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Post by SylvreKat on Oct 8, 2017 6:45:24 GMT -5
Well-- I'm the odd duck here all around. I can't work on my own bike (that's what my mech's for!  ). I bought my scoot purely to extend Taurie's life (my poor wonderful wagon!  ) I view Peej as transportation  (but then again, that's how I've always viewed my cars too). BUT-- I do wave (sort of) to oncoming bikes (so long as lifting my fingers from the left handlebar counts). I do talk at stops--gas stations, work, wherever. I do enjoy the ride--but then, I've enjoyed the drive in Taurie, too (still refusing to fall in love with newish car though) I'd love to try out a group event/ride sometime, if only they didn't start 30 miles away and go like bats. I've told this before--I encountered a pair of Vespissers at my dealer. Greeted them, they barely glanced at me. I don't know the answer to why scooterists don't seem a part of the 2-wheel culture. But it's not just because they view their scoots as transportation. *I* do, but I obviously enjoy the culture. I think the answer's more in the owner's overall attitude and personality. >'Kat |
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Post by lostforawhile on Oct 8, 2017 11:42:07 GMT -5
Well Leo, I remember watching "Scootermania" on youtube and a British commentator said that buying a Vespa (and by extention ALL scooters) was more like buying a two wheeled car than a motorcycle. Too bad your not in range, we could have coffee and really talk bikes.
What he left out is the type, in general, who buy scooters. They're people who only see them as transportation. As a result many don't understand the motorcyclist and think the difference between them is personal. It isn't. Bikers buy bikes for the sensations they get riding. Scooter owners don't see that a covered engine, heavily muffled, automatic transmission and a built in trunk is about as "Car" as it gets in many ways. car like? lol I could see i you put one of those canopy windshields over it, but even then nothing like a car |
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Post by w650 on Oct 8, 2017 16:13:40 GMT -5
Since all you do is twist and go on a scooter, can scarcely hear the engine inside its compartment or thick muffler and have a trunk to toss helmet and gloves in, the comparison to a car is pretty apt. A scooter is like a convertible with the top down. Your helmet can be the roof.
Leo's and my point is pretty fair. Unlike bikers, scooter owners view other scoots the same way they view other cars. Nothing to get excited about when they see another scooter.
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Post by spandi on Oct 8, 2017 17:43:37 GMT -5
Well Leo, I remember watching "Scootermania" on youtube and a British commentator said that buying a Vespa (and by extention ALL scooters) was more like buying a two wheeled car than a motorcycle. Too bad your not in range, we could have coffee and really talk bikes.
What he left out is the type, in general, who buy scooters. They're people who only see them as transportation. As a result many don't understand the motorcyclist and think the difference between them is personal. It isn't. Bikers buy bikes for the sensations they get riding. Scooter owners don't see that a covered engine, heavily muffled, automatic transmission and a built in trunk is about as "Car" as it gets in many ways. car like? lol I could see i you put one of those canopy windshields over it, but even then nothing like a car By "car like" I meant the reason they purchased them. For transportation, gas savings or shopping. Utilitarian purposes have nothing to do with "bike culture" or performance as such.  |
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Post by lostforawhile on Oct 8, 2017 21:50:01 GMT -5
By "car like" I meant the reason they purchased them. For transportation, gas savings or shopping. Utilitarian purposes have nothing to do with "bike culture" or performance as such. I like my 100 miles a gallon, but the gas savings are pretty much wiped out by the constantly breaking parts on the scoot, but I like tinkering with things, just fixed my muffler , installed my new jets, and the ignition fried on starting. so Now I'm waiting on a new coil, and a hard to find CDI box from a china parts supplier, in England, I have some oddball cdi where none of the standard cheap CDI boxes will work on it,if I wasn't a machinist and mechanic, I would have kicked this thing to the curb and bought a different one already, but that would go against anything can be fixed , I cut up the remains of the clogged muffler and it's brackets and welded on a genuine Cherry Bomb lol |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Oct 8, 2017 22:56:12 GMT -5
By "car like" I meant the reason they purchased them. For transportation, gas savings or shopping. Utilitarian purposes have nothing to do with "bike culture" or performance as such. I like my 100 miles a gallon, but the gas savings are pretty much wiped out by the constantly breaking parts on the scoot, but I like tinkering with things, just fixed my muffler , installed my new jets, and the ignition fried on starting. so Now I'm waiting on a new coil, and a hard to find CDI box from a china parts supplier, in England, I have some oddball cdi where none of the standard cheap CDI boxes will work on it,if I wasn't a machinist and mechanic, I would have kicked this thing to the curb and bought a different one already, but that would go against anything can be fixed , I cut up the remains of the clogged muffler and it's brackets and welded on a genuine Cherry Bomb lol
Way to go! Have a bone on The Old Chopper Guy...The venerable "Cherry Bomb" muffler is legendary... Back in MY day (like, 50 years ago) I had a pair on my first car, a 1950 Chevy with a '53 Corvette SIX motor... Yes, in 1953/54 Corvettes had the "Blue Flame" 6-cylinder engine. Dual carbs, dual exhaust header and such. Mighty British for an American Chevy... LOL! I think you are right about anything CAN be fixed... It's just how long you want to keep fixing it... LOL! I must admit I kept fixing my first Chinese scoot (a 2007 Xingyue 150) for FOUR YEARS before it finally became reliable. Nowadays, I ride my little Kymco (same year) Grandvista (Grand Dink in Europe) and haven't had to fix ANYTHING in three years... SWEEEEET! Considering the usual weather, you have to be pretty dedicated to ride 2-wheels in England. Lots and lots of rain... Then more rain. I spent an enjoyable week in London back in 1969. Loved the people and culture, and the entire week it was warm and sunny. Blokes I made friends with said if I could bring that weather, PLEASE come back often... 
Ride safe and keep wrenching! Your scoot will finally be reliable...Leo in Texas |
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Post by spandi on Oct 8, 2017 23:05:37 GMT -5
I like my 100 miles a gallon, but the gas savings are pretty much wiped out by the constantly breaking parts on the scoot, but I like tinkering with things, just fixed my muffler , installed my new jets, and the ignition fried on starting. so Now I'm waiting on a new coil, and a hard to find CDI box from a china parts supplier, in England, I have some oddball cdi where none of the standard cheap CDI boxes will work on it,if I wasn't a machinist and mechanic, I would have kicked this thing to the curb and bought a different one already, but that would go against anything can be fixed , I cut up the remains of the clogged muffler and it's brackets and welded on a genuine Cherry Bomb lol
Way to go! Have a bone on The Old Chopper Guy...The venerable "Cherry Bomb" muffler is legendary... Back in MY day (like, 50 years ago) I had a pair on my first car, a 1950 Chevy with a '53 Corvette SIX motor... Yes, in 1953/54 Corvettes had the "Blue Flame" 6-cylinder engine. Dual carbs, dual exhaust header and such. Mighty British for an American Chevy... LOL! I think you are right about anything CAN be fixed... It's just how long you want to keep fixing it... LOL! I must admit I kept fixing my first Chinese scoot (a 2007 Xingyue 150) for FOUR YEARS before it finally became reliable. Nowadays, I ride my little Kymco (same year) Grandvista (Grand Dink in Europe) and haven't had to fix ANYTHING in three years... SWEEEEET! Considering the usual weather, you have to be pretty dedicated to ride 2-wheels in England. Lots and lots of rain... Then more rain. I spent an enjoyable week in London back in 1969. Loved the people and culture, and the entire week it was warm and sunny. Blokes I made friends with said if I could bring that weather, PLEASE come back often...
Ride safe and keep wrenching! Your scoot will finally be reliable...
Leo in Texas
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Post by spandi on Oct 8, 2017 23:08:31 GMT -5
I like my 100 miles a gallon, but the gas savings are pretty much wiped out by the constantly breaking parts on the scoot, but I like tinkering with things, just fixed my muffler , installed my new jets, and the ignition fried on starting. so Now I'm waiting on a new coil, and a hard to find CDI box from a china parts supplier, in England, I have some oddball cdi where none of the standard cheap CDI boxes will work on it,if I wasn't a machinist and mechanic, I would have kicked this thing to the curb and bought a different one already, but that would go against anything can be fixed , I cut up the remains of the clogged muffler and it's brackets and welded on a genuine Cherry Bomb lol
Way to go! Have a bone on The Old Chopper Guy...The venerable "Cherry Bomb" muffler is legendary... Back in MY day (like, 50 years ago) I had a pair on my first car, a 1950 Chevy with a '53 Corvette SIX motor... Yes, in 1953/54 Corvettes had the "Blue Flame" 6-cylinder engine. Dual carbs, dual exhaust header and such. Mighty British for an American Chevy... LOL! I think you are right about anything CAN be fixed... It's just how long you want to keep fixing it... LOL! I must admit I kept fixing my first Chinese scoot (a 2007 Xingyue 150) for FOUR YEARS before it finally became reliable. Nowadays, I ride my little Kymco (same year) Grandvista (Grand Dink in Europe) and haven't had to fix ANYTHING in three years... SWEEEEET! Considering the usual weather, you have to be pretty dedicated to ride 2-wheels in England. Lots and lots of rain... Then more rain. I spent an enjoyable week in London back in 1969. Loved the people and culture, and the entire week it was warm and sunny. Blokes I made friends with said if I could bring that weather, PLEASE come back often...
Ride safe and keep wrenching! Your scoot will finally be reliable...This might serve you better. www.buggypartsnw.com/index.php/250cc-high-performance-cdi.htmlLeo in Texas |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Oct 8, 2017 23:18:33 GMT -5
I'd love to try out a group event/ride sometime, if only they didn't start 30 miles away and go like bats.
Kat,
You'd REALLY enjoy a group ride like the one I posted on. All sorts of scoots of all sizes. Just a leisurely 20-mile jaunt around the lake, with stops at places of interest. Never exceeded 45-mph. Smallest scoot along was a 125, largest was a Kymco 500, and everyone enjoyed the slow pace. The lady on the new Kymco 500 was 70 like me, and SHORT... So short she had to lean over and use one foot "tippy-toe" when stopped. Id' HATE that... But she was game! That "Exciting 500" is a sweet ride, but heavy, and about "crotch-rocket" size... Very tall bike, and she was very short!There were 30 or so riders, and most used their scoots for transportation first, and "fun" took a distant second place. There were a few "enthusiasts" but all had a great time (when they could pry their thumbs from their smart-phones at least...).
I do understand loving your old wagon. I haven't really had a "pet" car in DECADES. Now, our "new" old Honda is REALLY a pet in the highest order. FAST... fun (handles like a GO-KART) Brakes like off a 747... luxurious, silent, GREAT gas mileage... did I mention FAST? LOL! I guess when she "tasted blood" in competition 14 years ago, she got the "hotrod bug" and never got over it... She is DEFINITELY one frisky little hamster... Hard to believe a CAR can be nearly as much fun as a BIKE, but "Lil' Rhonda II" is just that. No wonder Honda advertises the Accord as a car that's "fun to drive"!I haven't seen much of that Vespa snobbery around here, but there are not too many of them around. Most garaged in high-rent neighborhoods I seldom visit...I'm getting the old mouse out tomorrow... FINALLY... Arm is well enough and only need the lefty for brake and blowing the horn anyway... LOL!
Ride safe when you're able!Leo |
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Post by SylvreKat on Oct 9, 2017 8:12:46 GMT -5
Yeah Leo, I read that post. And was jealous. That's EXACTLY the type of ride I'd love! Just a group enjoying the entirety of the trip, not the ride itself. From what I read on the Mad Totos' site, they do split their ride--one for the bats, and one for the bats on 50cc's (what they called a slow ride but still seemed like nothing so much as go as far and as fast as possible for your smaller engines). No "slow leisurely jaunt" but miles-long love the riding. I guess if you're into that, driving your vehicles (car/bike/whatever) around for the feel of driving, then that's fine. But I have never seen the point of driving just to be driving. The point of driving is to go somewhere. You might not have a set destination (like on Leo's group-jaunt), but there's still at least some sort of point to the drive besides just driving around. I'm sorry, I'm such a girl aren't I.   >'Kat |
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Post by flyangler on Oct 9, 2017 9:38:38 GMT -5
Kat, it's not a girl thing, I know and have ridden with many women who enjoy riding their scooters and cycles just for the sheer enjoyment of the ride, of course I live in New England and head to Vermont almost weekly.  |
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Post by lostforawhile on Oct 9, 2017 17:43:09 GMT -5
Yeah Leo, I read that post. And was jealous. That's EXACTLY the type of ride I'd love! Just a group enjoying the entirety of the trip, not the ride itself. From what I read on the Mad Totos' site, they do split their ride--one for the bats, and one for the bats on 50cc's (what they called a slow ride but still seemed like nothing so much as go as far and as fast as possible for your smaller engines). No "slow leisurely jaunt" but miles-long love the riding. I guess if you're into that, driving your vehicles (car/bike/whatever) around for the feel of driving, then that's fine. But I have never seen the point of driving just to be driving. The point of driving is to go somewhere. You might not have a set destination (like on Leo's group-jaunt), but there's still at least some sort of point to the drive besides just driving around. I'm sorry, I'm such a girl aren't I. >'Kat the point of riding is to just enjoy the ride, especially on a scoot, you are down to really the basics of riding, it was the same in the very early days of motorcycles, many had a single cylinder, weren't very fast, and broke down, but it was a sense of adventure and to keep moving forward. a car is designed to go from point a to b, |
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Post by wheelbender6 on Oct 9, 2017 18:45:57 GMT -5
I have never ridden a Harley, but it always amazes me how long a couple of hog riders that just met each other can talk about their current rides AND every other Harley they ever owned. The bikes are members of their families.
We scooter riders can learn a few things from those Harley riders; like unity and enthusiasm.
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Post by lostforawhile on Oct 9, 2017 19:54:15 GMT -5
I have never ridden a Harley, but it always amazes me how long a couple of hog riders that just met each other can talk about their current rides AND every other Harley they ever owned. The bikes are members of their families. We scooter riders can learn a few things from those Harley riders; like unity and enthusiasm. in england and many other countries scooter riders are like harley riders here |
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Post by lostforawhile on Oct 9, 2017 20:10:35 GMT -5
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