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Post by JerryScript on Mar 7, 2016 11:25:05 GMT -5
Here is a great comparison of commuting in cars vs on scooters.
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Post by floridagull on Mar 7, 2016 15:45:45 GMT -5
Very cool!  The only thing he doesn't mention is inclement weather...  |
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Post by rockynv on Mar 7, 2016 17:02:20 GMT -5
I started a scooter spreadsheet comparing what it was costing me to drive my van with the big 6 compared to the scooters on every tank of fuel since I started riding to work every day possible and to date since November 11, 2010 the grand total savings comes to $23,855.56 at the last fill-up. That includes factoring a new helmet, riding gear, oil changes, insurance, tires, etc.
It adds up. I finally ditched the van since I found I can live without it and now have just the scooter and a little Fiat 124 Spider.
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Post by floridagull on Mar 7, 2016 18:10:48 GMT -5
I love those old Fiats -  - especially when they run...  |
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Post by ricardoguitars on Mar 7, 2016 20:16:12 GMT -5
My car became a garage queen after I got my scooter, I don't think I will ever be able to be on a traffic jam again, it would turn me crazy thinking how stupid driving a car alone is |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Mar 7, 2016 20:47:18 GMT -5
Hmmm... INTERESTING!
That little 50 really got him around the city in no time. HOWEVER... Around here, if you rode ANYTHING on 2 wheels (from a Schwinn to a Harley) like he did, some Bubba in a rusty pickup would intentionally open his door in your face, wiping you off the bike and into the gutter.
And if you had the audacity to voice your disapproval while laying on your back bleeding, you'd likely get a load of 00 buckshot in the face as a reply. Or, Bubba would simply back up and run you over when traffic started up again. If traffic took TOO long to move, AND if Bubba was REALLY full of beer... He might exit the cage and relieve himself on your corpse. And toss your scoot in the truck as a trophy.
In short, if BUBBA in his cage ain't moving in traffic, NOBODY on 2 wheels is going to blow by him to the front of the line without MAJOR consequences...
 ![]()
I'd think some of the "questionable" passing practices in the video would be illegal and "ticketable" in many jurisdictions. It IS possible that New Zealand traffic laws are much different than ours.
At any rate, I wouldn't risk a certainly injurious, and potentially fatal encounter by passing stopped traffic like the guy in the video did.
I'm no sissy, but THAT kind of time-saving riding is TOO adventurous for me... At least at 70... AND, I even have electric-folding-mirrors for "lane-splitting"... If I gotta fold my mirrors to squeeze through, it's TOO tight a squeeze... LOL!
Leo (staying mostly in my own lane) in Texas |
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Post by rockynv on Mar 7, 2016 21:41:56 GMT -5
I love those old Fiats - - especially when they run... It has an Isuzu 1.8L Turbo Diesel powering it and 99.9% of the problems in the old Fiats were mostly for the lack of a few $5 relays to take the load off the ignition switch. I spent the $15 on the relays and since then it starts and runs every time I turn the key. Amazingly reliable for a 38 year old Italian car with around 300,000 miles on it. I went in with it expecting the worst and have been very pleasantly surprised. |
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Post by JerryScript on Mar 8, 2016 3:27:31 GMT -5
Hmmm... INTERESTING!
That little 50 really got him around the city in no time. HOWEVER... Around here, if you rode ANYTHING on 2 wheels (from a Schwinn to a Harley) like he did, some Bubba in a rusty pickup would intentionally open his door in your face, wiping you off the bike and into the gutter.
And if you had the audacity to voice your disapproval while laying on your back bleeding, you'd likely get a load of 00 buckshot in the face as a reply. Or, Bubba would simply back up and run you over when traffic started up again. If traffic took TOO long to move, AND if Bubba was REALLY full of beer... He might exit the cage and relieve himself on your corpse. And toss your scoot in the truck as a trophy.
In short, if BUBBA in his cage ain't moving in traffic, NOBODY on 2 wheels is going to blow by him to the front of the line without MAJOR consequences...
![]()
I'd think some of the "questionable" passing practices in the video would be illegal and "ticketable" in many jurisdictions. It IS possible that New Zealand traffic laws are much different than ours.
At any rate, I wouldn't risk a certainly injurious, and potentially fatal encounter by passing stopped traffic like the guy in the video did.
I'm no sissy, but THAT kind of time-saving riding is TOO adventurous for me... At least at 70... AND, I even have electric-folding-mirrors for "lane-splitting"... If I gotta fold my mirrors to squeeze through, it's TOO tight a squeeze... LOL!
Leo (staying mostly in my own lane) in Texas Filtering and lane splitting is legal in several US jurisdictions as well. I'm originally from Texas, born in El Paso, raised in Killeen, and I've dealt with plenty of Bubbas in my time. You hear folks say Bubba would do stuff like that, but like most Bubbas, you can tell how much true danger you are in based on the smell of the breath. You see, most Bubbas have no true courage, only the kind that comes in bottles and cans! |
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Post by SylvreKat on Mar 8, 2016 9:25:33 GMT -5
That's all very fine and dandy, if you drive the same way in both vehicles. But me, I can take the highway in my car, while I take the side streets on my scooter. So maybe 15-20 minutes car, 30+ scooter (plus the time to cover and lock up). So time savings would go to car in my case.
Add to it that filtering and splitting are very definitely illegal in KS, plus most places around here you can't park your scooter in the bicycle area, and that makes the video-guy's time-savings totally moot.
rocky's post makes a better argument than the video for going scooter.
>'Kat
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Post by rockynv on Mar 8, 2016 13:16:12 GMT -5
I take the same roads with both and without lane splitting the bike cuts the commute time from about 45 minutes to 15 or 20 minutes.
The hard part is both are so much fun that sometimes its hard to choose which Italian to take to work.
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Post by nulldevice on Mar 8, 2016 19:35:18 GMT -5
I want him to do that comparison when there is six inches of snow on the ground, with it turned to three inches of briny slush overlaying a half inch of ice on the roadways with temperatures in the teens Fahrenheit, not teens Celsius.
I'm glad I am retired and can choose when to drive during the winter -- or not.
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Post by wheelbender6 on Mar 8, 2016 20:58:17 GMT -5
Where I live, if you lane split to get to the front of the traffic light stack, you'd better have enough power to leave all the cagers behind when the light goes green. My 125cc scoot doesn't have that much power.
Commuting to work by scooter doesn't save me any time, but its a lot more fun.
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Post by SylvreKat on Mar 9, 2016 8:35:00 GMT -5
I take the same roads with both and without lane splitting the bike cuts the commute time from about 45 minutes to 15 or 20 minutes. The hard part is both are so much fun that sometimes its hard to choose which Italian to take to work. Explain why the drive on your bike goes faster, please, rocky. Or is it just that YOU go faster on the bike? >'Kat |
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Post by rockynv on Mar 9, 2016 13:25:43 GMT -5
Better acceleration on the bike makes it easier to pass while staying within the speed limit. The near to 40 year old diesel does not have as much get up and go as the 250cc Aprilia so you get stuck behind the slow leader and can't get off the line as fast as the bike does.
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Post by Paladin on Mar 9, 2016 16:39:38 GMT -5
... I can take the highway in my car, while I take the side streets on my scooter. So maybe 15-20 minutes car, 30+ scooter .... Then you have the weather. On a beautiful sunny summer commute the scooter can take hours longer to get home:  |
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