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Post by w650 on Dec 6, 2017 19:45:41 GMT -5
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Post by oldchopperguy on Dec 6, 2017 22:00:19 GMT -5
Very interesting!
If the US economy gets WORSE, this phenomenon will likely grow. If the job market gets better, Americans will still probably cling to cars and trucks for daily driving. Americans are pretty creative... In my case, I drive a $7,000 used Honda Accord that is like new. Still, when possible I ride my scooter for daily errands. It is cheap to insure and drive, and fun too.
My Wife's health just will not allow her to ride on the scooter anymore, so a car is a must for her monthly trips to doctors, and any trips to see family, etc.
Thanks for posting! Have a bone!
Leo in Texas
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Post by wheelbender6 on Dec 6, 2017 22:32:17 GMT -5
If more states made lane splitting legal, I have no doubt that sales of two wheeled motorized transportation would increase significantly. Lane splitting, though hazardous, would slice my commute time in half.
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Post by spandi on Dec 7, 2017 15:41:33 GMT -5
I am in total agreement with the article. Here in Palm Springs the weather is sunny almost all year long (with maybe a total of 2-3 weeks of rain a year.) there might be one rider on a motorcycle/scooter for every 500 cars, and yet most of the time all you see are people in these over sized, gas guzzling land whales to get a single bag of groceries. Which always struck me as wasteful, if not just flat out stupid. I think future generations will look back on this, shake their heads and ask themselves "What were you thinking?"   |
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Post by wheelbender6 on Dec 7, 2017 18:50:50 GMT -5
"Here in Palm Springs the weather is sunny almost all year long (with maybe a total of 2-3 weeks of rain a year.)"
When I lived in the Phoenix area, I felt the same way. I didn't have a scooter but I commuted a lot on bicycles and later motorized bicycles.
Few experiences compare to that of sitting in a hot car after it has been sitting in the summer sun in Phoenix for several hours. It can turn your leather interior to cracklins!
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Post by spandi on Dec 8, 2017 20:55:02 GMT -5
"Here in Palm Springs the weather is sunny almost all year long (with maybe a total of 2-3 weeks of rain a year.)"When I lived in the Phoenix area, I felt the same way. I didn't have a scooter but I commuted a lot on bicycles and later motorized bicycles. Few experiences compare to that of sitting in a hot car after it has been sitting in the summer sun in Phoenix for several hours. It can turn your leather interior to cracklins! Yah, my dad's friend from work moved to Arizona after he retired, and had to cover the steering wheel of his car with a white towel to keep from burning his hands after going shopping.  (And the reason I put light colored grips on my scoot.)  |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Dec 8, 2017 22:08:21 GMT -5
If more states made lane splitting legal, I have no doubt that sales of two wheeled motorized transportation would increase significantly. Lane splitting, though hazardous, would slice my commute time in half.
You definitely ARE right... Believe it or not, my old Kymco Grandvista 250 has electric folding mirrors which the manual explains are for lane-splitting! Sorta sobering, since they don't extend more than a few inches wider than my arthritic old knees... LOL!
However, that practice is too "adventurous" for this old geezer. In fifty+ years of riding, I've seen TOO many bikers squashed like a grape between two vehicles (sometimes accidental, and sometimes intentional)... sometimes fatal, and always with serious injury. Lane-splitting is common in countries where 2-wheel rides are plentiful, and FILL the roads. It's just "expected" for riders to take advantage of their narrow size, and it's legal in many places. Problem is, in America, people are sorta "nose-blind" to bikes.
American drivers have a long-term hatred for ANYTHING on 2 wheels... And when a rider uses his/her narrow profile advantage to get AHEAD of them, they go ballistic... Squashing a biker seldom generates any remorse... Only an attitude of "the jerk deserved what I gave him 'cause he's riding a bike"... That sorry attitude even goes for hapless BICYCLE riders... It's the old movie mantra "the only GOOD 'whatever' is a DEAD 'whatever'..." Insert your own race, gender, occupation, etc.  If your reflexes are very quick, and your peripheral vision is good, lane-splitting WILL save a LOT of time on a drive... But keep in mind it might take a decade of American roads being inundated by scooters and cycles (like Asia, Europe, etc.) before a new generation of U.S. drivers will tolerate us sneaking between them at stoplights and getting ahead of their 2-ton behemoths... LO not so L... Even where legal, be VERY cautious, absolutely knowing you'll be ticking-off two drivers who may have you in their sights at the NEXT traffic light... or even worse, get behind you on the freeway where you top out at 70, and they can do over 100... EEEWWW!
Sometimes you're the fly, and THEY are the fly-swatter... Ride safe, Leo (leaving "Minnie Mouse's folding mirrors open except when parking in narrow places) in Texas |
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