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Commuting is the best part of my day!
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Post by trailheadmike on Jan 24, 2014 13:04:12 GMT -5
I don't mind the freeway too much because of the speed -- my 260 gets up to 65 ok and I just chug along in the right lane. I start to wet my pants, however, when the wind picks up or when I go over a long bridge - at just over 350 pounds for the bike (and with a large GIVI windscreen) I get buffeted so hard at times that I feel like i'm close to being toppled over altogether. It's so frightening to me now that there is one stretch on the Garden State Parkway in NJ (the Raritan Bridge if you know the area) that I just get off the highway an exit before the bridge and detour via the local road and get back on the highway later. While I fear being hurt, I'm also confident that I'd be too embarrassed to tell anyone that I crashed because I was blown down.
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jan 24, 2014 15:44:40 GMT -5
The 350 Piaggio calls to me also but more than double the price of what my 2009 Sport City 250 cost new. Still gives me joy especially the looks I get when passing a BMW or Mercedes Sports Coupe on the interstate or some kid on a restricted Ducati Monster with a Youth Tag on it. The kids just get bent out of shape since no matter how hard they twist the throttle nothing happens (could also be that draft they are getting since their pants have ridden down in the back and their shirts up shining the moon at high noon) but some of the sports coupe drivers really can't take getting passed by an old gezzer on a scooter and really have to demonstrate what the extra $100,000+ they paid got them which a couple of times was also a speeding ticket by the time I caught up a minute or so later. All good fun and part of the thrill riding to WallyWorld and the Outlet Mall. Whew, I'll bet that Piaggio 350 will flat-out MOVE! Dang, those Italians seem to get more giddyup from a scooter than most anybody! I like Paladin's posts on his Vespa 150. I've ridden the Wife's doc's Vespa fuel-injected 150, and Paladin is NOT exaggerating. It will do an honest 70mph+ with my 235 pounds aboard. My tired old Kymco will have to do for me... Unless I win the lottery! Ride safe, Leo |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jan 24, 2014 16:06:22 GMT -5
I don't mind the freeway too much because of the speed -- my 260 gets up to 65 ok and I just chug along in the right lane. I start to wet my pants, however, when the wind picks up or when I go over a long bridge - at just over 350 pounds for the bike (and with a large GIVI windscreen) I get buffeted so hard at times that I feel like i'm close to being toppled over altogether. It's so frightening to me now that there is one stretch on the Garden State Parkway in NJ (the Raritan Bridge if you know the area) that I just get off the highway an exit before the bridge and detour via the local road and get back on the highway later. While I fear being hurt, I'm also confident that I'd be too embarrassed to tell anyone that I crashed because I was blown down.
I know exactly what you're talking about! Our scoots are about the same... My old Grandvista weighs 340 pounds, and like yours, has the big "barn-door" GIVI windscreen. For the first week, I thought there was something amiss with the scooter because side-winds (or passing oncoming trucks) especially at speed would literally "grab" the scooter and make it feel like it was in a tornado... LOL! I finally remembered 50 years ago. My old Harley with a big windshield would do the same thing, and it weighed nearly 1,000 pounds! Now, I've ridden "Minnie Mouse" as I call her, around 1,000 miles and have gotten used to the phenomenon. I really don't think the weird properties of the windshield can actually throw you out of control. No promises... LOL! But I don't think so. Now, I just lean the other way and work the bars a little when it happens. It's more like hitting some wonky, angled pavement... Just ride it out and it should straighten out in a few seconds. At first I considered removing the windshield. However, now that it's cold, I find the big GIVI is a lifesaver on the old face AND HANDS. The doggone thing actually WORKS! I'm now riding the scooter, instead of wasting gas in the car, if it's only 50 degrees or warmer. In more than a half-century of riding, this is the first bike I've had that could be ridden comfortably without gloves, or scarf below 60 degrees! They say the big GIVI also cuts top speed noticeably, but my old 250 will nudge an honest 80 or better with it on, so I'm not complaining! Try to relax, and give the old scoot a chance in the wind. I think you'll get used to it. Be careful and don't get hurt, but with some creative leaning and other little techniques, you'll be attacking that bridge with a vengeance in no time! Now, the bridges I REALLY hate are those "corrugated" steel-floor jobs that disappear under you above 50mph... The "toothed" surface of the vertical criss-cross strips of 1/4" steel not only disappear at speed (making you feel like you're flying, if you look down...) but they grab your tires and pull left, right, left, right and try to make your bike go any direction but straight ahead... LOL! And if you ever DO dump it, the dang bridge becomes a cheese-grater and YOU are the cheese... Ride safe my friend!Leo in Texas |
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Post by keltex78 on Jan 24, 2014 16:30:51 GMT -5
At first I considered removing the windshield. However, now that it's cold, I find the big GIVI is a lifesaver on the old face AND HANDS. The doggone thing actually WORKS! I'm now riding the scooter, instead of wasting gas in the car, if it's only 50 degrees or warmer. In more than a half-century of riding, this is the first bike I've had that could be ridden comfortably without gloves, or scarf below 60 degrees! I actually bought a sheet of Lexan to attempt making a cut-down windshield for my scooter earlier in the year, but never got started on that project. Now that it's winter, I wish I could manufacture a larger windshield for more wind deflection! Come spring, I'm going to give the cut down windshield a shot. If that works, I may buy a larger sheet someday and try to make a winter windshield... I've still been riding my scooter as much as possible this winter, but once it gets down to the low thirties, I'm going for the truck keys. Most days, if the forecast says it's going to get up in the upper forties or near fifty, I'll just bundle up and tough it out on the scooter. Unless it's a cloudy/wintery/windy day. Down in the twenties, forget it! Bundling up: Earplugs first - no telling how many times I get about half-way through and realize I forgot. Ninja Mask next... Goes over my head, covers my ears, keeps my warm breath against my face, reduces fogging, fits inside jacket to keep my neck covered. Next is the under-jacket, a fleece pullover that's zipped all the way my neck. Then the Leather over-jacket, zipped up tight with the flap snapped shut to keep the wind out of the zipper. Helmet next, but I always forget and put my gloves on first and and can't buckle the chin strap. Finally, the gloves; mine are fairly warm and insulated, but they aren't airtight so they could be better. I would like some insulated coveralls for my legs, but I can generally get by. Oh, and no way I am ever getting on the freeway! Not even in the warm summertime! It's bad enough on the highways I ride; when I pass through some trees and get blasted from the side by a strong wind gust coming across a field with no blocking... Rounding a curve with semi breezing past in the other direction and trying to fight gusts in the lean... And leaning like a boss on a straightaway because of a strong side-wind... Forget about WOT in city interstate traffic... I hate doing that in the car; forget about it on a scooter! |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jan 25, 2014 2:44:44 GMT -5
Keltex78,
I really like the idea of making a windshield from Lexan, but I'm not sure if it's practical. If you can pull it off, it would be great. Otherwise, you might look around for clean used ones which someone removed from their scooter or motorcycle, which you could modify for your use.
You can certainly cut one down. I've done it by masking the area to cut, with several layers of masking tape to prevent scratching it up with a sabre-saw. The cut edge can be polished, or trimmed with automotive door-edge-trim.
The big, BIG thing I've discovered with my factory-installed GIVI windshield is that the aerodynamic design virtually eliminates wind in my face, or on my HANDS! The hands are the deal-maker/breaker for me. It would be difficult to hand-make anything like that unless you had special tools, and a lot of plastics-skills.
Maybe in this photo, you can see how the complex curves of the GIVI swell out to protect your hands... Lots of compound-curves and technology going on there...
I also lucked-out with the height. I'm fairly TALL, but have SHORT legs... LOL! In poor visibility situations, I can sit bolt-upright and look OVER the windshield, and at speed, and cruising, I can relax, slouch a little like relaxing in an easy-chair and look THROUGH the thing. Very handy! But it DOES grab the wind, and "arm-wrestle" you!
You can also see the short, small-wheeled Kymco's resemblance to the cookie-cutter Chinese 150's... LOL! Modern riders mostly don't like these old Grandvistas, but it's just right for this old geezer!
screen shot on windows
I don't know what kind of scooter you ride, but IF it is capable of highway speeds, you are missing a lot of useful (and potentially enjoyable) riding. It depends GREATLY on your individual machine. Scooters are so different... Some 150's are actually freeway capable, and some larger ones really are not. In general, the 200cc class scoots I've tried were MARGINALLY capable of cruising 60+mph, and most 250cc rides could run near, or above 70mph. Most any 300cc or larger is really quite highway capable.
In more than 50 years of driving most everything, I've found the "side-wind" syndrome is always there. It's just more noticeable on a small scooter than in a 1960's Cadillac... LOL! Even GIANT semi-trucks are susceptible to it.
If your ride IS capable of freeway speeds, you might want to play with highway riding (but only at YOUR own comfort-level) and if you get used to it, you'll find yourself going places on your scooter you never thought you would. If you just HATE it, and can't get used to it, don't worry, just enjoy the streets you ride already.
The only reason I moved up in size to a 250 was to obtain 70+mph cruising ability. I happily rode a Chinese 150cc for more than 6 years, and I loved that little scoot. However, its limited acceleration, cruising speed and top-speed finally got just too dangerous as local streets have increased in aggressive speeds, and, now simply turn into limited-access freeways to many places I want to go.
After test-riding more than 40 different brands, sizes, styles, etc. I decided I wanted to keep my choice as close to the old 150 as possible... in size, style and handling. The outdated Kymco Grandvista 250 is EXACTLY that. It's very similar to my old 150, except it will accelerate with frisky traffic, AND will shoot onto the interstate and maintain 70-75mph with as good stability as a large motorcycle. It's old-fashioned, outdated in style and features, and JUST WHAT I WANTED! LOL...! But cross-winds are STILL something that must be dealt with.
I'll never advise anyone where or how to ride... It's all personal preference, but if you find you CAN comfortably cruise the freeways, you'll open up a whole new world of travel!
Ride safe, and beat that wind into submission...
Leo in Texas
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Post by rockynv on Jan 25, 2014 10:42:15 GMT -5
Aerodynamics do come into play. I found for me a Puig Sport Fairing a better fit. Diverts most of the air and allows the bike to better slice through the air enhancing acceleration and top speed. Since mine is not hard mounted to the front body work and suspended from the handlebars I do have some additional options for adjusting height and angle. I would however be very careful about making up my own from any material that could easily fracture and quickly turn into a serrated knife edge ready to disembowel me or cut my throat.
Buffeting is just something that comes with the turf on the interstate. You either learn to get supple and cope with it or go stiff and fight it. Going stiff and fighting it is not much fun and can leave you sore and tired.
If you can't find a comfort zone that is reasonable without getting cocky then the interstate is best to be avoided.
Here is a clip of one Sport City rider that gives a glimps of its highway manners:
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Post by spandi on Jan 25, 2014 13:19:25 GMT -5
I don't mind the freeway too much because of the speed -- my 260 gets up to 65 ok and I just chug along in the right lane. I start to wet my pants, however, when the wind picks up or when I go over a long bridge - at just over 350 pounds for the bike (and with a large GIVI windscreen) I get buffeted so hard at times that I feel like i'm close to being toppled over altogether. It's so frightening to me now that there is one stretch on the Garden State Parkway in NJ (the Raritan Bridge if you know the area) that I just get off the highway an exit before the bridge and detour via the local road and get back on the highway later. While I fear being hurt, I'm also confident that I'd be too embarrassed to tell anyone that I crashed because I was blown down.
I know exactly what you're talking about! Our scoots are about the same... My old Grandvista weighs 340 pounds, and like yours, has the big "barn-door" GIVI windscreen. For the first week, I thought there was something amiss with the scooter because side-winds (or passing oncoming trucks) especially at speed would literally "grab" the scooter and make it feel like it was in a tornado... LOL! I finally remembered 50 years ago. My old Harley with a big windshield would do the same thing, and it weighed nearly 1,000 pounds! Now, I've ridden "Minnie Mouse" as I call her, around 1,000 miles and have gotten used to the phenomenon. I really don't think the weird properties of the windshield can actually throw you out of control. No promises... LOL! But I don't think so. Now, I just lean the other way and work the bars a little when it happens. It's more like hitting some wonky, angled pavement... Just ride it out and it should straighten out in a few seconds. At first I considered removing the windshield. However, now that it's cold, I find the big GIVI is a lifesaver on the old face AND HANDS. The doggone thing actually WORKS! I'm now riding the scooter, instead of wasting gas in the car, if it's only 50 degrees or warmer. In more than a half-century of riding, this is the first bike I've had that could be ridden comfortably without gloves, or scarf below 60 degrees! They say the big GIVI also cuts top speed noticeably, but my old 250 will nudge an honest 80 or better with it on, so I'm not complaining! Try to relax, and give the old scoot a chance in the wind. I think you'll get used to it. Be careful and don't get hurt, but with some creative leaning and other little techniques, you'll be attacking that bridge with a vengeance in no time! Now, the bridges I REALLY hate are those "corrugated" steel-floor jobs that disappear under you above 50mph... The "toothed" surface of the vertical criss-cross strips of 1/4" steel not only disappear at speed (making you feel like you're flying, if you look down...) but they grab your tires and pull left, right, left, right and try to make your bike go any direction but straight ahead... LOL! And if you ever DO dump it, the dang bridge becomes a cheese-grater and YOU are the cheese... Ride safe my friend!Leo in Texas Hey Leo, try riding the 23 mile long "corrugated" Chesapeake bay bridge (on a 125 yet) where the road disappears and you are "flying" 18 stories above the waves!  ......and yes your tire goes left-right all the way! |
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Post by keltex78 on Jan 25, 2014 23:25:08 GMT -5
Hey Leo, like the pic of your scoot... is that your new BIG trunk box or your original smaller one? That looks just like the one I installed on my scooter this afternoon, to replace my broken factory trunk. It holds my full face helmet without a lot of of room to spare. I'm planning to get an LED light strip to install behind the reflector to wire a third brake light...
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jan 26, 2014 2:08:42 GMT -5
Hey Leo, like the pic of your scoot... is that your new BIG trunk box or your original smaller one? That looks just like the one I installed on my scooter this afternoon, to replace my broken factory trunk. It holds my full face helmet without a lot of of room to spare. I'm planning to get an LED light strip to install behind the reflector to wire a third brake light...
Thanks! No, that trunk is the smaller one that came on the old gal. That picture was taken the day after I got "Minnie Mouse". The new, larger one I just put on is nearly twice as large, but otherwise identical. Probably the same maker. Both have a GIVI "mono-key" style release to use them as suitcases. This old one is 7 years old, obviously was USED plenty, but is still solid as a rock. The former owner used the scoot for over-the-road touring 2-up, mostly running 70+mph. It's really nice, but I don't think it would hold a full-face helmet. It's nice and trim, but really better suited to a small scooter. I think yours must be more like my new one. This new one will actually hold two full-face helmets... or a big pack of Wal-Mart toilet-paper plus some vittles!
My new trunk came with a 4-LED light built into the lid, and, I did as you plan to... I use the lid-light as a tail-light, and I installed a THIN strip of white LED's behind the monster reflector. I use it as a stop-light, and it is like a neon-billboard right at car windshield level! (I found THIN LED strips on eBay which fit INTO the grooves inside the fake light).
I also applied left/right amber strip turn-signals on top of the big red stop-light. That makes for quite a bit of wiring... But... It's worth it! That trunk now puts tail-light, stop-light and turn-signals all in the face of any car tailgating me. It's all very visible in daylight, and an absolute light-show at night! I've had guys on big Harley and Japanese baggers chase me down, asking where I got the fully-illuminated trunk!
I need to take some pix and post them.
I lit the spoiler fake light on my old Chinese 150 trunk the same way, and I can REALLY advocate all the lighting on a trunk you can muster. With a trunk, especially a large one, a tailgating car can hardly see your rear lights at all (especially in daylight). It's a real life-saver to get full lighting up on the rear of the trunk for safety.
Ride safe!
Leo
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jan 26, 2014 2:14:22 GMT -5
Trailheadmike,
Leo in Texas
Hey Leo, try riding the 23 mile long "corrugated" Chesapeake bay bridge (on a 125 yet) where the road disappears and you are "flying" 18 stories above the waves! ......and yes your tire goes left-right all the way! By the time you get to the end, you must feel like an airline captain making his final approach in foul cross-winds! Ride safe, if not "comfortable"...Leo |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jan 26, 2014 2:18:23 GMT -5
Rockynv,
Good point about the material needing to be automotive-grade! NO, you DO NOT want shards of whatever doing the "Jack the Ripper" thing to you!
Neat video too! I like your Sport City! The big wheels and overall size are much better suited to highway travel for sure... I'm just an incurable sucker for small-wheel old-school stuff... LOL!
Ride safe,
Leo
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Post by rockynv on Jan 26, 2014 4:54:28 GMT -5
Rockynv,
Good point about the material needing to be automotive-grade! NO, you DO NOT want shards of whatever doing the "Jack the Ripper" thing to you!
Neat video too! I like your Sport City! The big wheels and overall size are much better suited to highway travel for sure... I'm just an incurable sucker for small-wheel old-school stuff... LOL! Ride safe, Leo I like em all but had to make only 1 choice. Almost 25hp from a 4 valve single cylinder 250cc with EFI, 15" wheels, twin stainless steel disks up front single in the back, 465 lb load capacity, 6,200 miles between oil changes and 12,400 miles between most other services. Performs much like other brands 400 to 600 cc scooters. When they were on a $2,999 factory incentive it was an easy choice. It keeps surprising me for sure. You should have seen it the day I came back from Home Depot with the following items loaded on it: 1 - www.homedepot.com/p/Flotec-1-HP-High-Capacity-Sprinkler-Pump-FP5162/1002004251 - www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-2-Cycle-26-cc-Straight-Shaft-Gas-Trimmer-RY28040/1006250882 - www.homedepot.com/p/K-Rain-5-in-K2-Pro-Gear-Drive-Sprinkler-10031/2031223251 - www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-4-qt-Cypress-Mulch-Resealable-Bag-MULCH3359CYP/2039203011 - www.homedepot.com/p/Miracle-Gro-Organic-Choice-1-5-cu-ft-Garden-Soil-72859650/100665135Plus an assortment of odd and ends in the top case. Unplanned add-ons for the most part past the pump and trimmer. Kept getting calls from home that started with - "While your there can you please squeeze in......" Don't ask, I didn't take a picture and can't for the life of me figure out how I got it all loaded on. |
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Post by spandi on Jan 26, 2014 10:31:02 GMT -5
Well I did a cart and a half of groceries from Wally-World. A set of large Nelson-Rigg saddlebags make any scoot into a clown car! |
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Post by spandi on Jan 26, 2014 10:40:39 GMT -5
Rockynv,
Good point about the material needing to be automotive-grade! NO, you DO NOT want shards of whatever doing the "Jack the Ripper" thing to you!
Neat video too! I like your Sport City! The big wheels and overall size are much better suited to highway travel for sure... I'm just an incurable sucker for small-wheel old-school stuff... LOL! Ride safe, Leo Thanks Leo. Bigger machine now. and I don't think I'd be as "brave" ever again. (amazing how living a few years does that) |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jan 26, 2014 15:02:31 GMT -5
Spandi,
Yup... A few years makes a BIG difference... Even though my current scoot can be hauled WAY over through a turn, I'm now finding I have "chicken-strips" on the far sides of the tires... LOL! Yup, getting old. Like the song says: "I want to go to Heaven, but I don't want to go today..." LOL!
Rockynv,
That load reminds me of long ago in the early 1970's when I was riding home from work, in my then-obligatory 3-piece suit, on my 1970 Harley Electra-Glide... I passed a vendor selling ficus-trees... Hmmm... I bought a nice, potted 8-footer that weighed around 75pounds in its metal pot...
We put a towel on the gas-tank, and the seller and his helper lifted it half onto my tank, half onto my lap... And I rode 30 miles down the freeway home! Every time I got above 45mph, the thing would bend back and try to push me off the Hog. Talk about "The 3-Stooges meet the highway"...
With nobody home when I arrived, all I could do was pull onto my lawn, and gently lay the bike over, dumping the tree onto the lawn. I was plenty big and strong back then, and I STILL had a time picking that bike back up... Really screwed up my suit, too... LOL! At least I enjoyed that dumb tree for more than 20 years!
Ride safe, carry what you can...
Leo
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