The five minute project.

"Oh, this will only take about five minutes."

Two hours, three scuffed knuckles and some sore muscles later...

It seems this is the way of things when one approaches a project of any kind, be it automotive, motorcycle, home repair, etc. What at first glance we might think will take only a few minutes, turns into something much more.

False confidence can also play a part. Just a few days ago, it was a quick matter to install a Bell five plug power station on the scoot. I found it at K-mart for 8 bucks in the clearance aisle. It took only about ten minutes to add an additional circuit, with its own inline fuse and wire in the power station so electronic devices can be powered on long journeys. Works like a charm too.

So today, the "simple" project of adding more lights to the bottom of the scoot was on the docket. It was going well, but then there was a tight spot in between the frame and bodywork where wires needed to be joined and it wasn't possible to get thick fingers into the space, so the bottom side panel had to come off.

Taking the side panel off is a matter of five 10mm hex bolts, and six (I think) philip's head screws. Not a horrible task, but time consuming. there's also a little port on the left side, presumably for getting in at the valves if you're Tom Thumb.

Once the body panel was off, it was easier to get at the places the wiring would be strung, but then the wire kept breaking, so a different wire had to be substituted. Once everything was finally wired and working, it was time for the body panel to go back on, which took nearly ten minutes on its own just to get all the tabs lined up.

It should be noted that the LED's are cheap units from Amazon, and that is part of the reason they were more difficult to wire up. The leads are only about 8 inches long, so unlike the higher quality LED's installed previously, more wire was needed to reach the battery. 

After the job was finally finished, it looked pretty good. That it took over two hours to complete is irritating, but that's the way it is with a five minute project.