from that ferry sign, the placement of the dock to the river, and the buildings in the background of the three scooters, I'd have to say somewhere in the vicinity of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
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Jan 26, 2011 03:06
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Mushika posted:Fake edit: Profile. I am a naive dolt.  That sounds like it should be a pretty awesome ride. Take plenty of pictures, and do share!
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Jan 26, 2011 04:32
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Adderholt posted:I've only ridden with it for about 35 miles, but so far I prefer it by a wide margin to the stock mirrors. It can vibrate a bit in certain RPMs, but no worse than the stock ones. I've heard some people have a problem with knocking them off, but it hasn't been an issue (yet) with mine. And it's refreshing to see something besides my shoulders in my mirror while riding. Where'd you get that mirror anyways? I have the same issue, the stock mirrors are too drat short, so all I see is my armpit. The long stadium style mirrors I think would just look too out of place for me.
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Feb 21, 2011 22:38
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Adderholt posted:I bought mine at my local scooter store, but scooterworks.com has the same kind in round and trapezoidal which is what I have. Wow, I don't know how in the hell I missed that on scooterworks, now I feel stupid! GND: Would you recommend the Piaggio air filter over a de-blued stock air filter? I'm looking to get every bit of power out of my Stella. Right now, I top out at about 45mph, and I just don't feel any kind of 'oomph' in 4th gear at all. In other news, had my first tire blowout while riding a motorcycle/scooter. Fortunately I was only going about 20, and I wasn't on any kind of major road, but scary all the same. I'll gladly change a tire on a scooter any day over a car, so incredibly easy. CubanRefugee fucked around with this message at 00:46 on Feb 24, 2011 |
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Feb 24, 2011 00:43
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Gay Nudist Dad posted:Sito+/filter/rejet will definitely give you that oomph you're looking for, plus a few mph on the top end. My speedometer's never worked, though, so I can't say how much top end. I can accelerate in 4th on hills, though. Yeah, I've actually already got a sito+ and was *going* to rejet, but the previous owner actually already upjetted to exactly what I was going to do. I do think I probably didn't do very well on the mix and idle screw adjustments after de-bluing the stock filter, so I may drop it off at a local shop here in the spring to have them tune it up for me. I'll definitely pick up the piaggio filter in the meantime though. No clue what caused the tire blowout, but I did find a decent size puncture the ended up turning into a tear, so time for a new spare. I've always wanted whitewalls, but I worry about how hard they would be to keep clean.
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Feb 25, 2011 00:21
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Skier posted:The owner bought it three months ago, put about 40 miles on it and parked it. Asking $1800. Any idea why he only drove it for that long? Did he just realize that driving around the Palouse on a scooter wasn't for him? Ruckus's are awesome from my understanding.
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Apr 13, 2011 23:39
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Seattle-ites, (GND, I'm lookin' at you!) where's a good shop for scooter maintenance, and a good shop for gear in general? I just moved from Portland to W. Seattle, and so far the only shop for gear I've managed to find is Cycle Gear down in Auburn.
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Apr 26, 2011 16:30
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open24hours posted:Pretty much nothing short of storing it in your apartment. Maybe a cover would deter some people? Except someone already stole his previous cover. That sucks, Seafea. With all that trouble already, if you're on the first floor, I would definitely consider rolling it into the apartment and getting a cheap rug or cut of carpet to park it on indoors.
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May 7, 2011 09:13
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SpannerX posted:Well, finally got to the reserve on the scoot today, going to have to remember how that feels the next time so I can just switch it over and keep going instead of pulling over. Anyway, started a spreadsheet to start tracking my fuel usage, see what sort of range I can expect. You could always just sign up at fuelly.com instead.
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May 17, 2011 07:26
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Gay Nudist Dad posted:Despite steep hills and dreary drizzly weather, there are a ton of scooterists here. I've seen more scooterists here in West Seattle than I ever did in Portland. It's pretty great. Now just to get my Stella's tags renewed so I can drive it around legally. Also GND, 3 day probation for page sniping in GBS? That's some bull.
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Jun 3, 2011 07:14
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Friggin Joe posted:A car collision, the helmet's really your main concern. But if you slide on a 100cc+ scooter it's gonna probably be a bit nasty on the skin. My first week on a scooter (before I even took my endorsement class), no gear except for a helmet, and while in a parking lot, some guy yielded to me even though he had right of way, and I just felt rushed. I ended up giving too much gas before letting up on the clutch, and the bike basically bucked underneath me. I freaked out even more and instead of grabbing the clutch, grabbed the gas, and popped a wheelie in a Costco parking lot. No major damage to the scooter except for a busted turn signal and a bent legshield that I was able to bend back into shape. Me on the other hand, wearing only a flimsy Columbia fleece hoodie, ended up with a wicked case of road rash on my right arm and cuts on my hands/knuckles from being thrown off the bike, that turned into a couple of decent scars two years later. Moral of the story; Even at about 10-15 mph, had I been wearing proper gear, and not just a helmet, I could have just hurt my pride and not my arm/hands. I say if you're going to ride any two wheel vehicle, gear up. Maybe not full leathers for a scooter, but helmet/jacket/gloves definitely. I ride my scooter because it's fun to tool around on, but like M4rg4r1ne said, no skin grafts for me, thank you. I think it also depends where in the US too, because here in the Northwest, I see a lot of folks on 100-150cc scoots in a decent amount of gear, even just to go 2 miles down the road. Whereas last time I was in Florida a few months ago, people ride around in t-shirt/flip-flops, and no helmet. Edit: Sheesh, I didn't refresh the page since the last time my browser pulled up the thread, and I didn't see Paco de Suave's story. poo poo, my anecdote is nothing in comparison. Sorry to hear about that, Paco, that really sucks. Glad you're still with us. CubanRefugee fucked around with this message at 23:34 on Sep 10, 2011 |
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Sep 10, 2011 23:31
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GND: Just dropped a request on the Happy Hour group. I'm over in West Seattle, and hoping to join you guys once I get off my lazy rear end and register my Stella in Washington.
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Feb 29, 2012 03:28
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Nayato posted:I wonder how many people have scooters because of flcl Me. I'm that person too. I've always liked the look of most scooters, but I went with my Stella because of FLCL. Boomer: That's pretty badass.
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Apr 23, 2012 23:19
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