Motorboard Maintenance
L.A. girl Kathryn Pope has a goal for 2008: To get rid of her car entirely by June! Follow her de-car-ing adventures.
Earlier: How the Motorboard has made me (a little, kinda-sorta) cool
My Motorboard keeps on kicking, as I ride over the LA River, past the road work crew on Inglewood and the worker who calls out "That's the way to ride," across Sepulveda, past the bumpy section of sidewalk, over the hill, and through the corporate parking lots. To work I go.
After three months of daily rides, I had my first wheel change in February. Although my owner's manual assured me that a wheel change is simple, I took the Motorboard to Bikecology, just in case. I didn't know if the bike experts there would be able or willing to work on an electric scooter, but they did – changing the wheel (and pausing to marvel at the electric motor behind it) in less than 10 minutes. Thank you, Bikecology!
I'm hoping these guys will become Motorboard maintenance experts for me, since the one downside to the Motorboard is the lack of local repair and maintenance knowledge. There are no Motorboard stores in LA, no place to casually pop in and say, "Hey, what do you think of this?" Roth Motors is great for handling the big things (like replacing a motor), but they're not accessible enough to answer the little questions, like why did my wheel wear out like this?
…and what does that new squeaking sound mean? For some people, maybe most people, this is probably not rocket science. But I'm mechanically challenged. I can't just squirt oil anywhere to loosen a squeak. Can I?
