The flat tire

 Blog post 7: 

Rolling down Liberty Ave in the Strip District one evening, I ran over something that put a moderately fast leak in the rear tire. I didn't notice it immediately, only when I got to a red light a mile later and wobbled as I started off. A flat front tire on a bike is immediately a problem and a danger due to loss of steering, but a rear flat can be ridden for miles. Since I was downtown, I merely pushed it to my usual parking spot under the Crosstown Blvd bridge and parked it. There was no way I was going to try to ride it 10 miles home. Even if I could, I would likely damage the rim. Replacing a tire should be a simple, straightforward affair.

Should. Operative word there. Ha.

The immediate problem was getting it home or to someplace I could work on it. Ideally I'd find a shop that could pick it up and fix it for me. But after a series of phone calls and emails over a full week's time, I had struck out on a simple fix. Nope, this was going to be a self repair, and in my own carport, if I could get it there.

A few more attempts via my network and I located a friend who could transport it for me. We made the arrangements, she showed up with her van and a ramp; now the problem was getting it into the van. I stupidly left my phone home that day which would have allowed me to use the scooter's motor to assist in rolling up the ramp. Nope, this had to be muscle power, brute-force pushing a machine up a ramp where the drive wheel was locked, unturning. A homeless person happened to be nearby to witness our struggles pushing the scooter in and came over to offer assistance. Gladly! I wish I'd also had a $5 or $10 bill to offer the person (gender indeterminate, as if it matters) for the effort. Anyway, 10 minutes later, scooter loaded and strapped down, we headed home.

Meanwhile, I had gotten tire sizes and shopped around, so already had the new tire on order. A "thump" on the porch one day I was working from home let me know it had arrived, I think from FedEx. So, onto the next problem: Getting the tire off.

On this particular machine, the motor is integrated into the rear axle and rim/tire system, so the matter at hand is to get that whole assembly off. First, I had to dig up the service manual for the scooter, itself not an easy task, since they haven't built these for several years. Next, figure out which section of a 180-page manual applied to this situation. Third, assessing my tool collection to see if I had all that I needed. That part turned out to be fairly simple, just an adjustable wrench and a screwdriver. One evening's work, with laptop perched on a nearby milk crate, showing the page of the manual I needed to look at, and I had the thing apart.

The bigger problem now was finding someone who could replace the tire. The complication here was the attached motor, and getting those apart was not something my local tire shop (literally a quarter mile away) could handle. Fortunately, someone at the shop also owned a motorcycle, and recommended a shop about 10 miles away. That shop was known more for its parts and accessories, but they also have a small repair facility in the back for just this sort of work. I loaded motor/rim/tire and new tire into the car, drove over there, and they said go have dinner at the Wendy's a block away, and come back in a couple hours. The attached motor would not be a problem. Hooray!

Two hours later, they'd replaced the tire, scrapped the old one for me, I happily paid what I owed them, and returned home.

Getting the thing put back together turned out to be more of a project than I had counted on. One thing they pointed out to me in replacing the tire was that the rear brake disc was cracked and had to be replaced. And for that matter, since I had the thing apart, I had better replace the brake pads, too. Another week to 10 days went by while I researched the parts needed, ordered them, and awaited for all the pieces to arrive. 

Replacing the disc took 10 minutes. Three bolts off, replace part, three bolts on, and done. The pads, unfortunately, would prove to be a much more difficult process, and end up taking two more evenings. Maybe the next time I do this I can make it happen in 15 minutes, but the learning curve on this was uncompromisingly difficult. Gee, it came apart so easily, I suppose due to the worn pads taking up much less space than new ones. For what it's worth, replacing the front pads was dead simple, and was complete in 15 minutes, I am sure in large part from the experienced gained on the rears.

Reassembly took another two evenings. This was a textbook case of walking away in frustration after an hour of pressing and pushing and test-fitting and failing, followed by getting past that block in five minutes when I did return. Long story short, I got it back together and it worked fine on the first try.

I gave this two or three days of use to shake out any problems before I took it in for inspection, but as it turned out, it passed easily. There isn't much to go wrong on it: Head- and taillight, turn signals front and back, horn, brakes, and tire tread. Ten minutes after the inspector looked it over, I had a new sticker and was ready to roll out.

Since that time, I've also acquired a replacement front tire, which I should also replace. That project looks much easier, just one bolt and some axle grease, and have someone swap tires. It isn't done yet, but I can feel that poor front tire all the time on curves.