Recent Posts  By   (Read times)

It is hard to make a change once you have spent several years getting a China scoot reliable.
I also want a 250cc, but suspect I will opt for a dual sports bike if I go 250cc.

I would like an escape vehicle for off road use. The 250 dual sport would get me around town, and out of town in an emergency. Living in SoCal - that is something we have to think about.

In the '80s I punched the back door of a Dodge, while riding a Honda 650, in Oregon.
It was at a signal on a main street. I had the green light.
80+ year old woman looked right at me and turned left in front of me against the red.

Gear wasn't what it is now. I flipped over the car, hit my helmet on the curb, and bounced into the grass.
The helmet broke, but saved my life. I lost a little hide. I always wear protective gear now.....
I have been lucky since then. Only 1 accident, when a woman ran a stop sign, and I laid it down 2 years ago.

It is really nice to see most members use the proper gear on their scoots. Most accidents happen near home, within 10 minutes of leaving the house. It hurts just as bad to go flying at 35mph from a scooter as from a larger bike if you have the bad luck to crash.

LeatherUp.com has some nice jackets for a good price.
I like my heavy armored Exelement jacket, but for hot weather I have a armored Vega jacket made of heavy ballistic nylon mesh and Kevlar. It lets the air through, but holds the armor in place. Nice jacket. I also have a full on thick leather jacket with built in armor for very cold weather - pants to match, but have only had to wear leather pants a few times in San Diego. They are left overs from my years in Texas and Oregon.

I always use a full face helmet. I worked in an ER. I saw a lot of ground off chins from partial protection helmets.

3 sets of gloves. Two nylon and armor (one hot weather mesh) one very nice pair of full leather gauntlets with plastic armor over the joints.

The only place I lame out is ankle protection. I wear heavy hiking shoes, but they do not cover my ankles, Too hot in San Diego for boots most of the time.

The Taotao looks like a nice one. Not sure if they are CARB certified for California.
I have not seen a Taotao on the streets in California yet.
It is a big problem for China scoot manufactures to keep their CARB certs up to date.
They don't seem to understand each model year needs a new cert, and it takes 8 months to obtain.

I can't be sure they know what they are going to build in 8 months........

It would make a great Rat Scoot!

A lot of people didn't like the way the Helix looked, but it was, and is a runner.
I gave a used 1996 Helix to my nephew, and he rode it all through high school with only routine maintenance.
He sold it to another relative, and it is going strong on a ranch near Amarillo today.... almost 15 years later it has had no major issues.

I grew up in an independent Harley repair and used bike shop my dad owned. I am vintage 1953.
I was used to crooks and cops drinking beer together while shooting the breeze with my dad.
The guys were good ol' boys for the most part. Most were WWII vets. The shop was neutral ground. The fridge was always full of free beer for customers.
When I left home in 1972, my friends still came over to hang out at the shop with my dad and the guys.

That is how I remember Harley guys. This status thing that is happening now most likely has more to do with keeping score than anything else. Some people are competitive in every part of their lives, including their ride.

The guy that has a Harley 45, a Harley 71, a Honda 650 Dream, and a few scoots in his garage, is going to be a lot more interesting than the guy that only rides his 2 year old BMW on weekends in my experience.

Personally, I wave to all riders, regardless of what I am riding. Not everybody waves back, but that is OK.