Never play with fire..

So, I decided I'd once again start working on the Scooter I bought from Steven back, oh I don't know, too many months ago.

To recap, the scooter wouldn't run when I got it. I took it apart, put it minimally back together after cleaning out the carb and such. Jumped it off my 350Z and it started up. So I'm like sweet, I have a running scooter.

Reassemble everything else, put the exhaust on it, air cleaner, seat, buy a new battery. Once it's back together it won't start at all. So it sits. Eventually I take apart the handlebar and try to rewire the starter switch, as it never would start with the starter, only by kick starting it, when it did start.

Jump to today. I put the handle back together, test the battery out, seems to still have juice. Try to kick start it, no luck, seems to flood, but not sure if that's why it won't start or not. I half thing it's not getting any spark, but I've yet to figure that one out.

So, I go try to buy a new plug, no luck, autozone can't tell what it is so they can't match it. Buy some more carb cleaner, and starter fluid.

Come home, spray in the carb, try to crank it, nothing. Hook the gas line back up to it, try to start, it floods. Me being the bright one that I am, and don't ask why I did this, stick a lighter up to the carb, which of course lights. So does all of the gas that came out of the carb while trying to start it. Easy enough, one big puff of air and I blow it out.

So, me being extremely bright, I light it again. This time it goes even bigger, puff puff puff, no dice, this *** ain't blowing out. Crap, no fire extinguisher in the garage, alright, what next. Smack at it with a mechanics glove, no dice, too small, too much flame. Slide the scooter to the edge of the garage/driveway, run and grab the garden hose. Thoughts of, you aren't supposed to spray water on a gas fire run through my head, or is that a grease fire? Turn the hose on, find out it's cracked right near the end, so the nozzle on the end only provides backpressure so that water sprays out through the cracks.

Quickly drag the hose over to the scooter, aim the cracks at the fire and hope it goes out. Done, fire quickly extinguished, and danger is locked away in the cabinet only to be opened again sometime later.

Lesson learned.

1. Buy a couple damn fire extinguishers.

2. Don't put a lighter up to a carb that's full of gas.

3. Who wants to buy a scooter?