Topless Milan SL

While out for a quick spin my neighbour mentioned that I was riding topless.  At first I didn't think much of the comment but the next day after quite a few more short spins I got a chuckle out of it.   My short spins were rather short as I would only go to the nearest intersection where I could turn around.  I got rather good at using the crown of the road to roll backwards to make multi-point turns.

The reason for riding without the door on was that I was adjusting the the rear suspension and fine tuning the fit of the swing arm in the rear fender.  After a few attempts it is finally just right.  I may still adjust the length of the rear struts to slightly lower the back end of the SL.  The back end now a bit lower than before and we have gained a tiny bit of clearance at the front.

In the many times I had the rear wheel in and out and the velo upside down I took a good look and at the bottom.  The only bit that was scratched up was the scuff pads on the footbumps.  It seems that when the footbumps touch it slightly lifts the front of the shell as the front suspension allows this to happen.  One does still need to be aware of dips with slopes that go up just after the dip.  Mostly one can deal with these by taking them at an angle.   So far I haven't found the low ground clearance to be a real problem.  It's bit noisy at times scraping the protective skid pads but otherwise very manageable.  Yet another misconception that didn't come true.  The other two for the SL were getting me to fit for leg length and width between the wheel wells.  The distance between the wheel wells varies from 14.75 to 15.5" depending on where you measure but I still have clearance.  When I first mocked up the space it seemed awfully tight but it seems to work well for me.  The reason it works is that the narrowerest dimension is where your knees are and the widest where your calves or thighs would touch.  The more I learn about the design of the Milan the more impressed I am with the thoroughness of the designers.

 The scuff pads after riding for a while.  From looking at them they should last a long while.  The tape is so I can fill the little voids in the join line.  The gel coat fills will be sanded smooth once they are hard.  I'll also scrape off the silicone that has squeezed out from glueing the scuff pads on.