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Friggin Joe posted:...I don't ever wanna drive my car again...It's pretty damned entertaining being on a scooter and riding with highway traffic...I keep getting tempted by less practical motorcycles... SOON the rebel rebellion will be crushed and young sky-walker will be one of US
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Sep 2, 2011 07:56
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I'm in Taipei on holiday at the moment. This place is absolutely amazing when it comes to scooters, every street is lined with them, seemingly everyone from all walks of life rides one. Half of them ride around with facemasks, half of them ride around smoking, and they all have a firm NGATT attitude to safety. It's awesome.
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Sep 2, 2011 12:20
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open24hours posted:I'm in Taipei on holiday at the moment. This place is absolutely amazing when it comes to scooters, every street is lined with them, seemingly everyone from all walks of life rides one. Half of them ride around with facemasks, half of them ride around smoking, and they all have a firm NGATT attitude to safety. It's awesome. For some odd reason I find myself watching videos of eastern places such as that and it's pretty amazing, the difference. Tiawan is huge scooter place. It's a pretty awesome means of transportation, and makes so much sense I'm surprised they're not more commonplace in the U.S. (well, we are kinda retards) At least I feel special on my scooter. Even on a long ride, the most scooters I see on my way is like one. Friggin Joe fucked around with this message at 09:08 on Sep 3, 2011 |
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Sep 3, 2011 09:02
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I don't really feel special, but I do feel like I'm a bit more committed to it because I'm fixing up a Japanese scooter and wear proper gear instead of putting around on a new Chinese insta-rust in a bicycle helmet like most people in my town.
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Sep 3, 2011 16:59
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Friggin Joe posted:For some odd reason I find myself watching videos of eastern places such as that and it's pretty amazing, the difference. I think two of the main reasons scooters aren't so popular in the US and other western countries is that people can afford to buy a car (and perhaps more importantly, have the space to park it) pretty easily even on a minimum wage job, and people really take a different attitude to what is and isn't an 'acceptable risk'. If this thread is anything to go by, people buy and wear full motorcycle gear to go down to the shops to buy milk, which really takes a lot of the convenience scooters offer away.
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Sep 3, 2011 17:19
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I do that because a guy I know got nailed on his moped a few weeks ago and basically got destroyed. Broken limbs, shattered face, went through over 60 units of blood, needed a trach, etc. I'm pretty sure the only protection he had was an open-face helmet. He was going slower than I do but that doesn't matter when a car hits you because your smallness makes you invisible to the inattentive. It doesn't take more than 10 extra seconds to put on my jacket and gloves. Some people look at me funny but I'd rather have that than require skin grafts when/if something bad happens.
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Sep 3, 2011 17:31
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I'm not saying you shouldn't wear gear, I'm saying that the perceived need to wear gear significantly reduces the attractiveness of scooters to many people. A jacket and gloves, or even full leathers, probably wont do a lot to help you if you get hit by a car anyway. It's not like people don't get killed on scooters over here too, and it's not like people don't get killed in car crashes in the US, but you don't see many people driving around wearing full gear and a helmet.
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Sep 3, 2011 17:38
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Well a lot of accidents, I think most, are one-person accidents on two wheelers so the gloves, boots, leather are going to come into play along with that helmet. I think maybe if people are put off to the idea of riding scooters because of gearing up like a motorcycle, it's probably best they're not on scooters. The 50cc's, that I can understand, if the speed's going to be 10-30mph around a college campus or urban area. Not saying it isn't smart to wear protection, but at least it's understandable. The idea of a scooter for a lot of people is just hop on and go at a leisurely pace instead of walking or biking. My chinascoot's my daily commuter and I've been in some nasty rain and winds already and I'm more than happy to let something else's skin take the rash should a slide occur :P A car collision, the helmet's really your main concern. But if you slide on a 100cc+ scooter it's gonna probably be a bit nasty on the skin.
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Sep 3, 2011 22:42
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open24hours posted:If this thread is anything to go by, people buy and wear full motorcycle gear to go down to the shops to buy milk, which really takes a lot of the convenience scooters offer away. In May I decided not to wear my jacket on a trip to my friends house for a pool party, which was in fact closer to my house than the nearest place that sells milk. Jackass pulls out in front of me and I slide 30 feet through an intersection and hit a curb. I end up looking like this and screaming about how I should have worn my jacket as they scrub asphalt out of my arms and knees in the trauma center.  So yeah. Wear a jacket. edit: this was at 30mph. Hospital bills are currently over $31k
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Sep 5, 2011 12:25
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Well, that's terrible. I would never advise anyone not to wear gear, and in a perfect world everyone would wear it, but there has to be some trade off between convenience and safety. In the West the point at which people draw the line between an acceptable risk and an unacceptable one seems to be much closer to safety than convenience. I'm not offering advice, just an observation. It probably helps that they have UHC in Taiwan so people don't have to worry so much about bankrupting themselves and their family if they have an accident, although it's the same in Australia and people are pretty safety conscious there. Different cultures have different priorities I guess. You see this sort of thing all the time here, which would probably result in having your children taken away from you in some countries, and no one seems to mind.  open24hours fucked around with this message at 13:09 on Sep 5, 2011 |
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Sep 5, 2011 13:05
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so I have my mind set on a BV 250, but I'm not sure if I should get new or used. I've come into $9000 dollars this week and I want to put some of it into savings. The only thing on the line is that I put more into savings on a used, and less on a new. Right now there a 2009 BV250 on craigslist with 400 miles and a slight scrape from a drop. With a used I have no way of knowing if somethings wrong with it or not. With a new I'll definitely get a working model but I put less away. thoughts?
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Sep 7, 2011 07:42
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Coldrice posted:so I have my mind set on a BV 250, but I'm not sure if I should get new or used. I've come into $9000 dollars this week and I want to put some of it into savings. The only thing on the line is that I put more into savings on a used, and less on a new. Right now there a 2009 BV250 on craigslist with 400 miles and a slight scrape from a drop. With a used I have no way of knowing if somethings wrong with it or not. With a new I'll definitely get a working model but I put less away. You could also negotiate with the seller to let them take it to a mechanic for a full inspection. Might cost $100-150 but then you could know it's in good shape and still save a bunch of money. 400 miles is nothing, they just did some break in for you.
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Sep 7, 2011 15:51
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Just inherited a buddy 125. I am going to be teaching my Girlfriend how to ride. anyone have any pointers for short people? her toes barley touch the ground. I'm looking at one of the Buddy Low Profile Seats right now.
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Sep 7, 2011 19:10
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Nerf Herder posted:Just inherited a buddy 125. I am going to be teaching my Girlfriend how to ride. anyone have any pointers for short people? her toes barley touch the ground. Maybe lean to one side? I can get my toes down on both sides with my Stella, but generally lean and put my left foot flat down. My right foot I use to hold the rear brake, but that's not relevant on the Buddy. As long as she can teeter to either side and keep herself upright with one leg, she'll be fine. Many inseam-challenged individuals (like me) get by just fine without being able to double flat-foot.
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Sep 7, 2011 20:39
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Nerf Herder posted:Just inherited a buddy 125. I am going to be teaching my Girlfriend how to ride. anyone have any pointers for short people? her toes barley touch the ground. The 125's aren't heavy bikes, one foot on the scooter, one on the ground shoudn't be bad. It's not the same as motorcycles, but even a small bit of throttle has the scooter stable enough from a stop where you never have to "walk" the bike. On another topic, be safe. Eat enough and leave the gear out and this can be you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjfvK0isBhc Friggin Joe fucked around with this message at 22:30 on Sep 7, 2011 |
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Sep 7, 2011 20:42
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Friggin Joe posted:A car collision, the helmet's really your main concern. But if you slide on a 100cc+ scooter it's gonna probably be a bit nasty on the skin. My first week on a scooter (before I even took my endorsement class), no gear except for a helmet, and while in a parking lot, some guy yielded to me even though he had right of way, and I just felt rushed. I ended up giving too much gas before letting up on the clutch, and the bike basically bucked underneath me. I freaked out even more and instead of grabbing the clutch, grabbed the gas, and popped a wheelie in a Costco parking lot. No major damage to the scooter except for a busted turn signal and a bent legshield that I was able to bend back into shape. Me on the other hand, wearing only a flimsy Columbia fleece hoodie, ended up with a wicked case of road rash on my right arm and cuts on my hands/knuckles from being thrown off the bike, that turned into a couple of decent scars two years later. Moral of the story; Even at about 10-15 mph, had I been wearing proper gear, and not just a helmet, I could have just hurt my pride and not my arm/hands. I say if you're going to ride any two wheel vehicle, gear up. Maybe not full leathers for a scooter, but helmet/jacket/gloves definitely. I ride my scooter because it's fun to tool around on, but like M4rg4r1ne said, no skin grafts for me, thank you. I think it also depends where in the US too, because here in the Northwest, I see a lot of folks on 100-150cc scoots in a decent amount of gear, even just to go 2 miles down the road. Whereas last time I was in Florida a few months ago, people ride around in t-shirt/flip-flops, and no helmet. Edit: Sheesh, I didn't refresh the page since the last time my browser pulled up the thread, and I didn't see Paco de Suave's story. poo poo, my anecdote is nothing in comparison. Sorry to hear about that, Paco, that really sucks. Glad you're still with us. CubanRefugee fucked around with this message at 23:34 on Sep 10, 2011 |
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Sep 10, 2011 23:31
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So I went for a ride today to a dealership a couple towns up with a couple friends. Stopped at a local place (Ducati Seattle, also the Genuine dealer) to grab a free burger and bullshit with one of the guys there who we know, and then we rode up to Scooter Barn (aka Vespa Lynnwood, aka Lynnwood Cycle Barn, aka Lynnwood Harley-Davidson). We were all gear shopping, but Cycle Barn also because the Zero Motorcycles dealer. I took a Zero S on a demo ride. It was neat, and ran out of batteries. But what happens during the ride? My electric dies. All of it. Well, mostly. When I turn the key to on, my pilot light and tail light come on (though EXTREMELY) dimly. My TrailTech Vapor, which taps into the 12v to power its backlight but can otherwise run from its internal battery, does not have its backlight. My turn signals activate (very very dimly), but don't blink, and the turn signal beeper does a steady, quiet tone (normally it does a steady tone when a bulb is out/disconnected but is much louder). My headlight is out, which may be a separate problem - it's AC, not DC. Oh, and (what I think is) my hub seal is getting worse, with more and more oil spray on my rear wheel. So that's how I get to spend my Sunday. 
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Sep 11, 2011 04:08
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I was riding out east on Long Island tonight, doing a respectable 75mph. This sport bike, probably just a 250 Ninja, passes me on the left and the rider did that thing where he rests one hand on his lap to look all casual like his bike's not even trying. But it was working a bit, I knew he had to have easy pass against my poor scooter. I know I bought a scooter for practicality, with my big trunk on the rear and high mileage, but I always feel like I gotta prove a scooter can hang with traffic, lol. So as he passed about ten feet or so in front of me, I went wide open on the throttle and I didn't go any faster. Friggin Joe fucked around with this message at 05:33 on Sep 13, 2011 |
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Sep 13, 2011 05:31
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Friggin Joe posted:I went wide open on the throttle and I didn't go any faster. New thread title.
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Sep 17, 2011 15:47
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 There were 40,000 Doodle Bugs manufactured from the spring of 1946 through the fall of 1948 by Beam Mfg. of Webster City, Iowa. They were produced in four runs of 10,000 each. The first production consisted of Standard Models A (Briggs & Stratton) and B (Clinton). Only 750 to 1,000 of the first production were the Model B, making it the rarest of all Doodle Bugs. All Doodle Bug motor scooters had kick-start engines and were painted red from the factory. The only accessories available were three headlight/taillight kits which consisted of : 1) Bendix headlight generator with a Do-Ray taillight for B & S only; 2) Do-Ray headlight and taillight with a 6-volt battery which would fit all scooters; 3) Make-A-Lite headlight and taillight with a 6-volt battery which would fit all scooters. In addition, there was one Delta brake light kit that used a type D battery. Every year they have a reunion in Webster City, this was the 25th. So, to the Fair Grounds!  Through the gates!  To a lot of oldsters on scooters!  Behold! The Doodlebug!  There were a lot of small scooter type vehicles in the lot.  Let's, go inside!  They have lots of scooters here!      These guys were pretty basic in the old timey way.    Used by the Des Moines Register!  Repo scooter for sale!   Then the gang got together for a run!  Run! They're out to raise hell! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQDSt1TcrOs Armyman25 fucked around with this message at 04:37 on Sep 18, 2011 |
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Sep 18, 2011 04:25
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That is fantastic, thank you for that. I can pretty much imagine what that meeting was like.
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Sep 18, 2011 06:04
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That looks pretty awesome. I wish these mini bike types had some legal access to roads, at least along the lines of bicycles. Maybe they do in some states. Tonight I caught my Chinese scooter acting like a Chinese scooter. I nailed a retarded lump in the middle of the street that caught my car once, but I usually don't feel it on account of it being in the center of the street. I felt like a rim and/or fork busting brick-wall of a hit, but all that happened is my clock display detached from inside the tach, so now my clock's tilted at an angle. I took the front panel off and found there's no access to the drat thing, as it's inside a single assembly where it's all contained. It's dark out so gently caress it. I'll get to it tomorrow or just leave it as the punishment I deserve for owning a chinascoot.
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Sep 18, 2011 07:22
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Knowing the time ain't gonna get you there any quicker.
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Sep 19, 2011 05:05
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Armyman25 posted:Serious awesomeness
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Sep 19, 2011 23:42
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I'll be moving soon and need a bit more storage than the rear trunk and under the seat on my Reflex clone. I'm thinking soft saddlebags if they don't flop around too much at higher speeds, but would also like to rig up a pack to occupy the passenger spot behind me on the seat. The rear end of the scooter body is already wide, but it looks like saddlebags aren't too ridiculous looking for their purpose. A few people in the Scootdawg forums are using them.  Judging by the photo, at least Chinese scooters go to heaven after their short lives end. Now here's a damned rear trunk.  Silly looking as hell, but drat that's large. I'm thinking some kind of luggage can be secured on the upper part of the seat that's being unused with straps around the seat and secured to the rear rack bolts, and would make a killer backrest. I'm open to suggestions if anyone's done a cross-some-of-the-country ride.
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Sep 20, 2011 16:59
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Friggin Joe posted:Put some junk in that trunk. Wheelie everywhere.
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Sep 20, 2011 17:07
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I've got a pressing issue here... I was looking to buy my first scooter (a Yamaha Majesty 400, for those who are curious) and found a pretty good deal: $1500 for a practically brand new one, 5k miles and never dropped.The catch? The guy is located in Montana and wants to ship it over here. Fishy right? The anti-catch? He's a Master Sergeant in the air force who has records online of his identity, so I'm sure he is who he says he is. Moreover, he's offering to ship it over to me in CA on a military cargo plane/truck. He's also offering to do the transaction through Ebay, but as far as I know, you can only set up auctions there and not a private transaction like he's offering. I think my eagerness for this bike may be clouding my judgment, but I may go through with it in a few days. My pressing concern is, why would he sell it here and not locally? Thoughts?
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Sep 20, 2011 19:42
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bjobjoli posted:I've got a pressing issue here... Because he's a scammer.
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Sep 20, 2011 19:50
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Anyone who is willing or "wants to" ship a vehicle like that AND offers a price like that is probably not for real. You've got maybe a 10% chance to save 25% and a 90% chance to lose 75% of what you can find a decent used bike in that range. I mean, don't do it. I've seen a decent number of used Suzuki's and Yamaha's in the $2000-$2500 range. Just wait for something more legit and local. If he wasn't a scammer, and had a real bike for sale, he'd have it taken off his hands instantly at that price by someone nearby.
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Sep 20, 2011 20:48
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Does the email go like this? : "Hello, Sorry it has taken so long to get back in touch with you. First of all let me say that the Vespa GTS 250 is in excellent condition, run perfect. I don't want to get rich by it's selling, just want to give it to someone who will take good care of it. I'm an US Navy Seaman currently stationed in Portsmouth, NH and the scooter is here with me, I can have it shipped from here so there won't be any shipping costs for you. Also I can arrange for a truck to transport it to your home address or you can pick it up from the nearest airport in your area. The shipping takes around 48 hours and is free, depending on your location. If you are interested in purchasing the scooter contact me back so I can provide you with more information. The scooter has 101 miles, year 2009, automatic transmission, 250 cc engine. Thanks and God bless. PS. Sorry for the long email I've tried to touch all bases." Don't do it. I figured this was a scam but I needed to make sure because it was only $1500 for a 250GTS - you never know...
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Sep 20, 2011 21:10
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bjobjoli posted:No way this is not a scam. Ask him if he would be willing to drive it from Montana to your front door so you can pay him in cash.
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Sep 20, 2011 22:22
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cheesebot posted:Does the email go like this? : Yeah OK, it's a scam. Good thing I checked here. Thanks Guys!
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Sep 21, 2011 01:07
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I got a Genuine Buddy 125 back in march and it's great as heck. Only real problem is that the only place that specifically services Genuine scooters is a bit of a commute, but whatever, I don't care, I'm a cool guy on a cool scooter. It was a great find, too: I had never even heard of Genuine, and I just happened to find this bad boy on Craigslist less than ten minutes after it was posted. Did a little research and called him up within the hour. Downside: dumb friends make fun of me.
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Sep 30, 2011 05:09
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Little Blue Couch posted:Downside: dumb friends make fun of me. gently caress 'em. If they had a chance to ride a scooter, they'd be all over that poo poo. The fun is undeniable.
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Sep 30, 2011 05:13
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Been working on my friend's 87 Honda Elite 80 lately. He bought it for $500 thinking all it needed was a new battery but turns out, the exhaust had snapped at the header and the valves were off. I cleaned the carburetor and it was pretty gummed up but it's now been cleaned out 3 times or so. I adjusted the valves and it started right up even with no exhaust. I realized I live just 30 minutes north of Battle Scooter so we picked up an exhaust from them as well as a new air filter and jets. Put in a new sparkplug and changed the jet from an 88 to a 92. Well, it ran really well, idled perfectly and I thought it was a done deal. It would start right up, accelerate nicely from 0-20 and then a flat spot but it would go all the way to 43mph. However, I started noticing whenever he revved it at a light that it would pour out white smoke. I figured it was just some seafoam in the engine or the exhaust breaking in? Who knows. Anyway, he was riding it yesterday and it died. I went to go check it out today and work on it in a nearby parking lot. The valves seemed a little bit too tight so I loosened them, checked the sparkplug and it looked fine but my friend said he cleaned it off yesterday but it was dark so he couldn't see what it looked like then. The battery which is brand new was put on a charger overnight and it shows up at 12.8v I've tried squirting some starter fluid into the sparkplug hole but it still won't start. The fan is turning over and I am getting spark. What should I do next?
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Oct 3, 2011 03:23
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I probably look laughable in my frogg togs and helm, but a week's worth of commuting to work on 2 gallons of gas has been loving great. The pic doesn't do justice to how tiny and toy-like it looks in a parking space. lol Friggin Joe fucked around with this message at 01:54 on Oct 5, 2011 |
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Oct 5, 2011 01:29
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I got my Stella back today. It's been about 3 weeks since it's been ridable, since I had weird electrical troubles that meant I had no working lights when the bike was running. Turns out.. it was the battery. Or at least a new battery cured it, at least for now. So $55 later I have it back and my lights all work brightly and I'm so excited 
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Oct 5, 2011 02:05
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I never suspected a battery would be responsible for anything electrical once an automobile was running, as I figured the generator's got the electrical parts covered. Not the case, though, even for electrical start scooters, when the battery has enough to start it. They're always best topped off, and some people even trickle charge their batteries because the scooters don't always keep them maxed. It's common among, but not limited to, chinascoots and my friend resolved the same type of issues with his Burgman 400. I ended up putting a 6" solar panel in the center where the footrest it has worked like a charm. Before that, week by week, my battery was holding a bit less charge when I tested it before that. Despite the engine already running I'd noticed headlights flickering at idle and the radio/mp3 not worth a crap.
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Oct 5, 2011 02:15
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Friggin Joe posted:I never suspected a battery would be responsible for anything electrical once an automobile was running, as I figured the generator's got the electrical parts covered. Not the case, though, even for electrical start scooters, when the battery has enough to start it. They're always best topped off, and some people even trickle charge their batteries because the scooters don't always keep them maxed. It's common among, but not limited to, chinascoots and my friend resolved the same type of issues with his Burgman 400. I ended up putting a 6" solar panel in the center where the footrest it has worked like a charm. In the case of a lot of scooters, the headlight runs off AC power, not DC from the battery. With Stellas, the magneto in the engine generates AC power. All of which runs through a regulator/rectifier, which converts half of it to DC. The regulated-but-unconverted AC runs the headlight, pilot light, and tail light when the motor is running. Turn signals, dash lights, and the brake light run from through the battery which is fed by the converted DC. The pilot light and tail light run off DC when the key is on, but engine is off, and switch to AC when the motor is running (weird, yes). With the key on, and engine off, my pilot, tail, brake, turn signals, and digital dash (a TrailTech Vapor) all worked. With the engine running, nothing worked - neither the 3 AC lights or the remaining DC users. It didn't make sense to me, or to many of the people I spoke to. So while I knew my battery was toast, I did not expect it would also stop my AC power. But I guess the rectifier needs a decent battery to function properly, so when the battery was toast the rectifier just stopped functioning. Hopefully by design.
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Oct 5, 2011 02:26
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That is odd. When I got my Vino, its battery also was dead. None of the lights worked unless the engine was running and the horn barely worked even then.
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Oct 6, 2011 14:01
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